It was perfection and had everything I love when reading a romance novel. I laughed so much throughout the book. There is so much fun banter that will leave you completely satisfied. Their relationship was fun and quirky and I love the tiny and thoughtful displays of affection. It was hard to put down. It really wants you to make you fall in love with your best friend in hopes of getting what they have

I hadn’t realized when I requested this book that it was part of a series, and one of the previous books was on my TBR. I wished I had gotten to it beforehand, but it wasn’t necessary for understanding this book. Hailey is new in town, the owner of a new salad shop that should fit right in with the California clientele. She has an awkward meet cute with Wes and then gets drawn into his group of brothers and their girlfriends. His personal beliefs and her relationship history lead to a “just friends” pact, and then the former leads to the inevitable conflict. No big surprises here, though, in the resolution of this slowish burn friends-to-lovers story. You’ll enjoy it more if you read the previous books. I wish there had been follow-up on the gaming angle. And I hope there’s someday a follow up about Leo!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I couldn't make it past the first few chapters. The initial introduction to the characters and the set up of the story didn't grab me at all. I felt bored and see how long the book was I couldn't imagine reading through more of what I was already seeing. It's possible that this author just isn't for me and others would love her but with a book this long I need to be pulled in immediately.

DNF @ 42%. OMG. I will tear my hair out if I have to hear about salad one. more. time. Did Big Salad® write or pay for this book to be written?!? Salad is main female character Hailey's only interest and her singular personality trait. Dear lord above is she booooooring. I understand that this book is shaping up to be a friends-to-lovers type of situation between Hailey and main male character Wes, but between her being so boring and him being so oblivious to the fact that he's in love with her and vice versa, I just had to stop reading it because it/they irritated me so much.

"A Guide to Being Just Friends" clearly wants to be a millennial/gen-z version of "When Harry Met Sally," but it's more like "When Wes Met Salad." It feels like the author cares more about lunch than trying to get readers invested in Hailey and Wes's growing, developing, slow-burning potential relationship. A lot of fat could have been trimmed from the earlier pages to make room for more connection between Hailey and Wes. Should I say "trim the fat" when this book is all about salad? I did not feel one ounce of chemistry between Salad and Wes, not at all, which is hard because the dialogue is normal and not totally cheesy *sarcasm.* Upon re-reading this review, I just realized I called Hailey "Salad" in the above sentence. I see the error and am choosing not to fix it. I did, however, love the chemistry between Wes and his brothers, and between Hailey and her potential friendship with Wes's brothers' girlfriends/wives.

Thanks to Sophie Sullivan, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Press Griffin for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my thoughts.

Unfortunately just couldn't get enough into it or the characters. The 3rd person POV also made me less inclined to connect to the characters. DNF at 15%

Hailey leaves LA and moves to a small town to start over. After a breakup with an actor, she decides to go after her dream and open a salad shop. A mixup meeting at the neighboring coffee shop with eldest Jansen brother, Wes, ultimately leads her to a new friend. Wes and Hailey both have reasons for staying away from relationships. Hailey has just been hurt, but she is open to finding love again, while Wes just sees love for all the problems it causes, especially after witnessing his parents divorce. In the long run, he just wants companionship but love is something he wants nothing to do with.

Hailey and Wes quickly fall into routines; grocery shopping on Saturday nights, lunches at her shop, Hailey educating Wes on cooking and romcoms and Wes teaching Hailey to video game. Both start noticing weird moments of attraction toward the other. Can they stay just friends or if they try for more, will they be able to accept the other for who they are?

This was a cute, friends to lovers, small town book. I've read the 2nd Jansen brothers book, so I was familiar with the characters. I enjoy a dual POV because it helps get in the mind of both main characters, but this one wasn't my favorite. I didn't feel the chemistry and tension off of them as much as I have in other friends to lovers. Both were so set in their non-negotiables, they could have ruined any chance of more. Hailey is so anti-money and Wes is wealthy, and Wes feels the need to swoop in and fix things without listening to what Hailey wants. It was a cute story and it was fun to revisit Noah and Grace.

I really enjoyed this cute little friends to lovers story! I wish I had known there were other companion novels beforehand but regardless it was easy to get into this after the initial introduction of all the brothers. The meet cute was fun and I enjoyed seeing their progression into friendship. I especially enjoyed that they actually communicated with each other.

There were points where I felt annoyed by the pacing of the story. Some parts felt oddly sped up up and some conversations went from talking about something to switching completely in the middle and I would have to re read certain paragraphs to understand why they switched topics.

overall, I really enjoyed it and will definitely have to pick up the rest of the books!

