This book was actually written really well and kept my interest but it was just too unoriginal. I feel like I’ve read this exact book 40 times and I was getting so bored of the “I don’t know what I want” POV. Skip it. Thank you to @celadonbooks and @netgalley for my copy!

4 stars – A marriage of convenience with maximum heart!
Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter delivers a thoughtful, funny, and heartfelt take on the fake marriage trope—with a much-needed dose of chronic illness representation, emotional vulnerability, and slow-burn pining.
Evie Bloom, a talented foley artist with IBD, has always felt like people leave—her parents, unreliable doctors, and her own body. Her rock? Childhood bestie Theo, now a cinnamon roll 4th grade teacher with a heart the size of California. When Evie gets offered a career-changing fellowship but no health insurance, Theo proposes—literally. Their fake marriage means she can chase her dreams and stay healthy.
What follows is a story full of warmth, snarky banter, tender moments, and plenty of friends to lovers energy. Evie’s growth, Theo’s loyalty, and their undeniable chemistry make this more than just a rom-com—it’s about trust, healing, and what it really means to show up for someone.
💗 Come for:
⦁ Childhood best friends to lovers
⦁ Forced proximity (hello, rent-controlled apartment)
⦁ Chronic illness rep (Evie’s IBD storyline is powerful and real)
⦁ A dreamy, soft hero who teaches elementary school and wears his heart on his sleeve
⦁ Big feelings, small gestures, and lots of emotional healing
Thank you to @NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First, a big thank you to Celadon Book, Macmillan Audio, & NetGalley for the E-ARC & the audio ARC for Friends with Benefits.

Unfortunately, I was not the target audience for this one. It just didn't pull me in like I wanted it to, but I can definitely see this being someone's favorite!

As for the audio version, it wasn't bad and maybe it's just me, but the female voice felt more mysterious than romantic. I have been listening to more domestic thrillers lately so this really could just be a personal thing. Other than that, it was a great performance.

I wanted to take a few days of reflection before writing this review. This has been one of my favorite books ever read. The wide range of romance tropes that Kanter provides is refreshing (marriage of convenience, friends to lovers, second chance love, trauma bonding, sworn off marriage, etc.). Evie and Theo both have been able to lean on one another throughout their lives. They want to be the best version of themselves and continuously push each other in ways that no one else could. You continuously root for their happily ever after! Words cannot express how much I enjoyed this book and these characters.

3.5 stars

I had high hopes for this book, especially since it has marriage of convenience/fake dating which are my god tier tropes but it fell a little flat for me.

Our FMC was one of the most annoying characters I've ever read. She had a great character arc, and I loved the epilogue, but getting through the book reading about how she treated the MMC at some points made me want to DNF.

There were some super cute moments in the story and overall it was a cute and an easy read.

If you're someone who does not like pop culture references in books than this isn't the book for you.

When Evie has to move out of her grandparents bungalow and gets accepted into a fellowship she didn't apply for, she has a lot of changes and decisions she needs to make. Thankfully, her best friend, Theo, has an idea. Evie can quit her job, move into his apartment with him, take the fellowship, and have awesome insurance. All she has to do is marry him. There are so many benefits!

Honestly, if I was Evie I would have JUMPED to marry Theo. He is perfect. He is a golden retriever MMC. He's always thinking of Evie and her needs! I loved that they were together and getting to know them from the past as well as currently. I really do enjoy when you can get past perspectives because you really get to know the characters.

Evie drove me crazy though. She was really annoying. I was grateful to see some growth from her throughout the book, but it wasn't a lot. For someone who was seeing a therapist, I felt like she made very little progress to work on her issues. Also, communicate. Just say what you think and how you feel. If you have been best friends with someone since 4th grade and you are in your late 20's... you should be able to express yourself and how you really feel. I get not wanting to ruin a friendship, but even when things started to get going with them, still... no communication.

Thanks for the ARC NetGalley!!

I thought this book was cute, but it didn’t quite keep my attention. It’s a quick read, but I think it maybe focused too much on Evie’s autoimmune issues. I completely get how having an AI disorder can take over your life at times, but a lot of the book was pretty depressing when it came to Evie- her mom, her career, her disease… it was a lot. Maybe that’s why it was hard for me to get into? I would also like to see Theo’s personality developed a little bit more - I found it hard to know where he was coming from at times.

Thank you for the opportunity!!

