Ok, so I was so excited for this book. I love discovering debut authors and was hoping Sally Blakely knocked it out of the park. And friends to lovers is my favorite trope so hopes were high! But, this book was sooooooo People We Meet On Vacation coded, it was frustrating. PWMOV is my favorite friends to lovers story.

Best friends. FMC has a work crisis. They decide on a tradition that will ensure they continue to see each other when they live in different states. Tradition is messy for their respective significant others. SOMETHING happens between them and they don’t speak for a couple years. AND THEY’RE EVEN REUNITED FOR A FAMILY WEDDING.

I liked the tension and relationship between Ren and Joni, but unfortunately I found the similarities between Friends to Lovers and PWMOV so distracting it took away from my enjoyment of the book.

Thank you, Canary Street Press and NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I loved the story between Ren and Joni! It was fun to see how it all played out throughout their friendship into being more than friends. I enjoyed this book!

4 stars ⭐️ Friends to lovers (obviously), second chance romance and forced proximity. What more could you want?! This book was a joy to read! It gives major Emily Henry vibes which I love!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to finish it at this time, as it wasn’t the right fit for me right now. I truly appreciate the chance to read it and wish the author all the best!

P.S. I may pick it up again in the future, who knows but as of right now it was a no for me.

I absolutely adored this book! A big congratulations to Sally Blakely on a wonderful debut book!

This story is about Joni and Ren who have been best friends since they were three years old. They have a bond like no other until something pushes them apart and they don't speak for 2 years. Joni returns to her family's beach house for her sister's wedding and will be seeing Ren for the first time since that one unforgettable night that tore their friendship apart.

This book gave me all the feels and I absolutely could not put it down. The connection between Ren and Joni is the perfect mix of innocence, flirtatiousness, honesty, respect, true love and admiration. They have this deep, unspeakable bond that I could not get enough of!

I am giving this book 4.75 stars. I would have liked a little more spice but understand if that isn't within the author's writing style. I was also hoping for a few more chapters once Ren and Joni finally got together as I wasn't ready to let them go!

I’m going to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of going back and forth between timelines the shift tends to take me out of the immersion of the book that being said I love second chance romance it’s one of my favorite tropes if done right which in this book it was done right .

Absolutely adored this book and everything about it, I highly recommend picking up a copy and reading it .

Thank you Netgalley Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press

📖 Book Review 📖 I never experienced the friends to lovers trope but thanks to Sally Blakely, I had a front row seat to childhood friends’ Joni and Ren’s beautifully heartfelt rollercoaster ride. Friends to Lovers follows the story of family friends who vow to be plus ones to all the weddings but a falling out leads to two and a half years of not speaking (which is the equivalent of an eternity when your parents own a beach house together). The stakes are high as they reunite for a seaside wedding at their beloved beach house for her sister’s wedding. Spoiler alert: this beautiful book will have you rooting for love and happily ever afters.

The title says it all - if you like this trope and faux relationship thrown in this is a messy fun wedding week to observe as you root for the couple to overcome their past.

I think I may be partial to the friends to lovers trope, but I have read this book twice now and I absolutely loved it.

Joni and Ron have been friends forever. Even their families are friends, so much so that they own a beach house together. For the last 7 years, Joni and Red have been each other's "plus one" at every wedding they were invited to, but 2 1/2 years ago, something happened that destroyed their friendship. They haven't spoken for 2 1/2 years, but now Joni's little sister, Stevie, is getting married and they are bored to confront whatever happened.

The book is told in alternating time lines that jump between the week leading up to Stevie's wedding and a wedding that happened in the past. Obviously, the two are going to wind up together, but going back in time, you wonder how Joni didn't notice that they have loved each other for years. Theirs is a friendship and a love that people yearn for and they really do complete each other.

While full of familiar trope moments, McHugh manages to make this love story feel special and creates a group of friends that we all wish we had.

I requested this from NetGalley on a whim and loved it. Obviously the first requirement is to enjoy a good friends to lovers trope, which I do.

The story plays out between two timelines: childhood friends attending weddings as each other's plus-ones over the years, and then the now-estranged friends in the present day, sharing their families' beach house (hello, forced proximity) during the week leading up to a family wedding. We are given a few chapters in each timeline, driving towards the reveal of what caused their estrangement, which we know to be something that happened at a wedding on New Year's, 2.5 years prior.

