⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️My review: Charley is sacred of everything...being alone, being in a relationship, her sister getting married, being the reason her sister doesn't get married, pissing off her boss, not getting credit from a client. Everything.

This romance is very black and white: Charley plans everything. Ethan flies by the seat of his pants 24/7. So you know they have to figure it out.

I wanted them together to make him happy, Charley was a little annoying but mostly funny. The streaking in the woods scene literally had me laughing loudly. If opposites attract and history matters in a relationship, these two are the "it" couple. I do like the friends to lovers trope. ;)

Overall a good read, a little wordy and whiney at times but I rooted for these two.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Publishing for an advance digital copy in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed this friends to lovers book. I live in Minnesota so I always enjoy books with Minnesota references. The two main characters were childhood best friends that grow apart and have a slight falling out. They come together when their siblings want to elope without them there.

2.5 Stars.

Anywhere With You is the second novel by Ellie Palmer. It's a mix of romance and women's fiction. I loved Ellie's first book and gave it 5 stars, so I was eager to read this one.

Quick Plot Overview: Charley is reeling from her recent divorce, and determined to prevent her sister from entering a precarious marriage like hers ended up being. Charley decides to go on a road trip with her childhood best friend, Ethan, to attempt to stop her sister's wedding. Along the way, Charley discovers that maybe true love and true sisterhood can't be planned, controlled, or pinned down to one location.

My Impressions: I enjoyed the banter between Charley and Ethan, and the tension was palatable and a good slow burn. Ellie's writing style is unique and has poignant observations about life to keep her writing interesting.

In the author notes at the end, Ellie mentions that this book started as van life vibes mixed with some banter. I think that's an accurate way to describe the tone of this book. If you liked The Passion Project, this book had a similar feeling so you might enjoy this too. I think the youngest millennials or oldest Gen Zers will connect with many of the pop-culture references made in the book, but as an elder millennial I didn't feel nostalgic about many of the references.

The frequent use of similes was interesting, but sometimes took me out of the story. I also found the mix of flashback chapters helpful at first, but toward the end of the book they seemed like they were not fleshed out. The last 25% of the book meandered and felt repetitive. However, I did think the ending scene was well done.

I personally didn't connect to this story or its characters. I felt like Charley was selfish and immature, and I didn't connect with the hippies, casual attitude toward sex, or the strange streaking scene. The book felt messy most of the story. It was a miss for me.

Content Considerations: Some scant profanity (a couple f-- and a few other curses but not frequent), fade to black romance scenes between unmarried couple with some descriptive build up, sexual innuendos, a streaking scene with some explicit references.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for the complementary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. My review is my honest opinion and is in no way influenced by the author of publisher.

Charley’s life may seem like it’s falling apart, but it’s nothing she can’t handle. Newly divorced, working a thankless never ending job, struggling to cover the mortgage, and living out of her bedroom- no seriously- she bought a mini fridge and everything. When her sister, Laurel, calls to let her know she is eloping, Charley drops everything to stop her from making a huge mistake. Charley and her childhood best friend, Ethan, set out on a quick road-trip to the campsite the wedding is to take place. The chemistry between the two feels stronger than ever, and maybe her feelings aren’t as platonic and she keeps telling herself. By the time they reach the campsite, Charley needs to sort out why she wants to stop her sister from getting married, why her marriage failed, and why she may never be able to open up a relationship with her best friend.
This is my second book by this author, and she has become a must-read author for me. I love the way her characters are flawed, they feel real. The tension between Ethan and Charley was everything. I really enjoyed their playfulness. As Charley said, “the anticipation is everything,” and I could not agree more!

Anywhere With You by Ellie Palmer is a childhood friends-to-lovers, second chance romance. Charley is newly divorced when her sister announces plans to elope. Ethan is a musician, living out of his van and embracing the traveling life. There were a lot of really fun and funny moments in this novel and I loved the banter between the main characters. I did struggle with some plot points and believability of the story, but overall it was a fun romcom read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I know friends to lovers sometimes gets a bad rep. But I love it! The angst always has me clutching my chest. And this book is exactly why I love this trope.

