Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

This book is fantastic! It's the first one I've read from this author and in the Jensen Brother series but I am definitely heading to her back catalog. I usually gravitate toward first person narratives, but this third person narrative did such a great job of getting inside Hailey and Wes's heads.

I loved reading about Hailey's experience starting up a business, and starting over building a new friend group. If you're a fan of found family, I think you'll love this too. Wes and Hailey had amazing chemistry - it was so clear why they were such a great match. They each had a great ARC as well. I also adored the cast of characters that supported their story. I can't say enough good about this book. Highly recommend picking this one up when it's released!

Hailey Sharp is starting over. She’s opening a salad shop, making new friends, and focusing on herself first and foremost. The last thing she wants is a boyfriend, especially after her most recent heartbreak. Wes Jansen is busy running a corporation with his brothers that focuses on giving back to communities. He’s handsome and a technology genius, but dating makes zero sense to him. So much so he’s completely given up on the idea of falling in love.

After an awkward encounter at a local bakery, the two become fast friends. The closer they become, the harder it is to deny their true feelings.

An adorable slow burn romance. I loved the development of Wes and Hailey’s friendship. Their Saturday night grocery shopping and movie dates were filled with the cutest banter. The sense of community that was portrayed in this book was heartwarming. From Wes and his friends to Hailey and her girlfriends. It was a nice reminder that were never truly alone.

The amount of characters became overwhelming at some points in the story. I found it hard to keep up with everyone and how they were connected.

3.5 stars! Will definitely be reading more books by Sophie Sullivan! If you’re needing a quick romance read, this is the book for you!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced E-book copy. A Guide to Being Just Friends releases on January 17, 2023.

This was such a delightful friends to lovers romance!

I have not read the first two in the series, but similar to other slightly linked series, you can easily hop into this one blind and not have missed anything important to this story (though I’ll be going back to read the first ones!).

Our MC, Hailey, is starting out fresh after a breakup with a clear narcissist - and started her dream eatery - a salad shop! When she heads to a nearby bakery, she’s mistaken by our male lead Wes as his blind date. The mistaken identity leads to genuine friendship and gives us a fantastic slow burn 🔥 to lovers.

I loved these MCs and our supporting characters so much! A satisfying, sweet, and swoony romance that you’ll love!

This book is very much a 4.5 for me. I love the friends to lovers trope and I enjoyed how they were strangers when the book started. I liked the acknowledgment of how hard it is to find friends as an adult, especially when moving to a new place. The slow burn was real and the chemistry between Hailey and Wes was very dynamic. The relationship felt really authentic and realistic... up until the last few chapters. I think their first fight as a couple was done really well, but their second "fight" was just awkward. It felt a little miscommunication to me but then also cheesy revelations and a grand gesture and it didn't quite match the rest of the book. Wes felt too robotic at the end when he wasn't like that during the book. I also wish it wasn't left open-ended with the legal situation with their dad. It was pointless to have that in the book when it was just never really resolved at the end. Overall, 10% of the book could be cut and it would be an even better read; however it was excellent and I do recommend reading it. Closed door romance (1/5 for spice).

3.5 Hailey Sharp supported her ex-boyfriend Dorian's dream of becoming an actor, but he wasn't worthy of her love or support, as he was judgemental and mean. She gave up her food truck, moved to a different part of Califonia, and opened a salad shop, By the Cup salad shop.

Wesley Jensen moved from New York to California following his two brothers, Noah and Chris. We initially met them in How to Love Your Neighbor.

Hailey and Wes both have issues with relationships, and their meet-cute was a disastrous mess. What could go wrong?

A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan
Available: January 17, 2023
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pairs Well With: A salad

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC digital copy. My thoughts are my own.

Hailey Sharp is a woman on a mission. Defeated by love but not pessimistic, Hailey channels her energy into opening a salad shop in San Verde, California. Meanwhile, in the same town, Wes Jansen protects the hearts and bank accounts of his brothers, destined not to repeat his father’s mistakes in life and love. When an adorable meet-cute brings these two characters together, they believe the perfect solution to avoiding love is to define the exact parameters of a friendship and stay well within those boundaries. What could go wrong?

