This was a really solid debut! I liked the writing style—it was maybe a little clunky in spots but overall held its own. I can sort of see the comparisons to Emily Henry’s books, though I’d say this was less rom-com and more serious in tone. There was something sort of subdued and melancholy about it all, but not in a bad way, more of a cozy, reflective way.

It’s hard to describe why this wasn’t a five-star for me—it’s more of a gut feeling. All the right ingredients were there, but I think it was just missing that unnameable extra “oomph,” along with a few nitpicky things.

I would’ve liked to see some more conversation and reconciling before Joni and Ren’s relationship seemed back to normal. And when they did have conversations, they sometimes felt a little bland? Mundane? Like they weren’t necessarily doing much to progress their relationship.

The conflict grated on me a bit, but I suspect it was more so in the way that a conflict is meant to grate on you, rather than it being inane and nonsensical. That said, the confrontation with Joni’s mom at Stevie’s rehearsal dinner felt wildly out of line—especially considering she’s a therapist! Like, do you have no respect for your daughters?

The main conflict with Joni and Ren was frustrating in that Joni assumes some things about what Ren is thinking instead of talking to him, and ultimately makes a decision about their relationship for him. And he doesn’t even seem to fight it very hard despite them having such a close relationship and a lifetime of friendship between them. Which to be fair, Joni does directly acknowledge that she does this and explains herself, so there’s that.

I’m always better at articulating what I didn’t like than what I did, which is unfortunate, but truly—I really did enjoy this. The characters and their relationships were well-developed. I loved following Joni and Ren as they slowly fell back into their friendship (and more), and you could really sense the poignancy in their relationship.

Again, this was so solid for a debut—or for any novel! Looking forward to whatever Sally Blakely writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book for review consideration.

Friends to Lovers was enjoyable and I found REN to be so charming and delightful, Joni was a tougher character to fall in love with and I found the book to be VERY repetitive.

The ending wrapped it up so nicely and I did enjoy it, but I found that each wedding was nearly the same story and it felt like it dragged the “now” storyline down a bit.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ // Fun, flirty, and full of summer charm!

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely is exactly what I wanted in a feel-good, sunshine-soaked romcom. I’m a total sucker for the best friends to lovers trope, and this one delivered with swoony moments, playful banter, and the kind of chemistry that makes you cheer every time they’re in the same room.

That said, the third-act conflict leaned a little too far into the miscommunication trope for me and felt a bit forced, which kept it from being a full five stars. But honestly? It didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed the ride.

If you enjoy Emily Henry, Christina Lauren, or the cozy chaos of a summer romance, this book will have you giggling, kicking your feet, and rooting hard for two besties finally figuring it out.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5

This was such a tender and emotionally rich summer romance story. Definitely a slow burn romance!

For me, I love when romance books have a big events that everyone comes together, then we start to get the backstory as to how they all got there through different timelines. Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were three years old, platonic plus-ones who never quite crossed the line... until they did. And when everything came crashing down, so did their friendship.

Told through a dual-timeline structure, the story alternates between their childhood summers and a present-day wedding weekend that might finally bring clarity or closure to their relationship. The pacing is spot-on. The writing is so vivid and nostalgic that I felt like I was right there in the beach house with them.

I loved their tension and their chemistry was undeniable, and I was rooting so hard for them. My only wish? I wish the end was longer.

This is the perfect read for anyone who loves a slow-burn second-chance romance. If you enjoy Emily Henry and Annabel Monaghan you will enjoy this one.

Thank you to the @htp_hive for this advance copy! This book comes out July 22nd!

soft dnf

Maybe I wasn't in the mood for this now but I just couldn't get into it. It seems like a cute summer read like Joni and Ren were really cute!!! Them being each others plus ones for weddings is such a cute concept and so perfect for the summer, makes it more interesting! However, I think I wasn't fully invested into their romance, I like that we got to see inside Joni's head and I felt like her inner struggles were relatable but I wish we got to see more of Ren's mind! Also the dual timeline made it a bit harder to connect but that can just be a personal preference! Overall, I might come back to it but as of right now i think it's not for me!

