‘Friends with Benefits’ by Lisa Swift is a feel-good rom-com which I was looking forward to sitting down and starting. This is my first book by Lisa Swift so I began with an open mind and no expectations.
Lexi has been dealing with quite a bit, her soon to be ex-husband has been in Japan for the past two years, furthering his own career. She has been left to run their large house and take care of her Ex-husbands son, 14-year-old Connor has no biological connection to her step-son but, their bond is amazing. Lexi is his mum in all but genetics and biology.
Daryl, Lexi’s ex-husband (almost anyway) has an ex-best mate who is also Connor’s Godfather and has replaced Daryl by being there constantly for him. Daryl has spent most of Connors life being the absent one and the fact that Theo has stepped into the father figure means at least Connor has someone aside from Lexi.
Theo and Lexi have grown close as friends over time and after one evening when they spend a drunken night together and end up in bed together, the complicated feeling start to come to the surface.
This is a rom-com that is told from three points of view. We have Lexi’s side, then sometimes Theo’s and we also have Connor’s. I thought it great that we have Connor’s side, just the fact we get a teenagers view to his dad’s separation from Lexi and how he senses the changes in the tension between Theo and Lexi.
We also get to see some of his life, his inner fights with himself, and his teenage angst. A refreshing view to take in a rom-com and it opens up the story to make Connor an important figure. Every single character has their own battle with themselves in one way or another and the way Lisa Swift has written this story gives it a lot more depth that brings a lifelike quality to the book.
A story that really gripped me, from the first chapter. I was so interested in knowing what was going to happen next and hoping that everything worked out for them all.
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Lisa Swift for my copy of the book.
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