I absolutely loved this book! Blakey’s debut was simply stunning. I loved the witty writing, the heartfelt love story, and all of the characters so much, and think this is a perfect friends to lovers (lol) book.

If you know me, you know I am a second chance and friends to lovers truther, so I absolutely ate this up. The dual time period added so much to build Joni and Ren’s friendship, and I loved watching them fall in love in the past and rekindle it in the present. Ren was EVERYTHING! He truly is the definition of a cinnamon bun book boyfriend, and some of the things he said made me blush hard. I also related so much to Joni’s career and mental health journey, and thought her character development was beautiful to read.

Ren and Joni’s love story made me laugh and cry, and I was just rooting so hard for them the entire time. I think anyone who liked People We Meet On Vacation, The Ex Vows, or Happy Place is going to love this book. The love story, the family dynamics, and the beach-y vibes were so good. I’ve been thinking about this book all week, and after finishing it I could tell it would be an easy 5 star for me. Sometimes books just hit, and this one hit for me!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Strong Enough Debut. This is one of those books that could have absolutely used a touch more editing re: making the various timeline jumps a touch cleaner, but otherwise was a reasonably strong debut that absolutely did the singular most essential thing for any debut book: It made me want to see what the author does *next*.

Was this book perfect? No. There's a fair amount here that various people will criticize for various reasons, but there is nothing really objective about any criticisms here, and I try to keep my own as objective as possible. It technically meets all known RWA / RNA requirements. The spice level is somewhere around a jalapeno, maybe habanero - a touch spicy, but nothing those used to more powerful chilis will even bat an eye at, yet could still give heartburn to those more accustomed to a warm glass of milk.

But there is absolutely *enough* here, even if in near extreme slow burn, "JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER ALREADY YOU MORONS" form, to truly want me to see where Blakely goes next, what setting she may choose next, what pacing, etc.

Other reviewers proclaim this to be a People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry clone, but I don't exactly read the books that get on all the lists (for the most part) like Ms. Henry's books - I'm the guy you usually come to when you want to hear about the books that will *never* be anywhere *near* those lists - yet are absolutely as good as anything there, and better than most of them. So I can't tell you if it actually *is* similar to that book or not - I can only tell you that I truly enjoyed it, and I've absolutely read romance novels both not as good as this and much better than this, but this is right in that sweet spot in the middle where I'm still truly glad I got a chance to read this book.

Truly a solid story, one I think many will genuinely enjoy.

Very much recommended.

Rating: 5/5

Spice: 0

Primary Genre: Contemporary Romance

Plot: 5/5

My Thoughts:

This book surprised me in the most pleasant way! This book has a dual timeline with a big looming unanswered question…why aren’t Ren and Joni friends anymore? It feels a bit like a mystery in reverse, which I felt made for a fun and page-turning read. It manages to stay light hearted while dealing with some serious stuff. Once I got going on this book, I could not put it down and it brought tears to my eyes more than once. It had my heart racing and my face smiling at times as well. Invoking real emotion is the true test and Sally Blakely passed. This book reminds me of an Annabel Monaghan summer romance, and I mean that as the highest of compliments-I love her books. Do. Not. Miss!

⭐️4.25
🌶️2

Joni and Ren have been best friends their entire lives. So when Joni moves across the country for work they make a plan to help stay in touch by always being each other’s plus-one for weddings. As the years of weddings pass by eventually a line is crossed that threatens their friendship. Now, years of silence later, they have Joni’s sister’s wedding week to endure together.

This was such a quick read! I was so invested and it was hard to put down. It would be a great summer beach read especially if you particularly enjoy a friends to lovers trope. There were funny moments but there were times it was pensive and I could physically feel my heart ache for Ren and Joni. I really appreciated Joni’s character growth throughout. Altogether a great story!

✨Pacific Northwest beach house vibes
✨second chance romance
✨forced proximity
✨dual narrative
✨childhood best friends to lovers
✨big found family dynamic

1⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy of Friends To Lovers.

Joni and Ren have been friends since they were little. They are always each other’s plus one at weddings. Then at one wedding the friendship lines are blurred and they fear they can never go back to what they had.

This was just an absolutely ridiculous plot in my opinion and the characters were just not likable.

This has the he falls first trope, and I'm all here for it!!
"I think I'm always going to be waiting for just five minutes of you loving me like I love you."
-Ren
The story alternates between past and present, which i did not realize until I was reading, so it confused me at first. After I realized that it was really easy to read and I very much enjoyed it.

A huge thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

This is a great summer romance!

I love a second chance and friends to lovers combined. The pressure that these characters felt are very realistic of those in our early thirties trying to figure out how to move forward in life with a career, adult friendships, and love.

I enjoyed the back and forth between the past and the current time. I do think the weddings were a fun way to bring it all together but also was a bit redundant feeling.

Overall a cute read!

Thanks to Netgally and HTP Books for the E-ARC. Joni (FMC) and Ren (MMC) are besties but when the stories starts off they have been entangled for over 2 years but now have to fake their friendship for their whole family for a whole week. The story goes back to years before and to the present. This was a fast cute read as we see why Joni and Ren stopped being friends but also see whether they will go back to being best friends or even something else.

I loved Friends to Lovers! It was sweet and cute and felt real. The characters had depth and were well developed. The dual timeline worked great, and the whole book was well paced.
It sucked me in, and I couldn't put it down!
Love love loved it. Definitely recommend.

Best friends Joni and Ren had a pact to be each others plus one’s at weddings, until the last wedding they attended caused a rift between them. Almost 3 years later, they are gathering with their families at their shared beach house for Stevie’s sister’s wedding. With most people not knowing they haven’t been talking, they’ll pretend for a week that everything is fine between them and maybe confront what tore them apart.

With the story alternating between present day and past weddings they’ve attended, you really get to know Joni and Ren’s relationship and how much they care about one another. They are put into so many situations where they have the opportunity to talk about their past, but they both skirt around it for a while afraid that after having each other back in their lives, they’ll lose them again. You get a lot of growth from Joni throughout the book, and I was glad towards the end she realized she couldn’t keep everything to herself anymore.

Joni and Ren are childhood best friends. When Joni gets an invitation to a wedding she asks Ren to be her plus one since neither of them are in a relationship. They make a pact to be each other's plus one's to any future weddings as a way to stay in touch when Joni takes a job and moves across the country which works out great until one weekend lines are crossed and their friendship is ruined. They haven’t spoken in 2 1/2 years. They are reunited at their family’s vacation home for one more wedding. Joni’s sister is getting married and they are forced to spend time together for a week of activities where they will have to deal with the past.

This was such a heartwarming story. It was so well written and descriptive. From the backdrop to where the story takes place in Oregon to the locations the weddings they attended together. I liked how Joni and Ren navigated their friendship in spite of the distance and when Joni finally realized she couldn’t ever not have Ren in her life. They were so perfect together it just took her longer to realize they were end game.

I really enjoyed this debut novel from this author and can’t wait to read more from her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing / Canary Street Press for an e-Arc copy of this book.

4/5 stars! Thanks to HTP books for this eARC!

This was a solid contemporary romance. I devoured it in one sitting🤭 I’m a huge sucker for a dual timeline story, especially with the added suspense of “what happened between them???” thrown in there. Friends to lovers (the trope) is honestly one of my fave tropes. The pining is unreal in stories that feature it, and this was no exception. 4/5 stars because I am not the biggest fan of second chance romances or miscommunication tropes, BUT this was still worth the read.

Honestly, if you liked People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, you’ll eat this one right up!

[ DNF @ 25% ] It was a hard decision to not finish this book when I thought it would be a decent read. Secret former best friends-to-lovers? Forced proximity? An impending wedding? That's a good basis to start from.

The friends-to-lovers trope is one of my favorites. I liked a wedding as the backdrop. The summer vibes were nice. I also liked the joyous close bond the MCs families shared, and what I learned so far about Joni and Ren's previously easygoing friendship.

But the more I read the clearer the likelihood of finishing would be a long struggle and the story no better.

I couldn't get into the story and was uninterested in the characters, so it felt like nothing was happening. Also, and this could be because I was reading an uncorrected proof, the switch from past to present was a little jarring.

For those reasons, I'm sadly calling it quits with this book.

Thanks again Canary Street Press, HTP Books, and NetGalley for the e-ARC to read in exchange for an honest review!

4/5 - A fabulous debut! This is friends to lovers done well, and I loved the dual timeline. I probably would have combusted with a dual POV, but the story felt natural from Joni’s perspective.

I really loved the setting - the beach house! - the characters - two families, friends for a long time - and how intertwined and invested the characters are in one another. I was frustrated at some of the commutation issues BUT they made sense from a relationship standpoint. My only bugaboo is that we didn’t have more time with Ren and Joni as a happy couple.

