To start off with were a lot of great things about this book: the tension at the beginning, the progression from friends to lovers, and the secondary plot involving their work lives. However, the characters are almost too perfect. No one ever does anything wrong for more than a few pages and everyone is very generous at every twist and turn and sometimes it became too much. I want complex characters who feel real to me and not ones that feel like they are all out of a utopia setting.

That being said this is absolutely the type of low stakes, closed door romance my mom would absolutely adore. I would recommend this author to my mom any time she was looking for a romance with characters who aren’t 21 and will fill her desire for a slow burn friends to lovers story. I know people are looking for a book just like this because they want the sweet romance and I think this book will definitely find its target market and make them giddy with happiness.

This was such a sweet story; smart, nerdy, older brother Wes meets Haley sunshine salad shop owner fleeing California from a toxic ex. ⁣
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Wes is analytical and his mind is always working but he’s also caring and a protector as older brother. After Haley loses faith in her intuition about people and starts over far away from her toxic ex, she starts her own salad shop, makes new friends, Wes being one, and slowly finds herself again.⁣
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These two swear off relationships for a while but build a wonderful friendship, that soon turns into them noticing little things about each other that they find more endearing than just friendly. Their relationship slowly grows into this wonderful friendship that they soon find out can be more.⁣
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I absolutely adored their banter and how they brought each other out of their shells. I also really adored all of the surrounding characters in their lives.⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had such high hopes for this book after Wes and Hailey's awkward meet cute. Their friendship was wonderful and supportive, neither one of them ready for a relationship. But Wes talks himself out of his feelings so much through the whole book that I had trouble believing in their romance. I was glad for their HEA and I really loved the first two books in the series, but I couldn't seem to connect with the characters in this one. I loved Hailey's little salad shop though and I wish I had one around here.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read a review.

This novel is a cute, easy read for when you need something predictable and light. And we all have those times.

This friends to lovers/slow burn romance between Wes and Hailey is so so good. I loved their banter although the number of times they cockblocked themselves started to drive me nuts by the end but it was so worth the warm fuzzies this one brought! Can definitely see myself handselling this one for anyone searching for that particular trope!

A Guide To Being Just Friends - Review
⭐⭐⭐/5
PUB DATE: Jan 17, 2023
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QUICK LOOK: Adult Romance, Sweet Romance, Strangers to Best Friends to Lovers
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SYNOPSIS:
Hailey and Wes are both new in town. They both take their careers seriously and have had rough times lately in the romance department. So, when they meet, they both make it clear they both aren't looking to date, but could definitely use a friend. They make clear boundaries and rules to make sure none of their hanging is very date-ish or confusing. But as they spend more and more time as friends, they both begin to secretly want more.
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WHAT I LIKED:
-Both lead characters are sweet, genuine, and very likeable
-Great side characters that show supportive friendships and found family
-Both leads had unique personalities and their characters were well built
-Premise had a lot of potential
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WHAT I DIDN”T LIKE:
-Story was a bit predictable and formulaic
-Lacking uniqueness to set it apart from other romcoms
-3rd act break up and Wes going behind people’s backs was not enjoyable
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Thank you @netgalley and @smpromance for my eARC copy. I was given this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It was a very nice read. Friends to lovers trope tend to give me anxiety because they tend to be slow burn and I need constant action! Even though, I enjoy them as much as any other trope.

I have to say some of the text that was supposed to be text messages confused me a little. But apart from that if you are good keeping up with characters and a couple of things going on is a great read for you. I tend to keep notes because I forget sometimes who is who.

If you want to read a good and cute book about friends to lovers this is a good one to add to your to be read list.

The only thing that bothered me a lot was to find the main character (Hailey) being so focused on her own things that it felt bad. Like she was not thinking of Wes’s feelings other than herself and I was mad at her. But I understand that that’s part of the story.

It was a great love story and I will be looking forward to read more from Sophie Sullivan.

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Spicyness: 🌶️
Pub date: Jan. 17, 2023

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

Hailey has opened her own salad shop called By The Cup. She is new to the area so she didn’t know many people. I loved how excited she had gotten whenever she got a new customer. You see how truly grateful she was.

One day she went to the bakery next door for her favorite brownie and coffee when a guy, Wes, comes up to her thinking she is a blind date that he was waiting for. One thing led to another and they became close friends.

I enjoyed seeing their friendship grow from Saturday night grocery shopping to playing video games.

