Sophie Sullivan succeeds at writing a light-hearted slow burn story of friends to soul mates. Wes and Hailey have a realistic and well-told tale of how two people might fall in love as friends before admitting their romantic feelings for each other. Neither of them is a bad person in any significant way and both do grow throughout the book regardless.

There are a lot of side characters in this book and it does get confusing trying to follow who is related to who and who actually matters. The female friends could probably have been cut down quite a bit. Some story lines also get dropped and never brought up again.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

3.5/5 Stars

Let’s start with what this book has going for it. I love a strong main character with family issues who strikes out on their own. Love a good cast of side characters and found family that help them cultivate themselves into the best version of themselves and I felt like the main character (Hayley) had a ton of potential.

Where the book lost me was two fold
1. It throws everything at you immediately. There’s basically no ramp up and it feels like you’re drinking from a fire hose of Hayley’s stream of consciousness.
2. This book does a lot of telling - “Hayley’s anxiety was at an all time high” or “His love for his family and friends was …” and I find the combination of these two just made me feel the book was a bit immature… I think there’s a ton of potential and I’ll definitely read others by the author in the future but felt this lacked a bit

So after I received this book from Netgalley I realized there were 2 in the series before it. You can definitely read this book on its own but I think it would’ve helped to get to know the characters better.

This was a cute but very slow moving romance (with like very little to no steam in it lol). Definitely had some frustration with Hailey- put your pride down and accept the help lady! People care about you and want to help, let them! The ending did seem very predictable but nonetheless a cutesy romance.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A Guide to Being Just Friends
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 1/17/23
Author: Sophie Sullivan
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 336
GR: 3.77

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Hailey Sharp has a one-track mind. With a head full of entrepreneurial ideas and a bad ex in her rearview, her one and only focus is living life the way she wants to. Wes Jansen never did understand the fuss about relationships. Companionship, not passion, is the name of the game. When Hailey and Wes find each other in a disastrous meet cute that wasn’t even intended for them, they embarrassingly go their separate ways. But when Wes finds Hailey to apologize for his behavior, they strike a friendship. Because that’s all this can be. Hailey doesn’t want any distractions. Wes doesn’t want to fall in love.

My Thoughts: This is book No. 3 in the Jansen Brother Series, I did not read the first two books. This could be read as a standalone. This was a slow burn romance. The trope is friends to lovers, which is always a classic and makes for a wonderful romantic read. The chemistry was a bit delayed, but when it hit, it exploded. The story is narrated in a dual POV, which I prefer, as you get to hear both sides of the story for a more complete picture. The characters were developed phenomenally with depth, witty banter, chemistry, and just work so well with this book. The characters had such tremendous growth that you become immersed with them. The author’s writing style was complex, brilliant, swoon-excellence, and kept me engaged. This would be considered a close romance novel, which is okay by me. It just made me feel good, a real heartwarming novel that hits all of the notes. This releases in January and I would recommend preordering!

I enjoyed this book. The plot was well paced and the characters were well developed. I would recommend this book to others.

First, I requested and read this book not realizing it was a third book of a series. While the other two books are focused on the other brothers, this might have been a better read had I read the previous books. (Lots of side characters that I couldn't keep straight.) That said, I still enjoyed the story of Wes and Hailey and left really wanting to pick up the first two books.

Hailey and Wes have an awkward first meeting caused by a misidentification on Wes's part. They quickly become friends with lots of banter and great chemistry. Hailey is so strong and independent. I loved watching her let Wes in and eventually accepting help. Wes is a fix it man who grew up not believing in love and struggled with his father's expectations. I liked that Wes finally started pursuing what makes him happy verses what his father would approve of. Overall the character arc for both of them was great to read.

You'll love this book if you are a fan of slow burn/friends to lovers romance tropes. Also the found family vibe is just perfect!

I would like to extend a special thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sophie Sullivan, who provided me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good contemporary romance book. It wasn't great and it wasn't bad, it was average. I preferred the second book in this trilogy "How to Love Your Neighbour" but this was is a fine follow up. Nothing special to report, if you like contemporary romance, you will probably like this just fine.

I'm unfamiliar with this series so this was the first one I read but what I love so much about romance series is you usually don't need to be familiar with the series and you can pick up whatever you want in no particular order. I really enjoyed this romance as a stand alone and I'm sure if I had read the other books in the series first it would have been an excellent conclusion to the Jansen Brothers series.

The characters are written as you'd expect them to be. They don't have too much depth but there's enough there that they feel believable. There's a lot of side characters and they all exist on their own without falling into a massive blur of not being able to keep who's who straight. It's definitely a slow burn romance but the pacing was good. I found the build up of the relationship to make sense and when they finally do get together, it made it that much more satisfying. The conflict between the two was fine and they solve it pretty quickly which I enjoyed because they actually like .... communicated?? Unheard of. But then immediately after they make up there's a second conflict that I just couldn't quite get behind. Ultimately the HEA was cute, I teared up just a lil bit and felt all warm n fuzzy inside which is what I want from a romance book.

I can't speak for the rest of the series but this was a really solid romance and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love friends to lovers! Hailey and Wes spend a lot of time together, growing into best friends (and eventually more!). They were super cute.

The only thing was by the time they admitted their feelings, l wanted more. It felt like such a big build-up to be let down. It almost felt like they weren’t interested. I really loved the friendship they shared, but wished for more when they became more.

I do really want a salad in a cup now… they all sounded so good!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc! <3

When I chose this book, I did not realize this was the third book in a series. Maybe that information would have changed how I felt about the book, but I doubt it. A Guide to Being Just Friends is about Hailey and Wes and their mutual decision that love sucks and they want to remain just friends. Until they start developing romantic feelings for each other….
This wasn’t an awful book, but I truly did not care for it. I did not see any aspect of the characters or story that was unique to this novel. Every rom-com cliche was included and I could not get excited about reading it.

