Before we get into the review, I want to say a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at St. Martin’s Griffin for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. A Guide to Being Just Friends is the third book in a contemporary romance companion series. Each book follows one of the Jansen brothers who struggle with life and love after growing up in a toxic house where they were used as pawns in their parents’ marriage. In this one we follow the eldest son, Wes, as he has a hilarious and disastrous meet cute with Hailey, a local business owner. Wes and Hailey decided to be friends, and stay that way, in an effort to avoid the messiness from love and the distractions of romance. But is it possible to keep everyone in their separate boxes? A Guide to Being Just Friends comes out on January 17th and is available for pre-order now.

Let’s start with what I think this book gets so right: the pining, the mutual pining. So, so beautiful. We won’t try to figure out WHY I like mutual pining and the sheer angst of it all because that would take all day. In an effort to not go there, I’ll tell you how it works so well in this one. We see Hailey and Wes meet in this ridiculous and awkward way and instantly see that a) they’re attracted to each other, b) they don’t want to be, and c) they immediately hit it off. And we do see such a beautiful friendship comes out of this. There were moments at the beginning when I wondered how the author was going to turn their friendship romantic because it was such a beautiful friendship and they were so clearly fitting the friend label. But then they get to know each other even more, they spend even more time together and as the reader you get to see the emotions develop on both sides. But, wait, they’ve already decided to be just friends--they made a whole guide about it--so obviously the feelings are one sided, right? AH. I love it. I do want to specify as well that the author does a great job of pointing out that the reason that this relationship they grow to have is so good is because they were such good friends first. And she goes out of her way to basically strike out the “just” part of “just friends.” The characters were great and they felt like real people with their own desires, their own flaws. I felt like the side characters were a little flat, but having read the previous book I already knew a lot about them anyway.

I didn’t love that there were basically two parts to the third act conflict. But it does make sense that it would happen the way it did. Also, that kind of stuff happens in real life all the time. So, I get it. Just didn’t love it. I wish that there hadn’t been such a big time jump in-between the last chapter and the epilogue or that there had been more in the epilogue to show the things that were mentioned in passing. Especially with Leo and his new position.

Overall, I think it’s a great rom-com for anyone who likes them and an excellent read for anyone who loves some mutual pining.

I am usually not a big fan of friends to lovers, but I really enjoyed how this book handled that trope. The characters were cute and had good chemistry.

This story is so cute! I loved Wes and Haley's chemistry together and who strong they both were in their own right. The journey we got to see them go through was realistic and and sweet. I just wish there was more spicy scenes rather then fading to black.

A Guide to Just Being Friends was a cute Friends-to-Lovers romantic comedy.

I really liked the FMC and how ambitious and proud she was. I could definitely relate to that!

I was, however, disappointed by the lack of romantic tension between the two protagonists during the first maybe 50% of the book. The build-up to the romance was very slow going and I didn't feel invested in their relationship as a couple.

The second half of the book was much better, in my opinion. It had a lot more action and conflict which finally felt like I was reading a romance novel.

I had a hard time with the MMC's point of view in the conflict. I don't want to spoil, but his view of things felt unrealistic and his sudden 'epiphany' even more so.

This novel is the 3rd in a trilogy, but it can be read as a stand-alone. I had not read the first 2 novels myself.

Thank you to Netgalley and St-Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was the cutest thing ever, and I’ll be honest I wasn’t too sure at the beginning if I was going to like it. Also, turns out this is the third book in the series but funny enough I own the second book in it, lol. I’ll definitely be reading it soon!

Hailey & Wes meet at the cafe next to her salad shop. After an embarrassingly encounter where Wes thought Hailey was his date they end up being friends. Just what they both needed because Hailey wasn’t looking for a relationship and Wes wanted a companionship, not love.

I haven’t read many friends to lovers book but this was so cute and I loved that even though they had a connection from the beginning they wanted their friendship more. I loved all the characters around them, and the growth for both main characters.

