Being Brooke (Barley Cross Book 1)

After hours of struggling with not knowing what book to read next I came across Being Brooke. I was enraptured right from the start.

I loved everything about it, the chemistry between the to MC's. The bond and love between three best friends. The humor and just craziness that was Brooke. The banter between Brooke and Cain. It was all just perfect.

Emma Hart always creates the most amazing heroines. I laughed so much! Brooke with all her sass and Cain is just completely swoon worthy. I absolutely loved it! Friends to lovers has always been one of my favorite stories but Brooke and Cain's story just drew me in from the very beginning and kept me wanting to pick my kindle back up every time I was forced to put it down.

The wit and sarcastic dialogue was right up there with the steamy innuendo. I loved the characters and hope that Brooke and her Barley Cross friends and family become another book or series. Well done!

This book was hilarious! I love the sassiness and fun characters Emma writes and this one didn't disappoint. I found myself cracking up at a lot of the stuff that was being said and the quirkiness of Brooke. And that ending, ah, so cute!! I really wish we would get more on both these characters but I'll settle for another standalone in this world

Funny line after funny line! So very entertaining! A story of a person trying to find self. That time in life when we seem to be adrift. And if you think it is all laughs, it is a story which can bring a (happy) tear to your eye.

BUT, if you don't like foul language and the f word I would highly suggest you not buy this book.

Don't know why, to me, this is not a 5. Probably because not my typical read. Why not a 4 only? Well, since I absolutely could not put it down, what else could I do! Enjoy the read!

Omg did I love this read!! The awkwardness between Brooke and Cain was such a page turner I couldn't put it down! Loved the banter and especially loved their crazy convos which had me saying Omg did she just say that a few times. I almost forgot cried when I got to the last page because I didn't want it to end! Please Emma Hart I need more!!!

This book was riveting, funny, and just felt so authentic. I love a love story of best friends because it truly becomes something so beautiful and amazing to experience. I would definitely recommend this book and I'm looking forward to reading all her books. Keep it up EMMA HART, we love it!!!

I have mixed feelings about this book, there were some really funny parts of the book and then some meh parts. I feel like it started to get really good at the end and then it was finished and I was like huh what. So I'd give it a 3.5 not a complete 4

Took a break from the drama and angst. Decided this looked perfect after
Reading the excerpt. I laughed so much at this book. A much needed different emotion after some of latest books. It has some
Romance there too but oh boy was it fun.

Being Brooke gives us a heroine we could all relate to. She isn't perfect, not overly dramatic, a little bit clumsy and a whole lot of crazy - but you just can't help but love her!! It's a fun read - i love watching her adulting as the story goes along!

Brooke is a fun, sarcastic, witty character who is full of life and love! Her best friend, Cain Elliott is downright too sexy for his own good! Don't get me started on plastic Barbie though. Seriously, this is a hilarious book but a sweet read!

Reviewed for marysuedies.com -2.5 Stars

I thought the first third of Being Brooke was very funny and smart. Unfortunately Brooke’s immaturity and silliness ruined the remainder of the book for me. Being Brooke is less a romance and more the story of a “hot mess” figuring her adult life out.

Brooke Barker is in love with one of her best friends, Cain Elliot. She’s been in love with him for years but lately it has become harder to ignore her feelings (and her hormones) when he’s around. Meanwhile, Brooke is also trying to figure out her life. She’s a college dropout, working a dead-end job at a travel agency (I didn’t even know travel agencies were still around!), with no future goals. Brooke can’t even unpack her own apartment, let alone deal with actual adult life.

The initial tension between Cain and Brooke is quite lovely. They are funny and sweet together and the reader is rooting for them. Throw in an evil girlfriend and Emma Hart has the foundation for a lovely if formulaic best friend romance. Unfortunately Hart seems to get a little distracted with Brooke’s antics and the romance gets lost in the mix. Brooke acts more like a middle schooler than a 20-something and the romance never seems to get off the ground. She and Cain are obsessed with Harry Potter, they never have serious discussions and it’s all just kind of silly. Maybe I’m just old but I wanted to tell Brooke to grow the heck up and take responsibility for her life. Even when she does eventually have a career plan it is only because it falls in her lap.

One aspect of Being Brooke that I did really enjoy were her relationships with her mother and sister. Brooke loves her sister Billie but is jealous of her settled life. Brooke’s mother worries about her but in a loving way. I would worry about her too! Emma Hart writes these relationships in a believable and attractive way.

