This book was hard to read.
It was so bland at times, but then it would have wonderful moments that just got me hooked, but then it would drag again.
There were way too many characters that it got too confusing. There was also too much details on the business aspects , it made no sense. The friend ship was awesome, the “love story first sight but I’m In denial“ situation got annoying real quick . Overall, I just really want a salad now.

If you're looking for a sweet, best friend's to lovers romance, I'd totally recommend this for you! The characters are fleshed out and you can't help but love them all. It's got such a nice sense community as the female lead opens up her very own salad shop which was extremely enjoyable to watch her succeed in. The book ends in a satisfying way and leaves you feeling warm-hearted.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is the third installment of the Jansen Brothers series by Sophie Sullivan. While I did not read the first book and only having read the second one, I found this book to be incredibly enjoyable. The SLOW-BURN was truly *chefs kiss* and the characters were just so fun and adorable with each other. Would highly recommend picking this one up.

When I first stumbled across this title I was intrigued! Then I found out it was the third of a series which meant of course I had to read the other two first. I am glad I did. I thought the first two were adorable, in that sit down on a Friday night with your friends and watch a good rom-com with a bottle of wine, type of way. I was excited to check out this third book. Sophie Sullivan has a way of bringing some relatable characters into her books. A Guid to Being Just Friends is no different.

Hailey, our main character, finds herself starting over in a new town. Deciding to settle and start her own business in the only town she has any resemblance of family. Her parents are about as uninvolved as you can imagine and her cousin embraces her into her family. Hailey isn't perfect. She wants to do things on her own and can be stubborn about it. "Can't we all relate to that?"

It can be a bit cheesy and predictable at times, but not in a terrible way.

Hailey, meets Wes in a bizarre way when he mistakes her for his dating app date he's meeting in the cafe next to her shop. Eventually they run into each other again and start a friendship. How many of us can relate to friendships like these? Someone or both people will catch feelings and it can go either south or be such a beautiful relationship. We are taken on this journey with Hailey and Wes to see if they can become more than friends or if they both really just needed this type of friendship in their lives. It's such a great story of growth and digging into life and feelings and the pressures of everything.

I would definitely recommend this book (and series) to anyone who is a sucker for a good rom-com book or movie. This is for you! Spice level is pretty PG and the story is adorable!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Sullivan, and St. Martin’s Press for providing this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the third book of the series, but it can definitely be read as a standalone. I was really looking forward to reading this book after reading the first two books in the series. I had high expectations going into this book after reading the first two and reading the summary for this one. I was not let down. I really enjoyed this book. It was a cute, laugh out loud, heartwarming story. It falls into the friends to lovers trope. The story also reminds you that love is messy, but always worth it in the end.

This review will be posted to my Goodreads and Amazon accounts immediately and to my instagram account (@ginganinja333), and to my newly created bookstagram (@paulas.book.nook) closer to the publication date on January 17, 2023.

Fun and engaging! You are rooting for both main characters throughout the story as it unfolds event by event.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up to four. This is my first book by Sullivan and I enjoyed this book immensely. This book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. We follow Wes and Hailey as they try to navigate their friendship and what could go wrong?

There were parts of Wes and Hailey that I enjoyed and didn't enjoy. I loved that Hailey is a book lover plus some of her inner comments were spot on leading to me chuckling. However, she doesn't seem to grow as a character throughout the book which led to some frustration on my part. Wes is a pretty closed off individual but I enjoyed watching him open up slowly to Hailey.

The big thing that didn't make this a four star read was that some scenes of the story seemed to drag for me. I'm not sure if they are meant to add depth to the characters but I found it too drawn out.

This book would be perfect to cozy up with now that the weather is turning!

In a meet-cute fit for Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks, salad shop owner Hailey Sharp meets savvy business investor Wes Jansen, and they hit it off immediately. Since neither of them is looking for commitment or a distraction, they agree to be just friends. They even go so far as to create rules and a guide to being just friends.

Next thing you know, they’re going grocery shopping together and making dinner and hanging out with each other's friends and watching rom-coms like they are Harry and Sally. As they grow closer, they find themselves asking: Is this what we really want?

It’s a cute, HEA romance that gave me all the 90's rom-com feels. If you’re a fan of Sarah Adams or love a good friends-to-lovers trope, I think you’ll like this cozy, comforting read!

When I first started this I had no idea that it was the third title in an established series.

All in all, a perfectly acceptable story, but while I was reading I kept feeling like the novel was missing something vital. It was also unnecessarily drawn out and I found none of the main characters compelling or likeable.

Laugh out loud funny, and heartwarming. This series wraps up beautifully, hearing from the characters of books before and where they are now is such a wonderful thing!

