I adore a small-town romance, especially with a friends-to-lovers trope, but this one was more of a second-chance romance between former best friends. Before Noel leaves town after graduation to chase his Hollywood dreams, he finally makes a move on his best friend, Parker, giving her the kiss they’ve both always wanted. He asks her to come with him, but she stays behind, and they promise they’ll reunite soon. That promise doesn’t hold, and they spend the next ten years apart, out of touch—but, of course, still carrying feelings for each other.

Their reunion is a bit frosty at first, but Noel makes big efforts to win Parker’s heart again. With all their history as friends, the spark between them rekindles, and with some meddling from their nosy family and townspeople, their road to happily ever after is a fun one.

This was my first book by Teagan Hunter, and while I usually love small-town romances, this one didn’t quite grab me. Second-chance romances with a decade-long separation can be tricky, and I wasn’t fully convinced by their love story. I kept wondering—why didn’t Parker visit all those years, especially with Noel’s grandmother aging? And Grandma never updated him? Some little gaps like that didn’t sit well with me, but maybe it was just my mood. I’d be curious to try another book by this author though.

Side note? That cover is definitely a keeper.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I liked Best Friends for Never. I thought the writing was good and i liked the characters. I liked Gran, Astrid and Axel. However, i just didn’t seem to really connect with the main characters or their love story. I think there was a lot of silly miscommunication like issues that could’ve easily been solved if they had of just had a discussion. I also don’t think it was very realistic to not think about the fact that Noel was a movie star, his life was very different to what it was like in Emerald Grove and i don’t think he or Parker really thought about it until right at the end. Like i said the writing was solid and i do encourage others to give this a go, this was just a personal preference for me.

I really enjoyed this second chance romance from Teagan Hunter! It was so heartwarming to watch Parker and Noel reignite their spark after ten years apart. I also loved the playful meddling from the side characters. Hunter has such a talent for making every character feel real and vibrant. As a fan of her hockey series, this was a refreshing and delightful change! This is perfect for lovers of small town, second chance romances!

3.5 stars rounded up

This was a friends to strangers to lovers with spice! The small town was definitely straight out of a 90s sitcom, quaint and in everyone’s business. I had a hard time believing 10 years could go by without a conversation, especially when Noel’s grandma was there the whole time. My other issue was with Parker’s new best friend, Axel. It didn’t give platonic even though he was married. The spice was good and there were some sweet moments but this one didn’t quite land with me.

I do think small town romance readers will enjoy this one.

Teagun Hunter’s Best Friends for Never is a heartfelt small-town romance that beautifully captures the pain and joy of second chances. Noel and Parker grew up as inseparable best friends, unknowingly each other’s greatest love. But at 18, Noel left their Pacific Northwest town for Hollywood, chasing dreams Parker couldn’t follow. Haunted by her father’s abandonment, she clung to the safety of home, too afraid to risk losing more. Their decade-long separation is filled with longing and regret, setting the stage for an emotional reunion that forces them to confront old wounds and unspoken feelings.

Hunter masterfully portrays the warmth and weight of small-town life, where whispers follow you and memories linger. Parker is a strong yet vulnerable heroine, while Noel is torn between ambition and nostalgia, making their chemistry undeniable. The novel blends slow-burn romance with deeply felt angst, making their reconnection all the more rewarding. Best Friends for Never is a must-read for fans of childhood best friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance, and love stories that stay with you long after the final page.

First off I would like to thank Netgalley and Teagan Hunter for an ARC copy.

Communication is key. I cannot stand when adults will not say how they feel. Both characters went on and on in their heads about loving and wanting each other for over 10 years. They hadn't talked then either then all of a sudden they are back in each others lives and acted like nothing happened.

I liked the authors writing but was not enjoying the story. It took other grown adults in their relationships in order for them to be able to be together. Not my kind of book.

This was a quick read. It defenitely is'nt a world changing, eye opening romance but It does what most small town romance books do, it makes you feel good. I don't really LOVE small town romances but I do love second chance romance so I was eating the first half up because of all those longing, push and pull and all.
A good palette cleanser when you are in the midst of reading all those romantasy and dark romance books.😂

Although I enjoyed most of this book I did have some issues with the set up.

How they went from never making a move to friends with benefits in a snap.

