Hailey Sharp is focused on her salad shop By the Cup, and doesn't want any distractions. Wes Jansen had a bad dating history and the memory of his parents' bitter divorce, so romance isn't on his radar. The two have a disaster of a meet-cute intended for other people, but Wes finding Hailey to apologize sparks up a friendship. It's all they want from each other, but not what they actually need.

What could possibly go wrong in a romance novel where two people who don't want to be in a relationship are actually perfect for each other? Everything, of course. Sophie Sullivan has a fun way of writing novels like these, to the point that I don't even feel any secondhand embarrassment from the meet-cute. It was so natural to read, no embarrassment at all for me, and from there the friends they had in common as well as the businesses kept them in each other's orbit. They have great relationships with their families and friends, letting us see those sides of them. Time passes and the friendship grows deeper, as both Hailey and Wes make bonds in their new community. We also see glimpses of characters from her prior books, which is a nice touch if you read them.

Of course, over time, the two of them realize what they have is more than just friendship. It's slower than our realization because we know full well what kind of book this is. They fit each other well, care about each other and find each other hot. Of course, eventually, they'll realize there's love as well as friendship. Fears raise concerns before the grand gesture proving that love is worthwhile, and I really loved how that sequence played out. It's a really great romance and worth the read.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although this is the 3rd book in a series I was able to read it as a stand alone. I really need to go back and read the other 2 books...it was such a cute sweet romcom.

I really liked all the characters and they had such great chemistry. It started out as an enemies to friends and then friends to lovers. Typical of a romcom we know there will be a HEA but I really enjoyed watching them come together.

Overall it's a cute romance.

Investor Wesly Jansen and owner of a salad shop Hailey Sharp are the main characters in the friends-to-lovers romance A Guide to Being Just Friends.

This novel started off strong with fantastic humor, not-so-meet cutes, and a great group of friends and family, but as the story went on, it seemed to drag on, with Wes and Hailey trying to stay friends. But that's not to say there weren't some enjoyable moments, such all the scenes in which the Jansen family was reunited, the tight friendship between the characters, and the clever banter between Wes and Hailey.

I understand that this was a "friends" to lovers romance and that trust in a relationship must be earned over time, but because Wes and Hailey clearly had the chemistry for this, I don't know how they lasted a year as best friends, it seemed strange to me. I also found it frustrating at the end when Wes said, "I don't plan on falling in love," because while I understand that he had prior family issues, I didn't think it was intended to go that far. Moreover, it was just annoying because he and Hailey had been dating for at least a month and he still didn't "love" her.

All in all, this was a cute and enjoyable book to read, and it would have been even better if Wes hadn't had the habit of constantly bringing up relationship and love statistics.

*Thank you to St. Martin's Press, and to the author, Sophie Sullivan, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.*

Title: A Guide to Being Just Friends
Author: Sophie Sullivan
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5

Hailey Sharp has a one-track mind. Get By the Cup salad shop off the ground. Do literally everything possible to make it a success. Repeat. With a head full of entrepreneurial ideas and a bad ex in her rearview, her one and only focus is living life the way she wants to. No distractions.

Wes Jansen never did understand the fuss about relationships. With a string of lackluster first dates and the pain from his parents’ angry divorce following him around, he’d much rather find someone who he likes, but won’t love. Companionship, not passion, is the name of the game.

When Hailey and Wes find each other in a disastrous meet cute that wasn’t even intended for them, they embarrassingly go their separate ways. But when Wes finds Hailey to apologize for his behavior, they strike a friendship. Because that’s all this can be. Hailey doesn’t want any distractions. Wes doesn’t want to fall in love.

What could possibly go wrong?

First, a confession: when the previous book in this series came out, I tried it, and could absolutely not stand the main characters. They were both jerks. I didn’t actually realize this until halfway through reading this one.

Hailey’s salad shop totally intrigued me, and I enjoyed her personality and growth a lot. Wes was…a lot. I’m pretty sure I’d have smacked him a time or two. How can any one person be so oblivious to the feelings of other people? (Hang on. Maybe go ask my ex that question.) This ended up being a quick, enjoyable read…but I still wouldn’t recommend that previous book.

Sophie Sullivan is from Canada. A Guide to Being Just Friends is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

This was a sweet and fun romantic comedy. It is book three in the Jansen brother series of books.

I found that both of the main characters were interesting. Hailey is a new business owner who runs her own salad store. Wes is a rich guy with very complex family relationships. When Hailey encounters business troubles they clash over Wes trying to resolve Hailey’s problems for her.

