Charley “Chuck” Beekman and her sister Laurel moved to a small town and met Ethan and Petey as kids. Their mom and dad were trying to work on their strained marriage due to their dad being away for work too much. Ethan and Charley kept in contact as the years went by. Charley went away for college and Laurel followed along.

Fast forward to Laurel and Petey’s engagement, Charley wanted to stop the wedding so she can talk to Laurel about her potentially making a mistake on marrying Petey, as their relationship has been on/off and rocky to say the least. Charley, newly divorced, asked Ethan if they can go together to try to stop the wedding from happening. They rekindle their strained friendship after not talking to each other for one year and eventually rekindle their love for each other.

Tropes: Friends to lovers, dual timeline, forced proximity, slow burn, miscommunication

I really enjoyed reading Anywhere with you, my first book by Ellie Palmer. I enjoyed the dual timeline and the relationship between Charley and her sister, Laurel.

Ethan is such a golden retriever but so cute how he dotes on Charley. I felt Charley was a bit naïve when it came to Ethan’s feelings. Laurel felt like she was the younger sister instead of Charley because of her impulsiveness.

I think the narrators really did a good job portraying all the voices. I cried at the end when the third act drama was resolved. Overall, it was really good!

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Omg, this book had me kicking my feet, cheesing and laughing SO HARD. If you loved Ellie’s first book, you’ll definitely love this one. No second book slump here. This story is super cute, hilarious and just such a good time.

Charley and Ethan are childhood friends who stayed connected throughout the years, although they are complete opposites, they have maintained a level of friendship everyone wants.

When Laurel (Charley’s sister) decides she’s going to marry her high school sweetheart, who is part of their childhood crew, Laurel and Ethan take a roadtrip in Charlie’s van. They get up to a bunch or adventures and the tension between these two 😮‍💨.

This book sucked me in and was another book that made me realize why I love romance books so much. It had everything I wanted and I can’t wait for you all to read it!

Thanks to Putnam and PRH Audio for the gifted copies! I listened to the first half and read the second with my eyeballs. 4.25 stars rounded up.

There’s so much to love about Anywhere With You! The Midwestern charm, the “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” style adventure, the #vanlife vibes. While there’s plenty of action, it’s really a character-driven story, with relationships taking center stage.

Ethan (MMC) and Charlotte (FMC) are best friends and have the sweetest relationship. I especially loved the flashbacks to their friendship over the years — it added so much richness to their love story! Watching them slowly grow more comfortable expressing their wants, needs, and feelings was absolutely delightful.

I also LOVED the relationship between Charlotte and her sister Laurel. It’s one of the most relatable portrayals of sisterhood I’ve ever read — those scorched-earth, nothing-is-off-limits fights that somehow resolve just by moving on to a new topic, because you’re sisters and you mean everything to each other. It’s impossible to understand if you don’t have a sister!

The only thing I didn’t love was the ending. It felt a bit rushed. Charlotte makes some big decisions, and I didn’t quite buy the catalyst for all that change. It didn’t ruin the book for me by any means — I still enjoyed the hell out of it and would absolutely recommend it — but it did keep it out of the 5-full-star range for me.

This was a really fun romcom about two lifelong friends deciding whether or not to acknowledge their attraction to each other. I think sometimes friends-to-lovers romcoms have overly contrived reasons for why the pair can’t admit their feeling, and I didn’t feel like that with this book. Charley and Ethan have such different ideas of what they want from life that it makes sense Charley wouldn’t want to risk her oldest friend on something that seems doomed to fail. I liked watching them work through their issues, and seeing flashbacks of their friendship throughout the years.

It did wrap up a little too quickly at the end for me- I wish we’d gotten a little more discussion between the two. And there was an apology that needed to happen that didn’t happen. But overall, this was a goodtime. I’ll be checking out the Palmer’s first book soon!

Anywhere with You is the PERFECT summer romance. Childhood best friends to lovers romance have always been my favorite so knowing this book included that trope sold me. And then I started reading and fell hopelessly in love with Charley and Ethan just as they did (or finally figured out) with each other. This one charmed me, made me smile, and touched my heart. I loved it to pieces!

3 Stars. 

The vibes: 
* Summery read
* Forced proximity
* Road trip 
* Family dysfunction 
* Fade to black 

My thoughts:
Ok. Reviewing this book is hard because I think it was entertaining, and I think a lot of readers will really love it. 

