3.5 stars . This was a cute, quick read that was a modern day spin on When Harry Met Sally. Hailey, who owns a salad shop, runs out to the coffee shop next door, and Wes mistakes her for the date he is supposed to be meeting there, who ends up standing him up. They meet again when Hailey ends up delivering lunch to his office, and become friendly. After coming out of a bad relationship, Hailey is just looking for friendship, and Wes doesn't believe in long term love, so they set out on a strictly platonic friendship revolving around grocery shopping trips and movie marathons. Of course they eventually realize they do have feelings for each other more than just friends, and that's when things start to get messy, especially when Wes's business starts to interfere with Hailey's shop. At times Hailey could be a stubbornly prideful character which made her hard to like, and Wes was emotionally closed off due to the damage his parents' divorce inflicted on him at a young age. Third act breakups are always a frustrating trope for me, especially when they occur so close to the end of the story arc, so this one started off stronger than it finished for me, but I still enjoyed it. I didn't realize it was the final book in a series when I requested it, but it did truly read as a standalone so it didn't affect my ability to understand the situation at hand, and the former couples from previous books didn't really impact this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Hailey moves to San Verde, California after a bad breakup hoping to create a fresh start with her new salad business. There she meets Wes Jansen, and they become fast friends. Definitely just friends. Right?

Though this is the 3rd in a series with interconnected characters, I had no trouble reading it as a standalone. I actually wasn't aware it was in a series until I looked at other reviews.

This is an extremely slow burn friends to lovers story, magnified by the actually passing of time in the book. If you like those tropes, you'll probably like this book.

Overall it was a fun read.

Crossposted to goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5303113441

I really liked A Guide to Being Just Friends. I didn't realize when I requested this ARC, but this is the third book and final Jansen brother. I am also fan of friends to lovers (so that was two pluses before I even started:) and I wasn't disappointed. The strangers to friends start of the story is done well and I am always happy to get to see that happen and the connection grow into love as the pair become more and more 79important to each other. It helps that both of the romantic leads, Hailey and Wes, are likable -he's successful but with hidden arty and nerdy streaks (which are also my catmip). It was fun seeing Hailey getting her business off the ground and making new female friends too. Seeing past pairs was nice too, but I think this book still stands on its own even if you haven't read the other brothers' books since Wes is new to town.

So all in all a satisfying friends to lovers story.

ARC courtesy of the publisher, St Martin's Griffin, via NetGalley- this is an unpaid review release date 1/27/2023.

So cute!!!!

This book is one that will make you feel good and enjoy the journey. The meet cute was so adorable and you can't help but know something will come from it later. You'll want to root for them as friends, but really be rooting for them to become more. This is a dream situation for anyone who is single right now and is looking for that someone. Who doesn't want to fall in love with their best friend.

I especially loved how there wasn't all the drama of "if they would only talk." For Haley she does talk about her feelings so she is more upfront than Wes. I think it gives a good example of how people can feel and express their feelings in any kind of relationship. (Though I discovered I'm probably more of a Wes when it comes to feelings.)

I had forgotten I read about the Janson brothers before and so it was nice being able to start this book and feel like I didn't need to read the first two all over again. I'm sure if someone picked this one up without reading the first two it'll still make sense to them. It might make them intrigued to go back and read them. I know I'll be doing a reread.

I didn’t realize when I began this, that it was the third book in a series. I had previously read How to Love Your Neighbor, but this book can be read as a standalone. However, I did enjoy seeing all the brothers that this series follows, and learning more about what happened to the characters from the previous books.

I really liked the dynamic between Hailey and Wes. It was really fun to read. Their friendship was solidly built before the romantic elements started creeping in and it was nice to see it grow naturally. Overall, it was a cute rom-com, but didn’t have as much depth as I usually like.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin, and Sophie Sullivan for an e-arc of A Guide to Just Being Friends in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advanced readers copy of A Guide to Being Just Friends.

Overall I enjoyed this book and the story of the two main characters. I also enjoyed all the brothers and their relationships that were also tangled into the story. I rooted for both characters and their relationship and cringed when they made mistakes. It was a more accurate depiction of what falling in love looks like. I found at times that story did drag on, but only for more heartfelt moments to arise.

I rate this story at 4/5 stars.

To be blunt, I was bored while reading this book. I am a huge fan of the slow burn trope but nothing was burning here. It was luke warm at best. Hailey and Wes were good friends but I felt nothing more between them than that. I like to at least sense something simmering below the surface in my slow burns. Something to keep you reading because you're so anxious to see that chemistry finally boil over. But by the time that happened here, it felt very "meh" and I was just glad to be done with it, sorry to say.

I also was not aware going in that this book was the third book of the series. Even though it can be read as a standalone, I wish I had known about the prior two books because characters from those books appear in this one quite a lot and I felt like I was missing out.

Overall, not a great read for me but I wouldn't be opposed to trying something from this author again in the future.

