I am completely and totally obsessed with this book. Wes and Hailey’s meet cute is so adorable, and I loved how they formed a healthy, relatable friendship. And since this is a romance, they both started catching feelings. The romance between the two was great and really well written. I could put the book down, but I found myself thinking about the characters even when I wasn’t reading.

I adored seeing Leo again, and props to Hailey for hiring him because we really just get to see Leo blossom throughout the series and it’s just so nice to see everyone taking him under their wings. Also, By the Cup NEEDS to be a real place.

I really enjoyed reading this book. This is only my second or third friends to lovers romance, and it is just making me want to read more! This was such a well done slow burn too, which I love. The tension in the first half of the book was just amazing and I couldn't get enough.

I also loved the characters, they complimented each other so well. There were a few times at the end that I got a little annoyed with Hailey's character, but it got better and I really liked her in the end. Wes was just so dreamy and sweet that I wanted him all for myself. I also just loved seeing their relationship grow throughout the book.

I loved this book and was really happy with how it ended. I am so happy I got to read this before it came out because I probably wouldn't have picked it up to read in a long time. Now I just want to go get her other books to read. Overall, a great book and I definitely recommend!

When I started this book, I was completely unaware it was the third book in a series involving three brothers. As a result, there were times I felt at a bit of a disadvantage in not know the backstory between the brothers and their estranged father. It is still possible to read this as a standalone, but keep in mind, you’ll struggle a bit with who’s who and what their history is.

That being said, I think this was a cute friends to lovers, closed door romance with major When Harry Met Sally vibes. As a huge fan of that movie, I loved seeing this fun twist on it. I enjoyed Halley and Wes’ creation of their guide to being just friends and how they navigated through some very complex emotions throughout the book finally finding resolution and huge emotional growth. And of course, the found family trope, like the one presented in this novel, will always have my heart. The group of brothers, their significant others and friends made for quite a fun and boisterous gang and I loved seeing Hailey connect with them as someone who felt so alone and disconnected.

All in all, this is a pretty standard romance but with a fun twist on a classic and one I think a lot of people will enjoy, especially those who prefer closed door/kissing only romance. I plan to continue reading this series, starting with book one and am excited to see what Sullivan writes next.

Read if you like:
•friends to lovers
•slow burn
•closed door romance
•found family
•when harry met sally

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

i think this just came down to how annoying i found wes (and at some times hailey) by the end of this. despite the contrived (non-)meet cute, hailey and wes were able to develop a good friendship before the romance followed. however, the attraction didn't seem all that gradual as the attraction was there from the start to an extent. the miscommunications that followed to get there and stay there hurt what was gearing up to be a strong final act.

i personally find miscommunications based off of not listening to a partner a huge dealbreaker and a guide to being just friends settles on that and holds on tightly.

“A Guide to Being Just Friends” by Sophie Sullivan is a cute, easy rom com for readers who enjoy a meet cute, a slow burn and a warm and fuzzy romance 🥰

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤/5

Hailey has just gone through a messy breakup where her ex called all the shots. She decides to pursue her own dreams and moves to open her very own salad shop in California.

On an off chance she meets Wes, who has been stood up by his date. They soon form a platonic friendship: they both need someone they LIKE rather then love. However, as feelings start to form they both begin to wonder if they are able to stay being just friends …

This was a cute love story, especially if you enjoy a friends to lovers trope. I found it to be rather slow and contained a lot of filler which sometimes broke my engagement while reading.

Thank you kindly to Sophie Sullivan @stmartinspress @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. This book releases January 17, 2023 and is book 3 in a series. You can totally read it stand-alone, but I think if I knew beforehand then I would have read the series in order.

Read this if you enjoyed:
♥️How Harry Met Sally
♥️How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
♥️10 Things I Hate About You

This was a good, standard rate rom-com. I liked it more than the second book, but I still think I liked the first one the best. I liked both main characters and their chemistry together, although I wondered about a quarter of the way through if the pacing was going to make sense, or if it would drag. In the end, the pacing was fine. The two main characters had the typical traumas they had to overcome to be happy together, but I didn’t mind that. Their issues were pretty realistic, although they could both probably benefit from some therapy. One thing that needs to be corrected is later on in the story, the phrase “bury the lead” is used, but the correct phrase is actually “bury the lede”.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

wow!!!

