When I requested this novel, I had no idea that it was part of a series. I haven’t read any of Sophie Sullivan’s other books, and only realized it while reading it. That being said: I was lucky enough to read this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Early reviews are important for a books success, so I decided to read it anyways, and think that the book was a good stand alone. I’m sure there were Easter eggs to the other books that would have made more sense. Overall it was still easy to follow.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is an easy read. It’s cute, and swoony. Slow burn, friends to lovers trope, and a tale of finding yourself. Getting over past trauma and hurt, and ultimately finding yourself in love.

It’s a cute book, and I’m interested to read about Wes’s brothers now as well. I probably would start with those novels, but it’s not going to stop you from understanding the book.

SOPHIE SULLIVAN DID IT AGAIN!! I’ve loved her last two books and this was no different. She captured everything I love in a friends to lovers book. The slow burn was done so well, and you barely felt it because the friendship developed was perfect. Sullivan also brought back our favorite characters from the first two books as big parts of Hailey and Wes' story. I would definitely recommend reading Sullivan's other two books first to get a full feel for how important these characters and their stories come together. I love Wes. His heart is so big, and I fell in love with him right away. I loved Hailey and her headstrong attitude. Watching her not only thrive with her business, but find a family in a new city had me crying happy tears for her. I love this book and can’t recommend it enough!

Thank you to NetGalley for a digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A GUIDE TO BEING JUST FRIENDS
By Sophie Sullivan
3/5

There were a lot of things I loved about this book. I was rooting for Hailey to get her happily ever after from the start. I thought her character was so lovely and I really appreciated her drive and motivation as a small business owner fighting to make her way. I *love* when food serves as a plot point in books. There were lots of food descriptions that left me hungry, literally. The found family trope is one that always leaves me feeling those happy-gushy feelings for the characters.

I didn’t love Wes as a character. I really wanted to but I just wasn’t vibing with him. Because of that, the dual pov (which I typically love) just didn’t do it either. I wanted more of Hailey. I also felt like there were just a few too many characters looped in. However, I read this as a stand-alone so I didn’t have the same level of buy-in I would had I read the other two books in the series. Note: I don’t believe you have to read them first, as they all follow different characters.

All in, I thought this book was super great and entertaining. Three stars is still a really great read in my book. 💗

Read this if you love:
♥️ slow burn
♥️ friends to lovers
♥️ found family
♥️ dual pov

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review will be posted on @booklovingtaylor in August 2022 and Goodreads on July 20, 2022.

This book was super cute and I could not put it down. I adored this story- and I loved the main characters. I enjoyed their friends and family characters in this novel. I thought that the author did a great job of balancing the romance portion with the small business that the female main character was developing. The one thing that I was missing was that I wish that the author leaned more into the guide that the characters were developing; it was mentioned only a few times.

A GUIDE TO BEING JUST FRIENDS is a simmering romance about a couple interested only in being friends. Each have soured on love and commitment after painful results with exes. Plus, Wes' parents fought a lot, are divorced and it emotionally affected him. He is the oldest of two younger brothers. He protected his brothers from their dad, receiving the brunt of his dad's wrath. Wes recently relocates to San Verde, California to connect with his brothers and dodge his dad's demands. He joins his brothers in their new business.

Hailey is also new in town, having recently escaped a difficult relationship. She is getting her new business, By The Cup salad shop, up and running. At the bakery next door, she meets Wes in a mix-up blind date that wasn't even supposed to happen. Wes has foot-in-mouth disease, they part upset, hoping never to meet again. Only fate has other plans!

Hailey doesn't want any distractions, focusing on her business. Same goes for Wes. He is solely invested in his brother's business. Neither wants anything to do with love and are happy being friends. Only, Hailey makes heart eyes whenever Wes is around. Wes is glued to Hailey's side when she's near. It's obvious to everyone but them how perfect they are together. Will these two obstinate love birds ever get together?

A GUIDE TO BEING JUST FRIENDS is a rule book on how to be friends with the one you love. Wes and Hailey are best friends. Neither wants anything more, convinced commitment leads to disaster. As they grow closer, it becomes harder to stay in the friend territory when they obviously want to kiss! This is a charming slow-burn romance. Ms. Sullivan does an excellent job leaving the reader to wonder if they ever become lovers. This is the last book in her series and I loved it! I enjoyed getting a glimpse into the brothers' lives as well. A GUIDE TO BEING JUST FRIENDS is swoony with just enough sauce. Delightful!

Rom-com written for a younger adult audience. Not a bad books but not a big fan
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own

Hailey is a small salad shop owner; Wes is a wealthy tech guru. In their meet cute, Wes mistakes Hailey for his blind date, but ultimately befriends Hailey. Hailey has just suffered a bad breakup and Wes’s parents divorce still haunts him. They decide it’s best to be “just friends” as neither wants to be romantically involved.

They schedule “dates” with each other, but keep everything at a friendship level. Grocery shopping together, playing video games, and dinner and movie nights. Trying their best not to mix business and pleasure. Will they fall in love?

This book was really hard for me to get into. The story felt more like a YA book and was very predictable. I grew tired of hearing about Haileys horrible ex and about Wes’s parents failed relationship and toxic father.