Cute. Completely predictable.

Evie and Theo have been friends since the forever. They both have feelings for each other but obviously can't possibly tell each other because that would ruin the story. But they, of course, find themselves marrying each other so she can take a fellowship and still have benefits. Evie has an autoimmune disease and has to have benefits. Will the fake marriage last or dissolve into nothing?

Its infuriating when two grown adults won't just open their mouths and talk.

Thanks to Celadon Books for sharing this romance's digital reviewer copy with me.

I found this book to simply be too slow at times. This took me over a month to read which is much slower than my typical pace. The storyline and trope had the potential to be great but execution was poor

Theo and Evelyn’s story makes for a great summer vacation read. When Evelyn and Theo both find themselves in need of a new living situation, the one action that will ‘solve’ all their problems is a county clerk marriage. This allows Evelyn to pursue her dream of being a Foley artist and Theo can keep the apartment his is in after his roommates move out. Forced proximity, life long friends… You can see where this is heading. Unique back stories of the characters make for a not-so-typical set of protagonists.

I received an Advanced Reader copy via NetGalley.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. It felt like it was too focused on making a political statement. And the characters were unlikeable. I wanted to love this one because I really do love a best friends/marriage of convenience troupe but this one fell flat.

I wished I enjoyed this book more because the plot sounded so good!! The friends-to-lovers trope tied in with the marriage of convenience and then tied in with the "it has always been you", literally the perfect recipe for my perfect book. However, the beginning felt a little chaotic, I think the first couple of chapters were filled with so much information and introduced too many characters that it was hard to keep up with both the plot and characters. This, unfortunately, made me lose a bit of interest in the book, but I still wanted to finish it so that I could submit my review.

I also want to mention that there were aspects of the book that I did enjoy! I thought that the dynamic between Theo and his students was really funny and fun to read. I also really enjoyed the progressiveness of both the main characters, and really enjoyed that it was included. I was surprised at first because many authors don't seem to include their political beliefs in their books, but in a world where society is losing its empathy and humanity, I believe it is crucial for those with a platform to use it for good. I also could feel the tension and angst both characters were feeling, especially towards the last couple of chapters. Reading how evident Theo's feelings were towards Evelyn was also a nice treat.

All in all, this book has it all to be a 5-star read, but I think those first few chapters turned me off as there was little motivation to finish it, but in the end I am glad I did. Just because I found the first few chapters a little too much, doesn't mean everyone else will!

DNFed at about 50%.

Although I really appreciate romances that have more going on than the central romance, this piece seemed to be attempting too much. One main character's struggle with chronic illness could have been great representation and some thoughtful meat to add to a lighthearted romance. But career plotlines and lots of complicated family dynamics for both leads were cluttering up the plot, rather than enhancing it. I suspect I feel this way because so much of it got stuffed into early chapters upfront, often through bloated flashbacks or tell-don't-show exposition, rather than developing more gradually over time.

A final tipping point toward deciding not to continue reading was just a pet peeve I've discovered in friends-to-lovers arcs: the setup that the main characters have actually been in love the whole time, consciously holding back from insta-chemistry for their entire relationship, rather than developing and discovering new feelings. It feels like a cheat code to ensure that at any point the author can pull the ripcord and get to the romantic endgame asap.

I'm loath to DNF an advance review copy, but when the book's been out for over a week and I've been chipping away at it for a month... it's time to call it.

2.5 stars rounded up

This book did fall a bit flat for me. I do tend to struggle with third person pov, it’s not my preferred way to read. The story had a lot of potential but I just did not vibe with Ev. She was awful to Theo the whole time and put so much on him. Her constant ‘I need a beat’ and how she never came back to the subject but seemed to hold moments over Theo were hard to handle at times. I get she was hurt and has a serious case of mommy issues but the way she took it out on everyone really rubbed me the wrong way

I adored this! I loved the push and pull of this heir relationship, how their story was revealed to us over some interspersed flashback chapters. I loved their witty banter, their unique familial dynamics that only helped bring them together, all the little nuances that flushed out these characters were wonderful! My only critique was that by the end I was shouting at them to just do the damn thing already! But that’s not a horrible thing.

