I really loved this book!! Small town, friends to lovers with spice? Count me in! This was my first time reading this author and the first book I've read in the Shell Grove series. I'll have to go back and read the first & second books too! I also love dual POV and it was great to read both Finn and Maggie's perspectives. I do wish there was a bit more dialogue versus some longer paragraphs, as well as the way they get together as a couple felt a little strange and it felt like Finn became jealous. Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for my honest review!

I just did not love this book - I think the plot fell flat, the main characters were ridiculous, and the storyline focused more on sexual encounters than anything else.

The opening lines hit you with dirty talk right off the bat, which was slightly off putting for me. To be fair, this is the first book by Melanie that I have read, so maybe this is her norm, and I just wasn't prepared for that. The friendship between Maggie and Finn started out so wholesome...and it quickly went down the drain when she got the job offer. Maggie is impulsive to the extreme, and she blames it on her upbringing, which doesn't really make sense to me. Finn went from not looking at Maggie as anything other than his best friend to being super possessive at the flip of a switch, which was also unbelievable. I felt like the first half of the book just drug on, and then the second half of the book was focused more on their sexual tension/relationship versus their actual romance, and Maggie's decision to stay or go.

I'm all for a guy who is slightly possessive of his woman, but I am not for a guy who tries to make decisions for his partner. Finn decided they were dating - so he told her (in front of a huge crowd, including their friends and family) that they were dating. Finn decided Maggie needed to stay, so he got her a job - to entice her to stay. He went way beyond possessive, and it was a huge turn-off.

I was so excited about the premise of this story, but unfortunately, I wasn't excited when I finished the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A great read if you love the friends to lovers trope. I loved the characters and the storyline and will definitely be reading more of this series. A spicy romance and a great one if you enjoy that sort of thing

Welcome to the Shell Grove series: if you’re looking for a new small town, a little friends-to-lovers, and some SPICE (seriously, I was blushing HARD) then Reasons Why Not To Date The Best Friend is your spicy romance novel to read this summer! This book works as a standalone and I haven’t read any others in this series.

Meet Maggie. She’s been best friends with this guy Finn since she was 15-years-old. Meet Finn. He’s been best friends with this girl Maggie since she was 15-years-old. Together they make memories, throw parties, they even own a dog together. They also seem to be the last two people single and unattached. Will they realize that true love can be in front of you, waiting for you to take the chance? Or will one of them move away from Shell Grove before they have their chance?

I enjoyed Shell Grove and how the characters were rough around the edges and the banter had me laughing along as I read. Their profound love for friends, family, and each other made this a page turner for me. I was not ready for how spicy this book was and I’ll be honest, some scenes had me SCREAMING. If you like something with five tamales, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Xpresso Book Tours, and Melanie Munton for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

review to come, didnt get notification I was selected on this.

I just reviewed Reasons Why Not to Date the Best Friend by Melanie Munton. #ReasonsWhyNottoDatetheBestFriend #NetGalley
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The book started out with a bang. Almost literally. The dialogue wasn't the best and the characters were annoying by getting in their own way over the same things. Granted there were a few times I laughed out loud. Maggie made it difficult to like her, Finn was sweet but pushy.

Best friends to lovers is a hard one to pull off, but I think this one nailed it. Really sweet, lots of fun, can't wait for the next entry in the series!

This book had a bit of a slow start for me but after Finn realized his feelings for Maggie it got really good. I loved their friendship and the chemistry between them. It had a bit of a slow burn element that I really enjoyed. Overall I enjoyed this book and will look into the others in this series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an ARC to review!

Very sweet, spicy read with one of my favorite tropes.

I thought Finn was very sweet but found the FMC, Maggie, pretty annoying, overall a good, easy read bug didn’t feel like it added anything new to the genre.

A solid 3 star rating.

This book was such a fun and fluffy read.
It’s such a great summer read, if you’re looking for something to take with you to the beach this is definitely the book! The banter and spice in this book is sooo good.

Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
Feelings: 🐢🚓🚔☀️👙🏄🌴🐬🏖️🩴🍹🥃🥤🧉🎸🎸😍🥰😍🥰❤️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (3/5) Story with Smut, and the smut is so delicious.

He is smitten over her! Head over heels, and he is working his magic to get her to stay!

Maggie is a marine biologist in Shell Grove, NC, and she was a bit of a wild child growing up, causing so much trouble. lol Finn was on track to becoming a professional football player but sadly had an injury which he then opened up a bar by the beach. Finn is that golden retriever you'll love, and although this story is a slow burn with some spice toward the end, it's all so good!

Perfect summer read!!

This ebook was provided by NetGalley, thanks to Melanie Munton, in return for an honest review.

DNF
I liked the blurb but when I was reading it the book had its moments. I think I was slightly uninterested because of the long paragraphs and little dialogue. I also felt like up until I DNFed Finn and Maggie are just good friends and they just lack the attraction. Suddenly, when she's presented with a job opportunity, Finn starts to become jealous. I didn't understand where that came from and since Maggie was so excited about her new job I wish and hope she followed through because it would make me mad if Finn didn't ''allow'' her the liberties to be her own person.

I received this book from NetGalley.

I was excited to start reading this book because it sounded really good and I liked the concept of the story. However for me this book fell flat.

It was incredibly slow to read and it took me a long time to get through it. I just didn't have the hunger to want to finish the book - although I did finish it.