I read the second book in the series, How to Love Your Neighbor, so I was already aware of some of the backstory. If you hadn’t read the first two books, you might be a little lost, especially concerning the family relationship with their father.

Read if you like:
*Closed door romance
*Friends to lovers trope
*Slow burn romance

This was such a cute rom-com. I loved the characters and even thought the plot followed a typical one it still had me hooked throughout the entire book. I loved the chemistry between the two characters.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

Hailey is new to the small-business-owner world, recently moving to a small town to start over, and I loved how much she valued her independence. The way she met Wes was hilarious and I loved the friendship that blossomed between them, as well as all of the friendships she made with his friends & family and fellow local business owners. Hailey and Wes had such a great friendship dynamic, and in true friends to lovers trope fashion, hid their feelings for each other to save the friendship.

This was the first book by Sophie Sullivan that I've read and I NEED to go back and read her other books! I really enjoyed her style of writing and the life she brought to these characters, and being the third book in a series (all are standalones but have connected characters) I definitely need to read the other brother's love stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The 3rd book in this series is so sweet and charming. It was nice to be back with the Jensen brothers! This book was about the oldest brother Wes and Hailey Sharp.

Hailey left the glitz and glam of Hollywood to start her own salad shop in San Verde. After her last relationship with an arrogant and selfish actor, Hailey has taken an indefinite hiatus from dating. She believes the only person she can trust, is herself.

As the oldest brother, Wes feels protective of his brothers and would do anything to keep them happy. He's analytical, extremely hard working (to a fault) and always looks to solve problems for everyone. After watching how his father treated his mother during their divorce, Wes is convinced that he's not made for love or marriage.

After mistaking Hailey for his date, Wes tries to make up for his behavior by offering to fix the salad chop's website. But determined not to take a handout, Hailey offers to help him in some way. Soon they go from strangers to best friends. But the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to push aside their feelings for one another. Can they both overcome their past in order to have a future together?

There was a lot to like about this book. I love that Hailey and Wes start off as friends. I loved how the relationship naturally evolves and turns into love. I think Sophie did a great job of showing how both of their past relationships and insecurities have kept them from being in relationships. I also really liked see the characters from the first two book in this book as well.

This is a sweet, low-stakes romance that I really enjoyed. Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is the third installment of the Jansen Brothers series. I read the first book 10 Rules for Faking It a couple of years ago but haven’t read the second. However, the books can be read as standalones.

I really enjoyed jumping back into the Jansen Brother’s world. This book follows the oldest brother, Wes and Hailey, an owner of a salad shop in California.

It plays on the friends to lovers trope and is similar to When Harry Met Sally which is my favorite movie! The book follows the two characters becoming close friends and then feeling more for each other.

It was an easy book to read which is one thing I love about the author’s writing style. The characters were pretty well developed and I liked seeing characters I met in 10 Rules for Faking It.

Overall, it is a super cute closed-door romance that I recommend.

This is such a sweet romance. I normally get impatient with slow burn romances, but this one kept me engaged and interested the entire time. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments, especially where Wes's brother's are involved, and you can't help but root for Wes and Hailey to get together. I loved the dual POV and how it enabled the reader to get to know both of the main characters. The pining was palpable! This is the third book in the series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Thank you to NetGalley for a digital ARC… that is the only reason I finished this book. This is such a slow burn romance that it was painful! I didn’t like the main characters and the dialogue was awkward and hard to follow at times.

I can’t believe this book was compared to When Harry Met Sally!

after a break-up, hailey sharp moves to san verde california and opens up a salad shop called by the cup. wesley jansen is a business investor with his brothers who is also new in town.

they have a rocky first meeting at the bakery next to by the cup, where wes mistakes hailey for his date named hayden. wes stops by her shop to apologize and ends up helping hailey grow her business.

they quickly become friends and decide to stay friends-only because they both don’t want to enter in a new relationship after their previous bad experiences. along the way, they can no longer deny their feelings for each other and i’m happy they finally get their happy ending.


i really enjoyed this book and it’s focus on friendships and family. although this is a stand-alone, this is the third book in a series, so i will definitely go back and read the first two to learn more about wes’s brothers and their significant others.

this was the perfect friends to lovers, slow burn, rom-com!


thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sophie Sullivan for the eARC!

The following review was posted on my blog yesterday, Sunday, January 15th, 2 days before publication. It will be shared on Twitter and Instagram between that day and the day of publication, and has already been posted on Goodreads. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.






