I absolutely loved this book! Being in the film and theatre business, I could relate to it on so many levels. Working in this industry can be tough at times, but the way it was captured in this story was just incredible! Kanter has a wonderful way with words, and she really brings the characters to life and shows their growth beautifully. I felt like the characters were so real that I could actually meet them and become friends in real life, which is such a cool feeling!

What I appreciated most is how Kanter showcases our industry—the ups and downs—so honestly. The main character felt so genuine, and I really connected with her struggles. It’s refreshing to see our challenges reflected in a book because sometimes people don’t fully grasp how much we go through. Overall, this book really resonated with me, and I think anyone in the industry would find it just as amazing!

Ah! This book!! The casual chemistry between Theo and Evelyn that bubbles up in this story is delicious. Friends to lovers, fake marriage, and then the forced proximity?? Incredible. The tension between these characters was amazing and I squealed with laughter when that tension finally bubbled over. This book was PEAK kicking my legs and screaming while reading energy!

I loved the slow burn of this story. The flashbacks throughout Theo and Evelyn’s life were a wonderful example of the power of a longtime friendship and that transition into something more. There’s so much trust and love there from the beginning of their lives together. That lived experience is a beautiful way to show the depth of who they are as individuals and as a partnership.

This book was wonderful from start to finish. Friends with Benefits is hilarious and warm, as well as a fantastic example of healthy friendships and how you can choose your family not just through blood. I loved these characters & their stories! It’s also worth noting the powerful stories about their experiences with the American healthcare system. They are not the first to struggle with that and won’t be the last, and it’s so important to bring up those topics and normalize them.

Thank you to Celadon Books 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 wanted to love this book but its pacing was just too slow at times. Also, the FMC didn’t seem to grow as she worked through her issues. I did enjoy the MMC. He was a sweetheart and really tried. I did appreciate the chronic illness rep and how he was supportive of her through her illness and struggles. This was just lacking the fluffiness I was hoping for.

Friends with Benefits does a good job of balancing romance and real life—including both legitimate trials and silly, tropey angst.

In terms of the legitimate life trials, the author's opening note lists content warnings including medical gaslighting, health anxiety, illness and death of a parent, parental neglect, and the realities of living with chronic pain. These were all critical to the storyline. Crohn's disease and colorectal cancer, along with commentary on the American employer-based healthcare system, also contribute to the heavy framework of the book.

As for the romance, in my opinion, Evie needed to get there faster! I suppose that wouldn't allow all of the storylines enough time to play out. Familial and platonic love are represented in spades, which is delightful. Evie's paternal grandparents, Theo's mom (via flashbacks), Evie's younger sister (to a lesser degree), and a couple of Evie's mentors are main sources of affection and/or support outside of Evie and Theo's friendship. Evie has multiple professional female role models, which is always refreshing, especially in roles that are historically considered nontraditional for women. [I learned interesting things about some of the items Foley artists use to create believable sound effects.]

Humor peppers the book, giving us comic relief from the health and housing anxiety. Humor came from a broad range of characters, including Theo's fourth-grade students, one of whom is named Milo—bonus points!

Theo absolutely comes across as the hero of the book. He shows amazing thoughtfulness, generosity, and patience, starting from young childhood. This goes beyond his relationship with Evie, right through how much he cares about his students. We read about the field trips he tries to secure for his class, his curated classroom library, how he inspires his students through music, and how hard he works to reach students where they are/in ways they find approachable.

3.5⭐

I really wanted to love this book. I appreciate that the female main character had a chronic illness (Chrone’s disease) and I think that part was written really well. However, the rest of the book fell flat. The interactions between the siblings left me wanting for more. I also thought the Survivor mentions were too many.

I think some people will really like this book. But unfortunately it wasn’t for me.

Evie and Theo are lifelong best friends. When she needs medical benefits and a place to live, and his roommates have just moved out, they decide to get married so they can leverage their joint financial situation to keep his apartment.

Fake dating on steroids, this story also included a lot of darker elements that added a layer of emotional complexity, including grief, abandonment, chronic illness and medical gaslighting. While there are always some hijinx where a fake marriage is concerned, this was deeper than others, highlighting the reality of the healthcare system in America and how it plays into every major life decision for a chronically ill person.

I am a sucker for a childhood friends to lovers story, and loved how this wove in flashbacks of Evie's and Theo's past. The way they are so intertwined into each other's lives and each other's families adds to the beauty of this lifelong love story.

A friends to lovers romance. Evie and Theo have been best friends for years, and a few times also more. Take married to benefit them both, will this be their chance?

Thank you to Celadon Books for the opportunity to read Friends with Benefits early.

3.75 Stars for Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter

Evie and Theo have been best friends since childhood, having met through dance. Over the years, they’ve supported each other through life’s ups and downs—quietly harbouring feelings for one another the whole time.

Now adults, Evie is offered a prestigious Foley artist fellowship, a dream opportunity—but one that doesn’t come with health benefits, something she critically needs while managing her chronic illness (Crohn’s). At the same time, she’s also in need of a new place to live. When Theo’s roommates move out, the timing seems perfect for them to move in together. But as they share a space, long-buried feelings begin to resurface, and what started as a practical decision begins to challenge the boundaries of their friendship.

This book was undeniably cute and had some heartfelt moments, especially in how it touched on chronic illness, career ambitions, and the ups and downs of navigating different types of grief. As someone who recently lost a parent to cancer, there were moments that hit home more than I expected—the emotional undertones were relatable and honest in those sections. That said, the beginning was a bit slow for me. Still, it’s a sweet, sincere read that many will connect with—especially those familiar with love that’s rooted in a deep, longstanding friendship.


IG: @_readinginthewild | @biancamaria.xo
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Best friends marry for health insurance and housing, what could go wrong? This is a slow burn friends to lovers romance that has great banter and chemistry. I really enjoyed Theos POV. Everyone keeps saying this feels like a mix between Emily Henry and Katherine Center book and while I hate to compare authors I can see it. Its the feeling the book gives, not the writing style. Huge thanks to NetGally for letting me read this book early! I recommend if your looking for a good palette cleanser but also a story that has grit to it. This is a heartfelt ride you wont want to miss.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed learning about the MFC and MMCs relationship over the years and was happy to see them get on the same page eventually. I found the MFCs career to be interesting and something different, and enjoyed learning about this throughout the book. I loved the spotlight chronic illness and health insurance in this book and how this can drive decision making for patients. The aspect of the MFCs chronic illness and how it (and the affects of health insurance) felt so real. Also the rising frequency of colon cancer in young people is something I see at work so I also appreciated this highlight. At times I did feel the book, and relationship, was cycling and recycling the same issue over and over again, which drew the book out and made me loose interest in the book/characters at times. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for sending an ARC of this book.

I wanted to really like this, but it felt very slow and Evie was very annoying. I was hoping to like her by the end of the book, but that didn’t happen. The saving grace was Theo. I absolutely loved him!! This book also has the lack of communication trope and I hate that. I felt like a lot of things could have been squashed early on if they just had an adult conversation. They are supposed to be best friends and can’t talk about their feelings. It was very frustrating. I enjoyed the story, but the communication could have been better and possibly made Evie more likable.

Evie Bloom is an aspiring Foley artist; however, she is plagued with chronic illness and needs health insurance.

Theo Cohen is Evie's best friend and an elementary school teacher who cannot afford to rent his current apartment without a roommate.

Theo discovers a loophole in his lease document. Married couples do not have to meet the same minimum income threshold as single tenants.

Evie needs insurance. Theo does not want to move. Bingo.

It takes a little persuading from Theo to get Evie on board. What could go wrong, right?

The book travels from the past to the present, providing much detail of their relationship through the years. Both characters have baggage and sometimes, I wanted to reach into the book and shake them. Don't be so stubborn! Wake up! But it is a cute story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Caledon Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love a good friends to lovers story. This one foot the bill, but it seemed a bit all over the place. There were a lot of lovers. There were a lot of issues....health, insurance, housing, family, mind, etc. I didn't dislike the book, but also didn't love it. I did enjoy the Survivor references because I am a fan. I will definitely give this author's next book a try. I liked the writing style. It was just a bit too long.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book. This is my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing the ARC.

Oh this book hurt in the most amazing way.

Evie and Theo are each other's person, but their pasts and experiences have shaped them, for better or for worse. And when they enter into a marriage of convenience to ensure that Evie has health insurance for her chronic illness while pursuing her dream job, the lines are blurred and all of those long-buried truths become loud and insistent.

This book was so well executed. I normally don't like it when lifelong friends become lovers because it almost always ends up with a lack communication. But when it's executed well, and their behaviors and reasoning align, then it makes sense. Both Evie and Theo have had past experiences and upbringing shape them into the people who don't know how to communicate well, or even emote properly when faced with the hard emotions. And because of that, they bury their mutual feelings for each other down deep.

I found myself being drawn both to Evie and to Theo for different reasons. I could see myself in both of them, and that made the story all the more amazing to me. The prose also helps in that it can be very stream of consciousness at points and you can really get into the characters' heads. Such a masterfully crafted story.

Definitely looking out for more from this author.

Starts off cringey. Instantly talking about GI issues, financial issues, chronic illness, and meeting zendaya in 3 pages is a lot. I have to admit that I didn’t end up finishing the book. I really struggled to get into it and kept putting it down. I didn’t like Evies attitude or the way she acted about her circumstances. It felt really young and immature, borderline insufferably woke. I think the idea is there but it needs refinement.

**thank you NetGalley and Celadon books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review**

📚: Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter
⭐️: 3.5/5 (rounding down on #goodreads)

Evie & Theo - dance partners as children, best friends since forever.

When Evie gets a fellowship opportunity, her heart breaks when she realizes it doesn’t include health insurance coverage — a necessary for her as a patient with Crohn’s disease. Meanwhile, Theo’s roommates drop the bomb that they’re moving out - and he needs to find a way to meet the income requirements to stay in his rental. The answer to both of their situations? Get married. Just because they’re married on paper doesn’t mean anything needs to change with their friendship. Right? Wrong.

This read was cute, and I wanted to like it more than I ultimately did. With a couple pacing issues that made parts feel laggy, a fairly big plot hole that I still can’t get around, and main characters that are hard to root for, this falls just average rom-com wise for me.

Thanks to Celadon Books via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Friends with Benefits is out this week on 5/6!

This book was a plot that I found very interesting with these best friends getting married for convenience. I loved the chronicle illness representation as well as mental health support representation too. While the book was predictable with what you expected at points of the plot and with the ending, it was still a fun read.

Arc Review

Thank you, Celadon Books, for the copy of Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter.

Evie and Theo have been best friends since their first dance class together. They are there for each other through thick and thin. And “adulting” in L.A., things get thin. Evie needs access to healthcare to continue treating her Crohn’s and still be able to pursue her dream career in Foley. On a teacher’s salary, Theo can’t afford his apartment when his roommates move out. What are two besties in a tough spot supposed to do? Get married, of course!

Kanter has all the right ingredients for a charming, lovable rom-com for everyone to enjoy. While there are moments of gold, there are times when she seems to get stuck in the spiral of writing a modern romance in 2025, but also wants everyone to know her morals. I have no problem with her living by her moral code and wanting to write characters with the same worldview. Still, it was often enough that it went past painting a picture of who these people are.... More like waving a giant virtue signaling hand. In cases of calling out American healthcare and how difficult it is to navigate, as well as being gaslit by doctors as a woman with invisible pain, it was necessary and added meaningful impact to the story. Like we were told over and over again, how “misogynistic” Theo’s dad, Jacob, is, but not once were we ever shown him being misogynistic. He is gruff and not great at talking with his son through his grief, but that does not mean misogyny.

Overall, the novel was fine, the FMC and MMC were equally complex and flawed, and I think this will be really enjoyed by others, but maybe that wasn’t me, and that’s ok.

DNF. I got 26% through and was still getting confused about the 3rd person POV, if it was and omniscient 3rd person or a 3rd person that follows Evie's perspective or Theo's perspective. The plot seems compelling and I am curious to find out what happens, but the writing style was a bit distracting. I know others will enjoy the plot and the tropes.

Marisa Kanter's Friends with Benefits combines two of my most favorite tropes--friends to lovers and marriage of convenience. This book is so much more than a romance. It tackles chronic illness, absentee parents, and mental health all while weaving a love story.

Evie Bloom and Theo Cohen have been friends since her first day in Miss Stella's dance class. Evie Bloom is an aspiring Foley artist and Theo is an elementary school teacher. Evie gets an amazing opportunity that could make all of her film and television dreams come true, but there's a catch--there's no health insurance benefits, which are necessary for her as she lives with a chronic illness. Theo runs into a predicament of his own--his roommates are moving out and he needs a new roommate in order to be able to stay in the amazing rent-controlled apartment. To solve both of their problems, Theo proposes to Evie and after a bit of waffling, she says yes.

I loved every aspect of this book, but most especially the depiction of Evie and Theo's friendship. I also loved watching Evie and Theo go from friends to more and I'm a sucker for a good "f*ck it" moment. The ending was just perfect in my opinion and I cannot wait for others to read Friends with Benefits because I'm dying to yap with other about it!

Thank you Celdon Books for the e-ARC!