Everyone deserves a happy ending...

and Joni and Ren are lost in the time warp of "I wish" and "why did I wait so long" in this obvious friends to lovers, second chance romance.

While not complex, the story wraps around all of the weddings between family and they're technically the last ones unmarried. They've been best friends since the ripe age of 3 and haven't seen each other in 2 1/2 years. And there's a reason for it, and the biggest part of the book, so I won't spoil it for you.

What I loved about this book is the on the edge of your seat moments where you think they'll just jump for it and let themselves be in love without worrying about what is going on in their lives or who is paying attention to them.

What kind of bothered me when it came to the writing is the back and forth between past and present. While I know it contributes almost completely to the story, I hate time jumps because they confuse me a bit. But to each her own.

So thankful that the author and publisher granted me this arc, I LOVED it and can't wait to read more of Sally's books!

ARC Review

I love a second chance romance and a fun summer read and this one was both!

3.5⭐️

Ren and Joni grew up together. With families sharing a summer beach house and sharing every milestone together, they were the best of friends. But now everyone’s back at the summer house for Joni’s sister Stevie’s wedding. Joni and Ren haven’t spoken in over 2 years and there’s something no one knows happened between them back then - they fell in love. Can their years of history bring them back to the person they love the most?

I enjoyed this one! Second chance is one of my favorites and the friends to lovers added another element to it. I was so intrigued by what could’ve happened to finally bring these best friends together but then tear them apart to where we saw them in present day.
I enjoyed the dual timeline and getting to see what happened as Ren and Joni kept up a tradition of always being plus-ones at weddings. These interactions and reunions over and over showed how special they were to each other.
The current day timeline happens over a week, but with the years of history and connection, it was satisfying seeing them come back to each other so quickly, although not exactly easily.

Overall an enjoyable read - the ending bumped up the rating for me for sure! If you love an “I’ll do anything to be with you” love declaration this is for you 😍

🌊best friends to lovers
🎧second chance
🌊dual timeline
🎧matching tattoos

The trope is in the title, you guys!! LOL I had moderate expectations for this book not knowing much about its plotline but I was so pleasantly surprised and absolutely hooked on it. That being said, those who don't really love friends to lovers may not love this - it was reminiscent of the vibes of Lovelight Farms and People we Meet on Vacation but even more so because the friends have been family friends since they were toddlers so there's a lot of family involved in the story.
This was told in alternating timelines and that worked so well (and also reminded me of the way PWMOV was told). I really loved the setting in Portland, Oregon, and at a beach house brimming with memories. There are two meddlesome mothers (one is particularly over the top in a well-meaning way), some nosy siblings who mean the best, a wedding on the go as well as a few in the past, and some chill dads. 
There were funny moments, heart-wrenching moments, and a lot of great banter, chit-chat, quality time, and character growth. For me, for some reason, it just worked. It's a debut so I'd give it a try if any of this sounds appealing! The audio is by Patti Murin and exceptional, of course.
This one felt nostalgic for me because I had a childhood friend like this (FRIEND only in my case) and so many moments of the family dynamics were relatable in many ways. That aspect of my childhood is forever precious to me, so it was fun to kind of relive what that felt like.

A romance Emily Henry would be proud of!

I was actually blown away by this book and was not expecting it to be that good. The title said "Friends to Lovers" so I wasn't really expecting it to be second-chance (not my favorite trope), but I still really enjoyed it. This was such a high quality, summer, romance read. You could have told me Emily Henry wrote this book and I would have believed you. I also love the workaholic-discovers-work-isn't-everything trope. I wish more people would have the awakening that Joni has. Work should no be your life. You can enjoy work, you can make life choices for work, but don't throw away everything you care about for a job. It's just a job and it wont love you back.

This was marketed as The Summer I Turned Pretty for adults, but there's no "Jeremiah".

I could listen to Patti Murin's voice FOREVER! She did such a good job, as always!

Tropes
friends to more than friends to no longer friends to lovers (this should be the real title)
second chance romance
forced proximity
summer vacation wedding
slow burn (mostly off page/ jumping timelines)
he falls first

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

Friends to Lovers was a second chance, best friend romance that focuses on Ren & Joni and their journey through mending their friendship and ultimately falling in love.

I loved the concept of the best friends being each other’s plus ones in all the cities they traveled to! I also liked the plot structure of present day POV with flashbacks mixed in.

The entire cast of characters was fun and captivating- adding another layer to the story besides just the FMC & MMC! I liked that you get to see how other couples ended up together as well.

The ending was what didn’t quite settle right with me. It felt very rushed and not as satisfying as I hoped.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing & NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

A blast of a romantic debut!

