RECAP:Joni and Ren have been best friends since childhood, keeping their bond strong by being each other’s wedding season plus-ones every year—even after Joni moves across the country. But when a line is crossed, their once-unbreakable friendship falls apart. Now, back at their families’ shared summer home for her sister’s wedding, Joni is determined to make the week perfect, even if it means pretending things with Ren are fine. As old memories resurface and quiet moments turn tender, Joni begins to wonder what her life means without him—and whether their story is truly over, or just waiting for a second chance.

REVIEW: This is like a combo of People We Meet on Vacation and Happy Place - although I didn't enjoy it as much as I do EmHen's books, I still think this would be a nice read for a beach day. As the name suggests, it's (surprise, surprise) the friends to lovers trope, with a dash of second chance romance. It did move along pretty steadily, but overall, I think it could have been a little bit of a shorter book.

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

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely was an instant five star read for me!

Joni and Ren have been best friends since childhood, bound together by years of memories and an unspoken something more. Now, as they wade through adulthood and the endless stream of weddings that come with it, they make a pact to always be each other’s plus one. No awkward setups, no pressure, no feelings (lol).

The story flips between past and present weddings, slowly piecing together their friendship and the tension that’s been quietly simmering beneath it for years. When they reunite for Joni’s sister’s wedding at their old family vacation home, everything they’ve been avoiding rises to the surface. They haven't seen each other for 2 and a half years and now have to pretend they've been buddy buddy in front of their families and friends.

This book was like if Happy Place, People We Meet on Vacation, and The Summer I Turned Pretty had a threesome and conceived a love child.

I loved every second of Joni and Ren’s slow burn love story. The chemistry is perfect. The secondary characters we also amazing.

This is a perfect summer beach read and it's one I know I'll pick up again and again to help with a reading slump.

Thank you so much to Sally Blakely, Harlequin, and NetGalley for an ALC!

Thank you Netgalley for my audiobook copy of Friends To Lovers by Sally Blakely in exchange for my honest review. This is Blakely's debut novel, but you'd never think that!
.
.
This is a perfect summer read for you to round out the summer of 2025 with! Joni and Ben are childhood best friends and have committed to being eachother's plus ones for big events...until they're not friends anymore...but no one knows it. So...when Joni's sister is getting married and they're expected to be around eachother like they're best friends that talk all the time, what will happen?
.
.
This story alternates between the past and present and little bits of what happened between them in the past get dropped just enough that you can't put the book down because you need to know what happened. It isn't as if it was some huge blowout fight because they still seem ok...so, what is it? The writing was absolutely superb!
.
.
This is a great second chance romance that truly is a friends to lovers tale and will have you rooting for Ben and Joni the entire time. Definitely check this one out, 4 stars from me!

The premise of being eachothers' plus ones isn't new... and friends to lovers isn't really my favourite trope... but regardless, I ended up enjoying this story WAY more than I expected to!
The story was told with dual timelines (and listening to the audiobook there was a couple times I wasn't sure if I was in the past or present.. but that was my fault with multitasking! Lol).
The two main characters grew on me and I loved the cast of side characters as well. I wish there had been more yearning between the the main characters though.
Overall it was a fun story and the narrator really brought it to life.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Audio for an advanced audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

FRIENDS TO LOVERS, By Sally Blakely

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️/5

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! To the point where I went to see what else I could read by Sally Blakely and was devastated that this is her DEBUT! Well done, Sally👏🏻❤️ immediately followed on social media so I can keep up with what her next project is.

The story follows estranged best friends, Joni and Ren, as they see each other for the first time after 2.5 years.

This is slow burn, and so worth it. 100% recommend. Off to buy a physical copy now because it needs to be on my shelf.

#dualtimeline #friendstolovers #familyfriends #secrets #plusone

I am self-imposing a ban on reading romances with the friends-to-lovers trope because this book made me freaking cry. Sometimes it seems like this kind of relationship wouldn't feel as high stakes, but there's so many layers of history, connection, and yearning between Joni and Ren, who are truly best friends. Ren is down bad and Joni's anxious attachment style and self sabotage were a little too relatable, but it caused all the angst you want in a summer romance!

