Series: Better Love #3
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Release Date: May 23rd, 2022
CW: mentions of sexual assault, addiction and child endangerment (off page), stalking, verbal and physical abuse, gaslighting
The gorgeous, exciting, genius of a man who hangs out next door.
Who happens to be younger than me.
And in college.
And heading to medical school in just a few short months.
It started innocently enough.
The occasional run-in.
A few chance encounters.
An offer to babysit.
An offer for…more.
But then it snowballed.
Now, I only know two things for certain.
One, for the first time in my entire life, I’m not an afterthought.
And two, this will end very, very badly.
My kids. My job. His future.
It’s all at risk.
Jesse Hernandez has infiltrated my life, and if I’m not careful, we will all be in tatters when he leaves.
I don’t know how Brit Benson does it, but it’s her third book and she had me hooked, laughing out loud and in tears through the course of this story. I have loved these group of friends and their shenanigans. Under the definition of ‘found family’, you’ll find these characters because this is exactly the kind of magical found families we all wish we had. The way they love, support and lean on each other is so incredible. And then there’s all the other parts of the book with important topics and incredible writing, I was captivated through this entire book and I never wanted it to end.
If you’ve read the first two books, then like me you’ve also been a huge fan of Jesse and have been excited about this book. He’s still the biggest goof, the sexiest man and the kindest soul in Brit’s stories. I have loved him from the first moment he appeared on the page and with every book, he just got better. And to have an entire book with his story? I was here for it without a doubt. I loved his relationship with his friends, I loved how he just loves everyone he meets and gives people the benefit of the doubt. I also absolutely adored the relationship he has with Jude and June (Jocelyn’s kids), because that was all kinds of precious. The bond that he forges with them was so magical, the nicknames, the way he stepped up to the plate and let’s not forget his superpower!
“You have no idea the things you do to me just by existing, Classic,” I whisper into her ear, marveling at the goosebumps that pop up on her skin. “You have no idea the things I want to do to you.”
And then there’s Jocelyn aka Joss. My god. What a wonderful character! Joss has been through the ringer with her ex and between raising two adorable kids and working to become a Registered Nurse, she’s struggling. But she never lets her kids see that and she puts on a strong face for everyone, especially her manipulative and abusive ex. Despite the bad hand life has dealt her, I loved that Joss worked her butt off to be more and do more. I loved that she pushed herself beyond her limits to provide for her kids, because they are her whole world.
Oh my god, these kids, though! Brit wrote two of the most adorable fictional children ever. Jude and June are so vastly different and yet, they’re so fricking adorable. I loved their scenes with Jesse (obviously), but also in general seeing them become these incredible humans was so wonderful.
Nothing Feels Better is a forbidden romance with a 5 year age gap and a whole lot of sexual tension and chemistry. There’s a bit of instalust tossed in there, because from the moment Jesse sees Joss, he’s smitten and he does everything in his power to ensure that he gets to be around her as much as possible. Their relationship was fantastic and relatable. They’re drawn to each other, but there’s so many elements that are obviously stopping them from doing more. And Jesse is willing to be patient. He lets Joss set the pace, even though he’s itching to do something about this draw between them. There’s a lot of secret hook-ups that are completely driven by lust and I enjoyed seeing them connect and come together that way (puns intended!). I mostly enjoyed their emotional relationship, because Jesse becomes someone Joss can confide in, someone she considers a friend and a person she wants to talk to about things she hasn’t told anyone. She leans on him while they’re falling in love and it’s all kinds of beautiful!
Brit writes really good steam and like the first two, this one is hot. And I don’t even just mean the secret hook-ups. If you follow her on Instagram, you’ve seen some of the teasers she’s shared and one of them was HELLA HOT and when I got to that scene, I was truly not prepared even though I knew it existed. Their emotional and physical relationship really works together to make the heat in this book incredible. I liked that Jesse handed Joss complete control from what she wanted, how she wanted it and when she wanted it. And how after everything she’s been put through by her ex, Joss gets to really enjoy sex the right way.
“It wouldn’t matter the time or place. I’d love you the same in every single one of them.”
Please be gentle with yourself when you pick up this book. Because while it is sexy, funny and swoony, it’s also got some dark edges. Take the content warnings above and what Brit has listed in the front of the book seriously, because there might be some things that can be triggering.
I am now a completely obsessed Brit Benson fan and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next!
Thanks to Wildfire Marketing Solutions for the advance copy. I’m voluntarily leaving an honest review.
anna reads here 