Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance audio copy of this sweet book that’s releasing soon! When I read the description of this book, it called to me…despite not typically being a fan of 2nd chance romance and dual timelines. I’m so glad that I took a chance on this because Ren and Joni’s love story had me hooked and I just loved seeing how it all unfolded. I loved the PNW beach house setting and the friends/family group. I listened to this in one day!

I read the book as an arc and now have listened to the audiobook as an arc! The story remains absolutely wonderful. Patti Murin is a good narrator, through her interpretation of Ren’s voice left a little to be desired. There was also a few long breaks in between some sentences that were odd to me. The audiobook needs a little fine-tuning before it’s ready, in my opinion.

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Audio, and Sally Blakely for the chance to read and listen to Friends to Lovers early! I was gifted both the eARC and ALC, which made for the perfect immersive reading experience, and honestly, I didn’t want to put it down.

This was such a heartfelt, nostalgic friends-to-lovers romance. I loved Joni and Ren’s connection. Deep, complicated, and full of that "what if" tension that keeps you turning pages. Their wedding-season tradition was such a sweet setup, and watching it unravel and rebuild had me fully invested. The beachy, summer setting gave it all the cozy, romantic vibes, and the emotional depth really hit home.

Patti Murin’s narration was spot-on. She captured Joni’s heart and humor so well that it made the story even more relatable and real.

There were a couple of slower moments, but overall, this was a beautiful debut full of love, growth, and second chances. If you enjoy stories about rekindled connections, messy feelings, and the kind of love that feels like home, this one is definitely worth a read.

A lovely reminder that sometimes, love has been right there all along. 💛

This is a fun slow burn, friends to lovers summer romance for readers who loved books like People We Meet on Vacation and Every Summer After. I really liked the character of Ren, but felt like Josie came off as immature. These two needed to have some serious conversations much earlier in life, so if the lack or communication/miscommunication trope isn’t for you, that’s something to be aware of before picking this one up.

As a side note, I had no clue the narrator, Patti Murin from Broadway recorded audiobooks! That was a fun discovery and she’s a great narrator!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for an early copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁:

Loved this one! I’m a huge fan of the now and then timeline it’s so fun to see the MCs throughout the years and how their relationship evolves. So fun to see a book based in OR and feel the PNW vibes. This book has a strong family vibes and it felt like a summery hug with your bestie. Highly recommend adding to your beach stack!

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:

Joni and Ren have been inseparable since they were 3 years old, best friends for life. Then Joni takes her dream job in NYC and moves away from Portland and everything she knows. Thankfully friendship can stretch the miles and vowing to be each other’s wedding dates through the years. Joni and Ren stay connected.

Until one fateful wedding weekend when lines are crossed, and decades friendship left behind. Now 2.5 years later Joni has to face Ren again. It’s her sister’s wedding and avoiding home is no longer an option, so she’s heading home to OR to spend the week at the families beach house.

Joni would do anything for her sister so she will paste a smile on her face and fake her friendship status with Ren. But sunny skies, ocean waves and spending alot of time together will push Joni & Ren together again - maybe they can overcome the past and move out of the friend zone.

𝙁𝙖𝙫 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚:

“I think I’m always going to be waiting for just five minutes of you loving me like I love you.”

𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒅:

* Childhood Besties to Lovers
* Dual Timelines
* Reunion & Second Chances
* Wedding Dates Thru the Years
* He Makes Her Playlists
* FMC Deals with Anxiety
* Forced Proximity
* Portland, OR & PNW Beach Vibes
* Single POV w/ Spice

🩵🎶🌲🎸🩵🎶🌲🎸🩵🎶🌲🎸🩵

Get ready for an emotional slow-burn beach read that will evoke every feeling imaginable: happiness, sadness, nostalgia, hope, uncertainty, and everything in between. I'm holding back on spoilers, but trust me, you'll feel it all.

Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were toddlers. Throughout their lives, they made a pact: they'd always be each other's plus-one. Even as other significant others came and went, their unwavering support for each other remained constant. So, what catastrophic event two and a half years ago shattered their bond?

Now, after two and a half years of silence since that New Year's Eve, they're finally reunited for Joni's younger sister's (Stevie) wedding. Will they finally be able to talk through what happened, or will they keep avoiding the truth and maintain a safe, polite distance?

Communication is the essential, overarching theme of this novel.

