The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister

Holden Catelano is many things - attractive, talented, musical - and he's definitely been that guy who got around. Laney - aka Lala Ellison - is the younger sister of the friend group's best friend Ryan, the one who passed away from Leukemia and left Colby, Holden, Brayden and Owen the apartment building. She's smart, working on medical research to help find a cure for Alzheimer's Disease. And at the beginning of the book, she engaged to another super intelligent guy who is working on medical research as well. Typical, they crushed on each other but never realized it was mutual. Holden wouldn't have acted on it anyway, out of respect for Ryan. But when Lala ends up being Holden's next door neighbor while she works on a research project in NYC, things heat up. Classic tale of why communication is the most important tool in the box. Fun to read what the rest of the gang are up to. And a good surprise near the end of the story. Sweet Scale: 5/5 Spicy Scale: 4/5

Keeland and Ward have returned with an opposites-attract romance, bringing out all the feels. And, of course, they wouldn’t be the dynamic duo without their cheeky sense of humour that is guaranteed to boost your mood. Seriously though, it’s not just laughs and sunshine; the angsty moments kept me on tenterhooks and just what I look for in moving reads. For me, character growth is primary to the plot per se, so rather than dealing with daily occurrences, which in this story is the menu of the day—I’d love to have a sexy mister fix-it at the drop of a hat; finding the road to happiness becomes more important. Here the authors delivered. I loved how the protagonists dealt with conflicting emotions. Laney Ellison, always Lala to her childhood friend, Holden Catalano, have mutual memories they reminisce hesitantly, opening up to each other as their story flows. The book’s title gives readers a good idea of where Keeland and Ward want to take us. What I’ll try not to do is let on the whys and wherefores of self-imposed rules. Circumstances found Lala and Holden living door-to-door. In her temporary research position, I learnt even more about an age-related disease—kudos to the authors for the fact-finding details and highlighting Holden’s reputation as a lady’s man, but never disregarding Lala’s present situation. His best mates have trouble trusting him with her since his views on dating and relationships had been non-existent just until. Reading on, I appreciated how disturbed this made him feel. Practically throughout this heartfelt story, my prime concern was whether he’d be able to man up. Ahh—getting down to the steaminess, Keeland and Ward went to town bigger than big! Grab any air-moving apparatus you can lay your hands on here! Read any of my reviews of Keeland and Ward’s books? You’ll know their dual perspective storytelling is my number one reading preference, and the importance I give to their characters’ banter. It’s simply them, never failing to draw me into the story. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed Lala and Holden’s story, the blurb revealed a little too much for my taste. I would have liked to see more element of surprise; however, Keeland and Ward’s second standalone in The Law of Opposites Attract series is most definitely one-clickable. Hoping Holden’s friends appear soon since the intrigue is a killer. Ladies, bravo for a cracking read!

Holden Catalano is an easy man to fall for. The tattooed drummer has never had a hard time getting a lady. He has this swagger and confidence you are instantly drawn to. That being said, he’s insecure when it comes to his feelings for Lala. He holds her in such high regard. Combine that with being his deceased best friend’s little sister, and he questions if he is the right man or if could never be good enough. I actually love this about him. There was something very real, and honestly a little heartbreaking, in the way Holden and Lala struggled with the inbetween moments. Their chemistry was off the charts, but finding their relationship rhythm didn’t come as easily. Their disagreeable moments felt like a real couple, not sugar coated and perfect. Their reactions were often raw and unfiltered. This made me cheer for them even harder. In addition to the beautiful relationship, this story featured a great group of guy friends who were truly there for each other. These authors captured friendships that were so fun to read and added so much to the story. Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward have done it again with this story. They have created a world I love, pulled at my heartstrings a bit, and gave me a truly wonderful story. Holden and Lala have my heart.

The Rules of Dating your best friends sister is the second standalone story in the opposite attracts series. I had loved Holden’s character when we had met him in the first book and I was overjoyed when I had found out he will be getting his own story. Holden has a had feelings for his friend Ryan’s younger sister Lala since his teenage. He had a special relationship with her but he never crossed the line since Lala was off limits. Now his friend is dead and Lala moves for work and he can’t stop thinking about her. This is a heartfelt and heartwarming friends to lover’s story. It’s everything you have come to expect from the magical duo. From the captivating plot with perfect banter , emotions and perfect chemistry to well written and relatable characters it checks all the boxes. I literally binge read this book. I don’t want to give any spoilers but this was a fantastic read and I enjoyed it a lot. Highly recommend this addictive read.