The good things: This book FELT like summer. The roadtrip and the van life were so fun. There were moments that had me cackling, and Ethan was pretty cute in many moments. I feel like this author writes sexual chemistry/tension SO good. 

Here’s why this book didn’t quite work for me. I don’t have to love the characters in a romance, but I do need to understand them and I do need to see the couple(s) working. I want to feel like the couple in the book will make it; I want to believe that their love will have a HEA, and while we got a HEA on paper, I was just so wary about all the people involved that I didn’t feel those feelings. 

That’s really all you need to know, but continue if you want the long story. 

I mainly really struggled with all of the characters having a lot of dysfunction- individually and relationally (a LOT). It almost felt like *snip snap snip snap* for me with both couples. With Ethan and Charley, it felt like they couldn’t communicate to save their lives. A lot of Charley’s internal thoughts are how Ethan knows her true self and how she’s never shown all of herself to any other man in her previous relationships (including marriage), yet it seemed like she was constantly shutting any deep conversation down or refusing to talk about past differences. For being her “honest self” with him, I found her openness severely lacking. And Ethan wasn’t exactly clear with what he wanted either. The entire book I felt like Noah from the Notebook yelling “what do you want!?” 

As far as Laurel and Petey, I felt like I was taken for a ride with them too. It almost felt like I’m supposed to believe that love is good because some people just love differently. But I really feel like some relationships are just extremely dysfunctional and even toxic. I’m not saying Charley had any right to the absolute chaos she brought into the picture- but I was baffled when the entire book shows us what a hot mess Laurel is and then she’s like. “Oh I’ve been in therapy, girl and I’m alllll good.” And I was like HUH. No way, Jose. No. Way. Like- YES- I needed to see EVERYONE in therapy, but I saw no evidence of that in her behaviors or the way she communicated or disagreed in any of her relationships so it did not feel genuine to me. 

Lastly- this is such a random note but early in the book the FMC says “god is an asshole” because her airpod falls out of her ear and idk yall. It made me a little scroogy. It’s not even that I care if a character is religious or not- but that just felt obnoxious for me. And her personality basically continued this vibe for me. 

Release date: August 5, 2025. 
Note- language ; fade to black 

*note- posted on Instagram (posted on stories on 7/10/25 and saved permanently to my Story “Reviews 2”highlight reel on my profile) , goodreads, Storygraph, and barnes and noble. Links provided. Will be posted on Amazon after release date when Amazon allows me to.

Anywhere With You
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love a good Minnesota road trip story! This is my second Ellie Palmer book, and I liked it even more than the first!

Charley has recently gone through a divorce when her best friend comes back into her life and agrees to roadtrip to her sister’s wedding.

I loved the peripheral relationships, like the one with her sister! The growth for Charley happened all at the end so I would have loved to see more along the way.

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC!

Estranged childhood friends to lovers is like catnip to me. I really loved Ellie Palmer’s first book Four Weekends and a Funeral, so when I saw this, I knew I needed to snatch it up. I was not disappointed!

The characters all have their flaws but felt so fleshed out and REAL. Charley and Laurel dealt with so much family trauma that I can see why they ended up the way they did. There were times that I was frustrated with the things they said and did, but thinking about their history, it made complete sense.

And Ethan? SWOON. I adored this man. I seeing his and Charley’s friendship come alive and turn into something more.

I can’t wait until I can put a physical copy of this book in my hands!


Thank you Netgallet & Penguin Random House / Putnam Books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and to PRH Audio for the ALC.

This was such an adorable book!!!! I LOVED Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer, so I was super excited to get approved for this book! I would say that of Ellie's two books, so far, FWAAF is my favorite, but I still found this book to be swoon-worthy! I also loved the chemistry in this book.

Furthermore, the audiobook was narrated by Karissa Vacker (who as I have said multiple times before is one of my favorite authors!) Karissa also narrated Ellie's first book, so I was excited to hear that she was narrating this book. Karissa has such a soothing voice, but also a cheerful one, so I think she was the perfect choice to narrate this book, and I hope she narrates Ellie Palmer's next book too!!

I just adored this book, and I hope you do too!

Thank you NetGalley & Putnam Books for the eARC of Anywhere With You!

4 stars

Charley has just gotten divorced (after less than a year of marriage) from the guy she thought was going to be there 'til the end. After all, they were SO alike and had their whole lives planned out (literally). Embarrassed and jaded about love, Charley finds out her sister Laurel is set to elope with her on-off boyfriend of ~10 years. Charley decides she MUST stop it and persuades her childhood best friend, Ethan, go along for the ride.