DNF very early on, sadly. As intrigued as I was by the FMC's questionable thought-process (who opens a niche salad bar and expects immediate popularity if there's zero advertising or social media or even a delivery app presence, and the owner-slash-sole staff member frequently leaves the shop unattended to buy food from the bakery next door? ...what?!), I couldn't keep reading this. The writing is awkward and clumsy, and I found myself hate-reading instead of enjoying it.

Perhaps I'l give this another try later on. But for now, this book and all of Sophie Sullivan's books are a big no for me.

I liked this book. I'm not madly in love with it. The "friends only zone" went on a little too long for me.

Wes and Hailey meet in a manor that doesn't exactly get them off on the right foot. They resolve the issues from the initial meet and go on to become friends--best friends. Wes doesn't plan on ever falling in love, getting married or any of the accompanying crud. Hailey is recovering from an awful relationship and is totally fine with that...until she feels more and wants more.

Wes was just really a relationship doofus. He really didn't recognize love even when it smacked him in the face. Luckily he has two brothers who have already fallen and are more than willing to point out the error of his ways in many things, including love. But how do you go about getting someone back when you have rejected their love. Is Wes even capable of winning Hailey back?

I loved Hailey's growing friendships with the other characters. She really needed friends. She found some to stick by her and it helped her immensely. I also loved the relationship Wes had with his brothers and the great friendship he had with Hailey. I just really wanted them to get on to the romantic relationship!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press Romance and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

I'm always in for a good friends-to-lovers storyline and I loved the unique way Wes and Hailey come together. They were so supportive of one another through their friendship. I really liked how independent Hailey was with owning her own business and putting in the work to make it a success. Her willingness to hire others who were a bit down on their luck to work at her shop was also really sweet and said a lot about her character. Wes had a lot of layers and really carried a lot of emotional trauma from his relationship with his father. Because of the shared trauma, the love and closeness between the brothers was really great. When I first started reading, I hadn't even realized that this book was a third in a series and that it's predecessor was How To Love Your Neighbor, which was one of the first books I read in 2022. It was so fun to see Noah and Grace again and I'm definitely excited to read the first novel in the series because Chris and Everly were really sweet in this novel! Although I enjoyed this storyline, there were a few things that I disliked about the book as a whole that made this one not as enjoyable as the second in the series for me. As I mentioned, I really loved Hailey's independence, but I did struggle with how resistant she was to any help coming her way unless it was under he terms and she was really unfair to Wes when it came to conversations regarding his wealth. This was a point of contention multiple times in the story and she really wasn't willing to budge on her end even when Wes was coming at it from a good place. My other issue is just that I wish we could have experienced more of the lovers part of the story, I needed some more steam and connection in a more intimate way to full love this one as a romance read.

A simmering slow-burn, but a bit too slow at times for me. I didn't love Hailey's character that much, and the pace dragged some, The friends-to-lovers bit was fun, and Wes was enjoyable to get to know, but overall, this book just wasn't for me.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

The final love story in the Jansen brother trilogy but could definitely be read as a stand alone.
For me it was a cute, light story, I tend to prefer a bit more intensity in my love stories.

Read if you like:

-the Jansen brothers love stories (all the characters from the first 2 books are in here alot)
-friends to lovers
-nerdy, list loving male leads who are scared of love
-sunshiney girls who've been hurt but are ready to love again
-salads!
-a clean closed door romance

3.5 stars

I did not initially realize this was a sequel in a series by this author! This is the first book I have read from this author, and after reading this I hope to read the other books in the series. I really enjoyed this story. I liked the characters and the friends to lovers trope. I believe that it was pretty well done. I will share a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram within the week. This book releases on January 31st, 2023!

(3/5) I DNF'ed this book not because it was bad per se, I liked the characters (even the side characters) and the premise was fine. I just had the HARDEST time getting into it. Perhaps it's because I haven't read the first two books so I'm not invested in the Jansen brothers like I should be? I think this certainly could be a standalone, but there are so many side characters that appeared in previous books that I think I would have liked it more had I known their background. Some of the references made it feel a bit dated, and tbh I was hoping they would create an actual guide (but alas).

Read this if your fave tropes are: friends-to-lovers (which I swear I'm going to stop requesting on NG because very few of them have pulled it off for me), found family, and slooooooow burns.

I have loved each of Sophie Sullivan's books as they have released and I was SO excited to get my hands on this one to review! A Guide to Being Just Friends might just be my new favorite of Sullivan's titles. Wes and Hailey meet at a time in each of their lives when they aren't interested in dating new people and have pretty much given up on love. They hit it off as friends and determine to keep things platonic and just enjoy hanging out together and keeping things easy between them. However, things go awry, as these things tend to do. Sullivan writes such great romantic tension and it just drips off the page. You can literally feel chemistry between Wes and Hailey from their first meeting and watching them figure it out for themselves and then try to navigate around it is the most enjoyable journey. This is a book I was sad to see end.

