Cover Image: Not Here to Stay Friends

Not Here to Stay Friends

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Sloane and Liam have been long-distance best friends since childhood. She is visiting him in LA for the summer. When she arrives she discovers Liam is suddenly HOT, and has been tasked with being the PA on the set of his father's new reality dating show, Aspen Woods' Future Leading Lady. When one of the girls drops out of the show last minute, Sloane steps in when Liam's dad promises to use his connections to help her film writing career begin. Liam isn't thrilled with the idea, as he tries to navigate the feelings he's having towards Sloane.

This was stinkin' cute! I'm a sucker for a friends-to-lovers romance, make it CHILDHOOD friends-to-lovers and I'm going to eat it up every time. I really loved both Sloane and Liam's friendship. They were so supportive of one another and always looked out for each other's best interests. I like how we got POVs from both of them so that we were able to see what they were both thinking in any given situation. I loved the mutual pining, and I was definitely rooting for them throughout the story. I thought the plot was really fun and I was engaged the entire time I was reading. I need more from this author ASAP.

Also, OBSESSED with the ending. We love girls supporting girls.

Was this review helpful?

I DNFed this one at 11% and I’m so sad I didn’t like it! The original reviews and ratings were super good, but I’ve noticed (especially on Goodreads) that the ratings have majorly tanked since I requested this book, and I can understand why. It read too YA for me, and I didn’t feel any tension or pining in the first part that I read, so I didn’t feel set up for a romance. I also didn’t like the miscommunication happening right off the bat — the male MC hiding his summer job from the female MC until she actually showed up for their summer of fun! That made me sad. Thanks anyway for the advanced copy — I hope this romance speaks to others more as it just wasn’t for me.

Was this review helpful?

I could not finish enough of this book to be able to leave a comprehensive review, but I hope it finds its audience and I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Was this review helpful?

You've seen the Bachelor show. But have you ever read a friend's to lover story set in a Bachelor-like show? Well, buckle in with this lovely story. Kaitlyn Hill could not give us any more lovey dovey butterflies while also delivering the standard fast dating trope that comes with romance reality shows. Who will you pick? The starry hot guy or the best friend?

Was this review helpful?

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I know this is a YA romance, but something about teenagers on a bachelor-esque dating show was just so awkward to me. It was also super easy to tell that Aspen was going to be a major jerk from the beginning so I really wasn’t invested in the story. I liked Liam and Sloane but there just wasn’t enough romance on their side for me to really get into this book

Read it if you want to, it’s not bad just not really my speed.

Was this review helpful?

This was a very cute book, friends to lovers who obviously can’t tell each other how they feel they didn’t know what those feeling were, they are young and just coming into these big feelings. It didn’t grab my attention like I wish but it was entertaining, a good summer read, a little predictable but that’s sometimes a good thing, specially with romance, you know where you’re going and what you’re getting and there’s comfort in that.

Was this review helpful?

Rating: Absolutely Loved It

I loved this book for what it is, a fun, light rom com for teens. It was laugh out loud funny and has some of my absolute favorite tropes, such as reality tv/dating setup and friends to lovers. AND it had dual POVs. I think that the friends to lovers was handled really well for the most part, although I did have some complaints every once in a while about the amount of time spent agonizing over everything, for the most part it was super easy to read.

I flew through this one in just a few hours once I had the time to devote to it. I think that my favorite thing about it is that it truly feels like it is written for teens. I would have loved to have this book to devour when I was in high school.

Overall, it was funny, I loved the characters, and I just had a great time. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for a review copy. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

This one was super cute! Laguna Beach vibes but make Stephan the bachelor (tell me your a millennial without telling me your a millennial). The behind the scenes of the show was so intriguing to me! A couple of the characters were sketch (Ty)! Overall, a sweet little friends to lovers 😍

Was this review helpful?

This one just isn’t doing it for me and I had to DNF.

I’m a big fan of YA, but I find it frustration when the narrators sound dumbed down for the age group. I just couldn’t do it.

Was this review helpful?

