Kiss to Belong

Alyssa and Maddox are so sweet I Loved their way story

4.75 stars! Not just a friends to lovers, but a best friends to lovers, childhood friends romance that will definitely give you all the feels! Alyssa finds herself pregnant, alone, and estranged from her parents, which leaves her without a place to live or any income to live on. Her ex boyfriend, and the baby’s father, completely takes himself out of the picture (until he decides not to, in a way that makes him look like even more of a jerk), meanwhile, her best and closest friend, Maddox, opens his home to her and offers to help in any way he can. Unfortunately, Alyssa is unaware that Maddox has been in love with her, secretly, for years - really she’s the only one who is unaware of this. But she reluctantly agrees to his help, even though she doesn’t want to be a burden to him, and she refuses any help beyond a place to stay. She also won’t kick him out of his own bed, so they end up sharing his king sized bed as friends. We all know THAT’s not going to help things for Maddox. Alyssa and Maddox both come from wealthy families with expectations, and neither of them is thrilled with the lavish lifestyle or harsh relationships they have to endure to please their parents. And while Alyssa’s parents seem to be the worst of the pair, Maddox’s parents definitely don’t help things along - especially his mom. Meanwhile, their close friends at college are nothing but supportive and helpful, doing whatever they can to help, even when help is not requested. There’s a very strong found family vibe with this close knit group, and it adds a sweet and fun tone to a story that could otherwise be pretty intense and sad. But as Alyssa starts to see Maddox as possibly more, she gets worried about losing their friendship, something she has deeply relied on for as long as she can remember, so it scares her away from delving deeper into her feelings. When their feelings finally come to the forefront, it’s really a very sweet, very steamy connection, and I was glad that it didn’t become something one of them regretted immediately and pulled away from. They build on their friendship easily, but that doesn’t stop others, mainly family and exes, from trying to come between them. I loved how Alyssa and Maddox come together. It’s a very emotional journey, and feels real, and raw, and ultimately, very satisfying.

It was cute. A definite slow burn. Filled filled angst. It was a tiny bit longer than it should have been. I was grateful that there wasn’t really a third act break up, but it was filled with miscommunication. Which happens to be the most frustrating of tropes. The narrators were excellent, they made the audio book go by faster. I’ll definitely recommend to someone that likes the tropes in this book.