More Than Friends

Friends Series – Book 2

Mature YA Romance

By Monica Murphy

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Paperback: Amazon

Synopsis:

He’s not perfect, but he’s all I want…

I’m your average girl at your average high school, trying to figure out my place in life. After catching my now ex-boyfriend messing around with my now ex-best friend, I’ve made some big changes. No more band, no more backstabbing friends and no more boring old life. Now I have new friends, a new job and new interests.

But there’s a certain someone who’s interested in me, and I don’t get it. Jordan Tuttle could have anyone he wants. He’s the most popular boy in school. Rich, gorgeous, smart and the star quarterback, he’s perfect. Yet he acts like he wants no one else but…me.

So despite my fears and doubt, I let him get close. Probably too close. I discover that he’s not so perfect after all, but it doesn’t matter. I’m falling for him, even though he runs so hot and cold. I know someday he’s going to break my heart.

And I’m going to let him.

Michel’s Review

Series Review

The Friends Series by Monica Murphy is Mature YA.  There is some sexual content. I would recommend this series to ages sixteen or older…..

Welcome to the world of the new breed of teenagers.  While this new breed of teenagers seems a little more worldly, completely jaded, conscientiously immoral, and emotionally stunted, they are still normal teenagers in regards to emotional maturity and growth development.  What has changed is the world in which they are becoming adults in.  As a mother of two teenagers, one a junior in high school and the other a freshman in college; I have witnessed and dealt with very similar situations that come about within this series.  Monica Murphy has captured today’s new teenager and put their teen drama in words that keep the reader captivated in their world.

Today’s new breed of teenagers differs from our generation because of the technology and social media age.  They have access to too much information through technology. Because of social media they no longer have to take responsibility of their actions and comments.  They can hide behind hashtags.  It’s a new form of bullying and self importance.

Their world is fast paced.  Most parents are busy working and tending responsibilities.  Others are self absorbed and leave their children to tend their own business.  They rely on technology as a source of keeping their children occupied outside of school.  Parents have been taught to give their children better lives than they had themselves when they were younger.  The result has become astonishing.  Kids today have everything from phones, computers, tablets, gaming systems, and every other conceivable gadget on the market.  They are given cars the moment they become licensed to drive because it makes life more convenient for all of the family members.

 These kids have not been taught to earn their way except for the grades they earn in school.  When they struggle with school, we become helicopter parents and make their way easier.  We expect them to excel but don’t allow them to fail. Some parents take the other route and treat their children as business transaction.  They pay them to excel, they give them money to entertain themselves, they use money as a motivator for obtaining success.  They do not allow them to fail.

The result is the new breed of teenagers trying to grow up too fast.  They are still not emotionally mature enough to handle a lot of situations they get themselves into.  Their world depends upon social media to validate them as individuals.  Somewhere along the way these kids have a crash and burn crisis they can’t handle.

I know I am not the perfect parent.  My kids are not the perfect teenagers.  We have had our own very real teenage dramas in the family.  I am sure there are more to come.  The one thing I have learned along the way is to take everything in moderation, set better examples, and communicate better.

They will become adults.  They will learn how to deal with real life.  They will go through the same journey to maturing and becoming emotionally stronger.  They too will become parents of teenagers.

Monica Murphy has captured the heart of the teenage world.  She brings their dramas to life and portrays them with complete realism.  She also brings the modern day family dynamics into the mix which makes this series become more than a young adult romance.  Each of the characters within this series has a story to tell, lessons to be learned, and maturity to be developed.  They are very real teenagers. I could easily see this series becoming a television series or movie.

The series begins with One Night.  This novella introduces the characters in this series.  It begins at a early summer party at Jordan Tuttle’s house.  What happens at the party changes the direction of every one of the characters lives in their senior year of high school.  Friendships are broken.  Lives are going in different directions.  New relationships begin to develop.  Social statuses are changing.  Individuality is starting to emerge.

One Night is the perfect opening to the Friends series.

***

Just Friends is the first book in the series.  It is loaded with drama.  A love triangle that tears apart three life long friends.  Each of these three people go separate directions in their senior year.  They are all struggling with the loss of their tight knit friendship as well as dealing with emotional feelings.  Their behaviors are destructive in many ways.  Their use of social media becomes a battle ground for bullying.  Rather than dealing with the situation that tore their friendships apart and their own emotional deficiencies, they make poor choices that could hurt them more.  They also begin to become individuals rather than molding themselves to fit within the friendship trio.

The end result has not played out.