Hailey is a very strong woman who will not ask for help from anyone. I felt bad at times for Wes because he was just trying to show his affection to her in many ways, and all of those ways were helping her, so to see how upset she got with him over it was sad.

In the end, this is a perfect friends-to-lovers story with the feeling of belonging.
I love the little family she created with friends who truly had her best interest at heart. You will be rooting for her salad shop to grow and you most likely will crave a salad while reading this. The Santa salad sounded amazing!

This is part of a series, however, it can be enjoyed as a standalone. There are other books that follow the other Jansen brothers which I will be sure to check out!

4/5 stars Wow! This book greatly exceeded my expectations! I'm a sucker for a friends to lovers trope, but it's done so often that sometimes it gets repetitive and too predictable. I loved this book and the main characters, Hailey and Wes.
I even loved all of the other side characters and the parts they played in the story! I usually get bored when there's too many side characters and am not actually interested in their stories, but Sullivan writes in such a way that it's hard to get bored. I loved everyone single character Sullivan introduced and was able to have such a clear idea of who everyone was and the role they played in the story. This was such an easy and fun read that I read it in a day and couldn't wait to get to the end. The slow burn was just the right amount of slow, not so slow that it was agonizing and unsatisfying. I’m so glad they didn’t get together just at the end of the book, but rather we were able to see them grow in their relationship. I LOVED the ending with the quiz Wes made it was so perfect. I wish during Wes’s POV there maybe was more to how he was feeling about Hailey. There was some of that, but I wish it had showed how much he liked her and how much he wanted her. We saw Hailey struggle more with her feelings versus Wes. Since Wes was more closed off and bad at sharing his emotions, I wish we saw more of his inner dialogue/emotions during his POVS. A great read that had me smiling and swooning the entire time.
I can't wait to read the other books in this series!

This book was cute, but just OK for me. I found the beginning of the book really slow, but not a slow burn, just slow. Once it picked up a bit it was sweet & cute. I just didn’t connect with the characters until the middle of the book so it was hard to get into. It’s a cute, closed door, friend to lovers story.

Thank you for the advanced copy! I loved reading this slow build friends to lovers story. Seeing two people who don't want to fall in love, fall in love is the best kind of story. It's always the sweet silent types that fall the hardest. The only thing that this book is missing is the actual guide they keep saying they are going to write, but it all works out because building that guide helped them realize you can absolutely be in love with your best friend

Hailey is set on getting her salad shop off the ground. She is full of ideas, and after a terrible relationship she is determined to find success for herself, One thing she doesn’t have time for is distractions. Wes Jansen has never understood why people would want to fall in love, it seems like a lot of trouble to him and for what? Relationships always end. He would much rather find someone he likes, but won’t love. When Wes embarrassing himself during a disastrous meet cute with Hailey, he finds her to apologize for his behaviour and they strike up a friendship. Hailey doesn’t want distractions; Wes doesn’t want to fall in love, but sometimes life has other plans.

This may be the slowest and I mean sllllooooowest slow-burn romance I have ever read. While slow-burn romances are not usually my fav, this one totally won me over. It was cute and the sparks were flying between the two main characters. I loved the friendship and the development of their relationship, I just wish we could have gotten to it a tiny bit faster so we had more time in the story with them together, The last quarter of the book the pacing was off in relation to the first three quarters.

The other characters in the book definitely added some fun, and although I haven’t read the other books in the series, I am adding them to my TBR to get more of their stories.

Overall this book would be a great choice if you love slow burn relationship building and love through friendship.
It is a warm hearted book that will make you want to pick up the whole series,


Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was such a sweet read! I enjoyed it BUT do have to admit that it wasn't one I 'couldn't' put down - maybe because of the super slow, super closed-door burn but maybe for the Friends to Lovers trope it was just right?

Hailey is stinging from a recent (ish) breakup and has just launched her new business, a salad shop, and Wes is the eldest of three money-making (and having) brothers who seem to meet over coffees/desserts or salad or beer and talk about real estate (must be nice!). It's the third in a trilogy (or at least three to date) but I don't think you need to read the others to get this one (I hadn't). It stands well on its own but I am VERY tempted to read the other two - especially since they're by new-to-me Cndn romance author Sophie Sullivan.

I like how Hailey conducts herself throughout the book, apart from not really 'seeing' Wes - he's a bit of a stumbler and we have a not often seen two time third act breakup so that was certainly a little surprise - but also kind of refreshing to not just have the leads rush back into one another's arms after one mending conversation.

It's closed door but sweet and the writing style is very comforting and straight-forward which I enjoyed.

I wouldn't say this book is full of surprises, it follows a fairly predictable pattern but it's also got its own ups and downs and mini twists that I think make it what it is.

Cute story of a Independent Woman moving to open up her own store after a toxic breakup. Hailey and Wes have an accident "meet Cute" moment at the bakery next door that lead to a misunderstanding into a friendship. They both decided that they didn't want to date and being friends would be best. Time goes on, new emotions emerge, and Wes and Hailey both have their own growth and journey to finding themselves and what its means to let love in. I would recommend if you are looking for a cute slow burn, friends to lovers story.

3.5 Stars. I read this and was quite a ways into it before I realized that I had read another book in this series. It does fine as a standalone, but I think the story would be enhanced if you've read other books in the series. It was a sweet, slow burn romance.

This is a friends to lovers romance, and the third in the Jansen brothers series. Surprisingly, I haven't read the first two books, but they were on my TBR prior to reading this and I will definitely be putting them on the top of my list now! They can be read as stand alone books, but since the characters from other books make an appearance, it probably makes for a better reading experience to read them all. This book follows Hailey, an entrepreneur, and Wes, a millionaire investor as they become close friends (neither is ready for a relationship right now 😉) but slowly fall in love and begin dating. I loved how the author navigated how finances affected their relationship, as well as the importance of friendship and community. Sometimes the dialogue was a bit repetitive, but I found Hailey's independence and Wes' fear of love to be so relatable it didn't matter. Definitely recommend picking this one up in a couple weeks when it comes out!

I have adored this series from Sophie Sullivan so was excited for Wes's story. It did not disappoint. Wes is the super serious Jansen brother. He's all business and has no interest in love or marriage. This works well for Hailey as she has just opened her salad restaurant and has no time for anything but friendship. After a disastrous meet-cute, the two agree on friendship and quickly become besties. I loved Wes and Hailey. She is the sunshine to his grump. She is independent and wants to prove she can be a successful businesswoman on her own. Wes loves taking care of friends and family. The two have to learn to find the balance there and it brings pages of tension, chemistry and character growth. I have read many series where you get to revisit characters from previous books, but Sullivan brings Wes's brothers and their girlfriends prominently into this one and the story is stronger for it. I enjoyed the way they all interacted. This book is a fantastic friends to lovers romance that is easy to read and light on the heart.

I've always thought I don't like friends to more romances, but the last few I've read start with the couple meeting, becoming friends and then falling for each other. We get to see the progression. That I do like.
This one is a friends to more, family packed, romantic, funny, fade to black romance that isn't to be missed. And! It's the 3rd in the Jansen brother series. I haven't read 1 or 2 but I am excited to now!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was such a cute read! I loved the premise of two people starting a friendship before they actually date.

The author gave both characters very distinct and developed personalities. Wes is a very sweet guy but he's also very analytical and cynical about relationships. He enjoys spending time with a partner but he doesn't want to commit to the promise of a future. He doesn't want to be in love because he's seen what happens when the person you care for the most goes away.

Hailey is an independent woman who is trying to restart her life and be successful without anyone's help. She's been hurt in a previous relationship before and is not looking for a partner. But despite that, she's open to letting Wes in her life and eventually gives in to the possibility of being in love with him.

Yes, this is a romcom, so we obviously we know the MCs will get together at the end but you still read because you enjoy the ride of finding out how they're gonna get there. That being said, I really did enjoy reading about Wes and Hailey's friends to lovers journey. They're so in tune, learning to be the support they need for each other, and building a truly magical relationship.

I knew there was going to be a little twist at the end because you know, the romcom formula. But I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself reading 2 twists, I genuinely didn't see the second one coming. So that was nice and made the ending very sweet. The only thing to make this better was more romantic/passion angst between the characters while they knew in their heads they didn't want to ruin their friendship but couldn't deny their chemistry.

I recommend reading this book if you want a sweet, friends to lovers, sort of grumpy and sunshine trope.

I went into this blind (despite seeing all over bookstagram) and had no idea it was part of a series until I went to post my review on Net Galley. Excuse me while I go binge the other 2 (!) books.

The meet cute here is soooo good. This is for sure how I would meet someone! The snark is amazing.

Bouncing back from a bad relationship & regaining self confidence
Starting a small business
Being privileged but not being happy
Making new friends
Giving back to the community
Found family
Sloowwwww burn
Sweet, clean romance

Friends to more is always a little bit predictable but this is done so well and realistically.