Such a cute read! Friends to Lovers hit all the right notes: sweet, lighthearted, and full of those feel-good moments that make you smile. I loved watching the relationship unfold naturally, and it left me with such a happy heart.

I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did but I was incredibly engrossed. The characters had so much depth and I was so invested in their relationship but also their career journeys.

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakeley delivers on the classic trope with some sweet and heartfelt moments. I liked the chemistry between the characters, but parts of the story felt predictable and didn’t fully pull me in. Overall, it was an enjoyable but fairly average read for me.

2.75 stars, but I round up.

There were many aspects of this story that I really liked or felt had potential. These include:
-Ren and Joni have genuine chemistry and really shine when they are most relaxed and able to banter. As childhood best friends, they have great banter.
-The siblings really shine in a few brief moments. As someone with childhood friends very, very similar to Ren and Joni's families, the relationship between all the siblings, on both sides, should have been exceptionally fun. There are glimpses of this-- The "fratty chicken" storyline is exceptionally cute, for example.
- The final 2 flashbacks are very informative to the character development.

There were, however, many more moments that felt under-developed.
- The mis-communicatiom trope is heavy throughout the book, with not just Ren and Joni, but their siblings, parents... literally no one talks with one another. Joni and Ren refuse to have the "define the relationship" talk for literally YEARS. In particular, Ren and Joni's break up from 2 and a half years ago is cringe-inducing.
- Rather than further the plot, the flashbacks at times kinda halt the plot, which is frustrating.
- Joni has a panic attack /anxiety disorder-- one that leads to her losing her job and that she is not treating well. Her mother, a therapist, is over-protective and harsh with her, but no one, including her life-long childhood best friend that she is now in love with, seems to know or care or help her. Her panic attacks seem instead to be glossed over, despite being kinda a major reason for most of her actions. (This is the 2nd romance book recently published in 2025 that glosses over this plot point and like... why include it then?)
- Most side characters are underdeveloped, which is a bummer because they are all interesting people.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Vibes: 💕😂☕📚🌆🎧💌✨🙄🍷
Rating: 3.25⭐
Tropes: friends-to-lovers / forced proximity / slow burn
🌶️🌶️/5 (open door)

Definitely a fun, light romance that stayed true to the title -- plenty of sweet, sometimes awkward moments between Ren and Joni toeing the line into something more. I liked the banter and the cozy vibe, but at times it felt predictable and I found myself thinking that the slow burn was a little too slow. Cute, but it didn’t blow me away.

A true friends-to-lovers story with heat! These two characters were equally fun as they were annoying (the miscommunication trope hits again). Enjoyed the spice!! 3/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

(Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

OMG! This book was so incredibly good! It was a first person, single POV, dual timeline. I instantly fell in love with these characters. I could tell from the beginning that they adored each other, but Joni’s doubts always lingered in the back of her head. I know it was a part of who she was, but I hated that she didn’t allow anyone else into her life to help ease her burden when things got to be too much. She buried herself in work and then work was suddenly not there anymore so she had to face her friendship with Ren head on. This book was such an easy read and was fun but moved me to tears as well. I’m so glad I was able to read it! Ironically, it’s more like friends to lovers to enemies to lovers, lol!!!

Joni and Ren have been best friends since 3 years old, even vowing to always be each other's wedding dates when Joni moves across the country and they are worried about drifting apart. This arrangement worked until they crossed a line that ruined their friendship two years ago. Now they are forced back into each other's lives for Joni's sister's wedding at their shared family lake house. Ren and Joni will be spending a lot of time together for a week and they need to figure out if they can repair their friendship or go their separate ways forever.

I really enjoyed this story. It was predictable in a very comforting way. I could tell where the story was going, but the fun was entirely in how we got there. The entire cast of characters is so delightful. A wonderful summer read for anyone looking for a quick fun book - if you can read it at a lake house, even better!.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press and NetGalley for the ARC of Friends to Lovers.

Friends to Lovers is a charming, lighthearted romance that delivers the comfort of a familiar trope: two friends navigating the tricky transition to romance. Sally Blakely writes with warmth and humor, and the banter between the leads is often enjoyable and relatable. The small-town setting adds a cozy, inviting backdrop that makes the story easy to read.

That said, the plot is fairly predictable, and some emotional beats feel rushed or underdeveloped. While the characters are likable, they don’t always feel fully fleshed out, and the romance, though sweet, lacks the spark to make it truly memorable.

Overall, Friends to LoveFriends to Lovers is a charming, lighthearted romance that delivers the comfort of a familiar trope: two friends navigating the tricky transition to romance. Sally Blakely writes with warmth and humor, and the banter between the leads is often enjoyable and relatable. The small-town setting adds a cozy, inviting backdrop that makes the story easy to read.

That said, the plot is fairly predictable, and some emotional beats feel rushed or underdeveloped. While the characters are likable, they don’t always feel fully fleshed out, and the romance, though sweet, lacks the spark to make it truly memorable.

