A Long Time Coming by Meghan Quinn

Narrated by Erin Mallon and J.F. Harding

RomCom. Can stand alone, but 3rd in series about 3 brothers.

What a way to start the new year! Right out of the gate with a feel-good, fun, happy, sexy, best friends-to-lovers story. I think A Long Time Coming by Meghan Quinn is by far the BEST of The Cane Brothers Series (A Not So Meet Cute & So Not Meant To Be), and I know already it will be on my Best of 2023 list.

Lia and Breaker have been the very best of friends for over ten years. They met in the Secret Scrabble Society in college and bonded over all things nerdy. For ten years neither one of them crossed the line or even thought about it, but they were so close they live next door and occasionally sleep in a bed together (with no hanky panky). Everyone else said they were meant to be, but they have always stayed just friends.

“When I first met you, I thought you were everything I needed in my life.…Unfortunately for me, you were looking for a friend, not a boyfriend, and I’m glad you were because I can’t imagine enduring the last decade of our lives without each other.”

Lia has been dating Brian for over a year when he proposes, catching her totally off guard. She loves him (kind of?) and doesn’t want to end things by saying no. She asks Breaker to be her Man of Honor, and he accompanies her on all of her planning trips with her future monster-in-law.

But then the realization hit him.

“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.”

He doesn’t tell her right away. He shows her how much better he is than Brian in every way.

“Fuck, if you were my fiancée, my wife, I’d never let you leave the bedroom. Your voice would be hoarse from every fucking orgasm I gave you.”

I loved loved loved this novel! I adored how in love Breaker was once he realized. I loved their friendship so much, it was playful and fun, but Breaker in the bedroom is a whole different story! YUM. A Long Time Coming was the perfect name for this book. It was so obvious they were perfect for each other, but it took 10 years for them to realize.

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

Likes:

I laughed out loud so many times.
I absolutely LOVED both of them.
Breaker’s internal monologue.
The bathtub scene.
I fell in love right from the start when Lia teased him about his pornstache in college.
Their friendship was so special.
A potential monster-in-law you love to hate.
The moment Breaker realized.
Visiting characters from previous books.

Dislikes:

I wouldn’t change a thing, I loved it all.

The Narration:

I try to keep my story review and the narration separate, but the narration was SO FREAKING GOOD! Told in duet style with alternating POV chapters, the narration was everything! Erin Mallon is my favorite, especially at silly romantic comedies and internal voices. J.F. Harding usually has a gruff, deep voice, but he did the playful cinnamon roll and the sexy bedroom alpha of Breaker perfectly. I think the audio made this fun book even better.

The Down & Dirty:

I am usually very stingy with my five star reads, but A Long Time Coming had everything I ever want in a book. Lia and Breaker’s nerdy friendship morphed into such a great romance, but it took its time, and I loved that; I thought the pace was just perfect. Even though they were each with other people to start, there was no doubt they were meant to be more than that. I listened to A Long Time Coming with a HUGE smile on my face the whole time. If I could hug this book I would!