Slow burn romance was fun to read. Enjoyed this book and while it is part of a series, you do not need to read the others first.

Give me Anthony Bridgerton, but make him nerdy. And I LOVE Anthony Bridgerton so this book was a pleasant surprise! I love a best friends to lovers story and this delivered. The slow burn tension was chef's kiss and their friendship was adorable. It was so clear they had great chemistry and you were rooting for the characters to figure it out. I recommend this quick, fun read!

This was such a cute and easy read! I didn’t realize it was the third in a series, but it was still good as a stand alone. I loved the banter between Wes and Hailey. They had a such a charming relationship. I also liked watching Hailey’s friendships grow. I couldn’t put this book down! An adorable and enjoyable read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this arc!

I enjoyed this book- just as I have enjoyed Sophie Sullivan’s other books in this series. Wes and Hailey were great characters who had the best meet cute. I really loved how their friendship evolved. It was a little slow but overall a light cute romance.

A special thank you to Net Galley and St Martins Press/Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The third in a romance series. There is some overlap in stories here, but there is enough recapping, etc. that it's not necessary to read the first two (FYI, I read one but not the other previous books with no problems). Cozy romance with a slow burn relationship. Light, feel-good series.

So let me start by saying that i never give 1 star reviews. This is just the second book i've read by this author and maybe its the writing style but i find it very hard to connect to the characters. The main characters lacked chemistry in my opinion so made it hard for me to invest in their story.

I was so excited to be able to read an ARC of this book, the third and final novel of the Jensen Brothers series by Sophie Sullivan.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩:
Friends to lovers
Slow burn
Dual POV

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙:
✨️ Wes and Hailey's friendship
✨️ That text thread 🥲
✨️ The brothers' relationship
✨️ The salad shop, By the Cup. 🥗
✨️ We got to see a lot of the couples and side characters from the first 2 books.
✨️ I loved that these characters were fully fleshed out, with actual relatable qualities AND flaws.

Compared to the first 2 books of the series, I'll admit that this has less excitement going on. But I will say that this has a lot more introspection happening, and as a type 5 myself, well, that's right down my alley.

This is a standalone book, but I highly recommend reading the first 2 books. While I feel it will not diminish your reading experience if you don't, I do feel like it will enhance it if you do.

𝘈 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘛𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 follows Hailey and Wes as they fight their growing attraction to not mess up the comfort of their friendship.

- ~ -

Pretty average?

First off, I didn't know that this was a companion novel of sorts so maybe if I'd read the happy endings for the other couples I'd be more invested in Hailey and Wes's story but unfortunately that's not the case here.

I'll give credit where it's due; the first half of the book was going swimmingly well, a solid four stars. Hailey and Wes and their genuine friendship created a cozy atmosphere. They made the most mundane things - grocery shopping and video game nights - seem like an oasis.

But then comes the last third of the story... where the execution failed and the plot seemed rushed.
Also Wes's way of being didn't really correspond with how he'd behaved for the rest of the story.
For instance, he's someone who plays it safe and thinks ten steps ahead so for that said guy to act completely unhinged didn't seem natural?

But I guess love is often portrayed to make you go crazy so it was justified? I'm not sure.

🎶 Don't blame me, love made me crazy
If it doesn't, you ain't doin' it right 🎶


- ~ - 

3.74 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

I didn’t realize A Guide toBbeing Just Friends was part of a series, but I was fine and not lost or confused reading it as a stand-alone book. I liked it! I thought it was a touching and sweet romance. I would have preferred a little more spice, but I wouldn’t take anything away from the rating for the lack of it!

Hailey and Wes’s banter is great! I love that Hailey is independent and driven and that Wes is just a little surly—I dig a grouchy love interest. I enjoyed the way their connection developed and the conflict that Hailey and Wes went through.

All in all, it’s a good romance and I give it a 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4/5). Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC and the opportunity to review A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hailey is a strong, independent small businesswoman who has just opened up her own small salad shop. After a funny case of mistaken identity, she meets and befriends Wes, a wealthy businessman and investor. They become fast friends with no desire whatsoever to date… until they can’t seem to think of anything else! Both are fearful of ruining their friendship and mixing business interests, but soon it’s clear that it may be too late for that.

This was such a cute, easy read! I didn’t realize that it was part of a series, although I was fine to read it as a standalone. I’d give this three and half stars because I really enjoyed it until the last quarter of the book. There just was too much forced conflict for my liking, and not enough sweetness from the romance. If you enjoy friends to lovers, brothers in a series, and independent female MCs, you should definitely give this a read!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this 3rd book in the series about the jansan brothers. This time its Wes and Hailey who are friends that help each other out and slowly fall in love. I love seeing the other brothers and their girlfriends. I loved seeing the growth and change that both had for each other . I wanted a story about haileys best friend and her quest for love. Overall I adore this series.

Despite there being two other books in the Jansen Brothers series, it is not necessary to read the others first.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a quick and fun read. It is a friends to lovers slow burn romance with lots of laugh out loud moments! The characters were all so fantastic, I adored them.

This was a great read that I definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sophie Sullivan for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

"How was this so easy? His whole life, he'd assumed this level of intimacy would be hard to achieve or would feel draining. Instead, it lifted him like a double shot of espresso. He felt like she was made for him. The transition from friends to lovers felt like it was a path they'd been meant to take."

