A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan was a lovely read! In this dual-POV contemporary romance, our main characters are Hailey Sharp, the plucky, optimistic and hardworking owner of By the Cup, a to-go salad shop, and Wes Jansen, nerdy, reserved, (kinda) secret billionaire who, seconds into meeting her, accuses Hailey of not being herself. He's there for an online date, which Hailey slightly resembles, and he's convinced that she's his date but is trying to flee--which she isn't, making sweet baby angel Wes look like a total jackass. You know, a perfect meet cute.

They meet again and realize that they have things in common and good chemistry, so they decide that they should be friends, and take any pressure for more off the table...that way they can be friends with no expectations. They jokingly make a "Guide to Being Just Friends," which they regularly refer and add to along their road to becoming actual best friends--even when they can't see that they're each other's besties, we know it!

What follows is a cute love story peppered with pop-culture references and enough graphic depictions of food that you'll be salivating for a salad and chocolate cake--and enough drama to keep you engrossed while maintaining relatively low stakes. Wes' brothers and their girlfriends take to Hailey, because let's face it, she's sunshine personified and (most) everyone loves her. Hailey is fiercely proud and independent, which I love, but there were moments that I wanted to scream at her. Girl, let this man spoil you if he wants to!

The only real complaint that I have is that I wish a particular character (which I won't name because SPOILERS!) had gotten theirs--either a punch in the face, or realizing what an idiot they were, or, preferably, both.

I'll be honest: I requested this book via NetGalley because of the title and cover, and only after starting the book did I realize that it's actually part of a pseudo-series. I say pseudo because it doesn't seem like these books have to be read in a specific order, but so far the "Jansen Brothers" books have each apparently featured one of the Jansen brothers and their love story. This book definitely made me want to go back and read more of Sophie Sullivan's work, because I know it will have me high-pitched squealing just as much as this story did.

I tend to always be a fiend for slowburns and how the tension between the main characters are always astronomical but sadly, this book did not give what I expected it to give. Don’t get me wrong, it was an semi-enjoyable read, but the main characters had an ounce of chemistry and that was after 70% of the book.

The communication— or lack thereof was horrible. And I understand people not believing or even wanting marriage and love and kids, but for him to string her along to just say something along the lines of ‘you knew since the beginning I didn’t want that’ is crazy. What was the whole point of him going out of his way to do these gestures for him to not even see a future with her. And the groveling was not enough, simply NOT enough.

(thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review)

I love the friends to lovers trope, and Hailey and Wes definitely had that, although it was a slow burn. This was a very fun, swoonworthy, and delightful read.

This book was the best friends to lovers story. So cute.

You meet Hailey. A hard working, loves her friends & job kinda gal. But she has a bad history with love & the wrong guys. So she’s on a no dating hiatus right now. She’s focusing on her salad shop.

Wes, one of a few brothers. He loves his job too. He’s a handsome rich hard working guy. He also has some bad luck with dating & dating apps.

One day Hailey & Wes meet in the cafe next to her salad shop. But it wasn’t the best meeting. Poor Wes thought she was someone else. He makes an ass out of himself but can he fix it with this new girl he seems to like?

Hailey & Wes start to make a “guide to being just friends”. Can they stay to the guide? Or will feelings evolve? You have to read to find out!

This is the 3rd book in this series. But can totally be read as a stand alone. I will definitely be checking out the other two books!

So if you love friends to lovers, a little bit of grumpy/sunshine, rom coms, & books you can’t put down! This is the book for you!

Sophie Sullivan is a master at creating a slow burn, clean romance. While this wasn't my favourite of the trilogy, I appreciated the time taken to build Wes & Hailey's relationship so that the reader feels invested in their story.

As a mostly character-based story, you get to know the characters very well. Hailey's strong personality shines through with her desire to be independent and focus on the business-side of things. And Wes's process of working through his childhood experiences, how that shaped the path he is on now, and reflect on how that impacts his life now was a key element of this story. Recognizing each other's challenges, they developed such a supportive foundation based on mutual care, which made the build-up all the sweeter.

What I didn't love about it was the slow burn eventually got a bit tiresome and I found myself putting the book down more frequently between reading sessions because I was getting a bit bored. As well, Hailey is a stubborn character, while admirable, got me frustrated at various points in the story.

