He’s a hot high school chemistry teacher living in a small town. She’s a globetrotting journalist running from her past. They used to be best friends. Then one kiss changes everything.

*******

Kate Fletcher is my kryptonite.

She’s also my best friend. Former best friend?

I’m not sure what you call it when we grew up attached at the hip and then she left Silver Creek (and me) to travel the world.

The important thing is: Kate is back. (Temporarily.)

And I’m still in love with her. (Permanently.)

But something is different now. The attraction doesn’t seem one-sided. I don’t think I’m imagining the heat in Kate’s eyes or the chemistry crackling between us.

But will that be enough to keep Kate here, when, for as long as I can remember, all she’s wanted to do is leave?

I’m determined to give her a reason to stay. Family. Connection. Roots. And me. I’ll have to start with sparks and fire, but if I take this step, there’s no turning back to simple friendship. And if she doesn’t feel the same way, I might lose her again—this time for good.

How to Kiss Your Best Friend is a sweet romantic comedy with all the crackling chemistry and sizzling kisses you want in a closed-door romance but no explicit scenes.

I have been really loving the closed-door romances lately, and I’ve also seen great things about Jenny Proctor! I thought I’d give her books a try, starting out with this first book in her new series, The Hawthorne Brothers. I love series that focus on different members of the same family, so I immediately gravitated towards this one. I was surprised by this book, but do have a few complaints! As always, my main points are bolded.

1. First and foremost, I love the setting. We start out hiking the Appalachian Trail and then end up in Silver Creek for the remainder of the book. Silver Creek is the cutest small town, and I want to go there. DoorDash has one driver and three options for food in this town. I love it. The homes, situated on at least an acre of land each, all sound so cute and cozy. There’s a lake that butts up against the back of Kate’s grandmother’s house, and a creek (obviously). Readers spend time in the various creeks and rivers with Brody while he kayaks or teaches other to kayak. We also get to visit the Hawthorne family farm, which doubles as an event center and Brody’s brother is in the process of opening up his own restaurant on the property, too. The farmhouse sounds gorgeous, there’s an apple orchard, strawberry fields, and baby goats. Yes, you heard me. Baby. Goats. Who need to be cuddled and fed. 

2. Kate. Kate, Kate, Kate. Well, I didn’t like her much. She frustrated me to no end! Her lack of communication with various people in her life has really messed everything up for her. She’s also pretty shallow. She had no feelings for Brody whatsoever until she saw his “glow-up”. He’s sprouted muscles since she last saw him, and Kate will never let you forget it. More time was spent describing his sexy muscles and toned physique than was spent on describing their kisses. lol. Once she saw those muscles, the feelings began to flow. She goes from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye. Majorly insta-love, which seems strange because he’s been there for nearly two decades.

I think my biggest problem with Kate, though, is that she’s a runner. She runs away from everything. She left Silver Creek ages ago to get away from the life she thought she would end up living if she stayed there. In the process, she broke Brody’s heart into pieces and has spent, really, the bulk of their 19-year friendship continuing to break his heart over and over again. Her grandma was practically her favorite person in the world, and she refused to go home to help her or even attend her funeral because Silver Creek is evil. She doesn’t want to stay in one place for too long because that’s bad. And she doesn’t change her way of thinking or adjust her mindset until someone tells her why she should. She doesn’t grow or change on her own, she’s just given the answer (that she could have gotten years ago if she had better communication skills) on a silver platter and that’s that. She makes a 180. But still, her favorite thing about Brody is his muscles. He makes her feel safe. He feels right. He has muscles. She’s just not deep. In the end I did like her more, but I’m keeping my eyes on her.

3. Brody, on the other hand, is a dream. He has been in love with Kate since the day he met her (I have no idea why), and he will do (and has done) anything for her. While she’s been off galavanting, not giving him a second thought, he’s been following her career, reading everything she writes (and saving copies of all of it), keeping tabs on her social media, and rarely dating. When she breezes through, he drops everything to be there for her and spends just enough time with her for him to be heartbroken when she leaves again. He’s a nerdy science teacher with a heart of gold, fighting to the death for his school kayak program. His students love him. His family loves him. He has the sweetest dog. He’s loyal to a fault, thinks deeply, is empathetic and loving, cares about people, and is just so sweet.

4. The romance was very sweet at the end, and I got all my butterflies and swoons, but getting there was a journey of repetition. Brody and Kate spend so much time in their thoughts, agonizing over how to deal with their feelings. I’ve never been in their position, but I can understand the fear of coming clean to your best friend that you’re in love with them. It could change everything if that love is unrequited, and then you lose your love and your friend. But oh my gosh, these two. Their inner monologues go on and on and repeat page after page, hashing out their concerns and their fears and their feelings. They just kept saying the same things to themselves and their friends/family throughout the entire book. I got so emotionally drained. lol. Just tell each other how you feel! Say it! And I know, that’s hard. This was actually a pretty realistic portrayal of the anxiety that occurs between friends who want more, but I am exhausted!

5. I loved that the heat and sizzle was there, while keeping intimacy behind closed doors. There were some good kisses and major tension.

6. I really like the Hawthorne family, and I love how protective and supportive they are of Brody. He has a moment with his brothers that made me so eager to read each of their books because they’re all such great guys. I love his sister, Olivia, and am excited to go find the book that has her love story.

7. I loved all the kayaking tidbits! 

8. The writing was great! I loved the descriptions of the scenery and the kayaking. Transitions between chapters were so fluid that I couldn’t find a stopping point. The kisses were written so, so well that I had to fan myself. I could have done with less repetition. Brody’s muscles and their inner monologues got old for me.

All in all, this was great for me! I struggled with Kate, but I really enjoyed the rest of this book. I loved the Hawthorne family, their farm, and Silver Creek. Brody is a new book boyfriend, and I have a feeling each of his brothers will turn into one for me as well. I’ve already downloaded the next book, and will be starting it very soon!