The mention of When Harry Met Sally caught my eye and had me compelled to read this title.
I was not disappointed.
Being friends and not seeking out romance is something I have seen IN life as well as in fiction. It is through a growth in a friendship that they soon discover they feel something more.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a fun romp of a read. While it is the last of a short series, you do not need to have read the other books. Instead, I may seek those out in the future to learn more about how the other brothers met their significant others.

this romance novel was so sweet and Hailey and Wes were exactly the couple I needed to get me out of my funk from the move!

rating: 3 1/2 stars

pick up if you like:
👫friends to lovers
dual POV
💁‍♀️fierce, independent female protagonists
😍guy falls first and HARD
🚪closed-door romantic deats
🌴beachy small-town vibes

(I also didn’t know this was part of a series?? so I have to get the other stories in my hands SOON)

this book follows Hailey Sharp — a recently heart-broken chef who starts a takeout salad shop called By The Cup after moving to San Verde from Hollywood following a rough breakup from her actor boyfriend. all she wants is to focus on her one-of-a-kind salads, read her books, and hangout with her cousin and her family. she doesn’t have time for another heartache.
enter Wes Jansen. the guy who confused her for his dating app-date at the cafe next door. when he continues to show up at her store and well, everywhere else, they start to hit it off. but neither of them wants a relationship — hence, their private joke to create a “guide to being just friends”.

I’m not always the biggest fan of the friends to lovers trope, but this book was so sweet and gave me a cozy storyline with characters I LOVED to come back to every time i opened my kindle! it went on a little longer than i expected it to, with some extra conflicts that delayed the lovers’ relationship more and more, when i just wanted them to be together!! that knocked off a star for me just because of my personal stamina, but i highly recommend this for a good heartfelt read!

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a slow burn friends-to-lovers romance that is apparently part of a series. This book can technically stand alone, but the inclusion of a staggeringly long roster of characters from those previous books makes it more challenging to really get into this one -- I didn't understand who everyone was, what their relationships were, or why they were showing up in this story. The central romance was believable, and I appreciated that the two main characters each had some baggage to work through before they could be together.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book!

🥗This book begins with Hailey who is a young entrepreneur starting her own salad restaurant in Cali🥗

🕴️She then meets wealthy businessman Wes and the two of them become basically besties🕴️

😉And since this story is about just being friends, that's where the book ends 😉

❤️ You all know I am SO PICKY on romances and love stories and I'm happy to say that A GUIDE TO BEING JUST FRIENDS BY @authorsophiesullivan passed my test ❤️

🎯It was cute, it was fun, it had some depth I appreciated and overall, I really thought the male love interest was actually a sweet guy (I know, so rare). It was also a 🧼 clean 🧼 romance 🎯

📚This is actually book 3 in the Jansen Brothers series and while I read book 2 (HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR) I still haven't read book 1 (10 RULES FOR FAKING IT).📚

📖Each book follows the story of another one of the three brothers, so while they DEFINITELY READ WELL AS STANDALONES, it is fun to know the siblings a little bit from the other book(s). 📖

🧣Also, Swifties will appreciate all the Taylor references in this one🧣

🙏Thank you so much to @stmartinspress for sending me an ARC! This book is available on January 17th!

A super cute friends to romance novel that is sure to win your affection if you love that trope! Hailey and Wes are super likable characters and I found myself rooting for them!

*3.5
This was a cute read. I feel like the Hailey and Wes were real people with real fears. While I didn’t always appreciate how unintelligently those fears impacted some of their decisions, I can accept that it was a realistic way for them to respond in the moment.
The start of the book was a little bit challenging for me to process. The amount of characters introduced to the reader in a really short span of pages is overwhelming. However, I think that it parallels how Hailey would have felt being introduced to all of those people just as quickly. Over time, the personalities differentiate better, and it makes sense, but the beginning can be off putting. With that being said, the side characters were a great touch. I like it when the main characters have a support system outside of the significant other. Hailey was able to achieve that through her new friends, and Wes had her brothers (which I find adorable).
All in all a good read. I found it a little long and wordy at times, but the storyline was very cute!
Thank you NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A delightful romantic comedy. Hailey and Wes are each characters growing and learning as they navigate their relationship. I have always adored the concept of best friends turned lovers, and this story hits this idea out of the park. Their friendship allows them to both grow into themselves before they start a romantic relationship. With themes of friendship, supporting others, family, and love all wrapped into one fun read you won't be disappointed.

Another great addition from Sullivan! I enjoy her humor and the way she builds relationships. This is the third story in this particular universe and she brings in the other characters with just enough refresh that the story still functions as a stand alone book. Would totally recommend and can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!

This is a friends to lovers slow burn romance. And I was so so excited to read this and while there were lots of aspects that I enjoyed this one was a bit if a let down for me. I found it difficult to stay engaged and connect with the characters or even root for them at some points. Their meet cute is adorable and awkward and I really enjoyed the authors writing style but this just didn’t have some of the essential romcom elements I was hoping for

This 3rd book in the series about the Jansen brothers features the oldest brother Wes, and I am here for his story with Hailey! First, their meet cute is adorably awkward. Then they decide to be “just friends” even though there is undeniable attraction. Neither wants a relationship but obviously life has other plans for them. I love their sweet interactions and how they figure out how to fit into each other’s lives and families/friend groups. The glimpses of the other brothers were perfect. Now we need a story for sis! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own!