Overall, as I think this is the last book in the trilogy, I loved how all the supporting characters from previous books were included, so we could see them all again one more time before the end and check-in on how their relationships are going.

You definitely need to read the other books in this trilogy before reading this one, for full enjoyment of the storyline and an understanding of the huge cast of supporting characters, so be sure to keep that in mind.

Hailey Sharp uprooted and changed her life; she recently opened a cool salad ship called Get By the Cup and her only focus is to live the life she wants to live. Wes Jansen, the oldest of the Jansen brothers is a serial first dater with no desire to settle down due to what he saw in his parents’ relationship. After an off putting meeting at Tara’s bakery, they didn’t expect to see eachother again so soon. When he apologizes, the two become fast friends and that’s all they’ll ever be because they both don’t want anything else... right?

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a fun, really cute slow burn rom com. I love Sophie’s writing and appreciate the multiple POV as it kept the story entertaining the entire book, it also made the slow burn so angsty. The characters in this series are awesome and the romances in each book were so well written; this one didn’t disappoint. I liked Wes and Hailey as individuals and together and the focus on friendship above everything. I enjoyed how everything concluded although, I’m sad this series has come to an end.

Thank you netgalley and St. Martin's Press
Pub Date: January 17, 2023.

I enjoyed this meet cute story between Hailey and Wes. I liked the main characters and the side characters, but would get confused at times as who was who as there quite a few side characters throughout the book. I also didn’t realize that this was a trilogy, but didn’t feel like I missed much from the first 2 books as the relationships from the first 2 were also in this book.

Hailey and Wes had a meet cute and agreed to be friends and come up with a guide on how to be friends. I felt the characters were real especially Wes’ character as they navigate being friends and building their friendship / relationship. Overall, I enjoyed this book.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Griffen for the chance to read A Guide to Being Just Friends in exchange for my honest review.
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She did it again, Sophie Sullivan wrote another amazing book! I am absolutely in love with the Jensen Brothers series and was excited to get to read this one. Getting to get inside of the last brother's head was amazing. It was the perfect culmination of the series, though I'm not ready for it to be over. In this third and final book, Wes finally moves to California to be with his brothers. He gets right to work working for Squishy Cat Industries. He also gets right to meeting people. Enter Hailey, a woman who also just moved into the area too. She recently opened up her salad shop, By The Cup, right next door to the coffee shop Wes frequents. They meet and are the perfect friends, that's all they can be...unless...
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Wes was a great character! I liked the way he thought and acted, he felt 100% real. You can tell by the way his character acts that he is the oldest of the three. This fact directly impacts the way he acts, and how he feels about love. I can't express this enough, his actions make perfect sense. Hailey was also an amazing character, I really enjoyed her. Likable characters only in this book. Her past also worked great for driving her actions. Sullivan does a great job of creating well-rounded, real-feeling characters.
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Speaking of characters, we get to see all the characters from the last two books! So while you can technically read this as a standalone, the connections to the others make it that much better. I am really sad to say goodbye to ALL the characters. Hopefully, Sullivan decides to write about the Jensen sister. Nudge Nudge.
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Do yourself a favor, and pick up this series! Like right now. It delivers on all you could ask for. Read this one last for the best Epilogue ever!

Super cute meet-cute with an interesting hook. I didn't realize this was the third in a trilogy when I started it, but didn't feel like I was missing any major information in this story. But it's a little heavy handed in mentioning the "love stories" of the other brothers scattered throughout this book. I might visit them eventually, but felt satisfied in this story with a fairly innocuous romance side - more of a slow burn from friends to more, nothing terribly overt. I realize that there has to be some kind of obstacle to bring interest to the story for our heroes and heroines to overcome and find each other, but their little hang-ups really got under my skin for some reason.

Still a fun read with a plenty of tie-ins to the rest of the Wes's family, so I'm sure readers of the past books will enjoy seeing them again.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for the advance audio book via NetGalley!

