GIVEAWAY: Win 1 of 3 copies of The Ski Weekend set in GEILO (Norway)
Friends to lovers romance set in SYDNEY
9th November 2026
The Next Round by Eva Frances, friends to lovers romance set in Sydney.
Andreia (Andie) Herrera is as sassy as they get. She has been easing her ex, James, out of her mind and is immersed in work. She runs kilometres and she has a group of supportive friends, including long time bestie, Kit. And when her high flying medic mum is in town, she lives with her as she flits between various medical sabbaticals and engagements.
At a dinner party, Chris Vaughn – Chief Operating Office of the Vaughn group and a friend from way back – happens to be a guest, and Andie is thrown off kilter because these two have history and the feelings are clearly still there.
And then Chris just happens to engage the PR company where Andie works to handle the campaign for a new restaurant opening on the North Shore. They already have establishments elsewhere in Australia, and they want a reshape of the family brand. Andie, of course, is just the person to reinforce and refresh it.
The story looks back several years when their paths first crossed, setting the scene for where they are both now.
There is plenty of back and forth, well observed dialogue, and there is genuine affection for the characters in the novel. There is plenty of bang for your buck because this book is longer than most in the friends-to-lovers romance genre (romcom) – a good 400 pages. And anyone who knows Sydney, will recognise the it.
It is perhaps worth mentioning that in the Epilogue, the POV is randomly from a very different character and because I had overlooked the voice, I got very confused. But once I understood the trajectory, I thought it made a nice ending.
A very nicely penned novel that bowls along, taking its readers on a good journey.
Under the listing for the book on various platforms, there are innumerable awards and short listings for prizes which is good to see.
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