Cover Image: Not Here to Stay Friends

Not Here to Stay Friends

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Member Reviews

I love these books where they have a dating reality show! I didn't even know it was a Cyrano De Bergerac retelling going into this. I can't wait for Kaitlyn's next book.

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This reality TV-inspired YA romance just filled my cup up!

This friends-to-lovers book is set in a teen version of the bachelor franchise - with the leading man being one of the hottest teen actors of the day. When production is short one contestant just days before filming, Sloane steps into to help out here BFF and his dad, one of the producers. However, when she is thrust into the spotlight for another guy...she discovers she has feelings for her longtime male best friend.

This book was so cute - you get to hear from both the FMC and the MMC - and you just want to shake them so they open up about their feelings! But this slower romance is still so satisfying when the two finally do end up together.

I also always enjoy a bachelor-style setting - the drama between the female contestants and the behind the scenes shenanigans always make for a fast-paced plot.

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The novel contains a reality show theme. It follows the friends to lovers trope with hints of Cyrano de Bergerac. I enjoyed this coming of age story in which the main character gets to know her best friend on a different level. This was an enjoyable read that left me smiling.

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I received this ARC from NetGalley.

An interesting take on The Bachelor series - contestants in their late teens compete to be the leading lady for Aspen Woods - a hot-throb on a hit TV show.

Sloane McKinney has been best friends with Liam Daniels since they were young children. Then, his father gets promoted and moves from their small town in TN to LA - that was five years ago. Now, they are going to spend the summer together, she made a list of all the fun things they can do before she has to go back to TN for the new school year. But, there is a small issue, Liam needs to work on his father's reality show as a PA to "learn some responsibility."

While behind the scenes prior to filming, they realize they are a girl short for the show. What to do? What to do? Oh - Liam's dad decides to bribe Sloane to be on the show by stating he will help her with getting into her dream career if she does him this favor. She does.

As the show progresses, feeling are hurt, found, and in the end - can Liam and Sloane just be friends?

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When childhood best friends Sloane and Liam reunite in L.A. for the summer, they never expected that they both would be caught up in a "The Bachelor" type show for the summer (Liam as a lovable PA and Sloane as one of the contestants) But as week by week passes by, can Liam really let Sloane fall in love with the Leading Man? They’re just friends after all, right?

Kaitlyn Hill writes one of my favorite "The Bachelor" reality show themed books that I've read. It's written for Young Adults without being juvenile, and the characters are so lovable.

This book was written for you if:
1. You ever watched The OC or The Bachelor
2. You like a sweet, YA romance
3. You are a fan of friends-to-lovers

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Unfortunately I am really struggling with YA books right now and this just isn't the right fit for me at this time. There was nothing wrong with the book and I would encourage others to read it!

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

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This was cute and I do try to pick up the occasional YA even though it is not my favorite genre. This one had friends to lovers and a bachelor show like twist so I just had to check it out.

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This was such a cute book. Friends to lovers captures my heart in YA novels and this one definitely did just that. I will recommend this to my students.

Thank you for an advanced copy

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Wow this was surprisingly cute! I didn’t know I needed this but here we are. It was a charming Lynn Painter style YA romance but based on the bachelor. I was very skeptical but it was so well done and so cute. Truly so cute. Friends to lovers fans, this one will charm you! Completely clean and closed door. Also no profanity except once and it was AMAZING. I audibly cheered.

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love love a good showmance novel. this reminded me a lot of “never getting back together” the ending was so freakin good and i’m excited to see if there are future installments.

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This book will be a great addition to our library. I'm sure a lot of students will enjoy the story between the characters. Not only is is a good best friends to lovers. It also shows how reality shows are never real, and mostly scripted. This will encourage my students to not believe everything they see on tv or the internet.

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Not Here to Stay Friends follows childhood bestfriends Sloane and Liam as they reunite in L.A. for the summer. While Sloane was initially looking forward to checking things off her “Sloane and Liam’s Summer of Fun” list, her and Liam both end up spending their time on an upcoming teen reality dating show featuring teen heartthrob, Aspen Woods.

This book was such a fun summer rom-com! I found the characters and the conversations to be genuinely funny and its similarities and references to The Bachelor (and literally any other reality TV dating show) made it such an entertaining read.

I really enjoyed how it was written in a dual POV, especially since it’s a romance with the friends-to-lovers and secret pining tropes. I think the only con about this was the fact I kept on yelling: “JUST TELL THEM HOW YOU FEEL!” like they’d actually hear me, haha!