"I'd rather be alone than with someone else." PERIODDD. 😌

I had multiple ways to read this book, but I highly recommend the audio. Patti Murrin is really that girl for narrating romance! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Harlequin for the eARC and ALC.

Friends to Lovers is a sweet story of two best friends who have always be the other's date to weddings, but never really each other's date. It explores the friendship of Joni and Ren who have grown up together and have moved apart and have decided that no matter what they would do their best to ensure they never leave the other's lives be it phone calls on a regular basis to keep up or plus ones to weddings.

Joni and Ren love each other, but they must also face the fact that their love is more than platonic and what that means for their futures.

Thank you Netgalley and to Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press as well as the author for providing me with this audio ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute book, but FMC was annoying imo. Ren, the MMC, was amazing, sweet, great friend, willing to do anything for Joni. Joni, the FMC though...ehhhh. I just found her annoying. Especially how she just left without explaining why and cut him off for 2.5 years. Couldn't just tell him? Couldn't have open communication? And then she tells him she wants him to wait?? after all this waiting he's already done??? UGHHH!
Anyways....it was a good read just annoyed me. Cute ending though.

Friends to Lovers

This is the sweetest childhood friends to lovers story that follows Joni and Ren. This slow burn is full of angst, second chances, and family. The summer backdrop makes this the perfect beach read. If you are looking for a story with emotion depth, witty banter, and growth this book is for you.

Patti Murin did an amazing job narrating Friends to Lovers. I loved her tone and deliverance; I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook.

Friends to Lovers follows Joni and Ren over the years as they go to several wedding as each other's plus ones, until they end up at Joni's sister's wedding after a falling out left them not speaking for two years. The lifelong friends have one weekend to either make up as friends, cross the line into something more, or continue on not speaking.

I'm not really sure what to say about this one except that is was so incredibly mid. There was nothing wrong with the book, but I found it kind of a chore to get through. I think the book struggled with having the main characters have so much history and chemistry that we barely even felt. I know we got glimpses into the past of them, but it was not sufficient for me to really feel invested in their relationship at all.

I enjoyed the family dynamic and cast of characters, but I was underwhelmed by how little amount of time we spent on Joni's relationship with her mother and the resolution that came from it.

Overall, pick it up if you want a quick summer romance, but it didn't land for me.

Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for this advanced listener's copy!

Sally Blakely's debut romance was the perfect summer read! Split between then and now chapters, the intrigue of why Joni and Ren fell out drove me through the pages, and their slow build from "friends" to lovers had a satisfying payoff. With a wonderfully diverse supporting cast and beautiful backdrop, I can see this one being a new favorite for many readers who ache for Emily Henry's atmospheric writing.

A romance Emily Henry would be proud of!

I was actually blown away by this book and was not expecting it to be that good. The title said "Friends to Lovers" so I wasn't really expecting it to be second-chance (not my favorite trope), but I still really enjoyed it. This was such a high quality, summer, romance read. You could have told me Emily Henry wrote this book and I would have believed you. I also love the workaholic-discovers-work-isn't-everything trope. I wish more people would have the awakening that Joni has. Work should no be your life. You can enjoy work, you can make life choices for work, but don't throw away everything you care about for a job. It's just a job and it wont love you back.

This was marketed as The Summer I Turned Pretty for adults, but there's no "Jeremiah".

I could listen to Patti Murin's voice FOREVER! She did such a good job, as always!

Tropes
friends to more than friends to no longer friends to lovers (this should be the real title)
second chance romance
forced proximity
summer vacation wedding
slow burn (mostly off page/ jumping timelines)
he falls first

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for the opportunity to listen and read the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A blast of a romantic debut!

I really appreciated that all of the characters were easily likable—lovable even. I felt a strong connection to Stevie in particular, and I realllly wished we got her book before she found her HEA! I’d love to see more of her in the future, even if it’s just as a side character.

The music taste was so good! I loved how it wasn’t TikTokified music; it was real music. Also, these aesthetics are going to be so fun to make into a bookstagram post in the future! I’m really looking forward to it.

