Incredibly cute, funny and full of witty banter. I went in not expecting much but was delightfully surprised by the all around goodness of this book! Can't wait to dive into the rest of Sophie Sullivan's books!

A Guide To Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan

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* Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for providing a digital copy of A Guide To Being Just Friends in exchange of a honest review.

Such a cute easy-going friends to lover story. I didn't even realised it's actually the third book in a series, so thumbs up for the great introduction. It's the perfect summer read if you like strong independnt female protaconist and great friends dynamics.

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I loved this story, it was super sweet. It was a friends to lovers trope and not only did I live the main characters (even though they were both a little stubborn) but the friendships in these stories were so well done. I fell in love with everyone in their friend group! This was my first Sophie Sullivan novel but won’t be my last!

(I do wish it wasn’t “closed door” from a spice perspective, but I knew that going in and don’t hold it against my rating.)

I have so much I can say about this book. It’s easily my new favorite rom com! I adored the friendship and the growth the characters had through out the book. Their love felt like it was lifting off the pages, giving me hope that people still fall for each other absolutely head over heels in love. The jokes and humor Sophie put into this book literally had me cry laughing because it’s just so funny! This is my first book I’ve read of the Jansen brother series, and now I must read them all. This book is everything you can imagine for a rom com, 10/10 highly recommended!

Thank you Sophie Sullivan, St Martins Griffin Publishing and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this amazing novel.

This is the first book I've read from this author/series. I enjoyed getting the chance to meet the two main characters who have a disastrous first meeting. Much is made of it, but enough chance encounters get them past their first impressions enough to agree to be friends. They could both use someone they're not related to for things like grocery shopping and game playing. Under the guise of friendship, they learn what makes the other tic, but when being friends isn't enough, can they move forward without losing what they've gained? It was fun and a little tortuous watching these two fall for each other, but they got there in the end.

I became a fan of Sophie Sullivan with her debut, Ten Rules for Faking It. She ups her game with this wonderful friends-to-lovers story. Hailey and Wes meet in a hilariously embarrassing way and despite this agree to be friends going forward. Neither of them intends for anything but friendship to come from this, but the universe may have other plans... Ugh! It was so good. I love slow burn romances and this one was so enjoyable!

Hailey Sharp needed a fresh start and moved to San Verde to open up her own shop, a place where customers can buy salads in a cup. Wes Jansen, coincidentally needed a fresh start and moved to San Verde to work with, and be closer to, his two brothers. Hailey and Wes meet and strike up a friendship, even going as far as to create a guide to their friendship. The more Hailey and Wes spend time together, the lines get blurred and they find themselves wanting to be more than friends.

This book was okay and I did not really have any deep connection to the characters or their story. I learned that this was the third in a series of books (the other two are centered around Wes' brothers) so this might have been different if I had read this before this one. I was annoyed that the friend guide Hailey and Wes created was talked about a few times and then never seen again. The friends-to-lovers trope is one of my favorites but there was just something about Hailey and Wes that bothered by, mostly that I just did not care. This is a cute, easy read but you will get more out of it if you have, or are going to, read the others in the series. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This was a very cute read! I enjoyed the rom-com love story between Hailey and Wes. The pop culture references were spot on. I feel like the world needs more rich guy meets independently successful girl type stories.

Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes when done well and Sophie Sullivan did it well in A Guide to Being Just Friends! Hailey is trying to get her new salad shop off the ground. She wants to be able to stand on her own two feet and doesn’t want to have to rely on anyone else. Wes is a business man who likes to have everything in his life neat and orderly. After an interesting and laughable first meeting, the two decide to become friends. What could possibly happen when neither of them are looking for love?!

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this book was how real and relatable the problems the characters faced and fears they had were. Hailey and Wes’ storyline was believable and fun to read. Sometimes I wanted to yell at Hailey and Wes for being oblivious but that’s par for the course in a friends to lovers book! Overall the pacing was pretty good. The beginning of the book didn’t grab me right away but after 50ish pages, I was hooked. There were a couple times in the book where I thought it started to drag on a little bit but then it would pick right back up.