Expect 👉🏼 Friends to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Opposites Attract, Mutual Pining, Only One Bed (Van), It’s Always Been You

Charley is freshly divorced and her view of love has been severely tarnished. So when her sister decides to elope with her on-again/off-again boyfriend, Charley knows she must stop the wedding at all costs. She convinces her childhood best friend Ethan to drive her to the wedding. In close proximity, Charley finds it harder to ignore the feelings for Ethan that are decidedly more than friendly.

The tension between these two!!! Whew. They were so clearly obsessed with one another and scared to wreck their friendship but each agonizing moment was awesome.

Ellie has a way of pulling me into a story that just makes me want to live in it. I feel like I’m experiencing the book around me and I just loved every moment. She is a must read author for me!

Thank you Putnam for the gifted arc!

Ellie Palmer’s winning debut, Four Weekends and a Funeral was a standout read for me last year. Now, she returns with another charming rom com, a second chance romance between childhood best friends Ethan and Charley.

After a painful rift that left them both reeling, they are back in each other’s lives and road-tripping to try and stop Charley’s sister’s wedding. So, you know — your standard we-haven’t-spoken-in-a-year-and-I’m-still-so-mad-at-you-but-also-I-missed-you-so-much-it-hurt-let’s-trap-ourselves-in-a-van-and-drive-for-hours scenario. It’s so fun.

Ethan and Charley’s banter and chemistry are to die for and the specificity of Ellie’s humor brought me such joy. Come for the forced proximity, stay for the well-earned emotions. It’s a lovely rom com full of nostalgia, longing and hope.

Anywhere With You by Ellie Palmer comes out August 5th.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. I always love me some childhood friends to lovers with some flashbacks to those earlier experiences with one another. I thought the supporting characters were a hoot. I love how they balanced out one another and especially for the FMC to take a step back and realize there is so much more than a job and this steady(boring)life style. I am glad they get to adventure together.

Had the potential to be a really great best friends to lovers book, but it fell a little short for me. I did love their nicknames but dancing around their feelings was annoying. And her sister was awful!

I am growing to love Ellie Palmer's style of writing. It's casual, relatable, current, and her stories are sweet. Can't wait for the next!
#netgalley #penguingroupputnam. Publishing August 5, 2025!

I didn’t believe any aspect of this romance for a second, but I still was engaged enough throughout the read.

Type A FMC and Type B MMC childhood friends to lovers. I just don’t buy it. Also, I get icked out by the idea of someone “being one sidedly in love with” someone else so much. Like move on. You’re an adult and your brain is fully developed.

The sister bothered me a lot too. I get they are basically trauma bonded, but the sisters are Not Nice to each other but forgive so quickly. Couldn’t be me and sister. We actually like each other.

Petey was kind of the other character that I felt made sense. All his actions throughout the book, flashbacks and present were in line I felt.

And as someone who works at a law firm, some aspects of the depiction felt accurate and others felt like the author only watched Suits for their research.

I don’t know. I didn’t hate it, but for loving Four Weekends and a Funeral, this fell flat.

In this friends to lovers rom com, Charley is a young and newly divorced woman trying to figure out what her new life will be like. She’s cynical about marriage and then receives a call from her sister that she will be marrying her childhood friend. Charley decides she needs to stop her sister’s impulsive decision and enlists her other best friend, Ethan, to help.

I really loved this author’s debut novel and though this one didn’t strike me in quite the same way, it was still an enjoyable read. Charley isn’t the most likable character but she is relatable in the sense that she thinks she knows what’s best and wants to help. There are fun scenes related to the wedding and road trip scattered throughout that add levity, along with flashbacks to Ethan and Charley’s childhood friendship. I think ultimately it just lacked that special chemistry and lovable main characters that drew me in, making it an average read instead of a really good one. However, readers who enjoy road trip romance, van life, and friends to lovers trope may really love this book!

Thank you to Ellie Palmer and Putnam books for the arc and opportunity to be an early reader and reviewer.

5⭐️

What can I really say other than: I really loved this book.
It was funny as hell. I was smiling, giggling and sharing screenshots with friends the entire time.

I adored so many things:
- “could never be me”
- the dark and bright sides
- the minimum of two drinks at all times
- the nicknames

I could go on. This is a classic friends-to-lovers romance, but also screams second/missed chances with past and present timelines (Present day timeline being a bit stronger IMO). You’ll find plenty of classic tropes here and wicked-good banter. There’s excellent spark and sexual tension despite ultimately fading-to-black.

