Friends with Benefits came out earlier this month, and I finished it a few days after publication, doing a mix of the ebook and the audio. Many thanks to Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for early access. This is a really nice mix of a bunch of tropes (friends to lovers is the main one, of course!), and I enjoyed it more than I expected. This is my first book by the author, and I believe she has only published YA before this adult romance debut.
Evie and Theo have been best friends, growing up dancing together and remaining friends through college on opposite coasts. They both live in LA, and they spend their Wednesday nights watching Survivor together. Each has harbored secret feelings for the other and, occasionally, shown those feelings at specific instances in their history. When Evie has the possibility to pursue an amazing internship but needs health insurance, which is not provided, Theo offers a marriage of convenience to share his great health insurance through his teaching job. (Sidenote: This teacher wishes the health insurance plan described at the cost stated was available for her!)
I don’t read a lot of marriage of convenience books, but I thought that trope worked well for this one. And I thought the author did a good job explaining Theo and Evie’s history through alternate chapters from the past every once in a while. I thought both narrators were great, too. The audiobook was a bit long, considering the physical book is under 300 pages, and it felt like the plot could have been condensed and feel less drawn-out. There are some steamy scenes, with some kink discovery, but if you prefer a closed door romance, I think you could skip those scenes without missing any plot points.
If you’re looking for a fun romance, I recommend it - I enjoyed my time spent with this book!

3.5 ⭐️I enjoyed this romantic novel, but I think it would be better without the flashback chapters, which dragged the book and were uninteresting for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this ARC! Who would’ve thought romance and chronic illness could work so well in a story of marriage of convenience? Evie is trying to make a living in the competitive entertainment industry while navigating her Crohn’s disease and health insurance. Cut to Theo her best friend who has a job with great health insurance but is soon to be without a roommate. I loved the reality of healthcare that was portrayed for those who are unfamiliar with the system. Their sweet friends to lovers storyline keep me interested until the end.

This was such a fun rom-com with a surprising amount of depth! I’m usually not a huge fan of the marriage of convenience trope, but the author did a fantastic job executing it here. What really made it work for me was that Theo and Evie were friends before their arrangement—it made their relationship and connection feel much more genuine and believable.

I also appreciated that the story didn’t shy away from more serious topics. The emotional layers gave the book more substance than I expected. The flashbacks sprinkled throughout were a really sweet touch, showing how Theo and Evie’s bond developed over the years. It made their journey feel even more heartfelt and authentic.

Overall, a great balance of humor, romance, and emotional depth!

this had a lot of potential but in the end I wasn't engaged as much as I thought I would be honestly the two were better as friends - I also listened to the audio book for most of it

The chronic illness representation was so good. Probably the highlight of the book for me. I thought the last third got a little messy, but the final resolution felt just right!

two best friends marry for health and financial reasons. they don't think things will change, but this changes everything.

2.5 ⭐️

While I loved the premise and idea of this book, I kept getting caught on the POV. I didn’t realize how much I enjoy first person point of view. I would get into the plot and continuously be taken out of it due to the language and POV. Such a great plot though!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc 💖

I am not one to usually go for the friends to lovers trope, but throw in a marriage of convenience and I’ll give it a shot! For the most part I did enjoy Friends with Benefits but I found the FMC to be extremely frustrating at times. I understood why she did some of the things she did but I felt so bad for the MMC for most of the book. I did really like that there was so much real life struggle incorporated into the story. Overall, this was a good read for fans of friends to lovers.

I couldn't get into this story. Got about 25% of the way through and gave up. Nothing had happened and yet you could choreography the rest of the story. I'm going to blame myself more than the writing. Just not interested.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

The premise of this book held such promise. A modern marriage of convenience for health insurance & rent control, where do I sign up!?

But I struggled with both Evie and Theo.

Evie … loved to push Theo away and blame her parental abandonment. It also felt like she was able to have feelings, but wouldn’t allow Theo room for his.

And Theo was a doormat. For Evie. For his Dad.

I found myself skipping sections, and the story was dragged out. I really wanted to love this one, but it fell flat on all levels.

I really loved this book! Theo and Evie were a great couple - I loved their friendship and fake relationship! I also really appreciated the focus on invisible chronic illness, which is very often overlooked. It was super well done!

A simply charming read! Evie and Theo have such a solid and strong friendship which is immediately evident. Their attraction to one another is also immediately evident. Of course, they both manage to hold too much in and fight too many feelings when they imagine the "more than friends" factor. Yet, all has to come to the front as they are put into a marriage of convenience situation.

Of the two characters, Evie has the most issues, physical and emotional, to deal with. Her physical condition makes life scary and often holds her back. Always, Theo shows up, shows he knows her in every way and proves to Evie how much he loves her. Just as friends of course. It is easy for the reader to know this is not the truth. Theo loves Evie - their friendship, their memories of everything good and dance. But he fights to keep his love for Evie platonic. Theo wishes their marriage of convenience was more but Evie does not want marriage for many reasons.

