I really enjoyed this romantic comedy! Main characters Joni and Rem are joining their families at their shared lake house. Little do their families know that Joni and Rem haven’t seen each other in over two years. Told in dual time periods, we learn how their story unfolds. Joni and Rem were both kind and relatable. I also enjoyed the side characters. The narrator was outstanding- I loved all of her voices for the various characters. I recommend this great lighthearted summer read!

The narrator does an excellent job on the audiobook. Is told in a dual timeline. It it goes between present day and working us toward present day. Joni and Ren grew up best friends and their families grew up best friends. In the present day, they are all gathering together at their shared lake house, because Joni's sister is getting married. Their family does not know this but Joni and Ren have not seen each other for the last 2 and 1/2 years. Joni was just fired from her dream job + is contemplating moving back home to Portland, Oregon. Ren never moved away and their friendship has suffered since she moved away.

This was a cute, summer listen. The audio narration was not terrible but not my favorite. The story was a little boring, but I love Sally Blakely so I think this was just a small miss.

Thanks to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for the advance listener copy!

I really enjoyed this book! The female narrator was excellent—she did a great job with both male and female voices, which made the audiobook easy to follow and fun to listen to.

The story was well written and kept me interested the whole time. I liked how it switched between the past and present—it made me want to keep listening to find out what happened between Joni and Ren. Their friendship and how it changed over time was really sweet to watch.

There were a lot of characters, which was a little confusing at times, but I liked the group overall. Everyone seemed to care about each other, and it added warmth to the story.

This was my first book by Sally Blakely, and I’m excited to read more from her!

I loved this book—truly could not put it down. I can't believe this was a debut novel; the writing is so confident, the emotions so raw and real, and the characters completely unforgettable. The friendship-turned-something-more between Joni and Ren was beautifully messy and tender, and the tension between them kept me hooked from start to finish.

The story captures the ache of growing up, growing apart, and maybe finding your way back in such a poignant way. I felt every beat of their history, their heartbreak, and their hope. I already can’t wait to see what this author writes next—I'll be first in line!

4⭐️ SOLID book. It’s everything you want in a contemporary romance. I wish the title was different because it’s already giving too much away. You know exactly how it’s going to end up so you never really get that surprise element. I appreciated the characters being older because there is a lot of pressure in your late 20s to have it figured out and of course, during this time, it feels like everything starts falling apart. The tension between the two was so real. The desperation between the both of them when they finally realized their feelings for each other made so much sense. Of course they didn’t want to waste any time or take it slow because they’ve spent years holding in these emotions. I wish there was MORE though. It was really hitting the spot and then it just ended. I guess that’s how you know a book is good through- when you’re just wishing there was more!

Something that kept confusing me were Sasha and Stevie. Their names being so similar gave me such a hard time as an audiobook listener because I couldn’t go back and search their names to figure out who is who. Speaking of the audiobook, the narrator was great. It flowed so naturally. The sound quality was excellent. No critiques there.

Overall, a solid book. There’s not much to complain about. You know exactly what you’re getting into when you pick this up.

Thank you to Canary Street Press, Harlequin Audio, NetGalley, and Sally Blakely for this ALC in exchange for an honest review!

Well written, but way more drama than was warranted. Every reveal was obvious and every confrontation was cliche. I liked the characters for the most part, but then something would happen that was way too over the top.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #HarlequinAudio for an advance listening copy of #FriendsToLovers. Lifelong friends find love at a family gathering. 4 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5

I listened to this book in one go and loved it. Patti Murin was a fantastic narrator. The dual timelines were hard to keep track of at times but that’s my only negative.

Read this book if you like:
- Emily Henry novels
- slow burn relationships
- wedding plots

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Audio, and Sally Blakely for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is what summer beach reading is all about. This has shades of People We Meet On Vacation but is ultimately its own thing. Friends to Lovers is my favorite trope in romance so this was right up my alley. I loved how this romance blossomed from just plus ones to more. I really liked these two leads. I felt the chemistry between them completely. This book also had a really nice supporting cast that I found myself caring about a lot.

I am still new to audiobooks but I love the narrator. I think she told the story well and her voice shifts were very good.

This hit all the right emotions for me. Friends to lovers always gets me if it’s done with care, and this one absolutely was. You could feel the history between them — not just shared memories, but little details in how they talked, how they held back, how much they still wanted to protect each other even after everything.

The second chance part gave it more weight. It wasn’t just romance, it felt like they were both trying to grow into people who could meet in the middle this time. That made the soft moments feel even more intense. I kept rooting for them, but also kind of holding my breath, hoping they wouldn’t mess it up again.

