How are friends like condoms?

Not the typical opening to a review on a romance, I know. Still, if you want to know the answer, you are going to have to read the book.


We knew from ‘A Hero for Hailey’ that Phoebe has secrets. It turns out that she is hiding from an emotionally abusive husband and her enabling family. Luck was with her the day she answered the ad to work for You Cheat, We Eat. She has discovered friends, skills, and an inner strength she didn’t know she had.

The found family is a theme that Haggerty writes extremely well. It provides a firm backdrop that allows her wonderful characters to take center stage and grow with the story while still leaving room to weave in plenty of other story sub arcs. None of her characters needs a family more than Phoebe does and their unconditional support is all the more important because the new man in her life, the one she is just beginning to trust, has some secrets of his own.

I very much appreciated the darker turn this story took. I love great comedy, but this one had just a bit of meat to it. Emotional abuse is often dismissed, it was nice to see it handled well in this story. I also appreciated getting to know the badass uncles a bit better. I love that they are full-on alpha, crude, and heavy-handed, yet are never actually over-reaching or insensitive. (more well-written characters I want to adopt). I am looking forward to Suzie’s story, A Soldier For Suzie

For those who find it important, there is mild profanity use and some steam. ( )