Ren and Joni… my gosh, the way these two love each other shattered my heart in the best way. She is literally ALL HE SEES in a crowded room full of people; his eyes always find hers, and it’s so dang adorable I could cry of pure agony that I don’t have this kind of love. I eat up a good friends-to-lovers; I truly think it’s the most beautiful trope. Having someone who knows you inside and out and yet chooses to love you anyway—it’s unconditional.

I didn’t completely connect with the story like I wish I did, but I can’t quite tell you why because I don’t even really know myself… But that’s the only reason this is getting a little bit of a lower rating.

The audiobook narrator was perfect for this story! She inflicted a lot of emotion in her voice as she delivered every single line with ease; I felt even more pulled into the story. She made it feel like a movie!

Audiobook: 4.3 ★
Book itself: 3.3 ★

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾 & 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠!

Joni and Ren’s story is so sweet. This was a perfect summer read full of heartfelt love, an “it’s always been you” and main characters that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. A lovely poolside, cozy romance. Even though time and life events separate the two I love how they come together to be each other’s wedding date!

The narrator for the audiobook was wonderful and I felt so immersed in the plot with her!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

This was such a great romance. I really fell for and enjoyed the characters, the premise, and the complicated relationships. I thought Sally Blakely did a great job of creating a dynamic push-pull between the characters and building tension. This was a perfect summer read, lots of beachy vibes, summer weddings, and sweet emotions. Super fun read for romance lovers!

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The readers did an amazing job and made it very enjoyable. Definitely would read this another one of Sally Blakely’s books!

Friends to lovers follows Joni and Ren, childhood best friends who many years ago agreed to be each other’s plus ones to weddings. After lines are crossed when Joni realizes she has feelings for Ren, they have a falling out and don’t speak for 2 years. That’s until they’re forced to face each other at their families shared beach house for Joni’s sister’s wedding, and Joni is set on making this week perfect, even if that means she has to pretend Ren and her are still best friends.

I loved this so much. Summer vibes, forced proximity, second chance deliciousness and YEARNING. It gave me all the Emily Henry and Jenny Han summer beach read vibes and was a really fun read. An incredible debut, I’m really excited to see where Sally Blakely takes us next! A definite must read if you’re looking for a fun summer friends to lovers romance.

Thank you to Harlequin Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinions.

4.5⭐️ An absolute solid friends to lovers story. There is some time jumping that is a bit confusing at times but worth it for the back story. That’s 100% a me thing especially reading audiobooks. My absolute favorite was the sleep talking. So cute and funny.

5⭐️ Narration was wonderful by Patti Murin. There were some big personalities in this story and no one got lost in it all. Always appreciate that ability.

Joni has arrived early to the family’s summer home for her sister’s wedding. What she doesn’t expect is Ren to also be early. Too bad they haven’t really talked. Having both families so close for so many years, they were once inseparable. Always being each other’s plus one to weddings. But one wedding, things went a little further in their friendship. Now Joni and Ren will have to face the past and admit some hard truths to themselves and their family.

Thank you to @netgalley, @harlequinbooks, and the author for the advanced listener copy.

Thank you NetGalley and harlequin audio for the ALC
3.5/5 ⭐️

Tropes:
🩷Friends to lovers
🩷He falls first
🩷Second chance
🩷Forced proximity

I love a good friends to lovers romance!
This book was pretty good! The tension between the two characters was really good!
I feel like it could have been shorter but overall it was a decent read!

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I got about 50% on before finally accepting that this book wasn't giving what I need from a friend's to lovers story. Here's the thing: friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes but it only works when you see how good they are as friend because that makes you then root for the characters to take the next step towards a romantic relationship because you already see how compatible they are. I was missing all of that in this book. I know Wren and Jonie are best friends but I only know this because it's told to me not because I actually see it in the story. This is a pet peeve for me because it usually means the story lacks depth and its a lot of tell me but don't show me - basically, I'm not convinced about anything happening on the page. The story idea was interesting and sounded like something I would like but ultimately it fell flat because it didn't resonate at an emotional level.