Hailey is new in town after going through a tough breakup. She fulfills her dream of opening a salad shop after moving to a new town. Wes, a grumpy (good-looking), businessman who has some pain from his parents’ unsuccessful marriage. They do the opposite of a meet-cute, but still managed to find each other. They strike a friendship, one that neither of them wants to lead into love. Who can guess what will happen?

This was a fun and enjoyable romcom! I really enjoyed seeing how Wes and Hailey’s friendship forms and how they truly do try and bring out the best in each other. It’s a standalone book that is part of a series (I wasn’t aware of this and now I’m thinking of picking the other two up).

It was definitely a slow burn, and it felt slow for me. I was waiting for that tension to build up and once they finally got together, I wish we saw more of their honeymoon stage rather than just multiple conflicts popping up towards the end.

There were some cute moments that kept me going. Hailey being a strong-minded, determined and focussed businesswoman was also great to see! They both had really great support systems to lift them up and help them out, and that definitely aided in making the conflicts more digestible. If you’re looking for an easy, closed-door friends to lovers, definitely give it a try!

Thank you to Netgalley + St. Martin's Press for providing me with this ARC!

👥 friends to lovers
🧲 opposites attract
🐌 slow burb
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 found family
❤️‍🩹 overcoming tough past relationships
🌶 closed door

Sophie Sullivan is one of my favorite closed door romance writers. The story is strong and engaging enough that it doesn’t feel like something is missing without the smut. I think this one was my favorite actually. Definitely will recommend and will share on instagram closer to the pub date!

3-3.5 stars

I love when a book couple starts as friends, and Hailey and Wes quickly become the firmest of friends.

We can see it, everyone around them can see it, but man this is such a slow burn for our lovelies to see it - they can't just be friends.

Sophie Sullivan writes good, well rounded characters, they have their flaws, they are not always "perfect people", but this time I got hella frustrated at Hailey and Wes, each for different reasons.

I enjoyed the secondary characters, and how they create new friendships (not really an easy thing to do as adults, am I right?)

I had forgotten I had read book 2 in this series until about half way through, when something twigged and I came back to GR to see if I had read any of them before haha - bookzheimers is real, people!

I felt that the series came to a good conclusion, and I will read more by this author in the future

Cute covers always make me want to read a book and I was hoping to find a book in this series that would be a hit for me. Unfortunately this book, like the series, just wasn’t a fit for me. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and wanting to keep reading about them. This book will definitely be a fit for others, and I’ll keep trying books by this author, since I’m sure I’ll love one of them!

I didn't know this was part of a series and I didn't read the first one, but I never once felt lost, so this stands alone on its own very well!

This was really sweet, cute, charming and did I say sweet?! I loved the characters, the story, the premise, the setting, the supporting characters, all of it.

When you are craving a sweet, feel good story, pick this up! You will be left with a warm hug and smile on your face.

This was my first book by Sophie Sullivan and she definitely didn't let me down! This was such a cute closed-door romance and I'm excited to read the other two in the series. While I admittedly wanted to shake some sense into the main characters every now and then, it was wonderful reading along as they grew as a couple and individually. I would highly recommend!

A Guide to Just Being Friends is a strangers to friends to lovers novel. It is the true definition of a slow burn. I’ve read some reviews that said that it was too slow, and that they didn’t feel a connection to the characters. That wasn’t true for me, and it may be because I had a friendship that was very much like Wes and Hailey’s and I caught feelings (he didn’t). I really felt their friendship connection and the way that their feelings developed for each other. I also really enjoyed the fact that the brothers in this book were vulnerable and weren’t afraid to share their feelings with each other. I think that it’s important to show that side of men. It’s refreshing to read. This is the third book in the series, but I didn’t even know that. At no point (after I realized that it was part of a series) did I ever feel like I was missing out on something from the previous books. A must read for any rom-com lover!

