REVIEW – Maybe This Time by Chantal Fernando

Title: Maybe This Time
Author: Chantal Fernando
Series: Maybe #1
Release Date: January 20, 2014

Moving in with my half-brother Xander, I had no idea what to expect.
But nothing could have prepared me for this.
My brother’s friends are wild, protective, secretive, always around.
And drop dead gorgeous.
Out of all of them, there’s something about Reid Knox.
Brooding, temperamental, guarded…
And I want him more than anything I have ever wanted in my life.

Maybe This Time is Summer and Reid’s story. Summer moves in with her half-brother Xander, who is determined to make her feel a part of the family. His friends are constantly present in his life and home. Dash, Ryan and Reid are an interesting and intense bunch and it was obvious from the start that they were going to be a handful. As Summer tries to adjust to her new life and having her father around again, she and Reid find it harder and harder to resist the pull between them.

I’ll admit I’m a huge fan of stories where our leading lady falls for her brother’s best friend. I loved Xander and Summer’s relationship, even when it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. They grew up in completely different worlds and it made their sibling relationship more complex and intriguing. From what I could gather, Xander and his friends are members of his father’s MC. My biggest problem with this story was that we hardly see any of the MC life. There is mention of questionable dealings and the obvious hierarchy but for the most part we are left in the dark about the world Summer has just become a part of and it makes it difficult to really connect with and understand what her character is going through.

Reid had all the potential of a damaged alpha/MC man. There were moments throughout this story where I really fell hard for him. More often than not I wanted to slap him across the face. This isn’t always a bad thing but without the context of what was happening with the MC, his actions were more difficult to accept and understand. I loved the dialogue and the back-and-forth between characters. Summer, Xander, Reid and Ryan always seemed to have something snarky and hilarious to say to each other. Their interactions were probably the best part of this book for me.

All in all I enjoyed Maybe This Time. It was a fairly quick and interesting read. If you’re looking for the typical filthy, hot MC read, however, this isn’t that book. The main outline of the book and the characters have a ton of potential and I liked them enough to keep reading, but the details of the storyline need a little elaboration in my opinion. I will still read the next book in this series, because I need to know more about these characters and I’m hoping that the story will develop a little bit more in the next novel.