It is easy for the reader to know where this all goes once they both admit their feelings. Still, they are surface level feelings and this is just for fun. Too bad feelings and life are a little more complicated. While the reader can easily deduce the plot of the story, it is the journey that Evie and Theo share that makes the book so charming and fun to read! Plus, the HEA is good!

It’s very refreshing when you come across an extremely well written Romance that has all the key elements. This book is one of those. Lovable characters, witty banter, emotional depth and spicy scenes. Loved it!

I love that this friends to lovers trope was still a bit of a slow burn. With the title I thought things might happen quickly and then they figure it out through the book, but I’m glad I was wrong. I also super glad we got different life experiences we don’t usually see in romances (Evie who’s interested in Foley work, Theo being an educator, Evie managing her Crohn’s disease and also dealing with the healthcare system, etc.). I appreciated the family dynamics as well which helped explain so much of why Evie and Theo were where they are at the start of the book. I usually don’t vibe with flashback scenes, but these ones were cute to read as well and didn’t feel empty because they helped fill in blanks of Evie and Theo’s story. 3.8

A lovely romcom that made me laugh out loud and fall in love with the main characters as they were falling (or admitting to being) in love. Theo and Evie have been friends since Middle School when they met at dance classes. More than a decade later, they are still best friends, Theo working as a teacher and Evie as a sound editor. When they both experience a personal crisis, Theo potentially losing his apartment, Evie needing health insurance in order to pursue the career opportunity of her dreams. The solution to both their problems? Get married. But this most definitely does not solve all of their problems - it becomes increasingly clear that this is not a platonic friendship - the reader is along for the ride as both Theo and Evie realize how they feel about each other.

A great take on our abysmal health care system in the United States, particularly for someone with a chronic illness. Kanter did a great job with this - I was rooting hard for Evie and Theo and the supporting cast of characters were a riot. Definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon books for the ARC!

This was my first marriage of convenience book and it was just ok for me. Maybe I need to read more books like this.

The plot was good, Evie needs insurance and a place to live so she marries her best friend who needs a roommate and has excellent insurance. I thought his leasing contract was a bit odd but maybe that's normal in LA... or maybe it's just for plot lol

The writing was good. I have read many books where the writing was just cringy and it really took me out of the story. This was not the case here.

For the characters, I adored Theo! He is pretty perfect! A fourth grade teacher who encourages his students (played Bowling for Soup when they got out of control), kind and loyal to a fault. Would do anything for Evie, including having breakfast with his dad who he has a strained relationship with.
I was not a fan of Evie. She seemed very selfish and I just really didn't like her vibe from the beginning. I will say I appreciated the representation of a chronic illness (IBD)! That is not a negative factor of her character.
I also liked the minor characters and how Theo and Evie's parents/backstory was weaved in.

The romance was hit and miss for me. There were moments I found so sweet/kicking my feet and moments that were cringy. The flashbacks didn't really paint the picture of their unrequited love. It really only showed me how good of friends they were. I guess I was hoping for more tension. They just kept saying the other person was hot and "pushed away the lust". I think I enjoyed the where they were pretending to be together in front of other people....

Overall, it wasn't DNF worthy but only 3 stars for me.

The story follows Evie, who has an opportunity she's always wanted, but her illness gets in the way. When her best friend Theo is facing his own crisis, they devise a plan: get married. She uses him for health insurance, He uses her for money. It's a win win.

The book was a good time, I will admit. It's definitely not as bad as some of the reviews say, but then again, everyone has different opinions. Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope, sure. But, sometimes it's the friends to lovers that hit the best spots.

Was it the best book? No, but I still enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for letting me ARC read this

took a second to get into the flow of this, then started to get into it, then it kinda lost me again. it could have been like 50 pages shorter. why did eve need every single person in her life to tell her the same fucking thing? the whole ‘angst’ felt so repetitive and i know it’s meant to be realistic but oh my god. speaking of repetitive this author has a favorite writing quirk and it’s to write like this:
<i>This.
This.
This.</i>
at leasttt once every chapter sometimes more and by page 250 i was so sick of it i almost got angry lmfao like i guess it would have been fine for just one word that was like their word, like the “you” or “obviously” but it was just sooo overused.

anyways it did have potential, i loved the foley artist job and theo was a such a sweetheart and him being a teacher made him so endearing, and the whole healthcare thing was handled mostly well and is an important topic to tackle. idk maybe i’m just a childhood best friends to lovers snob because there was a lot here that were the right ingredients, but it just didn’t cook fully?

I just finished reading this book. The plot was absolutely fantastic! It was quite the page turner, and I could not put the book down once I began reading it. I am so glad it has been released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!