I had a great time reading Friends to Lovers. It’s exactly the kind of story I want when I’m in the mood for something sweet and easy to get into. I liked how natural the relationship felt—like you were really watching two people figure things out instead of it being rushed or over the top. The characters had good chemistry, and I found myself rooting for them the whole way through. It had just the right amount of tension and heart without being too dramatic. Simple, fun, and super satisfying.

«I think I'm always going to be waiting for just five minutes of you loving me like I love you.»


Friends to Lovers is a perfect mix of summer cheer and yearning pain...

Joni and Ren are childhood friends whose families co-own a summer house. No—BEST FRIENDS. The story gives us glimpses of their relationship over the years, especially through a series of weddings they attend together... until they stop talking for two and a half years.

I read this in one sitting and had such a good time. The book is packed with music references, which is exciting!

I don’t usually gravitate toward wedding settings—I don’t mind them, but they rarely pull me in. Here, though, it felt refreshing and genuinely fun?

Tho, I have to say, I wasn’t a big fan of the main conflict—it just didn’t click for me...


Thank You to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for the DRC!

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. We jumped back and forth in the timeline, but the entire story revolved around Ren and Joni and their incredible friendship. Joni has a lot of anxiety, and it becomes an obstacle in their relationship as their friendship veers toward romance. This was a medium paced book, but it never lagged for me. I really enjoyed the writing and the characters. This was also a closed-door romance which I appreciate as much as open door. I do feel like for the tone of this book that closed-door was the appropriate choice. I would love to read more by this author, especially about some of our side characters love stories like Stevie and Sasha.

We need to leave tropes out of the titles of books. Yet, this one still caught my interest and I'm glad for it.
Ren and Joni are no longer friends BECAUSE WHY but they have this huge history that involves their whole families so everyone is in their business of course. Meeting up again because her sister is getting married is genius, ESPECIALLY because they have been each other’s dates to weddings since their college days. Genius genius genius. I’ve never read a book that has this kind of tradition and I loved it. Very very original !!!
Joni constantly wanting to overshare because that man used to be her best friend was sad and I really felt for her. She also had to keep her own secret of losing her job from Ren and the rest of her family for DAYS which I’m sure made things way more difficult for her.
They shared so many moments even as people who were officially not friends anymore and you could just feel the tension they both want to ignore and hope they were still friends.
The coming back to each other but separating again wasn't it for me, and their HEA was a bit too abrupt. I hope that makes sense lmfao 
Still an enjoyable summer read

4 stars for what I think is the perfect summer pool side read!

Did it have some elements of other romance books I’ve read recently? Sure. Did I still enjoy the hell out of them?! Definitely!

Give me best friends to lovers where he falls first any day of the week and I’m sold! The tension between these two was so palpable, you cannot help but root for them right away.

Thank you so much to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Best friends to lovers?! It’s a meaning of when you’re close with someone it’s like nothing changed. And things continue like before.

Immediately declaring this book a MUST-READ summer romance and telling all of my friends they need it! The chemistry between Ren and Joni truly sparkles on the page, and I loved the whole story and close knit family-friend group. Hated to see the book end! Left my heart bursting and wanting more!

I loved this book! Such a sweet rom com and fast read. The perfect story for vacation! It reminded me so much of People We Meet on Vacation and The Summer of Broken Rules. Kind thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Canary Street Press for the e-ARC in exchange for my thoughts!

I was interested because everyone was saying that it gives up "People We Met On Vacation" and "Happy Place". I have never read any of those books but I knew booktok was obsessed with them so I figured I would give this book a try and let me just say I have 0 regrets. I normally don't prefer friends to lovers trope but this book was so amazing that I might have to reconsider that.

This is a classic story of two best friends + families being super close + an eavesdrop heard in the hallway = becoming a hermit because there's no communication happening. I hate to say it, but ya got me!

Joni and Ren are the ultimate best friends and you can tell they've always been each other's #1. It's clear from day one that they've always loved each other, but that they didn't know what they had until it was gone. Something that Ren said that *pulled* at my heartstrings: "Joni, I think I'm always going to be waiting for just five minutes of you loving me like I love you." YOU'RE KIDDING! The yearning! He's such a lover boy and you can tell with every chapter that passes by. Joni, on the other hand, really self sabotaged and it was all for nothing. Two and a half years wasted because she couldn't get out of her own way!

