A slow-burn romance with a bunch of characters I'd like to be friends with.
The best thing for me in this book was the friendships. There is a whole host of side characters in this book with different personalities and qualities in people you would enjoy knowing. Some have appeared in the previous books so it was nice to see them involved in this story. Hailey's friends are funny and supportive. I loved Fiona and her silly quizzes.
Wes and Hailey's friendship started awkwardly but they were the perfect complement to each other. It was obvious there were sparks between them but they made the conscious decision of being friends. Their bond and friendship blossomed as they spent time together just doing normal stuff. They could be themselves without any judgement or expectations. They were really sweet together. Wes was down to earth, kind and generous but a bit stuck in his ways. Hailey was strong and independent. I liked that she stood up for herself in her relationship with Wes but that she eventually learned to accept help and support from people who love her.
I enjoyed watching them fall in love while not realising it and how they handled it when the penny dropped.

A few characters were new. I liked Leo. He had an interesting story that wasn't fleshed out and I'm wondering if the author isn't completely finished with the Jansen universe.
I would have liked to have seen the Ana situation get resolved more satisfactorily. She got away too easily with her behaviour. I felt that the situation with the father was glossed over as well.
Wes's mother was mentioned but didn't appear in the book and it would be interesting to see how she settles into the neighbourhood.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a cute slow burn romance, entertaining, angsty and fun.

This was a cute, strangers to friends to lovers Romcom. It was a bit too much of a slow burn for me though with more focus on the friends side than the actual romance side.

What a cute romance! This is technically the third book in the Jansen Brothers series, but having never read the previous two, I feel like this easily read as a stand-alone! I loved the relationship and dynamics of the Jansen brothers, as they were frequent supporting characters in this one, and now I’m definitely eager to read the previous two books in the series.

As for this one, I loved the female main character, Hailey! She’s funny, independent, smart, and I absolutely loved that she owned a salad shop! I found her extremely relatable, likable and would love to have a friend like her! I also enjoyed Wes, and think his and Hailey’s banter and chemistry worked so well! For this being a friends to lovers trope (one of my favorites) I think it was extremely well done! They had a solid reason for not wanting jeopardize the friendship but when they started to fall for each other the chemistry and tension was completely there!

Overall there was such an array of wonderful supporting characters, that I flew through this book and found myself completely immersed in their world! I am now a huge fan of Sullivan’s writing and highly recommend this one!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for this gifted eARC!

Loved this delightful read! I hadn’t realized that this book was the third in a series, and I liked it so much I want to go back and read the first two. I really enjoyed meeting all the characters and watching Hailey’s relationship with each one of them grow. And of course loved the blossoming romance between Hailey and Wes. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!!

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a cute friends to lovers romance that felt a little flat. I wish I had known it was the third book in a series before I read it. I felt like I was missing important background on the Jansen brothers and their girlfriends. I kept getting the side characters confused and I think I would have enjoyed their characters more if I had read the first two books. I had a lot of trouble getting into the book and didn’t feel invested in Hailey and Wes’s story. This book might be for you if you like friends to lovers, found family, or slow burn romances.

Firstly, thank you St. Martins Press for this e-ARC! 

I’ve been dying to read it since you sent it but have been building up the suspense until we got closer to the publishing date (Jan 17 for anyone wondering 🎉)

I was lucky to receive a copy of How to Love Your Neighbour last year and it was super cute. This one was pretty much on par. For a contemporary romance, this was somehow able to veer away from being cheesy … which I’ve found is pretty uncommon with similar books.

This story has all your favourite tropes: a meet cute, friends to lovers, well off guy/ financially struggling girl, “I don’t believe in love” … you name it. Although it was a closed door romance - Sullivan was able to build up the tension just fine with her kiss scenes that it didn’t feel like you were missing out on anything.

Overall the characters were well written, with each character being fine on their own and even better together. If you’ve been following the series then it’s easier to feel like you’re a part of their crew, instead of trying to keep track of multiple characters and their partners. While both Hailey and Wes had their faults, that wasn’t the main thing driving the plot. Did their faults lead to some hiccups along the way? Absolutely. But there is something about a story where adult couples handle their issues/fights like mature people that I will always be a fan of. I think the growth of Hailey and Wes’s relationship felt natural, and their friendship alone was *chefs kiss* 🤌🏻💋. It was hard not to route for them.

Where this fell short for me was a few plot lines that I think could have been left out entirely, or I wish they were tied back in a little bit. Wes’s video game design? Was Ana dropped? And where was the finished “Guide to being Just Friends”… which is like.. the main point of the story no??

Between that and the repetitiveness of certain phrases like Wes’s ‘ocean blue eyes’ or ‘arched brow’, this found itself happily in the middle at 3.5 ⭐️

Recommend if you enjoy Abby Jimenez, Helena Hunting, or Mazey Eddings. Highly recommend reading the first two books in the series first (Ten Rules for Faking it & How to Love Your Neighbour).

