This was such a phenomenal read. From the very start of this book I was completely sucked in. A project between best friends to become lovers I’m sold and while I love a best friends to lovers trope it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. In this book we follow Daisy and Jeremy, recently dumped and touring Venice together they decide to come up with a project in hopes that in the city of love they can fall in love. Insert Lorenzo here please, he has come to help they in their search for romance but his involvement turns out to be more than they bargained for. This book was so much more than a cute summer love romance, there is so much the characters are struggling to overcome in their lives and the paths they have chosen for themselves and also make a name for themselves in their lives process. I really loved the path of self discovery they had to go through in order to truly find themselves back to the place they can truly call home. I truly loved the book and the narrators did a fantastic job making me fall in love with this story. I highly recommend to all romance lovers and also I got to learn a little more about Venice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin audio for the advance listeners copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

🎧 Bookish Thoughts
This book had potential, but the FMC, Daisy, was hard for me to connect with. She felt immature and impulsive. But I did like the MMC, Lorenzo.

The setting was charming, and there were a few cute moments sprinkled in, but overall it didn’t fully land for me.

I did enjoy the audiobook.

📖 Final Score: ⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5)
🎧 Audio Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
📅 Pub Date: July 1, 2025
Thank you to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.

this was cute! i love books that are multicultural interest and romance combined and have really made a point to home in on this sub genre! i love italy and venice felt like the perfect summer setting for a romance. i love slow burn so i was excited but i did think that in a lot of cases, the story was a bit all over the place and the slow burn ended up losing me due to long periods of the book where the plot felt boring and like it wasn’t benefiting the story. aside from this, i did like the book and i loved getting to know daisy, jeremy, and lorenzo (amore mioooooo).

the audio narration on this was fantastic. i loved the character intonation and definitely has a fun time listening along to this. the audio was very clear and crisp - highly recommend for audiobook lovers

This one was a super cute and quick summer read for me! I liked the relationship between the two main characters! I also liked how neither of them gave up their dreams for the other and still eventually found their way back to each other!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for giving me this ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Was such an easy listen! The duet narration brought the characters to life and kept me engaged from beginning to end. It’s a quick read with a unique storyline as well as a unique twist on the friends-to-lovers meets love triangle tropes. I’d definitely recommend this audiobook to anyone looking for a fresh, quick romance.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to be an ARC/ALC reader in exchange for an honest review!

Daisy believes she has her life all figured out, but in the middle of a European vacation she unexpectedly finds herself single and questioning her life choices.
She's been best friends and nothing more with Jeremy for most of her life and she enlists the help of their lively hotel concierge to help the pair fall in love.
After all, how hard can it be to fall in love in a city as magical and romantic as Venice??
I'm so grateful to @netgalley and @harlequinbooks for the ALC of The Friends to Lovers Project by Paula Ottoni. It was an adorable escape and the duel narration performed by Carly Robins and Will Damron was absolutely stellar!
My only real qualm with the book was that certain parts seemed to drag on a bit too long, but all and all I recommend this book if you're looking for something cute and light and are in the mood for a flirty European romance!

This was a cute, cozy read. I very much enjoyed it. However, the writing seemed...young? I'm not sure if that's the correct term I want to use, but, if not young, then something similar. The premise was super-promising, but it ended up not being what the book was about at all. The "friends to lovers project" was over almost as soon as the book began. I'd still recommend to anyone looking for a nice, cozy, read.

This was a fun summer read, I loved that it took place in Venice.

I thought this book would be more of a friends to lovers book than what it ended up being.
Ultimately, while this was a fun read , I probably won't remember the characters and details from the book long term.

thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc.

The Friends-to-Lovers Project is so fun and cute and made me want to go to Italy! I really had fun listening to this audiobook and really felt transported to a vacation in Venice. The characters had good chemistry and supported each other in their growth and healing from things in their pasts.

Beginning with the content of the book:

I think that there are people who would enjoy this book but I don't think that I'm one of them unfortunately.

I enjoyed the beginning - Daisy is trying to move on with her life and plans a trip with her best friend Jeremy. Obviously, from the title I assumed there would be some friends to lovers trope instances occurring (which I enjoy). The concept of actively turning a friend into a lover is fairly unique and interesting, but as the story went on I felt like the pacing was severely lacking and I just kept losing interest. I didn't find myself being attached to any of the characters and found it hard to connect with them and therefore the story.

It's got a good premise and I do think there is a solid group of people out there that would enjoy it but honestly I think it turning into an almost love triangle situation sort of threw me and it wasn't a plot line I was very invested in or interested in.

Now, for the audio portion:

I felt that it was well produced, the quality of the sound and the cadence of the narrators voices were great. However, I felt like their actual voices were just alright and I'm unsure whether I really felt like they fit the characters they were portraying.

