⭐️: 2.5/5

Hailey’s priority is getting her new salad shop up and running with no distractions. Wes is desperate for companionship but doesn’t believe in love after watching his parents go through a messy divorce. When Hailey and Wes meet, they form a friendship that they’re both determined to keep as just a friendship…or are they?

First off, this is the third book in a series that details the love stories of each of the three Jansen brothers. Wes is the oldest, and also the last story published. I didn’t read the first two, so initially, the characters were hard to keep straight without the help of the first two books in the series. Due to this, I added a half a star to what I would have rated this book for the enjoyment that I potentially could have gotten out of catching up with the characters I may have grown attached to in previous books.

That being said…I doubt I would have gotten attached to them. I was just so bored reading this book. The long winded descriptions of the minutiae of how every character is feeling inside was just so tedious, and the dialogue was offputtingly and overly formal. I definitely skimmed a lot of the pages, because they were just repetitive descriptions of how the characters were hurt before and damaged for all their future partners, and I don’t feel like I missed anything important. I was so bored, that I wasn’t even invested enough in Hailey and Wes to be annoyed with the fade-to-black romance scenes in this very very closed door romance. Every time the characters talked, or thought, or reflected on their feelings (which was like, 80% of the prose) it just read like “I’ve been hurt before, I’m scared to be hurt again, [repetitive deep dive into what happened in the past], oh and have I mentioned I’ve been hurt before and also have daddy/mommy issues??” Unfortunately, in the end, this book just fell really flat for me.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

Hailey opens up a salad shop and is working toward building a clientele and expanding. She is a bubbly ball of energy that makes you instantly like her. Wesley is financial advisor who invests in businesses. They two have a rough first impression, but quickly become friends. Just friends.

But if they are just friends.... Why are there so many feelings .

I was very excited to start a guide to be home just friends. I love friends to lovers. I'm all about a slow burn, however this book felt too slow... It really dragged on for me and fell flat. I didn't feel the chemistry I was hoping to feel. I wish I had read the first two books in the series ass well so I had some more background.

Thank you St Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Review is posted on Goodreads and will be on Instagram bh Sunday, December 11.

This was such a fun end to the Jansen brothers series. I really enjoyed meeting Wes and Hailey - seeing their relationship move from friends to more. I also loved seeing the scenes with everyone and getting a glimpse of the other Jansen brothers and their pairs.

There were times when I felt frustrated in Wes for doing things on his own and not talking to anyone about it. He was such a fixer which isn’t always needed.

I was glad to see that Wes and Hailey were able to maturely talk through their challenges.

Overall a really enjoyable book.

I went in to this really excited but unfortunately it fell flat. The characters were on the boring side and I didn’t see their connection that much. The writing itself was well done but the actual story line was just boring for me. I do want to try other books by this author because I did like Sophie’s writing.

If you’re a fan of slow burn? This the one 😮‍💨 I had trouble getting into this book because it took a while for them to find their footing. Hailey and Wes embody the friends to lovers trope. The conflicts seemed genuine and they made sense based on the characters backgrounds.
I enjoyed the writing style and flow of the novel. You get dual perspectives over several months and it was easy to follow the time jumps.

Review posted to GoodReads, Books-a-Million, and Barnes & Noble.

One of the best friends to lovers I've seen in a while. It's definitely a slow burn and I mean slow. But once they start seeing other people the tension between them finally explodes! The friends and support system made the book even better. I almost wish it was a graphic novel so I could see Wes' video game. It was too adorable I cannot handle it!

When Hailey moves to San Verde following her split from her ex-boyfriend in order to pursue her goal of opening her own By The Cup Salad shop, she bumps into Wes, a rich business-oriented guy, in the coffee shop next door in an awkward first encounter. However, when they meet again, the two end up striking up a friendship, developing a "guide for being just friends" because they both don't want to date. As their friendship grows and their circles combine, their feelings become hard to ignore though...