The narrator was simply fantastic! She perfectly captured every character, and I even found myself getting exasperated with the moms, thanks to her performance. Her voice was so captivating and a joy to listen to. In fact, I found myself wondering which experience I preferred more: the audiobook or the written novel. The answer? It was a tie!

Narrator: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Story 4/5

3.5 ⭐️

Listen, I hate the miscommunication trope with a passion, but really wanted to give this a try anyway. Overall, I enjoyed Ren and Joni’s story—Ren is an absolute dreamboat, but their relationship just didn’t quite hit for me.

A lot of reviews say that this one felt like People We Meet on Vacation and I totally agree, but make it weddings instead of vacations. Also, I’m not mad about it. I loved PWMOV and will gladly read more.

Joni and Ren are childhood best friends. When Joni moves across the country, they keep their friendship alive by being each other’s +1 at weddings. It works… until it doesn’t. People catch feelings, a line is crossed, and now they’re barely speaking. When Joni comes home for her sister’s wedding, she and Ren are forced to fake friendship which brings a lot of feelings rushing back. It's told in a dual timeline, which I'm a huge fan of.

The reason I didn't give this more stars was the whole “we can’t be together because it might ruin everything” trope drove me a little nuts, and the lack of communication had me wanting to shake them both. But I loved the setting, the warmth of the side characters, and the overall vibe. It’s got that nostalgic, returning home type thing just works for a summer read.

It was heartfelt, a little messy, and I enjoyed the journey. 3.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Friends To Lovers by Sally Blakely

A BIG thank you to #NetGalley , #HarlequinAudio and the author for allowing me to listen to this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

About the book: Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were 3 years old. They have been totally inseparable. Then one day Joni learns she will have to move across the country for her job. Both are devastated they will be so far from one another but they devise a creative plan that will help ensure they will stay in each other’s lives. They will be each others plus ones to weddings during wedding season, no matter what is going on in the others lives.
This tradition seems to work out very well, until one day when a line is crosses and their friend ship is ruined forever.
Now Joni is back home at her family’s summer home to celebrate her sisters wedding, and Ren will be there. She’s determined to make the best of the weekend, even if that means faking a friendship with Ren, and avoiding the truth of why they need to fake it. It shouldn’t be too hard to fake it with the person that once knew you better than anyone. But as she and Ren spend more days together, Joni begins to wonder about life without Ren. As the wedding arrives, and brings past heartaches with it, Joni must decide if she needs to let Ren go or if their relationship is worth fighting for.

What I thought: This story is told by going back and forth between the past and present. You know that something happened in Joni and Ren’s past that ruined their relationship but you learn about what that was the further you read/listen to the story. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a really sweet story. It mainly kept me pretty invested the entire time. I liked the characters. The only thing I really don’t like is the title of the book, because it’s literally the trope! The title gives the book away. Lol! Other than that it was a cute read and perfect for the summer! All in all I’m giving this 4 out of 5 stars!

Patti Murin does a great job narrating this book! Sheridan really helps to bring the characters to life!

This book will release Jul 21, 2025!

FRIENDS TO LOVERS

Romance — 3.5 ⭐️

Joni and Ren have been best friends since childhood, but after a falling out, they’re brought back together at a family wedding, where pretending to be friends makes it harder to ignore what really happened—and what they still feel.

A charming summer romance filled with all the nostalgia and second chances that make the friends-to-lovers trope so irresistible. Fans of Happy Place and People We Meet on Vacation will enjoy the nostalgia and summer setting.

My only frustration was the usual friends-to-lovers issue—too much missed communication! Still, it’s a warm, heartfelt read ideal for sunny summer days.

Thank you @harpercollins for the #gifted book and @netgalley for the #gifted audiobook! Out 7/22

“You’re it for me Joni. And maybe there’s someday down the line where that isn’t true, but it hasn’t come yet. No matter how hard I’ve tried to will it. Truth of it is that I’d rather be alone than with someone else.”

This was so incredibly cute. I took a risk applying for this ALC since I’m usually not the biggest fan of the friends to lovers trope but this was done pretty well! Only problem I had with it was that for some reason I struggled keeping track of when I was reading present events and when I was reading flashbacks. This made it overall a little confusing but I know the author did mark it with things like “Friday” and “Saturday” so maybe it’s just me!!

This guy has been PINING for her since HIGHSCHOOL????? Are you kidding me??? He was such a massive green flag! I love him. Ren, the man you are!!!