When Hailey moves to a new town in California, her only focus is on making her new salad restaurant a success and forgetting about her ex. Wes is new in town, too, and after witnessing the disaster of his parents’ relationship, he’s never believed in love. After an accidental and awkward first meeting, they assume they’ll never see each other again, but fate keeps bringing them back together. They decide to be friends—neither of them is looking for a romantic relationship after all, so what can go wrong?

I read this book without realizing that it’s the third in a series. It works well as a stand-alone, but fans might enjoy the previous two books about Wes’s brothers (who are also characters in this novel). This was a cute, feel-good story with uplifting themes about friendships, the family we choose, loyalty, and how we shouldn’t always trust first impressions.

It was a quick and pleasant read, but the characters were almost so sickly sweet as to be annoying. The town, the characters, the dialogue—all of it was just a little too cutesy to be at-all believable. I didn’t feel that there were ever any real obstacles keeping the two main characters from being together except for the obvious story trope they had to fit into which felt formulaic. It was a sweet story, but too cookie-cutter.

If you’re looking for a cute and PG-rated romance, you might enjoy this, but it just didn’t have enough depth for me to care much about the characters or (very obvious) outcome.

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

It was perfection and had everything I love when reading a romance novel. I laughed so much throughout the book. There is so much fun banter that will leave you completely satisfied. Their relationship was fun and quirky and I love the tiny and thoughtful displays of affection. It was hard to put down. It really wants you to make you fall in love with your best friend in hopes of getting what they have

I hadn’t realized when I requested this book that it was part of a series, and one of the previous books was on my TBR. I wished I had gotten to it beforehand, but it wasn’t necessary for understanding this book. Hailey is new in town, the owner of a new salad shop that should fit right in with the California clientele. She has an awkward meet cute with Wes and then gets drawn into his group of brothers and their girlfriends. His personal beliefs and her relationship history lead to a “just friends” pact, and then the former leads to the inevitable conflict. No big surprises here, though, in the resolution of this slowish burn friends-to-lovers story. You’ll enjoy it more if you read the previous books. I wish there had been follow-up on the gaming angle. And I hope there’s someday a follow up about Leo!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I couldn't make it past the first few chapters. The initial introduction to the characters and the set up of the story didn't grab me at all. I felt bored and see how long the book was I couldn't imagine reading through more of what I was already seeing. It's possible that this author just isn't for me and others would love her but with a book this long I need to be pulled in immediately.

DNF @ 42%. OMG. I will tear my hair out if I have to hear about salad one. more. time. Did Big Salad® write or pay for this book to be written?!? Salad is main female character Hailey's only interest and her singular personality trait. Dear lord above is she booooooring. I understand that this book is shaping up to be a friends-to-lovers type of situation between Hailey and main male character Wes, but between her being so boring and him being so oblivious to the fact that he's in love with her and vice versa, I just had to stop reading it because it/they irritated me so much.

"A Guide to Being Just Friends" clearly wants to be a millennial/gen-z version of "When Harry Met Sally," but it's more like "When Wes Met Salad." It feels like the author cares more about lunch than trying to get readers invested in Hailey and Wes's growing, developing, slow-burning potential relationship. A lot of fat could have been trimmed from the earlier pages to make room for more connection between Hailey and Wes. Should I say "trim the fat" when this book is all about salad? I did not feel one ounce of chemistry between Salad and Wes, not at all, which is hard because the dialogue is normal and not totally cheesy *sarcasm.* Upon re-reading this review, I just realized I called Hailey "Salad" in the above sentence. I see the error and am choosing not to fix it. I did, however, love the chemistry between Wes and his brothers, and between Hailey and her potential friendship with Wes's brothers' girlfriends/wives.

Thanks to Sophie Sullivan, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Press Griffin for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my thoughts.

Unfortunately just couldn't get enough into it or the characters. The 3rd person POV also made me less inclined to connect to the characters. DNF at 15%

Hailey leaves LA and moves to a small town to start over. After a breakup with an actor, she decides to go after her dream and open a salad shop. A mixup meeting at the neighboring coffee shop with eldest Jansen brother, Wes, ultimately leads her to a new friend. Wes and Hailey both have reasons for staying away from relationships. Hailey has just been hurt, but she is open to finding love again, while Wes just sees love for all the problems it causes, especially after witnessing his parents divorce. In the long run, he just wants companionship but love is something he wants nothing to do with.

Hailey and Wes quickly fall into routines; grocery shopping on Saturday nights, lunches at her shop, Hailey educating Wes on cooking and romcoms and Wes teaching Hailey to video game. Both start noticing weird moments of attraction toward the other. Can they stay just friends or if they try for more, will they be able to accept the other for who they are?

