Hailey is new in town and looking for a fresh start in the form of a small salad shop. Wes has sworn off love and has worked with his brothers for months trying to establish himself without his father's money or influence. After a terrible first encounter at a coffee shop, Hailey and Wes become fast friends. It isn't long before they're spending all of their time together and they have to decide if it's worth it to risk their friendship. This book is the third in the series and the side characters all have their own backstories that bring them to life.

"But there was more to loving someone than just “fixing” things."

Tropes-
3rd person dual POV,slow burn, friends to lovers

I had absolutely no idea this was the 3rd book of the series when I requested it. I love a good friends to lovers and this book definitely falls in the category.

I absolutely loved Hailey & Wes❤️

"Life rarely followed a straight path but the curves and unexpected detours had a way of leading to the exact right place."

The epilogue was cute & lovely.

"𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮."

Overall, I really liked this book! It was very relatable to me on a lot of different, especially in my early to mid twenties, and before I met Matt. I was pretty much the president of the friendzone.

The only reason this wasn't a 5 star for me was because sometimes the characters stubbornness was a little TOO much. Like, we get it, you're JUST friends (definitely not). And also, like, let people do nice things for you every so often! It doesn't always mean they don't think you're capable.

Advice I need to remember at times.

Full blog post coming soon! ❤
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#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #aguidetobeingjustfriends #sophiesullivan #arcebook #advancedreadercopy #kindle #slowburn #friendstolovers #closeddoor #book5of2023 #whatsnikkireading

A little case of mistaken identity.. all the miscommunication at first.. in between and til the end.. the inevitable becoming friends, wondering if they’ve landed in the friend zone, maybe more?
All of the feels, the confusion, the realization.. oh and the humor, the cringe moments.. the swoon worthy moments.. and everything in between.
A slow burn that will get your heart racing, and your ‘awwww’s in action. 🥺
100% recommend to all my romance readers, friends to lovers, well lovers, and to anyone that loves a feel good overall romance.

I found this book such a slog to get through. The characters were irritating, the stakes and disagreements so trivial. It just was not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of the book.

First of all, I read this book as a stand-alone which worked but, I definitely recommend reading it as a series as Wes’s brothers are featured in the first two books.

This book was quite good. This would have been 5 stars for me but, as others had said the burn is soooo very slow. Some parts in the book jump a month or more and nothing happens with them. This book did give me big When Harry Met Sally vibes as in that movie the burn was slow and over years. I loved that hailey stayed true to herself and did not fall for wealth, and did not take any handouts (or many). I love that she was written as a strong business woman. I definitely recommend this book if you love friends to lovers trope!

Will also be posting this review to Instagram in the morning

*I received an e-arc via Netgalley and the publisher for review. All thoughts are my own*

This was such a cute book! I enjoyed reading How to Love Your Neighbor last year, and I’m so glad that I got to read and review another Sophie Sullivan book. I now have to go back and read book one for sure! These can be read as standalones, but each book is about one of three brothers. I definitely recommend this one if you enjoy contemporary romance, friends to lovers, and a slow burn!

Hailey Sharp has been on her own for a while. Her parents are never around for her, and she and her boyfriend broke up a while ago. She moved to be closer to her cousin Piper, her husband Nick, and their kids who are her closest family. She has opened her own business called “By the Cup” where her specialty is salads, and she’s doing everything she can to get it off the ground and make it a success. With her head full of ideas about her business, and her ex now in her rearview mirror, she is living life the way she wants to. She wants no distractions.

Wes Jansen never understood all the hubbub with relationships. He’s had a string of first dates that never went anywhere, and he still deals with the pain of his parent’s angry divorce. He’d like to find someone that he likes and gets along with, but not anymore than that. He’d just like some companionship really.

Hailey and Wes find themselves in a disastrous meet cute that wasn’t even intended for them, and embarrassed they go their separate ways. Wes later finds Hailey to apologize for his behavior, and they wind up striking up a friendship. Of course, that’s all that it can be, as neither of them wants a relationship beyond platonic. What could possibly go wrong?

I loved how Hailey was such a determined, hardworking character. She was so invested in her restaurant. It was fun to see her relationship with Piper and her family. She also makes some other friends along the way, including not only Wes, but the funny Fiona. It was nice to see her find her family, her people.

I liked watching Hailey and Wes’ relationship develop. They both enter the friendship with some of their own baggage, and I liked that they are flawed characters. The banter between them was great!

This book was just the kind of lighthearted story that I needed! Excited to read more from this author.

I love a strong, business-minded, female lead, which is why I loved Hailey. Although, I grew to like Wes, I wasn’t crazy about him at first and didn’t want her to end up with him with the fear that she will risk her independence. Just like Hailey in the book, I wanted to see her achieve everything she could - but on her own. I could’ve done without “the fighting over the boy” drama, but happy that part of the plot was resolved.

This is my first book from the author and will definitely be going back to read more about the Jansen brothers.

I’ll be honest, I am not one for the friends to lovers trope but Sophie Sullivan wrote it so well I absolutely loved this book. These characters were so well thought out and described that I related to their issues, understood them, but still felt myself screaming inside “GOD JUST TALK TO EACHOTHER AND WORK IT OUT ALREADY!!!”.

Hailey is an independent woman (go off queen) starting a business that has been hurt by exes and parents, causing her to want to do it all alone because the only person she can trust fully is herself. Wes is a successful businessman who spent majority of his life protecting his brothers from family conflicts. If Wes sees a problem, he wants to fix it and take the burden off the people he cares about. These two certainly butt heads because of their past.

