3.5 stars! it was a sweet ending to sophie sullivan’s jansen brothers novels!

though i liked the premise of the book, this one was a little too slow paced for me. the slow burn was just a little too slow and mixed in with some of the technical/financial things, i just wasn’t invested.

both hailey and wes were fun and oblivious characters (especially when we’re talking friend to lovers) but it did get a little frustrating towards the end. it kind of felt like all the problems were jam packed in the end. also wes clearly needs therapy bc how do you get over things like that so quickly? all the side characters you get to know along the way from the first novel is so fun and was so warm. it’s a sweet little community that sullivan built.

i’m interested in seeing what else sullivan will write in the future! thanks netgalley and the publisher for sending this arc in return for an honest review.

I have not read Sullivan's other books and while it is not necessary, I understand why this book was tied to the other two. It was really cute and a much needed, predictable romance that provided an escape from everyday worries. Sullivan is a talented writer, too, sharing a heartfelt story with enjoyable characters.

I think this was a cute friends to lovers, closed door romance. As a huge fan of that movie, I enjoyed Halley and Wes’ creation of their guide to being just friends and how they navigated through some very complex emotions throughout the book, finding emotional growth. And of course, I loved the group of brothers and friends as they made for a fun group and I loved seeing Hailey connect with them as someone who felt so alone and disconnected.

This gave me definite When Harry Met Sally vibes and a fun twist on a classic movie! Just be warned though this is part of a series and while this can be a stand alone book, I think it would be good to read the first two to fully get the backstories!

This one was CUTE. I really enjoyed this with all my heart.

Friends to lovers, witty banter, and found family friend groups… it really doesn’t get any better than that!

Wes and Hailey’s friendship tugged on my heart strings and made me want to be a part of it.

What an adorable happy ever after, and I wish it wasn’t over.

A big thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

4 stars from me, Bookish Bree

Sophie Sullivan is back with her latest, A Guide to Being Just Friends, which obviously leans hard into the friends-to-lovers trope. It felt like When Harry Met Sally for a new generation, and it really worked for me. It was a solid, swoony romance, and I enjoyed it.

Hailey has just opened her own business—a little salad shop—and she’s desperate for it to succeed. She’s also freshly out of a really bad relationship, and she isn’t looking to jump into a new one. Wes has never seen the point of love. As the oldest kid, he got a front-row seat to his parents’ disastrous marriage, and that is NOT for him. When Wes and Hailey first meet, it does NOT go well, but when he comes back with an apology, a friendship springs up between them—and they decide that’s all it’ll be. They even write a guide, complete with silly illustrations. But what they don’t expect is to fall for their best friend.

Sophie Sullivan writes mostly closed-door romances, but she proves the door doesn’t have to be open to deliver the swoon. Wes and Hailey are perfect for each other, and I’m glad they finally pulled their heads out of the sand and figured it out. I also loved that we got glimpses of her characters from previous books—cameos are my favorite!

This was a cute, light, romantic read. The story follows Wes and Hailey, who meet by accident and decide to just be friends (and we all know how that works out).

I thought Wes and Hailey were likeable enough, although some of their hang-ups got to be a bit repetitive and seem to just fill a few extra pages. There were also a few too many characters for me, and although this is the third in a series of books with overlapping characters, side characters sometimes featured so prominently that it took away from the focus on the MCs.

This book also has no spice (maybe that is standard for the author, though this is my first book written by her), so don't pick it up if that's what you're looking for.

3.5 stars

This is a super fun rom-com! Friends to lovers is a classic for a reason. I also appreciated the arc of Hailey and Wes - from disastrous first meeting to friends to more. It felt both funny and plausible (in a rom-com way). Sullivan has a way of writing stories that are just a pleasure to read and this one was no different.

A fun read, the story of Hailey and Wes. I liked how Hailey is adopted as a new friend by the women from the previous books in this series.

This is a light, easy to read friends-to-lovers, sort of slow burn romance. Wes and Hailey are both new to town and, after an awkward meet cute, they quickly become friends. Both have baggage that makes them intent on NOT finding love, to the extent that they make a "guide" to being just friends (hence the title).

The book is well paced (if you like a slow burn) and does a good job of weaving in other characters (although like many others, I had no idea this was part of a series). It did frustrate me that most of the conflict stemmed from Hailey's inability to accept help, some of which made no sense; and it wasn't the type of slow burn that I die for because the pining and "burn" part of it really wasn't as well developed, romantic or angsty as I would have liked.

Overall, it's an enjoyable, fluffy read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I like Sophie Sullivan's writing, but this one missed the mark for me. I do not know if I just was not in the right place for it, but I did not care about the characters or the story. It just didn't do it for me. I do look forward to her next books, though.

I have really enjoyed the world of the Jansen brothers and I am sad it’s over!
Hailey and Wes begin as just friends. Watching their story unfold and become love was so heart warming.
I love getting to read more about Chris and Noah. The brother’s relationship with each other is so nice to read. I love strong friendships in books.
I also enjoy all the strong female characters and their friendships.

Okay first things first, I LOVE that Hailey is a bookworm & carries her kindle in her purse & turns to books to take the "edge off". I also love that she served the customer that essentially ordered a cup of Doritos (by omitting all the vegetables & other ingredients) at her salad shop.

