Begging Ben (Love Letters, #2)by Anyta Sunday
Self-published
eARC
LGBT, contemporary, romance
B is for Ben Spengler.
Brilliant. Bashful. Burned.
Brimming with desire for his BFF Landon, who is beyond compare.
But they aren't the same Ben and Landon anymore. Not after what Landon did. And didn't do.
Bitter about his unrequited love.
Bound by a night of drunken promises.
Will the chemistry between them change, or will Ben break first?
B is for Begging Ben.
Begging Ben was a fun read with a healthy dash of angst. It's friends to lovers, although it is not so straightforward as Ben has been in love with Landon for years while Landon has been exploring relationships and pining for another guy, who doesn't return Landon's feelings. In fact, Landon is obsessed with Chance Roosevelt-Sutton, and he forgets something that was very important to Ben, which leads Ben to put the friendship on hold, because he can't take it anymore and wants to get over his feelings for Landon. There's angst and complications, but it's also fun because Ben and Landon are science geeks and their chemistry puns are awesome (even though I'm not familiar with science and chemistry beyond mandatory school classes). It only gets more complicated after drunken Las Vegas wedding (which Ben doesn't even recall) and Landon wanting Ben back as best friend.
I'm all for angst, pining and unrequited feelings, as much as I like happy endings. I also like friends to lovers stories when there's a lot of personal history involved, because it's hard and scary in case your friend doesn't return the feelings. However, I must say that while I enjoyed Begging Ben a lot, I liked the first in the series, Admiring Ash, more. I think it is mostly because of the drunken Vegas wedding, which is not my favourite tropes. The beginning of the book was also a little bit jumpy, skipping months between chapters; it took me a bit time to get the story right and connect what was happening and when. It gets better after the first chapters and then it's a smooth ride.
Ben and Landon's friendship and relationship, and their struggles with it, is captivating. There's also plenty of other characters mixing in: Ben's mother and his cousin Chris, who's recently become a single father for a newborn. It's very family centric, which I do love, and River and Ash are featured too! And I have to mention how much I squealed when Ben read Fence comic by C.S. Pacat! He definitely has a great taste in comics.
I'm all for angst, pining and unrequited feelings, as much as I like happy endings. I also like friends to lovers stories when there's a lot of personal history involved, because it's hard and scary in case your friend doesn't return the feelings. However, I must say that while I enjoyed Begging Ben a lot, I liked the first in the series, Admiring Ash, more. I think it is mostly because of the drunken Vegas wedding, which is not my favourite tropes. The beginning of the book was also a little bit jumpy, skipping months between chapters; it took me a bit time to get the story right and connect what was happening and when. It gets better after the first chapters and then it's a smooth ride.
Ben and Landon's friendship and relationship, and their struggles with it, is captivating. There's also plenty of other characters mixing in: Ben's mother and his cousin Chris, who's recently become a single father for a newborn. It's very family centric, which I do love, and River and Ash are featured too! And I have to mention how much I squealed when Ben read Fence comic by C.S. Pacat! He definitely has a great taste in comics.
Overall, Begging Ben is a fun read with tropes and plenty of angst. For me, it wasn't as great as previous book in the series but it was good one nevertheless. I admire Anyta Sunday's writing, and I'm not going to stop reading and recommending her books.
4 of 5 stars
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