This book was a roller coaster. Just when you think you Wes and Hailey are rocked solid you get thrown a curveball. It is a bit of a slow burn romance and friends to lovers. Just when you think they are about to cross over to lovers you get pushed right back to friends. I had a hard time putting the book down and when I did all I could think about was when I was going to pick it back up. I am sad that this series is over.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for an eArc of this book for my honest review. This review is my opinion and mine alone.

This was just an amazing tale! I absolutely devoted it! The characters. The storyline, everything was on point! Also it was a book that was the perfect read for January!

Well, this was cute and fun. And it had me grabbing my nearest notepad to scribble down those delicious sounding salad recipes! I loved the way the author tied this one in with How to Love Your Neighbor, the second book in the series (though you by no means need to have read it as well to enjoy this one). Somehow I missed the first one in the series, and I will definitely be picking up a copy because Sophie Sullivan writes stories that feel like a warm blanket on a cold morning.

This will appeal to all rom-com lovers. Pick up a copy for yourself!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the advanced digital copy.

While this book had a bit of a slow start, it picked up for me about halfway through. I loved Hailey and Wes’s friendship. They deserved each other. I loved that they didn’t really play games with each other and there was no miscommunication throughout the plot. I will say I’ve never craved salad more than while reading this book. The ending was perfect.

This was my first Sophie Sullivan novel, but I will definitely go back and read about the other Jansen brothers. I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Sophie Sullivan for the ARC!

I loved this one @authorsophiesullivan ! Great job! Go grab this one asap. It was adorable. You were rooting for them the whole time. Love came from friendship. 😍

Hailey is a restaurant owner in Cali when she meets an uptight business man named Wes. The two keep meeting in various places until they decide to be friends. They actually grow a beautiful, close friendship and become the best of friends.

I loved watching their relationship progress and change over time. And apparently there’s more books on the Jenson brothers! I didn’t know! I’ll have to go read their stories as well!

I always enjoyed Sophie Sullivan's work, but I was hoping to get a little bit more out of this book. I was hoping for a little more depth to the characters and their overall relationship, it was almost a little boring for me.
Now on to the good things about this book:
I have read the other books in the Janson brothers series and it was really nice to see those characters again. I love a slow burn and a friends to lovers trope so if you are a fan of those like I am, this is a book you are going to enjoy. I really enjoyed all of the side characters as well as the main characters, and seeing an MC who shares your first same is kinda a fun experience I haven't had the pleasure of reading thus far, so that was something that I enjoyed about this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity to read this book!

I really like Sophie Sullivan, and I liked this series a lot! That said, this book was my least favorite of the bunch -- mainly because now that we know all the characters, they were ALL in this book. It got to be a lot to keep up with. The many side characters took away from the two main characters' storyline, and it was frankly a little distracting.

Maybe I chose to read this at the wrong time, but I just could not get into the story. I needed more from the story and characters and honestly just felt bored.

Thanks so much to St. Martin’s press for this one via NetGalley.

When I requested this book, I didn’t have any info that it was a follow up book and while I think it can technical,y be a standalone it definitely felt like I was supposed to know or care about a lot of these characters when they were introduced. So if you’ve read the first 2 books I’m guessing this is a welcome trip into a familiar universe but I was left feeling flat about all of the characters.

The romance idea was very cute, but ultimately I didn’t find the main characters very likeable or grown up, and I felt kind of gross that they clearly liked each other but kept referencing friendship so often in a pretty manipulative way. All in all. 2.5 stars for me but could be a great fit for other readers of the series

Can men and women ever just be friends? A question as old as time, this cute, sweet little romcom aims to answer that question when a restaurant owner and a local business guy meet and become friends (and only friends). Even though Wes has told Hailey that he'd much rather focus on business than love, and she's still reeling from a bad breakup, the two can't help but start to notice one another's good qualities as they spend more time together. The third and final book in Sullivan's sweet Jansen Brother series is sure to delight established fans as well as garner her new ones. Fans of slow burn friends to lovers stories will find a lot to like here, and the squeaky clean romance has a delightful appeal. The leads are warm, the supporting characters memorable, and while there's plenty of obstacles in between the two at the center of the story, there's no doubt they'll end up together. A warm hug of a book.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
It was a sweet romance but I found it a little slow

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Friends to lovers
Slow burn
Closed door romance
Found family
Sweet and adorable romances
Small business owners
Dual POV
Not so cute meet cutes
Romantic comedies

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Cute brother dynamic
Great banter

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Miscommunication
Insta love
A little slow and boring at times

I requested this book simply on the description alone and the fact that it had a cute cover, but I was very pleasantly surprised! As my first novel by Sophie Sullivan, I will absolutely be reading the rest of her books now!! Such a fun, light romance that helped get me out of a reading slump. Must read!

A sweet romance that gives you the warm and fuzzies once they figure it out. Sullivan knows how to write with a warm-hearted feeling and sucks you into the story. Perfect for fans of the slow-burn, friends to lovers trope.