i wanted to love this so bad especially after seeing a few positive reviews trickle in, but i fear i am going to have to dnf for now 😔 i just could not get into the writing at no fault of the author- purely personal preference and i’m certain there is an absolutely beautiful love story within these pages!!

Excellent! This reminded me of a blend of People We Meet on Vacation and Happy Place while still being a completely unique story. A perfect summer read.

In Friends to Lovers we meet best friends Joni and Ren. They've known each other since childhood and their families share a summer home together. When Joni decides to move to New York for a job, they agree to be each other's plus ones for every wedding. Somewhere along the line, their friendship is drastically changed and they stop speaking to one another. Now, stuck together at their family's summer home for Joni's sister's wedding, they must pretend that everything's ok. Flashing back and forth between current day and 8 year's worth of weddings together, readers are deeply drawn into their relationship as Joni and Ren decide whether their love story is something worth fighting for or letting go.
Filled with loveable characters and a story that pulls on the heart-strings, Friends to Lovers is great for fans of Carly Fortune.

Friends to Lovers is the sweet story of childhood best friends Joni and Ren. After a lifetime of being there for one another Joni moves across the country to persue her dream career and the plus one pact is enacted... A promise to always be each others plus one for the many weddings they attend. This works, until it doesn't. After crossing a line and creating an immeasurable rift for 2.5 years the pair find themselves forced back together for Jonis sisters wedding at their families shared vacation home on the beach. We follow the tense days leading up to the wedding, eventual implosion of the relationships, and finally reconciliation.
Ren is a walking green flag, I'm confident you'll fall in love with him as quickly as I did. Joni reminds me of myself with her struggles with anxiety, internalizing problems and difficulty letting others in. There were times I wanted to take her by the shoulders, shake her and tell her to just use her words BUT I know that I'd likely put myself in her same position. Blakely does an excellent job bringing the tension, anticipation, joy and love from the pages to life and I look forward to reading more from her... Maybe we'll get a sequel or series with the stories of the siblings?!
Second chance romance, friends to lovers, forced proximity, dual time lines of past and present, complicated family relationships, timeless friendship and reconciliation... This romance has it all! If I could give a half star I'd give this one a 4.5, the .5 deduction only because I wish we got a couple more chapters between the end and the "one year later" epilogue. Don't sleep on Friends to Lovers or Sally Blakely... You won't be disappointed.

Huge shout out to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel.

This was a great book. I loved the family dynamics and the slow burn between Ren and Joni was perfect!

This was such a cute story! I loved the connection between Joni and Ren. All the flashbacks to the past helped with understanding their relationship. The characters were all likeable and I loved the ending. Thank you!

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book! It follows two best friends who agree to be each other’s plus-ones to weddings, and the dual timeline added such a fun (and sometimes heartbreaking) layer to their story. While I occasionally found it tricky to distinguish the present timeline, the author did a great job clearly marking the past years, which helped keep things on track.

One of my favorite aspects was the countdown leading up to 2.5 years later—it built so much suspense! The tension surrounding what caused Joni and Ren’s falling out kept me hooked, and I loved getting both of their perspectives on what happened and how it all unraveled. It made for such an engaging read!

Plus, the side characters were such a delight—they added so much personality to the story, and their comments and scenes were a treat. Overall, this was such an enjoyable read with the perfect mix of tension, emotion, and heart!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book gave me all the feels! It follows Joni and Ren, best friends since childhood, who have basically been each other’s built-in wedding dates for years. But as they grow up, things start to change, and suddenly, their friendship isn’t so simple anymore.

I loved the way the story jumps between past and present—it really lets you see how deep their connection runs. And Ren? Absolute dreamboat. The way he loves Joni is just chef’s kiss perfection. There’s plenty of longing, miscommunication, and emotional moments that make you want to scream, but in the best way.

If you’re into slow-burn, friends-to-lovers stories with some serious heartache (but also a really sweet payoff), this one’s for you. My only complaint? I wanted more time with them together after all the buildup! But overall, such a great read, and I’ll definitely be looking out for more from Sally Blakely.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the advanced reader copy, with my honest review below.

