This was such a cute slow burn romance. I love the banter between the characters. They both were so like able. Their relationship was super sweet. Overall, I really enjoyed reading it!

I really enjoyed the storyline of Hailey and Wes in this book. The dynamic of friends to lover is always a cute story in my opinion. I did think it dragged on just a tad, and that’s why I rated it 4 stars. But the character development was a big highlight point for me. I didn’t know this was a series, and now I need to read the previous books about Wes’ brothers.

I loved this book! I can’t wait to get my hands on a finished copy- so I can sit back and reread these great characters! The writing and the setting were perfect.

It was a cute romance, and a slow burn. I liked the characters, especially Wes. The book was a little slow but overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley in exchange for this review. Overall, I enjoyed this book but I felt like it went on for way too long. I have never read the other books in the series, so it might have helped to know more about the back story for Wes, but both main characters felt flat to me. When the big conflict came in, Wes's response seemed more extreme than the story had led up to

This is the third Jansen Brothers book, however, it’s the first one I’ve read. It’s an excellent stand alone, not giving too much on the other Jansen Brothers’ stories. But now that I’m finished I’m definitely going to read the first two!

There isn’t any other way to describe this book other than a warm cup of tea with a brownie. It brought me so much comfort to go along with the journey of Hailey and Wes’s relationship. I felt like I was one of their many friends.

A Guide to Being Just Friends, by Sophie Sullivan, is the final book in the Jennings brothers series. This book follows Hailey Sharp as she tries to get her new eatery business off the ground while establishing a friendship with Wes Jennings, a wealthy business owner. Hailey wants to focus on making her business successful and Wes doesn't believe in love, so both agree that their relationship would be best staying purely platonic.

The story was very entertaining and the initial meeting between Hailey and Wes was fantastic. Their chemistry is palpable and I loved the fact that they prioritized their friendship. Hailey is probably one the best female protagonists I have read. She is cheerful, giving, and very self-aware in that she knew her past was influencing her present and was mindful of how that needed to change or stay the same depending on where her feelings were at. I loved reading from her perspective and she was very relatable and someone I think most would enjoy being friends with. Wes was similarly complex, but in a much different way. Wes' actions were similarly influenced by his past, and while he was aware of this, I think he was less aware of how it was holding him back.

This book was immersive and the environment that was created was very easy to visualize. It helps to have read the first two novels, but it isn't necessary to understand or enjoy this third entry. The side characters, both those established in prior novels and those new to this book, were well-done. I absolutely adored Fiona, Hailey's best friend; she was funny and charming and even though I know this series is finished, I would love to see her get her own story. There were many different plot threads that, at times, made the book seem just a shade long, but none of them detracted from the overall enjoyment of the book and ultimately made it a much richer story. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially readers of fiction and romance.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for the ARC of A Guide to Being Just Friends.

This was a 3/5 read for me. The overall story was great, but getting there was a bit long. This is a friends to lovers trope. The romance is fade to black, but the MCs have great chemistry. This would be a 5/5 read for me if it was edited down a bit. In my opinion, there are too many characters. There are also some protective tropes, I can do this on my own trope, and of course the realization of the MCs are falling in love with each other. A fun rom-com, just a little long.

A classic strangers to friends to lovers tale. The third installment to the series, A Guide to Just Being Friends, is just the light read you need for a pick me up. Wes and Hailey’s friendship is one to envy for sure. Every girl wants a guy best friend to watch romcoms with while eating brownies and chocolates. Wes is a super organized, tech savvy guy who wants to fix everyone’s problems. After being hurt by her ex, Hailey is a strong willed independent woman determined to succeed on her own. But once they start becoming closer, they each find themselves wanting to do whatever it takes to make the other truly happy. A man scared of love and a woman scared of being hurt turn out to be the perfect match. A truly sweet story with a happy ending we all needed.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is an amazing slow-burn rom-com! I highly recommend this book if you want to laugh and read about a cute romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for sending me an eARC of this book! Unfortunately, I found this novel to be unbearable. Not only was the pacing completely whack, but the big conflict made the male lead completely irredeemable.

As I began reading, I thought the story was going very slowly (which is not normally a bad thing), but there was no chemistry between Wes and Hailey. For a slow-burn novel, that's just not good. Not only was there no romantic chemistry between the leads, but nothing platonic either. I did not buy that these two became "best friends" so quickly. Because why? They ate some vegetables out of a cup and bought groceries together a few times?

Regardless, I was prepared to give this book 2.5 stars (what I believe I gave the last book I read by this author), because while I didn't buy the romance, it's not like it was a terrible book. Oh, how naive I was. When Hailey and Wes finally are deep into a relationship and apologizing to each other after a petty fight (Wes wanted to help Hailey -- god forbid -- and she thought he overstepped. Whatever.) when Hailey says "I love you." Then Wes becomes a grade-A douchebag and is grateful!! when Hailey says it just slipped out, because he <i>doesn't believe in love</i>, which apparently he made clear from the beginning. I mean, what an asshole. And Hailey is just a doormat for forgiving him, no questions asked. Anyways, this is a book full of idiots. Please don't waste your time.

