Friends to Lovers was such a fun, swoony read that had me smiling from start to finish. I’m a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope, and Sally Blakely absolutely nailed it with this charming summer romance debut.

Told through a dual narrative, the story follows childhood best friends Joni and Ren, who have always been each other’s plus-ones for wedding season until one summer changes everything.

I loved the nostalgic summer vibes, the sweet beach setting, and the emotional push-pull between Joni and Ren. Their history gave the romance real depth, and I appreciated how the story explored not just love, but growing up, growing apart, and finding your way back to someone who knows you best.

This was a heartfelt and romantic read. I thoroughly enjoyed the emotional buildup, the chemistry, and the satisfying payoff.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the free e-book in exchange for my honest review.

Friends to Lovers was a decent debut! I liked the relationship between Joni and Ren. Their history and connection felt real, and I appreciated that their story spanned several years.The second-chance element worked well, and I liked the setup of Joni and Ren being forced back together at their shared family house. The longing and slow burn were done nicely. Their relationship felt natural and their chemistry was excellent. There were a few technical things that didn’t quite land for me. I wanted more physical descriptions of the characters. Some character details felt underdeveloped. For example, there’s a scene where a couple from art school is mentioned, but art school wasn’t brought up anywhere else in the book. I liked the dual-timeline. It gave more context to Joni and Ren's relationship and added more weight to the present-day moments. I'm excited to see what this author writes next. Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that the trope was so well done and I really enjoyed all the characters.

People are going to love this book!! I just wasn’t one of them. It was kinda giving me Happy Place vibes which I already loved so much

Well this was filled with all of the sweetness! What a great book. I just loved the characters in this one and just ate it up.

This is for the Emily Henry fans out there! It had some predictability to it but Joni and Ren outweighed that by tons!


A cute read! Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for the gifted copy to review.

This book pleasantly surprised me. Friends to lovers is not my favorite trope so I was a little hesitant going in. But this book completely changed that for me. I liked the switches between past and present and I ultimately loved reading Ren and Joni’s story. Plus I absolutely love a wedding!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the e-ARC.

3.5 stars

Second-chance romance is my favorite, so I was looking forward to reading Friends to Lovers. I got even more excited when I started reading the book and realized it takes place in my home state, Oregon. Overall, I enjoyed the book. Joni and Ren have great chemistry, and Ren is the sweetest cinnamon roll of a hero. I loved Joni and Ren's family dynamics and how close they were. Although Joni and Ren have a lot of history, their romance was a slow-burn. There was a lack of communication that I didn't love and found frustrating at times. I was glad when they finally had their big heart-to-heart. The ending was very sweet.

Thank you to @netgalley and Harlequin Trade for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Also thank you to Harlequin Audio for a free audio copy.

★★★★☆

Friends to Lovers is a heartfelt, sun-soaked debut that delivers all the emotional payoff you want from a best-friends-to-lovers romance—and the audiobook version, narrated by the always-excellent Patti Murin, makes it even more special.

Joni and Ren’s relationship is the heart of this story. Their tradition of being each other’s plus-ones for wedding season is sweet and nostalgic, but when old feelings resurface during one final summer together, the emotional tension is palpable. Blakely does a beautiful job capturing the ache of missed chances and the vulnerability of finally confronting what’s been unspoken for years.

Patti Murin’s narration brings so much warmth and nuance to both characters. She captures Joni’s inner conflict and Ren’s quiet longing with such authenticity that you feel every beat of their journey. The dual narrative structure works well, and the setting—beach days, family weddings, and late-night confessions—adds a dreamy, romantic backdrop.

If you love slow-burn romance with emotional depth and a touch of summer nostalgia, this audiobook is a must-listen. Sally Blakely is definitely an author to watch, and Patti Murin once again proves why she’s one of my favorite narrators.

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #harlequintrade #harlequinaudio #friendstolovers #sallyblakely #pattimurin

🌊 Childhood friends confront their mutual romantic feelings as each other’s plus ones at a series of weddings over the course of several years.

Such a fantastic read overall! I loved the eloquent writing, the charming cast of characters, the intense romantic moments, the beautiful friendship between Ren and Joni, and the dual timelines centered around weddings and their aftermaths. Blakely did a beautiful job of expressing each characters range of emotions, from anxiety to elation.

What I didn’t love was the trifecta of what-if-he/she-doesn’t-feel-the-same-way, I-know-what’s-best-for-both-of-us, and let’s-just-avoid-talking-about-it-like-adults micro tropes that caused the conflict between Ren and Joni in the first place and ultimately led to me to docking the entire work a star because I find them so stressful to read!

✅ Check this one out if you like a he-falls-first, slow burn, forced proximity, second chance, friends to lovers romance featuring a high anxiety FMC and her meddlesome family and friends. Pairs well with a wine spritzer on the beach with your best friend.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book had me by the heartstrings! This was such a push and pull and a great "back and forth in time" story. I love a good enemies-to-lovers romance, but I think I prefer a "friends to lovers" trope much more. Big Sally Blakely fan from here on out!

Thank you again for the ARC!

Oh how I loved this read!
This book had time jumps of different weddings our two main characters attend over the years.
With a major focus on a current day wedding happening, I loved how Sally (or her editors) decided to have a playlist added to the back of the book.

Things that I loved and enjoyed in this book
-the time jumps.
-Family dynamics
-Childhood friendship
-lots of playlists being mentioned
-one bed
-photo booths
- Lots of family games such as capture the flag

Friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and with this book's beachy cover, it's a good pick for a summery read!