There are also a few editing issues to note. Brooke’s Grandpa tells a story about hiring a prostitute in 1952 and later it’s mentioned that he’s 75yrs old. That would make him 11yrs old in 1952. Billie has three children who are all in school. She’s 27, the math on that is tough. It is hard to picture perfect Billie having a bunch of kids in high school.

Overall I thought Being Brooke started out strong but devolved into silliness. The romance is lost along the way and I’m left wondering if Brooke ever unpacked her apartment.

Being Brooke is honestly one of the funniest books I have read in a while. It's a funny romantic novel that isn't just about sex. Brooke is relatable to the fact that she keeps her love for her best friend and secret doesn't know what to do with herself. She is a "Hot Mess" that is hilarious. I absolutely love this book!!

This book is fantastic! Emma Hart is a brilliant writer. Being Brooke is a wonderful romance that is full of laughs. We all have one person in our life that is definitely like Brooke. Please, please, please read this book! Between sarcasm, laughs, and the hunky Cain it is a must! I couldn't put it down.

I smiled and laughed so much throughout the entire book that my face hurt. Being Brooke is one of the best laugh out loud stories I have ever read. I'm so glad I one-clicked and got to know Brooke and Cain. Excellent story!!!

I thought that this best friends to lovers story had plenty of potential (and is one of my favourite tropes) but unfortunately it fell really really flat for me. There was ZERO chemistry between Brooke and Cain, and I thought they were better as best friends than as a couple. There were a few funny moments but mostly I found Brooke and Cain to be quite immature, and the story itself was quite boring. This book definitely wasn't for me.

How can such an outrageous character as Brooke bring me to tears at the same time as she has me belly laughing? This is such a fun read, I couldn’t put it down. Not to mention that I wasn’t expecting to be so touched by the end, but I found myself emotional and the tears flowing all the while I had the biggest smile on my face. Loved, and will most definitely reread! And I had to immediately purchase the second book in the series, Catching Carly!

Great read!! I really enjoyed this fun crazy story of Cain & Brooke. I just love Brooke, she is funny & loves being herself. She was more normal than any other character I've read recently. Just loved how she was easy going & Cain loved everything about her. Fun rom com!!

I freaking loved this book!
Brooke and her relationship with Carly and Cain were just too real. So easy to relate to. The banter between the 3 of them throughout the book is awesome. Brooke had me constantly laughing out loud at her comebacks. One of my faves!

A good storyline. I enjoyed all of the characters especially the H & h but I didn't pick up on as much chemistry between them as I had hoped. I also felt the story was a little drawn out and redundant at times. Overall it was a good book though. Lots of laughs!

This book was a hilarious friends-to-lovers romance novel with a particular lead character. Brooke is a walking disaster, but I loved her brand of crazy. I read it real quick and enjoyed the hell out if this book. Looking forward for more books by this author.

I have mixed feelings about this book, there were some really funny parts of the book and then some meh parts. I feel like it started to get really good at the end and then it was finished and I was like huh what. So I'd give it a 3.5 not a complete 4

Took a break from the drama and angst. Decided this looked perfect after
Reading the excerpt. I laughed so much at this book. A much needed different emotion after some of latest books. It has some
Romance there too but oh boy was it fun.

Being Brooke gives us a heroine we could all relate to. She isn't perfect, not overly dramatic, a little bit clumsy and a whole lot of crazy - but you just can't help but love her!! It's a fun read - i love watching her adulting as the story goes along!

Brooke is a fun, sarcastic, witty character who is full of life and love! Her best friend, Cain Elliott is downright too sexy for his own good! Don't get me started on plastic Barbie though. Seriously, this is a hilarious book but a sweet read!

Reviewed for marysuedies.com -2.5 Stars

I thought the first third of Being Brooke was very funny and smart. Unfortunately Brooke’s immaturity and silliness ruined the remainder of the book for me. Being Brooke is less a romance and more the story of a “hot mess” figuring her adult life out.

Brooke Barker is in love with one of her best friends, Cain Elliot. She’s been in love with him for years but lately it has become harder to ignore her feelings (and her hormones) when he’s around. Meanwhile, Brooke is also trying to figure out her life. She’s a college dropout, working a dead-end job at a travel agency (I didn’t even know travel agencies were still around!), with no future goals. Brooke can’t even unpack her own apartment, let alone deal with actual adult life.