As someone who loves The Bachelor, I loved this so much! This was so cute and full of those warm and fuzzy moments - will definitely be reading more from this author!

Was this review helpful?

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

As someone who only watches Survivor in terms of reality tv...this book was a joy to read.

A classic best-friends-to-lovers and you only realize your feelings towards each other when one of you goes on a reality dating show with a hot celebrity?!? I mean come ON, this is drama gold.

Overall, this book kept me constantly entertained. I never felt like the pacing was off or that it was too eye-rolling. Which is especially good since it's written for YA.

I am definitely looking forward to what this writer has in store for the future!

Was this review helpful?

Overall, I liked this book. I liked the demisexual rep, and I emphasized with Sloane's struggles. I'm interested in the film industry myself, and this is now the fourth romance book I've read that uses film as a backdrop, and I enjoy it every time. In general, Sloane's progression was good as she came more into her own, and she and Liam made for a good couple. (I love friends to lover trope, if you can't tell.) There was a scene towards the very end where <spoiler>they confessed their feelings</spoiler>, and I REALLY liked that scene - it felt so genuine between the two of them.

I was warned that the ending was meh for this book, and yeah, out of the whole thing, the ending is where I had the most issues. For one, the revenge against a certain Hollywood character was just very quick. The rest of the novel had what I thought was a good pace, and then in one chapter everything comes crumbling down (a bit too conveniently) for one of the leads and the book is left on a note of "girl power!" I did enjoy the comradery between all the girls at the end, but it seemed a bit too neat and predictable.

Was this review helpful?

Not Here to Stay Friends by Kaitlyn Hill is giving the reality dating show vibes. Just picture the Bachelor. It's an easy read, easy to follow, and entertaining enough to keep you reading on. I like the little plot twist at the end. I wish there was more interaction with the other contestants but understood that is not what this book focused on.

Was this review helpful?

So anyone who knows me (which admittedly is probably the majority of people reading this review) knows that I avoid YA novels. Obviously there's nothing wrong with them, they're just a genre that I don't like and avoid. On a whim I read the synopsis and was immediately interested. This book was so freaking cute, I'm so glad I requested it in the first place!

Was this review helpful?

So I very hesitant with starting this book. I kept putting it down and picking it back up. It started off pretty slow and I almost didn’t continue with it. But I am so happy that I did. It got better in the middle and the end was really really good! This is a cross of teenage drama shows with a bachelor type of scenario as well. But ultimately it was a friends to lovers, which turned out to be a great YA book. I enjoyed it and happy that I stuck it out.

I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and the opinions on the book are my own.

Was this review helpful?

This book was so much fun. I loved the dating show aspect, and the main characters' romance was so sweet. They were such a fun couple to root for

Was this review helpful?

I think I’m becoming a sucker for YA Romance books and “Not Here to Stay Friends” is definitely a YA that I loved.

Sloane is visiting her friend Liam in California and manages to be brought onto a teen version of “the bachelor’. This is definitely not what she expected but she’s going along with the show because it’s going to be a chance for her to get to the writer’s room. Liam works for his dad, as a Producer’s Assistance, but he would much rather do woodworking.

Together the two navigate the taping of the show and their developing feelings for each other in this friends-to-lovers ya romcom.

I loved the dual POV. I loved the relationship between the two. I loved the insight we got into the behind the scenes of a reality show.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed Not Here to Stay Friends,book and it was full of so many fun surprises and turns. Friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes so this was great. I really enjoyed both Sloane and Liam’s characters, they were both entertaining to read and lovable. I loved the reality show theme, it was such a fun plot idea. I have never seen the Bachelor but I am a reality show fan so this was perfect for that. Overall, fun, lovable, and great!

Was this review helpful?

I'm a sucker for a cliché rom com reality-tv dating trope. Throw in friends to lovers? Its such a winner on premise alone. But this book was actually good as well. Super cute.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately I didn't realize that this was a YA novel when I requested this book through NetGalley. While I enjoy the plotline, I couldn't get into reading the actual story. DNF at 32%.

Was this review helpful?