A Guide to Being Just Friends is a sweet and charming contemporary romance. Honestly didn’t realize this was part of the series, but this felt like a standalone. This series is surrounded around the handsome Jansen Brothers with this one being all about Wes. He’s upright, analytical and afraid of falling in love. Which he then becomes conflicted along the way as he meets a beautiful, fun and bubbly new to town Hailey. They meet during a fun meet cute moment and decide to continue as friends, but the more time spent with one another it’s harder to keep the friendship pact. I always do enjoy a friends to lovers, but this one was definitely a slow burn. This was fun and an easy read I would definitely consider going back and read the other 2 in the series. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins press for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am now craving salad! I really enjoyed the first half of this book. But Hailey and Wes both started grated on me. They had so many hang ups and weird feelings about things. I do not believe they would ever really be able to move past that without serious therapy.

I’m not a super fan of the “strangers to insta love” / “omg bffs” it’s a weird one for me and this was a cheesy cutesy just that sorta trope.

DNF at 22%. This is the second book by the author that I’ve DNF’d so I think her writing just isn’t for me.

For someone that didn’t read the first 2 books in this series (oops), I didn’t feel like I was missing out on much! Overall it was a cute read, a little quirky, but fun.

This book was one of the cutest romances I have read all year!I loved getting to know the characters and could truly feel the love that they had for one another. I would recommend this one to all my romance lovers who love slow burn and banter. You definitely have to pick this one up!!

Hailey Sharp wants nothing more than to get her sandwich shop off the ground and forget about her not so kind ex boyfriend with no distractions. Wes Jansen also has a one track mind and that is work, with no time for dates that don't meet the mark. When the two form a friendship (with lots of chemistry) they try their best to stick to a just friends attitude - but the universe might have something different in store!

I absolutely LOVED these characters and I know that it is the third out of the Jansen Brothers series and I am so happy I came across this read. I will definitely be adding the other two to my list.

The characters were all lovable and the plot very relatable as I feel that many people have been in a situation where they are trying to be friends and the universe has other plans. It's light and fun and I'm excited to read more from Sophie Sullivan!

It was okay. I only finished it because I’d received an eARC to review. I switched to the audiobook and it was a lot easier to swallow. A lot just seems absurd about the premise I guess. A salad shop named “By the Cup” sounds like a terrible premise for a business. Salad in a cup and no other menu offerings but it does well enough to expand into a food truck as well within a couple years 🥱

Wes and whatever-her-name-was were not an exciting couple to read or cheer for. I liked Wes. He was a decent lead character but whatshername was just blah for me. It felt like a young person writing about older people and it just didn’t come across well to me. I didn’t like it. But I finished it. Hailey? Maybe that was the girls name. I literally just finished the book and can’t remember. That’s how boring this book was to me I guess.

Would not recommend.

What a darling book! I love a good friends to lovers/strangers to lovers story! This was adorable, swoonworthy and funny!

I feel like I have to be mean when I say this. But this book is boring. I love Sophie. And I loved the first two. And a good friends to lovers have such promise I was just BORED. And I couldn't get behind the salad shop. And I just felt like we didn't see much of their friendship. I dunno. I would put it down and FORGET IWAS READINF IT. Bc I was so bored 😭

I am never let down by Sullivan's work. I also love how this is part of a "series," but each book can be read as a stand alone. I think I have read two out of the three books.

Wes and Hailey had great character development throughout, from their personal issues to issues stemming from career, family, and friends. I loved how they were individuals that were given full attention throughout the story and I didn't have to fill in any plot holes or make my own assumptions. These two decide to be just friends and create their own small (not fully discussed in the book) manual to being just friends and nothing more. It had a meet cute from the start as well. I think I struggled a little with the different cliches that went with the trope of "just friends" and how it played out with the emotions of each individual character.

Sullivan's writing allows for there to be emotions, romance, spice, humor, love, and tenderness all at the same time. This story was effortlessly told and was honestly a quick and cute romcom. I really enjoyed this one!

A sweet romance that is reminiscent of Sophie Kinsella novels. Sullivan's prose is quick and delightful to read. Her characters are distinctive and easy to root for. A fun, easy read.

This was my first book I had read of these interconnected stand alones and it was cute. The mentions of the characters made me want to read the others (and made me wonder if I’d like them more than this couple)

Slow burn? Friends to lovers? Check and check.
Chatter and quips were cute.
Hailey’s unwillingness to accept help or anything from Wes was annoying, but it made sense with her back story for the most part. Same with Wes and his refusal to admit his feelings.

DNF. The writing just isn’t there. And the characters are flat and bland. I couldn’t force myself to keep going.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I ended up DNF'ing this one relatively early! It did not gel with me, and I had not previously realized this was part of a series with previous books.

This series has meant everything to me. The Jansen brothers are so different and Wes was always the one I wanted to read about so much. I was not disappointed. Grumpy isn't the name for it. He just never saw the point and I loved his growth!

I did not know that this was part of a series when I started reading it, however I still really enjoyed it!! It was a super cute read with good banter (which is a favorite for me in books!).

Hailey Sharp moves to LA and opens a salad shop and is struggling. She accidentally bumps into Wes at the coffee shop next door to her business. Wes mistakes her for his blind date. They end up seeing each other a bunch. Wes and Hailey then decide to be just friends. 🙄

This was a cute romance. I listened to the audiobook and loved the narration. The writing sucked me in. I'm becoming a big fan of the author. I was able to read this as a standalone. But will definitely be going back to read the rest of the series.

I'm not the biggest fan of the slow burn trope but this was a cute romance that had some LOL moments. I read this not realizing that this was the third book in a series - I didn't feel like I missed much while reading, but I wish I would've known so I could've read those two first!

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend to someone as a quick and easy palette cleanser read.