I received an Advanced Listener Copy of the audiobook for Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter. The narrators are Gail Shalan and GM Hakim. It’s performed in dual narration which isn’t my favorite. But I do feel the narrators did a good job respectively.
The story itself was just lacking for me. I expected a fun time. Fake marriage, childhood friends to lovers…i was expecting rom com vibes. And I didn’t get much of that here.
I did however like the ending. And the survivor tv series references.
Overall the book was repetitive and too drawn out for me personally.

4.5 stars. I listened to the audiobook and read the digital version of this book. The audio was narrated by Gail Shalan and G. M. Hakim. They both did a fantastic job. I loved the voices and I think it added to the overall experience.

I thought this was a really cute best friends to lovers, forced proximity romance. Both Evie and Theo are Jewish, so they have similar backgrounds and beliefs. They have literally been best friends forever, each secretly wishing for more. They both say repeatedly that they are just friends and it needs to stay that way. Their journey to becoming more was frustrating at times, but equally adorable when they finally got with it!

Thanks to Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the copies. All thoughts are my own.

Wow thank you, Marisa Kanter, for writing such a beautiful piece! The title immediately grabbed my attention, and the synopsis completely hooked me. Evie and Theo will forever hold a piece of my heart. They’re both incredibly likable and feel so real.

I especially appreciated the honest and thoughtful representation of mental health. It didn’t feel performative or forced. While reading, I felt like the best friend they would both come to when they needed to vent, which speaks volumes about how immersive the writing is.

This review is spoiler-free, but if you’re looking for a true friends-to-lovers story that will tug at your heartstrings in all the right ways, this is it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter.

If you enjoy contemporary romances with familiar and beloved tropes—marriage of convenience and friends to lovers—this is definitely worth adding to your TBR. Though the pacing starts a little slow, the story settles into a satisfying rhythm by the midpoint and explores themes of family, societal pressures, and healthcare in a very natural way.

I personally found myself slightly disconnected from the FMC, whose dramatic moments sometimes overshadowed the MMC. However, I adored Theo's sweet, grounded presence, though I did wish his character arc had a bit more depth and independence beyond their shared experiences.

The dual POVs worked beautifully and gave the romance an added emotional layer. While this wasn’t a five-star standout for me, it was an enjoyable and heartfelt read with moments that will resonate with many. Overall, a solid 3-star contemporary romance perfect for fans of relatable, trope-driven love stories.

This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I found myself wishing it were tighter and more focused—it definitely dragged in parts and felt longer than it needed to be.

I appreciated how it tackled the realities of chronic pain and how isolating and life-altering it can be, especially when you're young.

As for the romance, the friends-to-lovers trope worked here because the feelings were clearly mutual and had a lot of history behind them. But I’ll be honest—I still struggle with this trope in general. There’s something that always feels a little emotionally manipulative about hiding romantic feelings under the guise of friendship, and this story didn’t fully shake that discomfort for me.

This was such a delightful read! It beautifully blended romance, grief, and the realities of living with a chronic illness. The female main character has Crohn’s Disease and navigates the ups and downs of the healthcare and insurance system, all while putting her dreams on pause. Her close friend—the male main character—is a kind-hearted school teacher still processing the loss of his mother. When they decide to become roommates and enter a marriage of convenience for insurance purposes, their friendship takes a sweet and spicy turn, just like the title hints!

The story is low on steam but rich in emotional depth and character growth, which I really appreciated. I especially loved the Jewish representation and all the thoughtful threads the author wove throughout the book. The flashbacks added a nice layer, and while the third-act breakup felt a little over the top, I still really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it. Big thanks to Celadon for the ARC!

The impossible relationship. Marriage of convenience. They both have dreams to follow, but they keep coming back together.
Theo and Ev are so much fun and have a lifetime of friendship.
I love this story, it finds all the good feels and emotions. The characters have amazing growth. The narration is so good on the audio! Highly recommend!

Did I almost cry happy tears at the end of this book? Obviously! I loved Evie and Theo even when they couldn’t seem to get their timing or their words right. In the end their love was obvious. This was a great friends to lovers, missed timing romance with wonderful narrators and a fantastic storyline.

I loved this audiobook! Not only were the narrators phenomenal, but the writing was as well. I loved Theo & Evelyn's friendship so much! And Evelyn's relationship with Theo's dad?! I cannot! It was so sweet that she brought him breakfast every week.
This book gave major early 2000s rom-com vibes. This will definitely be one of my comfort reads.

Would you marry your best friend to get medical benefits for your chronic illness? And move in so he can keep his apartment? Evie & Theo do and you’ll want to know more on May 6th! The love between friends shows that blood isn’t always thicker. But love can grow into something more. I enjoyed listening to these 2 characters realize that change isn’t always a bad thing. Highly recommend. #bestfriends #chronicillness #fakemarriage

Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with an audiobook for an honest review!

