4.5 stars for me! I absolutely enjoyed this book! An emotional, slow-burn romance that explores the complexities of rekindling a relationship after years apart. Centered on childhood best friends Joni and Ren, the story weaves past and present through dual timelines, set against the charm of family weddings and a shared beach house.

While the dual timeline can feel slightly disjointed at times, the authentic characters and touching moments make this a charming and satisfying read.

I felt they have such strong chemistry, and a nostalgic tone, it’s a touching read for fans of second chances and best-friends-to-lovers tropes. Some of my absolute favorite tropes!

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this arc!

I love a second chance romance and this one was a cute story! We follow along as Joni and Ren are thrown back together for some good ole fashioned forced proximity when their families are celebrating Joni’s sisters wedding week. I liked getting to see the flashbacks and pieces of their history but it did feel at times very slow and strangely paced. A lot of the plot was focused on them as younger so it sometimes felt like there wasn’t a lot of chemistry. The last ⅓ of the book was everything I wanted and it finally felt like they were actually in love with each other. I loved the ending and it really saved the book for me. Overall a cute second chance romance! I saw another review describing it as people we meet on vacation and happy place in one and I have to agree, the vibes are the same, so if that’s your jam, this one’s for you!

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely offers a summery setting of weddings, beach houses, and childhood connections, but the story didn’t draw me in the way I’d hoped. Joni, the main character, was difficult for me to connect with—her constant need to cling to Ren felt more possessive than romantic, making it hard to root for their relationship.

While the premise of lifelong friends navigating a shift in feelings is appealing, the execution felt muddled. The family’s heavy involvement overshadowed the central romance, leaving little room for Joni and Ren’s story to breathe on its own. I wanted more focus on their emotional journey and less on side characters who didn’t add much depth.

The dual timeline was another stumbling block; switching between past events and present-day moments (marked only by days of the week) made the narrative unnecessarily confusing. I spent a lot of time just trying to figure out when things were happening.

Though I was curious about what broke their friendship, the pacing and lack of momentum made it tough to stay fully engaged. Overall, this had the ingredients for a heartfelt friends-to-lovers romance, but for me, it just never quite came together.

this was so adorable!! it reminded me a lot of people we meet on vacation, which is one of my favourite books of all time :) can't wait to read more from this author in the future because she smashed this!

Friends to lovers…. We all knew how this book would end, but the ride to get there was a slow, sweet burn. Ren’s heart was pure gold. This book has all the feel good vibes, reminiscent of Emily Henry!

Friends to Lovers is a great summer romance to throw in your beach bag or carry on for vacation reading!

Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were three years old. Their families share a summer house on the Oregon coast, and these two are pretty much inseparable until Joni gets a job offer on the east coast, leaving Ren behind Portland. As a compromise, these friends decide that they will be each other's plus one when they are invited to a wedding, giving them a fool-proof way to be able to see each other each year. However, when boundaries get crossed, Joni and Ren find themselves abandoning their decades long friendship. When Joni's sister Stevie plans her wedding at the family's summerhouse, and asks for everyone in their families to be in attendance, Joni and Ren have to find a way to play nice so their families don't realize that they're no longer friends. However, pretending that what happened the last time they were each other's wedding dates is harder than they thought it would be.

Friends to Lovers hits several popular romance tropes including:
*Best friends since childhood
*There's only one bed
*Second chance romance
*Miscommunication trope

I would rate this a 3.5 out of 5 chili peppers for spice. Not exactly a close door romance, but not the most graphic either. The sexual tension between these two though is so thick you have to wade through it. It was a delicious slow burn.

This novel is told in a non-linear timeline from Joni's point of view. Chapters of Stevie's wedding week at the vacation home are interspersed with chapters reminiscing on past weddings that Joni and Ren have attended as each other's plus one. It was interesting to watch the demise of their friendship in flashbacks as we are also watching them reconnect in the present during wedding preparations. Readers who love a romance novel that packs an emotional wallop but is still fun and light reading will love Friends to Lovers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing/Canary Street Press for providing me with an eARC of this novel.

It was cute for what it was. Not my favorite but not the worst.it was a case of right person wrong time

I loved this book! It was a slow burn, but the good kind. I adored the different time lines and learning about Joni and Ren’s relationship. And all the supporting characters just made this book that much better! As a music lover, I really appreciated all the references to songs I knew and also loved.

Gah! Such a great book.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5 stars! ✨

This book was so sweet 💙 it gave me major Emily Henry vibes with the set up!! Like a blend of People We Meet on Vacation and Happy Place.

It took me a minute to get into the story, it Ren and Joni were so unmistakably made for each other. The love they have shared their entire life was so wonderful and it was great seeing it pieces out throughout the flashbacks to previous weddings they’ve attended. This was the first ARC I’ve ever read and had the pleasure to review and I’m SO excited to see what Sally Blakley does next!