I truly adore the writing of this book. The author has such a way of tying words together in such a creative but thoughtful way. I enjoyed the banter between Charley and Ethan and some of the events of the wedding weekend had me laughing out loud. The timeline goes back to childhood through college to present day, which I loved as we saw all the ins and outs of the relationship between Charley and Ethan. I also really enjoyed the sister relationship between Laurel and Charley and the complexities of sibling relationships growing over time. There were also SO many pop culture references which made me so happy.

This book had a lot of complicated feelings for Charley (and Laurel) to work through after their insane childhood and the trauma of realizing their parents truly failed them as adolescents. Charley's beliefs about love really held her back from exploring her feelings for Ethan (and Rich for that matter) but was able to grasp the concept after realizing life isn't supposed to be a concrete timeline and that she can be vulnerable to changes with the right person/people by her side.

Overall, adored this and would recommend to all my romance reader friends.

Pub date: 8/5/2025

3.5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this book. It was so much fun watching these two characters fall in love. There were so many layers, and I really appreciated how flawed and relatable the struggles the characters face. I’m not surprised I loved this, as I'm a fan of friends-to-lovers books. We follow a then-and-now timeline as well, but sometimes it felt lacking for me, and I just wanted to see more of their friendship grow at times. Charley, the MFC, sometimes frustrates me. I understand her thought process, but the fact that she was projecting her fears onto her sister for at least 90% of the book didn’t sit right with me, and her failure to acknowledge it and deal with it for most of the story also bothered me. I also felt their relationship was kinda one-sided at times. It felt like Ethan was honestly doing all the work, and you could feel him pining after her, but I felt like Charley never really reciprocated it. I love all the drama and chaos they get into while on this road trip; it was very lighthearted and humorous. I also enjoyed all the inside jokes between them, or them just reminiscing on nostalgia. Also, another note, but the first intimate scene between the couple felt off to me. I felt like it was just placed in, and it didn’t necessarily fit the flow of the book. It kind of took me out of the story for a little bit.

Anywhere With You - ARC Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
.
PUB DATE: August 5th
.
FEATURES:
-Adult Contemporary Romance
-Childhood Best Friends to Lovers
-Celiac Rep
-Love after Divorce
-Opposites Attract
-Road Trip
.
WHY: Ellie Palmer's writing is nothing short of beautiful. Her words are crafted with such care and heart and cleverness, I wanted to highlight the whole book.
.
These characters are built so well individually - so full of quirks and personality - and then they each show so much growth throughout their journeys.
.
But above all, I fell hard for Ethan and Charley's long, windy, and lovely story of a unique friendship that turned into a love story.
.
The flashbacks in this story created such a layered history - these two felt like they were falling for each other for years.
.
There were tender moments across years and years - It melted my heart. I am now a puddle.

I could not put this down! The flashbacks chapter kept me hooked.

Charley, the youngest divorcee ever and aspiring law firm partner, is doing everything not to become like her flaky, unreliable parents (albeit subconsciously). The last thing she wants is to depend on someone and fully show her true self. Naturally, she road trips (with her childhood best friend, Ethan!!) to shake some sense into her eloping sister. What a road trip it is!

This is a soul-searching journey for Charley, and many realizations are made. Ethan, ooohh Ethan, is just there holding her hand, proving he can be dependable. Gosh, so sweet. This was so witty, both the banter and the inner dialogue. I ate it up! The side characters, Charley's sister and her fiancé, were funny, patient, and original.

Somehow this made me think of Sweet Home Alabama but instead, he’s a van lifer and her best friend. It was really giving early 2000s romcom.

Thank you so much Putnam Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

Synopsis: Recently divorced Charley thought she had the perfect life with a husband who was exactly what she thought she wanted. Then her big sister announces she is eloping with her on-again-off-again boyfriend. Charley decides she needs to stop the wedding at all costs, including a road trip with her recently reconnected childhood best friend who happens to be a gorgeous, unreliable, traveling musician.

Thoughts: I almost DNF’d this book. Charley’s character was super annoying for the majority of the book. Too self-centered and negative. I’m glad I pushed through because the last part of the book was good. I liked the ending and especially the epilogue. I do think this book would have been much better if it was dual POV. I wanted to know what Ethan was thinking.

