This is a cute and sweet romcom story. Likeable characters (including our couple from book #2, which I reviewed last year), believable plot.

I will be honest, I enjoyed the second book more than this one, but this was still a good story. It can definitely stand alone, but having background adds depth.

I love friends to lovers stories. I did not realize it was the third book in a series. It did however read well on its own. I loved the characters, especially Wes. It was a slow burn and at times seemed to drag on. But all in all I enjoyed the book. Thanks for the advanced copy NetGalley.

Another romantic series that I hadn't read the first and found this romance to be really boring. I did not find anything interesting about the characters and could care less how their story ended.

When I originally requested this book I was not aware it was a third in the series, fortunately it worked fine on its own and I did not feel as though I needed to go back and finish the other two first. Unfortunately, this book felt all too familiar and nothing unique and I really struggled to want to continue reading because it just felt like I knew how everything was going to happen. If you love the harry meets sally vibes, you will definitely enjoy this cute romance!

This was an enjoyable romance that I didn't want to put down. I loved the main characters and the story was well developed.

3.5 rounded up to 4 for NG

I ADORED the first two books in this series. And while I liked this one, it just didn't hit the same. I wasn't obsessed with the story and found myself setting the book down more often than picking it up.

I got really annoyed with Hailey. She was so hard on Wes sometimes and so stubborn. I get being stubborn, I am the queen of it, but man Hailey. Chill a bit maybe? I liked Wes a lot, except for how over the top he was with wanting to fix things and extravagant gifts. That would be a turn off for me in real life!!

I'm glad I read it to finish up the series, but it wasn't my fav and not one I'd shout from the rooftops about.

I like Sophie Sullivans books for the reason that they are romance novels but don't really focus on the spice ( mostly closed door romance ) but instead on character development and relationship development! I read many varied kind of books even within the romance genre so I enjoy this kind of writing and story telling! I enjoyed this book!

The burn was a little slower than I’d have liked, but other than that I enjoyed it. Friends to lovers is always a hit or miss to me and this one was definitely more towards the hit side. Was a good story and I’ll read more from this author!

📖Book: A Guide to Being Just Friends
⭐️Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏼Author: Sophie Sullivan
📚Genre: Romance
🗏 Pages: 336
💕Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Found Family 
⚠️Warnings: Body Shaming, Toxic Relationship
🔖Readability: 4/5 italic font is used
🥇First Line: "Salad paid the bills."

Things to expect:
✨Slow Burn 
❤️Friends to Lovers
✨Meet Cute 

This was the slowest, most extended, dragged Friends to Lover book I have read this year. I was engaged until a third of the way through, and I just wanted them to get over themselves already. I might not have been in the mood for this; the body shaming just felt off. I think this could have been better without it, and it made me feel a little icky while reading it. I love Sophie Sullivan, and of course, I have purchased my copy of the book, but I will only be reading it once and putting it in my little free library for others to enjoy. 

Thanks to St Martin Press for the advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I haven’t read the first two books in this series and I forgot it was a series until I read the acknowledgments at the end. Basically, this can be a standalone! There are a lot of characters but I never was confused or felt like I was missing something.

I loved Hailey and Wes! A little grumpy/sunshine which is my favorite! They both went through some life stuff prior to meeting and that plays a factor in their relationship.

A Guide to Being Just Friends had a setup that instantly intrigued me - two characters adhering to a break from love who connect with the intention of keeping things platonic. I absolutely love friends-to-lovers (even when they're slow burn), and was excited to see how these characters would connect and build a relationship from platonic friends to much more, but it immediately fell flat for me. I found myself tempted to skim past details that didn't move the story forward, but harped on single moments for much longer than was enticing for me to stay engaged in a specific scene. While I do think that the characters had the potential to build chemistry, their banter felt a bit stiff and didn't sizzle off the page the way I was hoping it would, which for slow burn especially is a must for me to become invested in the characters and their story. I did find Hailey and many of the side characters delightfully bubbly, and the different friendships did feel authentic, which was nice but not enough to make me excited to pick up the book. I unfortunately had to dnf this one, largely because of the slower pacing and the chemistry between the characters that I felt was missing for me personally.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sophie Sullivan for this book in exchange for my honest review!

