Meghan Quinn

This hilarious and swoony new rom-com will follow long-time neighbours and co-workers who finally fall for each other

A Long Time Coming

Morgan Denlinger

“She stands on her toes and presses the lightest of kisses to my cheek. Even though it means nothing other than friendship to Lia, to me, it feels like she just branded me and marked me as hers for eternity.”

🫶🏼

I love this girl, and I’ll do everything to make her life as wonderful as she is. She will carry knitted flowers down the aisle, and she will have daisies everywhere she wishes. I’ll make every dream come true.

“You love me?” “Desperately,” I answer. “Pathetically. To the point that I’d have no shame in following you around even if you did get back with Brian. I’m so fucking in love with you, Ophelia, that I can feel it all the way to the marrow of my bones. It’s a part of me. You’re a part of me.”

“It’s true, though. Everything is different with you. It’s as if I can see better, hear better, taste better. You’ve brought vivid color into my life, Lia. You’re the one pumping the oxygen through my veins.”

“Oh God,” she gasps. “Breaker, you’re too big.” “I’m not, Lia. I’m perfect for you.”

The smile that crosses his face is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. “You asking me to be your boyfriend, Lia?”

“You deserve so much too,” I say to Breaker, who just shakes his head. “I have all I need, Lia,” he answers, looking me in the eyes.

“You’re the only person who has done something thoughtful like this for me. Ever.” “Because you’re so special to me.” His thumb caresses my cheek. “I’d move mountains for you, Lia.”

“I can’t believe you remembered.” He takes my hand in his. “Junior year in college, it was right after you went on that date with the squid eater. Perhaps one of your worst first dates ever. You came back to my dorm and bitched about how guys are such idiots, and they don’t know how to conduct a real first date. I asked you what would be your perfect first date, and you said Disneyland. You would test the guy to see if he would wear matching shirts. If he did, it was a check in the plus column.”

“And I think it’s because in my mind, I’ve always been with you. You’ve always been mine.”

“Well, if you’re not ready, I’ll wait. I can wait for as long as you want me to wait,” I say. “I’m not going anywhere, Lia. If you want me to slow down, I’ll slow down. If you want me to give you some space to think about things, I will do that too because I want you in this just as much as I am.”

“How do you know what I need?” I glance up to see his serious expression, hungry, greedy. “Because I know everything about you, Lia, even what will make you come.”

“Because he’s had you,” Kelsey says. “Because you’ve been everything he’s ever needed, and now that he’s figured that out, he’s trying to take things to the next level.”

“If you were with the right man, then he’d always know how to treat you so you know you’re desirable.”

“I would be lost without you, Breaker.” “I would be lost without you, too.”

“It means that the only way I’ll be happy if you marry someone else is if you are one hundred percent committed to him and him alone. If you were marrying me, no fucking way could I share you with another man, best friend or not. And I wouldn’t expect your husband to love you any less than that.”

“You remember what’s on my list?” “Lia, I remember everything about you,”

I hear one solid, heavy knock against the wall. Then four. Then three. And then there’s silence. One knock. Four. Three. My mind quickly translates it: I love you. He’s never knocked like that before. Never three words, never by himself.

Lia: You can’t always be thinking about me. Breaker: I am. When I wake up, I wonder how I can possibly interact with you, how I can catch a glimpse of your smile. Throughout the day, I know that if I need a pick-me-up, some comfort, or fun, you’re the person I want to see. And at night, when I go to sleep, you’re the last thing I think of before I shut my eyes.

“It’s because Breaker always thinks of you first,” Kelsey says softly. “He truly cherishes you. I’m sure he doesn’t say all the things to you that he says to us, but you are his number one. There’s no question about it.”

Breaker knows everything. Every last thing about me. He knows that when I get my period, I get horrible migraines, and he’s always there with Ibuprofen, caffeine, and Sour Patch Kids. He knows that I’m not that big on working out, but that sometimes I get in moods of wanting to work out, so he always has a variety of classes I can join when I come to him. He keeps them in a note in his phone. He knows that without even having to ask, he buys Comic Con VIP tickets for us and thinks up our costume ideas because I love going. Still, I can’t handle the stress of it all, and I’d rather be told what to wear and when than to figure it out myself. And apparently, he knows exactly what I smell like. Notes and all.

“I was, but she wasn’t what I wanted.” “What do you want?” she asks. You. Everything about you. Your soul. Your mind. Your heart. Your body. I want all of you, every last fucking inch of you.

I sit down next to her on the couch, lift her eyes so she’s looking at me, and that’s when I notice the tears. I’m going to fucking kill him. “I’m sure you got the gist of that conversation,” she says. “But he didn’t like my hair. Said it was a mistake.” Yup, murder is in his future. “He’s wrong,” I say as I cup her cheek and swipe the tears away. “He’s so fucking wrong because the moment I saw you, my heart skipped a beat, Lia. You look gorgeous. So fucking stunning that I had to remind myself that you’re my best friend.”

