Great quick and cute read. Definitely my type of book. Looking forward to reading more by Sophie! Thank you so much for the ARC

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me the earc!

i said it for book 2, but i really thought i was going to like this more than the previous books. like the whole friends-to-lovers and having to make a guide of how to stay just friends and not include "feelings" into that??? sounds really good, but the execution was not good. i liked hailey and wes sometimes and other times i wanted to just shake some sense into them - hailey with her body negativity and wes with his inability to/fear of falling in love. there were many moments that i was giddy becuase they were really starting to fall for each other but that last 20% made me VERY angry. the back and forth almost made me DNF, but i had made it that far and just held on. honestly, this series is just okay. i have liked seeing chris and everly in each book MORE than the book's mcs for both books 2 and 3, so i think that says a lot. while book 1 i didn't really feel the chemistry between them, i have felt it in the following books. i don't really recommend this series but ehhh to each their own.

⚠️: body shaming, toxic relationship (fmc's ex) (mmc and his father), emotional abuse, body negativity, divorce

Sophie Sullivan's "A Guide to Being Just Friends" is a contemporary romance about Jansen brother #3, Wes, and his newly found bestie, Hailey. After becoming friends after what could have been an amazing meet-cute, Hailey and Wes list their guide to being the greatest friends without the complications of romance and falling in love. During their friendship, Wes continues his business endeavours with his two wealthy brothers, including working at a recreation center that builds up young people in the community. His world slowly intertwines with that of Hailey as she works hard to grow her start up salad business. Thanks to Wes' know-how and connections, Hailey's small business not only skyrockets, but her social circle deeply widens.

I enjoyed the beautiful process of what makes a sweet friendship grow between two people. As Hailey and Wes overcome personal challenges, insecurities, and career changes, they are there for each other. Watching them slowly become intimate was lovely.

If there was one thing I’d change, however, it’s a little more editing. I feel like a chunk or two could have been cut. I also would have changed the expected conflict. I didn’t understand Hailey’s reaction and perhaps I knew where Wes was coming from. No spoilers but it would be an interesting convo if you’ve read it.

I recommend this book if you like a slow burn fade-to-black contemporary romance with themes like friends to lovers and found family.

A slice of life kind of book featuring an independent girlie in a new town making a name for herself and a reserved but quirky male lead with deep pockets and a big heart.

Hailey & Wes’ relationship kicks off with a simple misunderstanding but soon blooms into friendship. Most of the narrative centers on them building their friendship and going through life together, strictly as friends. It felt a little unnatural for them to so decisively say so, but alas, the guide to being just friends was born and they really tried their darnedest to keep it that way.

You have to rock hard with the friends to lovers trope to endure this one. There was a long lead up to their inevitable reveal of more-than-friends feelings; the necessary tension was lacking for me to feel completely invested. When they finally got together, though their dialogue and handling of issues could be considered mature, it felt heavy handed and I found myself rolling my eyes *several* times. Their dialogue and characterization was very stiff.

I enjoyed the merry world of characters and understand the brothers & their significant others have their own books. This worked as a standalone novel but would be probably be more satisfying if the other books in the series were read first, as the precious characters make many appearances throughout the novel.

2.5⭐️ rounding up. Recommended to those who enjoy fade to black romances, slice of life contemporary reads, and friends to lovers tropes

**thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC**

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙈𝙚𝙩 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 500 𝘿𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝘼 𝙂𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝘽𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙚𝙣 𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙁𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙩.

📍 Read if you like:
• Friends-to-Lovers
• When Harry Met Sally
• Closed Door Romances
• Slow Burns

This is my first read by this author… I know I probably should’ve read the first two books in the series to get the full story on these brothers, but I didn’t mind reading this one first. I loved that I didn’t find it confusing how often the other characters appeared in this one.

I was so hesitant to read this when I saw the mixed reviews on Goodreads, but I’m glad I didn’t pay too much attention to them as I enjoyed this.

While I did get through this just fine without reading the other two books first, it may be best to read them before so it won’t be too confusing. I wasn’t confused, but I know some readers may be.

I loved Wes so much, he was so wholesome and sweet to Hailey. I also loved how they met - it was a sunny scene… and the times after when they met coincidentally.