I really appreciated that all of the characters were easily likable—lovable even. I felt a strong connection to Stevie in particular, and I realllly wished we got her book before she found her HEA! I’d love to see more of her in the future, even if it’s just as a side character.

The music taste was so good! I loved how it wasn’t TikTokified music; it was real music. Also, these aesthetics are going to be so fun to make into a bookstagram post in the future! I’m really looking forward to it.

Ren and Joni… my gosh, the way these two love each other shattered my heart in the best way. She is literally ALL HE SEES in a crowded room full of people; his eyes always find hers, and it’s so dang adorable I could cry of pure agony that I don’t have this kind of love. I eat up a good friends-to-lovers; I truly think it’s the most beautiful trope. Having someone who knows you inside and out and yet chooses to love you anyway—it’s unconditional.

I didn’t completely connect with the story like I wish I did, but I can’t quite tell you why because I don’t even really know myself… But that’s the only reason this is getting a little bit of a lower rating.

The audiobook narrator was perfect for this story! She inflicted a lot of emotion in her voice as she delivered every single line with ease; I felt even more pulled into the story. It made it feel like a movie!

Audiobook: 4.3 ★
Book itself: 3.3 ★

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾 & 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠!

2.75⭐️

This is a childhood friends to lovers romance(?) about 2 friends who are always each other’s plus ones to weddings but never actually get together themselves even though they both secretly like each other.
It’s told in dual timelines between present day (leading up to the FMC’s sister’s wedding) & previous years that they’ve gone to other weddings.

This book dragged soooo much. The main characters have obviously loved each other forever but they never say anything! There is no communication whatsoever & this book could’ve been so much shorter. The story could’ve been told in less than 300 pages if they had just communicated. I didn’t feel connected with any of the characters, both of them (but especially Joni) got on my nerves at times. It was also the slowest burn of all the slow burns & that is my least favorite trope. Also, it was supposed to be a romance but there’s hardly any actual romance & it doesn’t even happen until over 75% through.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC.

Joni and Ren’s story is so sweet. This was a perfect summer read full of heartfelt love, an “it’s always been you” and main characters that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. A lovely poolside, cozy romance. Even though time and life events separate the two I love how they come together to be each other’s wedding date!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

I want to thank Netgalley & Canary Street Press for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows Joni and Ren, childhood best friends, and their efforts to stay close by coming up with a plan to be each other's plus ones to all the weddings that they get invited to. It works until it doesn't, and after not speaking for two years, they are forced to share not only a roof but a room, for Joni's sisters wedding. None of their families know what actually went down between them.

I am personally a sucker for friends to lovers books and this one really hit the spot. It had everything I love about the trope wrapped up into a book. I love a dual time and intertwining the two stories with one another was one of my favorite parts of this book. I saw a lot of myself in Joni and I have got to say that her character is one of my favorites. This book reminded me of the Summer I Turned Pretty (shared beachhouse and childhood friends to lovers) & The Ex Vows ( ex adjacents forced together to save a wedding) which are two of my favorite books. I loved everything about this book and didn't want it to end at all.

One song in particular (Since Ren loves to make playlists for Joni) that really reminded me of them is My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys especially the line that is like "He was my best friend and that was the worst part"

I could vividly picture this book when I closed my eyes and throughout every scene and I really loved every second of this! I cannot wait to read more from Blakely! This is perfect for the summer!!!

“You're still my best friend. And I'm not interested in a life without you in it” 🌊 🌴👙🐚
friends to lovers 5/5⭐️
Let me start off by saying this book was AMAZING. Thank you to Net Galley and the author for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book! This book made me love the friends to lovers trope even more. It captures it PERFECTLY. I saw a lot of people compare this book to People We Meet On Vacation, and honestly I didn’t enjoy that book but I ATE this book UP. This book is about Joni and Ren who are always each other’s plus-ones, but never each other’s real dates. They are two childhood best friends have one last summer wedding to fall in love. I can’t believe this is a debut novel it was really that good. Definitely read this if you like friends to lovers, second chance romance, and a summer read! This book is out NOW!! Go check it out!!

I had a hard time with this book. I loved the writing, but couldn't get over the length of their friendship, as well as how quickly the book wrapped up. I feel like they didn't end up addressing their issues really, and all of a sudden they were together and the book was over. The whole thing just seemed very unrealistic to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to review this book. All views and opinions are my own.

One trope that I really hate is miscommunication, so much can be resolved, if you just say what’s on your mind. But again, maybe if Joni and Ren had communicated efficiently, the book wouldn’t have been as long. They needed the conflicts, the added turmoil with the mixing of their families. I do love a good friends to lovers romance, and this definitely hit all the feels for me.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc.