This was a light, fun read. Joni and Ren are fun characters who are clearly meant to be, and the fact that they resisted as long as they did was slightly hard to believe, but made for a pretty good story. Extra points for the very enjoyable families, who really made the story stand out. I wanted to be invited to stay at this summer house! Definitely an easy recommend for anyone looking for a summer beach read romance.

5 stars! Oh so good!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for honest review.

Oh my gracious, I adored this book!

Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were 3 years old. Now they're closing in on 30 and have been estranged for the last 2.5 years but being forced into proximity again since Joni's younger sister is getting married.

Did I mention that Joni and Ren's mothers are best friends and the two families own a beach home together? When Joni loses her job unexpectedly, she shows up early for the wedding and Ren shows up early as well.

Well why are Joni and Ren estranged? We find out slowly through a series of flashbacks interspersed throughout the story. The two friends had promised to be each others' plus ones to weddings and finally admitted to their true feelings but unfortunately things fell apart. Can they figure out how to be friends again? Is there a chance for more again?

Oh, how this book made me swoon! Ren is the ultimate cinnamon roll and would do anything for Joni! The ending had me crying happy tears. The author uses beautifully descriptive language without being over the top. The book left me wanting more and I'll definitely be reading more books by this author!

I loved this book so much and it was an amazing debut! Perfect for summertime and def gave me em hen vibes! Def recommend for a good beach read

Review: Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely — 5 Stars
Friends to Lovers was an absolute five-star read for me—I had the best time reading it! I was thrilled to receive this ARC through NetGalley, especially since second chance romance and friends-to-lovers are two of my favorite tropes.

This story did such a good job at making you feel the emotions, nostalgia, and chemistry that the characters were feeling. Joni and Ren’s shared past and present day connection had me fully invested from beginning to end. I was rooting for them the entire book. If you’re a fan of Emily Henry, you’ll fall in love with this book. Sally Blakely’s writing has that same effect of placing you right in the characters’ world and makes you feel everything they’re going through. I’ll definitely be picking up a physical copy and doing many rereads of this book!

Thank you to Sally Blakely, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press, and Netgalley for the advanced copy! Friends to Lovers is available to the public July 22, 2025.

This is probably my third friend to romance story over the last three months so I was not sure I would enjoy it. I was wrong.

Joni and Ren are childhood friends and their families are close so getting together has been done for years. Joni takes a job across the country so to keep their friendship, they decide to be the plus one for each other at weddings. This works for a while but then it doesn't. There seems to be a falling out that happens and the book tells the current story of a family wedding weekend and their story simultaneously.

I really liked the characters; I found them honest. and approachable. I do love a good romance and when this one unfolds you cannot help rooting for the main characters. If you are an Emily Henry fan, Sally Blakely would be a good one to read as well.

There were so many moments that really made me stop and go Ahhhhh. Loved it. Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

A fantastic Emily Henry–esque romance! Friends to Lovers follows Ren and Joni, former best friends forced to reunite at her sister’s wedding after two and a half years of silence. The story weaves through present-day tension and flashbacks of their time as each other’s wedding plus-ones. I loved the slow-burn dynamic. My only complaint: the overbearing moms felt more like distractions than helpful side characters. Still, a heartfelt and engaging read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for the ARC!

Friends to Lovers is about two lifelong friends, Ren and Joni, set in Oregon.

Ren and Joni were inseparable during their childhood, went to prom together and were each other’s plus one during weddings. Joni receives a job offer to New York City and they both had to navigate life for the first time, without each other. They would make time for each other when there would be a wedding they were invited to and spend time together but things weren’t the same. Eventually, the line between friends to lovers get a bit blurry and things get complicated.