3.5 rounded up

This is a cute contemporary romance between two hyper focused people intent on building their businesses, even to the detriment of their love lives. Hailey and her ex-boyfriend are over, but her dream of opening up a salad shop is not. Her launch is not what she thought it would be, but she's decided to do everything she can to make it a success. She's got good ideas, but limited experience in running a business.

Wes is a robot-like guy who is super focused on growing the business he owns with his brothers. He doesn't understand the fuss about relationships and is content to find someone he likes, but he refuses to fall in love. Wes bumps into Hailey in a small coffee shop and mistakes her for his blind date. The meeting doesn't go well, but he apologizes the next day. After the awkwardness dies down, the two realize they have the same goals of growing their business, and strike up a friendship. They decide that they will just be friends, despite their attraction to each other.

Hailey and Ken are very cute together and I loved seeing their friendship grow. But, this is a romance, so you know they will eventually fall for each other. Initially it happens slowly, and then all at once. It was very cute. My only criticism is that the story moved a bit too slowly for my taste. Otherwise, it's a fun rom-com to escape into for a few hours. I listened to the book and the narrator did a great job.

I received a complimentary e-copy and audio of this book from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio. All opinions are my own.

This was perfectly okay. Coming into book #3 of a companion series (didn’t immediately realize that was the case), it did feel like I was missing something. This was an easy read, friends to lovers, slow burn. Must love salads. It was entertaining but didn’t make my heart flutter.

Hailey moved to a small, central California coastal town to start a new after a bad breakup, swap the no longer appealing Hollywood lifestyle for a slower pace and set up her own food business on her own terms. She's super independent and stubbornly refuses help from anyone, which quickly became more annoying than endearing. She's not looking for love. Wes is also relatively new to the area after a relocation from the opposite coast to continue running the family business with his brothers. Pissing off their money hungry dad in the process.

They have an awkward meet cute which is just one big misunderstanding, and soon develop a friendship. Just friends. I fee like their friendship was more fun than the romance, which is probably because the romance developed so slowly. It was slow burn, yes, but I didn't feel much tension. Their guide to being just friends was such a delusion and an ill-fated attempt to preserve their platonic relationship. But their constant denial did excite me as I anticipated their inevitable big declaration of feelings and HEA.

The other brothers and their relationships were VERY present in this, and I’m at least curious to read the first book since the the FMC is described as having social anxiety, and I’m interested to see what that dating experience looks like for her.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When Hailey opens her own salad shop, she is set on making it a success. Wes never understands the importance of being in a relationship. When Wes sets up a meeting from an online dating site, he mistakes Hailey as his date. Once they meet, he can't stop thinking about her. They agree to just be friends, but will that be enough to make them both happy?

A great book in this series! I have enjoyed reading all three of them. A fun heartwarming story of friends turning into more. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Unfortunately, I had no idea this book was part of a series when I requested an ARC. So, I feel like I didn’t connect with the characters/world the way I would’ve if I had read the other books.

I did really like Wes and Hailey. I looove a good friends-to-lovers. I feel like it really adds to the romance when the characters know each other inside and out before starting a romance.

I feel like this book had so much healing and character growth. However, I felt at times, that Hailey was TOO headstrong.

I want to preface this by saying I went into this book without knowing it was a part of a series, and I still feel like I got the whole story without needing to read the other two books in the series, therefore this can definitely be read as a standalone. However, I did immediately rush to my local library to see if I could get the other two books in the series on hold!

