I DNFed The Friends-to-Lovers Project at 24% in.

This is a short book and I love Venice, but I just didn’t enjoy this and ended up DNFing. I love the friends to lovers trope, but you can tell very quickly that it’s not going to work out in this story. These best friends are amazingly awkward and weird as they try to force themselves to fall in love when neither one of them is interested in the other. I was cringing. The writing feels clunky and forced. There’s no real artistry in the descriptions of Venice, it reads like a travel book in places. I found the conversations between the characters to be pretty boring, the inner thoughts of the characters bland and uninteresting, and I really struggled to care about any of the characters. I skimmed for a while, and things get pretty melodramatic at times. I found a steamy scene that was really badly written. Almost clinical, with no real passion. I decided to abandon the book for something else.

pretty cute romance vibes, but where the story truly shines is the intricate descriptions of the settings. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Set against the enchanting backdrop of Venice, "The Friends-To-Lovers Project" is a charming romance that follows LA chef Daisy Hogan as she embarks on a journey to jumpstart her new life, only to find herself tangled in unexpected feelings. When her carefully planned trip goes awry, Daisy and her reliable best friend Jeremy agree to a "friends-to-lovers" experiment, but the arrival of their charismatic tour guide Lorenzo, who's wrestling with his own dreams, complicates everything. With gondola rides, longing glances, and a city made for romance, Daisy is forced to reconsider what she truly wants: stability, friendship, or the courage to pursue her own passions. This heartflet story is perfect for those who liked "The Unhoneymooners" by Christina Lauren, "One Italian Summer" by Rebecca Serle, and "People We Meet on Vacation" by Emily Henry.

Daisy goes to Italy for the trip of a lifetime with her boyfriend and another friend couple… and immediately finds herself single and stuck on vacation with the male friend, as their partners ran off together, forever. That leaves Daisy to set up the friends to lovers project with her long time friend, Jeremy, since they are in such a romantic setting of Venice, Italy. Will they fall in love? Or will Daisy find someone else, like the tour guide helping with this project.


Thanks to #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequinn books and the author for granting my request to read this e-ARC and provide my honest thoughts.

Daisy and her best friend got dumped, bummer,right? But Daisy comes up with a wild idea: what if she and her best friend Jeremy try to fall in love? Thus, “The Friends-to-Lovers Project” is born.

I read this book in a day and half, and let me tell you, the chemistry between Daisy and Lorenzo? Absolutely sizzling. I don’t say this lightly—I had chills every time Lorenzo looked at or spoke to Daisy.

One week. Forget Alice. To fall for me. It’s possible. Isn’t it? Now, I’ve got to admit I was not on board with the actual Friends-to-Lovers Project. Why force a connection with your best friend? Love shouldn't be something you try to feel. Thank God for Lorenzo!

Overall, I loved this book for its heartfelt moments, emotional tension, and the electric spark between the leads. A charming, fast-paced read!

3.5 that I’m rounding up to a 4.

This was cute. I love that you go into it unassuming, thinking the trope is what’s spelled out in the title, but that it isn’t the case.

There’s insta-attraction and the entire story takes place over the course of about a week. Venice is its own character, reading about hidden sights and attractions makes this a walking travel ad in the best way- I want to go! Who doesn’t want to vacation in Italy and fall for a hot guy? It’s like a dream come true! This is my first book by this author, but won’t be my last. Highly enjoyable and a quick read you can finish in a day.

This was a cute, fun, easy read that had me dreaming of Italian summers in Venice.

Daisy and Jeremy are long time best friends. They have an Italian getaway planned with their significant others but the moment Daisy and Jeremy arrive their plans suddenly change course when both receive messages that they have been dumped. To add insult to injury, their significant others have decided to leave them to be with one another. Ouch. 😣 Now Jeremy and Daisy are left on this gorgeous vacation trying to devise a plan on how they can salvage their situation.

I really loved the first chapter. I was genuinely stumped on what direction this book would go and typically this genre is always so predictable. It was nice to be left guessing for a moment. Honestly, one of my only complaint with this story was that the author didn’t kept it a mystery longer than just the first chapter. I’m not one for love triangles but this would have been a good story to play around with it a little bit.