I loved this! I am a huge fan of friends to lovers stories. So much history; they usually grow up together and have a million adorable moments that one or both of them didn't realize was pulling them together. And this was that! Ren and Joni have known each other their whole lives. Their mom's are best friends and bought a lake house together that the two expanding families grew up vacationing together at. They live in the same town too, attending the same schools and even choosing to go to the same college. 

Joni eventually takes a job on the other side of the country, and they make a pact to always invite the other as a plus one to weddings. I loved their tension, I loved the flashbacks, and I of course loved the ending. If you're looking for spice, this book isn't quite closed door, but you're not going to get much description. It's loving and sweet. I love the way Ren loves Joni. Poor Joni just took a lot longer to get there. Great read!

Thank you to Negalley and Harper Collins for the eARC. I was immediately drawn to this book because of the playful cover and color splashes. The concept behind this book is so cute and set me into feeling like the story is was so real from the start. Joni and Ren have been childhood friends and i love that even when they are separated from each other they manage to keep a connection in the cutest way possible. Finally Joni and Ren come together for a wedding and you can imagine sparks flying. I loved the dual POV in this book. The pacing of this book was good and the page count was perfect for the story..

Oh I absolutely adored this book! It’s no secret (childhood) friends to lovers is my favorite trope of all time, thus why I requested this ARC. And this sweet slow-burn romance does an amazing job illustrating their friendship aside from their relationship. Their fallout was also so well written and I truly ached for Joni.

I will say in the middle of the story, I got a bit confused on what was the past and what was the present during the two weddings. But Joni and Ren reconnecting after years while also having to act as if nothing has happened in front of their families caused for so much tension that I ate up. 

The writing was beautiful and the chemistry from the start had me hooked immediately. It gave such Emily Henry vibes while still being its own unique story and I can’t wait to talk about it with you guys this summer! It comes out July 22nd, so keep an eye out for this heartwarming friends to lovers romance.

This was so cute! Friends to lovers is my favorite trope, and this one did it well. It had a satisfying slow burn, nice flashbacks, and good character growth.

I will say: it threw me off that the flashbacks were multiple chapters each, which took away from the main story at times. But the stories themselves were so cute that I give it a pass.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

📚Friends to Lovers📚

By: Sally Blakely
Format: E-Book ARC (NetGalley)
Genre: Romance
POV: Single POV
Setting: Oregon
Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Second Chance, Weddings, Beach House, Dual Time Line, He Fell First

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Review: I came across this ARC on NetGalley and applied for and got it. I’m so glad I did!! This is one of the best ARC’s I’ve read in a LONG time. This was such a great love story and I was there for it.

Joni and Ren grew up together, their families intertwined through their mother’s friendship. Their families own a beach house on the Oregon coast that they’ve frequented every summer since they were little. But this time when they gather at the beach house for Joni’s sister wedding their friendship has suffered a falling out.

This story builds over the course of this book taking us back in time to see their love story unfold. And then bringing us back to the present to see their love rekindle.

I love all the vibes in this book; from the Oregon coast beach house, to different wedding venues, small town restaurants and bars, and Portland. I love the banter and playful friendship that turns so intimate and romantic. This book was just so good and I fell in love with Joni and Ren! I highly recommend giving this book a read!

I’m so impressed by this debut novel and the author Sally Blakely! I hope she continues to write because I will definitely read it! 😊

This was the sweetest romance with some of my favorite elements, childhood friends to lovers and second chance romance. It was so nice seeing the romance blossom between Ren and Joni. I loved how they always had each others back through their different gazes of life.

Oh this book had everything I love in a romance novel! Great plot, beautiful setting, memorable characters and a sweet storyline of two friends. Loved it!

I do love a second chance romance, and friends to lovers delivered. This was an extremely sweet story about two childhood friends navigating their feelings for each other as they tried to act normal around family. A permanent plus one for weddings, they cannot help but be together, especially at her sisters wedding festivities. I thought this avenue was so unique and a great idea by the author.
So much angst! I loved the Dual POV and the flashbacks she used to show us the now and the why.