I absolutely adored this book. I will admit I have not read Sophie Sullivan’s previous books, and therefore did not realize this was the third and final book in the ‘Jansen brothers’ series. That being said, it absolutely can be read and enjoyed if you haven’t read the other two. I will be getting my hands on them as soon as possible though because I really enjoyed Sophie Sullivan’s writing style and can’t wait to reunite with some of the characters I felt a connection to.
One area of the book I found a bit overwhelming was the amount of supporting characters. Again, not realizing it was part of a series, I was at a disadvantage. I felt like there were a lot of characters that filled supportive roles, but also seemed very developed. I understand now that those characters were leads in their own novels. The misunderstanding in this case was my own, but something new-readers could take note of if they haven’t read “Ten Rules for Faking It” and “How to Love Your Neighbor.”

This slow-burn, friends-to-lovers trope had me invested from the beginning. The main characters were relatable and seemed mature; I find too often in Romance stories that the female character has to change or give up something to get the great love she is after, and Hailey does not do that. The ‘speed’ of the story was captivating as well; it took its time to build up to the conclusion, but didn’t drag on or feel redundant at any point.

Without spoiling the story, it is hard to say much more- I want to yell from the rooftops that Hailey and Wes’ story may be one of my favourites yet, but for now, my 5 star rating and insistence that everyone who loves Romance go buy a copy of this book will have to suffice.

I’d also like to say, for the record, the major pull to this novel was absolutely the cover! I think the cover art is adorable and it caught my eye. The colours and perfect- I love the font, I love the book title- this book is just perfection!

If you love a strong female lead, a tender romance story and a friends-to-lovers trope, this is a must add to your TBR pile. If you’re not sure you like those things, I highly recommend reading this book to find out!

This is a 3rd person, dual POV, 3rd in a series, book. Technically it is a stand alone novel, and you won't be lost by picking this one up first. However, if you plan on reading about any of the other two brothers, you really need to read them in order because each brother makes more and more of an appearance in each subsequent novel.

This novel has so. many. side characters. It's not just the two brothers and their girlfriends you met in Book 1 and 2. It's all of those side characters and friends too. It's a lot. It's too much.

I absolutely adored their meet-cute. So cute. So awkward. So awkwardly cute.

FMC is a strong woman who isn't super annoying in that "strong female character" way. She just knows what she wants, and if she doesn't, she's figuring it out. MMC is totally refreshing as an MMC because he doesn't believe in love because of his parents' nasty divorce. (Did my sarcasm come through well enough there?) But he makes up for it in the rest of his personality, so that's fine with me. He was sweet, secretly and not-so-secretly into his tech job, and I enjoyed a lot of the banter. Some of the dialogue came off a little unnatural and really slowed the story down with there being too much that wasn't needed.

The overall plot sounds so adorable on paper, but the execution felt a little juvenile. Two strangers dive head first into being "just friends" for their respective reasons. But then they keep bringing it up. "Friends do this." "This falls under friendship." Like just stop. Stop being weird. It's made worse by the side characters then not believing that they're just friends (but how can you NOT when they're constantly bringing it up???) And while I understood why the friends bring it up (they just met in the beginning pages. I would be skeptical of my friend doing something like this too.) it's one of my least favorite tropes. "Oh you know he's soooo into you right?" "Y'all aren't just friends, give it up." It's too much. It's weird. It's childish.

The writing is the same writing as the first two--a great mix of inner monologue and dialogue, with some of it coming off as too much in one direction sometimes. The copyediting leaves a lot to be desired with lack of commas and missing nouns in placement of pronouns. (A few chapters begin with "he" or "she" and you're just expected to know who--in the whole large cast of characters--is being talked about.)

I liked this one, but I didn't love it. It waffled between being just okay and liking it, so I round up to a 3.5. I think out of the three in the series, this was my least favorite though. I would 100% check out anything else that Sophie Sullivan writes though because I really enjoy her style, and that alone made this book super worth it to me!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Sophie Sullivan has quickly become a top romance author for me. In the vein of Sarah Adams, the beautiful and heartfelt romances are just such a joy to read. A Guide to Being Just Friends was a lovely friends to lovers story. With so much more than the relationship, there was family and self growth as well. This is a closed door romance, but that doesn't mean the angst and feels weren't there. I loved this one!

