I had a really hard time getting into this book. I think because it was told in third person POV, which is not my favorite. I sometimes had a hard time figuring out who the paragraph was about. I almost DNFed at 57%, but I really wanted to find out what happened between Evie and Theo. They met as kids in dance class. Theo was the one who befriended Evie. and from that moment on they were inseparable. At different moments in their lives, they attempted something more, but something always happened. Evie had been in a long-term relationship with a woman, which didn't end well. Evie shied away from marriage; she didn't need a ceremony or a piece of paper to prove commitment. After all, her grandparents never married but were still together many years later. When the stars finally aligned for Evie and Theo, they finally got their HEA.

While the storyline was slow-moving for me at times, I did like the dynamic between Evie and Theo. I liked how their friendship began and how supportive they were of each other.

I received an advance copy of this book at my request and voluntarily left this review.

Evie’s an aspiring Foley artist with big dreams, zero health insurance, and a chronic illness she can’t afford to ignore. Theo’s a public school teacher with a rent-controlled apartment and not enough income to keep it. The solution? A marriage of convenience between lifelong best friends. Totally platonic, totally practical… until feelings start creeping in.

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I received Friends with Benefits as an ARC (a little late, apologies and gratitude!), and from page one, I was in. This story had me rooting for Evie and Theo from the very beginning. There’s just something about a friends-to-lovers arc that hits all the soft spots, especially when it’s layered with heart, history, and just enough tension to keep you reading past your bedtime.

Evie is chaotic, sharp, vulnerable, and fiercely independent - sometimes to a fault. She’s navigating not only a competitive creative career but the exhaustion that comes with managing a chronic illness in a system that makes that harder than it needs to be. Her humor and intensity make her feel real, raw, and complex.

Theo is thoughtful, steady, and quietly emotional. He’s the kind of person who shows love by showing up over and over again. He’s been through his own grief, family estrangement, and burnout, and yet still holds space for everyone around him. He’s a caretaker who listens, adapts, and supports without losing himself in the process.

What makes this story stand out is the depth of the friendship at its core. Evie and Theo have truly grown up together. Not just side by side, but emotionally intertwined in a way that few people ever get to experience. They are each other’s person. Their bond is built on years of showing up, falling short, forgiving, and trying again. They’ve held each other through loss, illness, disappointment, and burnout. And while they don’t always get it right, there’s a natural, unshakable knowing between them that’s felt on every page.

They’ve seen the best and worst of each other. They’ve been selfish and selfless, honest and avoidant, flawed and loving. And all of it works because they never stop choosing one another, even when they don’t fully understand how or why.

I also appreciated how this book doesn’t gloss over the hard things. Chronic illness, the broken healthcare system, financial pressure, fractured families, and the creative hustle - all of it’s here. But it’s never heavy for the sake of being heavy. These themes are woven in with care, and they make Evie and Theo’s love story feel that much more grounded and real.

This is a love story, yes, but it’s also about care, mutual respect, and the quiet ways people show up for each other. If you love your romance soft but honest, playful but deeply rooted, this one’s worth your time.

I generally do not read romances. When I was invited to review this one I thought I would give it a try. I did not find the characters engaging, especially Evie. She was so much a victim and did not grow out of that image of herself. I did not appreciate her sexuality. Theo was just too good.

The plot pace was methodical and a bit slow. I ended up skipping over sections, especially long passages on emotions. There was repetition too. I like a rom-com with energy and this one just seemed lacking.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent review.

This book was okay, the more time I’ve spent since reading it the less I think fondly of it.

The plot is the remarkably similar as “Would You Rather” by Allison Ashley. Both FMC and MMC have been best friends since childhood, and the FMC have chronic health conditions, and quits her job to do a new education/fellowship that doesn’t have benefits, and so married the MMC for insurance. Unfortunately, Friends With Benefits is just a poorly executed version of it, particularly compared to its counterpart.

I really liked Theo’s character, but didn’t feel the chemistry between him and Evelyn. Both of their character development felt rushed and choppy at best. My biggest issue, however, was the book felt a bit somber for what’s supposed to be a romcom.

I’d be curious to see other books by this author, but this one just wasn’t a win for me.