I take her all in as my heart beats wildly in my chest. Jesus fuck, she was gorgeous before, but now, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself. And before I can stop myself, I tell her exactly what’s on my mind. “You look fucking sexy. Not that you didn’t before, but Jesus fuck, Lia. You look so fucking incredible. I love it.”

This series was more than I ever thought it would be. This was my favorite book in the series and what a way for it to end too. The friends to lovers in this book was so good. The tension, tha angst of what was going to happen, the humor was amazing. I love the main characters and found family in this book. Then the characters I wasn’t suppose to like succeeded there too. Honestly I just loved this book and highly recommend this series!

Priscilla Stanfield

Lia and Breaker have been friends for ten years since they met as part of a Scrabble club in college, but now that Lia is engaged to Brian, Breaker is starting to realize that his feelings for her are more than friendship.  Breaker is determined to be the friend that Lia needs, so when Brian's mother known as "The Beave," starts taking over the wedding arrangements, he steps in to play the role that Lia's deceased parents would have taken if they had lived.  The more time Breaker spends with Lia, the more he wants her for himself, so he and his brothers come up with a plan.

A Long Time Coming is a frustrating romance because Breaker and Lia seem to be the only ones who don't see their feelings for one another.  There are some parts of the story that are funny, but the characters come across as flat, especially Brian and his mother.  There is lots of angst in the first half of the story, but there is never really any question as to how the story will end, leaving most of the events with little impact.  The steamy scenes are well written, but are mostly located in the last half of the book interrupting the pacing.  Overall, A Long Time Coming is an entertaining read but never attains much emotion. 

Lynn Braden

Lia and Breaker have been friends for ten years since they met as part of a Scrabble club in college, but now that Lia is engaged to Brian, Breaker is starting to realize that his feelings for her are more than friendship.  Breaker is determined to be the friend that Lia needs, so when Brian's mother known as "The Beave," starts taking over the wedding arrangements, he steps in to play the role that Lia's deceased parents would have taken if they had lived.  The more time Breaker spends with Lia, the more he wants her for himself, so he and his brothers come up with a plan.

A Long Time Coming is a frustrating romance because Breaker and Lia seem to be the only ones who don't see their feelings for one another.  There are some parts of the story that are funny, but the characters come across as flat, especially Brian and his mother.  There is lots of angst in the first half of the story, but there is never really any question as to how the story will end, leaving most of the events with little impact.  The steamy scenes are well written, but are mostly located in the last half of the book interrupting the pacing.  Overall, A Long Time Coming is an entertaining read but never attains much emotion. 

I wanted to like this. I went into this thinking I was going to like this. I am generally a fan of this author so I will keep reading more by her, just other titles. 

Okay, this has a romance pet peeve of mine. The supposed love interests are with other people for too large of a chunk of the book. Yes, I was aware before reading that MMC is FMC’s best friend and man of honor for her upcoming wedding to someone else. But here’s the thing, I never really felt like they needed to be together. And this is coming from someone who loves the friends to lovers trope. They are both with people who seem pretty nice. It would be one thing if the FMC is technically engaged but her fiance is absent but no there’s lots of scenes of them hugging/kissing and talking things over. This was starting to feel like a dual romance, marriage/engagement in crisis vs a friends to lovers with a splash of cheating trope.

What saved this for me was the MMC, Beaker. He’s an awesome guy and character. He really looks out for his family and friends. Their codependency in their friendship honestly didn’t bother me, I just needed more romance. A lot of this truly was awkward. And even the initial premise of why they never dated, cause he had a mustache when they first met so he looked unattractive to her? Some overly slapstick feeling rom com stuff really makes me feel like a grinch but I can’t help the way I feel about certain moments like that one. 

It took way too long for them to get together and I enjoyed the pacing of some of Meghan’s other books more. Thank you to Bloom Books for this eARC. I am loving the updated covers!

Abigail

I wanted to like this. I went into this thinking I was going to like this. I am generally a fan of this author so I will keep reading more by her, just other titles. 

Okay, this has a romance pet peeve of mine. The supposed love interests are with other people for too large of a chunk of the book. Yes, I was aware before reading that MMC is FMC’s best friend and man of honor for her upcoming wedding to someone else. But here’s the thing, I never really felt like they needed to be together. And this is coming from someone who loves the friends to lovers trope. They are both with people who seem pretty nice. It would be one thing if the FMC is technically engaged but her fiance is absent but no there’s lots of scenes of them hugging/kissing and talking things over. This was starting to feel like a dual romance, marriage/engagement in crisis vs a friends to lovers with a splash of cheating trope.

What saved this for me was the MMC, Beaker. He’s an awesome guy and character. He really looks out for his family and friends. Their codependency in their friendship honestly didn’t bother me, I just needed more romance. A lot of this truly was awkward. And even the initial premise of why they never dated, cause he had a mustache when they first met so he looked unattractive to her? Some overly slapstick feeling rom com stuff really makes me feel like a grinch but I can’t help the way I feel about certain moments like that one. 

It took way too long for them to get together and I enjoyed the pacing of some of Meghan’s other books more. Thank you to Bloom Books for this eARC. I am loving the updated covers!