The setting was fun and adventurous. I loved reading about the gondolas and Vespas. The talk of food and desserts was even starting to make me crave Italian food.

Another reason I didn’t rate this as high was I felt that the MMC had a lot of internal monologue. It started to get to the point where I felt like I was reading a romance self help book rather than getting lost in the romance story and experiencing it for myself. Other than that, I really liked the book. It’s cute and easy to listen to on audio while trying to pass the time.

Finding love in Venice yes please!! I really enjoyed this dual POV contemporary romance that sees Daisy, an LA chef mourning the loss of her dead father and getting dumped at the same time as her best friend. The two entertain the idea that maybe they could love one another and their hotel barkeeper/former violin protogee volunteers to act as a guide to the most romantic places in the city.

The plan backfires though when Lorenzo finds himself falling for Daisy himself but can the two find a future for themselves outside Daisy's vacation?? This had great mental health and disability rep (grief, anxiety, damaged fingers) and was the perfect combination of spice with emotional depth. I really enjoyed it and thought the audio narration by Carly Robins and Will Damron was excellent!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review. Recommended for fans of books like One last shot by Betty Cayouette or One Italian summer by Rebecca Serle with an important message about moving on after heartbreak and disappointment.

First, I am obsessed with the cover and the art is just phenomenal!! Second, I am obsessed with this book and it is also phenomenal!!

📖✨ ARC Review: The Friends-to-Lovers Project by Paula Ottoni 💕🇮🇹

If any place can turn two best friends into lovers, it’s definitely Venice… unless a charming Italian violinist gets in the way 🎻😏.

Daisy Hogan, an ambitious LA chef 👩‍🍳, sets off to Venice to get inspired, check all the boxes of her carefully planned life ✅, and fulfill her father’s dreams 💼. But when her travel plans take a detour, she finds herself sharing gondolas 🚤 and gelato 🍦with her steady best friend Jeremy—cue the “Friends-to-Lovers Project” 💑. What could go wrong, right?

Enter Lorenzo Fontana: a swoony concierge by day, romantic dreamer by night 🎶💫. He’s supposed to help Daisy fall for Jeremy—not catch feelings himself 😬❤️.

This book has it all:
Venice magic
🎻 Musical dreams
❤️ Love triangles with real stakes
😂 Sweet, funny moments
💭 A heroine on a journey to discover what she truly wants

As Daisy’s carefully planned life begins to unravel, so does her heart—in the best way 💞. With every gondola ride, longing glance, and stolen moment, you’ll be rooting for her to follow her own dreams… and maybe her heart too.

Daisy and her best friend, Jeremy, take a trip of a lifetime to Venice, Italy with their significant others. On the first night of their trip the friends end up in the hotel bar nursing broken hearts because their significant others ran off with each other. Enter Lorenzo, the hotel concierge. With the help of Lorenzo, Daisy hatches a plan to leave Venice with a new/old love and be able to finally settle into the life that she has planned for herself. While her time in Venice progresses Daisy has to decide if living a life that's good on paper is what she actually wants for the future.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that neither one of the main characters were willing to sacrifice their dreams for the other while also not allowing the other person to compromise what they wanted as well. I loved that Daisy although falling in love didn't use that as an excuse to sacrifice the dreams and aspirations that she already had.
My only complaint was the use of "Mamma Mia"... I feel like if you're going to use bits of Italian steer away from the cliches.

While the titular "project" didn't last nearly as long as I'd expected, given it's the title, I was actually a bit relieved because it was awkward AF. Daisy and Jeremy obviously weren't going to ever happen, though I guess I can see how trying to make it so might have been her initial reaction to being dumped so ingloriously.

Daisy and Lorenzo, though, were really cute together and it was easy to root for them to make it work. I liked that they both came to their own realizations about what their futures should look like on their own and then worked to make what they each wanted for themselves to work for them as a couple too. I especially appreciated that they took their time making it happen (it's not dragged out, there's a time gap near the end) which made their HEA feel more realistic since their relationship progressed really fast initially.

