When I got this advanced copy, I read the first in the series ("Ten Rules for Faking It") and I loved it. Naturally I expected to absolutely love this addition to the Jansen brothers tales, but it kinda fell flat.

Wes is and has been my favorite Jansen brother, but his story just didn't do it for me. The storytelling was choppy and a little too non-linear. The month-to-month time jumps were fine, but I felt like every time we jumped, it was a whole new story. I absolutely loved Hailey's relationships with everyone; they were all so fun to read about! I just couldn't seem to get over the randomness of it all. Although this could be simply me having terrible comprehension as I haven't seen many others report feeling this way.

Overall, I think it was a fun, light-hearted read. Wes is a hunk, a perfect balance of nerdy and moody, while Hailey is so girlboss and driven in a way that wasn't annoying or overdone. I would definitely still recommend this to people!

(Side-note: Everly and Chris' wedding in the epilogue absolutely wrecked me and I think I may have shed a tear or two. So sweet.)

Really enjoyed reading this book. It was so different from all the books I usually read.. And the characaters had so much chemistry.

Sophie Sullivan writes very sweet books, but I just didn’t enjoy this one as much as the other two in this series. It dragged on a little too long for me, but it was still a cute read.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a slow burn, friends to lovers story. There were cute elements to the story and if you enjoy a clean romance, this may be for you. Unfortunately I had a hard time connecting with these characters and the miscommunications. The business aspect to me did not feel realistic based on my experiences.
Thank you St. Martin's Griffin for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

.It's a very cozy and cute read and for those who love smut, it's very light on it, like it can't really be considered YA because it mentions some less lighter steam but it's not totally adult! It could be considered like NA? I think so, at least.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It's the first book I finished in one sitting IN MONTHS! If that doesn't tell you something, then I don't know what does! Except maybe for the epilogue... 😍 That was the cutest thing!

After a very rocky relationship and messy break-up, Hailey has decided to finally put herself and her dreams first. She has recently opened up her own salad shop, By The Cup, and although it is a lot of work, she is incredibly excited to prove to the world that she can so this!

Wes, the oldest of his siblings, has also recently moved out to California to start a company with his two brothers. Having grown up with a manipulative and controlling father and a broken home, Wes has learned to plan out almost every aspect of his life in order to keep himself and the people he loves safe.

When Wes and Hailey meet by chance, they are an unlikely pair. Hailey's carefree and expressive nature is quite the opposite of Wes' reserved and measured demeanor. But they quickly become friends, despite and because of their differences. The closer they get, the more it becomes apparent that they will need to decide if they are just friends or if they are so much more than that.

I fell completely in love with this story! This has to be one of my new favorites! Wes and Hailey had such a fun and heartwarming dynamic. The character development was truly wonderful. I found myself completely immersed in this world, wanting to be friends with all of the main characters. And funny enough, I didn't realize that this is the last book in a series! (Now I know the next two books I will be purchasing. 😍)

I would definitely recommend reading this one! Thank you @netgalley and @authorsophiesullivan for the advanced egalley!

#aguidetobeingjustfriends #netgalley #romcom #romance #friendstolovers #sophiesullivan

I loved this book!!! I recommend it if you love friends-to-lovers!

The only thing that I disliked was the amount of cursing in it.

A slow burn that burned slowwwwwly, and never really peaked. This is why I tend to be picky about friends to lovers plots, and this was one that just didn't quite hit. The idea for the book was fun, and the characters were cute, but we never really got that spark which truly makes a romance-worthy swoony read.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a sweet, slow-burn rom com.

While the salad shop itself, with all due respect, was as exciting as a salad, the interpersonal relationships made up for it. As an entrepreneur, I loved the gumption, heart and dedication that the FMC, Hailey endures. There is so much sacrifice and mental gymnastics involved and I have so much respect for both the writer and the character for pursuing this path.

Her relationship with Wes is really sweet and I love how much people showed up for her in moments of need or pure thoughtfulness. I LOVE a friends to lovers and multi-POV. I love when writers use storytelling to unpack and unravel real-life adversity/trauma/baggage, etc.

As far as the writing itself, there were moments where I considered DNFing as it didn't feel like it had as much depth as I would have wanted. I put it down several times with an eye roll. Despite the real-life adversity Hailey and other characters have faced, it had all the right ingredients, it just felt like it missed the mark for me personally. I do believe that many other readers will absolutely *love* this book.

I really wanted to love it, perhaps I am just not the right reader/audience for this book. It distilled down to the salad shop, having not read prior books in the series and some minutia.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A GUIDE TO JUST BEING FRIENDS by Sophie Sullivan

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-arc! This book is out now!

SUMMARY:
Hailey opened a new salad cup shop- fun twist on salads, which is sure to be popular in healthy California. However, progress is slower to start than she originally thought, but it doesn't deter Hailey. She meets the Jansen brothers and immediately connects with them and their surrounding friends and family. Eldest brother Wes Jansen and Hailey click immediately. Both are career goal oriented, and they swear to stay friends, setting boundaries but adding to each others lives in ways they never knew they were missing.

MY THOUGHTS:
I think that all romances should be like this! It was perfect length that I didn't get bored (like I do with a lot of romances!) and the pace was quick enough that I was in the story and never focused on the little % down at the bottom of my kindle.

The romance between Wes and Hailey was sweet and simple and definitely a slow burn. You just know they're going to fall in love, even though they're swearing it off. The guide they were creating (pretty minimal plot point) was cute too.

I read this one and HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR, but I haven't read TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT yet. So while the brothers all pop up in the books, it's not necessary to read them as a series!

Absolutely loved this book. I was hooked start to finish. I cannot wait to read the other two that came before this. I was in love with the characters and couldn’t put it down.

