ARC Review: More Than A Friend by Daisy Wren

Thank you to Luna Literary and Daisy Wren for letting me read an ARC of this novella!

My thoughts:

I don't know what it is about it but I am sucker for the "teach me" trope where an inexperienced person asks their more experienced friend to show them something whether it be something like flirting or even as far as sex. It's such a fun read every time. The spice was my favorite thing about this, I loved how comfortable Ava and Skylar were with each other and the way that Ava was able to tell Skylar exactly what she wanted to learn in bed. I liked Ava and Skylar, they are both very interesting characters even if we do get to learn WAY more about Ava than we do about Skylar. Ava is trying her best to be a good mom while also learning as a person and I was rooting for her the whole time. 

I normally LOVE novellas, but I really feel like this story would have really benefitted from being a fully length novel. It deals with a lot of topics like internalized homophobia, escaping a oppressive religious life, coparenting with someone still in that religious life, external homophobia and therapy and with it being a novella, I felt like outside of Ava and Skylar being happy together and in love, things weren't wrapped up in a satisfying way.

I will definitely be checking out more from this author!

Synopsis: 

Ava Greenfell is a single mom trying her best to navigate co-parenting with her ex-husband, working full time, and processing her newly realized romantic feelings for her off-limits best friend with her therapist. The only reason she’s thought about getting back into the dating game is to get over her inconvenient feelings for Skylar.

Skylar Call has secretly pined for her best friend for thirteen years but resigned herself to being nothing more than a friend due to Ava being straight. Her goal is to be there for Ava in any capacity she can, even if it's not in the way she truly desires.

When Ava comes out and says she’s exploring her sexuality, Skylar’s head starts spinning with ideas about what that could mean. Her confusion only increases when Ava drunkenly asks her to teach her how to pleasure a woman.

Even while knowing a sexual relationship could ruin their friendship, neither of them can say no to crossing that line.

Will their friendship grow into something more? Or will this be the end?

Goodreads | Amazon 

Comments

  1. Jen TwimomJune 26, 2025 at 2:02 PM

    WOW. That is a lot to deal with in a novella. I'm glad you were still able to enjoy it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kimberly @ Caffeinated ReviewerJune 27, 2025 at 10:14 PM

    Yes, very few authors can pack that much punch into a novella without the reader feeling cheated. I enjoy this trope too.

    ReplyDelete

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