I did not like Maggie as a character and that made it more difficult for me to enjoy the story. I liked Finn at the beginning but he started to become a bit annoying as the book went on. It seemed like he was going out of his way to show Maggie how much he cared and she didn't reciprocate as much.

There were also a lot of random bits in the story and I wish there has been a bigger focus on two or three main storylines, instead of so many random ones.

If you're into best friend romances then maybe you'll like this one.

NetGalley provided me with an ARC for my honest review.

Thoroughly enjoyed this friends to HEA romance. Fell in love with the hero, more so than usual. I found him smart, sexy and funny. What else could you ask for. I thought the heroine, was a bit of a hot mess. Being a rule follower myself, she kind of gave me uncomfortable feels. She needed to be bribed to keep out of trouble on occasion. But her OTT personality became ultra cautious once things got real with her best man friend of a dozen years or so. I wanted to smack her and say get over it! He's the real deal! Sometimes I become too invested when the story is as good as this one is. Well edited with lovable side characters and a shared pet.
Well worth a read. Enjoy!

I love a friends to lovers done right and this one was. I love when everyone in their life knows they are perfect for each other but them and watching them figure it out, especially with a ticking clock like this one had, is really fun. This book was easy to read and fun and the ending was predictable but great.

Finn and Maggie are best friends. They met in high school when Finn was a football star and Maggie was a new student struggling to belong.

They've been nearly inseparable ever since. They even share custody of a dog! What they DON'T do is cross that line into more than friends...

...until a unique opportunity pops up that may take Maggie away from Finn. It makes her realize that maybe their friendship has been holding them back from finding true love, and made him realize maybe they had true love the whole time.

He falls first. Friends to lovers. Small town romance. Dirty talking hero. Hilarious banter. Reasons Why Not to Date the Best Friend has it all!

Watching Finn and Maggie realize what they meant to each other was the highlight of my week. They tried to fight it, but it's difficult to argue with a bond that tight. Finn has been her rock, trying to keep her out of trouble as much as possible while she tries to break Coors Light Carl's arrest record. Maggie's was there to pick up the pieces when Finn's life imploded and he had to reevaluate his entire existence.

They were soul mates too blind or scared to see what was right in front of them.

I was not expecting the pure, delicious machismo that Finn embodied once he woke up. That man knew what he wanted and refused to back down. The things he said to Maggie will forever be etched in that dirty part of my brain, and I'm not mad about it.

It actually took me a few days to write this review because I have three pages of highlighted notes, and most of them can't be shared without triggering online keyword flags. They HAD to be highlighted, though, because each one also showed a depth of emotion often left out of spicier scenes. Each and every utterance from Finn about Maggie carried over a decade of love and devotion, and that is heady indeed!

Now excuse me while I binge read this author's entire backlist!

Favorite quotes:

“Jesus Christ, woman. You’ve got larceny in your heart if you think you can take this away from me now.”

“Remove all other male names from your vocabulary, Mags. Mine is the only one you need to know now. And damn sure the only one you’ll be crying out as you...”

Thank you, NetGalley and Melanie Munton, for the opportunity to read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5/5 stars 🌟🌟🌟✨ 🌶🌶✨

Overall a very cute book. Friends to lovers, quirky FMC and a super dirty talking MMC. Did not expect that level of smut from Finn. Interconnected, stand alone series from a town full of quirky and loving friends.

One thing I think the book could have improved on was the timing of the book. One comment was saying something happened two days ago and then next second it was several days. It was unclear the length of time this book proceeded over.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers of Reasons Why Not to Date the Best Friend for the advanced readers copy.

* Best friends to lovers
* small beach town romance
* Spice
* Dual pov

Finn and Maggie have been best friends for 10 years until a major life change brings to light the feelings both swept under the rug in order to keep each other near.

Maggie Breedlove is a marine biologist who owns a scuba and surf shop in town. When she begins to feel restless and solo when her friends start to get married and start their own little families a new job in Florida opens up, but can she leave her best friend behind.

Finn Caldwell was the NFL hopeful until an injury stopped his career, and he and Maggie brainstormed an idea for him to start a bar where he finds undiscovered musicians to play. It’s been Maggie and him since senior year but with a new job opportunity doing what she loves on the horizon he realizes he can’t live with out her. Now all he has to do is convince her of this too.

Was slow burn until around 50% then things started to heat up quite a bit. I did feel like a lot of the dirty talk could have been lessened as it felt overdone and kind of ruined the steamy moments for me.

Berkeley was absolutely adorable I loved reading his cameos they were so funny.

I felt the book ran long and the inner monologues would sometimes run off on tangents that I would skim through.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was my first book read from Melanie Munton and if won’t be my last. I absolutely loved it and loved the relationship between Finn and Maggie. This was my first friends to lovers book and I literally gobbled it up. It was so great and transported me to a different town. A small beach town in South Carolina. I can’t wait to recommend this book to my friends and read more from Melanie! #ReasonsWhyNottoDatetheBestFriend #NetGalley #melaniemunton #Romance #romcom

Thank you Netgalley and Melanie Munton for this ARC.

This is the first book that I read in the Shell Grove series, and it will not be the last! That being said, I struggled to get into this book early on and it took me a few chapters to become invested in Finn and Maggie's relationship. I loved how their friendship developed into a romantic and very spicy love story. Both characters had unique personalities that really complimented each other. I had some issues with aspects of Maggie's personality and her child-like behaviour. This was less of an issue for me as she seemed to grow up (a little) as the book went on. The ending was perfect, all the feels <3

Overall, I would rate this book 3.5/5 stars.