This was my first chance of reading a book by Sophie Sullivan and let me just say she did not disappoint. This was a super cute and funny story. This is a great read for romantic hearts every where. You have our lead characters, Hailey and Wes. Hailey who left a controlling previous relationship to start over and up and moves to San Verde, CA to start her new dream in a Salad By The Cup shop. Low and behold she goes next door for coffee and has the strangest meeting with the other character Wes. While he is rude and obnoxious in the initial meeting he makes up for throughout the book as you start to see that this nerdy, analytical, technology loving guy starts to open up. I believe his true self comes out to Hailey because at first they were friends and the intent was to stay that way, however, the heart wants what the heart wants and lines get crossed as feelings they did not mean to have or want come to the surface. They truly are a perfect match. He always wants to help and she wants to do it all on her own, what could possibly go wrong...You shall see. Honestly, this was an amazing quick, quirky, romantic read. Something light and perfect for the soul. Every now and then you need happiness and honesty and this book delivers. Thank you Sophie Sullivan for this amazing read, I will definitely check out more of your books.

Netgalley gave me an ebook copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. This was a slow burn romance which always takes me a little longer to read. I want them to just fall in love. It also didn’t have a lot of spice but it was still a really good story and I enjoyed the plot too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!

This is a cute, low angst rom-com that follows Wes and Hailey as they go from strangers to best friends to lovers and all of the messy slow-burn in between. I really liked watching the entire trajectory of their relationship play out through the story and the doubts and frustrations they had with each other and with moving from friends to lovers, in that way the book, despite being a rom-com, felt very honest and realistic. I really liked Wes as a character, probably because I so relate to his social anxiety, awkwardness, and fears. However, this did make me increasingly annoyed with Hailey at times in the book, particularly around the conflicts created by her stubbornness and pride (girl, let this man buy you a diamond bracelet pls!!!!!), and the ways she wasn't meeting Wes in the middle!!!

Overall, A Guide to Being Just Friends is a fun final book in the Jansen brothers series, that will make for a nice winter curl-up with a warm cup of tea read.

This was a cute romance. I liked the storyline, but it’s a familiar one to me. Overall it was an okay read, but I found the story wordy at times.

It’s about Hailey who’s staring over in a new California town her cousin, lives in. She’s a new business owner and ends up having an awkward encounter with Wesley Jansen while grabbing a coffee next door to her store one day. Hailey and Wesley meet again and start again, becoming friends. But there’s attraction on both sides even though they’re both scared to mess up the friendship they form. They eventually find their way to each other.

#indigoemployee

When I read the synopsis of this book I got really excited, friends to lovers romance that was being compared to When Harry Met Sally? Yes please! And listen...I really wanted to love this book and I enjoyed parts of it..I did...like the relationship between Hailey (our heroine) and her cousin, the banter between Wes (the love interest) and his brothers and the found family aspect throughout the book, plus there were quite a few sweet moments between Hailey and Wes. But...and I hate that there's a but...it didn't hit the mark. There were so many little nuggets that were wonderful and sweet but I found the dialogue throughout the book felt unnatural and over exaggerated and there were so many side characters that things began to feel unnecessarily convoluted. Those two things were such major parts of the book that it just killed it for me. BUT I do agree with many of the reviewers here that the epilogue was quite touching. Overall I think that Hailey and Wes are an ideal romance read for some people but unfortunately it wasn't quite right for me!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advanced reader copy!

It took awhile to get into the story but once you let yourself get into it you easily want ti be there to see the journey Hailey and Wes go through.

I had not known this was book 3 in a series but you can easily read this book in its own but you will also instantly run to get the other two books if you haven’t read them yet.

There are parts that drag and frustrate you but you still want to get to the end and see how it all works out. The journey is worth it.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3✨ Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the E-ARC of A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan. The below is my honest opinion!

