Review | Three Simple Words by A.J. Pine

 Overview:  She's holding out for a happy ever after. 

Annie
I know where to find my happily ever after—between the pages of a romance novel. It’s why I sell books, why I blog about them, and why I’ll never get disappointed by love. 

So what if my brother’s best friend from high school is now a bestselling author? Or that he just blew back into town on a Harley, filling out a pair of jeans like he never did before? Or that he’s agreed to do a signing at my bookstore on such short notice? Because despite all his adoring female fans, I kind of hated his book.

Wes
The last time I saw Annie Denning, she was a senior in high school, three years older than me and way out of my league. 
Now I’m her last-minute date to a wedding, and what started as a night of pure fun has turned into something more real than either of us anticipated.

Annie is my muse. When I’m with her, my writer’s block fades away, and the words finally flow.

The only problem? She wants the fairy tale—her very own happily ever after—and anyone who’s read my book knows the truth. I just don’t believe they exist.

Purchase Links: Amazon Barnes and Noble Kobo

Publishing Date: October 17, 2016

Stars: 4 

My Review: 4 sometimes fiction and reality are on in the same, sometimes fiction is just fiction stars. The story kicks off with the reader introduced to Annie, her best friend and how much she doesn't like Wes's book. When Wes is finally introduced, he learns that Annie hates his book and that he can help her by hosting a signing at her book store if he can convince her. From the beginning the two characters are carved out and easy to like. 

Annie loves books and reading, it's partially why she's a very happy book shop owner. She's a romance reader, has a blog where she discusses romance reads and is an extremely witty woman. She's hilarious but also has extremely high expectations when it comes to selecting a partner which is why she's single, it's hard matching up to fictional characters! She's older than Wes and when he's back in town she can't help but notice he grew up. 

Wes can't seem to write and so decides to return home for some time to just get out of New York City. He's charming, slightly emotionally closed off and very much a fabulous writer. Wes always had a thing for Annie, she was his best friend's older sister, and she's literally his teenage dream. When he has the opportunity to spend more time with her, he makes it happen. 

I think why I enjoyed the story so much was because within fiction, it blended fiction and the "real world." It was a clear take on the sister's best friend and mixed an age difference with a bit of a friends to lovers type of story. There was some serious heat, some conflict, some miscommunication and a evening out to yield the ultimate happy ending a romance novel needs. Overall, the read flowed well and the characters are easy to like.