Although I found the beginning of the book to be quite slow, I definitely got more into it as I got into the “reality show” portion of it. I found it entertaining once I met the other contestants and producers and slowly read about what was going on behind the scenes between Sloane, Liam, and Aspen.

While I understand the focus of this book was on Sloane and Liam’s relationship, I was looking forward to learning more about how their relationship with their parents developed since it was mentioned quite frequently in the beginning.

Overall, I found this to be a really entertaining read. I’d definitely recommend this for any readers looking for a YA summer rom-com and who loves the friends-to-lovers trope!

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This book was absolutely delightful. I’m a sucker for reality dating shows so this book was basically made for me. This was a fun twist on The Bachelor with a nice tie-in to 2000s teen shows like The OC making this book feel both nostalgic and current.

Sloane and Liam are both very relatable and likable. Sloane dreams of being a screen writer and this trip to visit her childhood best friend in LA is a dream come true. Liam dreams of being a custom woodworker but whose dad has not been supportive of his dream. When Liam and Sloane see each other for the first time in years, there is an undeniable attraction between them that was never there before. One that they both are trying to push aside so as not to ruin their amazing friendship. What was supposed to be a fun-filled summer of best friend time quickly turns into a summer neither of them could have predicted. Liam’s dad is a producer on a new teen dating show and asks Liam to be a production assistant for the show. Liam reluctantly agrees in hopes that this will help heal his relationship with his father. But when a last-minute contestant issue arises, Liam’s dad begs Sloane to step in as a replacement promising to connect Sloan with Hollywood contacts that could help Sloane’s future career. Sloane agrees despite believing that the leading man is a narcissistic jerk. That leading man? Aspen Woods – star of The Cove, a popular teen drama series. Despite The Cove’s popularity, Aspen’s reputation is less than stellar. The launch of Aspen Woods’ Future Leading Lady is meant to help revive Aspen’s reputation, but the acronym of the show could be a potential prediction – AWFLL.

The friendship between Liam and Sloane is really sweet and it’s easy to root for them to get together. I liked the back stories to both of them and the parental issues and the struggle of being on the verge of adulthood was very relatable for a YA audience. I loved that there was a strong connection built between the ladies in the mansion as a lot of times women are pitted against each other, especially in the reality dating world.

There were some truly heartfelt moments, as well as a lot of really funny moments. I flew through this book and reading it made me really happy. I would absolutely recommend this one! I am really looking forward to Kaitlyn Hill’s next book! I wouldn’t be mad if it somehow made its way into my ARCs….. LOL.

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To say that I devoured this book wouldn't be enough. I jumped on it on every occasion I got, like if I had an enormous sugar craving and this was all the sugar I could find.

I absolutely loved the POV switch at each new chapter, giving us an inside of all their thoughts when events were happening (and wow how it was funny!!).

Friends-to-lovers is a great trope. I might have to say, after reading this book, that it's starting to get into my favorite tropes. The angst of not knowing if your friend feels the same way as you, this slow-burn do-we-do-this, do-i-want-to-do-this.... It's the best.

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If you are a fan of the Bachelor and love a good feel-good YA story this one if for you! You also can never go wrong with the friends - to lovers trope. I will say it did get docked a star because the whole still in high school but going on a dating reality TV show just was a little strange to me personally. I also am not a huge fan of "love triangles". That being said I feel like Kaitlyn did a great job in creating the characters Sloane and Liam, I wasn't bored at all throughout the story and got through it fairly quick, It was a little juvenile BUT it was still a cute quick rom com to read!

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This was a fun mashup of The Bachelor, The OC, and friends-to-lovers YA. At first, I wasn't wild about the story. I'm not a fan of The Bachelor, and that storyline did not interest me. But overall, the story was a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it if you like contemporary YA romance!

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Another sweet story from this author. I love the bachelor TV show theme and setting for teenagers. A lot of students enjoy that show and I think they would really connect with this book and enjoy it.

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Not Here to Stay Friends is a feel-good, friends-to-lovers YA read with Bachelor meets the Outerbanks vibes. Kaitlyn Hill does a spectacular job at writing stories with lovable characters that put a big smile on your face. I adored the friendship between Sloane & Liam & the tension between them as they navigate attraction toward one another.

This book is perfect for a young adult looking for a heartwarming read! It's fun, honest, and promotes healthy ways to navigate love & friendship!

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I am usually a fan of YA, especially YA rom-com, but this one was a little too “young” for me. I didn’t care for the narrator and that really took away from the story, obviously. This would be a great pick for high school age girls looking for something cute to read. I’m just a little too far removed from that season of life.

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