Messing with My Brother’s Best Friends by Sam Hall

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What do you do when you run into the men who made your childhood hell? Move in with them, of course!

It was a decision made from one part desperation and one part need for revenge… I moved into their house, but they quickly moved into my mind every waking minute of every freaking day because they’re different than I remember.

Van was always the golden boy with a cheeky smile. Now that smile has a hungry edge that is saved just for me.

Gage was always tall and silent, but he’s a wall of hard muscle now and part of me wants to find out exactly how big.

And Connor? With those dimples and that cocky attitude, he’s got trouble written all over him.

Well, it turns out the joke’s on me. I might be the one engaging in juvenile pranks this time, but these three guys are determined to play the biggest prank of all. To get me back—in their lives, in their beds, in their hearts.

Messing with My Brother’s Best Friends

Bullies to Boyfriends: A Blueprint for Chaos

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚💜💙🩷❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋🙂☺️😘
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration

🦸🏼‍♀️ Heroine Spotlight: Kendall

Kendall’s resilience is quietly heroic. She’s been fending for herself since eighteen, juggling low-wage bakery work and a rotating cast of questionable roommates — including one with a compost habit best left unmentioned. Her housing luck hits rock bottom when she’s booted from her latest place after her roommates hook up, and the alternatives are grim: think metal shed with a porta-potty. Just as she’s ready to give up, a listing catches her eye — a room in a gorgeous house with a pool, shared by three men. Kendall’s skeptical (and rightly so), but her best friend Barbie nudges her toward the possibility.

🦸🏻‍♂️ Hero Spotlight: Van, Gage, and Connor

These three — co-owners of a construction company with Kendall’s brother Finn — are the kind of guys who can build a house from scratch and charm a neighborhood while doing it. They’ve kept one of their flipped homes for themselves, but past male renters were disasters. Their logic? Women are cleaner, better smelling, and less likely to leave pizza boxes in the pool. Enter Kendall — except she’s not just any woman. She’s the girl they tormented in childhood, the one they secretly pined for but couldn’t touch thanks to Finn’s protective big-brother edict.

📃 Plot Pulse

Kendall’s initial reaction is pure nope — these are her childhood tormentors, the pranksters who made her life miserable. But housing desperation and heartfelt apologies shift the dynamic. The guys own up to their past, and Barbie encourages Kendall to consider the setup — not just for the pool, but for a little poetic revenge. What unfolds is a slow-burn reckoning with old wounds, new chemistry, and the messy beauty of second chances.

💘 What Hit Home

• The emotional payoff of the guys’ long-standing crush on Kendall — masked by pranks, buried by loyalty to Finn — adds depth to their redemption arc.
• Their protectiveness during the reveal of their poly relationship is tender and affirming.
• The neighborhood drama post-reveal is hilarious and heartfelt, with families reacting like it’s a soap opera set in suburbia.

🧐 What Fell Flat

• The setup for needing a fourth roommate felt shaky. With three successful contractors sharing a mortgage, the financial logic didn’t quite land. A clearer explanation would’ve strengthened the premise.

🎧 Narration Notes

Sofia Lette and Djorje Swallow deliver a solid multiple POV experience, and their Australian accents add charm. Lette’s voice is smooth and expressive, while Swallow’s character differentiation could use polish — especially with a cast this large. A duet format might’ve elevated the emotional beats, but overall, the narration holds up well.

📝 Final Takeaway

This story blends humor, heartache, and heat with a heroine who’s earned every inch of her independence and three heroes who finally grow into the men she deserves. It’s a messy, sweet, and satisfying ride — with just enough chaos to keep things interesting.

Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|BookBub

View all my reviews