As the title states, this book starts with our characters being just friends - “not wanting to be in a relationship” - but then they realize they may have feelings for each other and may be more than just friends.

Honestly, I’m not a big fan of friends-to-lovers, but it worked so well in this one. It may have been because they met as strangers before becoming friends, while other books in this trope start with them being friends right away.

Also, the dual POVs worked so well for me. It was a slow-burn romance, but it was worth it! Found family and friendships also play a part… which I loved!

I also want to mention how much I loved and respected Hailey for being an independent woman and believing in her small business: a salad restaurant.

I loved this book so much and now I want to go back and read the first two! Both of these characters were so enjoyable to read about and I loved seeing them become more than just friends! Such a great romance read!

This book was super cheesy and kind of dull. I kinda enjoyed it for a light romance, but it’s one of those books when I’m done I will never think about it again

This was a solidly average smalltown romance for me. I really loved that the relationship started out as a friendship that grows to more, but I didn't quite come around to the chemistry between Wes and Hailey and that was my biggest disappointment, But I still enjoyed this and thought it brought the Jensen's brother series to a nice conclusion.

3.5 stars . This was a cute, quick read that was a modern day spin on When Harry Met Sally. Hailey, who owns a salad shop, runs out to the coffee shop next door, and Wes mistakes her for the date he is supposed to be meeting there, who ends up standing him up. They meet again when Hailey ends up delivering lunch to his office, and become friendly. After coming out of a bad relationship, Hailey is just looking for friendship, and Wes doesn't believe in long term love, so they set out on a strictly platonic friendship revolving around grocery shopping trips and movie marathons. Of course they eventually realize they do have feelings for each other more than just friends, and that's when things start to get messy, especially when Wes's business starts to interfere with Hailey's shop. At times Hailey could be a stubbornly prideful character which made her hard to like, and Wes was emotionally closed off due to the damage his parents' divorce inflicted on him at a young age. Third act breakups are always a frustrating trope for me, especially when they occur so close to the end of the story arc, so this one started off stronger than it finished for me, but I still enjoyed it. I didn't realize it was the final book in a series when I requested it, but it did truly read as a standalone so it didn't affect my ability to understand the situation at hand, and the former couples from previous books didn't really impact this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Hailey moves to San Verde, California after a bad breakup hoping to create a fresh start with her new salad business. There she meets Wes Jansen, and they become fast friends. Definitely just friends. Right?

Though this is the 3rd in a series with interconnected characters, I had no trouble reading it as a standalone. I actually wasn't aware it was in a series until I looked at other reviews.

This is an extremely slow burn friends to lovers story, magnified by the actually passing of time in the book. If you like those tropes, you'll probably like this book.

Overall it was a fun read.

Crossposted to goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5303113441

I really liked A Guide to Being Just Friends. I didn't realize when I requested this ARC, but this is the third book and final Jansen brother. I am also fan of friends to lovers (so that was two pluses before I even started:) and I wasn't disappointed. The strangers to friends start of the story is done well and I am always happy to get to see that happen and the connection grow into love as the pair become more and more 79important to each other. It helps that both of the romantic leads, Hailey and Wes, are likable -he's successful but with hidden arty and nerdy streaks (which are also my catmip). It was fun seeing Hailey getting her business off the ground and making new female friends too. Seeing past pairs was nice too, but I think this book still stands on its own even if you haven't read the other brothers' books since Wes is new to town.

So all in all a satisfying friends to lovers story.

ARC courtesy of the publisher, St Martin's Griffin, via NetGalley- this is an unpaid review release date 1/27/2023.

So cute!!!!

This book is one that will make you feel good and enjoy the journey. The meet cute was so adorable and you can't help but know something will come from it later. You'll want to root for them as friends, but really be rooting for them to become more. This is a dream situation for anyone who is single right now and is looking for that someone. Who doesn't want to fall in love with their best friend.

I especially loved how there wasn't all the drama of "if they would only talk." For Haley she does talk about her feelings so she is more upfront than Wes. I think it gives a good example of how people can feel and express their feelings in any kind of relationship. (Though I discovered I'm probably more of a Wes when it comes to feelings.)

I had forgotten I read about the Janson brothers before and so it was nice being able to start this book and feel like I didn't need to read the first two all over again. I'm sure if someone picked this one up without reading the first two it'll still make sense to them. It might make them intrigued to go back and read them. I know I'll be doing a reread.

