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!

Cute slowburn friends to lovers romance! I haven’t read the other Jansen Brothers novels (I had no idea it was a series when I picked it up!), but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment of this novel.

Hailey is a salad store owner with skidmarks on her heart from a previous bad relationship, and Wes has basically sworn off relationships in general. Obviously, these two fall in love and it’s cute and wonderful, and everything you want in a friends-to-lovers romance. I really enjoyed the meet-cute scene, and how Hailey and Wes genuinely became friends first and grew closer before developing feelings. This does include some of the usual third-act relationship conflict/drama that I’m not fond of, which prevented this book from getting 5 stars. But definitely a cute read if you’re looking for something fun and light-hearted!

Maybe closer to 3.5 stars. It was cute but lacking of lot of things I typically look forward to in this type of book. The characters were likeable but I just never really connected or got invested in them or their stories, and I while I definitely wanted to see what would happen next I just felt like it was missing something to make it truly great.

3.5 Stars Sophie Sullivan’s other two books in this series of related standalones have been on my TBR for a while and now I’m disappointed that I haven’t read them sooner because A Guide to Being Just Friends was adorable! Luckily, I didn’t have to read the first two books to understand what was going on in this novel (except for why the Jensen brothers’ company is called Squishy Cat Inc.; I still haven’t figured that one out). This was a classic friends-to-lovers rom com and the dynamic between Hailey and Wes was adorable. Both characters had some issues to work out from previous relationships and their relationships with their parents, but they got there in the end. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see Wes setting out on his own to do video game designs, but the happy ending was just right. Definitely recommend this one.

Generally, I found A Guide to Being Just Friends to be a charming take on a friends-to-lovers story, but I do wish it had been paced a bit differently. I appreciated that we got to see the friendship develop between Hailey and Wes, but it felt like a lot of buildup without much payoff, and their misunderstanding/conflict in the end took too long to unfold. This was still a fun read, but not my favorite of Sophie Sullivan’s that I’ve read.

I binged this book in 2 days - it was my favorite of the series (the other 2 in the series were great too .. but this one just had that extra funny factor that I look for in rom-coms !!) 4 well-deserved stars !

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4938025404A Guide to Being Just Friends (Jansen Brothers, #3)
by Sophie Sullivan (Goodreads Author)
5864121
Tiffany's reviewAug 22, 2022 · edit
really liked it

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review of the book.
If you enjoy:
Friends to Lovers
Grumpy Sunshine
I really enjoyed the wonderful writing in this charming story about two people who find love through what is initially a business friendship. This closed door romance has wonderful character development and makes you feel like you would like to be a part of the world according to the Jansen Brothers.
.5/5 spice and 4/5 star

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't realize this was the third book in a series (my fault) when I requested it, and think I might have enjoyed it more had I read the other two books first. It's definitely possible to read as a standalone, but I did feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters at some point and struggled to keep them straight.

A perfectly fine read, this was quick, easy, and fluffy. I found the dialogue to be a little clunky at points and as it goes with many many many romcoms, I was frustrated when there were inevitably situations that could've been cleared up with exactly one open and honest conversation at any point.

I didn't love Wes as a whole, but found myself rooting Hailey on.

A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan – 4 stars!

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a marvelous story about Hailey and Wes. Wes is the last of his brothers to find love (and he really wants to avoid it). Meanwhile, Hailey is focused on getting her new business off the ground and making some friends in the process. I really enjoyed their story from meet-cute to HEA. This strangers to friends to lovers trope is a slow burn and a thoroughly enjoyable one at that.

While this is a stand-alone story, it is the third book about the Jansen brothers, so more details and characters make sense if you have read the other stories first. Hailey and Wes were my favorite of the three books by far.
A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, and Sophie Sullivan for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Truly loved reading this sweet story about the complexities of friendships and romances. Each of the supporting characters added to the dynamic of the main characters.

Good start to this book, but then it lost me. All the business talk got a bit tedious, and I also felt like there were too many characters. I did appreciate that it was a slow burn romance. This one just wasn’t for me, unfortunately.