As far as small town romance goes though this one isnt half bad.

Haven't read anything from Teagan in the past but I will in the future.

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tropes:
🩵small town
🩷second chance romance
🩵banter
🩷celebrity x small town girl
🩵childhood friends to lovers


I've been a big fan of Teagan Hunter for years now. love all of her books, but l'm a big fan of her sport romances series. While this book is not a sports romance I still really enjoyed it and it was different and a nice change.

This story gives us a more small town sweet story, it is a story of second-chances for two former best friends, Parker and Noel.

Noel, our celebrity hero, left his small town in behind to pursue his dream of HollyWood. He's fulfilling that dream but hasn't returned home in 10 years. When his town revives the old theater and put his name on it he feels obligated to come back, but knows he will come face to face with Parker, the one who got left behind.

Parker, is our small town heroine. Parker has always loved her small town life. She is now in charge of a project that will breathe some new life into not only the theater, but the town as well. She knows she will have to confront Noel, but had no idea that everything would come bubbling to the surface and cause her to look in the mirror and truly ask herself what she wants.

This book has that small town vibe, but add in some great banter and side characters that seemed to elevate this story.

Best Friends for Never by Teagan Hunter was swoon overload! My heart is overflowing with so much heartwarming feels that I can barely contain it. It has some amazing tropes and the execution was top class. The author made me laugh and swoon and ache and fall hard for Noel and Parker's friends to lovers second chance romance. I lost myself in the pages with the cute small town and it's fabulous people.

Hollywood star and his small town girl
Epic second chance
Childhood Best friends to lovers
Right kind of angst and slow burn

Hollywood star Noel Carter hasn't been back to his small town for a decade after the heartbreak. But he has to be here for a short time now as the theatre is being renovated and it is going to be named after him as per request of an anonymous donor. But coming back means facing Parker. His best friend. His soul mate.
The girl who broke his heart all theose years ago. But the truth is they were so young and he was leaving next day and Parker was terrified due to so many reasons. She has built her own successful home renovation business and she is the one who rallied tor the theatre being reopened. They realise that their feelings were just suppressed, not dead. But can they make it work this time?

I am sucker for the "hero coming back to home town and finding love again here" trope. And the author did it so well! The sweetness and giddiness of their true friendship with the beauty of young love stole my heart. The best part is there are not many flashbacks so you don't feel like the timeliness going back and forth. They are both looking toward the future and the focus was on present. Parker is such a bada&&. She is fierce and resilient and sweet. But she has string abandonment issues due to her father leaving in childhood. She was so scared that Noel will forget her and leave her for shinier things if she moved to LA with him. She didn't want to hold back his dreams either. She was shattered but she didn't let Noel know. They have years of longing and regret and pain brewing like a storm between them and this reunion will let the storm free. They faced the same dilemma but now they are older and wiser and they know how much they need each other. They still messed up bur they also made it right. Noel is such a perfectly charming and ridiculously sexy hero who has a golden heart. The fame didn't go over his head. He is still kind and loyal and caring and protective. Specially of people he loves. The small town is full of some incredible characters. Like Parker's business partner and once upon a time school bully Axel. Noel's awesome grandmother. Parker's amazing mother. I loved how the town came together to build back the theatre. I also loved that Noel and Parker didn't dance around each other hiding their feelings. They pretty much hashed it out early and their adventures around town were equally swoony and sexy. Their real challenge came when Noel had to leave as they avoided it. But the puzzle pieces fell into right places at right time.

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily

Best Friends for Never is a second-chance, best-friends to lovers story, which I'm always a sucker for, and it's set in a small town, which is even better. We've got Noel, a big-time Hollywood actor, and Parker, designing and restoring the local theater. They were childhood besties, but haven't spoken in ten years!

Now they are reunited and lots of feelings are stirred up. I loved that we got both Noel and Parker's points of view. It really let me into their heads and I could see how much they still cared for each other. Plus, the side characters were great too. Parker's friendship with Axel and Gran was adorable, and Noel's connection with Parker's mom, Astrid, was so heartwarming. I'm a sucker for found family stories.

This book was a quick, feel good read with low angst, which was exactly what I needed. It was enjoyable from beginning to end. Parker was super relatable, and Noel was a total sweetheart. I was rooting for them the whole time! If you're looking for a sweet, low angst romance, definitely check this one out!