This book!! I absolutely adored it and having the audiobook just made it a million times better! I love the narration and it was wonderful

I would like to thank Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for this ALC.

Daisy and Jeremy are best friends who go to Venice with their respective partners but on the first night they both get dumped. What follows tries to answer can friends become lovers? And what about Lorenzo who works at the hotel that Daisy and Jeremy are staying in, hoping to get a promotion he tries to help the two fall in love but as he gets to know Daisy he starts to have feelings for her, and maybe so is Daisy.

I really enjoyed this book, it's a great beach read, for any who likes a little twist in their romcoms.

I give The Friends-To-Lovers Project by Paula Ottoni 3.75 out of 5.

This book made me want to run away to Italy and find a goregous Italian boyfriend. The chemistry and spice between the main characters was amazing and the narrators were fantastic. Overall a quick and satisfying listen.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Audio, and Paula Ottoni for the ALC of The Friends to Lovers Project.

This was a cute and sweet summer romance set against the charming backdrop of Venice. After Daisy and Jeremy’s significant others leave them—for each other—they decide to try falling in love themselves. Lorenzo steps in to help with their “experiment,” but ends up falling for Daisy… who falls pretty fast herself!

While there was nothing overly exciting to me in the story beyond the setting, I still enjoyed the journey and loved seeing Daisy and Lorenzo get there happily ever after. The narration was well done and made for an easy, enjoyable listen. A feel-good romance perfect for a summer day.

A breezy, sun-soaked escape to Venice with a twist on the friends-to-lovers trope!

I went into The Friends-to-Lovers Project expecting a cozy, predictable romance—and instead, got something much more layered and charming. Daisy, a chef navigating heartbreak and grief, takes a trip to Venice hoping to find clarity. Instead, she stumbles into something unexpected: real sparks with a charismatic hotel concierge, Lorenzo, who's quietly battling his own past.

Their chemistry? Slow-burn perfection. Their banter? Delicious. I especially loved Lorenzo—he's more than just a charming Italian; he’s tender, vulnerable, and oh-so-easy to fall for. Add in a sweet “found family” dynamic with the hotel owner and you’ve got the kind of story that wraps around you like a warm breeze.

The dual narration brought extra heart to the story, though I did wish Lorenzo’s accent stayed consistent. Still, Carly Robins and Will Damron truly brought the characters to life.

This book surprised me—in all the best ways. If you’re craving a feel-good romcom with real emotional beats, a Venetian backdrop, and a romance that simmers until it sizzles, don’t skip this one.

This Friends to lovers novel was written so well. The chemistry between these two was high and I loved every second of it

I hope you pick it up!

Thank you to the author and NETGALLEY for this alc

I loved this book! The first chapter had my eyebrows slightly raised like “how is she going to give them romantic chemistry after this set up?” but the second chapter made it all make sense! I think the one thing that threw me a little is how the male narrator did not have an Italian accent (he was still amazing though).

This book was all of my travel fantasies packed into one book, and I loved every second!

Another a great summer read! Who doesn’t love the idea of spending some mental hours in Italy? This one gives me so much French Kiss with Meg Ryan vibes. I love the moments of them galivanting around Venice. It is the perfect light and fluffy read that makes you giddy to have sundrenched skin and sleepy, dreamy eyes.

The story itself, of course, starts with heartbreak and a bit of desperation. As we have our FMC, grieving her father’s death and dealing with a breakup, just wants to settle down, so her life can fit into the perfect plans she has made for herself. She believes it is her best friend of 20 years (insert fairly boring, yet kind of sweet, best dude friend). Oh, and by the way, he is nursing his own broken heart. As a nice guy, he goes along with the plan, albeit half-heartedly. When the hotel’s concierge offers to help them fall in love, the FMC realizes she is really in love with the hot Italian guy. Their chemistry is out of this world! The MMC has just as complex backstory (he is a violinist who was in a serious accident), and you cannot help but root for the two of them.

I love the found family in the hotel owner. He is the sweetest, warmest Italian man that all of us want their father-in-law to be. Even more adorable in how he “adopts” the MMC.

I love the narrators in this one. They are both very emotive and dreamy in their tones. I do wish though that the male narrator stayed in "Italian accent" the whole time, given the MMC is from Italy. But otherwise, amazing job!

A short and sweet summer romance.

I learned a lesson, don't judge a book by its title. I thought this was going to be a completely different trope and I am so glad it isn't because the couple that would have fit that expectation had no romantic chemistry! but the couple that this book is about were so drawn to each other! Had my feet kicking!
I would have like a bit more emotional payout, but for a 8 hour audiobook it served its purpose in the grand scheme of RomComs.

fo me, this book was just hard to believe. from getting dumped to trying to fall in love with her best friend to falling in love with a stranger all within a matter of like three days is kinda insane.