Sophie Sullivan brings together the Jensen brother’s for one last happily ever after. We’ve seen Chris find his Everly and Noah love his Neighbor, Grace, but now it’s the oldest Jensen brother’s turn for love. However, Wes doesn’t believe in love, nor does he want what comes with love: marriage & kids.

Enter Hailey, the sunshine salad maker who is on a mission to make it on her own after a shitty break up. Haily just moved to the area of San Verde and opened up her salad shop, By the Cup. When a case of mistaken identity at the bakery next door brings Wes into Hailey’s life, the pair agree to becoming “just friends.” For months, they hang out, grow closer and depend on one another more and more and still dent the undeniable attraction they have for each other. Hailey because she doesn’t want to be heartbroken again and Wes because he is not down with love.

After a drunken mistake leads to questioning if they have feelings for each other beyond friendship, they come together. Now they have to work through the ups and downs of a relationship. Can Wes open his heart to love? Will Hailey fall and not be caught?

This was a very slow burn romcom. I mean the two didn’t even kiss until 50% into the story and then it seemed rushed to get to the “conflict” and inevitably the resolution. I disliked the miscommunication and wishes that the romance started a little sooner and that we got more of their romantic story rather than the build up. Overall, it was an enjoyable romance and a nice ending to the Jensen brother’s loves.

So going into this book did I know it was a series nope! Did it matter No! It was a good book as a stand-alone, I ended up enjoying A Guide to Being Just Friends! It is a slow burn romance that is a friends to lovers trope. I enjoyed that both leading characters Wes & Hailey were relatable. Very beachy summer read.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan.

I had no idea this was the third and last in a series because it read like such a great standalone. I didn't love it, but I did like it. My biggest critique is that it's just too long. An editor needed to whack out some of the extraneous internal musing and repetition. But the story was sweet, characters were likeable, and it was an easy read while spending the day waiting for jury duty. I enjoyed the friends to lovers trope and it was a closed door romance.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC!

before i start this review i want to put a disclaimer that i requested this on netgalley not knowing it was the third in a series (oops!). this book can be read as a standalone but i will definitely go back to read the others because i’ve had my eye on them and i really enjoyed this!

the main characters hailey and wes are first introduced in the opposite of a meet cute. after this very awkward first encounter, the two become good friends. despite their blossoming feelings for each other, it is imperative that they stay just friends. right?

i’m a sucker for the friends to lovers trope, i have to admit. the slow burn and pining was so good, i was invested the whole time. on top of that, seeing the development each character had was so satisfying. i look forward to reading sophie sullivan’s other books after this one!

3.5/5 stars

thank you netgalley and st. martin’s press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

"𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠."

Hailey Sharp, is tenacious & hard-working, a bit quirky, but has a smile that lights up any room. Wes Jansen is a brilliant businessman, a planner, a bit of a computer geek, and drop-dead gorgeous. He can handle any business deal thrown his way and design a computer program in his sleep, but when it comes to understanding emotions he's a bit lost. Both have their reasons for not wanting a relationship, but theirs no harm in a friendship, right?

Your heart will gush at Sophie Sullivan's adorable friend-to-lovers story, A Guide to Being Just Friends.
I was instantly hooked after reading the hilarious meet-cute scene for our OTP. Instant attraction, a big misunderstanding, a few awkward moments, & an unlikely friendship is formed.

The way Wes & Hailey's friendship progresses & becomes something neither of them realized they needed was too precious. This delightful RomCom will leave you feeling warm all over by the end.
Be ready to binge this book. Who know salads could be so enticing & grocery shopping on a Saturday night could be so gosh dang cute!

" 𝐺𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒."

A Guide to Being Just Friends is the third book in the Jensen Brothers' story. It can be read as a standalone, but who wants to miss out on the just as swoon-worthy Jansen brothers?
Go readTen Rules for Faking It & How to Love Your Neighbor so that you are ready for this gem, come January!

A cute slow burn romance that will give you all the fuzzy feelings.
I enjoyed that both leading characters Wes & Hailey were relatable characters who both show growth and change throughout the story, not a single sided change that if common in a lot of rom coms.
Cute summer read, and I will definitely be checking out more of Sophie Sullivan!