Finished Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakey today. Received as a #netgalley ARC, book comes out on Tuesday! I really liked this friends to lovers romance. Certain parts of this book really resonated, how often we give ourselves fully to things while other more important things might pass us by. If you’re looking for a quick summer read check it out! #booksbooksbooks #books #sallyblakely #friendstolovers #netgalleyreview

3.25⭐️
The premise of this book sounded cute and I did enjoy some parts of it (the first 50ish %), however, it felt like there was a lot of missing information and skipping over aspects of their relationship, with the end feeling rushed. There were overreactions and miscommunications, and once the reason for them not speaking for 2 1/2 years is revealed, it felt really underwhelming and silly. Overall, it was not bad, I just felt that it fell a little flat for me. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Childhood best friends Joni and Ren go to a beach house with their families every summer, but as adults they decide that once a summer isn’t enough. They make plans to be each other’s plus ones at every wedding they’re invited to. This plan works out until something happens that ruins their friendship, so this summer, when they’re back at the beach house for Joni’s sister’s wedding, they have to act like everything’s fine. This book was very reminiscent of People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. This one, thankfully, doesn’t have cheating as a plot point, but it does have pretty much the same conflict. Also, lack of communication is a romance trope that needs to stop. Joni and Ren stop talking for two and half years; if they had just been grown ups who used their words, this awkward wedding weekend situation wouldn’t exist. Ultimately, this book was entertaining but also extremely annoying and unoriginal.


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were three. But when they discover there's something more between them, everything should be smooth, right? Told in flashbacks interwoven with a four-day gathering at their families' shared beach house, we follow Joni and Ren through the weddings that defined their relationship and solve the mystery of why they didn't talk for 2.5 years.

Cute, quick read.

I enjoyed The premise but I was not convinced of this friends to lovers relationship. I liked the dual timelines, but feel like there was some holes from how their connection was formed and sustained. Even towards the end, Joni is stock piling so much upon her shoulders. Why she left, her job falling a part. I think while the time they’ve known each other is important to the strength of their relationship, it doesn’t negate that Joni made herself an island and all of a sudden wants connection. I enjoyed the first 50%, but it ultimately fell flat.

Joni and Ren have been best friends since childhood. After Joni moved to New York, they made a pact to always be each other's plus one, until they crossed a line and their friendship was ruined. But being back in the same place for Joni’s sister’s wedding forces them to confront their true feelings and decide whether their bond is just friendship or something more.

I loved it! It gave me serious Happy Place vibes.
I’ve been really into the friends to lovers trope lately, and this one absolutely delivered!
I started with both the ebook and audiobook, but ended up mostly listening. Patti Murin did an amazing job narrating! She made the story so fun and easy to listen to.
I loved the friendship, the setting - honestly, everything about it. It’s hard to believe this is a debut, it was so good!

Thank you so much NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Harlequin Audio for the advanced copies!!

The absolute perfect summer read for any friends to lovers fan. I needed this ooey gooey love that starts as two best friends that turned sour…. For whatever reason? We were left wondering what the heckkkk happened to these two for the longest time. I was dyinngggg to figure out what happened the 2 1/2 years prior to Stevie and Leo’s wedding. It kept me hooked til the very end. The flashbacks to their previous weddings as “plus ones” was SO much fun to see them grow up as they graduated and came into themselves as adults.

If you love an EmHen, this is the read for you. It’s so deep, it covers so much emotion and growth and focuses so highly on how Joni is feeling. The way Joni and Ren had the entire book together was so special, even if we flipped back n forth from past to present.