I wish more of the book had been about them being together, but I enjoyed the journey they took to get there.

Sally Blakely’s Friends to Lovers is a story about best friends, Joni and Ren, who have been inseparable for most of their lives. Over the years, they’ve stayed close by being each other’s go-to plus-one for wedding season, even when Joni moved to New York for work and Ren stayed in Oregon. But after a single night when their relationship crosses into something more, everything changes, and their friendship falls apart.

The book takes us back and forth in time: the present, where Joni returns home for her sister’s wedding and is forced to face Ren, and the past, where we see how their unique wedding tradition shaped their bond over the years. Pretending they’re still friends for their families’ sake, Joni and Ren spend the week preparing for the wedding while revisiting their feelings for each other—and trying to figure out if their friendship is worth risking for love.

What I Liked:
- The idea of being each other’s plus-one during wedding season was really sweet and added charm to the story. Those flashbacks were some of my favorite parts because they showed how well Joni and Ren knew and cared about each other.
- Ren was such a lovable character. He was open, honest, and willing to fight for Joni, even when things got complicated. His love for her really stood out.
- The themes of friendship, love, and taking risks were heartfelt, and the story made me think about how relationships change over time.

What Didn’t Work for Me:
- Joni’s choices were frustrating at times. She cared about Ren, but she was so afraid of losing their friendship that she kept pushing him away. Even when Ren was willing to move to New York and give up his dream job to be closer to her, she panicked and ended things again.
- The pacing felt slow, especially in the present-day parts. A lot of time was spent on wedding preparations, and it felt like the story dragged instead of focusing on their relationship.
- Joni’s character growth was disappointing. She said she needed time to work on herself after losing her job and feeling lost, but then she changed her mind quickly, which made her decision feel less meaningful.

The Ending: As the title suggests, Joni and Ren do end up together. Joni finally realizes she loves Ren and wants to be with him, but it takes a lot of back-and-forth to get there. Ren’s patience and commitment are what make their relationship work, and while the ending is sweet, it didn’t make up for some of the frustration I felt with Joni earlier in the book.

Spice Level: 2/5 – There are a few intimate scenes, but they’re light and not very detailed.

Final Thoughts: Friends to Lovers is an emotional story about the challenges of turning a lifelong friendship into something more. While I enjoyed the sweet moments and Ren’s character, the slow pacing and Joni’s indecision made it harder for me to connect with the story. If you like slow-burn romances and stories about complicated relationships, this one might be worth a read.

Rating: 3/5

If you are a fan of Emily Henry you are going to love Sally Blakely’s Friends to Lovers. Thank you Harlequin Publishing for the ARC. This book was well written, had a great dual narrative, and I gobbled it up in one sitting.

I just finished Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely, and my heart is still doing little flips! Sally Blakely has such a gift for capturing the magic of slow-burn romance, and this book is the perfect example.

The chemistry between the two main characters was everything—effortless, authentic, and full of the kind of tension that keeps you glued to the page. Watching them navigate the messy, wonderful transition from best friends to something more felt so real and relatable.

If you love stories that make you laugh, swoon, and believe in love, Friends to Lovers is a must-read. Sally Blakely knows how to deliver the ultimate feel-good romance, and I’ll definitely be recommending this to everyone I know!

4-Star Review of Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely

Friends to Lovers is a fun, romantic, and flirty story about best friends Joni and Ren, who agree to be each other’s plus-one to weddings as a way to stay close after Joni moves. The premise alone is swoon-worthy, but the added tension of Joni’s sister’s wedding—and the emotions it stirs between them—makes it even better.

I didn’t initially realize this book had a second chance romance element, a trope I don’t usually gravitate toward. However, Ren completely won me over! His charm and devotion to Joni kept me rooting for their happy ending, even when their lack of communication had me pulling my hair out at times.

If I could change one thing, I’d wish for a longer happily-ever-after portion. I wanted more time to bask in Joni and Ren’s joy as a couple after all the buildup! Still, the journey to their love was sweet, emotional, and filled with just the right amount of flirty fun. Fans of best-friends-to-lovers stories will find a lot to love here!