4 🌟

Thank you Harper Perennial and NetGalley for my ARC.

This was a heartfelt, cute and summery romance. It’s not your typical grumpy sunshine (spoiler, she’s grumpy — like so grumpy — and you need sunglasses to be around him). I enjoyed the personal journey the FMC goes on and thought the side characters added great depth. It felt like getting to spend a summer in London with friends!

I love absolutely everything about this book. I will definitely reread it. I love Finn and Ava so so so sooo much. And I love Georgia Stone for creating them and letting us all in on their story.

Loved this! friends with benefits is such a great trope and this book did it so well. I will be checking out more from this author

I LOVED this, Down to the cover and everything in between. the romance was too sweet. two dummies after my own heart

I really wanted to like this one especially because it has such high reviews but it fell flat for me. I felt that characters banter often aired on the same of mean instead of funny and was not cute flirty but just aggravating. They also didn't seem to have much of a plan for their life and were very adrift. This book was not for me but many people did like it

3.5 ⭐️

hmm i wanted to love this one so bad because, between the cover and blurb, this sounded absolutely perfect and right up my alley but there was something…distant? almost? about the writing that i can’t quite put my finger on and i feel like this would sometimes take me out of the story. solid romance nonetheless and i *did* enjoy my time reading it!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!

I really enjoyed this book! It had a good balance of humor and heart. A good representation of what it feels like to find and figure yourself out in your twenties. I also love London so that’s always fun. Would recommend to a friend!

Barista Ava keeps her life self-contained. When her flatmate challenges her to make new friends, customer Finn becomes a convenient excuse to pretend she's doing so. But when globe-trotting contractor Finn convinces Ava to spend the summer with him doing his London bucket list before he moves, little does she realise this might help her learn how to properly live again.

Beautifully written, The Friendship Fling is a sparkling rom com set during London summertime. I loved Ava and Finn's banter and their slow-burn transformative friendship. Ava was spiky with so many walls up, stuck in a rut after a family challenge left her giving up her ambitions out of guilt. Finn was an utter sweetheart who I wanted to hug him. Always personable hoping someone would pick him after being essentially abandoned by his workaholic parents who never put him first.

With its strong characters and plotting, I easily devoured this book in one sitting. Georgia Stone manages to convey a slow-burn romance in a way that never felt laboured or boring. I had a major book hangover afterwards and an urge to book a flight to London. I hope someone makes this a movie (and keeps it set in London).

Thanks to Harper Perennial and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really liked this book! It’s realistic, funny, and heartwarming. The MCs have great banter, and their relationship made sense. I really enjoyed it!

This was such a cute and fun read! I really enjoyed the characters and it was such a fun idea! Plus London?? Love.

I love a good "let's spend the summer and hang out but not fall in love" when it's painfully obvious that those two have fallen hard for each other and The Friendship Fling is pure romcom perfection that will have you packing your bags to the next flight to London.

Finn and Ava are the quintessential grumpy and sunshine expect she's the black cat and he's the sweet cinnamon roll hero. Their banter and dialogue? So charming and witty and swoony! I love how this book gives you such a wanderlust for London. exploring the city with friends, falling in love, its so cozy. There's a lot of lovable side characters that you wish get a book, Finn and Ava have such a realistic romance where its there, its sometimes messy, timing can be finicky but when its meant to be, things will fall in line. This book will literally leave you feeling warmer than a cup of tea and have you smiling so hard. It's such a cozy soft romance that I adored! A must read!

I know that a lot of others enjoyed this book but I can’t say I totally love it. I was in a bit of a reading slump when I received the ARC from NetGalley, so I’m sure that played a factor. Both MC’s were ok, they just weren’t characters that I really felt like I could connect with. Just because it wasn’t my favorite recent read, doesn’t mean that it won’t be perfect for someone else ◡̈

3.5/5 rounded up.

This was a super cute and well-paced rom-com!

Banter, set in London, likable and real-feeling characters, and a slow-burn!

I can see Emily Henry fans enjoying this book, especially because of these characters. They feel like real people, they're messy and have their own personal problems, but are still charming and likable.

I would definitely recommend this one! I will FOR SURE be keeping my eye out for more Georgia Stone books.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up

Love, love, love!!

I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this book (and if you followed me on IG, you will have seen my multiple posts/stories about it). I'd read the indie version and was DISTRAUGHT when I couldn't buy it (before the trad pub announcement) so I've been eagerly anticipating this release.

I loved this just as much as the indie version, and still was kicking my feet/blushing at all the romance + crying at emotional bits as if I'd never read it before.

TFF is probably the funniest romance book I've read in the last few years with the perfect amount of pining, tension, and banter. Just enough spice for those who want it and for those who would prefer to skip it, it doesn't eat up a lot of the story.

I highly recommend this book to ANY romance lover, seriously! It's that good.

Tropes:
- Black cat / grumpy x sunshine
- Slow burn
- Friends to lovers

The characters and their dialogue are so well developed; I can 100% relate to Ava and would absolutely fall for someone as thoughtful and caring as Finn. I loved how almost realistic this was as far as what might bring people together and pull them apart. The issue in this story felt real and not like it was just thrown in there to have the equivalent of a 3rd act breakup.

And did I mention that this is the author's DEBUT?! Ugh, I can't wait to read what else they release.

MSO funny and SO charming! Absolutely adored the banter, the yearning, the comedic style of writing that is laced through with heart and depth. Highly recommend to all romance lovers!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A really lovely story of friendship between two very different people who are both experiencing a bit of loneliness.

Ava is fairly content with her job as a barista (or at least that's what she tells herself). She is risk-averse and also pretty grumpy so interacting with endless customers is stressing her out. Finn is in London for six months. He's grown up traveling and is never in one place for too long. His closest friend doesn't have enough time (or willingness) to help Finn complete his London bucket list, so Finn takes a chance and asks Ava for her temporary company over the next few months.

This was a charming read - Ava and Finn have hilarious conversations and it was great to see their friendship develop and grow into something that could be more serious. There are a lot of tropes skillfully woven throughout the story. You will probably enjoy this if you love friends-to-lovers, slow-burn, opposites attract, and grumpy-sunshine tropes (and if you know that focaccia is the sexiest bread!). 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Harper Perennial and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

The book started off great but then became the book where nothing happened over and over.
Read chapters 1-5 to get the vibes
MMC- golden retriever who might be just a gay friend, can’t tell
FMC- massively rude, antisocial, jerk. Happens to be beautiful so people don’t completely write her off

Then skip to 70%- when things actually start happening

Really though, this should have been a novella and it would have been amazing, there’s nothing wrong with novellas and every story doesn’t need 30+ chapters

Wonderful debut novel! Grumpy/sunshine, slow burn, British romcom. (She’s the grump!) So many funny one-liners and witty comebacks. Great friendships already set and some that develop on-page.

Some heavier topics discussed (family member with cancer for one) but everything was so well-written to show their journey.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for The Friendship Fling to come out June 3, 2025.

I love books by Georgia Stone. Her latest, The Friendship Fling was such a fun book. I couldn’t put it down.

Definitely put the com in rom com!! Super funny and very cute story. I laughed out loud several times and enjoyed all the British details! The characters were so loveable.