A Guide to Being Just Friends is a slow burn in the friends to lovers world. Readers of the other Jansen brothers books won’t be disappointed. Wes is a serious guy with little social life outside of his brothers. Haley is a bubbly new business owner who is starting over. The two have a hilarious meet cute and become good friends and begin intertwining their interests, friends and businesses.

This third and final book in the Jansen Brothers series is a great way to close it out. We get to see a lot of Everly, Chris, Grace, and Noah. Wes is all business and careful planning with his emotions tucked neatly away. Hailey is focused on getting her restaurant up and running after being burned in her last relationship, all she's looking for is a few customers and a friend. Enter Wes. The first 70 percent of the book we get to watch the friendship build and some jealousy appear. There are cute friend dates, a mean girl, and some inconvenient feelings. All of the action happens in the last 30 percent, in my opinion, it felt like a bit much in too short of a time. Overall it is a cute read, if you enjoyed the first two you'll enjoy this one.

Incredible swoony, cute, and funny friends to lovers book. This is for my slow burn lovers, but so worth it.

Sophie Sullivan truly knows how to capture the friends to lovers aspect and I would 100% re-read this book!

I knew from the moment these two met, they would have to get together somehow. That it was mistaken identity was just ironic.

As Wes finds ways to apologize and not fix all Hailey's problems the two of them become friends. Both of them need that closeness without the confines of a relationship.

Life of course throws in a few twists and almost unsurmountable problems. However, strength and persistence will win the day.

Love on the other hand, well that will take some soul searching on both their parts.

I now have to go back and read the first two books of this series. I want the back stories on Wes's siblings.

3.5 stars. On the whole, this was an enjoyable closed-door rom-com. I liked meeting Wes' family, seeing Hailey reclaim her life and succeed, and the community of friends they built. It's nice to read about thoughtful, well-intentioned people growing and finding happiness. That said, the story did tend to go on a bit. Wes and Hailey's meet-cute was endearing, but their issues were laid out early and then the plot seemed to tread over and over the same ground. Their third-act conflict didn't really work for me--after dealing successfully and satisfyingly with the foreseeable but logical problem that was brewing between them, there was an additional last-minute implosion on Wes' part that didn't really ring true, both in how it came out and how it was resolved. I wouldn't discourage anyone from picking this up if it appeals to them, but these things kept it from being as good as it could have been.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Do you enjoy a really good salad, especially if you don’t have to do all the chopping to make it?
I definitely love salad, and I find chopping all the toppings (because the more toppings the better) to be so tedious. Even though the end result is worth it, there is too much effort involved for me to make them often myself. When I started reading this book, where the main character owns a small salad shop, I had the BIGGEST craving to eat a delicious salad! Luckily, I stopped at Hand Cut and enjoyed a fantastic steak salad which satisfied my craving so I could continue reading without the distraction of hunger.
Hailey has just opened By the Cup, a salad shop, and is working to get it off the ground, after a bad breakup. She wants nothing more than to focus on the shop without distractions, especially not the distraction of a boyfriend. She befriends Wes (after a funny meet cute) who is anti-relationship but wants to use his business knowledge and connections to help her shop succeed. They make a pact to be just friends and continue spending time together. I wasn’t convinced by their insta-friendship but I did think it was sweet to see how that developed into more. Though it was definitely a slow burn, I was rooting for the pair to succeed! This is a clean, closed door romance, and it’s the third book in the Jansen Brothers series. I think you could go into this one without having read the others - in fact I just realized I never read the first one!
A Guide to Being Just Friends published this past Tuesday (1/17), so it’s available everywhere now. Thank you to St Martin's Press and St Martin's Griffin for the ARC via NetGalley - all opinions are my own.

Grab a salad and a comfy seat because this is a great read! So glad I started off my year with this one.

thank you to netgalley and st martin's griffin for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest thoughts :)

i was hooked from the title bc as a friends to lovers stan i just knew i needed this!! hailey and wes don't start out as friends but quickly become each others person. hailey is the kind of girl who still believes in love after awful relationships and wes absolutely does not feel the same - he refuses to fall in love. obviously, i ate this up!! these two characters just had so many feelings and so much to work through in regards to communication and expectations which made the romance that much more realistic to me. overall, i enjoyed my time while reading this and am looking forward to picking up the other to jansen brothers books!! <3

I love everything Sophie Sullivan writes. Her books are always so warm and funny, and the characters are lovely and easy to root for. I also reeeeeally want to visit Hailey's salad shop.

When Hailey and Wes meet, it isn't under the best of circumstances for either of them, but they decide that they like spending time together and that they make great friends. Hailey, for me, was a phenomenal character. She had depth, wit, sarcasm, and a drive to succeed (although this could be detrimental at times). Wes, for me, was also a good character. You could tell he had a good heart and wanted what was best for everyone. The friends to lovers trope isn't usually my favorite, but I feel like it worked so well here. You could see and feel the chemistry, the banter, and the struggle to deal with those feelings. This was a great ending to the Jansen brothers series and tied everything up really well!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the e-ARC to review.

This is the final book in the Jensen brothers trilogy and sadly my least favorite. This book follows Wes and Hailey who decide to become friends after a failed meet cute. While this book does follow them I felt like the book focused too much on trying to bring in every character from the series so that everything could get wrapped up. I would have liked to see more of Hailey and Wes together rather than all the family dynamics. I also was not a fan of Hailey’s character. She had very little personality and I felt like every interaction she had with the other characters was very people pleasing. Because this is slow burn friends to lovers they don’t get together til 50% through the book and then when they do we of course have to have the 3rd act breakup which felt very rushed. So it was conflict after conflict at the very end and then kiss and makeup and happy ending super quickly. Thank you to netgalley and St. Martins Press for an e-arc, all thoughts are my own.

