Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: Calculated Chaos
AUTHOR: Mia Monroe
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 200 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 22, 2023
BLURB:
A weekend of discovery unlocks feelings I didn’t expect. Should we take a chance on love or return to the safety of friendship?
I’m a steady and responsible guy. I’m predictable, reliable… exciting, right? I guess some people might call it a rut. And by some people, I mean my friends and family. On the eve of my fortieth birthday, they stage an intervention. Traitors.
Led by my carefree best friend, Axel, I’m pushed into having fun (shudder), but I try to enjoy the experience for him. It’s all innocent enough until my purely platonic feelings for Axel start to feel like something decidedly more romantic. Which is weird since I’ve known the guy for thirty years… Did I mention we’re both straight? At least I thought we were.
A discovery like this requires thoughtful planning. My reputation for being the reasonable one might help us navigate our new reality. Our lives have been flipped upside down and I’m afraid we’ll make a mistake that we can’t fix. Will a little calculated chaos change our lives for the better, or will we go off the rails and lose everything that matters?
REVIEW:
Best friends trope, which I love very much, is Ms. Mia Monroe’s latest offering. It tells us about two best friends, Hollister and Axel, who have been best friends since they were really young and now they are both turning forty.
While Hollister works hard just so he could please his father, who is never please with him anyways, Axel has sold his business and is now at a loss as to what to do next. Now, Hollister 40th is coming up as well and his family decided to intervene in his workaholic lifestyle. With Axel leading the intervention, it began the weekend before his actual birthday. Hollister has never taken a day off, much less a vacation from work. He has always been there, responsible and predictable. With the surprises Axel planned for them, Axel never knows what he’s going to get exactly. Before long, Axel has gotten Hollister to take a day off and spending a stress-free birthday weekend with him.
Going through the different activities Axel planned for them to do, they both found out a little about themselves. They both love a little kink and discovering it with each other has also both realizing that they have feelings for each other, more than that of being friends.
I love how the story was written, low angst, friends who really talk to each other and willing to trust the other all the way. Which is a good thing because how else would they discover that they’ve love each other all this time. They have always been there for each other, through better or worse, ups and downs. I’d like to think that it was a natural progression but I believe that it was really love from the beginning which just grew and grew and became the all-consuming love they have for each other now that they are adults. And I think their families realized all this sooner than them.
Axel and Hollister complement each other and Ms. Monroe was able to show that in the activities that they do and how each feel about it. This book is well-written and if you are into low-angst, best friends trope then this is a book that you should read.
I am looking forward for more!
RATING: 
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