I so desperately wanted to like this book. It sounds right up my alley and hits so many of the tropes I normally love: friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, he takes care of her, and chronic illness representation. However, I found Evie to be a rather unlikeable character, and Theo wasn't much better. I wasn't really rooting for them.

The Bad:

There were so many current pop culture references, which I hate in a book. This is 100% just personal preference, but pop culture references often pull me out of the story and frustrate me. It makes books less rereadable for me.

Evie's constant request of Theo to respect her boundaries while pushing his boundaries with his abusive father hit me so wrong, and it was never truly addressed. Evie also takes a victim stance in almost every relationship, and while both characters talk a lot about seeing therapists, neither seems willing or able to clearly communicate feelings, boundaries, or expectations, while also getting mad at the other person for those miscommunications.

Theo isn't much better. He also tends to only see himself as a victim—usually a victim of loving Evie when she doesn't love him back (at least he doesn't think she does). This is furthered by a lack of clear boundaries and a constant overuse of miscommunication as their default.

The Good:

I loved reading about Evie's job! It was such a refreshing new role for a female main character. I also really loved Theo's passion and care for his students! I know teachers like him, and it's beautiful to see them represented in books.

The side characters are all colorful and fun, and I really appreciated that there was a lot of representation in this book without forcing it to be the entire identity of the characters.

I also really enjoyed both narrators. Sometimes I struggle with audiobooks with dual narrators, but I think both Gail and GM did a fantastic job meeting the vocal needs for each character without pulling us too far out of the story with each POV switch.

It's not the worst book ever. Again, I love most of the tropes, and the narrators did a great job with the material! But it wasn't my favorite, and I don't know that I would read anything else by this author. But I know there are people out there who would love this book, and I will be recommending it to friends who I think will vibe with it. But it's just not for me.

I’m struggling to decide how to rate this one. On one hand, the characters felt fleshed out and the time line switching worked well. On the other hand, Evelyn was highly unlikable and I almost wished they didn’t end up together. My main issue though was the amount of pop culture references and ‘wokeness’’. It’s tough because I actually related to, and agreed with, so much of it. It would have worked in a lit fic and I think I would have loved it. But it was a little too realistic for my taste in romance books 😂

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for my early copy to read and review. All thoughts are my own.

I’ve always loved marriage of convenience books and so I ate this one up. I thought the plot was fun and easy to follow. I thought the characters were really likeable most of the time. I loved Theo but Evie got under my skin a bit but she wasn’t too bad.

I read this in one sitting because it was really fast pace. I think all in all, a lot of romance readers will enjoy this!

Thank you for Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my advance audiobook copy of Friends With Benefits by Marisa Kanter in exchange for my honest review!

I love a good friends to lovers romance so I was excited to snag an advance copy of Friends With Benefits. The story starts with Evie and Theo, childhood friends finding themselves at a turning point. Theo's roommates are moving out and in California rent is expensive and his income doesn't allow himself to qualify to take the lease over on his own. Evie has been living at her grandparent's bungalow home until they come back from a vacation and say they've sold it and she now has to move out. Ut oh.

As friends, Evie and Theo still can't move in together with income requirements and then...along comes an email which says that Evie has been accepted to a fellowship with a top Foley artist. As much as she would love to take it, she can't afford to quit her job and lose her health insurance with her chronic illness. Yes...our guy Theo steps in.

Theo proposes they get married, she'll get on his health insurance, AND because they are married they will meet the requirements to move in to Theo's place. Has Evie had lingering feelings for Theo? Has Theo had lingering feelings for Evie? Oooh, this slow burn takes us through all of that.

What I really liked about this one was they both had some baggage, but they worked through it. In any other time in their lives, I don't think they would have worked together. As stubborn and as frustrated that I got with both Evie and Theo at times, I am happy they took the paths they did and worked through what they had to, because then it made them available to love.

4 stars. Friends With Benefits is out this coming Tuesday, May 6th and should be one to look out for and read! This story was spicy (it's a not a slow burn waiting for that, just waiting for them to realize what they want from each other) and definitely a read that will have you smiling!

Thank you to NetGalley and @MacMillanAudio for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Friends with Benefits is such a heartfelt, slow-burn gem. Marisa Kanter takes the fake-marriage trope and adds real emotional weight, turning it into something that feels both cozy and deeply honest.

Evie and Theo have been best friends forever, and when life throws some serious curveballs their way—Evie needs health insurance, Theo needs housing—they come up with a practical solution: get married. Just on paper. No big deal, right?

Except it kind of is. Theo’s been quietly in love with Evie for years, and suddenly this very practical arrangement starts to feel way more complicated.

Their friendship is the heart of this book, and the way their relationship slowly shifts is done with so much care. There’s sharp banter, real vulnerability, and a ton of chemistry. I also loved how the story handled chronic illness, ambition, and the emotional risk of turning a lifelong friendship into something more.