Thank you NetGalley and Valentine PR for an ARC of this book. I voluntarily read and gave an honest review.

This book was a cute quick read. While I did find myself frustrated with the FMC at times because I felt a lot of the blame was unnecessarily placed on the MMC, she did redeem herself by the end. This is a second chance, mutual pining book about two kids who were best friends until life took them down separate paths. They reconnect later when a town event brings them back together and the love and attraction is still there all these years later. There is little spice and a solid story that makes you laugh and tugs at the heartstrings a bit. Thank you to Valentine PR for the ARC read!

This was my first book by this author, I really enjoyed it. I love a small town romance, this was such a cute read.

Noel is an actor, he comes back to his hometown for the opening of an old theater. The theater is going to be named after him, after being restored. He runs into his Parker, an old friend of his. It’s been ten years, but Noel has been in love with Parker since they were young. He doesn’t want to miss his chance this time!

This was such a cute read, I loved Noel and Parker. These two had amazing chemistry, I adored them. I loved the side characters as well, Astrid and Axel! They were such fun characters!

This is a small-town, second-chance romance set in Washington. Parker and Noel, childhood best friends turned first loves, parted ways when Noel pursued acting in LA while Parker stayed behind. A decade later, they reunite in their hometown of Emerald Grove for a theater renovation project, rekindling their deep, undeniable connection.

With a charming, Gilmore Girls-esque setting, the novel blends nostalgia, romance, and low-angst storytelling. Noel is a refreshingly likable celebrity hero, and the chemistry between him and Parker is both swoon-worthy and heartfelt. A perfect, feel-good read for romance lovers.

When I say this book has everything you could want: second-chance romance, a golden retriever-like MMC, and a Gilmore Girls-esque small-town vibe, I'm not kidding!

Best Friends for Never follows Parker and Noel, childhood best friends who lost touch when Noel moved to Hollywood to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Now, ten years later, Noel has achieved everything he hoped for, but he’s never forgotten the girl he left behind. When he returns to his hometown for the grand reopening of a theater named in his honor, he’s stunned to find Parker leading the project’s construction.

This book was an absolute delight! It’s a short, sweet read that packs in all the feels while still keeping things interesting with just the right touch of spice. You can genuinely feel the emotion and tension as Parker and Noel slowly reconnect, rebuilding the bond that time and distance had fractured. I found myself completely immersed in their story, and the pace made it an incredibly quick, easy read! If you’re looking for a heartwarming, fast-paced romance with just the right amount of depth and charm, I highly recommend this one!

Not normally a small town romance reader but I do love Teagan’s books so I had to give it a read.

Noel and Parker characters I liked but got a little frustrated with them at times, when you find out there back story it makes a little more sense, I enjoyed there journey when Noel return to town to see them grow together.

The side characters Astrid, Gran and Axel there brought me a few Lol moments especially Gran with her witting comments to Noel she was quick with her comes backs😀

For me it’s a 4🌟

A fun, spicy, and perfectly plotted second chance romance with lovable, quirky small town characters to add a dash of comedy. 

Parker Pruitt is extremely passionate about the small town she grew up in. Her business of restoring homes and structures throughout the community is all about keeping the people in town happy and thriving, but also about restoring the nostalgia that she has always felt about living there herself. Her only bad memories revolve around Noel, her best friend, leaving, but she doesn't dwell on that much...or at least she tries not to. However, since she's spearheaded the project of reviving the theater in town, a place that not only was a sanctuary for her, but was the catalyst for Noel and his thriving acting career, it seems it's all she can think about. Especially with him arriving in town for a ceremony dedicating the project in his name.

Noel hasn't been back to his home town in ten years. He left after graduation, and the sting of being rejected by his best friend to join him, and needless to say-Noel hasn't looked back. Returning now...he's conflicted on so many different fronts. About seeing Parker, about visiting the places that used to be second nature to him, and so much more. It's just for a short time, but when it gets time to leave...he makes a big decision...just a few more weeks, he'll leave after a few more weeks.

