Just Good Friends (Escape to New Zealand 2) - Rosalind James

The Book
Release Date: 30 August 2012

Some bets were made to be lost.

Kate Lamonica isn't Koti James's type. Too small. Too dark. And heaps too much work. So it's an easy bet that he can be her friend for six weeks without making a move on her, no matter what his mates would have said.

Kate can't believe she's made the bet at all. New Zealand had seemed like the perfect escape from the stalker who'd threatened first her peace of mind, and then her life. She certainly doesn't need any more trouble. Why on earth has she agreed to spend time with a Maori rugby player who's far too handsome and charming for his own good--and knows it? 

But there's more than one game Koti's good at playing...

My Opinion  3 STARS

Kate Lamonica has moved half-way across the world to get away from her ex-boyfriend who has been stalking her to the point that he know wants to kill her.  The only people who know she has gone to New Zealand are her parents and her friend Hannah who is helping her settle in.  Kate has sworn off men for the time being as she no longer trusts her judgement.  She is also tells people whats she sees and has been warned off Koti James from the beginning.

Koti James is a players of the Blues and wants to be a player of the New Zealand All Blacks. He immediately butts heads with Kate when she says that he has no female friends that are not family or already married.  They lay down a bet that he cannot be just friends with her, he will have to wear a pink hoodie if he loses of which she is sure he will win.

They start off slow just swimming once a week together and learning about each other.  Soon he is teaching her how to surf and they are doing other physical activities in which they both start to really fancy what they see and what they find out about each other.  Kate finds hidden depths in Koti that she didn't think a man like him would have.

Kate tells Koti of why she left America and how be became violent and that he is still looking for her.  Their friendship soon takes over into a love affair in which they are both infatuated with each other especially their slightly kinky sex, which works for them both.  

When Koti doesn't get what he wants with the All Blacks he starts shopping around, and Kate only finds out by colleagues.  Deeply hurt that Koti has said nothing she breaks up with him and the break up is made public in the national paper.

Later that week Kate goes to leave for her weekly swim when she is attacked by her ex-boyfriend.  It is of course Koti that comes to the rescue.  

We get a nice happy ending however just like in the first book it is filled to bursting with details about New Zealand and its Māori history and rules of the game of Rugby which can get to be too much and to be honest i started to wonder if i would really miss much if i skipped those parts.  As in the first book i would say that the book tries too hard in selling New Zealand rather than be the romance novel it is supposed to be.

TBR