This book has a great plot, but gets frustrating at times watching Ren and Joni struggle to define their relationship and admit they are way more than friends. The story alternates between the present and the past to tell the backstory of Ren and Joni’s journey to the present. There is a long list of songs mentioned in the story that would make a great playlist. A short playlist link is found at the end of the book, which adds a fun, interactive element to the story.

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

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*
🩵Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
🩵Spice: 🌶️ 1/5
🩵Genre: Romance
🩵POV: First
🩵Theme: Friends to Lovers | Second Chance | Forced Proximity | Slow Burn
🩵Page Count: 352
🩵Book Cover first thoughts: Cute beachy vibes cover

🩵One Liner: heartfelt second-chance romance!

🩵Story Review / Summary: Some of my favorite books are when there is either a dual POV or a dual timeline so that alone made this a great read for me. I thought this was beautifully written. I fell in love with Joni and Ren and I even liked the side characters, which sometimes I do not always! Joni kinda reminded me of Belly from TSITP because she is a little oblivious haha! I am excited to see what else comes from Sally Blakely! New fan definitely.

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Thank you to #NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for the ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of #FriendstoLovers by #SallyBlakely @sally.blakely
All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is July 22, 2025.
This review is being shared on NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon.

Ren and Joni were the best of friends…until they tried to be more…and then they weren’t. Jumping back and forth from present to past, we get to see Ren and Joni struggling to deal with being thrown back together for Joni’s sister’s wedding while also seeing their earlier friendship and the events leading to their falling out. Great characters and a sweet second chance romance made this one a memorable debut.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/friends-to-lovers-sally-blakely/1146285221?ean=9781335014245&bvnotificationId=675481ff-6719-11f0-a2fe-0affddc4ef6b&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/352524966

"I'm just someone who's been in love with my best friends since forever and can't get over it."

The trope is in the title - but don't let that tell you all about the book! I love Ren and Joni. Their story from childhood, college years, young adulthood to present is wonderful. Sally Blakely really builds up their friendship and closeness so you feel like you know them, or could be them. It the perfect best friends to lovers book. And even if the title tells you where it's going, it's a perfect read. I highly recommend this wonderful story!

This book has the vibes of Happy Place and People We Meet on Vacation. And I absolutely loved every second of it! It had me on the edge of my seat.

The title tells you all you need to know. This is the perfect depiction of the friends to lovers trope. It was a moving and emotional summer romance read, filled with lively characters, a great plot and just the right amount of spice. And when you add some second chance into the mix? You get the perfect amount of angst, nostalgia, inner turmoil and chemistry.

I really loved Sally Blakely's use of a dual narrative. We got to see Ren and Joni's friendship up close and their history, adding to the emotion and tragedy of the plot and making it so much more interesting.

This book was just a fun lighthearted read that will have you rooting for them the entire time, and maybe screaming at Joni to open her eyes and realize what she's had all along!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

The perfect combination of Happy Place and People We Meet on Vacation. A cozy friends-to-lovers, second chance romance filled with relatable insecurities, vulnerability, and just the right amount of tension. Sally Blakely created a heartfelt story that feels familiar in the best way—comforting, emotional, and hard to put down.

Review of Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 out of 5 stars)

Friends to Lovers is exactly what it promises, an emotional, slow-burn romance that sneaks up on you and tugs at your heartstrings in the best way. Sally Blakely’s debut is a love letter to longtime friendships, second chances, and the terrifying beauty of realizing the person you’ve always counted on might be the one.

This book follows Joni and Ren, childhood best friends who reunite after years apart for a wedding at a cozy beach house. And from the very beginning, you feel the weight of their shared history—the glances, the unspoken tension, the memories that keep bubbling to the surface. The dual timeline works so well here, weaving past and present together in a way that’s both nostalgic and emotionally rich. You get to watch them fall in love twice, once without realizing it, and once with everything on the line.

Blakely nails the friends-to-lovers dynamic. The slow-burn romance is full of those “just tell them how you feel!!” moments that make you want to scream and swoon all at once. And even though there’s plenty of longing, it never drags. The emotional payoff feels earned, not forced, and I found myself rooting for these two so hard.

The writing is warm and immersive, with a summer vibe that makes you want to sit on the porch with a cold drink and just feel everything. There’s also a found family element that adds so much charm, and the music references? Loved them. I found myself looking up songs as I read, and it added such a fun layer to the story.

If you love the friends-to-lovers trope, second chances, and stories that feel like a hug with a side of heartbreak, this one’s definitely worth picking up. I devoured it in a day, and I’ll be thinking about Joni and Ren’s quiet, aching love for a long time. Sally Blakely is definitely one to watch.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.75
!!!! thank you netgalley & htp for the arc in exchange for my honest review!!! I liked the premise of this and it had so many themes that mirrored happy place & people we met on vacation. I think where it differed was the minimal descriptions of people and places, emotional depth of the characters, and pacing.It was still a fun read and I enjoyed it, however there were just a few spots for me that impacted the flow of the story, which I think is important when telling a story with a dual timeline and trying to portray the different stages of a relationship! Also let me add that the arc copy I received had a lot of formatting issues, so that may have impacted my issues with the pacing etc!! It was segmented incorrectly and didn't have clear chapter breaks & lots of words had spaces between letters. So those things pulled me out of the story a bit!

Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were three years old. Always each other’s plus one to weddings, they have many experiences until they have a falling out. Then one year, they find themselves back at their families’ shared summer home for Joni’s sister’s wedding. Can they fool their families into thinking nothing has happened between them? What would Joni’s life be like without Ren?

I had a really hard time getting into this one! I think mainly because the story took a really long time to know what happened between Joni and Ren. Like, a REALLY long time. Why all the suspense? And for THAT?! 🤦🏼‍♀️ I honestly found in frustrating.

Also, the dual timelines were not as clearly outlined from chapter to chapter as I would have liked them to be. It often took me a while to determine where I was in the timeline until I figured out how the story was structured. Even then, it was difficult to navigate from time to time which took away from the ease of reading.

Neither character felt really flushed out for me. They didn’t have any redeeming qualities. Joni, focused on work (but not) felt like she didn’t really have anything driving her character.

Ren was kind of just there. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Sure he was pleasant but there was really nothing that stood out about him. Or Joni for that matter.

This story focused a lot on all of the side characters as well, instead of working on more dialogue between Joni and Ren.

This book had a “People We Meet On Vacation” vibe to it. Maybe that’s why I didn’t connect that well with this story. It felt like I had read it already.

Overall, while this is a debut and I usually am easier on debuts than this, this story just didn’t hit the mark for me in a lot of ways. I couldn’t really think of anything that made it memorable for me.

Thank you NetGalley for granting me an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

Great summer read! And, exactly as the title would indicate, this is a friends-to-lovers trope (done so very well!). Childhood best friends eventually turn into something more--chef's kiss! What could be better than a relationship built on a solid foundation!?! Excellent debut by this author; looking forward to more from her! She has an 'Emily Henry-meets-Anabel Monaghan-vibe' to her writing. 4 stars! *I received a complimentary ARC from the author/publishing company via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Happy publication day to this new book by Sally Blakely. Joni and Ren's story was fun, specifically the banter between characters. However, the story was perhaps a little longer than it needed to be.

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

This was super cute, I love the friends to lovers trope. Following these two families was so fun and made my heart happy. I loved Joni and Ren and their friendship. I enjoyed how it bounced from current day to the past. It felt a little long for it was, but still enjoyable!

･ﾟ 𝙰𝚁𝙲 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 ·˚˖‧
𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒐, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝑨𝑹𝑪!

❝ I think about all the ways he’s sound-tracked my life, tried to tell me things I didn’t know to look for in his meticulous playlists.❞

╰𝚂𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝙵𝚛𝚎𝚎╮

✦ Pub Date: 22 Jul 2025
✦ Rating: 3/5
✦ Genre: Romance
✦ POV: 1st Single
✦ Spice: 1/5
✦ Age: 16+

࣪ ִֶָ 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘 ·˚˖

Childhood best friends. One summer wedding, and the feelings they never really left behind.

·˚˖ 𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 ˖˚·

Perfect for summer, cozy and light vibes, friendships, family, and issues that need to be worked through.
Thank you for the recommendation, Anna (@annareadit)!
But the book didn’t completely hook me — and that’s okay, it happens. I usually love this trope, and at first everything was going well, but the further I got, the more I started to lose interest...🫣

The writing is easy and flows quickly. There weren’t any intense emotional highs or lows, and even the second-chance aspect felt quite light.

I listened to the audiobook, and it added such a nice touch to the atmosphere. It was really pleasant to listen to.

·˚˖ 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 ˖˚·

▪︎ Joni — she didn’t annoy me, and at times I really understood her. The way she struggles to figure out what she wants, how she wants the best for everyone… but her silence makes it hard for others to truly see her.

▪︎ Ren — he’s such a comfort character, total green flag.
What I love about the friends-to-lovers trope is how well they know each other, and here we get to see their shared history, so it’s clear how much Ren truly cares about Joni.
I think it would’ve been even better if we had chapters from his POV too.

▪︎ Side characters — mostly friends and family, two families who found each other and became one big family, and I love that kind of dynamic.

࣪ ִֶָ ⊹ 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 ·˚˖
↠Childhood bestfriends to lovers
↠Second chance
↠Forced proximity
↠Slow burn

In my correct opinion, friends to lovers >>>> every other trope. And y’all can fight me on that.

There’s just something about the having a crush, the yearning, the tension, the conflict over possibly ruining the friendship, and knowing someone completely and loving them for exactly who they are that just gets me every time. And this book hits all those boxes. I loved Joni and Ren’s friendship, the flashback scenes, and of course watching those two idiots finally realize that they loved each other!