The moments I enjoyed best, even though Noel Carter is a movie star, he's very humble. He doesn't come across big or braggy, nor does come back into his home town tossing his stardom around. He's actually reminiscent of who he was back as a teen; a theater geek, a bit shy except on the stage, and his best friend in the world revolved around Parker Pruitt, whom he refers to as Peter, as in Peter Parker.

Parker turned Noel down when he left ten years ago and they both bore the scars of him leaving. She has long term abandonment issues and having her best friend leave only added to the pile. Noel waited for Parker to join him in LA, but with each passing month their lives grew more apart and yet...their fondness for one another never truly fell apart. This story shines a light on how youth can make feelings into something soooooo big, but in the end it takes time to grow into who we need to become. Does it stink, of course. Is it a risk, definitely, but if someone is worth it- well, sometimes it takes ten years apart to grow and truly find out what matters most. This book is filled with a sweetness that hits just right and I loved how they fell for each other as adults, while still reminiscing about all the good times in their past.

Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake for the advance review copy and all opinions are my own.

This is a really sweet story - plain & simple. As someone who has only read Teagan Hunter's hockey romances, this is a bit of a departure. Still the same excellent story-telling and extremely enjoyable.

This story is a second chance romance for two former best friends, Noel & Parker. Noel, who is now a famous movie star, & Parker, the small-town girl who stayed behind. They had different dreams at 18 and when their paths veered in different directions, miscommunication & heartache stopped them from connecting again for 10 years. Now Noel is back in his small town for a theater being named after him, which is a project Parker is leading. As they reunite, they confront the past and the feelings that they never left behind...

This story is like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold night - warm, cozy & super sweet. These are two best friends who despite a decade of silence, pick up where they left off but now aren't shy to express their true feelings. As their relationship progresses over the 6 weeks that Noel is in town, both of them reevaluate what they want for their lives and come to a crossroads about whether their original paths are what they truly want. This book is filled with some great banter & I loved the supporting characters. Axel, Noel's childhood rival & Parker's business partner, really brings some great moments that push the story forward.

If you're looking for something reminiscent of Gilmore Girls vibe, this is perfect for you.

🏡 Small Town
💖 Second Chance
🎬 Celebrity x Small Town Girl
🫶 Childhood Best Friends to Strangers to Lovers
💋 Flirty Banter
✌🏻 Dual POV

Excellent story! I am so glad that there was no third act breakup because as heartbreaking and tearjerking as their separation was, I don't think I could have handled a breakup.

Surprisingly, my favorite character was neither of the two main characters, but Axel. Some of my most favorite quotes revolved around him.

This favorite quote still makes my teary-eyed: I throw my arms around him again, kissing his rosy cheek. "I love you, soulmate." "Love you too... best friend."

Best Friends for Never is one of those stories that is just comfortable and a good time.

As a stand alone second chance, (former)friends to lovers, small town x celebrity romance that is popping with little moments that make you want to smile, swoon and squeal all at the same time.

3.5 ⭐

I love Teagan's books, I love her humor and the way she crafts her worlds. This book was really no exception. Parker is absolutely adorable while still being a complete boss babe while Noel is what dreams are made of when you have the Hollywood heartthrob looks and career but still have that theater nerd vibe when plunked back in his small hometown.

Parker and Noel were attached at the hip for a decade as best friends but then also completely cut contact with each other for another decade when Noel went off to chase his dream of acting. The "why" of their relationship being so broken is kind of danced around for much of the story- it's obvious and mentioned that they each had fallen in love with each other but there was some disconnect in Noel leaving and the way that both of them reacted to that change. While there is some awkwardness when Noel initially returns home, he and Parker really kind of revert right back into their friendship- just with some steamier activities. I love the ease of their friendship and how they seemed to still know each other at their core even if they didn't have all the details of the last 10 years.

While I really enjoyed so much about this story and it was so fun and easy to read, I did find that it wasn't Parker and Axel that were really stealing the show for me but rather Axel. Axel had such an interesting role in this story- he was Noel's best friend until Parker moved to town then he tormented them both as they grew up only to be the shoulder for Parker to cry on after Noel left. Now he's Parker's business partner and best friend and is the sweetest yet protective gentle giant. I loved the many facets of Axel and his steadfast support of his friend.

Overall Best Friends for Never is a nice easy read filled with humor, some heart squeezes and some pops of drama and heat!