I thought this book was a cute read! I enjoyed seeing the couples from the first two books connected in this series and I liked how independent and strong willed Hailey was, determined to make her business work and all on her own terms. Their friendship was so wholesome, but I wish their relationship had progressed faster. It felt kind of slow at times and frustrated me when they ignored their feelings for each other - they had some individual problems that needed to be worked out first but kept coming in the way.

I wish there hadn't been quite as many conflicts towards the end because I just wanted them to finally get together! I also thought that the writing could have showed their interactions more because sometimes I felt like I was just being told what they did after the fact when it could have been such a cute scene.

Overall this was a cute, light read though that I think someone could enjoy if they like closed-door, friends-to-lovers stories :)

Before we get into the review, I want to say a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at St. Martin’s Griffin for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. A Guide to Being Just Friends is the third book in a contemporary romance companion series. Each book follows one of the Jansen brothers who struggle with life and love after growing up in a toxic house where they were used as pawns in their parents’ marriage. In this one we follow the eldest son, Wes, as he has a hilarious and disastrous meet cute with Hailey, a local business owner. Wes and Hailey decided to be friends, and stay that way, in an effort to avoid the messiness from love and the distractions of romance. But is it possible to keep everyone in their separate boxes? A Guide to Being Just Friends comes out on January 17th and is available for pre-order now.

Let’s start with what I think this book gets so right: the pining, the mutual pining. So, so beautiful. We won’t try to figure out WHY I like mutual pining and the sheer angst of it all because that would take all day. In an effort to not go there, I’ll tell you how it works so well in this one. We see Hailey and Wes meet in this ridiculous and awkward way and instantly see that a) they’re attracted to each other, b) they don’t want to be, and c) they immediately hit it off. And we do see such a beautiful friendship comes out of this. There were moments at the beginning when I wondered how the author was going to turn their friendship romantic because it was such a beautiful friendship and they were so clearly fitting the friend label. But then they get to know each other even more, they spend even more time together and as the reader you get to see the emotions develop on both sides. But, wait, they’ve already decided to be just friends--they made a whole guide about it--so obviously the feelings are one sided, right? AH. I love it. I do want to specify as well that the author does a great job of pointing out that the reason that this relationship they grow to have is so good is because they were such good friends first. And she goes out of her way to basically strike out the “just” part of “just friends.” The characters were great and they felt like real people with their own desires, their own flaws. I felt like the side characters were a little flat, but having read the previous book I already knew a lot about them anyway.

I didn’t love that there were basically two parts to the third act conflict. But it does make sense that it would happen the way it did. Also, that kind of stuff happens in real life all the time. So, I get it. Just didn’t love it. I wish that there hadn’t been such a big time jump in-between the last chapter and the epilogue or that there had been more in the epilogue to show the things that were mentioned in passing. Especially with Leo and his new position.

Overall, I think it’s a great rom-com for anyone who likes them and an excellent read for anyone who loves some mutual pining.

I am usually not a big fan of friends to lovers, but I really enjoyed how this book handled that trope. The characters were cute and had good chemistry.

This story is so cute! I loved Wes and Haley's chemistry together and who strong they both were in their own right. The journey we got to see them go through was realistic and and sweet. I just wish there was more spicy scenes rather then fading to black.

A Guide to Just Being Friends was a cute Friends-to-Lovers romantic comedy.

I really liked the FMC and how ambitious and proud she was. I could definitely relate to that!

I was, however, disappointed by the lack of romantic tension between the two protagonists during the first maybe 50% of the book. The build-up to the romance was very slow going and I didn't feel invested in their relationship as a couple.

The second half of the book was much better, in my opinion. It had a lot more action and conflict which finally felt like I was reading a romance novel.

I had a hard time with the MMC's point of view in the conflict. I don't want to spoil, but his view of things felt unrealistic and his sudden 'epiphany' even more so.

This novel is the 3rd in a trilogy, but it can be read as a stand-alone. I had not read the first 2 novels myself.

Thank you to Netgalley and St-Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was the cutest thing ever, and I’ll be honest I wasn’t too sure at the beginning if I was going to like it. Also, turns out this is the third book in the series but funny enough I own the second book in it, lol. I’ll definitely be reading it soon!