“People don’t think California is ever dark. They’re so used to the sun, it’s all they expect. All they see. (…) It reminds me of you. You’re so positive, so upbeat. I forget you’ve been hurt. That you’ve seen the other side of happiness.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses toxic parental relationships, toxic romantic relationships, emotional abuse, and gaslighting. Contains some sexual content, but closed doors.

“A Guide to Being Just Friends” follows Hailey Sharp, a salad shop entrepreneur who’s just moved to town in search for a fresh start after a bad breakup, and Wes Jansen, the oldest of the Jansen brothers (but also the last of them to find love), as they strike up a platonic best friendship based on their need for a break from dating and wish for companionship. Hailey and Wes are both new to town and have fit perfectly together—but only as friends, of course.. right?

I was so entranced by Hailey and Wes and their interactions that every other conversation felt like a filler—when they really weren’t. This book is more than just a romance novel, it’s the story of two very independent characters, as they find themselves and learn to be true and consistent with their dreams. I rooted for every single character (old and new) in “A Guide to Being Just Friends.” I could not get enough of this book.

It’s getting ridiculous but with every new book in this series, my favorite amongst them all changes. First it was Chris, then Noah, and now Wes. How can these brothers just keep getting better and better? This entire series as a whole is wonderful.

I would highly recommend this series if you’re looking for a clean romance series. Also, if you’re a fan of the friends-to-lovers trope, then “A Guide to Being Just Friends” is most definitely for you.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: January 17, 2023

We were so excited to receive an advanced copy of A Guide to Being Just Friends as we loved the other two books in the series so much. These Jansen brothers all just need a little love in their lives!

Wes is closed off to love and doesn’t believe it’s for him. Hailey has been burned before and wants to put all her focus on her new business. They make a pact to be just friends and it works for a time.

Their friendship is easy and organic. They lean on each other and just enjoy each other’s company which is refreshing. As we normally do with slow burn romances, we were counting the pages until they got together! But the slow burn works for these characters because they are trying to work out their new lives and trying really hard to stay in the friend zone. Our favourite part has to be the brothers and their friendship. Kind of reminded us of us. Lol.

The overall theme of the book seems to be friendships and many were reflected throughout. We have the brothers, their significant others plus Hailey and her cousin and new friends all showcasing different support groups a person can surround themselves with in order to succeed. And sometimes friendship can turn into love. It’s a lovely message.

What we liked:
▪️The meet cute disaster
▪️Dual POV
▪️Hailey & Wes’s friendship
▪️Jansen brothers’ friendship
▪️The app/video game 💕

What we didn’t like:
▪️All the salad talk made us crave…salads (but maybe that’s not such a bad thing!)

I really enjoyed this book! I didn’t realize that it was the third book in this series but can be read as a stand-alone. It is a slow burn, dual POV, friends to lovers rom-com.

Hailey just moved to San Verde after a harsh break-up from her movie-star boyfriend. He really ruined her self-esteem, making it hard for her to trust others or even think of dating again. After selling her place, she moved to be near her cousin and opened a salad shop called By The Cup.

Wes is a wealthy businessman. He loves video games and secretly wants to design his own. He has had his share of bad breakups (plus some nasty family history) which makes him believe that he cannot fall in love.

Their first meet up was not so nice when he mistook her for the date that stood him up. After their second unexpected meet-up, he realizes his mistake and needs to fix things since Hailey was becoming a part of his inner circle. They quickly became good friends but when they share a kiss and feelings change between them. Hailey wants to become something more while Wes stands his ground of only being friends. He just may lose her (and her friendship) if doesn’t figure out his true feelings!

Overall, this is a really good book! I like the characters and the story. I love that she wants to prove to herself that she can run a successful business but I did find her annoying when she got so upset when others offered to help her. I honestly expected that the “guide” would be more prominent in the book since it was the title of the book. I also feel like the texting conversations should have been in another font/italics for easier reading - that may have been changed? I definitely plan on going back to read the previous books.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sophie Sullivan for the Advanced Readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

I DNF’d the book, so I’ll leave a neutral 3-star review. The character dialogue was witty and relatable, but I couldn’t really connect with them. Wes kind of seemed two-dimensional to me.

And Hailey. I think Hailey was great honestly and I like her as a character, but again I didn’t feel the connection that makes me LOVE a character.

While the premise was fun, I found the pages to be a bit boring with not much plot going on throughout, which might just be how their slow burn is.

All in all, I think this has the making of a good book, but not particularly for me. If you love slow burns and romcoms, this could totally be the one for you!

