Sophie Sullivan is one of my favorite closed door romance writers. The story is strong and engaging enough that it doesn’t feel like something is missing without the smut. I think this one was my favorite actually. Definitely will recommend and will share on instagram closer to the pub date!

3-3.5 stars

I love when a book couple starts as friends, and Hailey and Wes quickly become the firmest of friends.

We can see it, everyone around them can see it, but man this is such a slow burn for our lovelies to see it - they can't just be friends.

Sophie Sullivan writes good, well rounded characters, they have their flaws, they are not always "perfect people", but this time I got hella frustrated at Hailey and Wes, each for different reasons.

I enjoyed the secondary characters, and how they create new friendships (not really an easy thing to do as adults, am I right?)

I had forgotten I had read book 2 in this series until about half way through, when something twigged and I came back to GR to see if I had read any of them before haha - bookzheimers is real, people!

I felt that the series came to a good conclusion, and I will read more by this author in the future

Cute covers always make me want to read a book and I was hoping to find a book in this series that would be a hit for me. Unfortunately this book, like the series, just wasn’t a fit for me. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and wanting to keep reading about them. This book will definitely be a fit for others, and I’ll keep trying books by this author, since I’m sure I’ll love one of them!

I didn't know this was part of a series and I didn't read the first one, but I never once felt lost, so this stands alone on its own very well!

This was really sweet, cute, charming and did I say sweet?! I loved the characters, the story, the premise, the setting, the supporting characters, all of it.

When you are craving a sweet, feel good story, pick this up! You will be left with a warm hug and smile on your face.

This was my first book by Sophie Sullivan and she definitely didn't let me down! This was such a cute closed-door romance and I'm excited to read the other two in the series. While I admittedly wanted to shake some sense into the main characters every now and then, it was wonderful reading along as they grew as a couple and individually. I would highly recommend!

A Guide to Just Being Friends is a strangers to friends to lovers novel. It is the true definition of a slow burn. I’ve read some reviews that said that it was too slow, and that they didn’t feel a connection to the characters. That wasn’t true for me, and it may be because I had a friendship that was very much like Wes and Hailey’s and I caught feelings (he didn’t). I really felt their friendship connection and the way that their feelings developed for each other. I also really enjoyed the fact that the brothers in this book were vulnerable and weren’t afraid to share their feelings with each other. I think that it’s important to show that side of men. It’s refreshing to read. This is the third book in the series, but I didn’t even know that. At no point (after I realized that it was part of a series) did I ever feel like I was missing out on something from the previous books. A must read for any rom-com lover!

Wes and Hailey are both focusing on their careers, not looking for love. They’ve both been hurt in the past, so a friendship is all they really need. When their lives start to become more intertwined, it becomes harder to see the line between just friends and love.

This is book 3 in the Jansen brothers series, which wasn’t really mentioned in the book description when I requested it on NetGalley, so I assume it’s also intended to be a standalone. I did feel like I was missing a lot of the story around the brothers and their relationship with their father, but their relationships with their partners was summarized briefly.

But it wasn’t just the brothers that I felt like I was missing parts of. Hailey’s backstory with her family was kinda unclear too. It’s mentioned about her parents a couple times, but only one brief interaction to feed that line. The idea that she wanted to make it on her own was very overdone compared to how much history we knew.

The conflict between Hailey and Wes always seemed a bit overdone as well. She gets very mad at him for trying to help with little to no explanation about why that’s important to her. And the conflict happens frequently, which is maybe meant to invoke passion between them? But seemed like just too many ups and downs with not a lot of fire around them.

Overall, the idea of the story is cute. I really liked the brothers, and some of the side characters. But I just found myself kinda bored by it.

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

Very cute. Slow burn enemies to lovers fixer-upper romance. I highly recommend this book.
I just reviewed A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

This had a super strong start! Loved the meet cute.
The setting was one of my favourite parts. I could picture her cute little salad shop so easily and I would totally stop there for lunch every day if I could!
I also loved the brothers! Their relationship and witty banter was so fun to read about!
The story felt a bit long and dragged for me in the middle. I also wasn’t a fan of the swear words.
I’d try another book by this author for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced copy. What follows is my honest review.

New to San Verde, Hailey and Wes are trying to reinvent themselves and become friends.

Bad summary, bad book! It’s advertised as friends to lovers, but it’s kinda a stretch to call it that. They have a rough meeting, Wes apologizes, they’re immediately into each other but agree to be just friends because reasons. While the characters have some chemistry and the first part of the book was cute, there’s a lot of telling and not showing with their friendship and romance. We don’t see them becoming friends or falling for each other, we’re just told they have.

The writing itself is rough and made me cringe pretty often. There’s no flow in the dialogue—it consistently feels chunky and unnatural (and also cringe!), which wouldn’t have been a problem if the overall plot was decent. The characters were under developed and frankly a bit problematic (does Hailey really need to hate on women who like makeup or dressing up?? it’s giving not like other girls!! and Wes being into it was a red flag!!). Honestly, the main conflict was messy and I don’t really know if I could tell you what it even was. Miscommunication trope? Somehow? But it’s unclear how any character reached any conclusion?