The “dates” over the holidays were cute. I enjoyed the detailed scenes at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Overall the book pulled through, with an ending classic of a rom com.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Where to begin with Wes Jansen? The oldest brother, but the final love story. We first meet Wes in Ten Rules for Faking It, where he helps his hapless youngest brother, Chris win over Everly by first coming up with a Bachelorette style dating app. Then we see Wes again in How To Love Your Neighbor as the constant, far-away voice of reason for his middle brother, Noah. Now, Wes has made the move to California to be closer to his brothers and unknowingly find his own happily ever after.

Being the oldest child of divorce, and business-minded at heart, Wes has no plans to fall for Hailey Sharp, the girl he first mistakenly thinks is a blind date standing him up from the world of dating apps. Realizing she is in-fact NOT the elusive Hayden days later, Wes sets out to make amends and ends up becoming friends with. Hailey is in no mood to find love again after a bad long-term relationship ended with her vapid, actor ex, Dorian. She's content making new friends in a new town and building her empire of salads with her shop By The Cup. With the help of Wes, and Chris, and Noah, and Everly, and Grace, and Tara, and Stacey, and Rob, Hailey finds more than friendship and business success in San Verde. But can Wes and Hailey put their own barriers down long enough to realize they're MFEO?

I fell in love with Sophie Sullivan's world of the Jansen brothers on page one of Ten Rules for Faking It. Seeing Chris, Noah, and Wes evolve through these books has been a pure pleasure - and a pleasure I didn't have to wait as long for thanks to the ARC I received. Sophie has a natural talent for creating laugh-out-loud awkward moments turn into hand-slapping-your-chest-catching-your-breath sweet moments turn into WHAT-ARE-YOU-DOING moments all within the span of two pages. The love stories in these books are what Hallmark movies are made of. Fans of slow burn, closed door romance books will find no greater read than a Sophie Sullivan Jansen brother book. My only wish is that they had cousins so Fiona and Tara could get their Jansen HEAs too.

Super cute rom-com with a decent amount of drama that kept me reading. Hailey and Wes were a great couple and I loved that they started as best friends. I loved Hailey as a character, especially her independence. Wes was a little hard to take at some points in the story, but I liked him overall.

The writing was excellent and I will definitely be adding this book to my shelf when it is released. 4.5 stars!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hailey Sharp has moved to a new city and started her own Salad shop in hopes for a fresh start. Wealthy Wes Jansen has also recently moved to town to help his brothers grow their business.
After a disastrous meet-cute the two realize they need a friend, so that is what they become, friends. After being there for one another through highs and lows, the two start to realize maybe there are more feelings involved in this friendship.

This was a closed-door, slow-burn rom-com that was filled with many cute moments. I loved the way Hailey and Wes really did find value within their friendship and they wanted to make sure by following their feeling they kept that relationship protected. This was a fun read with many sweet and funny moments, definitely recommend picking this one up!

Thank you Sophie Sullivan, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this wonderful story.
Looking for a slow burn friends-to-lovers romance that emphasizes the (platonic stage) friends part? This is the story for you!
Personally, I love slow burn romances, and I especially love a slow character development that specifically shows how the characters grow as individuals and as a pair. Hailey and Wes did both of those things beautifully and I so enjoyed going along their journey with them.
All in all, this book was a funny, cozy roller coaster of a good time to read. I’m so grateful I got the chance.

This was fun and sweet but I felt a little bit more invested in Hailey's salad business than her relationship with Noah. I liked buildup to their relationship and the epilogue. I did grow tired of Noah feeling like he had to do the "right" thing and not pursue his dreams, etc.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely adored this book- 4 stars because it was a little hard to get into but once I fell into a good stride it was super hard to put down. I love the continuity of the stories from her other 2 books and it felt like it wrapped up perfectly which was just what I needed/wanted for the boys.

4.50 stars
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I love the Jansen brothers! The books keep on getting better and better, in book three, we follow Wes and Hailey. Hailey is new to a town where she knows no one other than her cousin after a bad breakup and wants to start fresh. She opens up a salad shop in town and with the right connections, gets introduced to the Jansen brothers. Wes and her form an immediate bond as he's new to town as well and just gets it. Wes' motivation for moving? He's following in the footsteps of his younger brothers who over the course of their journey have fallen in love. Wes is baffled that they could let people into their lives after what happened with their father and mother, it is clear that love is a tough concept for Wes.

This book is your typical friends-to-lovers, I loved watching the bond between Hailey and Wes form - they had a great connection, and was glad that they spent so long diving into a strong friendship. I'm a huge sucker for romance, so at moments I was just wanting something to happen between the two of them; the only thing that I felt was missing was some sort of hurdle. It was clear from the start that these two would be ending up together.

Overall, this was a cute read and a great way to end a series, as always I loved seeing the characters from prior books all coming together, it added great banter and is always nice to see some familiar faces!
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I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I enjoyed this book so much! It’s a sweet, slow burn, closed door, friends first romance, and the characters are just adorable.

