Just Friends is a light and easy friends-to-lovers story that proves true love is sometimes right in front of us.

Bea is a relatable character. She is the definition of a people pleaser, and although she wants to be happy, she’s far from it. As a 30-something, single woman, Bea is still trying to find her place in life. Sometimes she says the wrong thing, sometimes she makes mistakes or gets the wrong end of the stick and I liked that she wasn’t perfect.

But I felt so sorry for Peter! He was described as an ‘oddball’ but I don’t think he did anything that was particularly strange. And I don’t think the inability to dance makes someone odd. To me, he was quite charming and sweet – I actually liked him more than Bea. And the poor man was stuck in the friend zone, the most brutal place a person can be.

It took a while to get started and I really wanted to skim from the first few chapters. I constantly felt like I was waiting for a big moment, or for the chapters to really take off. The plot was lacking, and drifted between secondary storylines, a lot of the time I felt the focus on the romance was stolen by other aspects of Bea’s life. There were a few parts that I felt didn’t add to the book, and those pages could have been used to include more humorous dating adventures or loving moments between the protagonists.

The friendly dynamic between Bea and Peter wasn’t well established so I struggled to pick up on any chemistry between the two. The romance wasn’t intense enough for a dreamy relationship to mature. There could have been more groundwork on the friendship before feelings developed to make the pair seem more compatible. Bea seemed to dread his company more than she liked it, so I didn’t long for them to finally fall for each other. When it comes to friends-to-lovers stories, I like to root for the main couple from the start, but I didn’t get that with Bea and Peter.

I also found it anti-climactic which was disappointing.

I was reluctant to give up on Just Friends because I loved the premise, but even 80% of the way through, I wasn’t feeling the story. It was a relaxed and comfortable read, but not the book for me.

Story

In a strange twist of fate, found myself reading more contemporary novels during the Great Plague. The provided me with some sort of comfort in the hopes that life would return to normal. Just Friends was one of the books I read during lockdown, and I found myself enjoying it. 

The story was a bit wonky in my opinion, and the large time jumps sometimes confused me. For a story about friends to lovers, I felt like there wasn't enough interaction between the main character and her friend/love interest. Most of the story happened in the last 20% of the book, and the rest of the book felt like a regular slice of life story. 

During the circumstances which I read the book, I actually enjoyed the slice of life, but under normal circumstances, it would have been a bit boring. 

Writing

The writing was standard and had a nice flow to it, which made the book easy to read and follow. McCulloch has a simple yet elegant style that had me reading way past my bedtime. 

Characters

I have to admit that Bea annoyed me in the first half of the book. It seemed like her happiness depended too much on other people, and I'm glad she overcomes that by the end of the story. Peter was just a sweet cinnamon roll of a character and I loved every moment he appeared on the page. 

All in all, this was a quick, fun read that fans of the friends to lovers trope would enjoy.

I couldn't get on with this one. I'm not sure if it's the writing or the general story, but me and Just Friends didn't click.
I wasn't overly fond of the protagonist, Bea, and I felt a little disconnected with the plot and where it was going I just stopped caring so I didn't finish the book.
Peter was okay but I didn't find him particularly interesting or stand out.

Also the layout and format of the book was offputting that that's most likely because it's an ARC.

I did like this book and towards the end I found myself racing to find out what happens.

However, I feel it really picked up towards the second half of the book. I would have liked to have seen more of Peter and Bea's relationship in the first half. Establish them as firm friends as it felt like their close friendship was emphasised much more in the second half of the book.

Also - just a note I'm not sure whether it was just something that went wrong with my copy/kindle but I did find the format very odd. I know it's a early text for review but there were a lot of broken sentences etc where lines stopped mid sentence and started again below etc.

I received an ARC of this book a couple of days ago and haven't put it down since. It's just what I needed in this uncertain and scary times - witty, comforting and heartfelt without being schmaltzy.

I found Bea very relatable - I think we all go through spells (or, entire years in my case) where we don't know what we're doing, what we want or who we want it with. I found all the characters really well-written, fleshed out and easy to visualise; I could easily see this being made into a rom-com series and I would be HERE FOR IT.

It's easy to do this sort of trope wrong, as the "friends to more" storyline has been doing so many times - but in this case I thought it was a really strong debut by Holly McCulloch, I really enjoyed it and I thoroughly look forward to reading more of her work!