This book had a lot of fun things. I loved the dual pov and dual timeline. I liked the fact that you knew they both loved each other from the beginning. I also really liked the chronic pain representation. 3.75 stars

just finished this absolute gem of a book and I’m still smiling 😭💖 it was fun, fresh, and flew by in one sitting—I legit couldn’t put it down.

the plot gave all the cute, cozy vibes while still feeling new, even with familiar tropes (hi, friends-to-lovers 👀). it nailed that balance of banter, sweetness, and emotional depth without ever getting too heavy.

the main characters made me soooo obsessed. their chemistry felt so real and natural, and the tension had me fully hooked. also yes, ugly tears were shed—no regrets 🥲

such a satisfying read with the perfect blend of romance and personal growth. this one’s staying on my rec list, and I’m officially keeping Marisa Kanter on my radar 📚✨

thank you NetGalley + the publisher for the ARC

Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter offers a sweet and heartfelt take on the friends-to-lovers and marriage of convenience tropes, with a modern twist grounded in real-life challenges. Lifelong best friends Evie and Theo find themselves in a bind—Evie needs health insurance to pursue her dream fellowship, and Theo needs to save his rent-controlled apartment. Their practical solution? A marriage of convenience. But as expected, their carefully drawn lines start to blur once feelings complicate their arrangement.

Kanter handles serious topics like chronic illness, financial insecurity, and the American healthcare system with sensitivity, while still delivering plenty of light, banter-filled moments. Evie’s unique job as a Foley artist adds a fun layer of industry detail, and the deep foundation of friendship between the characters feels authentic.

While some pacing issues slow the momentum and certain conflicts feel a bit repetitive, the story shines in its portrayal of complicated emotions and the tension between friendship and romance. A solid, enjoyable read for fans of slow-burn, character-driven romances with real-world stakes.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the privilege of reading and reviewing this book. All opinions are completely my own and in my own words

I always find it hard to review poetry due to the personal nature of the content.

Friends with Benefits make me feel seen and understood. It's like Marisa Kanter is using my thoughts to write. I'm tired and done being here, but I'm not alone it seems.

Marriage of convenience plots generally do NOT work for me because the setups are usually so contrived and unbelievable. Friends With Benefits, however, is based on an entirely believable problem in the 21st-century United States: Evie Bloom has a chronic inflammatory disease and needs good health insurance, so she’s reluctant to quit her secure-but-boring job and pursue an unpaid internship in the industry that really interests her. Theo Cohen, her best friend, is a teacher and can offer Evie the insurance she needs. Voilà, a marriage of convenience that doesn’t require suspension of disbelief.

Although Friends With Benefits has a basic rom-com setup, Marisa Kanter dives deep into the emotional well—there were chapters when I felt tears stinging my eyes. Evie and Theo both have a lot of past trauma to work through, so don’t pick up this book if you’re looking for pure escape. The overall plot is pretty typical for friends-to-lovers/marriage of convenience, but Kanter adds enough nuance and texture to Evie and Theo to make Friends With Benefits stand out from the crowd.

This was such a fun and charming read! I flew through it in a day because I just couldn’t put it down. The plot was super cute and felt fresh, even while playing with some familiar tropes in the best way. It had the perfect mix of sweetness, banter, and emotional depth without ever feeling too heavy.

I loved the dynamic between the two main characters—it was believable, endearing, and had just enough tension to keep me fully invested. Their chemistry was natural, and the friends-to-lovers setup was executed perfectly. There were also some really heartwarming moments that made me smile (and maybe tear up a little), which is always a win for me.

Overall, this was a quick and satisfying story with a great balance of romance and personal growth. I’ll definitely be recommending it and keeping Marisa Kanter on my radar for future releases.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I loved this book! Friends with Benefits follows best friends and long-time dance partners Evelyn and Theo. After an injury ends Evelyn’s dance career, she’s also diagnosed with a chronic illness. When she gets chosen for a dream internship opportunity, Theo offers to marry her so she can use his health insurance - making them friends with literal benefits.

Fans of friends-to-lovers and marriage of convenience will love this one! Great banter and the perfect amount of spice!