2.75⭐

I love books that incorporate food, and our main female character owns a start-up salad restaurant. I thought the meet cute in this book was adorable and fun. However, things started to get a little boring for me as I continued reading. For one, I felt like there were too many different characters to keep up with, which is probably where reading the previous books in the series comes in handy (but it is not mandatory since all of the books can be read as standalones.) I am not a big fan of slow burns, but when done right, they can be a very immersive experience. However, with A Guide to Being Just Friends, I felt like things were too slow, and mid book things felt more like filler. I also wish we would have gotten an actual step by step guide to "Being Just Friends". This is the case of an excellent premise, fun tropes, but the execution was not the most effective.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sophie Sullivan for sharing a digital advanced reader copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

Expected Release Date is January 17, 2023.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5149474989
Storygraph Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/9a77e3bd-f1f9-4e65-9c57-bdecaed03e2f?redirect=true

When I read book 2, I didn't realize this was a series and it looks like I missed book 1 (need to remedy that!). I think this series needs 1 more book - we need to find out what happens with the law suit with their dad and Ari needs someone. Anyway, this was such a sweet friends to lovers book! I love slow build romances, especially when the guy needs to figure things out :) Hailey and Wes are wonderful together and balance each other perfectly.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher.

This was sloow. It did have some cute moments. I loved their meet cute, cooking dates, and their friendship, especially how they had each other to help with their trauma. There were too many side characters and sadly I started losing interest towards the middle. The fact that this girl opened a business with absolutely no experience and kept fighting help got a little irritating at one point. She didn’t even have business cards. The 3rd act break up was not my favorite.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Hailey and Wes. From their first meet to the final pages, their story drew me in. I loved the way their friendship grew and how it eventually became more. Overall the story is fun and will give you the feels. I definitely recommend this book.

This story is so cute. It really speaks to me about trying to date but also not trying to get into relationship. I really enjoyed the main MC and how she trying to navigate her business and maintaining independence but then HE came along. I understand his disappointment with dating apps. It’s either hit or miss. The plot was so cute and I laughed way too much than I should. I enjoyed the author’s writing and how it came together.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is Sophie Sullivan’s newest romantic comedy, a sequel to Ten Rules for Faking It and How to Love Your Neighbor.

Hailey Sharp is a 20-something chef who has left the Hollywood studio world to re-locate to a smaller California town. She has opened her By the Cup salad shop and is struggling to make it a success. She supported herself and her actor ex-boyfriend, so she feels burned by love and men, and just wants to focus on her business.

Wes Jansen isn’t interested in relationships because he witnessed the ugly end of his parents’ marriage and subsequent divorce. He’s had bad luck with dates and has decided to find someone who he likes but won’t love. Companionship, not passion, is the name of the game.

Hailey meets Wes at a neighboring coffee shop when he mistakes her for his absentee blind date, Hayden. When Wes’ sister-in-law finds out, she makes him find Hailey to apologize for his behavior. They become friends because that’s all they will allow themselves to be. Being surrounded by Wes’ younger brothers and their women encourages them to take their relationship further.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is an enjoyable friends-to-lovers slow-burn romantic comedy. The characters are very engaging and it was nice to continue the stories from Ten Rules for Faking It and How to Love Your Neighbor. Hailey and Wes each have personal baggage to deal with, and it’s fun to go along the ride with them!

I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was totally not my gig. This is like all the bad parts of When Harry Met Sally jammed into a book. Wes and Hailey spend the first half of this book being friends but also constantly bringing up to each other that they are only friends (you know.... as you do with all your friends) and then the second half of the book being insufferable and flip flop-y. I never really ended up rooting for this relationship or for any of these characters (except Leo!).

This book was... fine. I didn't realize it was the third book of a series, so I got quite lost when some of the side characters and their partners were introduced (especially since most of them don't play much of a role in the plot). The plot was straightforward and cute. I do love a female main character like Hailey who can do it all! I normally read spicier novels, so having this PG-rated novel was a refreshing change.

Strangely, one thing I found myself wishing for was... more commas. A few more commas would have made some of the longer sentences more readable.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Guide to Just Being Friends by Sophie Sullivan

Published: January 17, 2023
St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 330
Genre: Romantic Comedy
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Sophie Sullivan is a Canadian author as well as a cookie-eating, Diet Pepsi-drinking, Disney enthusiast who loves reading and writing romance in almost equal measure. She writes around her day job as a teacher and spends her spare time with her sweet family watching reruns of Friends. TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT is her rom-com debut novel, but she's had plenty of practice writing happily ever after as her alter ego, Jody Holford.

