Three Little Words

Reviewed by Erin for Diverse Reader


Normally a best friends to lovers book is one of my favorites. The blurb for Allison Cassatta's novel, Three Little Words, hit all my buttons.



We've got the best friends, a bit of hurt/comfort, a firefighter, and a secret crush that's lasted for more than 20 years. Throw in a cute dog and a broken heart, and this one piqued my interest big time. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to my expectations.



This book suffers from many faults: a main character who isn't all that likable or sympathetic, a disjointed plot, over the top drama for drama's sake, and choppy writing just to name a few. I wanted to love this book, I really did. The beginning chapter opened up strong and gave me hope but then went downhill from there. It took until at least 65% of the book for Matt and Luke to get together. There was a one night stand for Matt that somehow wound up having the potential to be something serious. Matt's flip flopping between being angry at his ex, Brandon, which I'm still not quite on board with, to his long lived unrequited love for Luke that didn't stop him from sleeping with someone else ... I just couldn't get behind any of Matt's motivations.



Throw in a bizarre and unnecessary mention of a murdered brother which is never brought up again by Matt or his mother or his brother, and this book felt like it was all over the place. I did like Matt's brother, Mark, and Matt's time on the lobster boat was entertaining and different from the norm.



However this wasn't quite enough to save the book and unfortunately, this was a miss for me. But this definitely might be a case of it's me not the book, so if hurt/comfort and best friends to lovers is your thing, give this one a try and see what you think.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I have to thank the publisher for giving me a copy of it in exchange for an honest review via: Jessie G Book Blogs.

In this story, first we have Matt; the whole thing is from his point of view. He’s home from a business trip to find his partner of 5 years gone, leaving only a note and Matt’s dog. He broke Matt’s heart even though I think, if Matt really thinks about it; he probably didn’t care about him as much as he wanted to.

Yes, being betrayed hurts and I feel like Matt felt blindsided by Brandon’s leaving but a trip to New England to spend time on his brother’s lobster boat sounded like the perfect way to get his head together. His bestie Luke helped him move all his stuff out and into storage and we see a little something go on between Matt and Luke. See, Matt has been in love with Luke since he met him 20 some years back… Now; there’s a lot going on in this story, so bare with me. I found myself really gunning for Luke right off, what better way to start a relationship than having a 20 year friendship as a foundation… Genius right? I was also glad that Matt put a stop to it and wanted to do better by Luke than just some moment of weakness and curiosity. He wanted to be over Brandon first and he wanted to make sure this wasn’t something that could hurt their friendship… Responsible and I liked how that played out. So, Matt still takes the trip to see his brother and tries to get his head right.

Enter Aric; someone he met at on a pitstop while driving his new motorcycle from Tennessee to New England. They meet for a casual hookup and I think it goes a long way in helping Matt get over Brandon; or least get him off his mind… He was a good rebound and I’m glad he had that, but I felt bad for Aric, he was really there for Matt when he had a seriously much needed break down. He said that he wasn’t looking for anything serious; but I find myself hoping for him to have a story; I’d like to read more about Aric.

Now, normally, I’m not big on someone hooking up with someone else while pining for someone else…. BUT, I didn’t feel as though it was cheating, even though Luke made it clear that he was back at home waiting on Matt. I felt like Matt needed the “rebound” (for lack of a better term), to make sure Luke was what he wanted….. He was….. Still, he made some good friends on the trip I was glad to read about.

I also loved Matt’s family… His mom and brother were so supportive and loved him so much. I wish Luke had that, his parents were the complete opposite. I also adored Emma, I was glad to see Matt’s brother Mark find someone like her.

The parts I didn’t like….. What happened to Matt’s motorcycle when he hopped a plane to get back to Luke when he heard of the emergency? We never heard anything about it…. I know as much as he called it his “baby” and worried about it while he was with Mark on the open sea, I’d think he’d be worried about it once he got home.

Secondly, whatever happened with Mark’s kids? I know he’s having a baby with Emma, but what happened to fighting to get his kids back? Did he just forget them now that he’s having a new baby? I didn’t like that and I wouldn’t mind reading more about Emma and Mark either.
I was however, glad to see Luke’s mom come to her senses at the end and I absolutely adored the ending between Matt and Luke…Overall, I was really glad I read this one and I appreciate being given the chance! 4 stars from me!