The only thing keeping me from giving it a 5 ⭐️ was that the first few chapters were a little eh for me. Also there’s some issues with the Jensen brothers and their father and I didn’t see that be resolved at all. It’s not part of the main story but I like to know the tea, call me nosy lol. The book to me is a 4.5 ⭐️

A Guide to Being Just Friends is book three in the Jansen brother's series by Sophie Sullivan.

Hailey just moved to San Verde for a fresh start. She just had a bad breakup with her ex Dorian, who is an actor. Obviously.

Wes also just moved to San Verde to be with his brothers and get out from under his father's thumb.

After an interesting meet-cute in a coffee shop, Wes and Hailey forge a friendship. Despite their attraction, they both agree that being friends will benefit them both at this stage in their lives.

I enjoyed watching their friendship grow through grocery shopping, brunches, and video game and movie marathons. They learned that being friends allowed them the freedom to be themselves. They were open and honest with each other except when it came to their growing feelings for each other.

There were several times I found myself laughing in the book. One of my favorite moments was in the beginning when Hailey ordered three scones and made sure to let us know they were mini. Not judging friend. You do you.

I also liked how different Wes and Hailey were. He was type A with reminders for his reminders, and she was the girl with hundreds of tabs going on her computer at a time. Their banter was refreshing and witty.

My favorite quote in the book was from Wes. He is a game enthusiast. When his brothers asked about his feelings for Hailey, he said, "I feel like I've found a secret code that unlocks a different world that only I'm allowed to be part of, that only I know how to navigate." I thought that was the perfect description of falling in love with someone you are best friends with. They know so much about you that they can unlock parts of you that no one else can.

A Guide to Being Just Friends was sweet, funny, and a cute friends-to-lovers romance.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Full Review: https://gingeralana.com/a-guide-to-being-just-friends-book-review

Hailey and Wes meet at the cafe next door to the salad shop Hailey owns--when Wes mistakes her for the woman who's currently standing him up for a date. And since her cup says Hayden (his missing date's name) instead of Hailey, he doesn't believe that she isn't his date, trying to leave now that she's seen him. But another chance encounter shows him she was telling the truth, and he decides to apologize in the way he knows best: using technology. We helps Hailey make a website for her store, and there friendship evolves from there. Neither of them wants a relationship, which is perfect--they don't have to worry if the other is secretly harboring feelings for them. Except, of course, that they both fall hard.
Wes likes to fix people's problems and Hailey is determined to do everything on her own without help--she's never had someone reliable to lean on, and just because Wes is her best friend, amazing with technology, and super rich, doesn't mean she should lean on him, either.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is really cute, and I definitely found myself rooting for them the whole time. Their friendship was wonderful, and Wes's realization that he's fallen in love with Hailey was sweet, if a bit hard to witness (he is just so certain that he'll never be in love). Hailey and Wes are both so stubborn in very different ways, which creates some nice push and pull between them.

My one issue with the book is that it glossed over a lot of things I really felt needed to be done on the page. I'm not someone who generally pushes "show don't tell" but in this case I definitely thought there was too much telling. For example, they exchange Christmas presents, and Hailey's present for Wes is thoughtful, addresses something nobody else knows about him--and we don't get to see him receiving the present from either of their POVs. It's just a throwaway line about how the opened present is on the coffeetable, while the scene focuses on the present he gave her. There were a lot of moments throughout where I really felt like I needed to be shown something rather than (barely) told it. It happened enough, and with big enough moments, that it knocked off a couple stars for me.
Other than that, though, I really liked this book, and I'll definitely be going back and reading the others in the series.

Sophie Sullivan’s A Guide To Being Just Friends was overall a cute read! I liked both Hailey and Wes for the most part but they each had some qualities that I really didn’t like. Their friendship and its progression to a relationship was cute but somewhat frustrating, as it was just a little too slow.
I really enjoyed how supportive their group of friends were, and I’m really looking forward to reading about Wes’s brothers in Sophie Sullivan’s previous books.
Overall, this was super cute, albeit a little too slow burn for me, and I wish we had a little more spice!