“It would look like whatever they made it, together.”

Hailey has just opened her salad shop and is fully invested in her fresh start. Her ex hurt her, so her focus is entirely on her business. And maybe making some friends, but mostly her business. When she has a random encounter with a handsome stranger, she doesn’t put too much into it. Until she meets him again, and they decide they are going to be just friends.

This was such a charming story. I loved the characters, and I will have to read the previous two books to get to know them better.

Hailey was charismatic, sweet, and utterly herself. Wes was determined to be successful and entirely in control. He was not expecting a Hailey-shaped whirlwind to blow into his life, but here she was.

I loved the brothers' dynamic and the bond between the women. I enjoyed the wit and the banter. I also love that this story leaned into the romcom tropes and embraced the classics.

This relationship felt authentic. This could be how a forever love happens, and I found that endearing. I enjoyed the plot, the pacing, and the self-awareness the characters had.

I liked how the main characters could look inside themselves and realize their flaws without being wrecked about them. The relationships throughout this novel are all so heartfelt and genuine.

This was my first rom-com by Sophie Sullivan, but it won’t be my last. I found her writing style easygoing and entertaining. I had a hard time putting this book down. A light, beautiful read for any romcom fan.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @smpromance and @stmartinspress for an early copy of A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a slow-burn, enemies to friends to lovers romance about Hailey, who’s had enough of relationships after her last disastrous one and has decided to live her life the way she wants to by making her salad business flourish, and Wes, who doesn’t believe in love and romantic relationships after seeing his parents’ ugly divorce Their first meeting didn’t go so well, but after a heartfelt apology from Wes, who at that time was an ass, they became friends and insisted they don’t want to further their relationship, with Hailey refusing to have any distractions from her business, and Wes being reluctant to falling in love.

🛑 Read on with caution; may contain spoilers 🛑

Contrary to the title, the story isn’t really about a “guide” to being just friends. To summarize, it just tells the story of two friends who keep insisting they’re just friends and nothing more, until they finally admit to themselves that they’re attracted to each other and want to further their relationship, albeit all their excuses and reasons for not ruining their friendship. They only acted upon their attraction to each other at around 65% of the book; prior the 65% was all about them being friends and denying their feelings, and tbh, the novel would have been just a tad bit shorter if a ton of the scenarios during the first 65% of the book was cut off from the story. Things just got interesting for the couple at 75%.

While the story could have been shorter, I did love the main characters individually. I loved Hailey’s determination to make her business succeed and her perseverance to stay focused, and while Wes was a tad overprotective with his family and also with Hailey, I did love his reason behind all his actions – he just wants to take care of the people he cares about.

Rating A Guide to Being Just Friends ⭐⭐⭐/5. Releases January 17th, 2023. Would recommend if you love slow-burn romances!

And with that the Jansen Brothers books are concluded.

I'm happy that Sophie Sullivan decided to end this series with a friends-to-lovers romance because I don't read a lot of this trope so it felt refreshing for me!

This book follows the oldest Jansen brother, Wes, who recently followed his younger brothers out to California to start a new life out from under their father's thumb. Because he was the oldest he was the one who shielded them from the force of their parent's nasty divorce, so now that experience, coupled with a strong of bad dates, has convinced him that he does not want to fall in love, he simply wants companionship. Enter Hailey who recently moved to the area to start fresh after a bad break up. She has decided to focus all her attention on getting her new salad shop off the ground and not on jumping into another relationship. Perfect!

I really enjoyed getting to know Wes and Hailey. I loved that she was more of the sunshine character while he wasn't necessarily the grump, but definitely more reserved. The fact that their friend activity was going grocery shopping every Saturday was adorable and made me want to have a grocery shop friend!

However, both characters were stubborn to a fault when it came to their independence. Neither would accept help from anyone to the point where it became frustrating to read (though that may have been the author's point).

I liked how the author tied up not just their story, but the stories of the other brothers at the end as well! I would recommend this one!