I felt everything — the closeness, the missed chances, the small moments where you can tell one of them is about to say something but doesn’t. It was warm and painful in the best way. They weren’t perfect, but they felt right.

This is an adorable friends to enemies to lovers and I find that to be rare. It’s a cute lighthearted story and I enjoyed it. The narrator was good and the only thing I didn’t like was the single POV but it was still a good listen!

Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, but I also think that it is one of the most difficult to pull off. It's hard to establish the connection and then turn that chemistry into a romantic one. This author does a pretty good job of doing that.

I liked both characters and thought they had pretty good chemistry. Loved the game that they all played during the bachelorette/bachelor party. Everything really started to ramp up!

I love this narrator and have listened to quite a few books read by her. I did listen to the audiobook at 2x the speed but just my preference.

My only drawback was that I felt the past story line took too long to figure out what ended the relationship the first time and it played out as the drama of the present day timeline.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio of the ALC!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of Friends to Lovers audiobook. I absolutely loved this book. It has all the angst a person could ever want. I really enjoyed the characters. Ugh...Ren. 💗 Everyone needs a Ren. The writing kept me engaged throughout the entire book. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this audio ARC.

This is a debut book similar to People We Meet On Vacation. I definitely feel like this could have had a different title. We don’t need to advertise the tropes this plainly.

Joni and Ren are reconnected at their shared family summer home for her sister’s wedding after not talking to each other for almost 3 years. Something happened all those years ago that made them go their separate ways.

This book is told through dual narration. The present day is when Joni’s sister is getting married. Joni and Ren are trying to tip toe their way through being around one again, having to speak to one another, while not letting their families in on the secret. In the past, we see bits and pieces of their shared lives - them going to wedding as one another’s plus one, being best friends, and experience life together.

This was done well. I enjoyed reading about their lives and begging them just to get over themselves and kiss already!

The narration was done so well. I loved listening to Patti Murin. She did such a good job conveying all the different characters. The production of it, however, kind of bothered me as there were strange pauses between sentences. This might just been my file though? Honestly though, it didn’t care away from the enjoyment of listening to the audiobook.

Tropes:
- Dual timeline
- Second chance
- Friends to lovers (as per the title…)
- Fake friendship
- Weddings
- It’s always been you

This was a fun summer read. A sweet romance book with a touch of sizzle sprinkled in. It pulled at my heartstrings in a what could’ve been way.. i also really enjoyed the narration.

Joni and Ren have been best friends since childhood. They have always been each other`s plus ones for events. After a line is crossed the friendship is ruined... But throwing them together for Joni`s sister`s wedding where they have to fake being friends might just change things. I enjoyed this romance book a lot. I love friends to lovers as a trope and felt their friendship was real and they cared about each other a lot. I liked the flashbacks a lot and the narrator did a great job.

(4.25 stars) IM A SUCKER FOR A SECOND CHANCE CHILDHOOD BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS SUMMER ROMANCE OKAYYYY. ren is a certified yearner

I'd like to first thank Harlequin Trade Publishing & Harlequin Audio for the eARC & ALC of this book to read/listen to. Patti Murin did a fantastic job with the narration on this one!

I'm going to give this one a 3.75/4 and round up to a full 4 stars.

I really enjoyed this one, and I think that friends to lovers is a trope that I've found myself liking more and more lately. The idea that someone can be so important to another for most of their lives, and eventually lead into love is such a beautiful thing to me.

In this book, we get Joni (our FMC) and Ren (our MMC), who start off the story in an estranged ex-best friendship situation, and we get flashbacks of them through previous years to see exactly what happened along the way to get us to said point.

I don't love when a book has a conflict at the last 90% or so in the book, which is why I rated this one the way that I did, because the ending always feels rushed to me (when it's a romance, because we are *always* team HEA).

If you enjoy these tropes, you might want to give this one a read:
- Friends to lovers (obviously)
- Non-linear timeline
- Single POV
- Childhood best friends
- Wedding pacts (always their plus-one)

Closing this out by also thanking HTP Hive for allowing me the ongoing opportunity to enjoy these titles <3

This was such a fantastic debut and I can’t wait to read whatever Sally writes next!

Former best friends reconnect for a weekend after a falling out several years ago. There’s a dual timeline that goes back in chronological order leading up to us finding out what caused their fallout. There is so much love and yearning in this book, and it is a slow burn in the best way. I often don’t love the friends to lovers trope because there is too much inner dialogue, but I didn’t feel this way with this book at all. My only small complaint was once they are finally together, we get to see so little of them at the end.