This book follows Joni and Ren. They have been best friends since their childhood. Their families are basically one family. As they get older and hanging out becomes harder and more complicated, they make a deal. They will always be each others plus ones for any weddings that are coming up. (Spoiler alert: There are a LOT!) Every wedding means they’ll have a few days to spend time together. All up until one wedding where Joni is hit with a massive curveball and discovers she is in love with Ren! She no longer knows how to act around him and that causes them to drift apart. Are they able to fix their relationship when Joni’s sister is getting married and they are both invited?

Joni is such a lovable character. She deals with anxiety and is a massive people pleaser. She has so much going on but won’t tell anyone because she doesn’t want to ruin her sisters perfect wedding.
Ren comes from a family of over achievers and constantly feels like he is not living up to his parents expectations.
They are both complicated charachters with actual backstory but written in a way that made it so easy to connect to them. I absolutely adore this couple!

🌸 friends to lovers
🐓 forced proximity
🌸 fmc has anxiety
🐓 found family
🌸 childhood best friends

(If you read the book you’ll understand the chicken)

I absolutely recommend this!! The perfect combination of romance, humor and seriousness. The end made my standards go THROUGH THE ROOF! I cannot say this enough but I want a man like Ren preferably right now please!

This was a nice summer read.
I enjoyed this so much. The title is true to the plot.
Joni and Ren.. these characters! I just loved them so much.
The two MCs grew up with one another and had been the best of friends almost their entire lives. In the past, they almost connected and took their relationship to the next level, but things didn't quite go the way they should. Almost the right person, but wrong time conflict. Fast forward to the two being back around one another for a wedding at their childhood vacation home.
This book has dual storylines. One in the past, going through their relationship and how they ended up drifting apart, despite their feelings for one another, and then the present, where they are back together for a wedding.
We get the fun tropes - friends to lovers, second chance romance, and forced proximity.
The characters are well-developed and relatable. I was able to engage with them throughout the book.
The plot is well structured for the majority of the book. I did have a few times that the dual timelines ran a bit together, and I got lost between past and present, but the writing quickly recovered. I did take a bit of issue with the pace, there were a few areas where things slowed down a bit too much. The pace recovers, but that could use a little work.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for a fun, engaging, and lovable summer read. Add this one to your TBR. Their love story was so sweet!
Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!
Happy Reading!

This is a sweet summery romance with the classic best-friends-to-something-more trope.

Joni and Ren have ben each others plus one forever, so when they head to one final wedding together, things naturally start to shift. There's charm in the setting and a few swoony moments that made me smile.

I found the premise of the story appealing, but I wasn't l fully invested in the relationship. The slow burn worked at times, but occasionally dragged and at times felt repetitive. I did like the way Sally Blakely wrote the internal struggles of risking friendship for love which was grounded and honest.

Overall, "Friends to Lovers" was a pleasant read with heartfelt moments. It's worth picking up if you enjoy low-stakes romances with a soft emotional core.

The trope is the title, and it’s exactly what you’d expect! It’s a sweet love story perfect for the summer. The writing is reminiscent of Emily Henry or Taylor Jenkins Reid. There is a lot going on, but it’s all woven together well.

Ren will leave you swooning. He’s a total golden retriever. Joni is less likeable and always messing things up with her failure to communicate. Miscommunication is my least favorite trope, and it (well lack of communication really) is the building block of the story. I was frustrated with the beginning. I dislike it when a book starts out alluding to some past event both main characters know about, but the reader won’t learn until near the end of the book. It adds unnecessary drama and confusion.

Overall, a solid read. It’s cute. It’s perfect for summer. The audiobook is narrated well.

Thank you Canary Street Press and Harlequin Audio for the advanced listener copy of this sweet book! All opinions are my own.

Favorite Quote: “I thought I knew how our story would go, two parallel lines stretching into forever. But in retrospect, our lives were never destined to take that shape”

Joni and Ren are childhood best friends who now live on separate coasts and decide to be each other’s plus-ones for all of the weddings they attend each year. But when a line is crossed and their friendship is destroyed, they have to pretend to be friends for one last wedding, Joni’s sister’s. Forced back together, the pair begins to see that maybe there has been more than friendship between them all along.

As I began listening to this one I was hooked right from the start. It’s perfect for summer and for those, like me ,who love second chance. Ren and Joni’s love story is a very slow burn but I enjoyed all of the angst and build up to their eventual HEA. Ren had my heart the whole time. You could tell right from the start that he was in love with Joni and while it took her a little longer to get out of her own way, she did eventually figure things out. 