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. For characters that were adults, they were written in a juvenile fashion. I think this book would have been better suited if the characters were younger. It was difficult to connect with the book as a whole. Both main characters teetered a line of being annoying to unlikeable. Wes' aggression to Hailey when he mistook her for another woman made it difficult to enjoy his character. Hailey being inept at running a business, even though she had degrees in the areas, made her annoying

What's it about (in a nutshell):
A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan is the story of Haley Sharp, Wes Jansen, and the guide they are writing together – a guide to male/female friendships. Haley moved to a new town, determined to start over and build her small salad shop, Salad by the Cup. She left a toxic relationship and a secure catering job in Los Angeles. Now, she is only looking forward to her shop’s success. She doesn’t want to start a new romantic relationship anytime soon but does need friends. When Wes Jansen mistakes her for the blind date he is waiting for at the coffee shop next door, little did they know that the unlikely ill-fated meeting would lead to Haley making her first friend and becoming part of a found family that is exactly what she did need to begin again.
Actual Reading Experience:
Wow, I was so shocked when I realized that this book is part of a series, not to mention it’s the third in a series, and I had already read the first two. Needless to say, each book can be read as a stand-alone. What clued me in to notice that this was part of a series is that the back stories of Wes’ brothers sounded very familiar – just like two books I had read. I’m still shaking my head over it. Each book focuses on one of the three brothers and how each found the woman he would one day marry. Nora Roberts writes many romance series this way, and I love the technique.
This is a friends-to-lovers romance and, like many others of this style, is a slow burn. I notoriously lose patience with slow burns, but because of my familiarity with the brothers’ stories, my patience remains intact. I happily followed along, knowing that one day they would wake up ready to put the past where it belongs and find a new trail to forge together. Their relationship feels authentic, and I appreciate that. It also gives off strong When Harry Met Sally vibes. I could even hear Harry telling Sally that men and women can’t be friends because the sex part always gets in the way numerous times.
The side plots and characters helped with this too. They are all so interesting, especially the young man from the rec center whom Haley brought on at Wes’ suggestion to help her with deliveries. I’ve spent my entire adult life assisting teens in finding their way in a world that is often unkind and unfair, so these types of stories touch my heart profoundly.
The writing is intelligent and engaging. It stays focused on the main plot, only venturing off for side plots that touch the heart and are well worth diverting the reader’s attention. The writing pulled me in immediately and kept me focused until the end.
Characters:
Haley Sharp is a focused, determined woman whose bubbly, friendly demeanor makes anything seem possible.
Wes Jansen is the oldest of three brothers who live under their father’s shadow though they fight like mad to escape from under it. It’s particularly hard on Wes because he is the oldest and has taken on the brunt of family responsibilities all his life.
Narration & Pacing:
The story is told in first-person narration through dual perspectives – Haley’s and Wes’. This worked very well to get both sides of the story as it helped me not get frustrated too soon. They both have fair arguments as to their choices, and I think most of us would react the same in their shoes.
The pacing is medium to fast. Personally, I almost finished it in one sitting, which speaks volumes about the pace for me.
Setting:
The setting is a small town on the California coast, though the beach is only referenced briefly. The story takes place in the heart of the town instead and focuses its time on that part of town. The reader doesn’t even know much about where Haley lives because it is not anywhere near downtown.
Read if you like:
• Friends to Lovers romances
• Found family themes
• PG-rated romances (closed-door)

I loved Wes and Hailey's friends to lovers, slow burn romance. It was great to catch up with Wes' brothers Chris and Noah, as well as Everly, Grace, Morty, Stacy and the others from the previous two books. I'm sad to see this series end but I'm looking forward to reading more from Sophie Sullivan.

This is the third book in the Jansen Brothers series and follows eldest brother, Will, and Hailey. Hailey is new to town after a horrible breakup and is focused on making her business a success. After their initial encounter goes terribly wrong, Will goes into her salad shop to apologize and the two strike up an unlikely friendship. Neither one are looking for a relationship - each for their own reasons - but they both could use a friend. As the two spend more and more time together over the following months, they grow closer but also let the other see parts of themselves they normally keep tucked away. But when feelings inevitably grow, can they become something better than friends or will they end up brokenhearted and alone? I absolutely adored this read. It is slow burn, friends to lovers perfection! Sullivan spends a good time building up their friendship and developing their characters separately as well as together and it pays off spectacularly at the end. As this is the third and final book in the series, we do see a good amount of the previous 2 couples which is always fun. I loved Hailey's friends-and-family support system and how the narrative supported her building her own support system in this new town before jumping into a relationship. I thought the hurdles in the relationship were realistic and handled well. I loved the declaration at the end (which made me cry) and how much these characters really came together in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC. Expected publication is January 17, 2023.