I didn’t realize when I began this, that it was the third book in a series. I had previously read How to Love Your Neighbor, but this book can be read as a standalone. However, I did enjoy seeing all the brothers that this series follows, and learning more about what happened to the characters from the previous books.

I really liked the dynamic between Hailey and Wes. It was really fun to read. Their friendship was solidly built before the romantic elements started creeping in and it was nice to see it grow naturally. Overall, it was a cute rom-com, but didn’t have as much depth as I usually like.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin, and Sophie Sullivan for an e-arc of A Guide to Just Being Friends in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advanced readers copy of A Guide to Being Just Friends.

Overall I enjoyed this book and the story of the two main characters. I also enjoyed all the brothers and their relationships that were also tangled into the story. I rooted for both characters and their relationship and cringed when they made mistakes. It was a more accurate depiction of what falling in love looks like. I found at times that story did drag on, but only for more heartfelt moments to arise.

I rate this story at 4/5 stars.

To be blunt, I was bored while reading this book. I am a huge fan of the slow burn trope but nothing was burning here. It was luke warm at best. Hailey and Wes were good friends but I felt nothing more between them than that. I like to at least sense something simmering below the surface in my slow burns. Something to keep you reading because you're so anxious to see that chemistry finally boil over. But by the time that happened here, it felt very "meh" and I was just glad to be done with it, sorry to say.

I also was not aware going in that this book was the third book of the series. Even though it can be read as a standalone, I wish I had known about the prior two books because characters from those books appear in this one quite a lot and I felt like I was missing out.

Overall, not a great read for me but I wouldn't be opposed to trying something from this author again in the future.

This book was a roller coaster. Just when you think you Wes and Hailey are rocked solid you get thrown a curveball. It is a bit of a slow burn romance and friends to lovers. Just when you think they are about to cross over to lovers you get pushed right back to friends. I had a hard time putting the book down and when I did all I could think about was when I was going to pick it back up. I am sad that this series is over.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for an eArc of this book for my honest review. This review is my opinion and mine alone.

This was just an amazing tale! I absolutely devoted it! The characters. The storyline, everything was on point! Also it was a book that was the perfect read for January!

Well, this was cute and fun. And it had me grabbing my nearest notepad to scribble down those delicious sounding salad recipes! I loved the way the author tied this one in with How to Love Your Neighbor, the second book in the series (though you by no means need to have read it as well to enjoy this one). Somehow I missed the first one in the series, and I will definitely be picking up a copy because Sophie Sullivan writes stories that feel like a warm blanket on a cold morning.

This will appeal to all rom-com lovers. Pick up a copy for yourself!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the advanced digital copy.

While this book had a bit of a slow start, it picked up for me about halfway through. I loved Hailey and Wes’s friendship. They deserved each other. I loved that they didn’t really play games with each other and there was no miscommunication throughout the plot. I will say I’ve never craved salad more than while reading this book. The ending was perfect.

This was my first Sophie Sullivan novel, but I will definitely go back and read about the other Jansen brothers. I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Sophie Sullivan for the ARC!

I loved this one @authorsophiesullivan ! Great job! Go grab this one asap. It was adorable. You were rooting for them the whole time. Love came from friendship. 😍

Hailey is a restaurant owner in Cali when she meets an uptight business man named Wes. The two keep meeting in various places until they decide to be friends. They actually grow a beautiful, close friendship and become the best of friends.

I loved watching their relationship progress and change over time. And apparently there’s more books on the Jenson brothers! I didn’t know! I’ll have to go read their stories as well!

I always enjoyed Sophie Sullivan's work, but I was hoping to get a little bit more out of this book. I was hoping for a little more depth to the characters and their overall relationship, it was almost a little boring for me.
Now on to the good things about this book:
I have read the other books in the Janson brothers series and it was really nice to see those characters again. I love a slow burn and a friends to lovers trope so if you are a fan of those like I am, this is a book you are going to enjoy. I really enjoyed all of the side characters as well as the main characters, and seeing an MC who shares your first same is kinda a fun experience I haven't had the pleasure of reading thus far, so that was something that I enjoyed about this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity to read this book!