Hailey & Wes meet at the cafe next to her salad shop. After an embarrassingly encounter where Wes thought Hailey was his date they end up being friends. Just what they both needed because Hailey wasn’t looking for a relationship and Wes wanted a companionship, not love.

I haven’t read many friends to lovers book but this was so cute and I loved that even though they had a connection from the beginning they wanted their friendship more. I loved all the characters around them, and the growth for both main characters.

The only thing keeping me from giving it a 5 ⭐️ was that the first few chapters were a little eh for me. Also there’s some issues with the Jensen brothers and their father and I didn’t see that be resolved at all. It’s not part of the main story but I like to know the tea, call me nosy lol. The book to me is a 4.5 ⭐️

A Guide to Being Just Friends is book three in the Jansen brother's series by Sophie Sullivan.

Hailey just moved to San Verde for a fresh start. She just had a bad breakup with her ex Dorian, who is an actor. Obviously.

Wes also just moved to San Verde to be with his brothers and get out from under his father's thumb.

After an interesting meet-cute in a coffee shop, Wes and Hailey forge a friendship. Despite their attraction, they both agree that being friends will benefit them both at this stage in their lives.

I enjoyed watching their friendship grow through grocery shopping, brunches, and video game and movie marathons. They learned that being friends allowed them the freedom to be themselves. They were open and honest with each other except when it came to their growing feelings for each other.

There were several times I found myself laughing in the book. One of my favorite moments was in the beginning when Hailey ordered three scones and made sure to let us know they were mini. Not judging friend. You do you.

I also liked how different Wes and Hailey were. He was type A with reminders for his reminders, and she was the girl with hundreds of tabs going on her computer at a time. Their banter was refreshing and witty.

My favorite quote in the book was from Wes. He is a game enthusiast. When his brothers asked about his feelings for Hailey, he said, "I feel like I've found a secret code that unlocks a different world that only I'm allowed to be part of, that only I know how to navigate." I thought that was the perfect description of falling in love with someone you are best friends with. They know so much about you that they can unlock parts of you that no one else can.

A Guide to Being Just Friends was sweet, funny, and a cute friends-to-lovers romance.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Full Review: https://gingeralana.com/a-guide-to-being-just-friends-book-review

Hailey and Wes meet at the cafe next door to the salad shop Hailey owns--when Wes mistakes her for the woman who's currently standing him up for a date. And since her cup says Hayden (his missing date's name) instead of Hailey, he doesn't believe that she isn't his date, trying to leave now that she's seen him. But another chance encounter shows him she was telling the truth, and he decides to apologize in the way he knows best: using technology. We helps Hailey make a website for her store, and there friendship evolves from there. Neither of them wants a relationship, which is perfect--they don't have to worry if the other is secretly harboring feelings for them. Except, of course, that they both fall hard.
Wes likes to fix people's problems and Hailey is determined to do everything on her own without help--she's never had someone reliable to lean on, and just because Wes is her best friend, amazing with technology, and super rich, doesn't mean she should lean on him, either.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is really cute, and I definitely found myself rooting for them the whole time. Their friendship was wonderful, and Wes's realization that he's fallen in love with Hailey was sweet, if a bit hard to witness (he is just so certain that he'll never be in love). Hailey and Wes are both so stubborn in very different ways, which creates some nice push and pull between them.

My one issue with the book is that it glossed over a lot of things I really felt needed to be done on the page. I'm not someone who generally pushes "show don't tell" but in this case I definitely thought there was too much telling. For example, they exchange Christmas presents, and Hailey's present for Wes is thoughtful, addresses something nobody else knows about him--and we don't get to see him receiving the present from either of their POVs. It's just a throwaway line about how the opened present is on the coffeetable, while the scene focuses on the present he gave her. There were a lot of moments throughout where I really felt like I needed to be shown something rather than (barely) told it. It happened enough, and with big enough moments, that it knocked off a couple stars for me.
Other than that, though, I really liked this book, and I'll definitely be going back and reading the others in the series.

