This was an adorable book. I enjoyed How to Love Your Neighbor and this one solidified my love for Sophie Sullivan's books. I still need to read Ten Rules for Faking It but I can tell you it's definitely on my list!

Hailey's been navigating her life by herself since she as a teenager and after splitting from her boyfriend of a few years she's finally opening her own business. As Hailey navigates small business ownership she finds herself surrounded by the most supportive friends. I loved reading about the friendships between Hailey and her cousin Piper's friend Fiona who is such a firecracker. It showed how important a found family can be when you're own family isn't around to support you.

Wes is determined to never fall in love so that he can avoid ending up like his father. Let's just say he wasn't the best example to his three sons and we've been able to see that in glimpses from the other books in this series. I liked Wes and enjoyed seeing how his character evolved from this a man struggling with what his expectations of love were and what the reality of it is.

The spice was low but I was ok with that. I liked the banter between Wes and Hailey and am glad I got the opportunity to read this one. I hope we get more of these fun rom-coms. They definitely bring some light into my reading life!

I will say, that all though I didn't realize this was a part of a series, I don't think it took away from my enjoyment of the book. I love Hailey and Wes. I can't say that the slow burn trope is my favorite, however, this was a very cozy read for me.

I'm definitely going to check out the first 2 books in the series!

I did not realize this was part of a series until someone told me. Will have to come back to another time after reading the others.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a cute closed door romance that finishes off a series. While you don’t need to read the other 2 books, those characters do have a presence in this book.

Hailey just moved to San Verde, California to live near her cousin after a bad breakup to open up her own salad shop. Wes moved to San Verde to be near his brothers and build more investments. They have a weird meet-cute that ends up embarrassing them both. A second chance introduction paves the way for friendship.

As the two MC get along and help each other with seemingly platonic situations, they both start to have feelings. Wes however lives in a black and white world and sees no room for love. Hailey wants an all encompassing love.

Read this if you love:
🥗 Slow burn romance
🥗 Closed door romance
🥗 Friends to Lovers

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. A Guide to Being Just Friends is out now.

This was such a cute slow burn, friends to lovers romance!! I felt like there was a hint of grumpy-sunshine as well but I also wouldn’t consider Wes to be a fully grumpy character so I’m not 100% sure about that just yet! But anyways, I think this was absolutely adorable! There were some timeline holes that confused me a bit but they were minor so it wasn’t a huge concern. Also, dual POV??? LOVE IT!! I’m a sucker for dual POV especially in romance books so I’m so very happy that that was included in this! Overall, this was adorable and I really enjoyed it!

P.s., I’m craving salad and brownies now after reading this

For me this was probably a solid 3.5.

I wanted this book to be over pretty bad. I wanted to enjoy it but I didn’t really. I wouldn’t even consider it a slow burn. It was just slow. I didn’t really particularly like either Wes or Hailey.

I didn’t realize this was a third book either, but I actually liked Chris and Noah and would possibly consider going back and reading their books.

There was no particular connection I felt towards Hailey or Wes. They had a cute friendship but it wasn’t a stand out rom com to me. The build up didn’t have me pining for their relationship to start.

I understood but didn’t understand haileys insecurity with money. I don’t think I’d turn down a Tiffany’s bracelet thank you.

Also I hate hate third act break ups. And the way this played out was okay, I was fine with it. It worked. But at 90% I almost just stopped reading cause it made me hate it. The only thing keeping me reading it was that I knew I was like 20 min from being done.

It wasn’t a particularly bad book. The writing was good. It just wasn’t something that really hit home for me.

This was a cute romcom! I didn’t realize that it was the third/final book in this series - so it’s safe to say that this can be read as a standalone without being insanely confused.

This follows Hailey and Wes. Hailey moved to another region outside of LA and opens up a salad shop on her own. She’s a BOSS and we’re here for that power. Wes is an investor and he and his brothers help small businesses and low-key, they’re loaded. Hailey, not liking to ask for help or even the idea of handouts, butts heads with Wes but they become really good friends and he genuinely helps her up her business practices. BUT, they both realize that they like their friendship too much and refuse to let it be anything more - enter their joke of “their guide to being just friends”.

I wanted to shake both Hailey and Wes at different moments because they needed some sense knocked into them. However, I feel like the side characters were everything! LIKE LEO. Making her a little fruit sundae bc she’s sad. 🥺 Or even the friends she makes in Fiona and Dolly. I just wanted to squeeze them all so equally and give everyone a giant hug. I definitely want to go back and read the other 2, because I have a feeling that they follow Wes’ two brother and their relationship. Regardless, I’m curious.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a super cute, mostly closed door romance.

You’ll love it if you enjoy friends to lovers, characters who are against falling in love because *reasons*, entrepreneurship, found family, great siblings, and more.

It also reads well as a standalone for being the third in a series. While I have the first two books on my TBR, I read this one first and didn’t feel lost at all.