I think so many can relate to a person who’s throws themselves into their job, bc they have nothing else. I also think so many can relate to pretending all is fine so their parents don’t worry about them. Overall, it hit me in all my feels about friends, about family, sisters, close family friends and about personal experience in the workplace and how one feels their self worth is reliant on their career.

Great Summer read! If you're a fan of friends to lovers, second chance, forced proximity, and all the summer feels.. you're gonna like this!! Some of my favorite tropes all in one, can definitely see myself rereading next summer! Even if you miss the summer sunshine this winter, read this and it will immediately transport you there!



Thank you so much net galley and harlequin trade publishing!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing/Canary Street Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
If I didn't know better, I would have never thought this could possibly be a debut for this author. But it is. And what a fabulous job she did with it. I loved every single minute of this book. It made me laugh, cry, and want to smack the characters at times but all in a good way!
Ren and Joni have been best friends forever. Always each other's plus ones for weddings and experiencing so much together. Until a falling out puts an over two year rift in their friendship. But their families have no idea there's anything wrong. When Joni's sister is getting married, and they are all together once again, it's all Joni can do to keep her walls up around Ren, to keep her distance and not allow him back in. But her walls are really not as strong as she thinks they are, and her heart has never really given up hope that they can heal from what they have suffered through.
This book is a roller coaster ride of emotions. I loved the flashbacks that gave us the build up of the friendship between Ren and Joni. It created such a rich picture of their relationship and how it had formed, progressed, and then finally broken apart.
Joni always tried to be perfect and happy with her job and her move away from her family. Even though she never truly felt she fit after moving from Oregon to NYC. But she doesn't want her family to think she's anything more than holding herself together given her history of panic attacks that tore her apart. She lives her whole life to ensure others don't worry about her. But she never worries about herself and what she actually needs and wants. She closes herself off from her family and friends because she thinks it will save them from anything complicated in her life but it only. causes them to worry more. And, even though Ren has always been the constant in her life, she she shuts him out when she thinks it's best for him, as well. I will say there were so many times I wanted to yell at Joni in this book. To tell her to look at what was right in front of her. To tell her to open her mouth and let others know how she feels. That showing those emotions and having moments of doubt or moments where she might fall apart are normal. That a balance between job and life is so very important but nothing is more important than your mental health. I know she had to learn it throughout the story but I did want to shake her and tell her to snap out of it.
We see Ren through Joni's eyes. I just loved him so much. He is tender and real. You see his love for Joni. You see how much he cares about her. I normally like my romances to be dual POV, but this book was not about Ren. It was about Joni and who she is around all those around her. Especially Ren, who has always seen her and knows her better than anyone else.
I loved all the secondary characters in this book. It was fun to watch how they were important in Joni's life and how they supported her, even when she thought she wasn't worthy of it. Each character helped us see Joni's frustrations that can come with family/found family. But also helped to see the comfort they can bring. There was never an interaction on the page that didn't showcase a move forward for Joni.
The beach house setting in this book is probably one of my favorite settings for romance. And the fact that the two families who own it together continue to vacation their yearly makes my heart so happy. I love tradition and the role it plays in how our lives and personalities are formed. Blakely did a great job with framing the atmosphere and making me really feel like I was at the beach watching this story unfold.
If you're looking for a second chance romance with some forced proximity that's filled with humor and nostalgia, pick this one up. I'm really looking forward to whatever Blakely writes next!

This is a very solid friends to lovers romance story. Our main character is struggling with her family, career, identity and reconciling with her best friend, all set against the backdrop of the west coast and her younger sister’s wedding. This story had good emotional depth which is typically lacking in romance IMO.

Would recommend for fans of Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, and The Summer I Turned Pretty (west coast edition).

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely

⭐️Second Chance Romance
⭐️Childhood Friends
⭐️ Dual Timeline

Joni and Ren have been best friends their whole lives, always plus ones for wedding invites. Until a line is crossed and their relationship is completely changed.