This book was adorable, predictable, but adorable. I loved how firmly our FMC and MMC were set in their ways, and it took them so long to open up and let the other in, despite knowing deep down it was the right thing to do. I really liked Wes, I felt like I understood him and his need to fix everything and want to ensure the people he loves are cared for and aren't in any trouble for any reason - in any facet of life. I'm glad he learned himself and his boundaries and to respect the boundaries of others. Hailey also learned so much and it was so amazing to hear of how she got where she was. My heart swelled at her accomplishments, I felt like a longtime friend was achieving their dreams and it made me so happy. . All in all, I really enjoyed this one and would recommend.

Just a sweet and adorable rom-com. Very likable and relatable leads. Very much enjoyed. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

3.5 stars

This was just cute. The way they meant was adorable and of course there was that ending misunderstanding in order to find out all their true feelings. I'm not always a fan of prologues but this one was sweet and pulled everything together nicely.

I have not read the first two books in this “brothers” series.

I do love salads, so this salad business was right up my alley…but it was more business and slow burn than anything else. I did like the ending, but getting there was slow and was missing friendship details for me personally.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley, and even though it’s the third in the series, it’s a standalone. I didn’t realize I had read book two, How to Love Your Neighbor, but even if I hadn’t, this would have been easy to follow. This one focuses on Hailey and Wes.

Hailey is making a new start in a new town, having recently broken up with her jerk boyfriend of three years. She has opened her own business, By the Cup, a place that creates customized salads and serves them in clear cups. She meets Wes fairly soon after opening her business because she walks into the bakery next door and he thinks she’s his blind date. He’s angry that she’s “pretending” to be someone else. Because she was recently hurt, she doesn’t want to jump into any kind of relationship, even though she finds him very attractive. She is focusing all of her energy on building her business.

Naturally, they run into one another again and he is forced to apologize to her. He swears off dating because the apps haven’t worked well, and he doesn’t really believe in love anyway. They develop an affinity for one another and agree to become friends. They become friends. Best friends. And each fights to ignore the attraction between them because they don’t want to ruin what they have.

Wes’ two brothers and their girlfriends are a big part of the story. Each of his brothers had their own stories before this one so they’re in a good position to help Wes when he screws everything up by running scared from his feelings. Most of the banter that made me laugh was with his brothers Noah and Chris or with their group of friends. At one family gathering, Wes is disturbed because he finds out Hailey went on a date when Stacey brings it up. He chokes on his beer. He feels like Stacey is purposely pushing his buttons and Rob’s wide smile seems to confirm it. Both of his friends seem to be aware of what Wes is feeling, even if he’s unwilling to admit it to himself. Chris asks why everyone is huddled in the corner, and Rob replies, “We’re watching your brother learn how to drink beer.”

There was one funny text exchange with Hailey that made me LOL. Wes tells Hailey that he doesn’t like acronyms because if you’re not familiar with them, they can be “bothersome to decipher.” He types out “laugh out loud” in one of his texts, and she laughs and types: YASAD. Followed by: You. Are. Such. A. Dork. The conversation continues until he creates an acronym just for her: GNH. Good night Hailey.

This is a sweet story that focuses mostly on Wes and his journey to get from pessimist to optimist, from not believing in love, to acknowledging he is, in fact, deeply in love with Hailey. Hailey is hesitant at first, but she is an optimist at heart, and she believes in love. She accuses Wes of being a coward, and he comes to realize she may be right. With his brothers’ and then his friends’ help, he takes steps to prove to Hailey that he’s just as brave as she is.

There was one thing that bugged me about this story. When Hailey and Wes go speed dating, to help a friend writing an article, they discuss birthdays. Wes says his is on January 28th and Hailey’s is May 16th. Christmas comes and goes and the next gift-giving event is Valentine’s Day. Last I checked, February 14th comes after January 28th. Why introduce a character’s birthday when you’re not going to bring it up later when the date arrives?

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It’s difficult to be the book that comes immediately after an outstanding one. The last one I read was exceptional. This one is easy to read, contains relatable characters, and has a fun plot. I have no complaints.