Thank you to @netgalley and Canary for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I genuinely believe that friends to lovers is the greatest trope - the pining, the longing, the will they/won't they of it all - I love it all!

This book, clearly based on the title, gives all of those things and more! I really enjoyed the single POV but multiple timeline combination, and the dangling carrot of what happened between Joni + Ren really added to the tension of their relationship.

If you enjoyed People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, you will love this too!

Thank you to the author + Harlequin for my advance copy!

4.75 ⭐️
With a cover and storyline somewhat reminiscent of “Happy Place”, I knew I couldn’t pass this one up. A second chance romance between two childhood friends? Even BETTER.

Joni and Ren are reuniting at their families’ cabin outside Portland, Oregon for Joni’s sister’s wedding after a falling out 2(.5) years prior- the catch? They didn’t tell their family they weren’t friends anymore. What ensues is a dual timeline, second chance romance that positively pulled at my heart strings.

Listen, I love the drama as much as the next person, but what I love even more is a straightforward storyline with a lot of emotions. That this book served exactly that. I loved the side plots amongst the main story, but I also loved that there wasn’t so much going on that we couldn’t be in the depths with Joni. When I learned this was Blakely’s debut novel, I was even more impressed. If you’re looking for a summer romance to make you feel feelings, this one’s got you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book was sooo good! I absolutely loved it! Coming from someone who doesn’t love the friends to lovers trope this one worked so well, and it honestly read as second chance as well. The summer and beach house vibes were amazing. I loved the dual timelines as well as all of the weddings that are featured in the book. It was light spice but worked perfectly in the setting. And I loved the character work. Ren and Joni are meant to be and flawed but such great characters. Truly next level.

I am loooving all these contemporary romances I’ve been consuming lately. Devouring actually. I could’ve read this one in one sitting too if I didn’t have to work. Oh wait. Jer says “we don’t got to, we get to.” Work, that is. He’s adorable.

Ok, back to Joni and Ren. First of all, does anyone see the name Ren and start singing “Footloose” in their head? Moving on.

Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were three. But something happened two and a half years ago. They haven’t spoken since. Now, Joni’s sister, Stevie, is getting married at their families’ shared oceanfront summer home. There’s no avoiding each other now. And they haven’t spoken to pretend they’re as close as ever. They didn’t tell their families they had a falling out. They didn’t want to squash the family dynamic.

This is told in dual timelines. We fall in love with them in the past and through Joni’s memories. And we fall in love with them as they reconnect in the present.

I don’t know that I have the words to describe what it was like living with them in the past and how that felt so real and special. And what it’s like while they’re thrown together over and over again during wedding week. Not just thrown though. They’re also magnets. Pulled together by their shared history and their hearts.

And @sherry_reads_books, it’s another spot-on title. Two in a row!

Highly recommended for lovers of slow burn romance, music, weddings, and close families. Also, knowing who your soulmate is for your entire life.

I received this eARC via #netgalley and @readmirabooks. All thoughts are mine alone.

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3.5 this took me a bit to get into. I didn’t necessarily love Joni and Ren but the further I got into it and the backstory leading up to them not talking they drew me in. This book is a good portrayal of complicated family dynamics, family friends and relationships in general, and how important communication is in everything

Book Review✨

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely

“Always each other’s plus ones, but never each other’s real dates, two childhood best friends have one last summer wedding to fall in love.”

Rating: 5⭐️
Genre: Romance
Yes, no, or maybe: WITHOUT A DOUBT YES

Read if you love:
-friends to lovers (obviously)
-beach romance
-PINING
-he falls first
-multiple time lines

THIS BOOK! Girl… this book… wow! Um Miss Sally if this is your debut, I cannot wait to see what you do next!!! Keep em coming!

This story revolves around best friends Joni and Ren. Right off the bat we see that Joni and Ren are no longer friends… but what has happened??? Something happened 2 and half years ago but we have to start at the beginning!!! 6 years ago they made a pact to always be each others plus one at any wedding that comes up but what went wrong?! I was HOOKED. Ren was handsome and charming. Joni was spunky and thoughtful. I was fully invested in their story.

The setting was ideal, their families shared beach house that they have went to every summer their whole lives. You get to see their friendship and love blossom over the years (cue dreamy sigh). The writing was beautiful, I was swooning at almost every page.

I can’t say enough good things about this book. It’s the perfect summer romance ❤️

**Available now!!!**