I enjoyed the banter between the friends and the story, but I started to get a annoyed with the main characters. They have the same arguments over and over, but never resolve them until they say "I love you"? For two people who can seem to read each other from a single look seem to really struggle believing the other person has feelings.

No cliffhanger Standalone but part of a larger series Told from both POVs Best friends little sister romance I love these authors and have loved every book they have ever written. This one was no different but it just left slightly more drawn out than I’m used to for this writing duo. Still a smoking hot book that ran me through all the emotions. I laughed, I cried, I fanned myself. Lol Laney and Holden grew up together. Holden was Laney’s older brother best friend. They were attracted to each other from a young age but neither acted on their feelings. Fast forward 10 years and now Holden is a drummer in an up and coming band and is known as the one who would never settle down because he is with a new girl almost every night. Laney in the meantime is engaged to be married but has to spend a few month in NY for a research grant and ends up bunking in the apartment next to Holden. Sparks fly immediately and both struggle with how to handle their growing feelings for each other. I won’t give too much away but the only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because I felt like the second half of the book was a constant series of misunderstandings and rash decisions by both parties. I feel like just a few of the moments would have been enough and still make this a beautiful love story. That being said, I still cried at the end so it was still totally worth the read. I can’t wait for Owen’s book. It sounds like it is going to be hilarious.

I remember reading The Rules of Dating (The Law of Opposites Attract Book 1) by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward and thinking that Holden was an incredible secondary character. I prayed that the smoldering and sexually adventurous drummer was getting his own book. My book-loving prayers were answered! The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister (The Law of Opposites Attract Book 2) knocked it out of the park! Vi and Penelope's cowrites never disappoint; if anything, they make it incredibly hard to pick a favorite. I will be talking about Holden, LaLa and this book for a long time. I'm going to start calling them Holden and LaLa #HoLa. I loved everything about these characters and this unputdownable story. Vi & Penelopes' signature writing style and witty banter shined in this book. I'm obsessed with this book! You don't have to read the first book in this series to enjoy The Rules of Dating My Best Friends Sister, but I recommend reading it since both books were equally amazing. Vi and Penelope turned up the heat, feels, and fun making this book one of my top reads of 2023.

The dynamic duo has done it again with their latest release The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister book 2 in The Law of Opposites Attract series. You don't have to read the first book in this series they are complete standalones. While reading The Rules of Dating, Colby’s story, I thought I would love stories for each of the group of friends. My wish came true and first up is Holden, the hot and sexy drummer. We briefly met Laney Ellison who Holden nicknamed LaLa when they were children. She is Ryan’s sister, the friend that passed away when they were younger. From start to finish Holden and LaLa story was like a slow dirty dance. There was back and forth, and there were times I wanted to smack some sense into both of them with all the mixed signals. This was a chemistry filled slow burn romance. I loved all the guys when they got together like to play cards, the things that came out of their mouths. I absolutely loved this friends to lovers romance, the emotions ran high at times, along with the laughs. Great epilogue and a surprise coming, a third book from these characters!!! Can’t wait!!

I loved every part of this book: the slow burn, the chemistry of the couple, the friends to lovers, the spicy part, Holden (best male character of the series in my opinion), the sweetness of the references to Ryan. It is also a cuddle if you lost someone and hope he/she is next to you in an invisible way.

Just such a beautiful story. What a magical HEA with a little bit of magic from beyond.. Could you beautiful authors please do a story for Hope and Maverick? 🤞

This is the story of Holden and lala. Lala's big brother was Ryan, the 5th member of the guy gang who died. Ryan's death affected each one of the guys differently, but all the guys want to keep Lala safe and make sure she is happy. Holden has had the biggest infatuation with Lala since they were kids, but Ryan made his feelings about Holden and Lala perfectly clear. Lala moves to the guys apartment block for work and will be staying for 6 months while her fiance stays back home. Holden and Lala start spending loads of time together like they used to when they were younger, and things start to get out of hands quickly. This book is absolutely amazing. My heart really hurt for both Holden and Lala, but mostly Holden. I'm glad to say there is a super happy ending, but getting there was tough!! I absolutely love this world and the relationships between the guys and the families around them. The character development is top notch. I really can't wait for Owens book Mr Workaholic is going to get it bad, I can just see it now. 100% recommend book, authors and series.

I’m a huge sucker for “brother’s best friend” trope and this book did not disappoint. Holden and Lala were fantastic together. The issues they needed to overcome were very realistic and on point to their previous lives before they got together. Can’t wait for Owen’s story.

This story was so good. Brother's best friend written in the best way! And can I just say how excited I man that Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland are writing a series of interconnected standalones?!