The initial tension between Cain and Brooke is quite lovely. They are funny and sweet together and the reader is rooting for them. Throw in an evil girlfriend and Emma Hart has the foundation for a lovely if formulaic best friend romance. Unfortunately Hart seems to get a little distracted with Brooke’s antics and the romance gets lost in the mix. Brooke acts more like a middle schooler than a 20-something and the romance never seems to get off the ground. She and Cain are obsessed with Harry Potter, they never have serious discussions and it’s all just kind of silly. Maybe I’m just old but I wanted to tell Brooke to grow the heck up and take responsibility for her life. Even when she does eventually have a career plan it is only because it falls in her lap.

One aspect of Being Brooke that I did really enjoy were her relationships with her mother and sister. Brooke loves her sister Billie but is jealous of her settled life. Brooke’s mother worries about her but in a loving way. I would worry about her too! Emma Hart writes these relationships in a believable and attractive way.

There are also a few editing issues to note. Brooke’s Grandpa tells a story about hiring a prostitute in 1952 and later it’s mentioned that he’s 75yrs old. That would make him 11yrs old in 1952. Billie has three children who are all in school. She’s 27, the math on that is tough. It is hard to picture perfect Billie having a bunch of kids in high school.

Overall I thought Being Brooke started out strong but devolved into silliness. The romance is lost along the way and I’m left wondering if Brooke ever unpacked her apartment.

What an absolute blast reading this book was! I laughed so hard sometimes tears were coming down my face. Ms. Hart has done it again with her oh so cheeky humor and I for one enjoyed every single page of it.

This is the story of Brooke and Cain who happens to be her best friend and has a girlfriend. But that doesn't deter her from crushing on him just a little bit...especially when said girlfriend really is not the right woman for him! I loved how this book was all in first person narrative from Brooke's POV which in my opinion is the best way for this story to be told.

Let's talk about all the people in Brooke's life...there's Cain of course, her bestie Carly with a little fur ball that really doesn't seem to like Brooke, her grandfather that I laughed at more often than not...talk about not having a filter! Cain's family and her family!

I adored Brooke and Cain's friendship. There's just this underlying sense of sexual tension between them but neither one of them really knows what to do with it. But they're a hoot together. Especially when Cain is a surprise overnight visitor and ends up sharing a bed with her...the morning conversation had me rolling I was laughing so hard...

"His arm and foot aren't the only things invading my personal space. Holy s***. Someone radio Houston because we have a problem. A big problem. And it's poking into my lower back right now.....it's bigger than I thought it'd be. Jesus, self! It's not a birthday cake! Nor should I be contemplating the size of Cain's c***....."Brooke?" Cain says from behind me. You can relax. I'm not going to whip my c*** out and hit you with it."

This right here was the beginning of the next phase of their friendship. What's so awesome about this is it was almost seamless for them to move to this phase of their friendship. Don't get me wrong there's all sorts of shenanigans in between but these two go together like bread and butter! And when Brooke finds her calling, it was so nice to see the support she had from everyone!

Overall, this is another winner from Ms. Hart and getting to laugh this much during one of my most stressful times of year was very much needed and appreciated!

Being Brooke is honestly one of the funniest books I have read in a while. It's a funny romantic novel that isn't just about sex. Brooke is relatable to the fact that she keeps her love for her best friend and secret doesn't know what to do with herself. She is a "Hot Mess" that is hilarious. I absolutely love this book!!

This book is fantastic! Emma Hart is a brilliant writer. Being Brooke is a wonderful romance that is full of laughs. We all have one person in our life that is definitely like Brooke. Please, please, please read this book! Between sarcasm, laughs, and the hunky Cain it is a must! I couldn't put it down.

I smiled and laughed so much throughout the entire book that my face hurt. Being Brooke is one of the best laugh out loud stories I have ever read. I'm so glad I one-clicked and got to know Brooke and Cain. Excellent story!!!

I thought that this best friends to lovers story had plenty of potential (and is one of my favourite tropes) but unfortunately it fell really really flat for me. There was ZERO chemistry between Brooke and Cain, and I thought they were better as best friends than as a couple. There were a few funny moments but mostly I found Brooke and Cain to be quite immature, and the story itself was quite boring. This book definitely wasn't for me.

hello there! if you're looking for a fun romantic hilarious book to read (and don't mind some coarse language but in a funny way), this book is for you! enjoyed it! and the story is not at all unique but still engaging at its heart ❤