I'm a sucker for Friends to Lovers! This one was done just okay for me.. there was a bit too much of the miscommunication trope where I was like get it together guys! I also really didn't love either of our main characters are individuals and wasn't really rooting for them as a couple.

3.75⭐️
Friends with Benefits was the perfect read to get me out of my reading slump. It had a great balance of romance and realistic story lines to keep it interesting. I loved all the side characters and the humor of Theo’s students. Most of all, I loved how authentic the love between Theo and Evelyn felt.

One thing that kept this from having higher rating was the pacing and structure felt a little inconsistent. Sometimes there were time jumps and sometimes chapters would span one day. The flash backs were cute but sometimes didn’t flow super well.

Overall, by the end my heart was bursting with anticipation for the couple and I was speeding towards those final chapters to know what happened. I’m so happy I got to read this one!

Thanks NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a digital advanced copy of this book!

This was a heartwarming, dual POV with flashbacks friends to lovers story. Evie and and Theo have the sweetest friendship bonded by dance and a history of supporting each other through hard times. I really appreciated the supporting characters (particularly Evie's sister Gen). This would be a great beach read! Thank you NetGalley and Celadon books for the ARC.

So cute!! This book genuinely made me cry at some points, and I always say that is the measure of a great book, especially a great romance.

This gave very similar vibes to People We Meet on Vacation (which I also thoroughly enjoyed). It was the perfect balance between fun banter and emotional trauma, which is always a difficult balance to maintain. The characters were heartfelt and so cute. I would definitely recommend!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Friends with Benefits delivers a charming and emotional ride with cute, lovable characters—even if the plot stretches believability. The novel thoughtfully explores how childhood trauma can quietly shape our fears, especially when it comes to love and vulnerability. Evie’s journey is made all the more compelling by the honest and nuanced representation of living with a chronic illness, adding depth to her choices and challenges. This is especially important as it offers an honest, realistic depiction in a manner few novels achieve. Her dynamic with Theo is both sweet and frustrating, capturing the complexities of friendship, love, and everything in between. This story balances heart and humor while reminding us that sometimes, the best kind of love is the one that grows where you least expect it.

Friends to lovers is always one of my favorite tropes. This was a sweet, tender lover story with lots of respect between the couple. I would have loved better communication, a bit more angst and connection but it was still very enjoyable. Along side the romance was a great storyline of achieving your dreams and believing in yourself. The characters were well rounded and interesting. A decent read all around.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts are mine alone.

3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.

I liked this; I didn't love it. It felt like 300 pages of people not saying what they really feel until they finally say what they should have said 300 pages ago. Evie wasn't terribly likable for me; Theo was a character I could identify with. The best part of the book was Theo's interaction with his fourth graders -- they were funny (providing about the only humor in the book).

This felt like a typical twenty-something "romance" - a lot of complaints and misunderstandings but probably realistic in today's age.

This will have a market. As I said, I liked it and I think other folks will, too.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

This was not the book for me I have read books by Marisa before and liked them. The writing style on this one felt disjointed and awkward at times. The story was hard to get into and the FMC was annoying.

I just finished “Friends with Benefits” by Marissa Kanter, and it was a super cute romance! It was a best friends to lovers romance that I enjoyed very much.

It’s a story about childhood best friends, Evie and Theo..they marry in name only so she can keep health insurance while she battles Chron’s disease and does a Foley fellowship. Secretly they both are madly in love though and the story details the ups and downs of their relationship.

I love a good romance, however I will say that there was more political commentary in this book than I normally would care for. I love to read as a means of escape from the craziness that is this world and I purposely no longer watch the news, as I don’t want to read about politics and folks tearing each other apart over it. So my preference is just a straight up love story with no politics.

It was otherwise a great story. A solid 3.5 stars from me!

Thanks to the publisher Celadon books and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of the book in exchange for a review.

Friends with benefits is a sweet romance for fans of the friends to lovers and marriage of convenience tropes. I appreciated that the author made the characters more realistic and relatable by not shying away from their illnesses - Crohn's Disease and anxiety - and they way this affected their lives. A solid holiday read! 3.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC.

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS is Nora Ephron's situational comedic reality meets Rainbow Rowell's raw emotional intensity. Evelyn and Theo's journey through grief and trauma, and the nightmares of the American health care system felt like a therapeutic shout. It refused to mask how much of life is affected by chronic illness. How grief is a weight carried long after the traumatic event. And still. Joy is found in connection, passions are pursed, and love can soothe.

I appreciate Kanter flavoring Evelyn and Theo's friends to lovers romance with drama. Their falling in love wasn't soft or inevitable. Evelyn battles abandonment trauma and pushes love away before it can leave her. Theo has put the needs of others ahead of his own for so long that he struggles to advocate for himself. Together they've been in a "right person, wrong time" loop since they were teens. But through the mess of life, whether they're pushing or pulling too hard to maintain a platonic relationship, they are absolutely each other's Ride Or Die.

You're picking up FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS for the marriage of convenience between lifelong friends, and you'll get affirmation that you deserve joy and fulfillment during a health crisis. During any stage of grief. That healing looks like treating yourself to a day at Disneyland. That you can fall and you are worthy of support and patience to get back up.

Thank you Netgalley and Celadon Books for an advance digital copy to read and review.

This one had all the ingredients I should like - marriage of convenience, friends to lovers, and bonding over survivor but it just didn't work for me. I was very frustrated by the writing and endless mentions of specific details and rambling descriptions. I don't care about the full name of random roommates, everyone's drink order, and if I had to hear about his freshly Lysol wiped desk one more time I was going to scream. I didn't feel any chemistry with the leads at all and we were just told they had this built up love story but even the flashbacks didn't really convince me. They both were kind of annoying and needed more therapy not a relationship. The part I did like was the chronic illness rep and the troubles with the healthcare system. There was also queer rep Evie is bi/pan and her sister is a lesbian.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this is a DNF for me. I read to 20% and though there are some threads that are interesting, the writing style and the inclusion of seemingly endless modern topics slathered everywhere, it just wasn't something I was interested in continuing. Best of luck.

The writing style felt off-putting. The pacing was slow, and the story just jumped into a mediocre scene. I could not get into the plot.

It was a sweet book but it didn’t hit quite enough romance beats for me. Dealing with insurance was very true to form and a strong depiction of dealing with chronic illness.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the advanced reader's copy of Friends With Benefits by Marisa Kanter. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Friends With Benefits follows Evie and Theo, lifelong best friends since middle school. They grew up dancing competitively together until a devastating injury changed the course of Evie’s life. Years later, Evie is offered a prestigious fellowship, but taking it would mean giving up the health benefits she relies on. Meanwhile, Theo is in danger of losing his rent-controlled apartment after his roommates move out. Their solution? A marriage of convenience—hence, "friends with benefits."

The story starts off pretty slow. I found myself putting the book down often, distracted by my phone or other things, mostly because the pacing dragged and the characters—especially Evie—frustrated me. I know it might sound harsh, but Evie often came across as playing the victim in every situation, which made it hard to connect with her at times.

However, around the 75% mark, the book really picks up, and from there, I couldn’t put it down. The emotional payoff was satisfying, and the development between Evie and Theo became much more engaging.

One thing to note: if you’re sensitive to themes like parental abandonment, autoimmune disorders, or other chronic health issues, be aware that these topics come up frequently throughout the story.

Friends with Benefits is a super cute and heartfelt friends to lovers story that mixes the right amount of humor and emotion. The build up of romantic tension between the couple felt natural and they were characters you want to root for.

If you're into the friends to lovers trope with witty banter & spice, check this out.

Thanks to Netgalley and Celadon Books for the ARC.

I loved this book! As a chronic illness girly, I related so deeply with so many of the FMCs thoughts and struggles in her day to day life. Also insurance being terrible being a major plot point is so very American (womp womp), and the flirty banter about how good his insurance is was 10/10 and seduced me a little too.

I loved the relationship between Evie + Theo - the history, the pining, the friendship, the deep care for each other. They both genuinely wanted the best for each other even if they thought it wasn't them.

This is such a sweet friends to lovers book, and it's a perfect summer beach read!

...

TW: chronic illness, death of a parent (off page), parental neglect

This book was so refreshing and a fantastic debut adult romance! It was full of perfectly flawed characters with emotional baggage they had to work through! This is the story of two friends who support each other over the years leading to a fake marriage that benefits them both, but will it become something more? Their story is full of navigating complicated family dynamics, overcoming past trauma, living with a chronic illness and finding true love. As a GI nurse practitioner I loved that there was an IBD rep which is so unique, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this in a romance before. The FMC is also a foley artist which was so unique and I found it so interesting to learn more about this career. If you love perfectly flawed characters, slow burn, fake marriage and complicated family dynamics then this is the romance for you!

The (childhood) friends to lovers was very nicely done. You could feel the longing, the yearning, the-wanting-each-other-for-so-long-it-hurts. I also enjoyed the flashbacks a lot. I wanted to understand their friendship, their history and how/when things changed between them, and the flashbacks gave us that.

That being said, Evie's chronic illness was mentioned a bit too often in my opinion and I didn't feel like it was needed. Every situation seemed to circle back to that and I wish those moments were replaced by more shared memories with Theo. I also was a bit frustrated with Evie's behavior, which felt a bit immature at some points.

I still had a good time reading about Theo and Evie's story! I loved their small moments and the shared memories.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 🫶🏽