Narrators Gail Shalan and GM Hakim bring so much warmth and nuance to the audiobook—I highly recommend going the audio route if you can.

Perfect for fans of Emily Henry or anyone who loves friends-to-lovers done with sincerity and heart. Quietly powerful, funny, and romantic in all the right ways.

#NetGalley, #MacMillanAudio, #FriendswithBenefits, #MarisaKanter

In a few small ways this reminds me of the movie Friends with Benefits and Love and Other Drugs.

Fake marriage with best friends since childhood. He has secretly loved her the whole time. Of course he will get married to her so she can be secure with insurance and keep his rent controlled apartment.

This was a wild ride.

Overall, I gave this book a 3.75 star rating. I enjoyed this slow, slow slow burn. Friends to lovers romance it was cute. It was sweet, but it just was a bit slow for me. Evie and Theo are the sweetest couple and they grew up together, and there were bumps and bruises along the way, but everyone knew they were meant for each other. I liked the innuendo of friends with benefits, but it legit was real benefits for each of them like a social contract. There was a steamy steamy sex scene, which was nice. I loved Theo as a teacher, and I thought Evie‘s job as a foley artist was a pretty neat one. It’s something we got to learn about. The pace of the book was just a little slow for me overall it was a really sweet romance.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @MacMillian Audio for the gifted audiobook.

Evie Bloom is offered the opportunity of a lifetime when she’s accepted into the fellowship she’s always wanted. The only thing standing in her way is the health benefits she needs to keep her Crohn’s disease in remission. Her best friend, Theo Cohen, is facing a dilemma of his own when his roommates move out, leaving him in jeopardy of losing his apartment. When the two develop a plan to help them achieve both of their goals, they have no idea that it will open up the door to the romance they have tried not to explore.

There are a few things I really appreciated about this book. First and foremost, chronic illness and pain are not widely depicted in romance, although that has been changing more recently, and its inclusion felt like a breath of fresh air for those, like me, who suffer from chronic autoimmune illness. I am also a huge fan of the friends to lovers trope and it was fun to see these complete opposites (in every way) take their longstanding friendship, and finally, finally, turn it on its head.

All that said, at the end of the day, I think this book is ultimately not for me. Marisa Kanter is a YA author and this is her first adult romance. As a result, I feel like this book is sort of stuck in limbo between the two worlds. In one sense, the writing is more simplistic, the characters not quite as developed or complex - something I tend to find in YA because it’s appealing to a different audience. And yet, the sexual content felt *very* adult-like. This disconnect between those elements was quite jarring at times. And while I do not mind spicy books, this felt a bit much for me. I do love a good open-door romance but not with so much…verbiage. Because it felt unnecessarily spicy at times, it didn’t feel as though it flowed naturally as part of their relationship or the story, but rather was more gratuitous in nature.

🎧 The audiobook did not add or subtract from the storyline, but felt right in line with what the book was trying to accomplish overall. I would rate the audio on par with the overall story.

Read if you like:
▪️women’s fiction
▪️friends to lovers
▪️marriage of convenience
▪️forced proximity
▪️bisexual FMC
▪️chronic pain and illness rep

Pub: May 6, 2025

Evie Bloom is an aspiring Foley artist wanting to make it in the world of sound effects. When she receives an opportunity of a lifetime for a fellowship to help her reach her dreams, she’s crushed to see that there are no health benefits which she needs for her chronic illness. To top it all off, her sister moved out and her grandparents’ are selling the home she’s been living in for most of her life. Her best friend Theo Cohen is a fourth grade teacher in LA. His roommates drop on him that they’re moving out of their rent-controlled apartment. With Evie looking for a place to live, Theo offers she moves in with him, but there’s a catch. In order to bypass the income requirement for his lease, they need to be married. Then they both have a place to live, Evie could go on his benefits, and she could pursue her fellowship dreams. What could possibly go wrong?

I loved this audiobook! I’m always a fan of duel narrations, and both narrators did an amazing job. Hearing Evie and Theo’s story unfold was great. It was nice having flashbacks throughout as well to see how they both grew up was a nice touch as well. Evie could be a little frustrating at times, but she absolutely is just a product of her upbringing. Theo is the perfect supportive best friend in every way. Overall this was a really enjoyable listen!

Thank you Macmillan Audio, Marisa Kanter, and NetGalley for the ALC!

Wonderful friends to lovers book.

As someone who works on films and is also chronically ill, I felt especially connected to Evie.
I do think some might find Evie annoying in her resistance to letting her self have things but it feels very true to the chronic pain/ill experience and there being a lot we have to sacrifice just to exist in less pain. I do think Evie and Theo need so much more therapy.

I think the Narrators were good, they put just enough emotion in without overpowering the listening experience of the book.