This book was not my favorite, but it was still light and fun. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it just didn't stand out to me. That being said, it is for sure worth reading if it piques your interest.

The good:
- Slow burn romance. I know this isn't for everyone, but I love a slow burn, and I especially love it in a friends to lovers context.
- This is the third in a series, but it totally works as a standalone - I actually didn't realize that there were two predecessors until I had already finished the book.
- We love a woman entrepreneur!

The bad:
- Wes and Hailey were kind of annoying. I know, humans are annoying, and it was realistic, but I found myself rolling my eyes at them often
- I hate the name of the salad shop. By The Cup sounds like a coffee shop, or a sustainable dry goods store, but not salad. The branding professional in me was dying inside.

I’ve been waiting for Wes to have his own book for what feels like forever, and I was not disappointed. Wes is probably my favorite brother by far, and I loved him and Hailey’s friendship turned romance (and I hate slow burn lol).

I received a ARC copy of A Guide to Being Just Friends via NetGalley to read and review.

This is part of a series and while I haven’t read the other books I was able to read this with no issue.

Last year I read and loved Book Lovers and When in Rome and I feel that A Guide to Being Just Friends fits in perfectly. I loved Wes and Hailey’s story, even if it started out rocky. The opening chapter will give you the details of that exchange. Theirs paths cross again and Wes apologizes and that’s where the friendship begins. I don’t want to give too much away so I’ll end with this: I loved reading A Guide to Being Just Friends. It’s on my list of books I plan to read again in the future.

This book physically angered me. Let me explain why:

- The main characters are just wow. Hailey just left her Hollywood boyfriend and decided with zero business experience to go and open a salad shop. What the hell. Also she has sworn off men. Wes is a tech millionaire and wants to fix all of Hailey’s problems and be friends but wants to have zero commitment or relationship long term, aka marriage.

- There was miscommunication or misunderstanding galore in this book and honestly if you’re gonna be in a relationship learn to communicate.

This wasn’t fake dating and it wasn’t friends to lovers because they met at the beginning of the book and the book spanned one year. So I honestly don’t know what to label it as.

Someone will like this but it’s not for me. Also stop calling the last chapter an epilogue. That is all.

Two people meet in a chance encounter - but make it embarrassing. They meet yet again in a chance encounter but a little less embarrassing. Agreeing to be friends and put the embarrassing moments behind them, Hailey and Wes embark on a journey of friendship when they think they need that the most. <spoiler>Until they kiss</spoiler>.

I thought that this book was really cute when I started getting into it. I didn’t realize it was part of a series, but I would say it doesn’t necessarily need to be read in publication order.

Sullivan has crafted a fun story of two people becoming friends while trying to ignore the fact that they kind of like each other. The characters are likable, the setting is amazing, and the banter is perfect. I think that the last few chapters fell short for me and left me feeling a little frustrated, but maybe that’s just me. I enjoyed the story and I think that it was a pretty decent rom-com with good banter.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy in order to provide an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced reader copy of A Guide to Being Just Friends.

*3.75 stars!!

In this book we follow Hailey, a salad shop owner with big goals for her business, and Wes, a wealthy tech guy who has been on dating apps looking for someone he’ll like but never love.

The two meet under unforeseen circumstances and gravitate in each other’s circles from that moment on, creating a budding friendship.

I was racing through this from page one, unable to put down the book. I loved the set up of Hailey and Wes’s friendship and how they got to know each other through so many little events that occurred.

This is the third book in the Jansen Brothers series centered on the oldest and most skeptical brother when it comes to love. I haven’t read the prior books, which didn’t take away from my enjoyment at all.

To my surprise, the first 2/3 of the book were my favorite over the last third. I felt the setup was building up so good with tension and making me want the characters to be together so bad! But the end fell slightly flat for me.

Definitely recommend for readers who enjoy books with couples that are friends first, no explicit sex scenes, and jealousy trope (hehe my fav).

I really enjoyed this one, until I didn’t. Hailey owns a salad shop and is recovering from a nasty break up, and Wes owns a business with his brothers and is trying to get his career off the ground and doesn’t want any distractions, especially not of the love variety.