I loved that there was an entire grocery shopping scene. A couple of months ago, I came across something on the internet that talked about the intimacy of the mundane & it resonated with me so much. I shared it on multiple platforms & sent links & screenshots to multiple friends. I love the concept of sharing a day with someone, doing the everyday mundane chores, like grocery shopping or laundry & just being peaceful in each other's space. The idea of running errands being a form of bonding is absolutely true & I like that Sophie Sullivan included this in her book. I appreciated that she spent time writing & recognizing that this gave Hailey a chance to get to know Wes, from the fact that she now knows he buys spaghetti for pasta, likes cereal, to how he has a very organized grocery shopping method & goes to the store on Saturday evenings. It's a different kind of closeness & a way of learning the little things about the other person. I truly believe the "mundane" is a key part of intimacy. It's about knowledge, details, mutual understanding, being exposed & vulnerable but safe & comfortable. The revelations of a person that are known only through these seemingly ordinary & mundane moments. Many people don't really understand why I want to do the ordinary every day things with them but I’m so glad I’m not alone in thinking this concept has relationship building potential, thank you Sophie Sullivan.

I'm so glad this book lived up to the hype of the previous two in the series. I thought the 2nd book was my favourite, but having read this, I think this book might be my favourite (and all my favourite characters from the previous books are still in this book). The book releases in January & is the perfect way to start your year. Thank you @netgalley @smpromance and @authorsophiesullivan for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute story. I enjoy friends to lovers stories in general. I didn't realize it was book 3 in a series about the three brothers. You do not need to read the previous two books to enjoy this one. I had no trouble picking up on the relationships and the family dynamic with their parents, which caused the brothers to all move from New York to California.

Overall this was a good book. For me, I was a tad bored. It just felt repetitive to me. Hang out with friend, feel attraction to friend, get jealous of others spending time with friend, but remind yourself you're just friends.

I really liked Wes and his geeky nature. He had me laughing a few times. Hailey was sweet but a little too focused on not taking help from anyone without a trade of some sort. (Someone offered me a free mention on the radio for my business and I'd be all over that. Just saying.) She did eventually learn to let people be more involved with her life and accept some help, so her character did evolve, as did Wes learning that love doesn't have to end badly.

This was a pleasant, sweet romance but I just found it a little slow moving. I'm sure others will delighted by this story.

Light-steam, contemporary romance.

The writing style really made this drag for me. Descriptions were low-effort (dress was amazing!) and the characters talked in circles. Realistic, but terrible for flow. Scenes went on way too long.

I got bored with all the details of the businesses of both characters. Way more detail than I needed there.

I also couldn't understand why they wanted to stay friends for so long. It may have started out as a friends-to-lovers vibe, but in execution it was more of a slow burn.

Despite all that I still kind of want to read the previous books in the series? Can't explain it, but it's true.

A sweet book reminiscent of When Sally Met Harry and a friends into more. There were very direct references which some might found sweet but I thought it was a bit too direct. However I absolutely adored Wes and Hailey's meet cute and their progression of friendship. It was endearing. There were odd emphasizes on certain aspects of the setting that threw me off a bit, such as the over descriptions of the salads, but overall a basic cute romcom book.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc! A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan is the ultimate slow burn, friends to lovers romance novel. It is the third book in the Jansen Brothers series and having not read the prior two installments, there were unfortunately times I was confused or felt left out. However, I understand that this is to be expected. Having seen a glimpse of each of the Jansen brothers and their partners, I do think Wes and Hailey (of this novel) are the most intriguing to me and I am glad to have had the chance to read their story. I found the friends to lovers trope to be done really well. Overall, A Guide to Being Just Friends is cute, easy to read, and perfect for fans of When Harry Met Sally.

4.5 stars!

I ended up listening to this one and it was fabulous on audio! The main characters were so much and I didn't want to stop listening to it.

Wes and Hailey were so fun together. I loved how they first met, how she owned a salad shop & didn't want his money. They both pushed each other to grow and worked so well together. One of the conflicts were obvious from early one however that third act breakup was not my favorite so I knocked off half a star. The ending was really good tho!

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press & MacMillan Audio for advance copies in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @smpromance @macmillanaudio for a copy of this book. I enjoyed the first toe in this series and enjoyed this one as well. This was a cute friends to lovers story between Wes and Hailey which still started with a disastrous meet cute. It was fun to see how they keep bumping into each other and set a pact to being friends. So much fun to see the other brothers and their significant others appear in the book too.

The dual narration was a lot of fun too.

I loved this slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance. I can struggle with slow-burn but not this one. From the first page to the last the tension kept me turning the pages.

Hailey is chatty and full of sunshine. Wes is hesitant when it comes to relationships. He's overly serious but deep down has a heart of gold. I loved the dual POV and seeing his feelings develop and seeing him fall for the girl. He messed up at times but his effort to show that he cared had me swooning.

This is the 3rd book in the Jenson brothers series. It can be read as a standalone but you get a better sense of the Jenson background reading the previous books. I loved seeing the other brothers. The relationship newcomer Hailey built with their girlfriends was amazing.

This friends-to-lovers story is full of charm and some fun banter, especially between the brothers.

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars if I could

Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes so I had high hopes for this one. And after situating myself in this world - totally forgot I've read book 2 in this series - my hopes were still pretty high.

Wes and Hailey are great characters! They're dynamic and strong and a little broken. I love their pasts and how much they still inform their futures. It's often one character who has to do all the heavy lifting so I appreciated that it wasn't all on Wes or all on Hailey here.

It's a very slow build. The first 40% of the book was a little boring but once it picked up, it moved at the perfect pace. Sure, it got a little repetitive at times - you'll never been confused about what Wes and Hailey's hang-ups are - but on the whole it was an enjoyable read.

I'd recommend this for anyone looking for a strong FMC and a sweet, uplifting romance.