Quick Summary: "The perfect climate for..." a country love

My Review: Friends Don't Fall in Love by Erin Hahn is a fictional romance published by St. Martin's Press. It was released in 2023.

About the Book: After being blackballed by the country music industry because of her beliefs, Lorelai Jones was in a predicament. As a result of her stance, she was subjected to a cruel and unusual breakup with her fiance via social media. She was devastated. She knew she had some tough choices to make. The one person she could always count on was her friend, Craig Boseman. They had a great friendship, but could they have more?

My Final Say: This story was so familiar. It could have actually played out in the court of public opinion, even now. The connection that the main characters had was obvious from the first flashback until the end.

Other: This was a low low heat read, however, there were moments of spiciness.

Rating: 3.5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: 💬

Thank you for granting access to this title in exchange for an honest review. The words I have shared are my own.

Could there possibly be more than friendship between the two main characters?

“Friends Don’t Fall in Love” by Erin Hahn is a classic friends-to-lovers story.

Set in the country music world, the author does an excellent job of getting the reader to root for the characters throughout the book.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Erin Hahn for gifting me this ARC. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to what’s next.

Do not judge the book by its cover on this one. I think the cover does not do this justice and makes it seem like just a sweet country romance but instead its more for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six or other music based books. I was confused at the beginning with the time jumps but once it got to the present time, it was easier to keep track of and I loved the characters. I would have enjoyed even more backstory of the characters, their childhoods, etc. but in general I really enjoyed it. It is an open door romance and features friends to lovers and miscommunication.

Summary
Lorelai Jones has returned to Nashville to try to get back her country music career, the one that tanked 8 years ago when she decided to protest gun control laws after yet another school shooting. After spending time in Michigan returning to her teacher roots, Lorelai stepped back into the spotlight for her friends Cameron and Shelby and home design show. Working with one of her best friends, Craig aka Huckleberry aka Huck, Lorelai is getting back to her writing and performing roots. But her ex-fiance (who dumped her via Instagram!) and Craig's former bandmate, Drake, is trying to worm his way back into her life while also stiffing Craig out of songwriting credit for all his music. And Lorelai is afraid that being around her will negatively impact Craig and his music production studio. There is also the little issue of one night together between the two that neither has forgotten and chemistry that remains off the charts...

Review
I fell in love with Erin Hahn last year when I got to read Built to Last as a digital ARC and was thrilled to be selected again. This book is perfection. I was eager for more of Lorelai's story and loved getting to know her even more. Her and Huck and their banter and chemistry and most important, friendship, were on point. I loved revisiting Shelby and Cameron and Michigan. It is just heartwarming to see the strong friendship and how Lorelai and Huck work to prioritize their friendship no matter what. I love books about songs and reading lyrics. I wish there was a way to get soundtracks with all the songs.
I also love how this book, while being a romance, didn't shy away from social issues.

I have been provided with a review copy of Friends Don't Fall in Love from NetGalley for an impartial review. This was just a great read. I just had so much fun reading this story.

This was a nice friends to lovers read and I have enjoyed everything I have read by Erin Hahn. It was cute and fun to read. The characters were enjoyable but it wasn't hard for me to put it down and pick it up again later. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lorelei had a rising country music career. She was planning a wedding to her superstar fiancé and seemingly had a perfect life. Unfortunately, she chose to sing a protest song at a concert and destroyed her career and her relationship with her fiancé. She then went back home, settling for a career as a teacher. After five years, she decides to go back and try to revive her music career. She gets in touch with Craig, who was her former fiancé’s co-writer and bandmate. He is the only one who never turned his back on her. Craig now has a very successful career as a songwriter and has an indie label that’s starting to take off. Helping Lorelei revive her career could be a risk to his success, but he agrees to help her. Unbeknownst to Lorelei, he has always carried a torch for her. They reunite to work together, but can their friendship turn into romance?

Also reviewed on B&N under 1IrishEyes430 and Kobo under IrishEyes430

I love a friends to lovers trope and also liked the setting in country music but especially those performers and talent that are not loved by the establishment. the other characters have other books but so far this is my fav.

Friends Don’t Fall in Love is great for fans of
🎶 Friends to Lovers
🎶 Nashville & Music
🎶 Angst
🎶 Sweet & Spicy

Friends Don’t Fall in Love is a sweet & spicy friends to lovers romance between two musicians set over many years of their music careers & the different avenues they take. I am a person that is not a huge fan of the friends to lovers trope, but I will say that I enjoyed this one. There were enough outside factors as well as individual journeys to make this quite interesting.

I enjoyed the lyrics peppered throughout the book. It made it feel authentically like a love story between musicians.

I listened to the audiobook of this & it began with a snippet of an actual song! I thought that was so neat! They did a great job..

Thanks to NetGalley & Griffin for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

This was a fast read… easy and fun! I would recommend it to someone who is in a reading rut… as it was quick and flowed well. I would love another following these characters!

This is such a fantastic love story between Lorelai Jones and Craig Boseman - with the essence of country music, female strength and having someone to always believe in you woven throughout it. One night, years ago, that neither Lorelai or Craig can get out of their heads, hearts or dreams at night. With subtle nods to each other through written and sung words, this duo remains friends but will it end up being more? Is either brave enough to risk the friendship and admit their true feelings for the other? As a fan of love stories and country music, this was a top of the charts story, in my opinion!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another great book written by Erin Hahn. I devoured this in one day, I stayed up way too late to find out how everyone’s lives ended up and felt myself wanting to read just one more chapter, I may have skipped lunch and dinner.

This was a cute romance about two friends that develop (or finally acknowledge their chemistry) set in Nashville. I thought the start was slow but the pacing got better as it developed.

I am a longtime fan of Erin Hahn and really love her sweet and fun romances. I really loved Annie's and Shelby's stories, so could not wait to read Lorelai's.

This book was a fantastic fun read with great characters. The lack of communication between supposed best friends was frustrating, but overall I really enjoyed this one and how it blended with Erin Hahn's previous books.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Friends Don't Fall in Love is the second book I have read by Erin Hahn and I will continue to read more. This book is a romance book set in the country music scene (which I love) and travels through of friends becoming more than friends, falling in love and happiness. A great romance book which will get you happy inside. This book is a quick read as you will not be able to stop and will want to finish it right away!

Thank you NetGally and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book to share my honest feedback.

Loved the weaving of timelines, and I have recommended this book to many a reader because I enjoyed the story and characters.

I really liked this one and it made me go request the first book in the series from my library! Now I hope there's work for the third. I liked the varied tropes and deep personal connections as well as such detail in the music scene.

The book Friends Don't Fall in Love was an enjoyable read. I would recommend any book written by Erin Hahn. Happy Reading!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely.

I am participating in the St Martin’s Press boycott. I will not publicly be reviewing this title until St. Martin’s Press addresses reader concerns. I was sent an arc from the publisher and all thoughts are my own, honest opinion.

Erin Hahn always circulates well at the library, and I think this one will as well! Will purchase for our collection.