This was a very easy read, think Lifetime movie romance. I mostly listen to my audio books while I work and this story was simple enough that I could follow along while doing a bunch of other things. There was one major love story along with two other background romances unfolding. There is also some focus on the main character's relationship with her mother and the future of her career. I personally enjoy when there are multiple things happening in a story, keeps me feeling more invested and involved.

Ultimately, I didn't feel connected to the characters or their romances and typically you'd be rooting for the couple to make things work and I just didn't feel anything for them. Overall, this book felt middle of the road for me - nothing to write home about but a good book to listen to while on a long drive or on a cleaning day.

What happens when life throws you a curveball and you find yourself stuck in the middle of nowhere? You pull up your big girl pants and get busy living! A great listen as the narrator really does a great job of bringing the characters to life and makes the story even more vibrant! Great characters who you learn to love in spite of the baggage that they all are carrying with them. This author really wove a wonderful story of life, love and friendship in a small rural town! I really hope there will be more from these characters are I really want to know if the other characters also find their happily ever after! However, you will find this is a feel good romance that also focuses on friendship making it a more fulfilling read. I can't wait to listen to more from this author!

Holly had anticipated a plum job in a veterinary practice she was eager to become a part of. But at the last minute, she was assigned to a remote Scottish village, presumably to gain a bit more large animal experience.

Trying to make the best of her year in purgatory, she develops enjoyable friendships with two of the other employees at the clinic, Paulo and Chloe. Paulo struggles with being the only gay man in a small village and Chloe is painfully shy around a guy she's loved from afar since high school. Add Holly's steadfast refusal to get romantically involved with anyone since she'll be leaving in a year, and you have an interesting set-up for what is billed as a romance novel.

While I enjoyed Paulo as a character, gay romance isn't for me. So that part of the book didn't do anything for me. But I loved his character and how he really tried to push both Chloe and Holly out of their comfort zones. And he wasn't content to stay in his own either. So there was a lot to like about this individual.

Chloe was just plain cute and Holly was complicated. And so much of the story was taken up with dealing with their issues and participating in local events that, to me, the focus really was on this three-way friendship than on romance. At times, it was like high schoolers egging on another on to do things.

That said, it was still an enjoyable, easy, 3.5-star read.

Thank you to Katy Turner, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Holly has a plan. Work hard, get a job at a vet clinic in Ascot and be financially secure and independent. This does not include having any sort of flings, one night stands or boyfriends of any description. When the job in Ascot falls through and she is sent to a clinic in rural Scotland, Holly does not count on meddling co-workers, who also have love worries of their own. Then in breaks Greg Dunbar. Literally.

Greg has been known as the man about town for years. Ever since he supposedly left his fiancé at the altar. His brother, Angus, has been running the family farm since their dad died and now a feud has erupted between the two. Greg 'breaks' into Holli's newly rented house. Thanks to a set of keys lent to him by the owner. But while they both decide to be just friends, it is clear they both want more.

Will Holli get to the bottom of the truth about the Dunbar feud? Will Greg disclose his womanising ways to Holli? What about Chloie and Paulo's love lives? Will they get the happily ever after that they deserve as well? Finally, what about Hugh, the surgery and the job at Ascot?

This was a sweet story. Just a lovely romance with all the feelings. No heavy angst but you got three love stories for the price of one! I loved how they were all challenged differently to be able to accept love. I also loved the Scottish setting and the veterinary aspects. Not my normal style of read as there was no spice, just kisses, but I loved it all the same. The audiobook added another level with wonderful accents.

Big thanks to Netgalley, Joffe Books, Dreamscape media and Katy Turner for this book and audiobook ARC.

This was an enjoyable light hearted read. The descriptions of the Scottish highlands makes me want to visit.

I listened to this as an audiobook but found I had to increase the speed slightly otherwise the reading was too slow.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

This was a very cute little romance. A little anticlimactic for me. I very much appreciate the chance to listen ahead of the release date. Thank you to Katy Turner and NetGalley for this audio ARC!

I loved the veterinarian aspect of this story. I loved the small town and the animals. I just didn’t feel the solid connection between the H/h. The writing was good and the conflict kept me listening. The narrator did a good job. This was a cute story. Thanks to Netgalley and the audiobook publisher for allowing me to listen and review.

Let’s Just Be Friends is the debut novel by charming author Katy Turner. Veterinarian Holly Anderson’s appointment to a high placed practice near Ascot is thwarted when the vet she was to replace decides to work one more year before retiring. When told she has an opportunity to serve for one year at remote Eastercraig, Scotland, under elderly Hugh MacDougall, to learn more about large breeds, Holly is crushed but perseveres. Her goals are in her crosshairs, and she can surely do this for a year.
When Holly arrives in Eastercraig she is immediately charmed by the small town. Upon meeting her coworkers Chloe and Paolo, Holly feels as though she has an immediate friend network. And when she sees the lovely seaside home she will dwell within, she is amazed. But when a staggering Greg Dunbar let’s himself in to the home late at night, Holly is a bit miffed but immediately drawn in to the lovely new community.
Making close friends with Chloe, who runs the veterinary office, and Paolo, the veterinary nurse, makes Holly’s days pleasant, but the blustering, stern voiced Hugh leaves her quaking in her flats. The relationship between her midnight visitor Greg Dunbar and his estranged brother, Angus, mystifies Holly, and the ins and outs of the community amaze her. Becoming embroiled in the town brings both comfort and challenges for Holly, and leaves her in a precarious position. However, a dramatic rescue, recovery, and unexpected offer changes everything.
This is a truly delightful story. I found myself laughing aloud and wiping a tear as I read this well written and plotted tale. I very much enjoyed this book and do recommend it!