Im the type of reader who thinks that skipping pages in a book means thet it doesn’t count as a read butbyou know what fuck it. I actually quite liked this book but I did not like how ophelia as a character lacked a lot of depth, didn’t get to see much of her past, her insecurities, her trauma with her parents dying, or anything related to her apart from the guys that surrounded her. I like how birdy was not  portrayed as a bitch for like a breaker but rather human and I like that they ended it on good terms. This book made me laugh the hardest from the series and the friendhship those two shared was truly so beautiful, deep and meaningful. I think this book contained bit too much about the other side characters and towards the end it was just going on and on about other random characters and it felt like and advertisement for the authors other books rather then them actually contributing to the storyline. I think I only like Huxley from his point pf view and dislike him when someone else talks about him because he comes off as such a bitch and Lottie too comes of really mean and self obsessed from others POV’s. It’s weird how myra came out of nowhere, hm come to think of it there are many things I did not like when it came to this book but oh well, I liked the romance. A LOT. in my head breaker wears glasses and is really really fucking hot and smart and the smut after the 70% mark on the book was crazyyyyy, I loved the build up and it was so worth waiting for the buildup, I’m happy I read the series but I doubt I will read her other work because the way the characters came out of nowhere towards the end of the book really ruined the vibe for me. During some parts of the book it felt like Breaker was the singer of Ophelia by the Lumineers and it just felt so fitting. his reaction to Ophelia in that wedding dress literally made me giggle an kick my feet up in the hair ahaha, I love nerdy guys I guess. 

Anushree Taparia

Nouran Hazem

This was basically everything I ever wanted! I’m a sucker for best friends to lovers (and I mean best friends ) and this was just the perfect rom com.. the friendship was immaculate.. he’s like a hot sexy nerd and he definitely falls first and harder.. he falls so hard it’s kinda pathetic and just perfect 🤌🏻 the tension was everything and this book definitely got me out of my slump so that was perfect! I mean it also had one bed trope so there’s that.. it really felt like I was watching a rom com and made me so giddy!

Nouran

Pretty sure Breaker Cane is just Henry Cavil and for that I say, thank you. 

Steffi J

I’m a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope, so I was really excited when I came across this book. Boy was I disappointed. After the 75% mark, every chapter is basically just sex. It’s like reading glorified porno. It was as if the writer was basically finished with the plot, but needed to produce more words to meet the minimum limit set by her publisher, so she filled the pages with sex and more sex. A very basic and average read at best.

Meredith pant

linhie

4/5 ☆
too cute and loved their friendship so freaking much :( quirky friends to lovers with sm love and care for each other YES SO SO GOOD 🫶🏻

Valeria 

Jennifer mitchell

this book.
this booooook.
THIS BOOK.

Key takeaways from reading this book:
-Friends to lovers is a superior trope
-nobody writes spice like meghan quinn
-Breaker owns my whole heart
-seriously the mouth on this man 🥵 
-NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP AND NO MISCOMMUNICATION TROPE!!!!!! (SERIOUSLY MORE OF THIS PLEASE)
-nothing makes my heart flutter quite like characters only calling each other nicknames but then using their real name in serious moments

Meghan Quinn has done it again. 5 stars.

Okay third time writing this review because it didn’t save the first two times 🤦‍♀️

I love the Cane brothers. The first of the series made me literally(😉) laugh out loud multiple times and inspired me to read a lot of Meghan Quinn books. These boys hold a special place in my heart and Breaker is lovely. 

I don’t read a lot of friends to lovers so this was a fun change for me and I like how the story was told. Slow build for the first 2/3 or so as their relationship develops into something new. I felt there could have been a bit more communication between the two as things changed but I still thoroughly enjoyed. 

My favorite part was the dirty talk and tension. Dang. I had to stop reading at work because I was getting too warm. 😂

Overall, an enjoyably silly friends to lovers romance with lots of sweet bits and good steamy moments. Quinn is one of those authors where I feel like I know what I’m getting every time, solid rom coms with good smut. 

P.s. the covers though… I’ve had enough men on couches with cherubs floating around them 😝

Megan BV

Okay third time writing this review because it didn’t save the first two times 🤦‍♀️

I love the Cane brothers. The first of the series made me literally(😉) laugh out loud multiple times and inspired me to read a lot of Meghan Quinn books. These boys hold a special place in my heart and Breaker is lovely. 

I don’t read a lot of friends to lovers so this was a fun change for me and I like how the story was told. Slow build for the first 2/3 or so as their relationship develops into something new. I felt there could have been a bit more communication between the two as things changed but I still thoroughly enjoyed. 

My favorite part was the dirty talk and tension. Dang. I had to stop reading at work because I was getting too warm. 😂

Overall, an enjoyably silly friends to lovers romance with lots of sweet bits and good steamy moments. Quinn is one of those authors where I feel like I know what I’m getting every time, solid rom coms with good smut. 

P.s. the covers though… I’ve had enough men on couches with cherubs floating around them 😝

A Long Time Coming

Reviews

Highlights