One has chosen a new love interest that may not be the right person for her. His lack of commitment and notorious reputation are questionable.  On one hand he seems perfect but not quite right.  She is still pining for the boy that betrayed her. On a positive note, She has also developed a new friendship that is a good influence in her life.

The other girl has gone off the deep end and into the wild zone.  She is starving for attention.  She feels she has to be competitive with her former best friend.  At the same time she is reeling from the loss of the two friends that always cared about her.  She’s become the girl with the worst reputation in school.  She has isolated herself by her actions.

The boy in the middle has made very poor choices that led to losing a friend and losing the girl he has always wanted.  He let his hormones make his decisions.  Now he’s going through his senior year without his two best friends and is dating a girl he really doesn’t like.

The teenage drama was in full motion.  Where it will lead is questionable.  The semester has barely begun.

***

More Than Friends goes in another direction and focuses on two other characters within the Friends series.  This one features the popular football star that everyone wants to know and the shy band girl that was betrayed by her boyfriend and best friend.

They have both existed in different social worlds within high school.  While one has been the center of attention the other has content in her own social circle.  One seems like he has everything because he’s rich, popular, and has parental freedom.  The other seems like she has nothing because she’s smart, middle class, and a band geek.  The truth of the matter is she is more emotionally stable than he is.  She has a more rounded life.

After catching her boyfriend with her best friend, she is tossed into a new direction her senior year.  She has left band and is determined to become involved in other school activities.  The most popular boy in school wants to date her.  He is out of her social realm and has a very questionable reputation.  He’s determined to win her heart.  She’s afraid of giving him too much of herself.  She’s been hurt before and doesn’t know how to deal with his social status.

He has always kept himself separate from the school population.  Sure he’s the most popular guy but that is because he plays football and throws epic parties every week.  He’s never allowed anyone to get close to him.  Girls are expendable.  The guys from the team are just people he has to play nice with.  One girl has always had his attention and now she’s on his playing ground.  He is going to get the girl.  The problem is once he gets her can he keep her?  He doesn’t know how to play well with others.

I absolutely loved this book.  Both of these teenagers were dealing with very real issues in their lives.  They both lacked confidence within themselves.  They both had emotional maturing to do.  They both were perfect for one another but didn’t know how to open themselves up and become vulnerable.

Their story is unresolved…

I can’t wait to see what direction their lives go as the school year progresses.

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The Friends Series

One Night

Prequel To Friends Series

Free: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Synopsis

ONE NIGHT is a FREE prequel to my new YA novel JUST FRIENDS, available now!

There’s a party over at Jordan Tuttle’s house tonight and everyone is there. Including…

Olivia: Who’s leaving for her dad’s house in Oregon tomorrow. So she plans on having the time of her life tonight with her best friends.

Dustin: Who wishes Livvy could see just how much she means to him.

Emily: Who’s trying her to best to get with someone. Anyone.

Cannon: Who has an encounter with Em he won’t be able to forget.

Amanda: Who’s finally ready to go all the way with her boyfriend.

Tuttle: Who discovers the girl he’s always secretly liked just might like him back.

Warning: This story contains mature sexual situations and is suited for a 17+ audience.

(ONE NIGHT is also published on Wattpad)

Just Friends

Friends Series – Book 1

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Synopsis

“Drama, drama, drama – you know you love it! And Monica brings it in this super sexy and refreshing, un-put-down-able YA!!” Rachel Van Dyken, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

With friends like these…

It’s the end of summer. Just before I start senior year with my two best friends in the whole world. Dustin and Emily are everything to me. We’ve been inseparable since middle school, and when we’re together, nothing can go wrong.

But things aren’t always what they seem. Em’s turned into a drunken mess who parties too much. Dustin and I have hooked up a few times—and now he’s ready to take our relationship to the next level. Yet I’m not sure I want things to change. I’m scared if I take it any further with Dustin, our friendship will be ruined forever. Then there’s Ryan. The new guy. He’s hot. He flirts way too much. And Em has totally set her sights on him.

So when my best friend betrays me in the worst possible way, guess who’s there to help me pick up the pieces of my broken heart? Ryan. But he’s so confusing. Annoying. Sweet. Sexy. I want to trust him, yet he makes it so hard. What I really want is for everything to go back to the way it was before.

Before I found out that best friends make the worst kind of enemies.

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I write books. I have the best job ever. New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Writer of new adult contemporary romance-ish stuff. Published with Avon and Bantam. Mom and wife. Native Californian.

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