Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  When We Were Just Friends

SERIES:  Italian Romance #4

AUTHOR:  Elen Chase

PUBLISHER:  Self Published

LENGTH:  280 pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 7, 2023

BLURB:

“You are the one thing in my life right now that makes sense”

Marco has one goal: break up with his not-quite sugar daddy by the end of the day. He’s determined to end it as much as the older man is determined to keep him under his thumb.

Luís is having a bad day. They usually know better than to stick their nose into other people’s business but when they hear the man at the next table patronizing his young boyfriend, they just can’t let it go and get involved in the worst possible way.

The fact that the young man looks vaguely familiar is certainly a coincidence. And the attraction between them surely won’t lead to anything. They could be friends at best. Just friends.

But do “just friends” look at each other like that?

Content warning:  the book includes depictions of narcissistic abuse, sexual assault, and attempted rape

REVIEW:

In this delightful novel, book four in Elen Chase’s wonderful Italian Romance series, Marco and Luis fall in love despite a number of obstacles, including the forbidden nature of their relationship and their feuding families: think of a modern day Hatfields and McCoys standoff. This romance is truly heartwarming.

We first met Marco as Roberto’s younger brother in the superb When We Were Sea and Stars. He’s attending university in Florence where he rooms with his cousin, Jenn, and the always high and highly entertaining stoner, Daniele. Unfortunately, Marco’s struggling to extricate himself from a toxic relationship with Nicola, a married, quasi sugar daddy. The egotistical jerk won’t take Marco’s attempted breakups seriously. Marco doesn’t like who he is with the manipulative bastard.

“This past year Nicola had turned me into his property… into something only he could ever bear with. Since I was stupid and useless, who’d want me? Was I destined to go back to him in the end? Did I even have a choice?”

Everything that could go wrong on the day Luis first encounters Marco has: among the mess, their bike was stolen, their dance academy is closed for the day, and their school exams and pending graduation are in jeopardy. This kind nurse and dancer from Argentina finds themself in a situation where they can’t control their anger and the result is a not so meet-cute with Marco. Luis is instantly attracted to Marco and the rest is history. Literally, since these two have long ago crossed paths. But can they maintain just a friendship, nothing more for now?

“He squeezed my fingers. “Until then… can we be just friends?”

I would be lying if I said that that didn’t hurt a little. But if that’s what he needed, there was only one answer I could give.

“Yes.”

He seemed to think about it for a moment. “Can we be just friends who don’t date other people?”

Oh. I grinned. “Yes.”

“Can we be just friends who don’t date other people and sleep in the same bed?”

“Only if I get to be the small spoon.”

If you’ve read my past reviews of the books in this series, you know I can’t possibly give Elen higher accolades than I have already. This book has everything I’ve come to expect from her: fantastic world building that so effectively draws me into the story; multi-layered character development among both the MCs and the supporting cast; and a romance that takes its time building strong emotion – essential for my enjoyment. The tour of Italy continues; this time she embeds her readers in the atmosphere of Florence and then back to where it all started in Marco’s hometown “somewhere between Naples and Sicily”. As for side characters, three of my favorites are lovely Alessandro (When We Were Out of the Ordinary) as Marco’s supportive friend and mentor, his brother, Roberto, and roomie Daniele who provides the humor.

Elen continues to represent different gender and sexual identities, which I see as an important and interesting component of her books. In this case, Luis is non-binary and Marco is contemplating whether he’s bi or pan.

I really hope the Italian Romance series continues – it’s one of my favorites – but frankly, I’d read the dictionary if Elen wrote it. If you enjoy books set in foreign locales, I highly recommend When We Were Just Friends and the entire series. Her characters are always endearing and her love stories always engrossing and entertaining. Highly recommended.

RATING:

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