I adored Hailey and Wes’ story and look forward to enjoying more books from Sophie Sullivan!

Note that I received an advanced reading copy of the book, receipt of which did not impact my review.

I really wanted to love this story. I'm a huge fan of friends to lovers and I thought this was the storyline. However, the slow burn was so slow it was hard to stay engaged. The first 75 pages felt extremely repetitive and to drawn out. I loved the idea of the story and the characters, it was just a little short of the target for me.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Genre: Romance, Romcom
Heat Level: Med (closing door—meaning a tiny, tiny bit is on the page)
Language: Med (just about ever swear but not on every page)

I love how Hailey is so adamant about making her new shop, By the Cup off to a successful start. She's smart, funny, driven, and knows how to chop like a champ. Even though her heart was broken by her last boyfriend, she's vivacious and will try again. Then there's Wes—the oldest brother who protected his younger siblings from their father's abuse and the worst of the fighting between their parents. He knows that love only shreds you apart. The solution is to never fall in love.

After one of the best meet-cutes ever, with lots of awkward apologies, these two become friends. Knowing you're only ever going to be friends makes life so much easier. You can be yourself without worrying. You can spend time together without endangering your heart. You can even meet family without a hitch. And attraction? Well, that's all it is—an unimportant sensation that can be bottled and stuffed away.

I loved so much about this book. The characters' motivation to stay single is understandable. Their reactions to stress make me either laugh or groan that they're lying (to themselves). But every moment was thoroughly enjoyable.

There are a couple of moments when they talk about their guide to being just friends, and I wish there were a couple more because of the title.

Both characters have to change. But I feel like the burden of change lands with Wes because of his background.

Lovers of romcoms and light-hearted romance stories will lap up this book.

I highly recommend it!

Happy reading,
Michelle

Thanks to @stmartinspress @smpromance for my gifted copy of A Guide to Being Just Friends, by Sophie Sullivan. This sweet, slow-burn romance came out this week, and is definitely one to have on your radar! This is the third book in a series, and contains spoilers for the first two.

First and foremost, I loved the girl power in this book. Hailey, our female main character, is so driven and goal-oriented, and is determined to do it all on her own. We 👏🏻 love 👏🏻 to 👏🏻 see 👏🏻 it!!!!! Reading about her rise in her own business was delightful.

And then, there was the romance. We love a fun slow-burn with great tension building. I loved how Hailey and Wes started as friends, and how things developed from there. It made me want to read Sullivan’s other books and see how she developed Wes’s brother’s relationships!

A Guide to Being Just Friends

3/5 Stars

I'm really picky about friends-to-lovers but I didn't mind this one. I loved the writing and banter! I haven't read the other two in the series but after reading this one, I've definitely added it to my TBR. Just to be clear, this is a CLEAN ROMANCE and a slow burn! It didn't deduct to my enjoyment of the book at all. I would just say, be in the mood for a clean romance because I had to set it down for a bit to be in the mood for it (#MoodReaderProblems).

This was a good read, nothing extraordinary but great for a comfort read with a cup of coffee on a rainy (or Snowy, as it is in the midwest in January) day.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eArc.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is the third book in the Jansen Brothers Series by Sophie Sullivan.
I was unaware that there were two previous books, Characters from the previous books appear quite frequently in this book, but, the lack of knowledge of their back story doesn't hinder this book. It reads well as a stand alone.

This is a sweet, slow burn, friends to lovers story. The author took her time building the friendship and then the romantic relationship. This rates "1 pepper" on the spicy scale: there is a lot of "fade to black" moments once the romance begins to develop.

The main characters Wes and Hailey certainly have enough personal baggage when it comes to relationships. They definitely have to work their way through some sticky situations and personal attitudes about relationships that impeded the development of their romance. Overall, it was an easy to read enjoyable story.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Netgalley, and Sophie Sullivan for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Happy Publication - this book is now available!

"Sometimes we don't know who we are until we find the right person. The one that helps us see ourselves in a way we never did before."

After coming out of a toxic relationship, Hailey has made her business, By the Cup, her priority. She loves making salad, and is hoping to make a name for it. She hasn't gotten time for anything else. The last thing she expects is to head into a café, and have a cute boy confuse her with another girl from a dating app, and have an argunment over it. That cute boy is none other than Wes Jansen (BEEN WAITING FOR THE FINAL JANSEN BROTHER'S STORY ALL YEAR). Of course, after finding out that Hailey isn't the girl he confused her with, Wes feels extremely guilty. He finds her to apologize, and the two start to form a friendship. Wes ends up helping Hailey build her business, but of course, the chemistry starts to form. But, Wes doesn't do love. He was only on those dating apps just to find someone he can enjoy time with. Nothing too serious. Meanwhile, Hailey's also against relationships, because she's done prioritizing men over her own dreams and careers. To deny all that chemistry, the two make a pact about friendship. As long as they follow those rules, they can stay friends, and they don't have to worry about crossing boundaries, RIGHT? RIGHT? HAHAA, WRONG. CUE THE CHAOS. It was also nice to get glimpses of the other Jansen brothers, and see how happy they are in their own relationships😍 A MUST-READ DURING THOSE COZY NIGHTS :)