4.5 ⭐️ | .5 🌶️

Evie. Theo. Evelyn. Theodore.
They’re friends with benefits. Best friends with literal benefits - their pseudo fake marriage of convenience is for health insurance and meeting rental income thresholds. But they’ve always been interested in one another, shown in weird, messy, convoluted ways.

I loved this one, I think? I was hooked but occasionally had to take a beat because sometimes it mirrored real life a little too closely. Are they tap dancers in a former life?! (Ugh. Literally same). Does her best friend/ partner/ husband deal with health anxiety? (Again…. Same). Was the grief, anxiety, and parent problems a bit stressful? Yes. Was I completely amused and entertained by their careers - a teacher who uses “1985” by Bowling for Soup as punishment and an aspiring Foley artist - yep. Was I also rooting for them to both pull their heads of their asses? Yes.

There was really good mental health and chronic illness representation in this one too.

💃🏻🕺 dancers
📓 teacher
🤝 friends to lovers
👩‍❤️‍👨 marriage of convenience

This one was not for me. I love a good romance. I love friends to lovers and marriage of convenience. They are seriously my fave tropes. However, this one was just too slow paced and didn’t hit for me

Evie and Theo have been friends have been best friends since childhood. But when Evie accepts her dream job as a Foley artist and Theo's roommates move out, they decide to get married. That way Theo can stay in his apartment and Evie will have the health insurance she desperately needs. But will their past feelings for each other blur the lines of their 'fake' marriage?

This was a fun book with a good plot and great characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

We love a marriage of convenience!! Evie and Theo are best friends from childhood who end up in a fake marriage to keep an apartment and get health insurance. Sooo normal! I really enjoyed the health insurance/Crohn's disease plotline, highlighting just how valuable good insurance is and how debilitating invisible illness and disability can be. It really offers a great perspective on living with this and managing it firsthand. One aspect that was a bit too much for me was the focus on Theo's mom's cancer. Normally, this isn't a huge deal for me, but maybe it's triggering me because I finished it so close to Mother's Day. I think it was real and raw and relatable, but more so just heavy-handed at a hard time for me. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, though, and definitely recommend it!

There’s something about the friends to lovers trope that gets me every time. And the fake marriage element made it that much more interesting to me.

I was really looking forward to this story, but it took me a while to hook me in. I’m not sure if it was the present tense narration or how long it took for the action to really get going, but I wasn’t really invested until about 20% into the book.

That didn’t stop me from devouring it from there, though. I loved watching Theo and Evie come to terms with their feelings for each other. The chronic illness, mental health and LGBTQIA+ representation was a welcome addition. And overall I enjoyed this story.

A solid 3.5⭐️ rounded up to 4⭐️.

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

Friends with Benefits tells a sweet story about the love between friends that grows into something bigger. Evie and Theo meet as children in a dance class. They fiercely protect their friendship as the grow up, each one feeling attractions at different times. The common trope of bad timing and poor communication is ever present. Marisa Kanter weaves in important issues like health insurance, medical care, marriage equality, teacher pay, and housing shortages/pricing. The friends to lovers trope is such a fun plot device and Kanter takes it to a different level.

Evie Bloom is getting the fellowship of her dreams. The only thing is it doesn’t come with health insurance which is not a big deal except for the fact that she deals with Crohn’s and needs the health benefits. Meanwhile, Theo just found out his roommate is moving out and he’s not sure if he can afford living on his own… Evie and Theo have been friends for years and when both of them found a way to mutually fix each other’s problems… can they stay friends or will it progress to something deeper?

I thought this book was pretty good although there were moments where the pacing could be a little bit better. This is a good rom-com while talking about deeper issues as well. I love the representation of chronic illness here too! I gave it 3 stars for the pacing and at times I thought the plot was a little messy but still enjoyed the book!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC ❤️

I’m a huge fan of marriage of convenience and this one is just up my alley. Knowing someone with a lifelong illness this really speaks to me. Even though in Canada we have pretty decent coverage, this still speaks to me.

This is a good beach read book. There is nothing new or deep in the story but the characters are likable if not predictable.

If you are looking for something fun and light to read this will be a good choice.