Sophie Sullivan’s A Guide To Being Just Friends was overall a cute read! I liked both Hailey and Wes for the most part but they each had some qualities that I really didn’t like. Their friendship and its progression to a relationship was cute but somewhat frustrating, as it was just a little too slow.
I really enjoyed how supportive their group of friends were, and I’m really looking forward to reading about Wes’s brothers in Sophie Sullivan’s previous books.
Overall, this was super cute, albeit a little too slow burn for me, and I wish we had a little more spice!

Thank you to St. Martins Press for sending me an advanced digital copy via NetGalley in exchange for review. A Guide To Being Just Friends releases on January 17, 2023

This was a cute friends to lovers rom-com. I have not read any others in the Jansen Brothers series, but I will be adding them to my TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC.

🌶/5 & ⭐⭐⭐.5/5 -- A cute rom-com palette cleanser!

If you've followed me on Goodreads for a bit, you've probably noticed that I read a wide variety of literature. I get bored and burn out VERY fast. The antidote to readers' burnout is reading something different from your last read! As in a whole new genre. I am ALL about slipping these sweet little romance novels in under the radar between my more serious reads.

A SHORT PREVIEW:
Hailey is starting over in a hip little California town bordering the beach. She's left behind a mean ex and flighty parents to create a new life that is all her own. Starting a trendy and unique salad shop, she bumps into Wes in what I can only describe as a 'meet-awkward', and shortly after, seeing each other again through mutual acquaintances. Neither Wes nor Hailey is looking to date right now so they settle on being friends... but can they really stay just friends? **P.S. I shall be referring to this book by its acronym, AGTBJF, throughout the rest of my review!)

MUSINGS:
- Sophie Sullivan's writing very much reminds me of Christina Lauren (in a good way.) Successful career-driven women who treat their friends and family right are at the center of these novels and I love those types of female characters. Easily relatable!
- AGTBJF is also a great exploration of familial trauma's impact on our future relationships and how to move into handling those past hurts in a healthy way. Love that!
- Wes's character was also great because we learn a lot about the ability to listen and learn from our mistakes - while simultaneously not viewing Hailey as a problem to solve. It's REALLY hard to be friends with people who won't help themselves, and you can encourage in a loving way - but people do what they wanna do, and if you really love someone, whether a friend, romantic partner, or family --> it's your job to show up and be as supportive as possible. Great reminders!
- The characters weren't overly annoying with the miscommunication trope. BRAVO Sophie Sullivan! Sometimes authors can overdo that, and it makes me want to chuck my iPad.

NOTES:
- Alternating POV
- HEA ending
- Highlights the abject horror of dating apps. I met my husband on one, and while I don't regret that or find it shameful.. it was a cluster for like 2 years whilst using. Do not recommend.
- Story is a little predictable - but I actually kind of like that it was. It was calming and I kind of needed that after my last read!
- No heavy smut, which was a nice reprieve. A lot of verbal under-the-surface foreplay but no graphic descriptions of body parts touching other body parts if ya know what I mean?

**I received this book as an advanced reader copy, but all reviews are my own. - SLR

You should match the characters pose on the cover while you read the book. Cause this is the perfect lounge on the couch all day and read book. It has fun characters and an entertaining plot! It’ll keep you satisfied!

This was the perfect sit in my apartment when it was raining and binge read type book! It was cute and charming and I loved the terrible meet cue. I had a crush on Wes from the beginning so it was very easy to talk in love with him and Hailey. I’m excited for people to read this book and feel all of the relatable friends to lovers tropes we see here!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know if it's because I haven't read the previous books in this series but I didn't fully connect with this book. I didn't really care that much about the two main characters, there wasn't anything about them that made them overly interesting to me. The characters from the previous books that appear in this book actually seemed a little more interesting than the two characters that this focused on.

It was your standard friends to lovers relationship but it was just a little bland to me. I didn't hate this book, it was fine. I might give the other books in this series a try because the characters seemed a little more interesting but I'd probably look to other books first.