Line:Moderne Series: None Book Length: Short Novel Book Type: eBook Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing ISBN: 9781419927973 MSRP/List Price: $6.50 Our Cover Price: $5.20 Available in Print: No

More Than Friends By: Evangeline Anderson (Read Excerpt) E-mail this product to a friend   Zach and Emily have been best friends since high school but Zach wants much more. Emily is the girl of his dreams—and unfortunately taken. Zach knows her jerk of a fiancé isn’t good enough for sweet, perfect Emily, but what can he do? The answer comes in the form of a frantic phone call late one night—Emily is in trouble.   When Emily agreed to go to the Rustler’s Roundup charity auction for her eccentric employer, she never dreamed that she would be the goods auctioned off. Now, standing half naked on stage and being bid on by complete strangers, she’s about to get a lot more charity than she planned on. Luckily for her, Zach rides to the rescue just in time. But in order to free her from the Roundup, he has to do a lot more than bid on her—spanking and sex are on the menu as well.   Will the hot sexual encounter destroy their relationship? Or will they finally become more than friends? Quantity:

Product Rating: (3.50)   # of Ratings: 16   (Only registered customers can rate) (Only registered customers can rate) 5 - Must Read! 4 - Recommended reading 3 - Enjoyable 2 - Could be better 1 - Not recommended 0% 50% 100% Sort: New to Old RE-SORT COMMENTS: Helpful to Less Helpful Less Helpful to Helpful New to Old Old to New High to Low Rating Low to High Rating Showing comments 1-10 of 12 (Next 10) HERE to see all comments 1. Jana on 8/11/2010, said: I enjoyed it! Wish it had been longer, but had no trouble buying into the story. Was this comment helpful? yes no   (0 people found this comment helpful, 0 did not) 2. kirsty on 6/29/2010, said: I was dissapointed, I felt that this wasn't up to the usual calibre of Evangeline Anderson. I thought that the characters and story just didn't have that believability of her other novels - despite often paranormal elements. I didn't feel very connected to their characters, which I usually do with Evangeline's novels. However, I did enjoy the story, but if it had been the first novel I'd read by her, I'm not sure if I'd be looking at her other books. Was this comment helpful? yes no   (1 people found this comment helpful, 0 did not) 3. A on 6/28/2010, said: Anderson’s strengths include imaginative world-building and the ability to depict campy, over-the-top sexual scenarios as something ordinary (believable) in the worlds she builds. Her paranormal and fantasy stories showcase these talents better than her contemporary efforts. Her weaknessness include lazy writing (little or poor research, telling instead of showing, overwriting) and adherence to formula. “More Than Friends” features too much of the bad and not enough of the good for it to go down as one of the author’s better stories. WARNING! SPOILER REVIEW! I’ve read enough of Anderson’s work to identify her reliance upon formula in her storytelling. “More Than Friends” follows the formula until originality and character appeal fade into the background, overpowered by bland, unrealistic storyline. A good third of the book is backstory/info-dumping and irrelevant drama. Emily and Zach are likeable characters with great chemistry, but they suffer excessive innocence/ignorance. I’ve seen this in Anderson’s past books and sometimes it’s suitable, sometimes not. It’s fine that neither Emily or Zach know a lot about BDSM toys, floggers, etc., but it borders on stupidity that intelligent, educated, successful adults could enter the Rustler’s Roundup and be forced to participate. The criminal and civil liability of a benevolent “charity effort” falsely imprisoning and raping an invited guest would create a courtroom circus. I simply could not suspend disbelief and accept that scenario in a contemporary novel. (If my wealthy, eccentric employer trafficked me as a sex slave, I would NOT return to work after the event. I would press charges and file a lawsuit.) I don’t mind coercion/dubious consent in my erotic romance, but it needs to make sense, and this just didn’t. Anderson conveyed Zach’s realization of Emily’s exhibitionist tendencies well, only for Emily to deny the tendencies several chapters later. The couple enjoyed hot, erotic chemistry, but I couldn’t get past the “nonsense factor.” Better plotting would have helped. What if Zach’s recent success won him an invitation to the Rustler’s Roundup or a business associate included him instead of Zach chasing Emily there after her dramatic breakup with her fiancé? What if Emily discovered the auction’s purpose and CHOSE to participate out of curiosity, unaware Zach attended? (Women have done weirder things after breaking off an engagement.) The entire story featured passive main characters reacting to misunderstandings, misinformation, and the threat “Have sex on stage or the bouncers will hurt you.” Anderson missed numerous opportunities to develop her characters, amplify tension and conflict, and give the story meaning. The trope of Zach avoiding Emily after the auction bugged me because it “didn’t sound like Zach.” He is portrayed as a loyal, intelligent, all-around good guy. He hauls ass to the auction to help Emily … and then abandons her in the parking lot, and his reasons/feelings described in the story don’t quite work. Emily’s visit/seduction doesn’t make sense, either. To me, it read like Anderson crafted these very distinct, wonderfully genuine characters with this really solid, beautiful history, then forced them into roles that didn’t gel with who they really were in order to work another love scene into the story. I loved the ending, Emily and Zach redefine their relationship beautifully. If the second half of the book had been published as a “Quickie,” I think readers would have loved it. Better plot development and the inclusion of a good subplot or two would have made this a good novel. This book isn't bad; it's just "naked" in places and "overdone" in others. Was this comment helpful? yes no   (3 people found this comment helpful, 0 did not) 4. BRITTANY on 6/28/2010, said: I really like the whole known you forever but suddenly see you in a different way idea.Emily is the hot girl next door that's totally obvious to the changes in her nerd-turned hot best friend. It takes a traumatic event for them to see each other as perfect mates. The sex scenes are steamy but I wish there was more build up. Was this comment helpful? yes no   (1 people found this comment helpful, 0 did not) 5. Maryanne on 6/26/2010, said: I thought it was a fun quirky read. Was this comment helpful? yes no   (0 people found this comment helpful, 1 did not) 6. Janell on 6/22/2010, said: I really enjoyed this. It was an interesting concept, loved Zach as the hero and in regards to the pig, I thought the added oddities of what she has to do for her boss made it funny as well as believable that she could be put in that situation. People are to hard on Mrs. Anderson, yes there are a few of her other books that I like better but I still think this was well written and enjoyable. Was this comment helpful? yes no   (1 people found this comment helpful, 1 did not) 7. Ian on 6/20/2010, said: not as good as some of her other books, but a good read, the pig soryline gave a bit of humor. Was this comment helpful? yes no   (2 people found this comment helpful, 0 did not) 8. Cari on 6/20/2010, said: I've never read Evangeline Anderson before, but after reading More Than Friends, I'll definitely be checking out more of her work. This was a great story! I loved the sexy, fun premise and thought it was just what Zach and Emily needed to bring them together. After seeing each other a certain way for so long, both needed a wake-up call. The results were deliciously hot! Along with the heat, there was plenty of emotion too. I'm really looking forward to checking out this author's backlist. Was this comment helpful? yes no   (2 people found this comment helpful, 2 did not) 9. Trioka on 6/20/2010, said: Hot Hot Hot!!! I could not put this book down. If you love friends who become lovers type story, than this is one book you won't want to miss. Ms. Anderson is hands down (your panties that is) the best erotic sex scene writer I have ever read. If you're looking for a steamy read, look no further. Was this comment helpful? yes no   (1 people found this comment helpful, 1 did not) 10. Faith on 6/19/2010, said: More than Friends is a contemporary novella which isn't Evangeline Anderson's usual thing(she seems to write more paranormal and sci-fi) but I found it quite enjoyable nonetheless. Zach and Emily reminded me of Jim and Pam on The Office. They need to be together and Zach wants her so much but Emily just can't see it until it's right under her nose. Hot sex and a happy ending made for an enjoyable read. Oh and PS--Not sure what the other reviewer is talking about with the pigs. There is a part where the heroine has to throw a party for her eccentric employer that involves animals but it's by no means the focus of the story. Was this comment helpful? yes no   (2 people found this comment helpful, 4 did not) Showing comments 1-10 of 12 (Next 10) HERE to see all comments