I would also say that this one is a perfect cross between People We Meet on Vacation and Happy Place. So if those are your vibes then this is a great one to add to your beach bag this summer!

Read if you like:
✩ Childhood Friends
✩ Dual Timelines
✩ Second Chance (kinda)
✩ Friends to Lovers
✩ Forced Proximity
✩ One Bed
✩ Wedding Setting

Audio Notes: The audio was perfectly narrated! Kudos to Patti Murin for such a fabulous job!

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely brings readers into a sun-soaked world of weddings, beach houses, and lifelong bonds. The premise of childhood friends exploring deeper feelings had great potential, and I appreciated the emotional weight behind that kind of shift in a relationship.

Joni and Ren’s dynamic is central to the story, and while their connection didn’t always resonate with me, Joni’s attachment to Ren sometimes felt more intense than endearing—I could see how their long history added layers to their interactions. I did find myself wishing for more space for their romance to grow without quite so much focus on extended family dynamics, which occasionally overshadowed the main storyline.

The dual timeline approach, moving between past and present, was an interesting idea, though I found it a bit hard to follow at times due to the way it was marked. A clearer structure might have helped me stay more immersed in their journey.

Despite some pacing issues and moments where the momentum slowed, I remained curious about what had caused their falling out. The ingredients for a heartfelt and nostalgic friends-to-lovers romance were certainly there, even if it didn’t fully come together for me in the end.

Thank you to Sally Blakely, NetGalley, and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Canary Street Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for friends to lovers. There’s an element of second change romance with strong miscommunication themes. Those aren’t always my favorite but I do believe it was believable here. Fun, quick summer read!

Friends to Lovers is a fun and heartfelt romance. Told from single POV and dual timelines, the layered reveals will keep you hooked until the end, waiting to find out how the main character and her love interest will wind up together.

I really enjoyed this story. It had surprises, depth, and so much character growth. I loved the family dynamics and friendships as well.

ALSO…this author wrote about Oregon, which is where I was born and raised. The love interest works for a company called Sublimity, which is the same name as the town in Oregon I grew up in. This was such a fun piece that I was able to connect to as the reader.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story at 1.5x speed (my normal audiobook listening speed is 1.75x). I slowed it down because there were parts in which the narrator sped up, then slowed, so I paced it where I wouldn’t miss anything. The narrator did a wonderful job, and really embraced the character, as well as delivering different voices for the various characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for this advanced listeners copy.

Releases July 22, 2025
I got the chance to listen to the ARC audiobook.

I absolutely loved the narrator for this book. She did such an amazing job. Her voice fit the character so well.
Joni and Ren have been best friends since childhood. But a job opportunity for Joni makes her move across the country. The way they stay in touch is becoming each others plus one. Very creative and with wedding season coming they’ll be seeing lots of each other.

What I liked was the friendship they kept even after all these years and distance. The back and forth was exhausting though. Like come on Joni make up your mind. There were a lot of laugh out loud parts that I really enjoyed and overall great read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @harlequintradepublishing for the ARC and my very first ALC of Friends to Lovers!

Last week was a lot—my first week back at work, Canada Day, and planning S’s first birthday party (seriously, how is she one already?!). So I was extra grateful to have the audiobook. I had a headphone in while juggling life and this book became my little escape.

And what a book. Cozy in the best way, with depth and feeling that caught me off guard—in a good way. Annabel Monaghan wasn’t wrong in the blurb. I totally had a book hangover after this one.

Here’s the synopsis:

Joni and Ren have been best friends since childhood, maintaining their bond through a yearly tradition of being each other’s plus-ones for wedding season—even after Joni moves across the country. But when their friendship is shattered by a crossed line, everything changes. Now, reunited at their families’ summer home for Joni’s sister’s wedding, Joni is determined to make the week perfect—even if it means pretending to be friends with Ren while avoiding the painful truth behind their fallout. As old memories resurface and lingering feelings grow harder to ignore, Joni must decide whether to let Ren go or fight for the love that might still be between them.

Friends to lovers isn’t usually my go-to trope (enemies to lovers has my whole heart), but this one is officially my second favourite. We’ve got:
✔️ Childhood best friends
✔️ Summer nostalgia
✔️ Dual timelines
✔️ Second chances
✔️ A slow-burn romance with actual emotional payoff

If you’re in the mood for something heartfelt, nostalgic, and romantic, this one’s for you.