I struggled to get through some parts of this book, however, I loved others. Most characters in here were likable but I detested the main character Bea. I will definitely be looking out for more Holly McCulloch in the future.

‘Just Friends’ is Holly McCulloch’s incredible debut novel. Bea is sort of coasting through life whilst everyone around her is starting to get married and start families. We follow her disastrous forays into online dating, her attempts at taking yoga and attending that dreaded university reunion. The novel starts at her best friend Mia’s wedding where Bea ends up hiding in the background with her long time friend Peter, getting drunk enough to end up sobbing and wondering why she can’t find love. We follow these three friends as they cope with the challenges of growing up and moving on.
I adored this book, couldn’t put it down for a moment. Not since Bridget Jones have I loved a female protagonist so much. Bea was a mess and I wanted to be her best friend, I completely related to her and she felt so real. Although Bea went through some rough times that really affected her mood the overall tone of the narrative was lighthearted, casual and fun which made it so easy to keep turning the page. Humour is so subjective but it really worked well for me in this novel.
I hope this isn’t the last time we see these characters as I’m not ready to part with them and I’m dying to know what happens next!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House (Transworld Publishers) for an ARC of Just Friends by Holly McCulloch.

Just Friends was an easy read - enjoyable and well written. Although I found a few parts of the book a bit unnecessary (smear test...was that really needed?) I did appreciate how Bea was presented as a normal 30-something living an average life. I adored Peter’s character!

Friends to lovers stories are among my favourite and Just Friends is one I would recommend to friends.

Just Friends describes the friendship between Bea and Peter, who are there for each other whenever it’s needed.
Bea pretends to be happy most of the time for other’s sake and likes to help in any circumstances. But she soon realises that she forgot how to be happy herself because she hasn’t dated someone in a long time. This is when she decides to start seeing someone again and life her life. All along, Peter is there seeing women himself and trying to make it work, but he appears to not find the one either.
After a while, Bea realises that she may “fancy” Peter, but she doesn’t know how to manage those new feelings because she risks to lose her friend.
This book was a very quick read, the chapters were very short and there was no sexual tension between the main characters until the very last pages. There is no clue at the beginning that they may have hidden feelings for each other, and they treat each other as just friends, which makes the story not very interesting. The book ends too suddenly.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I received a free digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and given freely.

First i have to say that friends to lovers isnt my usual choice for romance i find the unbelievable ad lacking something undefineable... However i really liked the sound of this one.

I enioyed the character although I wasnt a fan of the constant downer internal monologue... I know why she thinks this stuff to herself however it all becomes a little unbelievable when she cant even give herself a small confience boost about anything at all.

I loved Mia's straight talk/bluntness and it sucka that she qent back to simpering so easily for someone who is supposedly very blunt...

I really liked Peter's character but sadly we didn't see a whole lot of him, which sucks, i would have liked to explore their dynamic more and see more of their interactions.

For me there waa sadly too much blabbering internal monologue and not a whole lot else... And the book was too long for the very abrupt ending, yes i got the happy ending but it seemed very rushed compared to the rest of the book.

A really nice feel good book, and a nice easy read! You can’t help but love each and every character - the ending was predictable from the start but loved it nonetheless.

I enjoyed this book so much. Its a romantic novel which tells the story of 2 friends Bea and Peter, who have known each other since uni, and whose lives are lived out as friends only. The story progesses well, the characters engender affection in the reader. It's a simple romance, well written and I recommend it to fans of light hearted reads.
Many thanks to the author publishers and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.

If you only read one bit of this review let it be this: Holly McCulloch is 100% an author to keep an eye out for.

Her story follows Bea, a 30ish year old single uninspired woman - she doesn’t know where she’s going in life or what she’s doing, not giving her all to anything - she’s a hot mess but a loveable one.

I don’t want to give too much away but she goes on such an incredible character journey finding who she is and her path in life that spoke to me on a personal level.
Sure it was friends to lovers (which might I add is basically my new favourite thing) but it was such a lovely tale of self discovery that I think everyone should definitely give it a read.