📖 A GUIDE TO BEING JUST FRIENDS by Sophie Sullivan

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

♥️This is a cute and fun friends-to-lovers romance but a tad slow-paced for my taste. I liked the main characters Hailey and Wes, and especially liked their friendship (their banter was super cute). I love that Haliey opened her business! 🥗


Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sophie Sullivan for this ARC.💖

A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan

I feel like I’ve been reading a lot of friends to lovers books lately! Is this the new “in trope” currently? I’m not complaining…I’ll read all the love tropes 😂 except miscommunication. Get out of here with that nonsense.

This was a cute book. I wasn’t wowed or sucked into it, but it was an easy read. It’s one of those middle of the road books. It didn’t disappoint, but it also won’t stick with me for very long.

I did love the way they met and the fact that Hailey never cared about how rich Wes was. I understand that Wes loves helping the people he cares about, but he also needed to respect that sometimes people want to do things on their own without his money…so that irritated me.

Overall, read it if you like light on the spice, friends to lovers, women business owners books ☺️

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the arc in exchange for my honest review! 💜

I couldn't put it down and I didn't want to. This book lived up to every ounce of hype that I had experienced for it. This book is beautifully written; a gripping storyline with strong characters. It ticked all the boxes of my expectations. I would definitely recommend it to others.

This was an okay rom com. It was a little too cutesy for me. I'm realizing I'm not a fan of this trope, so it was hard to get through.

I liked this one just didn’t love it. Characters felt shallow. It felt a little long and drawn out. Thanks so much for the Opportunity to read and review this!

Thank you Netgalley and Sophie Sullivan for gifting me a copy of A Guide to being Just Friends in return for my honest review.

3.5/5

This is a very sweet friends to lovers romance. Hailey and Wes are both new to San Verde having moved their for a fresh start. Neither are looking for a relationship but they end up striking up a friendship. I enjoyed their relationship with each other and how they each grew to learn to love and trust again.

One area that I wish was stronger was the chemistry between Hailey and Wes. While at some point of the story I started to see the chemistry i would be disappointed that it didn't continue with it. I was really hoping for more of the butterflies/excitement that would have pushed this book into the wonderful category.

I loved reading about Wes and his relationship with his brothers, it was wonderful to learn and see their relationships grow. I am a sucker for a close family dynamic and this one did not disappoint. I also like the relationships that both character created outside of their own friendships. It was one of my favorite parts of the book.

This is a very cute friends to lovers romance that was a fun read. I can see why others have given it 4/5 stars but for me I was left wanting more.

Hailey sharp has herself focused on just one thing: to get her new salad shop-Get By the cup off the ground and running and nothing can stop her. Wes Jansen does not get all the fuss when it comes to relationships and at this point, he would rather find someone he just likes and will not love. Wes and Hailey have a disastrous meet cute and were not even supposed to a meet cute, but this strikes up a friendship between the two. Could it become more than a friendship?

When I finished A Guide to Being Just Friends on audio, I went onto Goodreads to mark it as read and rate it, but to my surprise I found out that this is the third book in the Jansen Brothers series.

I started to wonder if I felt like I was thrown into a story with characters and references hat I was missing due to not reading the first two books.

I went to see what the first two books were, but guess what?! I actually read the first two books. Book 1: Ten Rules for Faking it was rated 2 stars by me and I rated book 2:
How to love your Neighbor 3 stars.

With both books, I said that I could not connect with the characters and that I found the characters to be annoying and unlikeable. Then, I said that the chemistry between the characters were lacking.

When it comes to this book, I have to say that all the other issues I had with the first two books, is the issues I have with this book too. I think it is safe to say that Sophie Sullivan’s books are not for me and that I sadly find these books to be forgettable.

a guide to just being friends starts off with the perfect rom-com set up of mistaken identity in a coffee shop turning into a relationship of hostility and suspicion before morphing into a friendship with undertones of more. when a barista writes the wrong name on a coffee order, wes mistakes hailey for a blind date that doesn't come to fruition. the rocky start blooms into a supportive friendship and grows into much more.

what i enjoyed about the book was the supportive circle that surrounds both wes and hailey — whether in the form of friends or relatives, each of them have people in their lives that want the best for them and vice versa. it's that supportive group that helped endear me to both characters individually. wes and hailey grew closer over the course of the book, with the underlying heat and desire they had at the start only building in a slow burn that culminates at just the right time in the story.

what i wish i could have enjoyed more was hailey learning to toe the fine line of her own pride and healing from the hurt she endured from her past without placing it upon wes. given wes knew very little about her past relationship and had his own perceptions of what a healthy romance looked like, whenever he would attempt to show affection in the form of gifts, it was met with anger rather than understanding. whereas, hailey felt he should automatically understand without having any information or knowledge.

it almost became frustrating the longer it was used as a conflict between the pair, as it never felt as if they confronted it. those misunderstandings were later used in the third act, which made for more frustration as the reader. i also believe wes' issues concerning relationships was allowed to go on for too long and despite his honesty with hailey about such, was then used against him. though it eventually turns into a happily ever after, it became quite a hurdle by that point and rushed in terms in its solution.

a solid romance that had more fun than frustrations, i would still recommend as the supporting characters really made for a great story.

This is a sweet, clean read of friends who fall in love. There was not a lot of depth or conflict, so I would recommend it as an easy, lazy-day read. The characters are likable and the secondary characters stand out. I felt like there were a couple parts of the plot (their work with the teens for one) that could have been taken deeper but weren't, which is why I didn't rate the book higher.
It's the final book in a series, but I was able to follow everyone's relationships without having read the other books.
I received this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts are my own.