This is a friends to lovers story about Hailey and Wes. Hailey is trying to get her “salad in a cup” business off of the ground when she runs into Wes at the bakery next door. They have chemistry right from the start. After another chance encounter we discover that Wes is a brilliant business guru. They become friends and Hailey reluctantly uses some of Wes’ strategies to improve her struggling business.

I feel that this book had an interesting premise and I really wanted to like it. However, I felt that 1) The story really dragged in the first half of the book 2) The chemistry between the two main characters was all steak and no sizzle.

Overall, I would say that this book was good but not great.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for providing me with a eARC of this book to read a review!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was not aware that this was book 3 in a series until the author’s acknowledgment page at the very end of the book. I think that might have cleared up a few moments of confusion I experienced when the author mentioned side characters as if I should have previous knowledge of them and their relationships to one another. Despite that, this book could definitely be read as a standalone.

If you like your romance to be sweet, innocent, fade to black, with a friends to lovers storyline then A Guide To Being Just Friends is for you. This book was a PG romance with little in the way of funny banter and overt sexual tension between the main characters, Hailey and Wes. After a bad relationship, Hailey moves to a new city and opens up a to-go salad shop. Hailey is introduced to Wes one day when he mistakenly takes her for a date that was blowing him off. Wes eventually realizes his mistake and they’re able to quickly become good friends. Feelings develop by both characters but both try to ignore them, assuming the other person doesn’t feel the same way. Think of this book as a hallmark type of romance, if that’s what you like and are looking for, you’ll be satisfied with this book.

Overall, I really wanted to love this book but I felt unable to connect with either of the characters. As I was reading, I couldn’t feel their romantic chemistry which was disappointing. I would have liked for the author to provide more descriptive details to demonstrate the characters’ depth of feelings for one another rather than just telling us through internal dialogue. When the characters did eventually get together, I found I wasn’t excited it was finally happening but rather just relieved that something was happening to move the story along. Finally, I wasn’t a huge fan of the story being told by a 3rd person narrator that switched perspectives from Hailey and Wes because I found it difficult to follow at times.

I’ll give this book 2 stars because I think I might eventually revisit the first two books in the series because I really liked Wes’ two brothers, but I’m not compelled to do so immediately. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, just not for me.

I liked this book! While I obviously enjoyed the delightfully bumpy friends-to-lovers journey taken by Hailey and Wes, I have to say that I was also really fascinated by the growth of Hailey’s salad business and all that it entailed.
This is the last book in a series about three wealthy brothers; I haven’t read the previous stories, and though I wasn’t lost at any point while reading this one, reading about how Noah and Chris found love probably would’ve been beneficial (and I do intend to backtrack!).
Great characters, great banter, great book!

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a well written, slow burn rom-com by Sophie Sullivan. I read it not realizing its the third book in the Jansen brother series, but I didn't feel like I missed much by reading it first. That being said, I will definitely read the first two books now!

I enjoyed the premise of this book- Hailey is the new owner of a salad shop, as opposed to a bakery which seems more common in this genre. She accidentally meets Wes and throughout the book they are "just friends", however when told from alternating points of view, things aren't what they seem at face value. Both main characters have some baggage/background to work through, but this gives the storyline some depth. It was a cute set up for the inevitable, yet adorable, ending.

Thank you to NetGalley & St Martin's Publishing Group for the ARC!

What a great addition to the series. In order to understand all the characters its best to have read the other books first. I really enjoyed getting to know more about Wes and Hailey.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

"A Guide to Being Just Friends", is the third book in the "Jansen Brothers" series by Sophie Sullivan. This book centers around Hailey Sharp, who is making over her life by opening up a salad bar. Being new in town, it's taken some time to make new friends and grow her business, but things are finally looking up for Hailey. And an almost disastrous but adorable run-in with Wes Jansen sets sparks to flying. Wes, however, has sworn off love after watching the disastrous marriage between his parents, but Hailey has his mind thinking that perhaps love is worth the risk.

Both Hailey and Wes are extremely lovable and you want to root for both of them. They both have some relationship issues to work through, but you just want them to be happy. This was a cute, enjoyable book, and I'm so glad I was able to read all three books in this series. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.