An easy 5* from me, no questions asked
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the ARC

I really enjoyed this humourous account of a year in Bea's life. She has a wide network of friends but decides she needs to date again, leading to misadventures with dry January and chilli injuries. Her job isn't much fun and her side business isn't going anywhere either. But there are changes on the horizon. Bea's wry observations about life in London, 'adulting', and office life made me laugh, and took the saccharine off the romance plotline.

Recommended.

I thoroughly enjoyed this light and happy read. I laughed along with Bea and felt every emotion alongside her. She is a great and believable character!

My only issue was the formatting - sentences split across lines, not clear sometimes who was saying what, text messages not clear - and it did distract me from the story a little.

Really enjoyed this feel good tale. I'm usually a thriller fan but this definitely put a smile on my face no matter how many times I wanted to bang Bea and Peter's heads together!

This book is lovely and, I’m sure that many of us are guilty of not being brave for fear of losing a friendship.

Bea is determined to get back in the dating saddle and, seeing as all her friends are attached, she sets about trying modern dating. From apps to speed dating with an occasional random hook-up, she finds no joy. Thankfully, she can rely on her closest friend from University, the ever loyal Peter.

I’m not one for spoilers but, the synopsis and the title hint heavily at the plotline and, knowing, doesn’t detract from this delightful yet saucy tale.

Bea represents all women who have found themselves single in a sea of couples. She is desperate to find her soulmate but, she’s terrified that, in doing so, she may damage the one friendship that she values more than any other. Peter is the guy that she needs to find the courage to take a leap of faith with.

If you enjoy honestly romantic stories, Just Friends is a sure thing and will leave you happy.

You know when you come across a novel and it speaks to you on a personal level? Well at times it felt Bea’s thinking was a reflection of mine.

Anyhow, Bea is a thirty something woman who realises she’s not actually happy. She has supportive friends, a stable job that she hates and a side card designing business that she’s not really doing much about. After her best friend’s wedding, as part of a New Year’s resolution she makes an effort to change things up and seek the happiness she feels all of those around her have achieved. One of the things she decides to go for, is putting herself back into the dating world.
Throughout the novel you will watch the highs and lows as Bea tries to make the best of what life throws at her, whilst learning a lot about her own person including the fact that maybe she already found the perfect someone without having realised it.

I loved Bea’s character and her growth and her little faults throughout. The characters were all well developed (even the dog Hugo!) and I enjoyed their supportive attitudes who would sometimes despite their best intentions, still cause some hurt. The writing was great; it flowed well and the pace felt even throughout the book. There were even a few moments that had me chuckling out loud. Never did the plot feel too over the top, in fact, it was downright authentic by managing to mirror life pretty well.

One thing that really bugged me though, was the formatting (I’m not sure if it’s just in the copy I’ve received from Netgalley) such as text messages being indistinguishable to the main text, a different font would have made so much difference. Another thing was the dialogue, and how it was written. Occasionally it would get a bit confusing as to who was saying what, and I would have to go back and try to figure it out, as it wouldn’t be made obviously clear. Lastly, it was too short - at least another chapter or an epilogue would have been amazing to tidy everything up, show how life for Bea was turning up after she decided to stop running from her problems. Some scenes could have been longer and if it were up to me I would have included slightly more interactions between Bea and Peter, as I loved their chemistry but just didn’t feel that they interacted all that much throughout the novel.

It was a lighter read and not often do I say that I ever choose to re-read those, but ‘Just Friends.’ is one I would like to keep on my bookshelf and revisit again.

I’ll admit that for the first half of the book I was really struggling to find any characters I liked, it wasn’t that the characters were unlikeable but I felt like the narration was slightly lacking. However, as I continued through the book, I fell in love with the main characters and was absolutely rooting for the couple. The ending was amazing but I almost wish the resolution happened earlier or there was an epilogue! Overall a feel-good easy read!

What do you do when your life is going nowhere fast? Procrastinate in the case of Bea. Stuck in a job she dislikes, making cards she loves but can't quit the day job, can't make enough money making cards and selling them in her free time.
Loyal friends from her university days make her feel cherished and despondent by turns. Taking up a dating challenge in an effort to get out of her rut and make changes.
Follow Bea on her journey, she will make you smile and laugh out loud whilst you cheer her on.
More to follow I hope in the life of Bea and her friends.