Anywhere With You is the kind of friends-to-lovers story that I love: a friendship that has lasted for years, one character pining while the other is (kinda) oblivious, a "it's always been you"/"I have feelings for my best friend" realization moment.
Tagging along with Charley and Ethan on their road trip to (maybe) stop Charley's sister's wedding was fun and gave me all the feels - I especially loved Charley's protective nature towards her sister (albeit questionable, but I get where she was coming from), and Ethan being steadfast and like a man on a mission. Friends-to-lovers is one of the superior tropes imo: there is nothing like the comfort of a friendship, with the excitement and nervousness of that developing into more!
Palmer's writing is laced with a humorous tone that is right up my alley. I remember loving that from Four Weekends and a Funeral, and I can see that this is signature to the author's writing - I am a fan!
Anywhere With You is a favorite of the year for me, a story that I feel will make a perfect summer read for romance readers.

4.5 ⭐️
This book was such a fun surprise. One of those books that left me feeling happy, & that I’ve continued to think about since reading.

Sometimes it feels like you know what to expect with certain tropes, but this childhood friends to lovers felt different (in a good way). We start with Charley's marriage ending and her newly divorced life. We get flashbacks with her sister, her parents, and her very platonic friendship with Ethan. Charley & Ethan's friendship didn't make it through her short marriage, but as soon as she is divorced they rekindle their friendship and the story goes from there. They had the best type of M/F friendship where they know each other inside out, they can read each other's faces better than anyone, and they have never crossed the line into more. Until now.

I loved getting to experience Charley & her sister's relationship evolve. I also really loved her as a side character with Petey, and wouldn't mind a spin off book for them. I found myself laughing out loud over & over again while reading. Palmer's writing is intriguing and full of colorful metaphors & references that just felt so real & relatable. I didn’t realize how much I highlighted & had a really hard time narrowing down quotes for this. Highly recommend this upcoming release for a good time & a swoony MMC.

What to expect:
-childhood best friends
-divorced FMC
-noncommital, nomad MMC
-road trip
-It’s always been you
-forced proximity
-slow burn
-single POV
-long chapters
-flashbacks
-fade to black
-banter
-complicated parent relationships

(3.75 stars) A huge thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early and share my thoughts!

Once this story got moving, I really enjoyed it! I’d say I wasn’t completely invested until the 50% mark, but from
that point forward, I was in it. My biggest qualm with this book is that I felt like we jumped from childhood friends to lovers very abruptly—I didn’t really feel any build up. My favorite parts of this book: (1) Ethan, and (2) Ellie Palmer’s perfectly accurate description of burnout and toxicity in the legal field. I recently bought Four Weekends and a Funeral on my kindle, so I’m super excited to read that book, too!

Oh my heart. Ellie Palmer has solidified herself as an autobuy author for me.

I feel like the intersection of grief, anxiety, and jealousy following a traumatic event like divorce aren’t talked about enough in contemporary romance. These are very real and very human feelings. This book was written so wonderfully that I could feel the cynicism develop, and then disappear with Ethan. I deeply appreciated the portrayal of the more “unspoken” and “unlikeable” character traits like jealousy and attempting to control others. I loved Charley

This was perfect!! I am sucker for any book that takes place in Minnesota! It’s so fun to see all the cute little Minnesota things! I ALSO love friends to lovers!! It is SUPERIOR. Especially when it’s “it’s always been you” because COME ON ITS SO CUTE! This was everything I was hoping it to be and more! Ellie is SO funny and it comes through in her writing in such a beautiful way. I love the way she’s able to weave in real vulnerabilities and heartbreak with all the silly goofy things.

Charley and Ethan!! They are a DREAM. I loved seeing their relationship through the past and present, and the fact that they really only spent one year together but that year was so important! I loved that Charley was able to find a home in Ethan, in Lewellen! I LOVED everything about their chaotic roadtrip!! I loved that they were forced to confront all their FEELINGS! I loved that they loved each other for a long time, and that Charley FINALLY acknowledged it!! It was perfect honestly.

And while we got most, and the most important bits, of Laurel and Petey’s love story…I could have read a whole book about them!! They were a rollercoaster in the absolute best way! I also LOVE Charley and Laurel’s relationship. It was chaos but they loved each other SO MUCH!

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

✅ The cover: adorable
✅ The friends to lovers trope: give me 10 more
❌ The childish banter: hated

I really wanted to love this book. It felt relatable because the setting screams Midwest and the idea of camping out in the woods sounds appealing. However, I didn’t enjoy how Charley and Ethan couldn’t get their act together.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!