I really enjoyed this final book in the Jansen brother series.

Wes was a well developed, protective character whose affection for his family was really lovely to see. Hailey was a wonderful, determined and resilient main character. I loved the slow burn of the friends to lovers story. It allowed for so much growth for both characters and I appreciated that.

The ending felt a little rushed and muddled but I liked the epilogue.

3.5 ⭐️

I was really excited to read A Guide to Being Just Friends, but it never fully drew me in and I was somewhat disappointed with it overall.

The ‘disastrous meet cute’ was not really a meet cute. Wes kind of losing it on Hailey because he’d mistaken her for a date who was standing him up was just not a great start for me. He did redeem himself from there and they developed a sweet friendship, but it was a friendship for the majority of the book. This is very slow-burn, which I don’t usually mind, except that there wasn’t a lot of romantic chemistry between them for a very long time and neither of them seemed to even develop romantic feelings until at least halfway through the book.

For me, this book seemed to be much more about Hailey’s salad restaurant business and her friendship with Wes than their romantic relationship. We spend a long time with Hailey growing her business, figuring out how to expand, and hanging out with Wes as friends; and then the romantic aspect of their relationship is shoved in at the end of the book. By the time they finally get together, the relationship consists mainly of a time jump a few months forward, and two back-to-back fights.

I’m also really not a fan of time jumps, especially in romance books. I generally find that I either feel like I’m missing relationship moments that happened during the jump or that the jump was very unnecessary because the relationship hasn’t progressed in the months of story that were skipped. And this was no exception. I could have forgiven one or two at the beginning to really establish the friends phase before moving forward a few months to kick off the romance, but we just kept jumping. I really didn’t need one chapter for November, then one for December, then skip ahead to February.

This was a cute read, but it definitely didn’t live up to my expectations and I needed more romance!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars ☆ This is my first book by this author and didn’t know that this is a part of a series. The fact that I have the first two books of it (physically) and still haven’t read it yet lmao.

What I felt after reading this was that Wes and Hailey's relationship felt forced that I didn't even felt that they have a connection with each other and the miscommunication between them was unbearable to me.

The gen z references in here 🧍🏻‍♀️ I’m sorry, it’s just an ick for me if it’s in books but the only exception was that Hailey is a Swiftie 🫶🏻so I loved that for her.

This book was a great start to begin with this author's other books which I'll still need to read and I hope it's better than this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC !!

A Guide To Being Just Friends is book 3 of the Jansen Brothers series by author Sophie Sullivan. It is a standalone contemporary romance with a HEA.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
✔️ Slow burn
✔️ Friends to lovers
✔️ PG/Closed door romance
✔️ Found family
✔️ When Harry Met Sally vibes

Hailey has just moved into to town to start fresh and kick start her By The Cup salad shop. Wes is using dating apps to try to find someone he just likes.

They meet when Hailey goes to the bakery next door to her shop and Wes mistakenly accuses her of standing him up. When the mix up is cleared up they instantly connect and fall into an easy friendship.

Since neither is looking for a serious relationship, they come up with a guide (in infographic form) to being just friends to ensure it lasts. But as the months pass and they spend time together, non-platonic feelings bloom. But will they let themselves fall in love?

I really liked Hailey and Wes’ friendship. I loved the bonds between Wes and his brothers and how they wanted to give back and help their community. The friendships Hailey builds are also heartwarming.

Yet I wasn’t a fan of how stubbornly resistant Hailey was to receiving help or gifts from Wes, nor his mulishness about relationships. I think that the slow burn and closed door romance added a bit to my bangxiety*

I was an overall cute, fun and enjoyable read. I’m sure fans of the series will love this installment.

By the numbers quick review:
★ Hero: 👤👤👤👤
★ Heroine: 👤👤👤
★ Plot: 📚📚📚📚
★ Romance: 💕💕💕
★ Sexiness: 🔥
★ Performance: 👤👤👤👤
★ Overall: 3

* Bangxiety (noun coined by @ratetheromance): When you are 65% into a romance and the main characters haven’t had sex yet and you start to worry that you might be reading a “clean romance.”

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio for the free book.
This book was so much fun. I loved getting to know Hailey and Wes as individuals and as friends throughout this book. Their banter was fun, their growth realistic, and the relationship had great pacing. It was also fun to see Wes with his brothers and get a glimpse into their relationships from the previous books. I loved how Hailey advocated and set boundaries for herself. Might be my favorite part of the book. Sullivan shows how relationships can develop and work towards always being healthy with open communication, even when further intervention is needed. Highly recommend this one! If you’re interested in the audio, both characters have their own narrator. Their performances made these characters come alive and I loved the tension created by their performance when it comes to this relationship.