Overall, Friends to Lovers is a pleasant, easy read—perfect for fans of feel-good romance—but it doesn’t stand out in a crowded genre.rs is a pleasant, easy read—perfect for fans of feel-good romance—but it doesn’t stand out in a crowded genre.

3🌟 I really wanted to like this one more than I did. I typically love friends to lovers. I was sucked in immediately and then it was just meh. Joni was a little annoying so that didn’t help.

Thank you NetGalley, Sally Blakely, and Harlequin for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I felt them more friends than lovers, majority of the book was when they were friends before they crossed the line to lovers and it may have downsized the romance a bit. A miscommunication led to them not speaking for two years, a little dramatic, they reunited at her sister’s wedding and things got awkward, I was confused most of the “present” timeline because of their estrangement and not knowing what had happened that caused it. Overall I was stressful while reading.

My interest was first sparked for this book due to everyone saying If you were fans of Emily Henry's, then you would love this book! If you are an addict to friends to lovers and summer romance books tropes like I am, then this book is for you. The slow burn and angst in this book had me squealing when things finally came to a boiling point. Such a fantastic debut novel and she has found a new fan for life.

i was looking at some of the reviews and SO MANY said this was like a pwmov knockoff and honestly yeah. that perfectly sums up what you need to know about this book. it felt like someone trying to he emily henry but, it didnt work out for me.

Filled with lots of tension, this book is super romantic and very easy to read. I loved the way the story is told through current events and flash backs at the weddings only. The author seamlessly fills in the gaps of the friendship turned love story. I’ve read a few different friends to lovers tropes lately and it can easily fall flat. While I feel the title is a little boring for how good a read this is, I do feel this book did the trope justice.

3.5 ⭐
Joni and Ren have been best friends since childhood, and are determined to stay that way even after Joni embarks on a cross-country move. But when a wedding-season pact turns into blurred and crossed lines, can their relationship ever recover?

This was a combination of my favorite (friends-to-lovers and second-chance) and least favorite (miscommunication) tropes, but it mostly worked for a lighthearted, summery romance. I did unknowingly read this and People We Meet on Vacation back-to-back, and while I'm usually a big Emily Henry fan, I think I actually liked Friends to Lovers a little better. The basic plotline is very similar, but the stories evolve differently. I found Joni and Ren's childhood friendship more compelling, and the wedding aspect more fun. Their relationship is filled with yearning and tension and a deep intimacy that makes the friends-to-lovers trope so compelling to me. Overall, this was a sweet, heartfelt summer romance with a mix of second-chance longing and wedding-season charm that made it a fun read, even if the pacing and miscommunication didn’t quite work for me.

This book will be living rent free in my head until further notice. Everything from the imagery to the prose to the chemistry between Ren and Joni just jumped off the page and left you with no choice but to be fully immersed. An absolutely beautiful look at friendship and family dynamics, and how easy it can be to hurt someone even with the best of intentions. I love a second chance romance, combine it with friends to lovers and it is a perfect recipe! Sally Blakely delivered an absolute masterpiece that I wish I could crawl into and stay forever.

Not only are Ren and Joni impeccable leads the supporting characters and family dynamics were so interesting and captivating, there was never a point where I didn’t want to turn the page!!

Ehhhhh, not my favorite sorry to say. The story overall felt half-baked.

The plot was leading up to this big reveal where something major happened between the main character Joni and her best friend/love interest Ren that kept them apart for over two years. The way it was talked about I was waiting for something MAJOR. The big reveal fell incredibly flat because it was so boring. With the way Joni was going on about what happened I thought she had killed Ren’s dog or something equally egregious. But they had one fight and then didn’t talk for two and a half years even though they have been best friends since they were three years old. Like whaaat, one fight with her best friend was the big thing she couldn’t even tell her sister about? I hate the not communicating trope.

I didn’t believe that Joni just “loved Ren too much” to try to be with him. She loved him soooo much that she ghosted him for two and a half years and then lied to everyone she knew about it. Cool, cool, cool. Joni’s character is set up for the reader to think it’s her anxiety and her one track mind about her job that also derailed her thoughts of a future with Ren, but again I didn’t believe it. She acted like a teenager the entire book and it was hard to believe that she was actually thirty. She was also the one that was putting the brakes on being with Ren the whole book and yet HE was the one who had to make a grand romantic gesture at the end?? After she confessed her love to him, over an effing voicemail? If a man did that we would be screaming about the bar being in Hell.

The whole book Joni describes Ren as perfect, the best potential boyfriend, how attractive he is, on and on and on and yet we are supposed to believe that she NEVER once realized she had feelings for him when they were younger. She had so little feelings for him that she was upset her family thought they would get together? Give me a break. Speaking of her family, the side characters are giving nothing. Stevie is the most fleshed out one, but the rest might as well be cardboard cut outs for how much they bring to the story. Chapter 25, which was supposed to be some big Crazy Stupid Love-like scene didn’t work because we don’t know the side characters enough for their confessions to mean anything. Everyone’s dialogue was boring, including the banter between Ren and Joni. It felt like I was listening to AI bots flirt with each other and the jokes were not funny.

