2 ⭐️ I connected with Theo on the basis of dead mom club more than anything, but try as I might, I could not get into Evelyn as a character. Everyone in her life appears to make extreme allowances for her emotional immaturity and the behavior that stems from it, and I couldn’t understand why. Her chronic illness and her mommy issues read as her entire personality, even though I can detect the moments where the author tried to stray from that. She didn’t stick the landing. Basically, I couldn’t understand why Theo was so bonkers over her when there was barely any personality to speak of. The ending was strange to me. She’s so indecisive, up until the very scene, that I just imagined the book ending and her changing her mind again off page. If this book were real life and occurring in our current universe, I wouldn’t be confident in saying that these characters are together and thriving right now.

I haven't listened to an audiobook that I wanted more of in a long time. This title did that for me. It made me want to have these characters along on each trip I take since I listen while in my car! The narrators are talented and give the character's life! I was impressed and highly entertained by the story as well. So many important themes about family, relationships, work, and self-discovery are discussed. I'll be telling everyone to get this!

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator was absolutely perfect, in my opinion. As someone with Lupus and several other AI diseases, I really related to Ev and I will be purchasing a hard copy for myself.
Thank you for the chance to review!

I received Friends with Benefits as an arc from NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Author Marisa Kanter. Narrated by Gail Shazan and GM Hakim. Eve Bloom is an aspiring Foley artist who has been selected for a fellowship opportunity to help launch her dream career. She quickly learns that this opportunity doesn’t come with health benefits which she needs in order to keep up with everything that comes with having an immune disorder. Here enters her lifelong best friend Theo Cohen, an elementary teacher who is facing eviction after his roommates move out. They come up with a plan to help both of their situations, a marriage of convenience. Can these two best friends keep everything as is in their relationship or will everything change?

I enjoyed reading Friends with Benefits. This isn’t your typical Rom Com. If you decide to read this please keep in mind that it’s not light hearted. There are some heavy subjects that are discussed and that the characters are living through. I enjoyed the witty banter between the main characters and I loved all the scenes with Theo’s classroom (those kiddos cracked me up!) If you are looking for a quick read with some emotion then this book will be right up your alley.

This book has a refreshing, heartfelt, and emotionally nuanced take on the classic friends to lovers trope. However, it is more reimagined through the LGBTQ identity, complex family dynamics and evolves self-discovery.

I enjoyed this story, and would definitely read more from the author!

Friends to lovers and marriage of convenience are two of my favorite tropes, so I was super excited for this book, and I really enjoyed this story. I really loved Evie and Theo, and I really liked how we got to see how solid their friendship was before it turned romantic. I enjoyed the flashbacks, as they emphasized how their relationship grew and changed over the years. I did want to shake both of them sometimes, especially when they were being oblivious to what was right in front of them, but it made the end even more satisfying. I also loved Evie's family as side characters, they were hilarious. My absolute favorites were Theo's class, those kids made me laugh every time they were on page. And I unironically love 1985 by Bowling for Soup, IYKYK.

The Jewish representation in the book was also fantastic.

The narration was excellent as well, both narrators did an excellent job making the story engaging and dynamic!

Evie is honestly one of the most insufferable FMCs I have ever read. The love between her and Theo didn't feel believable because of her actions. The pacing at times was so slow. There is potential though, and it was executed fine, but Evie ruined the story for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the advanced audibook.

Like many others, this one just fell flat for me. I didn't ever connect with the love story and found the main characters unlikeable.

absolutely loved this book!!! perfect summer time read. lovable characters and writing was thoughtful. 5/5 stars!

I struggled with this one. I was so excited to have a romance novel that had chronic illness in forefront. Something to identify with a bit while still being able to escape was the hope. What I got was it reinforced how the term “chronic illness” is a vast topic that can make it hard to identify with because of the very different experiences.

No if the last 10% was reminiscent of the other 90% I would have rated this book a lot higher but on the other hand it saved a frustrating read.

I consumed the audiobook which didn’t help the situation as I had a hard time listening to the female POV acted by Gail Sherman. Thankfully it was tempered by the Male POV chapters when GM Hakim did a fabulous job. Funny enough I am usually tougher on male voices which can come off a bit cringy when they have to voice a female but it was the opposite in this case.

Will some like it? Sure. You can see that by the many 4 and 5⭐️ reviews but Katherine Center it is not. The prose is preachy and uneven and the main character is insufferable. Just because you deal with a chronic illness doesn’t give license to come off in such an awful way. Sadly it’s a book filled with every romance and social cliché out there.

