The story
Lily friend Tess is getting married to Tom, and she and her bridesmaids are in Greece for the wedding. But Tess’s cousin Matt is also there, as one of Tom’s best friends. They haven’t seen each other in 8 years, after Lily unexpectedly broke up with him. Matt got married a year later and is now divorced. Matt can’t understand why Lily broke up with him and Lily can’t understand why he married someone else so quickly. But with the bridezilla making demands of both of them, they finally get the chance to talk about the past.

My thoughts
This is the third book of Jo Lovett’s I have read and I think it’s my favourite. A second chance after a period of growing up and getting some life experience really ensures that maybe Lily and Matt are finally at the right point in their lives to appreciate each other. I struggle to enjoy miscommunication stories but it was handled in an okay way in this story. Although lots of procrastination! The setting in Greece is lovely and the wedding antics are a bit crazy!

Just Friends is a quick read about right place, wrong time exes reuniting at a wedding for their friends in Greece. While both secretly know they still love each other neither are willing to confront the real reason for their split 8 years ago. This story is filled with relatable characters, real life relationships issues, fun and romance. Definitely a fun romance read!

The first half of the book is great, the flashbacks very well done, the tension is very palpable 5+ but then all that potential goes so down the hill as if someone else wrote the second half of the book or the author runs out of the ideas.

We read it from both points of view (heroine and hero) so there is no mystery about their feelings towards each other but the whole staring, not being able to take your eyes off from each other, the repetitive references of how sexy they find each other, how speechless they are, etc just drag on for far too long. The details of the wedding party becomes too excruciating, the incidents are unrealistic (trying to provide some comic relief?), the aftermath not going anywhere. The book reaches a certain point that the inner thoughts, dialogues and events stopped adding anything to the story. I think I started skipping that I even missed the subplot of the uncle leaving the aunt. Was that to fill the quota for the pages? Back in London it just drags on more: they are getting together... now they are not!.

You would think that the growth in person's life from age 25 to age 33 would be huge, and we are told that the heroine and hero have changed, matured over last 8 years since their break up but their behaviour and dialogues then and now show them quite static with very little changes.

The title does not seem to relate to anything. They are obviously not friends and never were.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange of an honest review.

📚Review - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Just Friends is a lighthearted story about the right person at the wrong time. Matt and Lily haven’t been together for 8 years but when Matt’s cousin and Lily’s best friend, Tess, gets married on an island in Greece, they are forced to reunite. After a series of disasters leading up to the wedding and on the day of, Matt and Lily are left trying to work together to save the big day. Feelings arise and tough conversations are had but after 8 years, is it finally the right time for these two?

This story gave off some major Hallmark movie vibes. It was cute, but felt very predictable at times. I didn’t like how a lot of the issues were drawn out. It just felt unnecessary and didn’t add to the story.

Matt is a very lovely, kind, and considerate character. There was no denying his feelings for Lily and how much he cared for her. After 8 years, he’s still left trying to figure out why Lily left and broke his heart.

Lily is very sweet, selfless, and a people pleaser. She constantly put others needs and issues before herself, but it eventually catches up to her and her relationships. I did not Lily’s lack of communication with Matt and keeping secrets about her past.

In my opinion, the first half of the book was very slow and I was constantly annoyed by Tess and her attitude. I understand the concept behind a “bridezilla” character, but I felt it was over the top and was a struggle to get through.

I really enjoyed the last half of the book, minus some of Lily’s communication issues. The ending was very sweet (no spoilers) and I enjoyed that it came around full circle. The story started in Greece, briefly went to London, and then ended in Greece. 🇬🇷

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick read contemporary romance.

Just Friends is scheduled to be released on March 14, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just Friends by Jo Lovett is a cute, easy read that would be perfect for the beach. Lily and Matt are two exes brought back together by a wedding on a small Greek island. They have lived completely separate lives for 8 years but are brought back together due to proximity, a bridezilla and a ferry strike. This book shows the importance of honest communication and the long lasting impacts your childhood can have on you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Just Friends is all about the right person but at the wrong time. Lily and Matt used to be together but have now been broken up for 8 years. Now, 8 years later, they are reunited at a wedding in Greece. Neither one of them really knew that the other was coming to this wedding. But as they spend some time in Greece before the wedding they are bound to bump into each other even if they’d rather ignore each other.

It was a really good read! Although, I didn’t like how the issues between them were drawn out and at times Lily not communicating with Matt made me mad.

This was a really cute, wuick, easy and fun read that was well written with an adorable storyline and well developed characters that I found really relatable. A really enjoyable read.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

I really enjoyed reading this book as it was quick and easy to read, and the plot was very enjoyable.
The story is very will-they-won't-they and that kept me hooked from start to finish.

The main characters, Matt & Lily, had great chemistry and I loved Lily's personal development with accepting help from others and eventually opening up to Matt.

Overall, this was a very cute read and I really enjoyed it!

I enjoyed the Greek setting, nice easy to read rom com. I felt the issues were a bit drawn out and some of the conversation was awkwardly written but overall I enjoyed the book and the characters were sweet. I liked the friendship of the four women and that it read really realistic

Really enjoyed this book! Such a fun read with great character development! Such a fun one and great to grab!

Ah! You know those kinds of book you read and after, you can't stop visualizing some scenes? This describes my feeling.
It took me 2 days to finish this book. I could not resist it.
It was fast-paced, funny and wonderful.
I love this book!

An enjoyable read, I finished this book in one sitting, I would definitely recommend this if you are looking for something to take your mind off the world as it stands right now. I give it five stars

Just Friends follows Lily and Matt, two exes who find themselves attending the same wedding on a small Greek island. This was a quick and easy read, but I struggled with a lot of the side-characters, which made it harder for me to enjoy this. For example, the bride, one of Lily's supposed best friends, was really quite awful to her (+ everyone else) throughout and this wasn't really addressed aside from the constant 'bridezilla' references.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes things are meant to be, but the timing isn’t right. Lily and Matt were together, but have been apart for close to a decade. Now they are reunited for a wedding in Greece. Can the timing, now, be right for them? I liked the setting. I love the exes reunite at s wedding theme, one of my favorite story plots. Communication between the two seems to be a bit better the second go around. I was about ready to toss Tessa into the sea with all of her bridal histrionics.
I loved the ending and the cover is perfect.

OOOH yes loved this. A great awkward encounter to kick things off and this blossoms into a really lovely read. Possibly the most awkward round of applause ive ever read but lots of fun moments in this as well as some sentimental scenes. Great chemistry between Lily and Matt. Fun, pleasant and endearing.