Great series and story! This is book number four in the Wildstone series. I really enjoyed it. I loved the characters, Piper and Cam. The sibling dynamic of Piper and her siblings was great as well. Highly recommended!

Man, this story brought out all of the emotions in me. There is something about Piper that speaks to me on a deep level and I felt so connected to her character. At the same time, I also fell for Cam right from the beginning.

Jill Shalvis has a way of pulling the reader into her stories immediately, usually with humor. This story was no different. I was hooked from the start and just got more and more invested in the lives of all the characters as the story progressed. When I couldn’t be reading, I was thinking about the book and hoping to get back to it as soon as possible.

I love the way the relationship between Cam and Piper plays out. There’s an instant chemistry, but will they act on that pull? They are very careful with each other and, honestly, their respect for not overstepping with each other touches my heart in the beginning. Then you throw in Pipers brother and sister and things get tangled up and oh so complicated.

Gavin and Winnie are so used to Piper being the “mom” that they keep some very important things from her. As much as they seem to have a complaint that she doesn’t act like a sister and use that as part of their reasoning keeping her out of the loop, they never give her the opportunity to be less of a mom and more of a sibling. They act like children with her, always expecting her to catch them when they fall and to pay their way when need be. I know that makes them sound like they are spoiled brats, they’re really not. But they have some growing up to do for sure. As much as they realize Piper has always put their needs above their own, they don’t truly understand that sacrifice just yet.

Throughout this story, we do indeed get to watch Winnie and Gavin find their own way. Mature and learn and grow. Winnie, in my opinion, goes about this a bit slower than she should. Especially while expecting others to keep her secrets. But she’s getting there, and that means something.

This story is a must read. No need to read the others in this series, they are all truly standalone books. This has been my favorite by far in the Wildstone series. I always look forward to this author’s stories.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend to everyone.

Simply wonderful! The sibling dynamic was very relatable and real and you felt like you were part of the family. I was able to feel the real, raw emotion of Cam’s losing of his brother and how everyone lost him in their own way. Cam was the perfect match for Piper! He was able to bring out strengths in her that she didn’t know that she had and she was able to help him through his grief and blame of his brother. Such a wonderful read and I was so sad when it ended. I can’t wait for the next Wildstone!

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC to read and give my honest opinion.


This is one of those authors that you can just pick up her book on auto buy and just love. You don’t need to read the blurb or like the cover since what’s inside is what counts. Her books are always spot on and just amazing. I loved this story so much.... Piper and Cam just felt good to me. The author just nails that down home family feeling and gives you a romance with all the feels. Ugly cry set in at about 78 percent, all the feels people... ALL. THE. FEELS.

What did I like? The story is so well written that your just immersed, my heart hurt through the ending and I still have the feels. Almost feels like you actually go through everything with the characters and it was just amazing. Cam was such an amazing character, his relationship with Piper was just heart warming because you knew she was THE ONE. The agony over losing his brother, and then the other characters in the book having their own issues just made the book feel like family. Just an incredible writing job.... Five huge stars.

Would I buy or recommend? YES YES YES! I will definitely be getting a paper copy as soon as it hits the shelves, I loved Rainy Day Friends as well, just an amazing book. I really enjoyed the book....not necessarily the book hangover after but this author is an auto buy. You know your getting a good read when you see this authors name on the cover.

Thoughts for the author? Congratulations on such an AMAZING book. You were born to write, such an amazing storyteller ❤️

This book is part of a series but easily reads well as a stand alone. Sweet story, mostly light hearted, even LOL funny at times but, it does address some heavier issues as well. A good balance, I enjoyed reading Almost Just Friends!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Jill Shalvis pens a story as if it were a delicate wedding cake. She can slip in a titillating scene without you even realizing that she has. Her words flow from the page like silky chocolate (that you can't get enough of) through an intricate fountain. I definitely recommend this book! Enjoy! 📚

This is the fourth book in the Wildstone series, each with different main characters. This time it's Piper Manning, who at 30 is trying to take finally charge of her life. She's basically raised her younger siblings, Gavin and Winnie, after the death of her parents and then grandparents. Then Cam Reid comes home on leave to take care of his father after the too-early death of his younger brother Rowan. He and Piper have an instant connection but she's walled herself off from feeling anything and he's still grieving.

Her brother and sister have been living away from the lake house she's trying to fix up for sale, and both show up suddenly. They're both hiding secrets from Piper, secrets that it turns out Cam is aware of but refuses to tell Piper as they're not his to tell. Eventually the secrets come out and Piper has to come to the realization that her siblings have grown up and that their problems are not because of her, and that they will have to solve them by themselves.

Piper and her siblings had been close all their lives, out of necessity and love, and they realize that with their familial strength they will be able to overcome most of their issues with a bit of work. Cam and his father -- and his late brother -- are all included in this realization. Watching Cam and Piper give into their sizzling reactions to each other was also fun !!

I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

This is my first Jill Shalvis book and I'm hooked. This is the first time in my life that I purposely slowed down to make the book last longer. Piper has spent her life taking care of her brother and sister who have moved out and lead their own lives. Now wanting to do something for herself Piper sets about fixing up the house her grandparents left her. Intending to sell it to finance her way through college and gave money to her siblings. But those plans change when her siblings come home both with secrets. To complicates matter her neighbor's sexy son also arrives.

I absolutely loved Almost Just Friends! Jill Shalvis is one of my favorite authors and I always buy her books, so I was excited to read this before it was released. Piper and Camden's story was another hit. I loved Piper's relationship with her siblings too. Piper has a lot on her plate and feels responsible for her siblings. She has difficulty accepting help, but Camden helps her and takes care of her despite that. I loved reading their story and can't wait for the next one from Jill Shalvis!

"...even the Fixer needs help sometimes.”

Piper Manning is 30 years old, an EMT, and she's tired. She's raised her younger siblings on her own in her grandparent's house in Wildstone, California since she was 18, they're finally out of the house, and she's ready to start chasing some of her dreams.

Then she meets Camden Hayes, handsome, brooding and a DEA agent/Coast Guard specialist. And her brother and sister both come back home. And her ideas for her future seem to be suspended.

I enjoy Jill Shalvis' writing - a lot. Her books are sexy and funny. This one deals with family dynamics and how dreams can suddenly change when you're least expecting it. I enjoyed all the characters. Shalvis does a super job with detailed characters and believable dialogue.

I received this book from Edelweiss and Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

Almost Just Friends by Jill Shalvis is the fourth book of the Wildstone series. This contemporary romance series is told from multiple points of view. As with most romance series each book has changed the main characters so each can be read and understood as a standalone if choosing to do so.

This fourth book of the series introduces Piper Manning who now at thirty is really just getting to a point she can begin her own life. As a child Piper and her two siblings lost their parents at an early age and with Piper being the oldest she ended up responsible for her younger brother and sister. Once Piper finished fixing up the lake house she and her siblings had inherited she plans to sell and go off to school.

When out with a friend Piper meets Camden Reid and while the sexy stranger interests her she isn’t the type for a one night stand. After heading home though Piper decides to check on her elderly neighbor with a storm in the area and Piper finds Camden is actually his son. Just as Piper and Camden begin to get to know one another though Piper’s siblings come crashing home with problems of their own.

Almost Just Friends was such a lovely tale that not only focuses on romance but encompassed the families surrounding the main couple and all of the issues within. Piper and her siblings only had one another in life and while their lives weren’t perfect they showed that with the strength of their family they could overcome their issues. And the slow burning romance between Piper and Cam was one that was worth the wait. Great story overall.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The was a wonderful sweet touching story. Piper raised her siblings, Gavin and Winnie, after their parents died. She has been trying to keep everything together than she meets Cam. He is home to take care of his dad. Piper and Cam have an instant connection, but Piper has walled off her heart after all of her loss and Cam is grieving. This is a great story as Piper works on accepting that her siblings have grown up and it is time to be a sister not a mom and that she can take time for herself. This was a great love story with Piper and Cam but also with all of the siblings “growing up”.

Piper is trying to get the lake property she and her siblings inherited fixed up so that she can sell it. But before she can accomplish that goal, her brother Gavin and sister Winnie, show up to surprise her on her 30th birthday.

Piper, who basically helped raise her siblings is immediately suspicious that something is wrong. Why else would the two show up? Certainly not for her.

In fact, Piper’s reaction is more than suspicious, she acts upset. After giving up so much of her life to take care of the two, she feels it’s time to make her dream come true. She wants to sell the property and make enough money to leave the town and its memories, and head to school. Now with the two showing up, she wonders what problems they have and how it will affect her life.

And Piper isn’t too far off in thinking her siblings have some real problems.

But they aren’t willing to share their predicaments with Piper, though they’ve been completely open with each other. And even the neighbors are privy to Winnie’s current concern.

It seems everyone has issues in this story. But Piper has not only her siblings to deal with but her handsome neighbor, Cam. And to complicate things the siblings refuse to share with Piper why they’ve come to her.