Tropes: Childhood friends to lovers, close proximity, slow burn, dual POV, dual timeline, heart-break, reunions, sister’s wedding, he falls first

I really couldn’t put this book down. I read it in two days and I was really rooting for their love story from the very beginning. There were a lot of cute moments when Ren seemed like the epitome of a golden retriever and I was eating it up! Definitely a page turner and unputdownable book!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

Before I get into the review, a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at Canary Street Press for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Friends to Lovers is a novel following best friends Ren and Joni who decide to spend their twenties always being each other's plus ones for every wedding season. After one of them has moved across the country for a job, it's a solid way to make sure they're always able to catch up and spend time together. Now they're back at each other's shared summer home for Joni's sister's wedding and she is determined to make this week perfect--even if she has to fake her friendship with Ren. And avoiding the truth about why they have to fake it in the first place. Friends to Lovers comes out on July 22nd and is available for preorder now.

I got to say, despite the friends to lovers trope not being my favorite (enemies to lovers for the win), this book could sway even the most anti-friends to lovers to their side. This book is so beautifully plotted. It's told in two separate timelines: the present, and the lead up from the past through all the weddings they attended together. Everything just fit in together so beautifully. There were parallels that really just smack you in the chest as you're reading. The characters come alive off the page. Not just Ren and Joni, but all of the side characters as well. I was rooting for every single one of them. I loved the setting of this beach house to have this reconnection and all of the summer vibes. The thing that I think made this work so much for an enemies to lovers fan is the longing, absolute yearning, that I could feel through the pages. There were two moments that got me and made me cry. The first was about halfway through the story during a wedding they had attended together in the past. The second was in the final handful of pages when Joni is thinking herself through the mistakes of the past and how she didn't realize how much she was hurting before. Such poignant moments. I truly cannot believe that this is a debut author.

There were a couple of things that made this a 4.5 instead of a 5 for me, but I know how picky I am with my 5 star ratings so take it with a grain of salt. I spent some of the time wanting to know what Ren was thinking and feeling. I think it would have led to even more of the yearning that I love so much. But this only had a single perspective for us to read from. I found the scene at the rehearsal dinner so hard to read. The second hand embarrassment was so, so high in that scene. I do like the author tried to diffuse the tension toward the end of the scene, but it was a little late for me, a person who gets so embarrassed so easily. The last thing that I struggled with in this one was the overbearing mother. My mother was a therapist so I've definitely felt the whole "I'm not your patient" thing when talking to my mom, but I've lost my own mother recently and reading about a mom that sounded so much like my own felt like a knife to the heart. The scenes with Joni and her mom made me want to shake Joni so much and to tell her that her mom won't be here to drive you up the wall forever. Even though I could totally understand where Joni was coming from as the daughter of a therapist.

Overall, this was such an Excellent read. I read 75% of it in one day and probably would have stayed up late to finish it if I didn't have work early this morning. This book left me feeling so raw and so emotional at times and it was such a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Canary Street Press for the ARC of Friends to Lovers!
This is my first Sally Blakely novel and it won’t be my last.
This book was what I expected for the genre, and it had many of my favourite tropes: friends to lovers (obviously), forced proximity, and a summer house (I'm thinking fans of Carley Fortune).
It has good romance vibes overall, and if you enjoy the typical romance genre tropes, then you will appreciate most parts of this novel.
I loved how Ren and Joni were just each other’s best person. However, I felt like the lead-up to the ‘lovers’ portion needed more tension/explanation, as in the whole first part of the book, Joni seems to somehow not get that Ren is interested in her. Since it is just her POV, the reader could wonder if it is just platonic (I didn’t sense the chemistry either initially) but knowing the book’s title…it was coming.
The last 10/15% is a rollercoaster where all the action happens. I wonder if this novel is still going through some editing for the plot pacing? It just felt rushed and as somewhat irritating to learn it could have all been simply avoided.
3.5 Stars
I think this was a solid great debut and I will be reading Sally Blakely novels in the future.

ARC REVIEW:

2.75 rounded up; I feel like this had a lot of potential and maybe I am being picky about the friends to lovers trope but it felt very watered down and the issue exaggerated to more than was necessary for a 2.5 year gap between talking. Overall I really enjoyed Ren’s character but it felt like I was thrown into a story and a lot of information was just all over the place and I didn’t love the Joni.