Cute story. Nice easy summer beach read. If you're a fan of second-chance romance, forced proximity, and feel-good stories, this one's for you! It gave me all the feel good feelings and had such a nostalgic vibe.

Best friends Joni and Ren have been inseparable since childhood. Joni moves across the country however they decide to be long distance friends and each other's dates for events. This is a fun story and I enjoyed both the main characters.

Joni and Ren have a friendship that would make anyone envious, yet are they willing to risk it all for a shot at something more?

While the story takes place over just one week, the reader feels like they've known the characters for a lifetime. The flashback chapters are timed and developed perfectly to add depth to the characters and suspense to the conflict. It's everything you can hope for in a romance - fully developed, believable, and relatable characters; a charming setting; substance in the plot and conflict; and, of course, all the feels.

Is Sally Blakely the new Emily Henry?? I'm already counting down until she releases her next book, and I will definitely be rereading Friends to Lovers multiple times while I wait!

This was the perfect beach read. Like People We Meet on Vacation but totally its own. There's secrets and drama, a great cast of characters and the setting makes it impossible to put down. It doesnt read like a debut, but like an established author - someone who will be on my pre-order list. Second chance romance is one of my fav tropes, and I loved all the wedding shenanigans. Highly recommend

DNF 32% in

Let it be known that I'm only DNFing bc I simply cannot stand the "friends for 10+ years and they like each other but won't do anything about it/let hooking up ruin their friendship and now it's years later" trope. I tried giving it another shot but wow my oversharing communication skills could NEVER hahaha.

That, and the fact that this is giving MAJOR "People We Meet On Vacation" vibes, I just couldn't do it.

Other than that, I am really disappointed that I didn't like it. The writing is super good, and the summer vibes are top notch!! I found myself not wanting to read and getting frustrated by the characters, so ultimately I needed to stop

Joni and Ren are best friends that grew up together and spent their entire lives in each other's orbit. When Joni moves from Portland to NYC for work they worry that the distance will grow between them, but they come up with a plan: be each other's plus one for every wedding, no matter what. This works for them until a wedding changes their friendship forever and causes them to not speak for over two years.
In the present, they meet each other again at their families' beach house for Joni's Sister's wedding where they have to pretend to still be friends and avoid the reasons of why they stopped speaking in the first place. As they're forced to spend time together old feelings resurface and Joni must figure out if what they had was worth fighting for.
I loved this book so much! Joni and Ren had great chemistry and I was rooting for them to get together the entire time. I loved the dual timelines and enjoyed all of the side characters, The romance was swoon worthy and I feel like this one is going to stay with me for a while. I was surprised to see that this was a debut and I will be checking out more books from Sally Blakely in the future!
Thank you to Canary Street Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

I enjoyed this Friends to Lovers rom-com! It was a slow burn for friends Ren & Joni. This book is in dual timelines and chronicles the friendship that grew into more, and ended badly, to the present where they are together for the first time in two and a half years.

Joni's sister is getting married and as their lives have been intertwined, Ren and his family are there, too. I liked the lead up to Joni's realization of her feelings for Ren the first time. I was definitely curious as to what caused the fall out, and I was slightly disappointed it was such a basic reason.

Rom com lovers will enjoy this book. It will be a great summer beach read.

Thanks Sally Blakely, Net Galley and Canary Street Press for the eARC of this book!

“Friends to Lovers” by Sally Blakely had great ending. I had just a hard time putting this book down! I couldn’t stop reading it. I loved the story of Ren and Joni. I liked how the book went from present to past to present. It kept me intrigued the whole time. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened between the characters that caused the lost of friendship. This was such a great book and I can’t wait to read more books Blakely writes in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC opportunity!

This was so cute. It was a great book to read as we head into summer, the vibes were perfect for that. There were flashbacks, which i appreciated because we don't always get that with a second chance romance. There is also strong character development, which i enjoyed because it gave me the chance to better understand the characters.

It does have a slow start, but once you get past that, it really picks up. There is family chaos as well, which i absolutely love in a story, and this one was woven well.

My only complaint is that the communication i felt that they should have was little to none. I hate when characters dont communicate well, but have this type of strong connection. It makes it feel unreal.

Friends to Lovers is a heartfelt and emotional story about love, friendship, and the fine line between the two. Joni and Ren’s journey from best friends to something more is beautifully written, filled with tension, emotional depth, and sweet moments of connection. The chemistry between them is undeniable, and the setting of the shared summer home adds a cozy backdrop to their complicated relationship. While the pacing slowed a bit in the middle, the emotional payoff was well worth it. A touching and romantic read for anyone who loves a slow-burn love story with a side of healing.

This book was cute. My favorite trope is friends to lovers. I enjoyed reading this book so much. I was kicking my feet and giggling while reading this book. I want more!