Olive and Noah have known each other since they were kids. They’ve grown up in a town where everyone knows everyone’s business - and that is exactly what causes a bit of a riff amongst their families. In this second chance romance, Oli and Noah must overcome some difficulties and get out of their own way in order to even have a chance at love. Thanks to NetGalley for this sweet read!

This author is really good at writing stories that you just don’t want to put down. They’re comforting and sweet with great relationships throughout.

Better Than Friends is a perfect example of that with strong relationships and friendships. Even with the second chance romance the simmering feelings are still there.

The story is about a very tight-knit family with a lifelong best friend and her twin brother, who is your ex. His best friend is married to your bestie. I love the deep-rooted family connection here and Shalvis adds a little bit of suspense and twists that you weren’t expecting.

This book is loaded with snark and humor but also takes on some very serious topics that bring out the emotion and heartfelt care in the characters.

I love the rebuilding of the second chance relationship throughout as the main characters reconnect. And when the honest conversations finally happen, we get a beautiful ending.

Each of the stories that this author writes leaves us with hope and a smile on our faces. While this is a pretty clean romance you still get all of the feels and joy.

Actually 3.75⭐️

Overall I really enjoyed Olive and Noah’s story, but there were a few things that bothered me which is why I didn’t rate higher.

Personally, as a medical professional, and someone who has multiple friends with significant allergies, I was annoyed by Olive’s cavalier attitude towards her own. Additionally, one of the surprises in epilogue is one that I do not enjoy in books, and I felt it was unneeded.

Otherwise I found the story cute and feel that it would make a good beach or vacation read for many and would recommend it.

A second chance romance for Olive and Noah. These two had some baggage…but these two end up fighting for one another. Through all the years they’ve always been meant to be. Sometimes you just have to try and tear down walls that are built tough. But once some secrets are exposed…the walls start to crumble and a love like no other is born. JS always brings the romance with minimal spice and it’s so refreshing. Really love this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this book.

Better Than Friends is the 7th title in Jill Shalvis' Sunrise Cove series, but it's the first book in the series I've read, and it's also the first novel by this author I've read, so there was some character confusion at the start, but I finally understood all the inter-relationships, or lack thereof, in short order, and what started out as character confusion turned into a sweet, deeply felt, second chance at love romance novel, and an excellent read. 5 stars

In short, Olive's parents were a pair of oddly nomadic, live off the land and off the grid, 1960s hippies, who weren't very good at parenting, and so, in her mid-teens, Olive moved into her grandma's home, located right next door to her best friend, Katie. She also soon found herself falling hard for Katie's handsome brother, Noah, but blamed herself for the ATV accident that cost him partial use of his leg and ended the baseball career Noah's father wanted for his son. Blaming herself for the accident, Olive fled to New York and then to London, and, after working for a PR firm there, she eventually started her own successful PR firm, but when she learns that Katies' husband, Joe, is in a coma after yet another accident, she returns to Sunrise Cove to help Katie, who is stationed at her husband's hospital bedside, and Olive finds herself with mixed feelings about a lot of things--happy to spend time with a dear friend, falling in love with Katie's adorable son, Joey, and she soon realizes that the reason all her previous relationships, though few and far between, have failed is because she's always compared the men in her life against Noah, and none of them ever came close to matching up, but after 14 years apart, Noah still doesn't believe in or want a relationship--and time is getting short before Olive is due to return to London. The author leaves you guessing, and so will I, since I don't do spoilers.

I found Better than Friends to be an extraordinary read, with fully fleshed-out characters, deeply felt emotions, and just enough humor and suspense to keep me guessing how these complicated relationships will work out, and, if indeed, Olive and Noah will finally have their happy ever after ending. While I stated at the outset that this is the first Jill Shalvis novel I've read, it most certainly won't be the last. I hope you enjoy this novel as much as I did.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated herein are my own.

I fall more in love with the way Shalvis writes every time I finish one of her books. This is after the immediate remorse subsides that I read the book too quickly and now I am a hollow shell of a being until the next one. This book was no exception.

The characters are everything a reader wants them to be. The antagonists, the protagonists, the besties, the cinnamon roll MMC, the strong independent fierce MFC. They are all readers bliss.
The storyline was no different. It was carefully thought of and executed. Wonderfully written and just an overall lovely, quick, fun read. The title gives away what the storyline is going to be. It's a lovely, lovely read.

You can’t ever go wrong with a Jill Shalvis book! Olive and Noah were a perfect match of conflicting feelings and doubt. The ever present snark was masterful and the secondary characters add so much. The ending was perfect.

This book focuses on two teens who go through a tragedy and get separated. Years later, they reconnect, and the sparks fly!

Olive is basically the best. She's strong, independent, and has been through some serious stuff. You instantly root for her. She wants to love and be loved, but trust issues are a real thing, you know? You'll be PISSED when you find out why she's been holding back.

Noah is a classic 'man-child' sometimes, but he has a good heart. He needs to realize that the one person who always had his back is the one he needs to convince to give him a chance. And he needs to learn to keep his foot out of his mouth! Seriously.

Olive and Katie's friendship? Goals. They're so different, but they have each other's backs 100%. So much love and respect. It was beautiful. Olive and Noah's story is also amazing. Second chance romance with a ton of baggage and years of secrets. Super intense, but I loved the ride!

