Book Review: "Friends With Benefits" By Lisa Swift

When you think of a story with a title of, "Friends With Benefits" what are your first thoughts?

Come on now- Your parents aren't watching....
Be real? If you answered some sexual activity than you're in the right spot for this one but it's not quite what you might've been thinking between our main two Lexie and Theo after her split from Daryl.

Sexual orientation for a 15 year old wasn't what was at the top of my list, how about you?
It's part of this mixture as these characters side step to find their spot in one another's lives.
Having grown adults act like adults is the key to this turning around for the best for all.

Nobody knows what life throws at us but we must be prepared for anything and Daryl is one of the worst men on the planet. Talk about absent parenting but when Connor's bio mom dies things start to take a new shape.

Some men need to play house while others build house. This is one of those cases in which the four walls aren't a home without the love, guidance, and support of a family. This doesn't mean it must be biological but it does mean that we all need to be appreciated, respected, and unconditionally loved.

Lisa Swift finds a way to incorporate every emotional rollercoaster into one heartfelt read that will have you applauding her efforts for showing all sides of this power struggle.

Yes, co-parenting is a struggle especially with divorces on the table and step parents who then decide to date or re-marry. It's quite an extended family in which it's best to try to be kosher and offer encouragement rather than constant negativity. Boundaries need to be set and stepped up if things get off track.

The story weaves in and out of the peaks and valleys of these relationships and I'm so glad that Theo had the ability to "Man-Up" and put Daryl in his place by asking the right questions and framing the responses in a sensible manner.

Common sense isn't always rationally provided in heated arguments so it's nice to see this worked out even if Connor went missing and explored the area only to end up in a location that was conducive to furthering this lovely ending.

Clearly, it appears everyone tried to have the best foot forward in terms of the young man but it didn't always work out in the manner.

This was a great read that was an eye-opener since I have teens that are from a divorced family and we do co-parent after their own father started dating prior to our separation and subsequent divorce.

This ending was perfect and I'm so happy for this couple.

Thank you to Lisa Swift, the pub, NetGalley, and Amazon Kindle for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.