Jilted Jaren: Foster Brothers book 1::: Nora Phoenix

I truly think that series is criminally slept on. THE FOSTER BROTHERS series is about four guys who grew up in a Chicago group home together and aged out. They de ided to become their own family, and they all changed their names to FOSTER.

Book one is Jaren's story. Jaren is jilted at the altar, the night before his wedding. The person delivering the news? The bride's brother, Reid. Reid, who has always had a thing for Jaren and distanced himself to protect his own heart.

Swoomn factor eleven over here people.

Jaren and Reid are "opposites" - with Reid being the more spontaneous and charismatic one and Jaren is the thoughtful and considered one. Reid is a tattooer, and Jaren is an accountant.

Oh! Jaren had always considered himself straightish, but he was never really attached to a label. I loved how he approached this new unexplored part of himself. It felt authentic without a lot of panic, which does sometimes happen,  but not always. 

This is a pretty quick story of Jaren learning to be himself and work through some of his past trauma. Reid had to be patient, but that wasn't a hardship given his love for Jaren.

Like most Nora Phoenix books, I liked how real these two felt. They communicated so well with each other it just made so much sense for them to get on so well.

This was a reread for me, I never reviewed it the first time I read it. I very much enjoyed the romance, but my favorite part is the relationships between the brothers. Their Friday night dinners. Their FaceTime calls. The way they make decisions with each other.

I was scrolling last night instead of reading and found the text from the second slide on a reel. I immediately thought of this series and thought, FUCK IT, I'm gonna rearrange my reading plans. Surely, I can read this series and still have time for my Himbo Hitman arc. 😂😂😂 being a mood reader is WILD.