A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan
Book 3 in the Jansen Brothers series

Romance Level: 4/5
Spice Level: 1/5
Overall Rating: 4/5

This was a cute friends to lovers romance. Wes and Hailey have a meet cute and decide that they should be best friends. The building of their friendship also meant the development of the tension between them. Wes just wants to take care of Hailey and Hailey wants Wes to know she can take care of herself. That was my favourite part of the book. Hailey is very much a strong, feminist woman and she teaches Wes to not undermine her.

This was very cute and sweet! A light and happy read with an important message.

3.5 stars

I want to start by noted that I went into this book without reading the first two books in the Jansen Brothers series and was able to follow along easily. I loved all the characters in the story, and even understood what happened in the rest of the series just from the details the author gave about Chris and Everly and Noah and Grace.

I do love a good friends to lovers trope but I was a little disappointed with this one. The idea of the story is great and I loved how the MC's met, but I honestly enjoyed the book more when Wes and Hailey were just friends. The sexual tension between them was evident throughout the entire book but the build up and anticipation shortly fizzled out once they were FINALLY together.

I enjoyed that they both came to their senses, Hailey was able to let people help her, Wes realized what love meant and not to be afraid of it and had a happy ending. Somethings that I do wish were included in the book was that Wes finally realized his talent and maybe in the epilogue it shares that he has started developing video games for a living, but that is just a minor thing. Another thing I wish the author went into more detail about was the actual Guide to Being Just Friends, which was barely discussed and I felt like it should have been a larger part of the story, considering it's in the title..

All in all I did enjoy this book and do believe many people will enjoy the story and writing. Part of it just did not live up to my expectations at the end, but maybe I just have high expectations?

What a fun and delightful rom-com story! I really enjoyed reading Sophie Sullivan's third book in her popular Jansen Brothers series, A Guide To Being Just Friends. It was chock full of romance, funny mishaps, flirty friendships, and LOVE. Such a treat to read! And, don't worry, you can read this book as a standalone novel ( I did ) and read the other two in the series when you get the chance ( I plan to ).

Hailey moves to LA after her boyfriend dumps her. She's decided to open a salad shop and is determined to make it succeed. Wes has left his family behind in New York and moved to LA. The two wind up having a meet-cute that eventually leads to a great friendship - after all, the two are not looking for romance. Anyhow, their friendship blossoms, as does their romantic feelings for one another, all the while they are trying to make their new home and their new lives work.

Sullivan has written an entertaining and engaging story that will have you cracking up and smiling as you get to know Wes and Hailey. I know that I definitely had fun reading all about their misadventures in LA. A Guide To Being Just Friends is a cute story that you will definitely enjoy reading - so, make sure to check it out if you love rom-coms.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is Sophie Sullivan's third book in the Jensen brothers series. While reading the first two books might give the reader a deeper understanding of some of the backstory, it is not necessary in order to enjoy this novel.

Hailey Sharp just opened up her very own salad shop, following a dream she has had for awhile, but things are not going as smoothly as she has anticipated. Enter Wes Jensen in a meet-cute situation based on a blind date misunderstanding. Neither Hailey or Wes really have time for a relationship, so why not just ignore the slow burning romance developing between them. Most readers can figure out where the story goes from here.

I found this novel and the characters enjoyable in a sweet way, but wasn't overly impressed with Sullivan's writing. A cute romantic comedy, perfect for a quick weekend read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Griffin Publishing for my copy of this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an arc of A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan.

When I requested this book, I did not know that it was the third in a series! I don’t think reading this book first hindered my enjoyment of it nor do I think it would hinder my enjoyment of going back and reading the first two.

This is a slow-burn, dual POV, friends to lovers romance, but without ANY spice! The chemistry between our two main characters, Wes and Hailey, is palpable, but this is a VERY slow burn. They feed off each other and I found myself audibly laughing at their banter on more than one occasion. I loved all the side characters as well, which if you've read the first two books, I'd wager those are some familiar faces.

This book was an enjoyable read, but a little too slow for me. It was clear about a third of the way through the book that Wes and Hailey were lying to themselves about their feelings, and at that point, I just wanted the story to get going.

I have no doubt if you enjoy a slow burn, friends to lovers, clean romance with some quirky side characters, that you will really enjoy this book! Although the pacing didn’t work for me, the writing is good, there are lot of great moments, and if this book is your style, I'm sure you will get all the warm fuzzy feelings you are looking for!

I think I am the problem, not this book. Maybe if I had realized this was 3rd in a series, I would have enjoyed/cared more. Nothing stuck out to me.