This was a cute, friends to lovers, small town book. I've read the 2nd Jansen brothers book, so I was familiar with the characters. I enjoy a dual POV because it helps get in the mind of both main characters, but this one wasn't my favorite. I didn't feel the chemistry and tension off of them as much as I have in other friends to lovers. Both were so set in their non-negotiables, they could have ruined any chance of more. Hailey is so anti-money and Wes is wealthy, and Wes feels the need to swoop in and fix things without listening to what Hailey wants. It was a cute story and it was fun to revisit Noah and Grace.

I really enjoyed this cute little friends to lovers story! I wish I had known there were other companion novels beforehand but regardless it was easy to get into this after the initial introduction of all the brothers. The meet cute was fun and I enjoyed seeing their progression into friendship. I especially enjoyed that they actually communicated with each other.

There were points where I felt annoyed by the pacing of the story. Some parts felt oddly sped up up and some conversations went from talking about something to switching completely in the middle and I would have to re read certain paragraphs to understand why they switched topics.

overall, I really enjoyed it and will definitely have to pick up the rest of the books!

DNF very early on, sadly. As intrigued as I was by the FMC's questionable thought-process (who opens a niche salad bar and expects immediate popularity if there's zero advertising or social media or even a delivery app presence, and the owner-slash-sole staff member frequently leaves the shop unattended to buy food from the bakery next door? ...what?!), I couldn't keep reading this. The writing is awkward and clumsy, and I found myself hate-reading instead of enjoying it.

Perhaps I'l give this another try later on. But for now, this book and all of Sophie Sullivan's books are a big no for me.

I liked this book. I'm not madly in love with it. The "friends only zone" went on a little too long for me.

Wes and Hailey meet in a manor that doesn't exactly get them off on the right foot. They resolve the issues from the initial meet and go on to become friends--best friends. Wes doesn't plan on ever falling in love, getting married or any of the accompanying crud. Hailey is recovering from an awful relationship and is totally fine with that...until she feels more and wants more.

Wes was just really a relationship doofus. He really didn't recognize love even when it smacked him in the face. Luckily he has two brothers who have already fallen and are more than willing to point out the error of his ways in many things, including love. But how do you go about getting someone back when you have rejected their love. Is Wes even capable of winning Hailey back?

I loved Hailey's growing friendships with the other characters. She really needed friends. She found some to stick by her and it helped her immensely. I also loved the relationship Wes had with his brothers and the great friendship he had with Hailey. I just really wanted them to get on to the romantic relationship!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press Romance and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

I'm always in for a good friends-to-lovers storyline and I loved the unique way Wes and Hailey come together. They were so supportive of one another through their friendship. I really liked how independent Hailey was with owning her own business and putting in the work to make it a success. Her willingness to hire others who were a bit down on their luck to work at her shop was also really sweet and said a lot about her character. Wes had a lot of layers and really carried a lot of emotional trauma from his relationship with his father. Because of the shared trauma, the love and closeness between the brothers was really great. When I first started reading, I hadn't even realized that this book was a third in a series and that it's predecessor was How To Love Your Neighbor, which was one of the first books I read in 2022. It was so fun to see Noah and Grace again and I'm definitely excited to read the first novel in the series because Chris and Everly were really sweet in this novel! Although I enjoyed this storyline, there were a few things that I disliked about the book as a whole that made this one not as enjoyable as the second in the series for me. As I mentioned, I really loved Hailey's independence, but I did struggle with how resistant she was to any help coming her way unless it was under he terms and she was really unfair to Wes when it came to conversations regarding his wealth. This was a point of contention multiple times in the story and she really wasn't willing to budge on her end even when Wes was coming at it from a good place. My other issue is just that I wish we could have experienced more of the lovers part of the story, I needed some more steam and connection in a more intimate way to full love this one as a romance read.

A simmering slow-burn, but a bit too slow at times for me. I didn't love Hailey's character that much, and the pace dragged some, The friends-to-lovers bit was fun, and Wes was enjoyable to get to know, but overall, this book just wasn't for me.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

The final love story in the Jansen brother trilogy but could definitely be read as a stand alone.
For me it was a cute, light story, I tend to prefer a bit more intensity in my love stories.

Read if you like:

-the Jansen brothers love stories (all the characters from the first 2 books are in here alot)
-friends to lovers
-nerdy, list loving male leads who are scared of love
-sunshiney girls who've been hurt but are ready to love again
-salads!
-a clean closed door romance

3.5 stars

I did not initially realize this was a sequel in a series by this author! This is the first book I have read from this author, and after reading this I hope to read the other books in the series. I really enjoyed this story. I liked the characters and the friends to lovers trope. I believe that it was pretty well done. I will share a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram within the week. This book releases on January 31st, 2023!