Two childhood best friends, one opportunity of a lifetime, and health insurance!

Evie has a fellowship offer, chronic illness and suddenly needs a place to live. Theo has a great job with all the benefits, but these are times when good is just not enough to live in suburban California. When his roommates make plans without him, he needs a roommate and a wife, if he wants to meet the income requirements. Best friends with perfectly aligned puzzle pieces sounds like the perfect solution. Because nothing has to change, right?

I’m a sucker for marriage of convenience and this did not disappoint. There was pining, and moments of clarity, and so much of the general coziness that comes with being known deeply and loved, regardless. I loved the local familiarity as a SoCal suburbanite, and the pages captured the real-life elements that many others have coated in glitter. There is comfort in the air conditioner that doesn’t keep up and the hodge-podge of furniture in shared spaces. I love a lived-in love, and shout out to the family and friends who see the truth before we see for ourselves.

5/5 stars!
Big thanks to Celadon Books, NetGalley and Marisa Kanter for the ARC for review!

I enjoyed this one from the beginning. Two friends who have known each other for a long time. Mutually beneficial so what could it hurt to get together. I loved the plot of this one and would recommend.

I've always loved a good friends to lovers, like give me alllllll the slow burn! There were times throughout this where it felt a bit excruciating that the other had zero idea about their shared feelings. They were a really sweet pairing overall though and following them through the years was really cute, even if a touch frustrating haha. Our support characters were also great, and what I wouldn't give for a novella catch-up with them all! The chronic illness rep in this story was beautifully done and I loved how it wasn't one-size-fits-all or solution-based, as if their love could heal her body. Because it is a daily struggle and being seen and supported by your partner, like Theo did for Evelyn, through it all is such a huge help. Def recommend, esp if you have a loved one dealing with an invisible illness!

First, a big thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Marisa Kanter’s novel “Friends with Benefits" – “Lifelong best friends say 'I do' to a marriage of convenience, trading vows for a financial safety net and benefits.”

Friends With Benefits alternates between two narrators: the anxious, determined and dairy-free Evie and her lifelong best friend, the easy going, yet driven and Survivor-obsessed Theo. Evie and Theo have been friends since they were barely teenagers when they both joined the same dance studio and spent their formative years as dance partners and best friends alternating hidden crushes on each other that ultimately did little more than crush each of them emotionally. But as we meet the pair near the end of their twenties, each having dealt with a past littered with a handful of failed relationships, severe parental abandonment issues, chronic pain and illness in the case of Evie and a stagnation of career goals in the case of Theo.

I wasn’t expecting this book to contain a deep look at the United States healthcare system for people dealing with chronic illnesses. Marisa does an admirable job explaining the challenging subject of chronic illness in a way that only serves to add to the story and doesn’t detract through overly technical details.

Evie and Theo’s story is also much deeper than it first appears. This is a duo with a lot more behind them than a few instances of bad timing on who was crushing on who at any particular moment.

I can say that I would recommend it to anyone that is flirting with thoughts of taking a dive into the romance genre and definitely to anyone that is already well-read in that particular world. With this being her first foray into adult fiction, Marisa Kanter offers a fresh perspective that will likely set her apart from other authors.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Marriage of convenience is my FAVORITE trope and mixing it with friends to lovers was soooo fun to read. I really enjoyed this book more than I thought it would. It had a very formulaic set up, so I thought, but this really surprised me. Theo was awesome and I especially appreciated him throughout the book. My first Kanter book and it won't be my last. 3.5 stars!

Evie Bloom and Theo Cohen have been best friends since early childhood. Evie receives the opportunity of a lifetime internship opportunity at the same time that Theo's roomates move out. Due to Evie needing insurance to cover her chroic health issues and Theo not wanting to move, they two decide to get married out of convenience. I loved getting the back story on these two. Marisa Kanter did a great job builidng these characters, and their love for one another.

This book explores chronic illness, abondonment issues, and loss of a parent.

Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter was a book about Evie and Theo, their backgrounds, their struggles. These characters were friends, nothing more...until they weren't? Meh, this wasn't a book for me. Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The title caught my attention because of the friends to lovers scenario. Both Evie and Theo had a lot of baggage from their childhood. I was repeatedly annoyed with Evie as it seemed to be her way or the highway and while she does have a chronic illness I felt it was used to gain support for Evie's thoughts and actions and give her an out for behaving harshly to Theo. Happy the got over their insecurities but the repeated need for a "beat" would have made me leave Evie awhile back. Theo had some serious patience.

I enjoyed reading this story and thought it was an interesting. As someone with a chronic illness, I’ve often thought about the benefits of marrying someone with better health insurance, so I found that relatable.

This one has good bones, but ttwenty-five percent is as far as I made it. I had trouble getting into the story with the third person present tense. Then after a lot of social preaching in such a short amount of time (appropriation, racist history, patriarchy, activism, toxic masculinity), I just couldn’t do it. I read to escape the real world, and there was too much of the real world inserted here for my taste.

While I didn’t read far enough to figure it out, this is a MF romance with a FMC who so far appears to be gay or maybe bi. Typically there’s an indication, either in an author note, subcategory or category on Amazon, so this confused me. I like knowing what kind of story I’m reading going in, and this was a surprise.

I really liked what I was beginning to learn about the characters’ personalities, and their shared love of the Survivor TV show was cute. The story shows a lot of promise, but as written, it’s more for a specific audience rather than having wide appeal. I appreciate the early copy from NetGalley and Celadon and the chance to check this one out.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Evie and Theo have been best friends since they were young. Evie and Theo were dance partners until one day when Evie hurt her ankle and could not dance any longer. Fast forward many years and they are now adults. Evie is a Foley artist and Theo a teacher. Evie gets a selected for an amazing fellowship but doesn't think she can take it due to the poor pay and no health insurance. Since she has Crohn's disease health insurance is not an option.

Theo is a teacher at the same school his mom used to teach at. He is told by his roommates that they are buying a place and moving out. To solve both Theo's housing problem and Evie's (her grandparents sold the bungalow she was living in) and Evie's problem with health insurance, they decide to get married.

Are they just friends or do they secretly want more. I enjoyed this book and will read others by this author.

Sweet one…I liked Evie and Theo as characters, but I was hoping for a bit more tension, even though it was friends to lovers. The chemistry just didn’t hit as much as I wanted it to.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the ARC opportunity.
3/5
This was an enjoyable read but also felt a bit dragged out. The story is back and forth between the two main characters and I wish there were headers that indicated that. I enjoyed learning a bit more about the Foley profession. This isn’t the first romcom I would recommend but would add it to a library collection.
Favorite Supporting Character: Pep

This is a friends to lovers story with multiple other themes thrown in. Evie and Theo spend lots of time together, and Theo’s financial stress (he’s an elementary school teacher) and her health problems (Crohn’s disease) plus her job/internship as a Foley artist in Los Angeles with no health insurance lead them (mainly Theo) to decide marrying each other is a solution for these problems. Simple, right? Since they like each other!

Evie is the perpetual fly in the ointment here. She keeps trying to find problems in this new arrangement, because she’s really not a relax and enjoy it kind of girl.

I might have enjoyed the book a little more if the author had not inserted her politics into the story. It’s always a turn-off for me. Also, the pacing was incredibly slow at times. Also, this was supposed to be a rom-com, I think, but Evie and her personality prevented both parts of that genre. Her constant ruminations and her inner turmoil distracted from the plot moving forward.

This one is 3 stars for me.

I received a copy of the digital ARC via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Evie and Theo are long time friends who embark on a fake-marriage. I appreciated the thoughtful representation of chronic illness and the challenges of navigating the healthcare system. The MC's deep friendship was super sweet, but the romantic chemistry just wasn't there.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

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

Best friends since childhood, Theo and Evie get married for certain benefits. But what happens when they're forced to finally acknowledge the feelings they've had for each other their entire lives?

I love a good marriage of convenience trope. This one was a slow start for me, but once it hit a certain point, I didn't want to put it down.
This was an overall light-hearted read for me while also dealing with serious topics - chronic illness, parental death, abandonment, etc.

This book was good, not great. I enjoyed it for the most part but nothing stands out as memorable.

I typically love a marriage of convenience trope but this one just fell flat for me. The fmc was insufferable and it was hard to constantly watch her push people away.

As someone who suffers from a chronic invisible illness, I loved the actuate portrayal of life with an invisible illness and the awful American health care system!

Another great story from Marisa Kanter. Evie and Theo are both so clueless about their feelings for one another. I love how Marisa walks these two characters through little situations to help them realize their feelings.

The ending is perfect.

This was a delightful romance that covers a gamut of topics - chronic illness, death of a parent & abandonment issues. The author covers all topics with grace & you root for the characters to work through their issues. There is spice but nothing gratuitous. A good 4-star romance that gives insight into a side of Hollywood I never realized existed.

Thank you Netgalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read an early copy of Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter in exchange for an honest review! Firstly, I absolutely loved the main characters Evie and Theo; they felt very realistic and developed as if they were real people with real struggles and anxieties, and the way that the author moved from each of their perspectives was really well done as well. Their romance and friendship were developed wonderfully, I loved the slow burn of them realizing that they have more than platonic feelings for one another, and I especially loved learning the ways both of them pined for each other throughout the years of their friendship only for something to happen that prevented the two from bridging the step from friendship to dating. The inclusion of Evie's family and career were really fascinating, and overall the plot outside of the romance was entertaining and engaging. I appreciate the opportunity to read this book in advance and I really enjoyed it!