{"id":16471,"date":"2026-05-28T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=16471"},"modified":"2026-04-12T12:01:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T16:01:18","slug":"review-dont-want-like-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/review-dont-want-like-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"Review – Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend<\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by Emma R. Alban<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"book<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Series: <\/strong>Mischief & Matchmaking
Genres:<\/strong> LGBTQ+, Romance
Release Date:<\/strong> January 9, 2024
Pages:<\/strong> 396
Get from:<\/strong> Library<\/a> | Amazon<\/a> | Barnes & Noble<\/a> | Kobo<\/a>
My Rating: \u2606\u2606\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gwen has a brilliant beyond brilliant idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street. But playing the blushing ingenue makes Beth\u2019s skin crawl and she\u2019d rather be anywhere but here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She figures she has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she\u2019s gotten all her flair, fun, and less-than-proper party games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get them together,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than surrender Beth to courtship, they should set up Gwen\u2019s father and Beth\u2019s newly widowed mother. Let them get married instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be easy\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s just\u2026one, teeny, tiny problem. Their parents kind of seem to hate each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But no worries. Beth and Gwen are more than up to the challenge of a little twenty-year-old heartbreak. How hard can parent-trapping widowed ex-lovers be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, just as their plan begins to unfold, a handsome, wealthy viscount starts calling on Beth, offering up the perfect, secure marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beth\u2019s not mature enough for this\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Gwen must face the prospect of sharing Beth with someone else, forever. And Beth must reckon with the fact that she\u2019s caught feelings, hard, and they\u2019re definitely not for her potential fianc\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the trouble with matchmaking: sometimes you accidentally fall in love with your best friend in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Review<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NOTE: This review is based on an eBook I borrowed from Amazon as part of the Kindle Unlimited program.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted<\/em> to like Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend<\/em>, the premise had so much promise. However, within a few pages, I knew I had to read it with an “alternate universe” frame of mind. While ostensibly set in 1857, the mannerisms and language are modern to a point that I can’t call this “historical romance.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve done that before, though, plenty of times. And I was getting along OK, despite the slow pace, trying to ignore the odd items here and there that pulled me out of the story, like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n