Anyways, 1.5/5. I’m rounding this up because I don’t like giving books one star, but there isn’t really anything I liked about this book.

I was super excited to read A Guide to Just Being Friends as an ARC from the publisher, since I’m familiar with the other two novels in this series AND this book has some tropes that I really enjoy. However, I had some major issues with this that didn’t make it a super pleasant read.

I enjoyed: likeable characters, friends-to-lovers trope, strong intro to characters and plot, dynamic/banter between both MCs

I disliked: being bored in the middle (the plot really slowed down and felt drug out to create more “substance” yet there wasn’t really anything), there were way too many characters to keep up with and the author kept adding new side characters more than 70% into the book, there were several small plot climaxes and they were all kind of inconsequential and resolved too quickly.

Overall rating: 3 stars

I adored this book. It was a really great story and a wonderful addition to the series. Neither Wes nor Hailey are looking for forever love, but for very different reasons. After a not so cute meet cute and a heartfelt apology, they become friends and strike a deal to keep it platonic and support each other. Be each others plus 1, watch movies, hang out and all the things that friends do, but no romantic entanglement. What can go wrong? It’s a long and winding road to their eventual HEA, with lots of family, friends and some drama make for a really story that has me awaiting whatever comes next from this author as Ive read all of her work thus far. Enjoy the listen as the narration was as good as the story.

A Guide to Being Just Friends follows the last Jansen brother after his move to California to be with his brothers. Wes meets Hailey and they decide to be just friends. I didn’t really understand why they both agreed to be friends when they both clearly felt a spark from the beginning. While cute, it didn’t feel very realistic.

DNF @ 45%.

I really wanted to love this book as I love a good friends to lover story, but unfortunately, I was unable to get into this book. I found that the story was all over the place and that there wasn't a clear plot that kept me engaged and wanting to know what happens next. I liked Wes, but I was not able to connect at all to Hailey. I was looking for a cute friends to lover, but because of the way I was not able to connect to the characters as well as lack of clear plot, I wasn't able to get into the book.

Hayle is determined to get her salad shop off the ground, to not let anything or anyone distract her. Wes is looking for someone he likes, but won't love. So when they meet, they can only be just friends, nothing more...
This is book 3 in the Jansen Brothers series, but the first one I read, and it can very well be read as a standalone, I never got the impression I was missing anything. I liked this strangers to friends to lovers romance. It was a slow burn and the chemistry was good, although it was closed door (which I'm fine with). The character growth through the story was really good. However, I thought that the final confrontation (although I know it's part of the "recipe" to a good romance) felt forced and was unnecessary. I loved the dual POV (Hayle/Wes) and how it was characterized in the narration (I read both the ebook and the audio book). The narration was great in the audio book.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I enjoyed this book, however I feel as though I would have had more of an appreciation for it had I read the first two of this series.

This was a cute, slow-burn love story with one of my favourite romance tropes (friends to lovers!)

I enjoyed Wes & Hailey’s character development and progression throughout the novel. Although, I wanted more angst! I felt like I was always wanting more.

I couldn’t seem to get into this book. The lead character came across as bitter and uninteresting and, without anything to help her click for me, this book was a very unfortunate DNF. 3 stars, however, because Sophie Sullivan has a fantastic voice over all and I liked the premise!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this one so much! As I was reading I reminisced on my relationship with my bf since we were also friends before lovers lol This book was truly friends to lovers done right 🥰🥰🥰

PS-Wes stole my heart once he created a video game for Hailey 😭

When I see a cute little cartoon romance cover, I KNOW that I am going to love the book. A Guide to Being Just Friends is a friends-to-lovers romance about Wes, a stubborn, rich businessman and Hailey, a new-to-town, rom-com-loving entrepreneur. After butting heads, the first time they meet, apologies are given, and they fall quickly into a close friendship.

I was not sure whether to feel joy while reading this book or feel deeply jealous of the relationship between Hailey and Wes, both platonic and romantic. In this book, Sophie Sullivan creates a healthy couple that faced challenges but also dealt with them in a realistic way, which is a statement that I cannot always say when discussing romance books. As someone who deeply related to Hailey as a character, it felt good to see a character with my personality get a happy ending.

Overall, this book feels like a warm hug. Is it a work of absolute art that I would frame on my wall? No, but is it a cozy romance that made me feel genuine happiness and butterflies while reading? Yes. So, if that is what you look for in your romance books, then read this book!!

DNF. As a lover of friends to lovers romance, I was super excited for this book!
I'll be honest, it was really hard trying to connect with any of these characters that I didn't even make it to anything romance related. I'm sure there are others out there who will really enjoy this book, but just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sophie Sullivan for this book in exchange for my honest review!