Thank you to St. Martins Press for sending me an advanced digital copy via NetGalley in exchange for review. A Guide To Being Just Friends releases on January 17, 2023

This was a cute friends to lovers rom-com. I have not read any others in the Jansen Brothers series, but I will be adding them to my TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC.

🌶/5 & ⭐⭐⭐.5/5 -- A cute rom-com palette cleanser!

If you've followed me on Goodreads for a bit, you've probably noticed that I read a wide variety of literature. I get bored and burn out VERY fast. The antidote to readers' burnout is reading something different from your last read! As in a whole new genre. I am ALL about slipping these sweet little romance novels in under the radar between my more serious reads.

A SHORT PREVIEW:
Hailey is starting over in a hip little California town bordering the beach. She's left behind a mean ex and flighty parents to create a new life that is all her own. Starting a trendy and unique salad shop, she bumps into Wes in what I can only describe as a 'meet-awkward', and shortly after, seeing each other again through mutual acquaintances. Neither Wes nor Hailey is looking to date right now so they settle on being friends... but can they really stay just friends? **P.S. I shall be referring to this book by its acronym, AGTBJF, throughout the rest of my review!)

MUSINGS:
- Sophie Sullivan's writing very much reminds me of Christina Lauren (in a good way.) Successful career-driven women who treat their friends and family right are at the center of these novels and I love those types of female characters. Easily relatable!
- AGTBJF is also a great exploration of familial trauma's impact on our future relationships and how to move into handling those past hurts in a healthy way. Love that!
- Wes's character was also great because we learn a lot about the ability to listen and learn from our mistakes - while simultaneously not viewing Hailey as a problem to solve. It's REALLY hard to be friends with people who won't help themselves, and you can encourage in a loving way - but people do what they wanna do, and if you really love someone, whether a friend, romantic partner, or family --> it's your job to show up and be as supportive as possible. Great reminders!
- The characters weren't overly annoying with the miscommunication trope. BRAVO Sophie Sullivan! Sometimes authors can overdo that, and it makes me want to chuck my iPad.

NOTES:
- Alternating POV
- HEA ending
- Highlights the abject horror of dating apps. I met my husband on one, and while I don't regret that or find it shameful.. it was a cluster for like 2 years whilst using. Do not recommend.
- Story is a little predictable - but I actually kind of like that it was. It was calming and I kind of needed that after my last read!
- No heavy smut, which was a nice reprieve. A lot of verbal under-the-surface foreplay but no graphic descriptions of body parts touching other body parts if ya know what I mean?

**I received this book as an advanced reader copy, but all reviews are my own. - SLR

You should match the characters pose on the cover while you read the book. Cause this is the perfect lounge on the couch all day and read book. It has fun characters and an entertaining plot! It’ll keep you satisfied!

This was the perfect sit in my apartment when it was raining and binge read type book! It was cute and charming and I loved the terrible meet cue. I had a crush on Wes from the beginning so it was very easy to talk in love with him and Hailey. I’m excited for people to read this book and feel all of the relatable friends to lovers tropes we see here!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know if it's because I haven't read the previous books in this series but I didn't fully connect with this book. I didn't really care that much about the two main characters, there wasn't anything about them that made them overly interesting to me. The characters from the previous books that appear in this book actually seemed a little more interesting than the two characters that this focused on.

It was your standard friends to lovers relationship but it was just a little bland to me. I didn't hate this book, it was fine. I might give the other books in this series a try because the characters seemed a little more interesting but I'd probably look to other books first.