This was an enjoyable read and I will definitely be checking out the others in this series! The secondary characters were fabulous in A Guide to Being Just Friends so I can’t wait to read more about their stories! Thank you NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately I DNF’d this book. I got very annoyed with Hailey and how frequently she reflected on her horrible ex-boyfriend Dorian (also, that name is so bad lol). We just needed to be told a time or two how bad he was, not reminded every other page.
And then same with Wes and his father. We get it, his dad is overbearing and rude and thinks his kids will never measure up, but again, we don’t need to be reminded every other page. Couldn’t continue.

I so enjoy this book series!! Love the author's writing and now having background info for this one. Easy to read and a sweet friends to lovers romance--exactly what I like! Very fun side characters as well!

Thank you NetGalley and Sophie Sullivan!

(3.5) this was a cute, slow burn romance. I really enjoyed it and am definitely considering reading the first two books in the series! While this worked well as a standalone, having more background may have helped me get into the book a little bit easier.

My one qualm was that it felt like there were two act 3 drama points, one of which felt like it came on a lot stronger than anticipated? The ending felt a little rushed, but it ended up well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

5 stars! I absolutely loved this book, I couldn’t put it down. I loved the duel pov of Hailey and Wes, it was nice to get both of there different perspectives. I also enjoyed how it was a friends to lovers story. Such a cute romance that was a nice quick read, I highly recommend to any romance readers.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Okay I absolutely loved this cute romance! It was an easy read that brought butterflies and funny moments. I also really loved how independent the female MC was and enjoyed the love story. It was a little slow towards the end, but I would still recommend this book to all romance lovers!

I was so excited to be able to request the third book in this series! This one did not disappoint. Sophie Sullivan knows how to write amazing slow burns that hold you captive.

Hannah and Wes are adorable, and their chemistry is off the charts. They’re the type of friends to lovers you can’t wait to see admit their feelings for their happy ever after. Highly recommend for a fun, light read!

I did enjoy the characters and the slow burn of this book. It was a light-hearted, enjoyable read. However, there was something lacking in this friends-to-lovers trope, and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe I just didn't feel the chemistry between the characters through the pages? Cute read but not entirely memorable.

This was so good! I didn't realize until about halfway through that I had read the first book of the 3 book series so that was a nice tie-in that took me a minute to realize. I love when a series can be read out of turn and still be enjoyable. The flow was perfect, the characters were so sweet and easy to like, and the storyline was a nice change. Normally the guy has been in love all along and the girl finally admits to more-than-friends feelings so I liked how this one worked through and ended up. The pacing and everything felt very natural - I dislike when we get tons of details and backstory to be rushed through the end but this was very well done. I look forward to her future writing and am so glad I was able to read the ARC of this "guide".

Let's face it- the Jansen brothers are hot and their women are fabulous. I really enjoyed the first two books in the series so I was super excited for the many appearances of Chris, Everly, Noah and Grace. I love the friends to lovers trope, so I was eager to dive into Wes and Hailey's story. Unfortunately, their story didn't hit me the way that the previous books did. The Saturday night standing shopping date? So cute. Wes buying Hailey the dress for the holiday party? SO cute (so was that kiss). But Wes shutting Hailey down so harshly when she uttered the words I love you? So not cute. Neither was Hailey's business acumen. She came around in the end but her salad business in the beginning was plain ol' sad. What would've happened if Everly and Stacey hadn't walked in?!

The side characters were great, from Fiona to Tara and even Leo and Dolly. I love a solid supporting cast! I especially loved the storyline with the rec center. I look forward to reading more from Sophie Sullivan because she is such a fun writer!

thank you netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
3.5/5. i would have given it a little bit of a higher rating if it wasn’t for the big scene towards the end. i felt like i either missed a HUGE plot point with wes or it wasn’t covered enough because it was a big surprise to me when that all happened. otherwise i thought it was a good book

This is the third book in the Jansen Brothers series and one that I have been looking forward to. Who doesn't want to see the grumpy older brother who doesn't believe in love fall flat on his face for the woman who runs the local salad shop? In the end, this was just an okay read for me. It felt too long and the conflict was not believable to me.