I was SO excited to receive and early copy of this story! I've read a few other books from Sophie Sullivan and have adored them all. This was no different! I really enjoyed this light hearted rom com and Sophie continues to be a must read author for me!

I think a lot of people will enjoy this book but I couldn't get attached to the main characters personally. The writing is good and I'll definitely give the author another go!

I received an Advanced readers copy of this book thanks to NetGalley, Overall I enjoyed this book, it’s my favorite of the three in the series. I wish things were a little more spicy once the main characters finally fell for each other, it felt like there was a lot of build up to it and then the chemistry was kind of stagnant after that. I also didn’t love that Wes kept making the same mistakes over and over, by the last time I was ready for Hailey to give up on him. I liked that we got to see some happily ever afters of the previous book characters and I really liked independent Hailey. I especially loved the first half as the characters are being friends and not realizing they’re falling for each other. I’d give this book 4 stars.

The start of the book was strong, I was interested and intrigued with Hailey and her new business venture. However, I just didn't care for Wes nor their chemistry, or lack thereof.

Just okay.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley and publisher, St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Publishing: January 17, 2023
Pages: 336

“A Guide to Being Just Friends” is another read by Sophie Sullivan. Okay…what to say about this book…I truly enjoyed, enjoyed this story a bit better than, ”How to Love Your Neighbor” and realizing this is a part of a series but standalone read.

Now to the story…there is Hailey and Wes who are close friends who appear to be to be stubborn individuals who can’t admit the feelings they have for one another. There is Wes Jansen who likes routine and really doesn’t see a future where it involves love. He doesn’t beat around the bush and knows what he wants out of life. Unfortunately, something changes when he meets Hailey Sharpe, an independent shop owner. The two strike up a friendship and are adamant to keep their relationship at being “just friends”. They do everything together and eventually find themselves fall for one another.

This was a slow burn romance with a trope of friends-to-lovers that I quite liked the writing for Ms. Sullivan with this book. Loving how these two individuals allowed their love to grown and really get the chance to learn a lot from one another. The pace was on point and the plot well-written. I loved Hailey and Wes as they have strong character personalities that pours over into the people in their lives or close to them. There are times that I found myself laughing out loud and enjoyed the angst between the two. Well, there was some sexual tension 😊 that I did look for since these individuals have crossed the lines of friendship. The supporting characters were a welcome addition to making this a good read too.

I loved this trope and think that it really worked for this book. A fun and entertaining read that I highly recommend.

Overall an enjoyable book! I didn't realize it was part of a series when I read it, but I didn't feel lost like I needed to catch up. It's a cute and easy read, perfect for vacation.

The salad shop that the FMC owns sounds right up my alley and I did spend a good chunk of the first part of the book thinking about my lunch! The MMC wasn't really my jam, he was a little wishy-washy and at times his actions didn't line up.

I will seek out the other books in the series to get a complete picture of the characters. Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In this book we follow Hayley and Wes and their journey to just being friends. But will they be able to?? Hayley just moved cities and opened up her salad shop. She doesn't have time to mess around with feelings she just wants to put her main focus on her goal: Have a successful business. But, with Wes around, she finds it difficult to focus on one task.

This book was really fun to read! Hailey and Was were really cute together! I loved that the author talked about how childhood trauma can affect present day relationships. We also love to see a boss women who doesn't need a man to help her run her business. The characters were really relatable and overall very fun. I loved the relationships between Wes and his brothers and the relationships between Hailey and her cousin. They felt real and relatable. I have to admit the story started off kind of slow and I was wondering where it was going but I don't regret continuing with the book. The romance was worth it. The ending was really cute!
If you're looking for a second chance romance, small business owner, friends to lovers, no spice book, this is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for approving me to review this book for free!

Really enjoyed this book! Thank you NetGalley.
I had never read a Sophie Sullivan book, and am now unsure why.
I really enjoyed the salad spin, so fun and different. Hailey was relatable and I really liked her cousin Piper and her family.
I also enjoyed the realness of her relationship with Wes. This book was very clean as far as content which would make it appropriate for teenagers.
Only negative is that all the couples were a little too “glossy” or all around perfect, but maybe that is because I am single:)

What a fun read. Hailey is such a lovable character, you just want to meet her and become best friends. I loved the slow burn romance between her and Wes and how they built such a solid friendship and foundation with each other. I also really enjoyed watching them build their chosen family together. It was a very sweet, feel good book.


Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Sullivan, and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.

I’m not normally a huge fan of friends to lovers, but I adored this story. Both Hailey and Wes desperately needed a good friend at the start, and despite both of them being too stubborn to admit their feelings for way too long, the development into romance felt very natural.

I especially loved how strong of a role the supporting characters played in their love story. Obviously I need to go back and read about the other Jansen brothers, but it was really sweet how each of their girlfriends, as well as Fiona and many of the other local business owners, readily welcomed Hailey into their circle and supported her relationship with Wes without pressuring her to define it (even though really, they were OBVIOUSLY in love).

The last ~15% of the book got on my nerves a bit with the typical break up in the third act due to unnecessary miscommunication. I know it’s a fairly standard element of this genre, but there was hardly even time to process the breakup before everything was suddenly fine again.

That aside, this was a fun, lighthearted story and I’ll definitely be reading more by the author. 3.5 stars.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a great finale to Sophie Sullivan's romcom series featuring the Jansen brothers. Wes is the oldest of the three brothers - he tends to stick to routines, doesn't see love in the future for him, and knows exactly what he wants and doesn't want in life. So of course he is thrown when he develops a friendship with Hailey - a new business owner who is determined to make her own way in the world and take chances with her business and her heart. Both characters are flawed yet endearing - their chemistry and banter is delightful! And of course the moments featuring all three Jansen brothers together are always entertaining! While more of a slow burn romance - it was great to see their strong friendship develop over many months, for Hailey to find her own family in close friends, and for Wes to realize that sticking to his routines won't make him happy forever. Thank you to St. Martin's and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this advance reader's edition.

“A Guide to Being Just Friends” is the final book in a trilogy by Sophie Sullivan. I didn’t realize it was part of a series - and the final book too - until I read the Author’s Note at the end. While this book can be read as a stand-alone, I think reading the previous books in the series might have been a good idea. This book mainly focuses on Hailey Sharp, a woman who has moved from Los Angeles to open a new business, who meets Wesley Jansen, who has recently-ish moved from New York to join his brothers’ business.

The Pros:
Hailey’s independence streak is wonderful. I greatly enjoyed how she didn’t want hand-outs, didn’t want favors, and wanted to build her business up by herself. She did accept help (as all smart business folks do) and she did take advice, but for the most part - this was a company she wanted to drive. Plus, a rather interesting concept for her business.

The website - that’s one website I’d like to actually see. Between the adorable sounding graphics and the online ordering form (was it becoming an app?) and the quiz to see what salad one might prefer - great idea! Props to Ms. Sullivan for that.

The friend group I found refreshing. I think that the “girls” welcoming Hailey in was refreshing - no jealousy, no cattiness, just a pure “hey, we like you, come join us.” I like friend groups like those.

The cover is great. That’s part of the reason that I requested the book - that cover sucked me in.

Shopping “dates that aren’t dates.” A long time ago, a grocery store in my area advertised “singles’ hour” where those looking for potential dates or friends could meet up in the produce aisle. I thought it was a cute idea and I liked how Ms. Sullivan took that idea and changed it a bit to suit Hailey and Wes.

The Cons:

So many characters. I think if I’d read the first two books it would’ve been easier to keep track of which brother was attached to which female. While I liked the characters in general, I did have problems keeping track of all the females - the cousin, the store owner next door, the radio personality, the quiz creator, and the core group in this book.

A lot of background that at times didn’t add much. While I know that character backgrounds adds to the depth of said character, I felt that some of Hailey’s background was just there … the ex-boyfriend story didn’t need to be dragged out; Hailey’s parents didn’t need to be dived into either. Additionally the “core friends group” also had their backgrounds explained - which I think added to my confusion.

In summation - the description (and cover) of this book sucked me in. If I’d known it was the last part of a trilogy, I would not have requested it (or I would’ve read the other two books before reading this one). I think the overall idea of this book - the meet cute, the character development, the over-arching story - was a good idea, but because I was confused a bit of the time it didn’t always work for me.

So I should start this review with a disclaimer. I requested this from NetGalley and was unware that it is the third book in a series (it can be read as a standalone though). But I think had I read the first two books and got to know all the characters better I probably would have enjoyed this book more.

