DNF @ 45%.

I really wanted to love this book as I love a good friends to lover story, but unfortunately, I was unable to get into this book. I found that the story was all over the place and that there wasn't a clear plot that kept me engaged and wanting to know what happens next. I liked Wes, but I was not able to connect at all to Hailey. I was looking for a cute friends to lover, but because of the way I was not able to connect to the characters as well as lack of clear plot, I wasn't able to get into the book.

Hayle is determined to get her salad shop off the ground, to not let anything or anyone distract her. Wes is looking for someone he likes, but won't love. So when they meet, they can only be just friends, nothing more...
This is book 3 in the Jansen Brothers series, but the first one I read, and it can very well be read as a standalone, I never got the impression I was missing anything. I liked this strangers to friends to lovers romance. It was a slow burn and the chemistry was good, although it was closed door (which I'm fine with). The character growth through the story was really good. However, I thought that the final confrontation (although I know it's part of the "recipe" to a good romance) felt forced and was unnecessary. I loved the dual POV (Hayle/Wes) and how it was characterized in the narration (I read both the ebook and the audio book). The narration was great in the audio book.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I enjoyed this book, however I feel as though I would have had more of an appreciation for it had I read the first two of this series.

This was a cute, slow-burn love story with one of my favourite romance tropes (friends to lovers!)

I enjoyed Wes & Hailey’s character development and progression throughout the novel. Although, I wanted more angst! I felt like I was always wanting more.

I couldn’t seem to get into this book. The lead character came across as bitter and uninteresting and, without anything to help her click for me, this book was a very unfortunate DNF. 3 stars, however, because Sophie Sullivan has a fantastic voice over all and I liked the premise!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this one so much! As I was reading I reminisced on my relationship with my bf since we were also friends before lovers lol This book was truly friends to lovers done right 🥰🥰🥰

PS-Wes stole my heart once he created a video game for Hailey 😭

When I see a cute little cartoon romance cover, I KNOW that I am going to love the book. A Guide to Being Just Friends is a friends-to-lovers romance about Wes, a stubborn, rich businessman and Hailey, a new-to-town, rom-com-loving entrepreneur. After butting heads, the first time they meet, apologies are given, and they fall quickly into a close friendship.

I was not sure whether to feel joy while reading this book or feel deeply jealous of the relationship between Hailey and Wes, both platonic and romantic. In this book, Sophie Sullivan creates a healthy couple that faced challenges but also dealt with them in a realistic way, which is a statement that I cannot always say when discussing romance books. As someone who deeply related to Hailey as a character, it felt good to see a character with my personality get a happy ending.

Overall, this book feels like a warm hug. Is it a work of absolute art that I would frame on my wall? No, but is it a cozy romance that made me feel genuine happiness and butterflies while reading? Yes. So, if that is what you look for in your romance books, then read this book!!

DNF. As a lover of friends to lovers romance, I was super excited for this book!
I'll be honest, it was really hard trying to connect with any of these characters that I didn't even make it to anything romance related. I'm sure there are others out there who will really enjoy this book, but just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sophie Sullivan for this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley for this book!

I hate writing not so good reviews for books i had high expectations for..
let’s start with what i liked; cover, fmc having a goal in life that she worked through, their relationship only at the first quarter..
So why was this book not for me,
It was really hard to pick it up every time i put it down, i hate miscommunication trope with my whole heart, side characters were uninteresting, the writing was full of sudden changes and abrupt shifts that didn’t make sense and it was not explained, mmc had a sudden change of heart in a freakin heartbeat about his thoughts about love, children, marrying and it was not explained.
For all these reasons I couldn’t enjoy it, hope she keeps on writing and improving herself as an author cause she has potential!
Best of luck!

A slow burn friends to lovers, with lots of talk of salad, giving back to community, and working through past trauma.

Hailey just opened a salad bar, and runs into Wes in a coffee shop where a case of mistaken identity leads to a misunderstanding. When they run into each other again Wes goes out of his was to make it up to Hailey. They embark on a friendship that has its ups and downs but grows into a relationship they both value in their lives. Will they stick to being just friends are will they develop deeper feelings?

A highlight for me in this one was the journey of friends to lovers. The build up of their relationship, and communication was so well done. You could feel the progression, it felt natural and believable. What did not work for me was how the characters did not grow, they let past traumas dictate too much until all of a sudden everything was okay, and it felt too abrupt.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is, nominally, a friends-to-lovers romance. But the main characters' immediate mutual attraction, followed by their shared, out-loud declaration that they will only be friends, suggests that their romantic relationship actually began on their first meeting. Regardless, I enjoyed watching the relationship grow, and I really liked the female lead, Hailey, and her commitment to developing her friendships and her small business.

When Hailey and Wes started to actually get together - about 60% of the way into the book - the story took an unusual turn. Plenty of romances would have ended here, and I thought it was a nice departure to follow this couple as they navigated the transition from friendship to relationship. However, I began to find both of the main characters more frustrating, as all the emotional intimacy and awareness of each other's foibles that they'd developed during their friendship seemed to evaporate and they struggled with basic elements of trust and commitment. This was, I think, intentional on the part of the author, but I think it needed more development in order to feel realistic.