After an awkward encounter in a coffee shop, the last thing Hailey Sharp expected was for Wes Jansen to become such a pivotal part of her life. A cardinal rule of their friendship from the start is to stay friends. JUST. FRIENDS. As months pass, the pair find a comfort and ease with each other, but are they willing to risk that comfort and ease for something more?

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. It's everything I love to see in a friends-to-lovers back that had me rooting for Hailey and Wes from beginning to end. If you're into found family, sibling banter, Saturday night grocery trips, and amazing character building, pick up this book!!!

Hailey and Wes had a lot of growing to do. To read their character arcs from beginning to end was SO SATISFYING. Them battling their underlying issues in order to become the versions of each other that they deserved was the sweetest and I ADORE THEM. I was crying on and off for the last 20% of this book and I already can't wait to read it all over again. 😭

I've loved being in this world with the all these characters. The two books prior to this one were so special to me and this one was just as fantastic. I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS WAS THE LAST BOOK OF THIS SERIES. I'm gonna miss ALL of these characters so dearly. I SOBBED DURING THE EPILOGUE. If you haven't read the other two books, I highly recommend reading them before reading this one!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and Sophie Sullivan for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 5 out of 5 ♥️🥹

I loved Hailey and Wes. They were so great. I loved their background history and their chemistry, the love and support for one another, the angst, the push and pull, the sexual tension between them, everything was so well executed by the author.

The characters were not perfect, they had their own struggles and obstacles they had to overcome before they came to the realization that they are better together than apart.

I’m so happy with how everything wrapped up at the end. It was such an enjoyable book.

This is the first book I’ve read from Sophie Sullivan. Despite there being two other books in the Jansen Brothers series, it is not necessary to read the books in order (I WILL be picking up the other two after reading this one, though!)

This Friends to Lovers romance between Hailey and Wes is so wholesome. It was such a cute & fun read that kept me captivated the entire time. I love when characters learn and grow because of each other while also maintaining their independence, and both Wes and Hailey did that in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

was a chapter into this book before I realized I had read the two previous books! Not necessary for you to read the other two first, but I always love to read stories in order.

Loved this friends-to-lovers romcom! Hailey and Wes were great as friends and even better when they finally got together. Their supporting cast of characters made it even better. Strong, successful women. Brothers who have a close bond. Also some fun small businesses that I really wish I could visit.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for A Guide to Being Just Friends when it comes out January 17, 2023! (Ten Rules for Faking It and How to Love Your Neighbor are the first two books if you want to read them before this one comes out.)

Hailey is starting over. A new business, a new town, and a new chance at a happy life. Coincidentally so is Wes. Even though their first meeting is less than friendly, Hailey and Wes have an undeniable click and the two become fast friends. Friends because that’s what they both need, friends because that’s what works, and friends because that’s all that they can be.

It’s no surprise for me that I loved A Guide to Being Just Friends.
A) Sophie Sullivan is an INCREDIBLY talented writer. She excels at creating amazing, deep characters with plenty of growth. As well as immersive stories with plenty of background. (Take By the Cup as an example, she could open a real salad shop with all the background we have here)
B) FRIENDS TO LOVERS. FRIENDS TO LOVERS. THE SUPREME TROPE. Made even better by the fact that it’s dual perspective so we get both Hailey and Wes’s POVs (which I LOVE to see)

If you love friends to lovers, a good slow burn, and big happy chosen family vibes, A Guide to Being Just Friends is sure to impress.

This is the third book in a series following the Jansen brothers- and I did not know this before reading! I do not think my reading experience was impacted by not having read the previous two books. The character's were very present and I am sure this book was a cute inside peek into their lives after their own books ended for those who have read them, but I don't think it is super necessary to have read the previous books beforehand.

This is a friends to lovers closed door slow burn story. I enjoyed the main female character Hailey but am a little iffy on the main male character Wes. I just did not vibe with him. Hailey was strong and unapologetically independent and I loved that about her. Wes was a little too set in his ways and not willing to change.

Although I know it has to happen, I am never a fan of a third act breakup (or like, last 10% breakup). I thought Wes' change of heart on marriage and family was unrealistically rushed and a complete 180.

Though there were some parts that I did not jive with, this was overall a feel good, sweet love story.

3.5 Stars

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was slow-burn with lots of character growth and development. A wonderful cute romance.

Who says salad can't be sweet? Sophie Sullivan checks all the rom-com boxes with her latest effort,A Guide to Being Just Friends. If you're looking for something in the vein of Hallmark, this will appeal to you, as it offers a good, clean friends-to-lovers romance. There are some nice, introspective moments that are relatable and offer bigger-picture insight-- like Hailey's realization that Wes offering help doesn't mean he thinks she's incapable of doing things on her own, but rather a way of showing his affection for her. I liked that Sullivan really gave her characters actual flaws and arcs, instead of just making them 'quirky' and not having anywhere to really go with them. That being said, the story line was very predictable and felt forced at times. The obstacles never felt truly threatening, so there was never a time that I questioned whether the couple would end up together.

I must admit, I didn't realize this was part of a series until after the fact, but it did annoy me the entire time, thinking that the conflict with the brothers felt exactly like another book I'd read... Turns out, it was How to Love Your Neighbor, and that was intentional.