A little bit You and Me on Vacation, a little bit Where the Heart Is.

A few things that gave me pause, being an Oregonian, were the references to the Oregon Coast seeming to be a warm weather destination, and a small mention of a postcard of the Burnside Bridge which made me Google whether postcards of what is probably the least photogenic bridge in Portland even exist (they do, on Etsy). Things that are possible and that I could get past, but which made me wonder whether the author had ever been to Oregon.

Overall I would describe Friends to Lovers as feeling very nostalgic, and I couldn't put it down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!

So the thing about this book is that I had high expectations - the title, the premise, the main trope: this was set up to be potentially my perfect book. Oh and then you have a charming family-friendship cabin-y situation?! Expectations were through the roof. And Blakely more than delivered! This was precious and tender and smart and tangible. I loved the settings in both New York & Oregon, loved the musical element, loved the interesting careers featured. The dialogue was well written, scenes were well-set, characters fully fleshed out, etc. Sally Blakely is now an automatic read for me!!

There was one tiny note - a sentence that didn't make sense to me. In Chapter 9 "when no one seemed to make a gin & tonic as much as I liked the one he made me". I know what was trying to be said but the wording didn't make sense!

I enjoyed Friends to Lovers and the chemistry between Joni and Ren, but I didn’t fully buy into the central conflict. Their two-year silence felt like a weak obstacle, which made it harder to connect with their emotional journey. That said, the writing is engaging, the beachside setting is charming, and the dual timeline adds depth. While I liked it, I didn’t love it—I just wanted a stronger reason for their estrangement.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

* I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. SO good! I read in a day!

Loved the setting of the book (god I miss the PNW!) but wow, the characters were not fun at all. So much miscommunication leading to hurt feelings alllll around. Wish the characters were more mature and communicated their feelings sooner- although I guess that would make for a shorter book?
It was a fun read but I was not wow'ed by it and would likely not read it again.

Joni and Ren have grown up together and are the best of friends, until they aren't. It has been two and a half years since these two lifelong friends have been together, when a family wedding brings them back to where their friendship started. Told in alternating timelines, this was a cozy, romantic read about falling in love and facing the fear of those feelings. The perfect read to snuggle up on a winter day and dream about the Oregon coast. This will be a great beach read this summer, but for now it took me to the beach and I really found it to be an enjoyable story. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book. If you enjoy second chances and friends-to-lovers romances, this story is a great pick. The emotional depth and tension really stand out, though the slow burn, especially with the dual timeline, made it a bit of a drawn-out read at times. The angst kept things interesting, but it did take some patience to get through. Overall, it was an engaging read, and I’m excited to read more from Sally Blakely in the future.

HUGE thanks to Net Galley & Sally Blakely for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. 💫

When the title is friends to lovers you know this girl had to read it (considering it’s my love story too) but I was disappointed in the miscommunication trope… apart from that (which I felt the author did a great job in explaining WHY there was such miscommunication) it felt more realistic to me. Joni & Ren are such great characters with personalities you just want to hold on to. I really enjoyed this book & recommended to anyone who wants a feel good, real life, romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely is perfect for fans of Carley Fortune’s books as well as Christina Lauren’s “Love and Other Words”. The book goes between present time and previous years (2.5 years in the past) detailing the friendship between Joni and Ren. I thought it was extremely cute that Ren was Joni’s person throughout their teenage years into adulthood. I also really enjoyed the concept that they would be each other’s plus ones to any wedding they received invites to. As with a lot of friends to lovers tropes, there is the inevitable conflict at the end where the two main protagonist almost fully go their separate ways but luckily they still end up together in the end! I’m pleased that Blakely surrounded the characters with other positive friendships as well - some of which had their own conflict resolutions. This is my first book by Sally Blakely and I’m looking forward to reading more!

I absolutely loved this book! The banter and best-friends-to-lovers dynamic were so well done, and I found myself laughing several times throughout. The music references added such a fun touch, and the back-and-forth timeline made the story even more compelling. It was an incredible read, and I can’t wait for it to come out so I can recommend it to everyone!

This book was cute and had a lot of potential, however, I found myself bored, trying to get myself to finish the book.