Hailey has recently moved to a new town to start over after a messy break up and opens her dream store, a to go salad shop. She has a chance meeting with Wes, who thinks she is the date that stood him up. The two end up hitting it off and become friends. Neither of them are looking for anything more than that, so they fall into an easy platonic friendship. Things begin to change as they become aware that they are both starting to develop feelings for the other.

Now I liked Hailey and Wes' characters overall. But I did find Hailey's inability to let anyone be nice and help her frustrating. If I had a rich best friend you bet I would be okay if they were trying to buy me nice things and help my business succeed :) but that's just me haha. And Wes also drove me crazy with his ridiculous take on love and relationships.

Overall this is a cute read. There's no steamy scenes (which I think all romance books need) and it did feel slow through a lot of it. But the writing is good and I think if you have enjoyed the two previous novels in the series, you will like this one too.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is the first book I’ve read by Sophie Sullivan, and I really enjoyed it! This is actually the third book in a series and follows the story of MC Hailey Sharp who is looking for a fresh start in a new city after the end of a bad relationship. As she focuses on getting her cute salad shop ‘By the Cup’ off the ground, she finds herself in a new friend group and forms a particularly close friendship with Wes Jansen. Wes is one of three brothers, and although he brothers are happily in love, he knows love will never be in the cards for him, and he is happy that Hailey also wants to be “just friends” and nothing more… and we all know how well that usually goes!

I will say that this book really drew me in initially with the funny banter, cute friendships, and adorable salad shop, but as the story went on, I wish the plot would have been a little more entertaining. That was the only part that was kind of lacking for me, as I felt like I kind of just followed along with the characters’ day-to-day. Nonetheless, it was a very cute and easy read, and I definitely plan to read the other two books in the series!

Read if you like:
•Friends to lovers
•Witty banter
•Opposites attract trope
•Lighthearted books

And a huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted ARC and opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review!

While I have seen Sophie books everywhere and this is my first book I've read from here. Frankly I went into it with zero expectations and came out enjoying it totally. This is really unique read because I had never read a book with fast friends to lovers.

Hailey is starting over a new city with new business and new friends after her disastrous relationship with her actor ex-boyfriend. Wes had moved to the city to work along with his brother on their business. Both Wes and Hailey are polar opposites and one thing they've common is their own insecurities. I had loved every moment of WesHailey journey from their unique first moment to them finally accepting they deserve everything.

As it is said " Sometimes it takes a bit to figure it out "

To say I loved this book is an understatement . Adore, love -- neither of these words fully describe how wonderful this books is. The characters are delightful, flawed, deep people that I want to be friends with. I was rooting for Hailey and Wes throughout and enjoyed being on the ride with them. I just wish there would be a sequel as I want them to be in my life longer. The writing is smart and satisfying , a real page turner. And a very satisfying ending -- except for wanting more

Reviewed on Good Reads https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4870881001

I did not finish this book. It was so slow moving and kept going over the top to make sure the reader knew they were kind people and just did not keep my interest.

This was such a light, fun read and definitely refreshing from the darker books I’ve been reading lately.

The friends to lovers was very well done. Their friendship was probably my favorite part. I absolutely loved the found family trope in this book. It was so heartwarming.

I also loved that the timeline of the book was through many months, so you could really feel their relationship and feelings progress. It really gave a much better impact than if it was just over the span of one month. This also helped the slooooow burn of the relationship. There is no spice, but that doesn’t take away from the story at all.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a light, heartwarming romance. It was such a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars. I love a sappy and predictable love story buy this wasn't a favorite. Too many characters and wasn't a fan of Hailey. Found her to be annoying and immature and didnt think it was believable that someone would start a business with so little business knowledge. Kept my interest enough to finish but skimmed the last half.

The dynamics of 'A Guide to Being Just Friends' were delightful from start to finish for me. The slowly developing relationship between Wes and Hailey was lovely and heartwarming. I loved the growth in these characters, and how through each other they learned a lot about the world of enduring relationships. As the story was unrushed we were able to delve into the minds of these main characters and find a truly satisfying ending. I read the previous book in the series and loved the set-up for the last of the Jansen brothers' story. I hated for it to end, and would love to have a story about their sister!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.