Yes, give me more of the Jansen brothers! Wes is the big brother of the three and he’s my favorite. He’s the guarded but caring brother who is trying to protect everyone. I loved his meet-cute with Hailey, the new shop owner of the Salad in a Cup. I wanted to try every salad she made! What I love about Sophie Sullivan’s books it they cover real topics with realistic romance. The characters are well-developed and I want them to be my friends in real life. Sophie, can you create a Jansen brother just for me to date but he will live in Minnesota with me?

This book was a friends to lovers, dual POV with fade to black spice. It is book 3 in a series, but is just fine as a stand-alone read.

The friends to lovers made the romance slow-burn… but not by much. I feel like the romance/relationship aspect still happened at the appropriate place in the book…. But the story covers almost a full year.

Over all, think that the group scenes were the glue making this book more interesting. It was always someone else pointing out the chemistry between the two main characters… The solo scenes were good, but the chemistry fell a little flat during the friendship phase.

This was a really nice fluffy romance read. Having read Chris and Noah Jenssen’s stories, Wes and Hailey’s story was cute. The found family aspect and seeing the brothers together was a nice way to round things out for this series.


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for approving me for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

#aguidetobeingjustfriends:⁣
⁣
“… a little fear goes a long way. Toward what, I’m not sure. Best to be cautious but I’ll have your back.”⁣
⁣
This was like a big hug. I’ve really enjoyed this series and it just felt like a great big hug to finish it off. Hailey and Wes were wonderful and I felt like they complimented each other well. I was so excited for his story, and I’m glad it played out the way it did!⁣
⁣
I did listen on audio and I felt both readers did a great job. I did enjoy Stephanie Willing’s read a bit more, but overall a solid listen on audio.⁣
⁣
I will say, it took like 70% for the will they/won’t they to happen, so it almost felt like they held out for too long. Of course we have the great misunderstanding and the makeup, and I wish we could have spent more time in those areas. However, I did really enjoy getting to know Hailey and Wes as individuals before a couple.⁣
⁣
Overall, another solid Sophie Sullivan hit. Plus that epilogue 🥺🥺🥺 Thank you so much @smpromance and @macmillan.audio for the copies!! A Guide to Being Just Friends is out now. ❤️⁣
⁣
QOTD: If you had to play a fun board game, what would you choose?

In this friends to lover romance, you will find a lot of cute moments involving a salad shop and grocery shopping. This is a continuation in a series so you also will get to check in with some familiar characters. It is a closed door romance with a lot of swoon worthy-just kiss already- moments..

A Guide to Being Just Friends was the witty, delicious, swoon-worthy friends to lovers romance that I didn’t know I needed.

From the start, I fell in love with EVERY character. Unbenounced to me, this is actually the third book in a series! Needless to say, I’ll be reading the first 2 immediately. It’s fabulous as a stand-alone anyway, though.

The banter was well written, the characters fully fledged, the plot was full of both romance and disasters, and I couldn’t get it out of my head the entire time I was reading this.

Run, don’t walk, to grab your copy now!

Hailey Sharp is an independent woman who is determined to make a success of her recently opened salad shop. She's not interested in dating or romance and for good reason. However, friendships she can handle. Wes Jansen is certain he will never fall in love, but he too is open to friendship. After a messy first meeting and fateful second chance, the two really do become friends. Good friends. Over time the relationship takes on new meaning for one of them. Is it possible that they can find themselves on equal footing again?

This is a delightful story that is told with wit and heart. The protagonists and the secondary characters are three dimensional and likeable. The narrative is packed with emotion and themes of friendship and family.

Well written and engrossing, this book was a pleasure to read. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A Guide to Being Just Friends was a great conclusion to the Jansen brothers’ journeys!

I LOVE when a strong friendship is formed before the romance. Sophie Sullivan wrote such a sweet story that made me laugh out loud multiple times. Noah, Chris, and Wes are hilarious brothers! I love when they give each right a hard time.

Hailey was SO stubborn and stuck in her way. It was a little frustrating that she was not willing to let Wes help her - even though I understood her need to be independent and rely on herself.

I was not ready for the 3rd act break up but the 4th act break up was even more heartbreaking. Each time they hurt each other, I loved how they both came back apologizing. They each saw that they could have done something a little different. They didn’t change themselves but they compromised.

I wish there was another Jansen brother!! They’re so sweet! I would definitely read life about them! I cannot wait for what Sophie Sullivan writes next!!

Let’s take a moment for book series where each book follows a different friend/family member’s journey👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

When I requested the ARC of A Guide to Being Just Friends, I had no idea that it was a part of a series. I went to start it when I found out it was, I knew I wanted to read the books in order (although not completely necessary). I devoured these books of the Jansen brothers on their own journey to find love.

A Guide to Being Just Friends was such a sweet, quick read of Wes and Hailey’s undeniable connection. A closed door slow-burn romance with fun banter and a strong badass FMC? Say no more. Plus the ending tied up the whole series with all 3 brothers (so note that in case you happen to read them out of order. Thanks so much net galley & Sophie Sullivan for the ARC copy 😊
PUB DATE: January 17,2023

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a slow burn rom-com by Sophie Sullivan. It is the last in a series about the Janson brothers but can be read as a standalone. We follow Hailey, who just got out of a bad relationship and is in the middle of opening up a salad shop and Wes the oldest of the three Janson brothers, who has moved to California to get away from being under his fathers controlling manner. Neither Hailey nor Wes are interested in being in a relationship so they agree to just being friends until one drunken night changes things.
Such an enjoyable light and quick read. Would definitely recommend this book to others. Can't wait to read more from the author!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Sophie Sullivan and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.