But of course we get a bit of the miscommunication trope. If Joni and Ren had just had an honest convo then the 2.5 years that they didn’t speak could have been avoided!!!

Friends to lovers is SUPERIOR! Which is why I already knew I was going to enjoy this book! I loved the dual timeline!! It really showed us how Joni and Ren’s relationship developed and grew over time. Their chemistry felt so natural and easy and I could really tell how much they cared for each other!!

Thanks so much to the hive for the arc in exchange for an honest review!!!

If "People We Meet on Vacation" and "Happy Place" had a baby, this book would be it.
A great summer read with the right amount of charm, longing, and romance.

A dual timeline, this book looks back at all of the weddings that best friends Joni and Ren go to together as each other’s plus-ones. The next wedding on their calendar is for Joni’s sister’s wedding. With every wedding/chapter we get to see their friendship and feelings evolve.
When lines are crossed, their friendship takes a hit, it will take for her sister’s wedding to force them to confront what went wrong.

Can their friendship be saved or will it turn into something more?

Thank You to NetGalley, Harlequin, and Sally Blakely for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Joni Miller and Ren Webster have been best friends all of their lives. Their parents went in together and bought a vacation home in the Pacific northwest and the children all played together for years. But when Joni gets offered a job in New York, she is excited to accept it but it will mean missing spending time with Ren. So, before she leaves, they promise that they will always be one another’s plus ones for friend’s weddings.

Two and a half years later, Joni is back at the family’s vacation home which will be the venue for her sister’s wedding. She is shocked to see Ren there. It has been a long time since they have spoken to one another after something happened that brought their friendship to a screeching halt. As they tiptoe around one another, we get flashbacks to other weddings they attended as each other’s plus ones.

Whew. This was a sad book. I really liked Ren and found him to be a truly genuinely nice man who loved Joni. However, I found her to be a total twit. It took so long for readers to find out what horrible thing happened that the story became even more confused. Why would anyone want to deny themselves the person they know they love? In addition, this book was way too long and needed some serious editing. I realize it’s a debut novel and I do wish the author all the best. I hope that her next novel is much better. I look forward to reading it to see how she has improved.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“I’ve thought for so long that proving I could do it on my own was the most important thing, but in the end, it’s letting myself need people that’s started to bring me back to myself. That’s going to carry me forward from here.” -(Friends to Lovers)

This quote is a perfect encapsulation of the message provided in the story. Joni feels that she needs to be strong, independent, and prove to everyone that she can make it in her dream job in the big city, one that happens to be across the country from where she spent most of her life. However, coming back to her friends and family for a week to celebrate her sister’s wedding shows her what she really needs and has been longing for.

The week is not without its challenges as she has to face Ren, her best friend since childhood; her family; and the secret she has been keeping from everyone. Ren and Joni find coming back together easier and more comfortable than either of them thought it would be since the last time they saw each other had ended in a two year hiatus of their friendship. This week with everyone becomes just what Joni needs to reconnect with Ren, her family, and her self.

Friends to Lovers has so many wonderful components that come together to create a great summer read. It’s a perfect beach/vacation story that will have you feeling all the emotions. Of course, we do see the friends to lovers trope and there are flashbacks throughout that tie everything together and provide snippets of moments missed when the events originally occurred. This book also comes with a playlist and I just really loved that added bonus. I don’t know about everyone else, but I have found that I love a good book that also comes with music.

Thank you so much to The Hive, HTP Books, Canary Street Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Friends to Lovers.

Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were kids, but when Joni moves from
Oregon to NYC for a job, she’s not sure how her friendship with Ren will survive the distance. They soon agree to be each others plus one for all weddings, giving them at least an opportunity to spend a few days together for each event. The two keep things platonic, until they don’t, and their friendship suffers the consequences. Now, after two and a half years of not speaking to each other, they are thrown together at their family’s summer beach house for Joni’s’ sister’s wedding. Cue the nostalgia, tension, unresolved emotions and family drama!

To say I was a fan of Joni and Ren would be an understatement! The flashbacks to each wedding and how their friendship evolved was woven perfectly into the present day. Joni is a complex character who has dealt with anxiety and panic attacks since a young age and her mindfulness of regulating herself in the various circumstances was well thought out. The love between Joni and Ren definitely pulls at your heartstrings as you get to know their history. I appreciated the different ways music stitched together the story and Joni and Ren’s friendship!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for the gifted copy of this ARC!

Easy, bingeable read💕

4⭐️

Friends to Lovers was such a fun, easy read! I really enjoyed the story and how it hit all the right tropes: friends to lovers, second chance romance, and a dual timeline that keeps you hooked without confusing your brain. I especially loved that the main characters were childhood friends with a shared past. It was sweet, nostalgic, and satisfying.

The writing style really worked for me: smooth, engaging, and easy to follow, with well-placed flashbacks that added just the right emotional depth.

Definitely recommend if you like your romance sweet, a little messy, and deeply nostalgic.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this eARC!