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from MacMillian Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I think this one just wasn't for me. It sounded like it would be really cute. I was easily confused about characters om several occasions, the 3rd person of this one was just really hard to follow. I also just felt zero chemistry between these MCs beyond platonic friends. At no point did I feel like I was reading about two people in love.

Meh. I don't know. I don't think this one was for me. I recommend reading some other reviews for this book before diving in.

OMG this book was a bit of a drag. Evie was just so annoying. She's selfish, everything revolves around her health, her abandonment and her, her, her. Theo should have just put on his speedy sneakers and run away fast!!

Theo was pretty nice, although it would have been nice to see more communication between 2 supposedly best friends.

#netgalley

Lighthearted easy listen. I really liked the narrators, the characters were likeable and it enjoyed their friendship. I loved the cover and play on the friends with “benefits”.

4.5/5 This was a cute story. Really enjoyed both characters Loved the best friends to lovers vibes. It felt like a second chance but not too aggressively.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #McmillanAudio for an advance listening copy of #FriendsWithBenefits. Great narrators and sweet story. 4.5 stars.

Evie is ready to make her career dreams come true, but in her potential new job, there are no health benefits. She has a chronic illness, so that’s not an option. Her best friend, Theo, is a fourth grade teacher who can’t afford to live on his own in LA, and is facing eviction. However, there is a loophole in his lease: if the tenants are married, they do not need to meet the minimum salary requirement.

Theo and Evie decide to marry. Then he can keep his apartment, but Evie can be added to his insurance plan so she can accept her dream fellowship. There’s just the small detail that Theo has always been a little bit in love with Evie. As the best friends try to maintain their friendship all while wondering if their marriage will forever change their relationship.

Overall, this was a fun read. I enjoyed the narrators, and the plot. I would be excited to read or listen to another book by this author!

I love a marriage of convenience book and this one really fits the bill.

A friends to lovers book with lifelong best friends who happen to need to keep a rent controlled apartment and health insurance. I loved that our female main character had a chronic illness and she’d light on how much that factored into so many decisions in her life. There were so many issues that she brought up that I would have never thought about when talking about chronic illness so I loved seeing that in this book. The couple themselves had good tension and their backstory on why they never got together made a lot of sense. My biggest gripe with friends to lovers is when one of the people had no clue their friend was remotely interested and they never were attracted to them ever. To me that just makes no sense but with their backstory and their fear of losing each other it made me less mad that it took years for them to figure it out. The one thing I would say is both of these characters felt a little skiddish to the idea of a relationship itself. I feel like both characters still had so much personal work to work out on both ends so it’s frustrating. I wish one had been a little more invested during their misunderstanding/miscommunication. That would have made me feel a little more invested in the outcome. That being said that little flash into the future with their happy life was so joyful and made me feel so happy. It felt realistic and something that anyone would root for.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a friends to lovers marriage of convenience book. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio book

3.5 stars

When Evie Bloom finds herself apartmentless and unable to take her dream fellowship because she wouldn't have health insurance (as she suffers from Crohn's disease), her best friend, Theo proposes that they get married; then she could move in with him and would have his health insurance. In a dual POV romance, we learn that both best friends have been in love with the other for most of their lives. Will they finally figure out how to be vulnerable and tell the other?

This was a sweet friends to lovers romance, with two main characters who are nice and make you root for them, though the plot doesn't feel like it's breaking any new ground. The freshest part of the story was getting to peek behind the curtain of a little thought about role in Hollywood production: the foley artist. Getting to see how Evie does her job, and how much she loves it, was a nice twist on being in the Hollywood world.

Friends with Benefits is out May 6, 2025.

Evie and Theo meet as kids in a dance class and quickly become inseparable best friends. Evie, raised by her grandparents after her mother abandoned her, struggles with trust, while Theo has been her constant support, especially through her health challenges. Over the years, they dance around their feelings for each other, never quite getting the timing right. When Theo—ever the sweetheart—discovers that a fake marriage will help Evie secure the health benefits she needs for her dream job, he doesn’t hesitate to suggest it.

While the premise had potential, I struggled to connect with Evie as a character. Her fear of being hurt made her blind to the fact that she was constantly hurting Theo in the process. I understand wanting independence, but given her circumstances, her refusal to lean on Theo felt frustrating rather than empowering. Meanwhile, Theo was endlessly patient to the point he was for the most part a push over.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this free advanced audio copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily