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

While I deeply appreciate the sentiment that is trying to be conveyed with this book, it unfortunately missed the mark for me. It felt a bit scattered, the dual pov plus flashbacks out of order were a bit confusing. While Theo seemed pretty perfect the entire time, I had a hard time liking Evelyn and her journey felt a little forced. I appreciated the chronic illness rep, and the sweet accommodations Theo made for her without a second thought, with how many other things were going on with the plot it got lost.

This book is not for the faint of heart. This is a story about grief and abandonment and being so afraid of losing that you waste time not letting your self love.

I love the friends to lovers trope and the fact that both friends are in love with each other but each is afraid to make the first move is to be expected. With other books, I might get irritated at the situation and reasonably say out loud to the fictional characters tthat they need to talk to each other, but I know that in the end all will be right in the world and they will be a happy couple. This book had me wondering if I was really listening to a romance or if I had mistakenly picked up a novel which was not going to have a happy ending. The happy ending is why I read and listen to romance books in the first place. This book had me convinced that there was not going to be a happy ending. I had to take breaks from listening to it, because it was effecting me so much. I cried toward the end and that doesn't usually happen. Why? Because I know I am reading a romace novel and a romance novel always, always has a happy ending. This book was beautifully written, beautifully performed and it is a beautiful story. It will rip your heart out, but it's worth it.

Did I love this book? Obviously.

The side plot to this book was so interesting to me. Having family with IBS issues, this book was very eye opening. It was a part of the main character's life and did affect decisions and major life events. It actually made this book original and interesting setting apart from other friends to lovers/right place wrong time romance stories. I enjoyed reading this book and was happy with the ending.

Oh gosh, this was so much more angsty that I anticipated, but so well executed, I was truly gripped. Narrators Gail Shalan and GM Hakim were the perfect voices to capture the essence of Evvie and Theo - their voices felt like they were the characters.

I really appreciated the way we know upfront what's happened in the past, instead of witholding this for endless flashbacks. Instead the flashback chapters served to illustrate how long Evvie and Theo have been in love with each other but they kept missing each other. At times their inability to talk about their mutual feelings for each other was frustrating, but with Evvie's abandonment and health issues, and Theo's grief and estrangement from his father, it was realistic. I like the way Melissa Kanter really delves into the psychology of her characters and that their slow-burn growth would take steps forwards and backwards. With all the loss they've had it was understandable they didn't want to lose their person by voicing they wanted more. It made the ending (and oh boy this is when I really did want to shake Evvie for pushing Theo away again - her therapist did very well to remain calm), oh so sweet.

A beautifully slow-burn and swoony romance with to complex characters.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC.

First a huge thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for both the physical arc and audio.

For the audio, I thought the voice actors were very good. I would give their performance a 5/5.

Over all rating for the book is 3.5. First off, I am not a fan of friends to lovers, so I do think that set me up for failure. I also personally found the FMC to be really annoying at times and struggled to embrace her. I do think that if you love friends to lovers, you will enjoy this book! So please take my review as a grain of salt.

Thank you, NetGalley, for approving my ARC of Friends with Benefits!

I really enjoyed this book. As a huge Survivor fan, I loved how much the show played into the characters' lives—it added such a fun and unique element to their relationship. Marisa Kanter did a great job weaving in the strategy, alliances, and social gameplay in a way that felt natural and engaging.

That said, the lack of communication between the main characters was frustrating at times. While I understood where they were coming from, I wished they had just talked things out sooner! Still, the chemistry was great, and the romance had some really sweet moments.

Overall, this was a fun read with a fresh take on the friends-with-benefits trope. Survivor fans, in particular, will love the references and themes throughout!