As a side note, I have genuinely NO idea why the reviews for this book aren’t higher. I am also notorious for reading actual reviews after I’m done reading and I was kinda pissed about some of these. Many said there was “tOo MuCh DiVeRsItY,” while one in particular said the author inserted her politics to the story, which I took personal offense to being that there was NO politics mentioned whatsoever. They were hoping for more insurance for the female main character who had a chronic illness. Does that count? Or was it that both the main characters were Jewish? Either way, I’m fighting for this beautiful romance! I absolutely loved it.

I did not expect to enjoy this book so much! I basically picked it because of the title and cover illustration, but I became super invested in Evie and Theo's relationship. But more than that, I really got into Evie's character especially: her traumas (plural), her aspirations and health issues of course. The marriage of convenience/friends to lovers tropes were really well written, the characters were super likeable, you were rooting for both of them to get what they wanted and hopefully be able to be together while realizing their respective dreams.

unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. i struggled to get into the book and found myself not being the biggest fan of the writing style.

with that said, Kanter is a very descriptive writer who clearly puts much effort into constructing her characters! i think this book would be great for those who love marriages of convenience tied in with a little comedy.

thank you to Kanter and Celadon books for an advanced reader copy of this book!

I SO enjoyed Friends with Benefits!!! It was a little slow going for me at first, but once I got about 10% into the book I started to fly! I loved getting to know and spend time with Evie and Theo (and loved the dual POV). The book had a lot of depth and packed a lot of emotional punch, which I liked. I would definitely recommend this book to friends, and will be reading future books by Marisa Kanter for sure!

we were so blessed to have gotten sent an ebook version and physical copy of this book so a huge thank you to netgalley and celadon books for sending these for an honest review! this was our first bookish mail and while i was initially so invested and excited, some huge buts coming next.

1.5 ⭐️ to start, this book was compared to katherine center esq. writing and i strongly disagree. with that comparison, i thought this was going to be a decently clean and closed door read and this was NOT that! i had to skip SO much (check our reading guide for sure if you want to read this!!!) and the author included about every single one of her political beliefs in almost every page of this book. i do not want your personal political beliefs in a romcom so this just left me cringing and upset instead of mushy.

i wanted to like the fmc but she got on my nerves. i loved her job and thought that was such a unique concept, but she was so self centered and there was never any growth, really, in that regard. theo was so sweet and patient to her and she just took advantage of that because he was too scared to lose her. she knew how he felt (so many people told her) and she just continued to abuse that, i felt. also, this had SO. MUCH. gay representation it was unreal. i understand that having representation is important to some publishers and regardless of your belief on this topic, this felt extremely too unrealistic and just was a major distraction for me. the fmc (SpOiLeR) is bisexual and that was never even discussed between her and theo which i believe would have definitelyyyyy warranted at least one convo in a real life relationship. also, the fact that she accredits her grandparents staying together and in love because they didn’t get married is crazy!! and just diminishes the beauty of marriage which was a major no from me.

i did like the representation of having a chronic illness as i know that’s an extremely hard reality for many, including some of my personal friends. some of the writing was witty and theo’s class were the stars of the show for me.

rereadable? no:(

Friends with Benefits is not what you would expect.
This Friends to Lovers novel starts with a different type of benefit - health insurance. Right away, the reader can tell that this marriage of convenience romance novel is much more than a rom-com and addresses a lot of weighty topics. Evie has a once in a lifetime opportunity for a fellowship that could launch her career as a foley artist, but it doesn’t come with health insurance. Since she has a chronic illness, she can’t afford to give up her boring office job that has great benefits to take advantage of the internship. Her best friend needs the higher combined income to qualify to keep his rent-controlled apartment. Evie and Theo have been friends since childhood. They have seen each other through a variety of challenges. Through this story the reader gets a great romance but also a sensitive exploration of the emotional issues of parental abandonment, dealing with chronic illness and the broken health care system and educational system.

Don’t let the subplots scare you off. Marisa Kanter weaves all these issues throughout a great romance story. Eventually, the title phrase takes on the usual meaning and the book gets quite spicy. But even then, Evie continues to consider the marriage a temporary measure. Through a series of fantastic flashbacks, Kanter shows that both friends have been in love all along, but not always admitted it to themselves. The “It’s always been you” plot includes the typical trope of fear of losing a best friend if they try for a romance and the trope of missed chances and bad timing.

This book is great for readers who like:
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️SPICY ROMANCE

💞Friends to Lovers
💞 It Has Always Been You
💞Marriage of Convenience
💞Forced Proximity