This is a fairly stand-alone novel, last in a series about three wealthy brothers. I started reading it, was bored by it, dropped it after 40 pages, and went back to finish it and had to start over because I couldn’t recall a single detail.

The oldest Jansen, Wes, has sworn off love, and in the opposite of a meet-cute, accuses Hailey of being Hayden, his missing date, when they cross paths in the coffee shop where he is being stood up. Hailey is new to town and fresh off the Hollywood craft services circuit, recovering from an emotional abusive relationship and has started her own salad in a cup to go business right next door to a popular bakeshop. She quickly ends up in the inner circle of the Jansen brothers and their loves, and she and Wes agree to forgive and embark on a friendship. He helps her with technical and social media part of marketing, while she encourages his artistic talents. They cook, play video games, watch romance comedies and sci-fi thrillers and fall in love, denying it until a drunken kiss obliterates their friendship. Some angsting follows, they decide to make a go of it until something ruins it and they have to break up, have an epiphany, and get back together.

Something fell flat for me in this romance novel. The bones are there and the writing is solid (except for calling a path cutely paved, what does that even mean?), but I think it just seemed two-dimensional, from Hailey’s absent and obsessed with one another parents, to a kid from the community center with two doctor parents who are never around, who jumps in to become Hailey’s delivery boy, to the mysterious falling out with the Jansen brother’s mean father (maybe alluded to in other books in the series?) to the fast, fiercely loyal friendships and quick resolution. Maybe it’s that in spite of the title and a brief foray into Wes’s sketches of their inside jokes, a guide to just being friends isn’t delivered.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #AGuideToJustBeingFriends from #NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute romance novel and it was a fun read.

A delightful Jansen brother story - enter Wes Jansen, the eldest and most responsible one, who finally moved out to California to be close to his brothers while working on their business. He’s super smart and sexy and sweet and therefore quite a catch and is interested in dating but not anything serious. Meet Hailey Sharp, a smart and savvy and beautiful shop owner, who recently moved from LA to start fresh after a bad break-up and wants to focus solely on her business.

Wes and Hailey first meet briefly through a chance encounter that was a rather unpleasant misunderstanding and yet their respective lives throw them back together and they truly click. They make a deal to become only friends but the underlying spark between them is undeniable….isn’t it?

This is a fabulous friends to lovers romance with just enough angst that makes you realize that love is messy but always worth it in the end!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this digital copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

This is a great feel good friends to lovers storyline! It concludes the Jansen brothers series and it did not disappoint!
Loved the brothers and their love interests still having a large roll in this 3rd installment, but Wes and Hailey stole the show! Such great chemistry and a HEA for all of course! I loved the FMC being a strong independent woman that stood by her goals of making herself a priority in her life, the romance and chemistry with Wes did not take away from her business and personal goals! So well written!

Friends to lovers is my favorite trope, and there was a lot that I enjoyed about this story. The meet cute was the perfect disaster. Hailey and Wes' friendship arc was my favorite friendship I've read in a while. Slow burn and realistic. The romantic tension as they fell for each other was :chef's kiss: Their romance felt like it was written by a different author. The friendly, flirty banter suddenly felt choppy and awkward. As friends, they worked well, but the understanding they had of each other seemed to go out the window when they got together.

It’s true that I don’t always love a friends-to-lovers romance but this one definitely proved me wrong! From the very start of this book I knew I was going to love the story of Hailey and Wes because the authors made me love the characters so much from their great qualities to their flaws. One of the BEST friends-to-lovers romances I’ve ever read that also gives you found family and a strong independent female MC who has a major sweet tooth (much like myself)! Also their meet cute was adorable and gave me initial enemies-to-lovers vibes but of course I was proven wrong…

Coming out this January 17th, this is a definitely must buy!

Thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

I lost intrest at the 24% mark. DNF


****************************************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley*********************************

⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Guide to Being Just Friends, Sophie Sullivan
St. Martin's Press, January 17, 2023

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

Wes and Hailey decide to be "just friends" and literally have a guide to follow to keep things strictly platonic. How do you think that's going to work out?

This fun romcom is a healthy piece of escapism and easy read to keep you happy and believing in the power of love errr...friendship.

@netgalley @authorsophiesullivan #romcom #bookstagrammer #bookstagram @stmartinspress

Mixed feelings about this book. The storylines for some of the scenes drug out longer than what they should have. SUPER slow burn romance. Hailey played hard to get so much that Wes almost “threw in the towel”

Thanks Netgalley for the read and review.

3 STARS

I love this friends to lovers story. Wes and Hailey's characters are so well written, they compliment each other. To read how great they are as friends and slowly they become more was fascinating, it was not rushed and the chemistry was there from the beginning. It was very sweet and I'm obsessed with Hailey's salad, i definitely tried to make one with ideas from her description of her salads.