My Scorned Best Friend

Xavier & Clara are everything a best friends to lovers book should be. We’ve seen this precious friendship throughout the Greene family books & seen how solid two people can be. The love of a best friend, a true best friend, can never be rivaled…well, except for by the love of a soulmate. It’s funny how everyone in town, including their parents knew that these two were soulmates even from kindergarten. They used decades to build & cultivate their relationship to be what everyone thought would be unbreakable. When their friendship was in jeopardy, a whole town felt the blow. Even though no one knew what could have happened, they just saw the change. For Clara, they saw a scorned woman & showed her pity that she didn’t want. As for X, they saw the man who had let his fame & fortune change who he was to the core & showed him a different kind of pity. These two being who they were both as individuals & to each other, they were willing to fight to bring back their old friendship, it just took a long curvy & bumpy road to get there.
Once X & Clara repaired their friendship & transformed their love to something more, they were an inferno. The chemistry they possessed as best friends was so dynamic to their romantic relationship & just made their intimate moments that much more intense. Their ability to talk through situations & to compromise on issues was so paramount & a direct reflection of their respect of each other which had been built over the entirety of their friendship.
Overall, excellent addition to the Greene family & one I was anticipating & so excited for. The setup for Mandi’s book…color me intrigued!
Aaron Shedlock’s narration was smooth & his voice inflections and delivery really had me in the story. Holly Warren was perfect for Clara. She drew me in to the character & had me feeling right along with her.

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢.”

Ok Piper Rayne has done it again! I was on pins and needles waiting for Xavier and Clara’s story and it exceeded all expectations. the From page one, I was hooked on every word. Xavier and Clara had that meant to be, written in the stars hea and like everyone else in Sunrise Bay I was wholly invested and just waiting for them to take that next step. They had the kind of friendship that people go their whole lives in search for and sometimes still never find. The one where you’ve been through literally everything together from childhood to puberty to familial loss and through it all your bond only grows stronger. Where you know each other’s quirks, likes, dislikes and have that silent language of understanding. Their solid foundation of friendship was one I absolutely adored the most in this story. Piper Rayne truly captured the fear exhibited by Xavier when it came to taking that friendship to the next level and the heartache Clara had that came with rejection. The angst and emotions were palpable. I’m talking ALL the feels both good and bad!! The moment of acceptance to what Xavier and Clara both knew was undeniable had me screaming in excitement. When Xavier goes, he goes all in and the swoon was so real. But, I loved how Clara made him squirm a bit before she gave in and how she stood her ground in her wants and dreams.
Of course, we can’t have a Greene family book without grandma Ethel and her hilariously rambunctious crew meddling and the rest of delightfully charming members of the Greene family. They all made for endless smiles and laughter. My Scorned Best Friend was everything I live for in my friends to lovers romance and made for a book I didn’t want to end.

FINALLY! Clara and Xavier put their differences behind and get with the program! Gotta love those meddling grandmothers and their abilities to bribe young impressionable teens like Rylan and Calista. This was the perfect friends to lovers story in the Greene Family world. Friends since kindergarten, X and Clara didn't let anything get between them until that one fateful night that changed the course of their relationship. They avoided each other for two years, and that period was excruciatingly painful. The story would not have been complete without Dori, Ethel, and Midge, and the plethora of Greenes.

Aaron Shedlock and Holly Warren were amazingly perfect narrators for this couple. Their talent for voicing characters really shone through as Clara and Xavier's story came to life.

I received an advance copy of the ebook and audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this review.