Off-the-grid parents of Olive Porter cannot be found so she unwillingly seeks out her ex, Noah Taylor for help in finding them. He’s a person she trust basically and not at all.

Noah’s job at the National Park Service as a special investigative agent prepared him for living under severe pressure at least until he had an on the job injury. While getting well at home under the watchful eyes of his loving family that cared dearly and was somewhat nosy he would give nothing more than have a disturbance to make him happy.

So when Olive comes home looking better than she ever has Noah has to ensure his heart isn’t affected. He can’t fall for her again. She had affected his whole life and never looked back. Is Olive going to be Noah’s ticket out of town?

Jill Shalvis writes another fabulous and heartfelt love story. It’s a small town, enemies-to-lovers, second chance romance. A bit of a mystery and suspense to it too. Just loved the real life characters in the story. She makes you feel like you’re just one of them sitting right along with them joining in their conversations. I just loved the story! Just have to root for Olive throughout the whole story! Jill Shalvis never disappoints! You will definitely enjoy this story!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers in letting me read this book and allowing me to leave an honest review.

This book is a new favorite. I adored the characters, especially Olive, Noah, and Katie, and the strong ties they have to each other and their shared past. The dry, witty banter is the type of humor that I love and the chemistry between Noah and Olive is hot. They were just meant to be together. Andi Arndt narrates the audiobook perfectly and brings a unique voice to each character. I enjoyed it immensely and have already listened to it twice.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I love this author! This is a book in a series but can definitely be read as a stand alone. It's the story of old flames reuniting in a small town and it will give you all the feels.

Can we get a collective "awwwww" going for this one? Its so sweet. I just loved all of the familial and friendship relationships in this story.

Olive and Noah are high school best friends who never got a chance to take their relationship to the next level. After a devastating accident, they part ways and reunite years later. The feelings between them don't take long to reignite, but there are new, adult problems to deal with -- like they have quite a distance between them.

What I liked most about this book is the examination of how some feelings change over the years, and then there are others that don't. Noah and Olive are just so sweet together, and they are still friends after all these years, even though they are long overdue for a sharing of secrets.

Better Than Friends is a sweet second-chance romance that illustrates the power of a foundation of friendship, shows why good neighbors are important, and it left me feeling good.

Had to DNF and was disappointed by this one! I didn’t really connect with the characters, and I felt like this was much too similar to some of the author’s books, the same boring tropes and humor repeated again and again. I couldn’t deal with the FMC knowingly eating a food she was allergic to as a grown woman who knows it makes her throat itch?? And I wasn’t a fan of the family next door for various reasons (the “friend” bringing up stuff that the FMC clearly didn’t want to talk about/a terrible accident that the FMC suffers guilt over and also smacking her when she hugged her). There was some poor and very cheesy writing.

I have adored every book in the Sunrise Cove series. I enjoy how, while all books in the series take place in the same town, there isn't any overlap between them so you can read them however you like.

I also always enjoy how Shalvis always seems to have a main couple in the story as well as a side couple that plays a role in the main couple's story but yet goes through some of their own things.

This book gives you best friends and brothers and all kinds of other family dynamics and drama. And don't forget the pets that sometimes steal the show!

Noah & Olive's story is one of the evolution of young love with the complications of family drama and teenage miscommunication and misunderstandings that don't get resolved until years later. But sometimes this type of thing is what's needed for the characters to get to where they need to be in order to make things work.

Better Than Friends is certainly an intriguing second chance romance.
Main characters, Olive and Noah, were fun to get to know. Lots of drama between the two of them had me annoyed a few times.
Small town
Enemies to lovers
Second chance
Forced proximity
Slow build romance
Family drama
Overall, a entertaining read that did keep me engaged.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Olive returns to Sunrise Cove after being away for many years. She is dedicated to running her business in London and plans to return to London as soon as possible. Noah is recovering from an injury he sustained in a car accident. He believes that he will never settle down with anyone. They have a difficult past but now they have to work together to help Noah’s sister as she waits for her husband to recover from the same accident that injured Noah. What will it take for them to realize that the lies they tell themselves are keeping them from happiness?
The activity that starts this story is a car accident that causes Katie’s husband, Joe, to end up in a coma. Katie is Olive’s best friend and Noah’s twin sister. Katie needs help with her son, Joey, while her husband is in the hospital. I like that Olive worries that people in town can’t forget that she ran over town hero, Noah, right before she left for college. The author introduces that right at the beginning and then slowly rolls out more and more information until finally Olive reveals all of the details to Noah. I like that Olive has chosen to open her own PR company in London even though her natural tendency is to be a bit of a “wallflower”. Returning home after being gone for so many years helps her to realize that she wants things she never realized she wanted, for example, being close to her family. She is starting to think she might need to reevaluate her path. Her feelings for Noah never went away and now they are just getting stronger.
Noah grew up knowing his father wanted him to play baseball but after he and Olive were in the accident, he realized he’d never play again. This sets off a series of events in Noah’s life that leave him feeling disconnected from his family. What he knows for sure is that he has no interest in working for the family business. He is now with the Investigative Services Branch of the National Park Service. His job requires him to be out of town for long periods of time so he uses that as an excuse to keep his family at arm’s length. He has always wanted Olive and he never understood why she kept pushing him away. Her actions hurt him and made him cautious. There is a “bad” guy in this story. The author gives the bad guy a good reason for the actions they took. It’s actually kind of sad because of all damage done.
Sunrise Cove is a small town with all the standard nosy and judgmental people. This is a story about two people who have convinced themselves of lies and it’s going to take a lot of faith to realize that they can be happy together. This story is about family both the family you are born with and the family you make. Both of the characters are adults with demanding careers and family ties. I enjoyed this book and will definitely read more from this author in the future.

Better Than Friends is a Sunrise Cove novel by Jill Shalvis, one of a completely standalone grouping of stories connected by location rather than characters. Olive Porter has returned to Sunrise Cove to help her best friend Katie Turner-Brooks as her husband Joe is in the hospital following a terrible accident that left him in a coma. Olive is there to help with young Joey and to see her grandmother Adele, who virtually raised her and just happens to live next door to Katie.

What Olive did not plan was to once again be in the company of Noah Turner, who once was the apple of her eye until what happened senior year. But Noah, Joe’s partner in the National Park Service investigative unit, was also injured in the accident and is on medical leave and staying with his sister Katie.

As Olive’s time in Sunset Cove is coming to a close, she is very concerned that she has been unable to reach her off-the-grid bohemian parents. Even though they are in a world of their own they have always been good about regularly checking in. When Olive’s efforts to locate them are met with even more questions, Noah offers to help Olive, opening doors to healing and understanding.

This is another well plotted Sunset Cove story. With well drawn characters in a lovely setting, this second chance tale is a pleasure. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

I requested this book for the cover and the description. I’ve never read Jill Shalvis before so I did not realize this part of a series. I didn’t feel like I was missing anything by not having read any of the others.

The story was interesting, but more steamy parts and angst than I prefer.

I love second chance romance and this one was no exception. Jill Shalvis wrote an amazing story reuniting Olive and Noah in the Sunrise Cove series. Not only was their storyline amazing but I loved the secondary characters like Katie and her son, Joey. You will not want to miss this great story by Jill Shalvis!

This is the first book I have read by this author. It won’t be my last. I liked her writing and character development. Readers who like romance books with family, friendship, love, and suspense will enjoy this book.

This story is a second chance at romance for the two main characters, Olive and Noah. It does take a while for Olive and Noah to stop hiding from each other, share secrets from the past, and admit their love for one another.

I loved the found family aspect of this story. The author created several quirky characters who I loved. There is a dog and cat friendship that is the cutest. You will love Joey, the little boy who has no filter. I like the special friendship Olive had with Katie, Noah's twin sister.

“Secretly, she loved the fact that there was a side of him that was for her only, not shared with any of the outside world. It chased away her loneliness.”

This was a book, it was boring most of the time. This friendship was just not for me. Like overall the book was boring and I was done halfway.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a cute story!! It was my first time reading something by the author and I was pleasantly surprised with the mystery elements. This was a book where the side characters kept things interesting and made up some of my favorite scenes. The varying personalities of each character made the story feel unique and fresh - the National Parks tie-in was a cool addition too!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for an advanced copy of this book!

This is my first read from Jill Shalvis and it didn’t disappoint! The perfect cozy winter read - with characters you can’t help but fall in love with.

Tropes: 
Slow burn
Second chance
Enemies to lovers
Small town
Forced proximity

Can’t wait to read more from this author! Thank you so much netgalley for this arc.

This read took my feelings on a ride it has elements of humor, tragedy, sparks of romance, and so much more. Noah and Olive have a history that ended not so great leaving them both broken in some way and now that they are back in Sunrise Cove helping Noah’s sister the tension runs high between them even when they both try so hard to ignore it. Noah is very back and forth with Olive because of their past and at times this could be frustrating, but I understood some of where he was coming from since Olive took off and left after things without ever looking back. They both have heartaches that still are controlling them even after all these years, but when Olive needs help Noah is there to try and see if he can do something for her. This story was interesting and we do get to see some of what happened in the past although I wanted to see more, but the banter, romance, and suspense made for an enjoyable read.

n Better Than Friends, Shalvis returns her readers to the small town of Sunrise Cove. This time around, she delves into the themes of second chances, forced proximity, and the transition from friends to enemies to lovers. As expected from Shalvis's work, the novel also explores the themes of family and friendships.

I enjoyed all the books in the Sunrise Cove series and looked forward to reading Better Than Friends. It certainly did not disappoint. Each book in the series is a standalone, with no connections between the characters, allowing readers to jump in at any point in the series.

Better Than Friends introduces Olive Porter and Noah Turner. They first met at the age of fourteen when Olive moved to Sunrise Cove to live with her grandmother. She became best friends with his twin sister Katie, and by extension, he became her protector. Circumstances led to her departure after graduation without saying goodbye. After many years away from Sunrise Cove, Olive returns home to assist her best friend Katie, whose husband is in a coma. She had no reservations about returning to help her friend, even if it meant facing the only man she ever loved.

Better Than Friends proved to be a difficult book to put down. It is captivating and heartwarming. Shalvis provides glimpses into the past, giving readers insight into the reasons Olive left Sunrise Cove without saying goodbye. It is clear that Olive never forgave herself for the incident she believes altered the trajectory of Noah's life. Noah himself harbored guilt related to a recent event as well as incidents from his past.

Anyone who encountered Olive and Noah could clearly see the intense attraction between them. Now that they were back in each other's presence, they realized that their feelings for each other had never died and were stronger than ever. However, guilt and fears would lead them to struggle against their emotions. I appreciated how their love for each other endured distance and time. These two were undoubtedly meant for each other.

The secondary characters contributed their unique flavor to the story. The emphasis on friendship and family introduced an additional dimension to the story, resulting in engaging, heartwarming, and entertaining moments.

I had a wonderful time reading Better than Friends. I would not only recommend it to long-time fans of the author but also to readers seeking a heartwarming story with a small-town flavor

Olive and Noah's story is a beautiful exploration of love, friendship, and family. It begins with Olive befriending Katie, Noah's twin sister. As Katie's fierce protector growing up, Noah wasn’t prepared for how deeply Olive would care for his sister—or the complicated emotions she stirred in him.

After graduation and an unfortunate accident, life takes them on separate paths. Olive moves to New York City and later to London, while Noah escapes to Yosemite, distancing himself from his family and memories of Olive. Yet, whenever they return home, an undeniable pull draws them back to each other, like magnets struggling against a powerful force.

Their love story is reignited after another accident and some meddling by family members. Old feelings resurface, truths are revealed, and their journey unfolds for everyone to see.

You'll fall in love with this loyal and tightly knit family, who never give up on one another despite the distance or unspoken words. Shalvis captures how people express love—not always through words, but through actions. Whether it’s meddling, a bump on the hip, or a simple fist bump after a job well done, the small gestures shine brightly.

A heartwarming tale of second chances, Better than Friends is a reminder that love, in all its forms, is worth fighting for.

Olive moved to Sunrise Cove years ago to live with her grandmother, escaping her parent’s nomad lifestyle. The Turner family lived next door and became a second family, and Katie became her best friend while Noah, Katie’s brother became Olive’s secret crush. After an accident where Olive felt responsible for injuring Noah, she couldn’t wait to escape Sunrise Cove and ended up living in the UK.
When Katie’s husband ends up in a coma, Olive returns to help her friend and ends up living in Katie’s home. Noah also moves into Katie’s home to help out. I was totally hooked following Olive and Noah struggle with their feelings for each other, learning about their experiences in high school and what led to Olive leaving town. A beautiful second chance love story.