I'm looking forward to this author's next book!

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

4 stars
I really enjoyed this book, the relationship between Daisy and Jeremy was a super sweet but after seeing how Daisy and Lorenzo interacted you could notably see the difference between friendship and being in love. The setting of this book being in Italy and the culture surrounding it was a great added bonus!

3.5 stars
This was a light and enjoyable read that had me picturing warm Italian nights. I appreciated the multicultural flair and the dual POV setup that gave insight into both Daisy and Lorenzo’s hearts. While I was juggling a couple other reads, this one was nice to jump into with its laid-back vibes when the others got heavier.

Daisy’s journey from heartbreak to self-discovery had some sweet moments. I wasn’t totally sold on the chemistry with Jeremy, but Lorenzo? Total swoon. That said, the pacing felt a bit rushed at times—especially with how quickly feelings developed. But it was only 288 pages so it was a super quick short read. I liked the message of choosing your own path, even if it means rethinking everything. This book gave me a cute little vacation romance, foodie vibes, and a side of emotional healing.

First of all the cover of this book is beautiful! The story was very cute and filled with funny moments. I highly recommend this book.

Daisy and Lorenzo! Lorenzo and Daisy! I must say this book had me wondering what the end result would be but I enjoyed the ride there. I absolutely loved the relationship between Daisy and Jeremy. One should be so lucky to have that type of relationship in their life. Lorenzo and Luigi, a touching mentor relationship. Nick and Daisy, wonderful siblings.

This book was such a beautiful and wonderful read. You can absolutely tell the author did her due research on Venice and you could definitely see the imagery in my head. I now need to visit Venice!

If you want a cute read that will keep you on your toes, definitely read this! You won't regret it!

This book was good but it felt long. It was enjoyable and cute but sometimes felt like it lacked more.

This book was okay. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t pulling me to read it either. I didn’t feel particularly drawn to any of the 3 main characters, or the story. It was well written so I give stars for it being objectively good, just not my style I think.

3.5/5
A friends to lovers that didn't.
In a twist, childhood best friends Daisy and Jeremy's respective partners break up with them to be with each other. Now, Daisy and Jeremy are wondering if they should take their friendship to a new level. Lorenzo is a hotel concierge (violinist at heart) who volunteers to help Daisy and Jeremy fall in love, but ends up developing his own feelings for Daisy.

This book shows that the friends to lovers trope doesn't always work, and romantic love is something that can't be forced. Daisy and Jeremy's lack of chemistry is obvious and luckily, the experiment doesn't last long. But also I felt that Daisy developed feelings for Lorenzo way too fast, especially when she didn't know his last name at the time, and vice versa. This book is a dual POV with Lorenzo and Daisy, and it was nice to get both of their perspectives on their own struggles and their feelings about their burgeoning relationship. I liked the way the book ended and what it took for them to get there, but felt like the timeline was way too rushed in tying everything up for the ending and reuniting the couple.

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC.

Daisy viaja a Venecia con su novio, su mejor amigo Jeremy y la novia de este. Lo que prometía ser un viaje soñado termina en desastre cuando Daisy y Jeremy descubren a sus parejas siendo infieles… ¡entre ellos! Como si no fuera suficiente,se excusan diciendo que lo hicieron porque congeniaron mejor y que D y J serían la pareja perfecta.
Aunque al principio la idea suena absurda, ambos comienzan a cuestionarse si realmente podrían funcionar juntos. Deciden que vale la pena intentarlo, y si no resulta, simplemente harán como si nada pasó. Pero hay un giro inesperado: Lorenzo, el concierge del hotel, ha escuchado todo y ve en esta historia la oportunidad perfecta para ayudar... y también para demostrar a su jefe que está listo para un ascenso.

Durante una semana en la mágica Venecia, los tres vivirán momentos inolvidables que mezclarán risas, romance y nuevas posibilidades. Lo que comienza como un experimento se convierte en una experiencia transformadora para todos.

¿Al final Daisy se dará cuenta que Jeremy fue el indicado o se enamorará de Lorenzo?





Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest.