I love Hailey and Wes’ first meeting - practically the opposite of a meet-cute but such a fun story for later, as I’m sure we can all agree. These two have such a good rapport and despite their rocky start, they click on a fundamental level. The friendship of their dreams… if they can stay just friends. Sophie Sullivan wraps these characters up in warm fuzzies and friendship goodness but this author isn’t fooling anyone; Hailey and Wes are meant to be.

Despite quickly becoming best of friends, these two do have plenty of differences to overcome. Thankfully, as we saw in the other two Jansen brothers book, the Jansen boys know how to apologize (or at least are quick learners), and Hailey is quick to accept chocolate whenever it is offered (relatable).

Honestly just such a cute story of becoming friends and then so much more. While these characters have a lot to work through, they do it with grace, understanding, and open communication.

Overall, this book was ok. I didn’t feel the chemistry, but I did enjoy the friendships the main characters made throughout the story.

Pros:
- Wes was a good romantic interest. He was hardworking, respectful, and had stars in his eyes for Hailey.
- I really liked seeing Hailey gain a community of friends in her new environment.
- Opening a salad shop was a nice twist on the “she’s a baker, he’s an uptight businessman” trope.

Cons:
- Hailey was one dimensional. She wasn’t very interesting, and I didn’t find her adorably quirky, as it seemed the author was trying for. This writing style could really work for a YA audience.
- The dialogue needed work. It felt stiff and very basic.
- Not a lot of meat to the story. This can usually be made up for with great dialogue, but sadly this book didn’t deliver on that front.

I will say I put this down for a month before I picked it back up and I regret that choice. This book was great, just short of amazing and I loved the story line, this may be due to the fact that I love love, especially one that blooms from friendship. This is cute, quirky and the right amount of sad. I’m glad that I read it and you will be too!

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was a very cute, closed-door romance. Their friendship was wonderful, and the tangle of "should we be more r is it too risky?" felt very believable. The story did drag a little bit, and at times I felt like things were overly long and drawn out, but overall I enjoyed the characters and the story. I also appreciated that even as the third (and final) book in a series, it worked perfectly as a stand-alone.

While I haven't read the first two books featuring the Jansen brothers, and was a bit worried I might need too, I learned that A Guide to Being Just Friends works wonderful on it's own, and I can't wait to go back and meet the other two brothers and learn their stories. MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

I loved Hailey's character. I loved how driven she is, how determined and how strong-willed she is. I love a story featuring a strong woman entrepreneur who is out there chasing her dreams. The story is definitely a slow-burn romance and the plot lines felt familiar - SPOILERS! (girl meets boy, becomes friends, discovers romance, has a fight, breaks up, and gets back together) but the overall plot was really good.

Thank you, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC of A Guide to Being Just Friends!!

As much as I liked the first book in the Jensen Brothers series, this one also fell pretty flat for me. I loved that Wes and Hailey were best friends first, and I was really excited about seeing that story play out! When the shifts in their relationship happened, it felt a little forced every time. The hang up Wes had about falling in love really translated and I honestly didn’t feel like was as in it as Hailey, IMO, even during his epiphany moment.

The writing style is also a little *over explainy* for my taste, and often states the obvious. It doesn’t leave a lot of room for readers to draw their own conclusions.

thought this was such a cute friends to lovers book. I haven’t read the other books in this series. But I didn’t really need to in order to read this one. I will 100% be going back and reading the other ones. Such a cute romance book.

This book was cute, I just didn't really connect with it the way I hoped I would. Something about the characters felt a bit shallow at times. I also didn't realize that this was the 3rd in a series. This was a cute rom-com but nothing really stood out for me.

This was a very sweet friends-to-lovers slow burn romance. I did really enjoy the side characters always bringing good moments to scenes. I did appreciate the career driven aspect to both of the MCs and found that part relatable. And their first meeting was one of the best I have ever read!! But, oh boy, it was a slow burn! I struggled a bit with Hailey and her understanding of situations. This caused me a little to see the chemistry between the two MCs. Overall 3.5/5 stars! This was my first Sophie Sullivan and will not be my last!!

Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of A Guide to Being Just Friends

I read "A Guide to Being Just Friends" by Sophie Sullivan on NetGalley. I have read her previous one in this series and loved it and this one did not disappoint! Hailey and Wes are both fairly new to town and have decided to forego getting into a relationship with anyone. They meet and decide to be just friends. This gives them time to really get to know each other. And their relationship slowly deepens. This was an easy, feel good read.

Cute slow burn, friends to lovers book. Wes and Hailey are fun together. Wes has given up on love for himself. Hailey just got out of a bad relationship with an egotistical actor. The two of them have a not so meet cute that becomes even more apparent when she delivers salads to his business meeting later. I didn’t know it was the 3rd in a series when I read it and that didn’t hurt me reading the book. It can be read as a stand alone.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-galley of A Guide to Being Just Friends.

Wes has written off love, marriage and kids - he knows he will be just like his father and doesn't care to repeat that experience. Hailey is focused on getting her business off the ground and does not have time for a relationship. So when life throws the two of them together, they decide that friendship is the best route. But can they both resist the pull of something more or will they be destined to be just friends forever?

Hailey just moved to San Verde after splitting up with her movie star ex. We’re okay with that though because he seemed like a super jerk. However, that’s left Hailey pretty turned off of love and relationships. Wes has recently followed his brothers and their investment company to San Verde. He’s also jaded on happily ever afters due to the nasty marriage and divorce of his parents that he took all of the brunt of to protect his brothers. Together, Hailey and Wes confide in their feelings of not wanting to be in relationships or fall in love and decide they’re just going to be best friends. We all know how this ends!

I really liked this book! I will say, I knew going into it that it was the third in a series, but this can totally be read as a stand-alone. I haven’t read either of the previous two, but now I can’t wait to read them.

First off, the (not so) meet-cute at the coffee shop really threw me for a loop because it made me think Wes was going to just be some rando side character, so that was a nice surprise. The flow of the book was interesting because you go month to month and skip a lot of things I wouldn’t think to skip, but in retrospect I think it was a smart choice. I really loved all the characters and felt a connection to them. I’m obviously going to relate to anyone who loves sweets as much as me so that’s a win. I’m a sucker for the friends to lovers and found family tropes, and those are represented well here! There was some laugh out loud dialogue that I really enjoyed, most of which came from Noah (definitely can’t wait to read his story). I could go on and on, but honestly you might as well read the book instead ;)

Special thanks to NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for my honest review!

This story was really cute and very slow burn, which had about 38 to 45% through was a bit of an issue for me. I was hoping that it would move a little bit faster, and that Hailey would show much more interest in Wes. I loved Wes so much. I thought that he was such a kind hearted. Gentleman. Hailey was great too, but at times it seemed as if she was more so focused on her own things. It is written very well in such a way where you love the characters in the book. If you love the trope friends to lovers, then this is the book for you.

dnf @ 5%

unfortunately I had to dnf this pretty early on for two reasons: (1) I found the writing style really difficult to read. The main character's internal monologue relied on a lot of info-dumping and cheesy lines that I didn't find as funny as I think they were meant to be. This was just annoying to read and made me very much not interested in continuing. (2) I didn't realize this was third in a series and while technically meant to be a standalone romance regardless, I don't tend to want to read books out of order. (the second is not a flaw of the author BUT if it started off strongly, I might have disregarded this and continued)

A Guide To Being Just Friends was just what I needed right now, such a sweet and funny slow burn romance. I love it!
Wes and Hailey have baggage that makes them both avoid relationships, but through the story we see how they become friends, and how that friendship gives way to deeper feelings, I love the way the author narrates the plot , and since friends to lovers/ slow burn is one of my favorite tropes, it has fulfilled all my expectations and more.

This book is a hilarious, sweet, angsty, cute, a clean romance, the perfect combination of laughter and sighs that will leave you wanting more. Highly recommended

This was a fun read, and although I hadn’t read the previous two books in this series, it didn’t take away at all from the story.
This was definitely a sloooooower than typical slow-burn/friends-to-lovers, but Hailey’s story
was engaging and fun as we followed her journey to a fresh start as a business owner in a totally new community. Great banter/dialogue, great cast of secondary characters.

This is book 3 in the Jansen Brothers series. Hailey recently opened a new salad shop and wanted to focus on getting By the Cup off the ground. After his parents angry divorce and some first dates that lead nowhere, Wes wanted someone who he could be friends with. Nothing to do with love. After an awkward first encounter, they happen to see each other again and hit it off as friends. Or so they say...

I enjoyed watching the friendship between Wes and Hailey blossom even before it turned into something more. It was obvious they belonged together. I loved their inner dialogue as they slowly developed feelings for each other but tried to convince themselves they're friends and nothing more. The build up to finally admitting their feelings was perfectly paced for me. There was one scene in particular between them that made me feel so much. I ended up reading it three times.

I was invested in the storyline involving Hailey's business. It was interesting following the growth of her business and the meaningful relationships she made along the way. It was so nice to watch Hailey find "her people." She fit right in with Wes' family and friends.

Because of some past experiences, Hailey had trouble relying on other people. She was used to leaning on herself. I wish she accepted help a bit sooner. This along with Wes' view on love both caused some conflicts to arise. Although I do enjoy some sort of conflict, I think there were too many. One was resolved but then another happened pretty quickly after which bugged me.

I enjoyed the sibling banter between Wes and his brothers. The characters really made this book. I recommend checking out the previous two books as many of the characters make frequent appearances in this one. I think I would have been too confused without reading them first.

This was a pretty cute friends to lovers romance with some sunshine/grump energy. While this is the third book in a series I think you could easily read it on its own as each book focuses on one of the Jansen brothers. Since Wes and Hailey start off firmly as just friends this is a super slow burn and it’s also closed door so if you’re thinking the wait may be worth it as far as heat goes it won’t 😂 I don’t mind no steam books occasionally though especially when they’re as sweet and quirky as this one. I loved that Hailey owned a salad shop and I’ve never wanted a salad more in my life after reading this. Found family has been one of my favorite things in books lately and I really enjoyed seeing Hailey create her own support system here. Recommended if you’re in the mood for a light and playful romance.

A sweet romance. It was delightful to see the female striving to make it on her own. She did not need or want a man to save her. In the love department both parties in the couple needed saving. Interesting how past experiences influence us. Whether it be for the good or bad. A terrific group of relatives and friends.