This book is a combination of people we meet on vacation, happy place and summer of broken rules!! It was so good and really tugged at my heartstrings 🥹 I just love when everyone gets together for a big event in a book and there's always a few people harbouring secrets and everything comes out at the worst possible moment 🤭

Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were 3 but they've never crossed that line until they eventually did and everything comes crashing down. The book alternates between the past and present and it was done so smoothly that I couldn't put the book down. The entire book is so beautifully written and descriptive that I felt like I was right there at the summer beach house with the characters. It's the perfect summer read.

The tension between the main characters? WHEW, incredible. I was giggling and kicking my feet multiple times 🤭 I was rooting so hard for them, so my only complaint is that I wish we got to see a little more of their happy ever after.

Tropes:
☀️best friends to lovers (duh)
☀️he falls first
☀️second chance
☀️forced proximity

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press and NetGalley for the arc!

Contemporary romance fans will swoon over this delicious charmer by Sally Blakeley: Friends to Lovers.

Joni and Ren have been friends since childhood. When Joni has to move across the country for work, Ren comes up with the ideal way for the two of them to stay in touch: being each other’s plus-ones every year for the wedding season, regardless of whatever is happening in their lives. This arrangement seems to be working well for the two childhood friends. Until a line is crossed and their friendship – which had once been rock-solid – is ruined forever.

Joni is back for the summer at their families’ shared home and she is determined to keep a bright smile on her face and appear as if everything is perfect for her sister’s wedding – even if it means feigning a friendship with Ren. Surely, it can’t be that hard to fake being friends with the person who knows her best in the whole entire world…or is it? As the two of them begin spending time together, past heartaches and never forgotten hurts come rushing back up to the surface making Joni wonder whether she should let Ren go – or whether she should stop lying to herself and admit how she really feels about him…

Emily Henry fans will love Friends to Lovers! Sally Blakely effortlessly combines humor, drama and emotion in an irresistible romantic tale that will make readers laugh and cry. With characters it is impossible not to care about , smart writing, heart-melting emotional intensity and compulsively readable romance, Sally Blakely’s Friends to Lovers should not be missed.

Thank you @harlequinbooks @htp_hive and @netgalley for the gifted ARC.

This book gave me all the summer vibes… vacation home, secrets waiting to explode, and a friends to lovers romance that had me kicking my feet. Joni and Ren’s decades long friendship turning into something more was both tender and heartbreaking, with a dual timeline that made their past and present flow perfectly.

Tropes:
friends to lovers
he falls first
second chance
forced proximity

Perfect for anyone craving a heartfelt, summery romance to binge in one sitting.

Ren and Joni are childhood friends who grow up sharing a summer house with their families and being each other's wedding plus one. After years apart, they are brought back together for Joni's sister's wedding at the summer house where they have to pretend everything is okay between them.

I LOVE friends to lovers stories so as this title implies, this book was perfect for me. This had all of the slow burn, tension, warmth, and nostalgia that I look for in these types of books - with it's own unique spin on it of course. This was a great debut from Sally Blakely!

I'd recommend to anyone who liked People We Meet on Vacation, Every Summer After, & Summer Romance.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press, & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A video review/recommendation will be posted on my TikTok @alireadsanywhere on 7/28/25.

Never been the biggest fan of friends-to-lovers, but this book just had such a good build up that I couldn't put the book down.

I found myself waiting for what was going to happen next and saying just one more chapter until I reached the end.

It's a book that will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions with a storyline that's both realistic and captivating.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.
I enjoyed this a lot. I like the friends to lovers trope and this one was done very well. I also like that there was not a lot of spice. Watching Joni and Ren’s love story unfold through the years made the story much more meaningful and interesting. It even had me laughing out loud at times. This book is definitely worth reading

Loved this one! Ren and Joni were wonderful characters and were so realistically flawed. I don’t normally like the miscommunication trope but I felt the stake with this one, it was the first time I understood why things were being left unsaid. This was such a great read and perfect for the middle of wedding season!

Friends to lovers follows Joni and Ren, childhood best friends who many years ago agreed to be each other’s plus ones to weddings. After lines are crossed when Joni realizes she has feelings for Ren, they have a falling out and don’t speak for 2 years. That’s until they’re forced to face each other at their families shared beach house for Joni’s sister’s wedding, and Joni is set on making this week perfect, even if that means she has to pretend Ren and her are still best friends.

I loved this so much. Summer vibes, forced proximity, second chance deliciousness and YEARNING. It gave me all the Emily Henry and Jenny Han summer beach read vibes and was a really fun read. An incredible debut, I’m really excited to see where Sally Blakely takes us next! A definite must read if you’re looking for a fun summer friends to lovers romance.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing & Canary Street Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.