I loved the now and then timeline, explaining how everything came to be and creating a full rich picture of how Joni and Ren deepened their amazing life-long friendship.

Family relationships, work and balancing it all to just be happy are big themes and I loved it! And it includes my favorite trope: second chance romance!!♥️

This fun and heartwarming summer read comes out on July 22, preorder now! Thank you to Sally Blakely, Harlequin and Net Galley for this ARC! ☀️

If you love Emily Henry, especially People We Meet on Vacation, you don’t want to miss Sally Blakely’s debut! 💕

Joni and Ren have been best friends since childhood, in a relationship so close they have matching tattoos. As life takes them on separate paths, they promise at least to be each other’s plus-ones for weddings. We join them at Joni’s sister’s wedding, with flashbacks to several other years. Through this format, we see drama and sadness including unspoken feelings, other relationships, and timing that just doesn’t line up. Fortunately it’s clear to just about everyone that they are barreling down a path to happily ever after.
💗💗💗

FRIENDS TO LOVERS, Sally Blakely’s debut novel, is a friends-to-lovers (obviously), second-chance, forced-proximity romance that is perfect for a summer vacation read.

Joni and Ren, now in their late 20s, have been best friends since they were three. After college Joni left Oregon for a job in New York while Ren’s work kept him on the west coast. To keep their friendship intact the two agreed to be each others plus-one to weddings, which worked out great until something happened that broke their relationship. Now they’re forced to be together at Joni’s sister’s wedding in the vacation house their families share, and no one knows that they haven’t spoken to each other in two-and-a-half years.

The story is told in dual timeline, alternating between the week of the wedding and all the weddings they attended together. I’ve read several dual-timeline books recently, some more successful than others, but it worked for me here because we get a glimpse of how their relationship worked before it all blew up. It was very clear to me where we were in the timeline so I wasn’t flipping back and forth trying to figure out if we’re in the present or the past.

The cast of supporting characters is great and really embodies the comfort and frustrations we have with family and friends who are as close as family.

I enjoyed Blakely’s writing and I’m looking forward to her next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for the eARC. Opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

They were best friends since the age of three and always served as each other's plus-one, but something happened two and a half years ago that fractured their friendship. Reunited for another wedding, this could be Joni and Ren's chance to mend what broke but it could also be their second chance at love.

I am trash for friends-to-lovers, but throw in another of my favorite tropes, second-chance romance, and the story was bound to be a huge hit for me. How could I resist a love story that started when they were preschoolers? As if!

Ren and Joni's parents had been best friends and even purchased a beach house together. They were always in each other's lives until Joni took a job on the east coast. She and Ren were determined to maintain their friendship and their plus-one tradition. I enjoyed watching their love story unfold at these weddings and thought it was a fun way to visit the past timeline and letting me see those vital moments of their history.

The present timeline was set at the family beach house during Joni's sister's wedding week. Joni and Ren were NOT each other's plus-one this time. In fact, they hadn't spoken in years. The present timeline was filled with lots of wedding fun, but it was also where Ren and Joni finally confront their breakup, where they slowly mend (in many ways for Joni), and where they recover an important part of their lives.

I adored the beach house setting and was rooting so hard for Joni and Ren. Knowing that they had both been walking around with holes in their hearts made mine ache. It was obvious that their feelings ran deep and that they were two halves of a whole. I will admit that when we finally got to THAT wedding, the one that broke these two, I sort of hated the conflict, but I was happy they were getting a chance to make things right.

Friends to Lovers was filled with warmth, humor, and nostalgia. This tale of best friends and broken hearts was emotional and had me fully invested in cheering Joni and Ren on as they followed their hearts and took a second chance on each other.

Funnily enough, the friends to lovers trope is not one I usually go for. But I love Sally Blakely and wanted to try this one out and I was pleasantly surprised! I thought it was a cute summer romance with fun characters, witty dialogue, and it was a fast-paced read. An easy 4/5 stars for me!