Friend Me is the 2nd book in the Synergy Novel series. I did not read the first one, though based on the characters I think I have a good idea who the first one was about. (I’ll go back and read it eventually, though.) Not having read the first, I didn’t feel at all like I was behind on the story and it was easily read as a standalone. As a software engineer, I probably would have started this book sooner had I known it was about a programming firm! I liked all the little programming jokes/notes injected throughout the story as well – and ironically enough was reading it on the plane on the way to a business trip. I told my coworker about it and was teasing that it was VERY niche – programming romance novels – and now she wants to read it as well.
To the story – Marlee is the executive assistant to Jackson at Synergy. She’s great at her job. She also has a massive crush on her coworker Cooper and has been scheming on how to be alone with him when her boss is off on his honeymoon by hiring a steady stream of crappy assistants for him. To further put her plan into place, she needs a date for the wedding to make him jealous, because he has invited one of his good friends who is very beautiful and maybe a bit intimidating to Marlee. Coworker and BFF, Tyler, steps in to aid her in her schemes and be her wedding date. But is there maybe something more there?
Does her scheming work out? Will she end up with Cooper even though it may be against company policy? Or will she realize she is just being silly?
I read this book pretty much straight through once I started it, couldn’t put it down. (I had to save the last 30 minutes or so for once I got to the hotel for my business trip – but definitely stayed up too late to make sure I finished it!) I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
She knows better than to think she’ll get a happily-ever-after like the romance stories she loves…until her nerdy work friend starts to act like Prince Charming.
Romance-reading executive assistant Marlee can’t show up to her boss’s wedding without a date. Not after her crush invites a beautiful, brainy Amazon. So when her best buddy, Tyler, offers to be her plus-one, she’s all in for a little jealousy-sparking fun.
Until a magical kiss on the dance floor makes her forget her own name and question who she’s crushing on. Suddenly their date doesn’t feel so fake.
Leveling-up their friendship is a risk she’s not ready to take. So is Tyler asking for more than she can give. She never meant to break up with her best friend. Especially when she suspects she’s falling for him.
Friend Me is a slow-burn-to-red-hot, friends-to-lovers, fake-relationship romantic comedy featuring a starry-eyed heroine, a sweet, cinnamon-roll hero, and a pair of cranky cats. It can be read as a standalone and is the second book in the Synergy series.