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!

I lOVE a good best friends to lovers ❤️ Sort of wish the title was not so obvious though lol. Thank you Net galley for the ARC!

Joni and Ren are childhood best friends who are forced apart for the first time in their lives when Joni moves across the country. In an effort to stay connected they make a pact to be each other’s (platonic) wedding dates regardless of life getting in the way. After things eventually go sideways, they’re forced into an uncomfortable reunion as their families come together under one roof at their summer beach house just like old times.

Friends to Lovers made me feel so many things. Sometimes my chest physically ached when it seemed like Joni and Ren would never be as close as they used to be. The dual timeline was done so incredibly well, slowly revealing how they ended up estranged prior to their stilted reunion.

Joni and Ren know each other better than anyone else. They’ve seen each other at every phase in life they’ve experienced, and whats that phrase? To be seen is to be loved? That phrase is so true for Joni and Ren.

This book was full of nostalgia for the simplicity and predictability of a childhood with your best friend by your side. This is the perfect summer read!!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Sally Blakely, and NetGalley for the ARC. This review reflects my own opinions.

What to expect:
☀️Childhood friends to lovers
⭐️Second chance
❤️‍🔥Slow burn
⛱️Nostalgic summer vibes
⏳Dual timeline
👤Single, 1st person POV

Okay, so this was adorable. It’s giving summer nostalgia, messy emotions, and all those what if we’re more than friends vibes that make my hopeless romantic heart very happy. The whole “plus-one pact” thing was so cute!

The dual timeline worked so well here — I was fully invested in both the past and the present, and it made the payoff feel extra satisfying. The angst? Chef’s kiss. The longing? Unhinged levels. Was I silently begging for these two to stop being idiots and just TALK? Absolutely. But that’s what makes it fun, right?

My only tiny wish is that we got a little more of them after the big moment — like, give me one more chapter of happy, glowy, everything’s-finally-good Ren and Joni! But overall, this was a swoony, summery, second-chance friends-to-lovers read that delivered exactly what it promised.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This is one of the cutest books written. The story itself is well written, it immediately grabs your attention and sucks you in. This is the type of book you grab to read for a few minutes and then all of a sudden you have been reading for hours and you have crushed a majority of the book.

I am always a friends to lovers fan girl, the fact that the title literally screams this had me before I opened the cover. I love a book that leaves you in a book hangover, wishing you had just a little bit more interaction with the character. These characters are so realistic you feel like you are losing a friend when you finish the book. The only other author that has ever left me with such loss is Abby Jimenez. Sally has given Abby a run for her money with this one.