This whole book is about messy, real life, with amazing friendships and family. It's heartwarming and reminds you what truly matters. And that's what life is all about, right?

This was my first Sunrise Cove book, but I'm already a huge fan of Jill Shalvis. I was in a rough patch when I read this, and it seriously lifted my spirits. It brought back hope and warmth. I finished it in no time and felt so much calmer. Thank you, Jill! I need to go read all your books now 🤩.

Huge thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager for sending me an ARC of this lovely book!

Sweet Sexy Second Chance
Ms. Shalvis's newest Sunrise Cove is a winner Olive and Noah get a second chance to fix what went wrong when they were young and eventually get it right. Her extended family aka best friend's family has a crisis that she flies home to aid on, getting and taking that precious second chance. It contains humor as well as heat. Don't miss out.
I requested and received a NetGalley arc gratis and offer my opinion in the same

I absolutely loved this story! From the first page to the last, I was beyond captivated.

I can’t wait to read more by Jill Shalvis.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

Jill Shalvis is always a go to escape author for me. Her stories always engage me from the first page to the last and this one was no different. A second chance at love is seldom given, but this book explores the possibilities of “the one that got away”. It also explore the thoughts of friendship, family, and finding oneself. A great read.

Another good book from Jill Shalvis. A great story about love, family, and friends. You never know when your first love will pop back up in your life!

Better than Friends by Jill Shalvis is the 7th book in the Sunrise cove series. In this story Olive leaves town in her teen years after an unfortunate accident that happened to her best friend Katie’s twin brother Noah Turner which was kind of her fault. Another tragic accident brings her back. Can she make amends with the love of her life Noah? Will she find her parents who are missing? Can she forgive herself and finally come home where she belongs with family? Jill Shalvis has become one of my go to read authors! Must read! Thank you NetGalley, the author and Avon & Harper Voyager for this Arc read.. this is my honest review.

Better Than Friends was the sweetest read! There’s something so charming about a second chance story and Olive and Noah have that in spades. I was so fond of all the characters and their strong personalities, and I especially loved the friendship and sisterhood between Katie and Olive.

One of my favorite things about this book was the depth of the love between friends. The dynamic between Joe, Noah’s best friend, and Noah was especially beautiful to me. I adore the way that this book spotlighted how important love between friends is in addition to the romantic love there.

This was a beautiful and tender story. It was soft and warm and emotional at all the right moments. It all wrapped up so nicely and I was so content reading the whole story. It was the perfect fireplace read for me!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read and review this book! I received a free advance copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I’ve read a lot of Jill Shalvis books and enjoy them. I was excited to read this book when I saw it was coming out.
Sadly I found this book boring and didn’t understand why the couple couldn’t be together. This book felt very choppy and manufactured, even like the characters were acting. They also didn’t see to have any chemistry which made it hard to believe some of the actions that take place.
Perhaps had I read other books in this series it all would have made more sense.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Another great Sunrise Cove novel!

When Olive returns to Sunrise Cove to help her best friend Katie after her husband is in a coma, she doesn’t count on seeing Katie’s brother Noah again. Noah is the one who not only got away, but rejected a fragile teenaged Olive. They’ve both had misunderstandings about each other, and Olive feels guilty for being responsible for ending Noah’s future in baseball.

This was a good second chance romance. Olive had a difficult childhood, and Katie’s family was her safe place. She’s not sure if she can get involved with Noah or if he’s even interested in a relationship. I liked the way they both put the family first. They’ve got a lot to work through if they decide to move forward, but can they take the risk?

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. The set up in the beginning was really interested and the cast of characters seemed like they were going to be enjoyable but as I read I got more annoyed and disinterested in everyone. It felt like the plot lines were rushed or unnecessary and the lack of communication was the only driving point of the book until suddenly the two main characters had all the confidence in the world to say what they wanted and needed, get laid, and go back to acting like they don’t understand each other. The transitions in scenes was a bit confusing at times and I found myself having to go back and reread paragraphs 3 or 4 times just to see how the characters ended up where they were in the story and setting. The plot line of the feud with the mothers was interesting but came to a head so fast and seemed lackluster when you learn what it was all about. Also the whole family pitying Olive over her parents being hippies into weed in the state of California is a little weird. I get the rest of the reasons they were sad like the instability but it felt like the cast was just very judgmental and didn’t want to truly talk and solve anything until all of a sudden they did all at once. Overall I was a bit disappointed since it seemed like this was going to be a good second chance romance and just got let down.

As always, Jill has written engaging characters and adults who refuse to acknowledge the truth of love. Good story with plenty of laughs and maybe a few tears.

The author has once again given us a second chance love story. There was good dialogue, some snark, characters, both main & secondary, that were likeable, and a good story. Strong (and annoying) family members are a signature. Seeing the main characters rediscover their love and work hard to toss the baggage, made this a book on my “re-read” list. I look forward to the next installment in the series.

3.75 ⭐️

I enjoyed the characters and the plot, but had some issues with the pacing. Really great tension with the MCs though and I feel like had the timelines been a bit more streamlined it wouldn’t have felt so jarring with the back and forth between past and present. Overall though an enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my review.