Hailey and Wes’s friendship was exactly what the needed and I didn’t even mind that it seemed to drag on forever (even though it was obvious to the readers that they obviously wanted more). If you like friends to lovers as a trope then you will DEFINITELY like this one. Also has a grumpy-sunshine vibe as well.

I didn’t realize this was a part of a series before reading but I definitely think it could be read as a stand alone as well! But i loved this so much and i enjoyed the side characters that I’ll definitely consider reading the other two of the series!

Thank you Netgalley, Sophie Sullivan, and St. Martin’s Press for letting me read this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

A cute friends to lovers story. I liked how their relationship progressed throughout the story and culminated with a happy ending.

loved this book so much!! As many of you know Ten Rules for Faking It (the first in this series) is one of my fave books ever and this new installment in the series totally gives me the same vibes!! I love the references to Chris and Everly!!!

This is the perfect friends to lovers romance. Hailey is a super driven business owner who has her own things going and doesn’t need a new relationship right now. In comes Wes who befriends her through her work and helps her with the marketing side of her business. Wes doesn’t think relationships or commitment is for him and tries his best to keep his friendship with Hailey purely platonic but the attraction grows.

These two have great chemistry and it’s fun to see all three brothers interact throughout this book which we didn’t see as much in the first two books.

As always I adore Sophie Sullivan’s writing style and can whole heartedly recommend this book to you!!

I really liked the salad shop setting! It was fun to watch Hailey grow her business and tackle problems head on. I really liked her as a main character and thought it was inspiring how she stood up for herself in many situations.

Wes on the other hand was a giant, walking red flag to me. Some of his actions and the things he would say to Hailey were pretty unredeemable for me. The way he would use his money to try to save Hailey/buy her love really rubbed me the wrong way.

Overall, I didn’t feel a lot of chemistry between Hailey and Wes. The miscommunication trope was also pretty hard for me to get past.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved reading every page of this book. The characters were all just the best and this was such a cute story. Wes and his brothers showing they can do great things without their father and also Hailey putting herself together one salad at a time. The whole book just made me happy the whole time I read it.

I haven’t read the other books in the series but I don’t think that’s a problem. I like a friends to lover romance, but sometimes the slow burn was a little too slow for me.

I thought this was a really cute book. The romance is slow burn which I don’t mind and I really loved that these two were friends first before taking it to the next level. Their shopping dates and the ease in which they were comfortable with each other felt very real. I loved the salad shop and the fact that Hailey wanted to make it successful on her own. I related to her crappy previous relationships and the damage it did to her self confidence.

A few things didn’t work for me however.
1. It felt like some of the plot points weren’t fully fleshed out. For example, we hear about Wes’ father suing him and his brothers and looking for ways to ruin their business and then that doesn’t ever seem to get resolved. It could almost be left out of the story- or just kept it at they were estranged.
2. The way that Hailey absolutely refused to ask for help and got incredibly upset anytime it was even suggested. Just seemed over the top even for with her background and caused a lot of drama that could I felt was unnecessary.

Overall I liked a lot about this book. I enjoyed it more than the second book. But some parts felt clunky and unfinished and for those reasons I rated it 3 stars.

I enjoyed this read, even though it took me quite some time to get through it. I love Hailey and her salad shop. She is so kind and caring, the type of person everybody wants as a friend. Wes definitely evolves over the course of the book. He is definitely skittish at times and doesn't always seem to know what he actually wants vs what he thinks he wants. Wes is very stubborn, which made me a bit frustrated with him at times since I truly just wanted him and Hailey to realize and act on their feelings with each other. This book is definitely a slow burn! There is a lot of work building up their friendship, in fact the majority of the book they are just friends. I just wish I got to see them interact as a couple more and watch their relationship develop further. I also have some questions about the characters' journey after the conclusion of the book, especially pertaining to Wes and his job. Overall, I think this is a good book if you have the patience to wait it out and watch Hailey and Wes's friendship develop and grow.

This book is definitely for thr hopeless romantics. A slow burn read but worth it.!I didn't realize that this book was part of a series but it was never lost. An adorable, funny romance read.

3rd book in the series features big brother, Wes!

Wes and Hailey are just friends, right?

If you love a slow burn romance that starts out as friends, you're going to enjoy this book. I would suggest reading the 1st two books as well, but they can totally be read as standalones!

This was such an enjoyable and fun book about two very focused business people, one of whom is trying to start her business and the other trying to continue to grow his business.

I loved that this book had a slow burn and focused on their supportive friends and family. This is part of a series, which I didn't realize at first, but I honestly didn't feel like I was missing any backstory, which is always good when starting mid-series.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for an ARC at my request. I definitely recommend this book!

The Jansen brothers are back! This is book three in a series of connected stand alones. It can definitely be read on its own but there are quite a few mentions to the couples and stories in the previous two that definitely add to the experience if you read them in order.
I’ve been curious about Wes’ character since the beginning and I honestly really liked him. I think his struggles from trying to protect his younger brothers was realistic. Wes wasn’t a perfect character but he was sweet when he tried to impress Hailey. (The video game!!)
I didn’t love their misunderstanding of a meet cute. Hailey was so stubborn with doing things on her own and I just wanted her to see that her friends and Wes just cared about her and want to help. The big conflict irritated me. They were doing so much better with communication and then Wes freaked out and it was so frustrating because everyone can see how he actually feels. He had a pretty good groveling/apology scene though. I love that he took notes from the hero’s in her romcom movies.

The Jansen brothers are hilarious. I love them. Noah might still be my favorite though.
I love all the parts about the brothers and the community center. 🥹