When Hailey and Wes meet, they’ve both been through the romance wringer, so they decide a strictly platonic relationship will serve them best. Famous last words. What follows is a wholesome story of friendship, personal and professional growth, and finding your person.

I recommend this book if you like feel good stories, friends to lovers, romcom moments, video games, salad, and/or small town vibes.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sharing an advance reader copy!

"I feel like I've found a secret code that unlocks a different world that only I'm allowed to be part of, that only I know how to navigate. Even the hurdles feel more manageable with her there. It feels like everything fits perfectly into place even when it doesn't all make sense... I feel happy."

After a less than pleasant meeting, Hailey Sharp and Wes Jensen really don't expect to run into each other again. When life keeps throwing them into each others paths, they realize they actually click really well and easily become close friends. These two are determined to only stay friends. Hailey is busy building up her new salad shop, and Wes has enough trauma to deter him from ever wanting to love. The closer they get, the harder it is to follow the guide they've made up for themselves, and can't deny the feelings that are there.

SOPHIE SULLIVAN DID IT AGAIN!! She captured everything I love in a friends to lovers book. The slow burn was done so well, and you barely felt it because the friendship developed was perfection. Sullivan also brought back our favorite characters from the first two books as big parts of Hailey and Wes' story. I highly recommend reading Sullivan's other two books first to get a full feel for how important these characters and their stories come together.

When it came to romance, Wes and Hailey had so much healing to do within themselves. My sweet sweet, protective, and scared Wes had to really go through it in this book. His heart is so big, and I fell in love with him right away. I loved Hailey and her headstrong attitude. Watching her not only thrive with her business, but find a family in a new city had me crying happy tears for her.

I love love love this book. I cannot recommend it enough, especially if you were a fan of the first two books. I cried like a baby at the end, because I was not ready to say goodbye to the stupid, big hearted Jensen brothers and the three women they fell in love with. All three books felt like a big found family trope.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sophie Sullivan for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

↠5 stars!!!

DNF @ 40%

I was really excited about this book, but I just couldn’t get into it and I didn’t realize it was the third in a series. My biggest issue was that the writing felt very young and very repetitive; a lot of telling versus showing, and overall just kind of predictably boring. I’ve read some really great romances this year and unfortunately this one just didn’t land for me.

I like Sophie Sullivan, I like the Jansen brothers, and I like the friends to lovers trope. So I really wanted to like this book. And there were parts I really did like—the descriptions of Hailey’s job, the Saturday night grocery store dates, the group of friends. But the big “resolution” involved something that the characters kept referring to as a grand gesture, when 1) it wasn’t a grand gesture, and 2) dear god, the ML, Wes, needed therapy, not to be making gestures of any size. Therapy, Wes! Try it!

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Each books gets better and better! I loved the other two books but this one felt a little different. It was quieter than the first two (maybe not as quiet as Everly herself though). Wes and Hailey were more focused on being friends. The romance took a back seat for a long time and it worked out so beautifully.

Hailey just recently moved to town, started her salad shop, and she cannot afford any distractions. Her last boyfriend wasn’t on the same page as her and she won’t let herself get lost again. Wes is also new to town, he just followed his brothers from New York so they can continue to grow their business. He’s tired of going on dates and nothing working out. But when the two of meet they quickly realize they both are in need of a friend, and that’s what they are, friends. For now.

All of the work they did to become friends really laid a wonderful foundation for their eventual relationship. Not only did Hailey gain Wes as a friend, she also gained his brothers, their girlfriends, and all of their friends. She didn’t really have anyone other than her cousin and her family, which was fine she was used to being on her own, but seeing her have a huge support system was really wonderful.

Wes and Hailey were so protective of their friendship and I loved it so much. Even when they started catching a little more feelings they knew that their friendship was most important.

They’re both so focused on not getting lost in a relationship but it’s in two different ways. Hailey had actually lost herself in a relationship, felt like she not good enough, and felt invisible not only in the relationship but while growing up too. But Wes doesn’t want to let his emotions get the best of him, he doesn’t want to get his heart broken. He’s seen it happen first hand with his parents and he refuses to let it happen to himself. They’ve communicated about it and they know this about each other but still they were just missing a piece of truly understanding each other.

I LOVE this group. I love seeing Everly and Chris and Grace and Noah. The epilogue was absolutely perfect, it was the perfect ending for all of the Jansen brothers.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martins Press did this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I was so happy to get this, I loved being reading all of these books and I cannot wait for this one to be out in the world for everyone to enjoy!

I just adore Sophie Sullivan and this world of stories. After falling in love with the first two of the Jansen brother's stories, I was more than ready for Wes. He meets Hailey at a coffee shop and mistakes her for his date. When their rocky meet cute leads them to a friend group and continued connections, they work to become "just friends". Hijinks and tension abound. Honesty and clear communication is a central key. Family dynamic and friendship is so important. When the HEA finally falls into place, the slow burn of friends to lovers pays off.

Sophie has done such an amazing job of maintaining our relationship with the previous two couples in this series. If you love books with connected characters in the same world (like Lauren Layne's Central Park Pact series) this is definitely for you.

I also want a salad cup.