One day they are both at the same cafe and he mistakes Hailey for his online date (who stood him up), Hayden. Of course they end up meeting again shortly after, and they decide to become friends even though they are insanely attracted to each other and have massive chemistry. Neither of them want any distractions, but alas you know how it goes In a romcom such as this!

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this one. There were too many characters to try to keep track of (it was my mistake for trying to start a book that is the 3rd in a series), but that would have been fine if the actual format of the story wasn’t bothersome. The entire writing style was dialogue, internal monologue, dialogue, internal monologue over and over. Also, the format of the arc was messed up when it came to texting. Sadly I did not like this one even though it had potential. This just didn’t work for me. This was a pretty standard friends to lovers that I think I would have enjoyed more if I would have had the final copy.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Griffin, and Sophie Sullivan for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really wanted to like this book and for about 20% of it I felt like it was decent and had potential to get better. It did not get better.

Instead of a slow burn romance it felt like the first 70% of the book was an almost third act breakup? They had the most ridiculous reasons for not being together and honestly I can even get past dumb reasons love interests aren’t together if the tension is good but there was NO tension.

Then the actual third act break up was so so so dumb. There were also a couple of parts leading up to the third act that were deal breakers for me and made me dislike the FMC a whole lot. This one was just a no for me.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

as excited as I was for this book unfortunately this one just really wasn’t for me. I didn’t know that there were two books prior to this one (thats on me for not checking) but it made it hard during certain parts to know what was going on.

Not a bad book, just not for me.

Amazing book, got hooked right away, the story doesn’t lack and is very well developed, love the two MC. i like how their relationship is developed and how there is not rush, very well done job. I enjoyed a lot the side characters. Overall amazing book .

I don’t DNF books very often, but I just couldn’t stick with this one. Goddamn it was so boring. I should have known better- the title says it all…a book about friend-zoning each other so hard that you go so far as to write a guide about it. SNORE!!!! Can we write a guide called “How to bone all your rich, hot male friends and make them your husband and trick them into NOT signing a prenup.” I’d read that.

Hailey has just opened a salad store…which means she’s gonna be a barrel of crazy fun. She makes sure to tell us many times how much she loves chocolate to offset her wilted lettuce vibes. She also is a fairly shitty business owner who seems to never have googled “how to start a small business” bc bitch can’t even get business cards made. Hailey has sworn off men bc her ex-bf was a dickweed and as a result she’s punishing her innocent vagina who did nothing wrong.

Wes is a rich tech dude with daddy issues and the personality of a concrete block. Bc his dad is a jerk and his mom left them, he doesn’t want to ever fall in love- which makes no sense…is this man just asexual? A eunuch? I don’t know. He seems attracted to Hailey but insists on being her friend. He does lots of mundane things that we are forced to read about and I really have never felt less sexually attracted to a fictional character in my life.

Look- this book may be great for someone who likes reading nice stories about vanilla people who do normal shit. But I’m not that person. I want my main characters to hate each other, then be forced to sleep in a tent on the side of a cliff with only one sleeping bag, and then they danger bang, and then the heroine almost dies of cholera, and the hero saves her life by spoon feeding her water for 2 days, and then they fall in love and have sex for 2 chapters straight. Someone write that book.

Smut- 0 stars
Romance- 1 star but potential for more
Story- 2 stars
Quitting this book, but now I’m craving a yummy salad- 5 stars

I love that this book is not written like most friends to lovers. I am a fan of friends to lovers, but it was fun to see it from the point of actively trying to not be together instead of just waiting for them to realize they are attracted to each other. I also appreciate how much detail has gone into each of the characters, not just the Wes and Hailey. I went into this not realizing it was part of a series so it was nice to see the character development carried over from the previous books to this one. Needless to say, I will be going back to read the previous books, despite ruining them for myself.

Cute read but felt like some parts were very repetitive. Felt like some parts were stretched out more than they should, but despite that it still had some very cute parts. Cute ending though!

I’ve done it again where I requested a book not knowing it’s part of a series! But that’s okay, I felt like you could read this one without reading the first two. Here’s what I thought:

+ If you like friends to lovers and slow burn romance, you will like this one. Hailey and Wes start off on the wrong foot but right away start to be friends. Their friendship grows and they get to know one another as Hailey tries to build her salad business. And eventually they get a happily ever after.

+ It’s a clean, easy, sweet romance.

+ There is a great chemistry between the large cast, and yes it’s a large cast because there are two books before this one. Hailey is new in town but Wes and his brothers and their other halves really start to welcome her into their circle.

~ It started off good but I just wanted more and I got a bit bored. I need a little steam.

~ As I mentioned, I went into this book not knowing it’s book three. And though it felt like a standalone – I wonder if reading the first two would alter my opinion about this book? Not sure.

Tropes: new girl in town, friends to lovers, slow burn

Why you should read it:
*you like an easy, sweet, friends to lovers romance, a slow burn
*you read the other books in the series

Why you might not want to read it:
*it’s the third book in the series

My Thoughts:

This one didn’t work for me, but I know it will work for many romance readers who love the friends to lovers trope. Also if you like a slow burn with no steam, this one is for you. I don’t think I’d have requested this one if I knew it was book three, but I think it reads fine as a standalone.

I was thankful to get this book as an arc from the publish thru NetGalley. I have read the other two in the Jansen brother series and this one is by far my favorite. Hailey and Wes meet initially in the case of mistaken identity that did not go super well. Later they mend fences and become really good friends . I loved watching their relationship grow from new friends to really close to happy ever after. There were a few bumps on the way but it made the journey worth it.

I loved the banter between Wes and hailey and how genuine they were with each other. Wes really seemed to come alive when he was with her instead of the front he put on for others.

I absolutely LOVED Hailey and Wes’s story and enjoyed seeing the rest of the cast I previously met when reading Noah and Grace’s story. This was such a great friends to lovers story and I’m so happy that things worked out. I’d have liked to see Hailey’s parents become more involved since that relationship was kind of sad tbh. And I REALLY hope that we see more of Wes and his video game endeavors! This is a definite must read!

Thank you St.Martins Press and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.


This book follows Hailey and Wes in a slow burn, friends to lovers romance. Hailey has just moved to escape a messy break up and to start her own to-go salad business. Wes has also just moved to be closer to his brothers. After a not too great first meeting, they decide to be just friends.

I want to start by saying that I did not realize this book was part of a series when I requested it (even though it is also a standalone), so this could explain why I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I think I needed to read all of the books to get a better understanding of everyone’s relationships and the background for the side characters. The book was a little too slow for me so I struggled to get through it. I would read the first two and give this book a try again in the future :)

I liked this one a lot. Hailey and Wes weren't looking for romance but that is exactly what they found. Hailey had just opened her own business after a lot of research. She makes custom salads to go, in what should be a good location - lots of nearby businesses with people who want to pick up a quick lunch. She meets Wes accidentally and they start off on the wrong foot - he thinks she is his date and she thinks he is trying to pick her up. Wes comes to her shop, apologizes and gives her some good tips to improve her business. Wes and his brothers are partners in various business venues and Wes is a wiz at setting up business apps, and also creating signs that attract people. They become friends and over time, it turns into something else.

The road to the happy ending was not smooth but it is well worth the ride. I enjoyed this one very much and can see myself re-reading it soon. I also plan on reading the first two books in the series. I received an E-ARC of this book from the publisher St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

I received A Guide to Being Just Friends as an ARC but hadn’t read the first two in the series yet. So I hurried and read them this week. I’m glad I did. Most of the time when you have a series where each book follows a different person, you don’t necessarily have to read the others. With the Jansen Brothers series, you really should. All three were super cute, closed-door, romcoms. How to Love Your Neighbor is sort of an “enemies to lovers.” While Guide to Being Just Friends is sort of a “friends to lovers.” But all three feature three main female leads that are strong and independent. Hailey is no exception. I definitely wish her salad place was real! The three male main characters are great. Chris is probably my favorite of the three brothers. but each of the three brothers are very dreamy. Wes, being the oldest son of a pretty bad father, had a little more trouble figuring it all out. But he got there and was very cute about it. I love the brothers’ relationship. But I definitely would recommend if you’re in the mood for something fun and sweet and if you’re not into spice but want a good heart-fluttering romance.

Content Warnings: Body shaming, toxic relationships, gaslighting, emotional abuse, and parental abandonment.


Slow burn that gets steamy right up until the fade to black moments. 🔥😍

Loved the build up to them recognizing their feelings for each other but could have had less back and forth after that 😅 Overall sweet and fun friends to lovers. 💜