Wes and Hailey are both focusing on their careers, not looking for love. They’ve both been hurt in the past, so a friendship is all they really need. When their lives start to become more intertwined, it becomes harder to see the line between just friends and love.

This is book 3 in the Jansen brothers series, which wasn’t really mentioned in the book description when I requested it on NetGalley, so I assume it’s also intended to be a standalone. I did feel like I was missing a lot of the story around the brothers and their relationship with their father, but their relationships with their partners was summarized briefly.

But it wasn’t just the brothers that I felt like I was missing parts of. Hailey’s backstory with her family was kinda unclear too. It’s mentioned about her parents a couple times, but only one brief interaction to feed that line. The idea that she wanted to make it on her own was very overdone compared to how much history we knew.

The conflict between Hailey and Wes always seemed a bit overdone as well. She gets very mad at him for trying to help with little to no explanation about why that’s important to her. And the conflict happens frequently, which is maybe meant to invoke passion between them? But seemed like just too many ups and downs with not a lot of fire around them.

Overall, the idea of the story is cute. I really liked the brothers, and some of the side characters. But I just found myself kinda bored by it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Very cute. Slow burn enemies to lovers fixer-upper romance. I highly recommend this book.
I just reviewed A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

This had a super strong start! Loved the meet cute.
The setting was one of my favourite parts. I could picture her cute little salad shop so easily and I would totally stop there for lunch every day if I could!
I also loved the brothers! Their relationship and witty banter was so fun to read about!
The story felt a bit long and dragged for me in the middle. I also wasn’t a fan of the swear words.
I’d try another book by this author for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced copy. What follows is my honest review.

New to San Verde, Hailey and Wes are trying to reinvent themselves and become friends.

Bad summary, bad book! It’s advertised as friends to lovers, but it’s kinda a stretch to call it that. They have a rough meeting, Wes apologizes, they’re immediately into each other but agree to be just friends because reasons. While the characters have some chemistry and the first part of the book was cute, there’s a lot of telling and not showing with their friendship and romance. We don’t see them becoming friends or falling for each other, we’re just told they have.

The writing itself is rough and made me cringe pretty often. There’s no flow in the dialogue—it consistently feels chunky and unnatural (and also cringe!), which wouldn’t have been a problem if the overall plot was decent. The characters were under developed and frankly a bit problematic (does Hailey really need to hate on women who like makeup or dressing up?? it’s giving not like other girls!! and Wes being into it was a red flag!!). Honestly, the main conflict was messy and I don’t really know if I could tell you what it even was. Miscommunication trope? Somehow? But it’s unclear how any character reached any conclusion?

Anyways, 1.5/5. I’m rounding this up because I don’t like giving books one star, but there isn’t really anything I liked about this book.

I was super excited to read A Guide to Just Being Friends as an ARC from the publisher, since I’m familiar with the other two novels in this series AND this book has some tropes that I really enjoy. However, I had some major issues with this that didn’t make it a super pleasant read.

I enjoyed: likeable characters, friends-to-lovers trope, strong intro to characters and plot, dynamic/banter between both MCs

I disliked: being bored in the middle (the plot really slowed down and felt drug out to create more “substance” yet there wasn’t really anything), there were way too many characters to keep up with and the author kept adding new side characters more than 70% into the book, there were several small plot climaxes and they were all kind of inconsequential and resolved too quickly.

Overall rating: 3 stars

I adored this book. It was a really great story and a wonderful addition to the series. Neither Wes nor Hailey are looking for forever love, but for very different reasons. After a not so cute meet cute and a heartfelt apology, they become friends and strike a deal to keep it platonic and support each other. Be each others plus 1, watch movies, hang out and all the things that friends do, but no romantic entanglement. What can go wrong? It’s a long and winding road to their eventual HEA, with lots of family, friends and some drama make for a really story that has me awaiting whatever comes next from this author as Ive read all of her work thus far. Enjoy the listen as the narration was as good as the story.

A Guide to Being Just Friends follows the last Jansen brother after his move to California to be with his brothers. Wes meets Hailey and they decide to be just friends. I didn’t really understand why they both agreed to be friends when they both clearly felt a spark from the beginning. While cute, it didn’t feel very realistic.