That said, this was a sweet story and rounded out a romantic trio - but I could imagine the series continuing with some of the unpaired characters in this well-developed world. 3.5 stars.

Oh, boy. This book took me FOREVER to get through. Like, three weeks, which is a long time for me!

Things I liked:
•FMC was driven and wanted to make a name for herself.

Things that I didn’t love:
•For the title to be what it is, the “guide” needed to be a larger part of the story.
•too many side characters. I couldn’t keep them straight.
•instead of coming off independent when she refused diamond jewelry, FMC came off snobby and rude.
•miscommunication trope will win my heart .001% of the time
•the dialogue felt static and choppy, and there was too much repetitive internal monologue , especially when just dialogue would have sufficed.
•MMC had all these things he didn’t want in life (marriage, love, kids) and the book needed to explore his VERY rapid conversion to the literal opposite side

Thank you St Martin's Press and Netgalley for this ARC!

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a very cute friends to lovers romance. I liked the main characters and found them to be cute and cozy.

I have been getting more and more into the best friends to lovers type of trope that I was genuinely so excited to read this one. I must admit though that I'm relatively disappointed in the way that this story ended up turning out. The chemistry between the two felt a little bit lack-luster to me. This book felt like it went on and on with no real ending in sight for a while, and I don't know, I just really didn't vibe with this book. I know that there are many fans of the author, and that they will probably like to see this considering it is the "third" book. It just wasn't for me.

This was a sweet, light and endearing read. When Harry Met Sally is one of my all time favorite movies, so I really enjoyed this reimaging. It's a dual POV with a slow burn. I loved watching Wes and Hailey's friendship build into something more. I apprecriated that the evolution to "more" felt authentic and wasn't rushed. The supporting cast of characters were charming and added another layer to the story. Light steam/closed door romance.

This was overall an okay book.

I liked our characters but I didn't love them or feel any real connection with them. Characterization was poorly done. There was so much room for development but this kind of failed at that.

Lastly, where's the guide???? There's no guide!!!!

All in all, an underwhelming novel that was too clean.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this book in exchange for my honest review!

What a lovely conclusion to the Jansen brothers series !!! Wes took a little bit to grow on me, but overall he turned out to be great. Hailey was so mature and I loved how she ultimately stood up for herself when she realized her and Wes may not have been meant to be after all. As always, the brothers cameos were making me laugh ! I loved Noah’s sense of humor lol so this was amazing

A Guide to Being Just Friends (eARC) — 4 ⭐️

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: January 17th, 2023

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: When the dynamic ambitious duo Haley and Wes meet for the first time, it was anything but an adorable meet-cute, but with similar goals in mind, they were able to form a friendship. Neither is looking for a relationship, but who knows what happens when they start spending time together…

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: I enjoyed reading this next book in the Jansen Brothers series! The author’s writing style and short chapters keep me engaged, and I liked the character’s personalities. I appreciated Hailey’s ambitious personality, and seeing more of the Jansen family was so satisfying. At the same time, I’m so sad the Jansen’s brothers’ journeys have ended, but I’m holding onto hope that maybe the series will be continued... I guess we shall see. Regardless, I can’t wait for the author’s future stories!

Speaking of the author, I had no idea that she also writes under the name, Jody Holford! Did you?

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 —
👀 Multiple POVs
🥰 Feel-Good Story
👩‍🏫 Ambitious MC
🔐 Closed Door Romance
💗 Friends to Lovers
🍽 Foodie Inspired

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐟 —
🥗 You eat salads everyday
💼 You want to own a business
🎮 You’re a gamer
💍 You don’t need fancy gifts to be happy
🧘‍♀️ You enjoy doing yoga

𝐓𝐖: strained family relationships, divorce

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early copy of this book!
I will admit, I did not realize that this was the third in a series and should have went back and read those first to help tie everything together. I recommend this, though it can be a cute rom com on its own.

“I might not have the romantic hero down but I know what makes you smile, I know who you are and who I am when I'm with you."

I did it again - read a book that’s part of a series without knowing it until more than halfway through 🤦🏻‍♀️ I think I would have enjoyed this one a little more if I had liked the stories for the other two of three Jansen brothers, since the family is heavily featured in this one, too.

Wes is practical and not going to waste his time on love. So when he meets Hailey and they hit it off, they immediately decide to stay just friends because neither is looking for a relationship right now. You see where this is going.

This one is a super slow burn, closed door type book. The final conflict for the characters was redundant and unnecessary. A cute story, just not my favorite this year.

📚Read this if you like:
⁃ Friends to lovers
⁃ Slow Burn

3.5 ⭐️ this story follows Wes and Hailey, who meet under unfortunate circumstances. This friends-to-lovers story of very sweet with fade to black romance scenes. I do wish that the story would have moved a little quicker. The pacing was a little off for me. (I feel like this book could have been 100 pages shorter.)

It was nice to see a FMC whose pride and ego almost stood in the way of her relationship. It was refreshing because it made her more relatable.

Definitely check it out if you are looking for a sweet, romantic story.