Initially, it had an Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation vibe with its 'friends to lovers' trope where two people meet up sporadically over the years only to fall in love. In this case, Ren and Joni, BFFs since childhood, decide to be each other's plus-ones for weddings. But try as it might, this book didn't have the magic of PWMOV.

I read this book for several days, struggled to get into it and ended up putting it down for several weeks. I picked it up again the other day because it bugged me to DNF an advanced copy and I wanted to know the big issue between Ren and Joni that tore them apart. After wading through a very slow-moving plot, barely there chemistry and their inability to have a simple conversation to clear things up, at 85% we finally find out the big issue! And it was disappointingly lackluster.

The story is told through Joni's POV and flashback chapters that weren't labelled clearly and along with the large secondary cast, the book just felt unnecessarily convoluted. Its heavy reliance on (silly!) miscommunication was simply the nail in the proverbial coffin.

This had all the ingredients for a sweet 'friends to lovers' romance but it had more angst than chemistry and didn't hit its mark with this reader.

I am self-imposing a ban on reading romances with the friends-to-lovers trope because this book made me freaking cry. Sometimes it seems like this kind of relationship wouldn't feel as high stakes, but there's so many layers of history, connection, and yearning between Joni and Ren, who are truly best friends. Ren is down bad and Joni's anxious attachment style and self sabotage were a little too relatable, but it caused all the angst you want in a summer romance!

"I'd rather be alone than with someone else." PERIODDD. 😌

I had multiple ways to read this book, but I highly recommend the audio. Patti Murrin is really that girl for narrating romance! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Harlequin for the eARC and ALC.

I think it was a little too similar to People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. Definitely had a similar story line. This read was still a good read, just felt like a repeated storyline. I think it would have been great from a dual POV storyline, I think it would’ve brought some more depth to see it from Ren’s side.

Joni and Ren are childhood best friends. When Joni moves across the country her and Ren commit to being each others plus one for weddings. Joni had a falling out with Ren and hadn't been home in 3 years when she returns for her sisters wedding. Ren and Joni are both act as there was never a falling out in their relationship since they didn't tell their families. Throughout the week Joni and Ren slowly become their old selves. The each have feelings for the other, but have a difficult time taking the next step.

This was a good summer read and the title says it all, friends to lovers.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Friends to Lovers

This is the sweetest childhood friends to lovers story that follows Joni and Ren. This slow burn is full of angst, second chances, and family. The summer backdrop makes this the perfect beach read. If you are looking for a story with emotion depth, witty banter, and growth this book is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC copy of this book.

This was a cute & fun romance which holds true to the title. A solid summer romance with an expected HEA.

Everyone deserves a happy ending...

and Joni and Ren are lost in the time warp of "I wish" and "why did I wait so long" in this obvious friends to lovers, second chance romance.

While not complex, the story wraps around all of the weddings between family and they're technically the last ones unmarried. They've been best friends since the ripe age of 3 and haven't seen each other in 2 1/2 years. And there's a reason for it, and the biggest part of the book, so I won't spoil it for you.

What I loved about this book is the on the edge of your seat moments where you think they'll just jump for it and let themselves be in love without worrying about what is going on in their lives or who is paying attention to them.

What kind of bothered me when it came to the writing is the back and forth between past and present. While I know it contributes almost completely to the story, I hate time jumps because they confuse me a bit. But to each her own.

So thankful that the author and publisher granted me this arc, I LOVED it and can't wait to read more of Sally's books!

ARC Review

I love a second chance romance and a fun summer read and this one was both!

3.5⭐️

Ren and Joni grew up together. With families sharing a summer beach house and sharing every milestone together, they were the best of friends. But now everyone’s back at the summer house for Joni’s sister Stevie’s wedding. Joni and Ren haven’t spoken in over 2 years and there’s something no one knows happened between them back then - they fell in love. Can their years of history bring them back to the person they love the most?

I enjoyed this one! Second chance is one of my favorites and the friends to lovers added another element to it. I was so intrigued by what could’ve happened to finally bring these best friends together but then tear them apart to where we saw them in present day.
I enjoyed the dual timeline and getting to see what happened as Ren and Joni kept up a tradition of always being plus-ones at weddings. These interactions and reunions over and over showed how special they were to each other.
The current day timeline happens over a week, but with the years of history and connection, it was satisfying seeing them come back to each other so quickly, although not exactly easily.

Overall an enjoyable read - the ending bumped up the rating for me for sure! If you love an “I’ll do anything to be with you” love declaration this is for you 😍

🌊best friends to lovers
🎧second chance
🌊dual timeline
🎧matching tattoos

The trope is in the title, you guys!! LOL I had moderate expectations for this book not knowing much about its plotline but I was so pleasantly surprised and absolutely hooked on it. That being said, those who don't really love friends to lovers may not love this - it was reminiscent of the vibes of Lovelight Farms and People we Meet on Vacation but even more so because the friends have been family friends since they were toddlers so there's a lot of family involved in the story.
This was told in alternating timelines and that worked so well (and also reminded me of the way PWMOV was told). I really loved the setting in Portland, Oregon, and at a beach house brimming with memories. There are two meddlesome mothers (one is particularly over the top in a well-meaning way), some nosy siblings who mean the best, a wedding on the go as well as a few in the past, and some chill dads. 
There were funny moments, heart-wrenching moments, and a lot of great banter, chit-chat, quality time, and character growth. For me, for some reason, it just worked. It's a debut so I'd give it a try if any of this sounds appealing! The audio is by Patti Murin and exceptional, of course.
This one felt nostalgic for me because I had a childhood friend like this (FRIEND only in my case) and so many moments of the family dynamics were relatable in many ways. That aspect of my childhood is forever precious to me, so it was fun to kind of relive what that felt like.