Holly’s dream job was taken from under her at the very last moment. In need of another job, she accepted a one year contract to a remote location in Scotland. The book follows as she learns to live in that beautiful setting, makes friends, and enjoy the local culture, events, and scenery. She also learns to open her heart to love.

Let’s Just be Friends was a sweet novel to listen to. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced readers’ copy to review!

Let’s Just Be Friends is a cutesy story about an adorable veterinarian who learns that life doesn’t always work out the way that you planned. And that sometimes it’s better because of it. That being said, there were a lot of jumping POVs that made the story feel a bit disjointed and disrupted the flow. I struggled to follow u til about halfway through the book and was honestly slightly relieved when the story ended. However, there are some ends that were not wrapped up that I wouldn’t mind getting more information on.

This audio archived before I was able to listen to it! I plan on still reading/listening and will update review at that time.

I liked this in theory, but in practice thought it was pretty middle of the road.

The small town Scottish village is a very cute setting, the characters and their multiple POVs and multiple romance plot lines are all perfectly enjoyable. I don’t think I’ll find myself thinking about this much now it’s over though. It was alright, enjoyable enough, but doesn’t stand out in the super saturated romance genre.

Audio 3/5 Well acted and entertaining. This combined with the simplicity of the story made this into a very easy listening experience.

After losing out on a shiny job opportunity, Holly, the veterinarian, is shipped off to a quaint town in Scotland to work for a notoriously cranky boss. She becomes friends with Paulo and Chloe, a veterinary nurse and the office receptionist, and the story follows a year in each of their love lives.

This is a multi-POV women’s fiction, all told in third person. It is a very slow burn (minus the burn - this book contains like one kiss and no other spice). It is a cute little story with a HEA. However, the initial meet-cute is definitely the best part.

The audiobook narrator, Mhairi Morrison, gives both an adorable English and Scottish accent and doesn’t go wild distinguishing between male and female characters. Was fun to listen to, but it’s not rom-com in the sense you might expect (🌶️).

⭐⭐⭐

A fun quick read, I listen to the audiobook took an afternoon gardening and I was entertained. The beginning was a bit confusing trying to keep up with the characters Holly, Chloe and Paolo. They each had their own POV sections, but once I caught on it was great.

I really love to read a book set in Scotland, and I generally enjoy a small=town romance vibe, but this just didn't do anything for me. I found the story unfulfilling and didn't enjoy the narrator, who I've heard on other books.

Thank you Net Galley for an arc of Let's just be Friends in exchange of my honest opinion.

Even though Holly is our main character we follow in this book the romantic life, or lack thereof, of 3 friends. Holly is doing a 1-year residency in this veterinary clinic before applying to her dream job and she is focus on her career when this hot guy Greg stumble upon her and now she will have to take a grip and remember her priorities. Chloe, her friend has a huger crush on Angus, Greg's brother, but cannot, for the life of God make a move on him. Then we have Paulo, their gay friend that has really low prospects to find another guy for him in this super small town.

The book overall is a fun and quick read. Honestly I liked Chloe's story better than Holly, even though she is not the main character. However I think her romance had more pinning than Holly's.
The issue for me was the lack of something more. Their drama, funny moments past traumas was a bit bland. What I mean is that the book did not make me get invested in them enough.

Again.. easy read if you just want to relax with a book

When I read the synopsis I was super excited and hopeful that it was going to be a good rom-com. Unfortunately, for me it wasn’t. I was able to listen to the audiobook as an ALC and I was disappointed. There’s 2 characters with very similar names and 2 hours in the audiobook I wasn’t able to distinguish between one or the other (specially because the narrator does almost the same voice for both of them). I found the same issue with the male characters.
I also felt the story was going in circles and I really couldn’t get into the story.

Thank you to Dreamscape and Netgalley for this ALC in exchange of my honest review.

Highlanders, Scottish brogue, hairy coos, Scottish pubs, a vet clinic, multiple love stories, copious desserts, dramatic shoreline, and quirky characters all in one palate-cleansing, uplifting, fun summer read.

When I look for something to read that won't make me think too hard or analyze everything, a rest from the violence and horror that dominate the fiction market these days, this is precisely what I want. Not too cheesy as to be saccharine, but just sweet enough to root for the young (and often tempestuous) romance-seekers (even the reluctant ones), with enough of a struggle to mildly make you wonder if The Big Thing will happen, even though you know deep down that's what the book is going to deliver. It's a beach read, or for a rainy day curled up with your favorite beverage, or wherever you want to be comfy and have some fun.

Let’s Just Be Friends by Katy Turner is a cute and sweet story of three new friends finding their way in life and romance. It doesn’t lean as heavily into rom-com as I was expecting. Still enjoyable. After finishing the book I don’t love the title. For me it undervalues the relationship between our three narrators.

As an audiobook I imagine some will find the three POVs confusing because there is only one narrator. Her voice is lovely and works for the setting. Every time the story switched POV I had a lag to catch-up on whose life we were following. A couple of times I missed it and confused the story.

Overall, it was an enjoyable trip to the highlands with loves of fun animal!

Thank you to #netgalley and #dreamscapemedia for this advanced audio copy. Opinions are my own.

The book description didn't do a great job of telling me what I was about to read (well, listen to to be more exact). The book is told from three points of view and follows the story of three character, while the description only talks about one of them (albeit, the main one I suppose). And honestly, there was just too much going on for me to follow super well. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the characters and was invested in their lives, which is why it was a bummer that I felt like I didn't have the chance to really dive into any of them because there were too many to focus on. I would have loved separate books for Holly and Chloe at least, and possibly Paolo (his plot line was the least developed). I wish I could have had a more time to get to know each of them and their love interests (I want to know Greg, Angus, and Hamish better!).

Thanks NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Katy Turner for the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.