I enjoyed Ellie Palmer’s debut, but this one really blew me away.


Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the set up of this romance. It was a friends to lovers that featured chapters highlighting their friendship from their teenage years to present. I thought the pacing of the whole book was really well done. However, Charley did and said some things to her love interest and her sister that I felt were a little too mean. This lead me to have some trouble empathizing with her character.

Read if you like:
Dean from the Bachelor franchise
Childhood friends to lovers
Van life
He’s loved her all along
Opposites attract
Your sister
Spontaneous weddings
“Never too early to start over”


I really enjoyed this one. It was charming and chaotic (that streaking scene lol). It showed us so much character growth in the main characters’. Very light hearted and easy to read.

I really liked this one! I could definitely feel the couple's chemistry through the page and even though Charley's choices drove me insane sometimes, they were realistic. It definitely made sense why she was hesitant to be with Ethan, even though I just wanted to smash their faces together sometimes. It was definitely closer to a 'closed-door' romance than I was expecting, but that didn't take away from the book for me.

I absolutely love childhood friends to lovers, and so I was so excited for this book, and even more excited when I finished it and liked how it went. I especially liked how it really told why they weren’t together earlier, other than just the normal no one admitted their feelings.

The whole whirlwind trip they Ethan and Charley go on is both hilarious and character building. The side characters in this book were ridiculous (and sometimes annoying) but ultimately lovable. I also liked how the flashbacks were done—they added to the story and were placed just right to make sense with what was going on in the present.

Honestly the only reason this book wasn’t five stars for me was because of Charley and how resistant to seeing any other point of view other than her own, and although she eventually had some character development, it just took so long that she annoyed me for most of the book.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of the best books I’ve been granted on NetGalley!

I am a huge fan of Ellie Palmer, and this book is even better than her first.

This book takes the reader on a romantic adventure between the opposites that attract. While reading this cute romantic getaway from life, it filled me with lightheartedness, happiest and hope. This book felt very real, despite being fiction. Palmer did a wonderful job at filling in the timeline with their past relationship as friends, and showing us two deep characters.

Both Ethan and Charley are relatable characters, with interesting back stories.


My only complaint about this book is that the length is just a tad too long to be a “quick read” romance suggestion.

Anywhere With You is a super cute childhood friends-to-lovers road trip. There are so many parts of this book that are utterly ridiculous but in a good way. I am talking cackling late at night funny.

Charley Beekman is struggling. She is overworked, underpaid, and the youngest divorcee at the restaurant. She has resigned herself to this life until her spirited sister decides to get married in the Minnesota woods, and everything changes. I enjoyed Charley's character growth and her ability to take hold of the life she deserved. I work in law and found her frustratingly relatable. It took so many years to stop working for people who didn't appreciate me. Be warned that her growth takes time. I have seen reviewers call her selfish and frustrating, which I understand. However, I think her actions are warranted, considering her backstory.

Ethan. Oh, Ethan. You beautiful, carefree, musical man. Ethan is the perfect counterpart for Charley. I love how he both challenged her and supported her in equal measure. He made her earn him, and I appreciated that.

If you are looking for a fun road trip with a dash of finding yourself and a whole lot of angst, I highly recommend it.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐ rounded up to 4 ⭐

- childhood friends to lovers
- secret pining
- road trip
- opposites attract

This is a cute, funny and emotionally intelligent story. Charley is the corporate girlie, serious and type A who wants to make plans and settle down. She's finalizing her divorce and coming to terms with what her life looks like post divorce, and her childhood friend Ethan comes back into her life. He ends up driving her up to her sisters impromptu wedding that she's trying to break up.

I'm trying to figure out what exactly wasn't clicking for me, but I almost felt like they kissed too soon, and it was around the 40% mark. I think Charley's inner dialogue was lacking the PINING I needed. It was clear from Ethans actions and lingering glances that he obviously always harbored feelings towards Charley, but even when Charley was realizing she was jealous in college, I didn't really FEEL it from her. The story is told in first person, single POV, present tense and past tense. The past gives us glimpses into how Charley and Ethan met, how they stayed in touch and ended up at the same college.

Would still recommend and would read another book by this author!