My thanks to Harper Collins Publishers and #NetGalley for an ARC and the ability to freely express my thoughts.

What Concerned Me

You Probably Won’t Go Wrong With This Book / True rating: 3.5 but I round up.
Though I realize Piper is fighting inner turmoil over losing her parents and feeling obligated to help raise her siblings, I didn’t find her character very likable throughout much of the book.

I also felt the siblings’ refusal to share their secrets with Piper a little annoying and silly.

What I Liked Most
This story covers various family issues. And though the characters are flawed, each begins to accept who they are and how to improve. The story flowed and kept my attention.

I love a Jill Shalvis romance! Almost Just Friends is a treat to be savored and enjoyed. Piper and Cam may be the heroine and hero and looking for their HEA but I loved the entire cast of characters in this wonderful story. They each have their own story to tell and distinct personalities. I enjoyed watching the whole crew grow and change.
I can happily recommend this book.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Piper Manning has had to be an adult since she was 13, raising her two siblings and trying to keep them all together. Now, just when she thinks she can have a life of her own, they're back home with their own dark secrets and a new neighbor has moved in with demons of his own. Cam's learned too late what it means to be present in someone's life and he's not going to make the same mistakes again. He's just not sure he can convince Piper that as similar as their pasts are, their futures can be even better.

Piper is a great heroine. She's sassy, snarky, and hanging on to sanity by her fingernails. She tries to control everything in her life with bullet point journals and office supplies (another reason I lover her- someone who gets my "inner office supply ho") and is afraid to let go, be surprised, and enjoy life. She's terrified of letting people in, because that's when they hurt you the most. And she's terrified of loving anyone because none of the people she loves have ever put her first. Brother and sister Gavin and Winnie may be younger than Piper, but have managed to have life crisis at the same time and come home. Because despite all the fighting Piper, and Wildstone, are home. They may be trying to get themselves together, but by not sharing that with Piper, she feels like she has to continue worrying about them and putting her life on hold.

Cam is a Coast Guard, and does his best in high stress, no emotion situations. When his younger brother dies, Cam goes home to their father and finds a life he never expected. A life that includes Piper faster than he could have anticipated. I loved the chemistry between them- both the slow burn and the firestorm varieties. They manage to be perfect compliments to each other in ways they didn't know they needed, and they understand each other in ways that terrify them. Neither one is perfect, and they (and Gavin and Winnie) make plenty of mistakes along the way, but they personify what making family work can be all about when you have love.

With characters dealing (or not) with the deaths of loved ones there is definitely some soul searching and tear-jerker moments in Almost Just Friends, but Shalvis mixes the serious and the emotional with just the right amount of humor and sarcasm to keep things going. All the characters in Friends are deep, flawed, and completely human and relatable- no surface characters here. Almost Just Friends was a great read, full of heart, and not to be missed!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Jill Shalvis' characters are delightfully flawed enough to feel like real people without crossing over the line into caricature and melodrama. The ending is a bit fairytale-ish happyily-ever-after, but that's exactly what the story needs and it leaves you with the satisfied feeling that everyone finally got the happy ending they deserved.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is about a woman who has raised her two siblings and is on the edge of moving forward with her life plans when her siblings return. She also meets the son of her neighbor. She decides he would be good to "scratch" her itch as he is only in residence temporarily. What she does not know & is not part of her plan is the secrets yhat her siblings are keeping.
The revalation of those secrets brings a new sense of what the siblings relationship can be.

Another wonderful read by Jill Shalvis. She really does relationship stories so well. It is a total joy to read about a family so messed up that you realize you are not alone. That those family photos and comments posted on social media where everyone has their collective s**t together, except of course for you, are not real. Real family is messy, beautiful, ugly, happy, terrifying. And here we are with another great story about a crazy, loving family and how they strive to achieve their HEA.

Piper and Cam are great together. Two people who are trying so hard to not connect but truly can not help themselves. These are beautifully well developed characters. And this includes Piper and Cam's family members. Garrett and CJ's story was a joy to read (although could have been a short story, perhaps). Thank you for taking us back to Wildstone and letting us share in the lives of the people who live there.

Received as an ARC from Netgalley

I don't know if Jill Shalvis can deliver a poorly written story. I really loved this story and there was so much for her to share. So many secrets between these two families, and you know someone is eventually going to feel deceived.

The relationships are complicated, but what relationship isn't without complications? You really feel for each of the characters who are dealing with BIG feelings over their past. I loved watching Piper and Cam's relationship unfold and their ending. Would highly recommend this to others to read.