I loved the idea of the summer house, but I wish it was given more description so it could be more of a main character of the story. The whole book was giving a People We Meet on Vacation meets The Summer of Broken rules knockoff, sad to say.

The entire time I was reading this I was so frustrated because it felt like all the pieces for a perfect summer read were RIGHT THERE, but they just didn’t come together at all.

I know I went hard on what I didn’t like, but there were some things that did work well for me. The idea of using weddings as a meeting ground for the characters was a fabulous idea! The weddings were picturesque, unique, and the prefect background setting to give life to the story in an interesting way. I liked the random fun things sprinkled in like the goat farm wedding and the frat bro chicken sticker storyline, those kept things interesting and were unexpected. The writing itself was also very good, there were some banger quotes that I enjoyed for example: “…my eyes find Ren waiting for me in the living room, a skyscraper in the middle of the low-lying buildings that are my packed-up belongings.” Sally Blakely knows how to write in a romantic voice, she just needs to fine tune the romance for her characters.

I do have hope for this author as I thoroughly believe everyone’s first book is (and should be) their worst book. There was so much potential in this one, it just didn’t work for me. I think she will write great books in the future!!

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Canary Street Press for the ARC! All thoughts are my own. #FriendstoLovers #NetGalley

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this title to read and review. This as a delightful read from beginning to end, and I'm really glad to have spent some of my summer enjoying this book. I will say -- boy, this is the most SEO headline of all time, just going with the trope as the lead-in. I love a friends-to-lovers trope above all, so sign me up!! But I think it discounted how great the book was actually going to be. I found myself reading and trying to come up with better titles throughout the story (some of them being "The Forever Plus One," and "Seven Summers of Falling." etc.) But anyway, the title's the title - just dear reader, don't write it off thinking it's cranked out by a machine. This book is full of heart and the best kind of joy of childhood friends growing up to love one another fiercely.

I was hooked by the writing style right away, and the premise that these childhood best friends commit to being each others' dates for wedding seasons, no matter where in the world they are when they get that save-the-date. But it was complicated for me to find there was some big blowup drama with the two a few years ago, and they haven't spoken since that time, when we meet them estranged. I found myself REALLY wanting to know what happened, since their friendship was so historied and strong. I thought something really unforgivable must have occurred, and I was looking forward to seeing how they could ever redeem themselves. But without spoilers, it was pretty run-of-the-mill in terms of the reveal, and I was disappointed. Other than that element, the story is so much fun, has a lovable cast of characters, and a swoonworthy boy in Ren. It's that classic story of friends growing up with adults and family butting in about how everyone could see they'd end up together one day, but the characters still had the agency to make their own choices. I'd absolutely love to read more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Joni has been avoiding her best friend Ren since they had a falling out a few years ago. It’s been easy enough, since they live on opposite coasts. It’s about to get tougher because they are about to have to come together to celebrate Joni’s sister Stevie’s wedding. Their families are long-time friends, and share a beach house where the wedding is taking place.

This book explores their past friendship and what led to them not speaking anymore. Can they figure out their friendship once more, or will it be more than that.

The premise on this one was there, but it all felt a little clunky. My major issue was that I just didn’t like Joni. It was hard to root for this couple because I thought she was a real bore, and the couple had no chemistry whatsoever. I felt like it was all a little hard to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Friends to Lovers is a contemporary romance where the main trope is friends to lovers. Normally, I am not a huge fan of this trope because it tends to fall flat. However, this one was a cute end of summer read with fun summer-wedding vibes. I enjoyed the concept of this story where our to MC’s are each other’s plus ones during wedding season. However, it did have its pacing issues.

What Worked
The concept of the story was cute and endearing. We had our 2 MC’s - Joni and Ren, who are best friends who attend weddings together as each other’s plus one. Then Joni moves away and they continue to be each other’s plus one for weddings. This story was written in dual timeline format - past (other weddings attending together) and present (attending Joni’s sister’s wedding). This is where they are finally brought back together after a tumultuous journey in their friendship.

Sally did well with the dual timeline. It was specified at the beginning of each chapter whether it was present or took place a number of years ago. I liked being able to see how Ren and Joni’s friendship built and grew.

What Didn’t Work
Like stated above, the pacing of the story was off especially in the middle of the story. It drug along and was a little boring. Joni was the queen of miscommunication and it drove me nuts. I do not enjoy the miscommunication trope because it makes me want to pull my hair out. I prefer plot that actually moves along via actions vs. problems with miscommunication.

Some of our side characters fell a little flat for me and didn’t add much to the dynamic of the story. They were a bit one-note and overly involved in the MC’s relationship for my liking.

Overall, Sally Blakely wrote a heart-felt cozy contemporary romance that was rooted in friendship. However, the pacing and lack of side character development really fell flat for me. This one is great for people who want a slow-burn romance that has a gentle increase in mood and heartfeltness.

Review posted to GoodReads on 8/26/25