"I'm not her but I'll be anybody for one of these lattes." A Guide to Being Just Friends is a sweet romance story. Although it was the third installment of this series, it felt like it's own stand alone book for someone who hadn't read the first two (I am dying to go back and read the first two!) Wes and Hailey were easy to root for protagonists. Sophie Sullivan had me hooked from their first disastrous meeting, until the end of the book. This book is winner for any slow burn or friends to lovers fans.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely ADORED this book! I loved the build up of the relationship between Wes and Hailey. It was fun watching their relationship grow. I felt as though I was watching it happen right in front of my eyes. The author did a great job developing both characters separately, while also developing them together as a couple. It was a very well written book that kept me picking it up. I now cannot wait to go back and read the other two in the series!

Let me be clear, Hailey is great. She has a solid reason for wanting to be friends and not jump into a relationship. She's always framed her life around how other people view her, and she needs time to stand on her own with her own merits. I can understand Hailey. Wes, on the other hand, is just scared of commitment because he's seen a relationship go poorly before. His motivations for friendship are horrible and strain belief the longer the story goes on. There is also this very weird undercurrent of people trying to shame Hailey for being 'the help' but she's a business owner doing her own thing. I cannot wrap my head around why it would so shameful for her to cater an event just because a pretty boy is there. Hailey is lovely, but she can do better.

A slow-burn, friends-to-lovers story, A GUIDE TO BEING JUST FRIENDS was a sweet romance by new-to-me author Sophie Sullivan. Although it’s the third book in the Jansen Brothers series, it can be read as a standalone – thank goodness, as I didn’t know that before diving in…whoops!

Hailey, having recently broken up with her actor boyfriend, moved to San Verde and opened a salad shop. Hailey then meets Wes, and in spite of their cringy meet-cute, eventually become friends. Now, when I say that this was a slow-burn romance, I meant it! For a good chunk of the story, Hailey and Wes’s relationship was purely platonic as they were each committed to their work and their past negative experiences with love. But, as this was told in dual narratives, we got to experience Hailey and Wes’s growing attraction towards each other, along with the fear of their feelings being unrequited. At times, it almost felt like I was transported back to my middle school days when I would develop feelings for my friends, but was afraid of telling them how I really felt. So, I empathized with Wes and Hailey.

But when those two finally wised up and got together…whew! There were just enough tantalizing moments and swoon-worthy declarations from Wes that the fact that the sexy times were mostly off-page didn’t really matter.

If you’re in the mood for a relatively low-angst romance filled with funny banter with a wide array of secondary characters, and enough details about the salad shop that will have you craving a Santa Salad (or asking yourself, what is in the secret spice blend in the Fajita salad?), then you should read A GUIDE TO BEING JUST FRIENDS.

I read the first two books in this series before reading this one and it did not disappoint. I feel like you wouldn't really miss much if you did read this by itself though. This series filled me with happiness and definitely took me out of a slump that I was in. It was definitely a slow burn, cute and funny. Definitely a good, light read!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for another great ARC!

I feel like I read a different book than other reviewers. I love a good romance, but this one was just chock full of roadblock after roadblock and silly, petty fights about nothing. I wanted to love this book but instead I just found it cringeworthy.

Hailey runs a salad shop called By The Cup and meets Wes when he mistakes her for his date. They have a spark but quickly settle into “just friends.” And don’t worry. You are reminded 100000 times throughout the book they are just friends.

Hailey also flies off the handle at any person trying to help her… oh wait. She only does that for Wes because he has money and she hates “owing” people. She got on my nerves. Wes was also an idiot. He continued to make the same mistakes and apologize. Their communication sucked. They also broke up at the 75% mark. This book has zero spice.

It’s not for everyone, but if you enjoyed the prior books in the series (I haven’t read them), you’ll probably like this one.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and Sophie Sullivan for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 Stars

This was a cute book. I enjoyed the friendship between Hailey and Wes. But I felt like their relationship was rushed. The pacing was also a little too slow for me. I did love their weekly grocery shopping dates. That made me say aww out loud.

I loved how Wes created an actual guide to being just friends.