This book was adorable and so wholesome. I requested this book, not realizing it was the 3rd installment to a series, but I was still able to read it as a stand=alone book and loved it. I think if I had read the other two, I definitely would have enjoyed how much of the side characters we get to see throughout this whole book, but I still enjoyed it regardless.

Wes is literally one of my favorite MMC to date, he's so open and honest and really does his best to be the greatest guy friend a lady could have. Some of his inner-monologue was repetitive, and I didn't love certain choices he made, it felt a tad bit on the controlling side to me, but I honestly still loved his character.

Hailie is a boss lady. In all aspects of her life. She's heartbroken, but so brave and so proud to admit defeat. She built up a beautiful little life despite all the negative responses she got from outside sources throughout this book. Her friendship with Wes was adorable. I LOVED how the author wrote them together, I found myself enjoying the friendship and sassy banter between them instead of wondering when the heck they were going to make the first kiss happen.

The ending was very fast paced, and I wish we didn't get only fade to black scenes because obviously they had great chemistry as friends, I know they had to have had amazing chemistry as lovers. Still, this book was a very cute, fast and wholesome read and I loved it.

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for this ARC. This book is set to release on 1/17/2023!

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” were words I actually said OUT LOUD while reading this. Along with some internal shouting that included the following, “Wes, get it TOGETHER,” “Hailey, you’re in trouble,” and the occasional, “HELLO THIS IS SO CRINGE BYE.”

I have to be honest. I had no idea until I started writing this review that A GUIDE TO BEING JUST FRIENDS is part of a series centered around a set of brothers. And had I known, I would not have been down to read and/or review it. That kind of literary energy — i.e. stories about straight white boys who grow up super wealthy and jaded and of course are super hot and lusted after and beloved by everyone, then fall for beautiful-but-don’t-know-it white women — is very much not my jam. But here we are.

Some takeaways (in no particular order):
- We start the book knowing exactly how it’s going to end
- The resolution to the conflict in the ending happens so quickly and that is unsatisfying
- The ending is itself is also unsatisfying (more on that later)
- Wes and Hailey pretty much lie to themselves, and everyone around them, about how they feel for one another for the entirety of the book…and that’s basically the whole plot
- This would probably be more believable if they were sixteen years olds with little experience in life and love but they are grown ass adults
- There are several visibly cringe exchanges between the brothers that made me roll my eyes (i.e. when they’re trying to get Wes to admit Hailey is “hot”). It is 2022. Just why.
- Also irritating was the many paragraphs devoted to how selfless and wonderful and under-the-radar rich the brothers are, unlike their greedy no-good father (which was further exacerbated by all the random characters in the book that feel the need to echo this sentiment.) They are swimming in money and they’re not shitty about it. We get it.
- Hailey apologizing for how she reacted to Wes’s subterfuge. This man went against her wishes, lied and then straight up insulted her ability to succeed by herself in their argument about it…she had no reason to say sorry.
- Wes’s extremely predictable 180 on something he grew up his entire life thinking and feeling and internalizing happening within a few pages…aaaand then cue happy ever after,
- Last, but definitely not least: It REALLY bothers me when I read books where the skin tone of characters that are people of color are described (“dark-skinned” was the wording the author used here) but the same isn’t done for white characters. Especially in a book where pretty much everyone is white. Like this one. It’s just not okay. (You could tell me this was written a decade ago, and that would make more sense.)

I’ll stop there. Needless to say, I was not a fan of A GUIDE TO JUST BEING FRIENDS. In a world already saturated with so many stories and tropes like these, it doesn’t stand out or offer anything new. Still, I found the writing easy to follow, the dialogue well-structured and some of the plot devices, like the scene that included Ana and Dorian, enough to keep me reading until the end.

My verdict: Skip this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wes and Hailey’s first encounter would never be described as swoon worthy or romantic, and it left Hailey glad she had sworn off men. Wes was ashamed of his behavior and was relieved he had the opportunity to apologize to Hailey, and they soon became fast friends. It was apparent that their chemistry was percolating beneath the surface of their “friends only” relationship. I love their witty banter and I could tell it wouldn’t be long before sparks flew between this stubborn couple. Wes admired Hailey’s commitment to succeed with her new business “By The Cup”, and her willingness to try anything to bring in more customers. Hailey, on the other hand, couldn’t stop staring at his chiseled jaw, kind eyes and how handsome he was in his expensive suits. He was definitely boyfriend material but certainly not for her. Hailey did appreciate that Wes always made her laugh and lifted her spirits when she was having a bad day. To Wes, Hailey was his best friend and the woman who brightened up all of his days, so with how they felt about each other, what was taking them so long to fall in love?

Am I obsessed with Wes Jansen? Absolutely. My little heart was pitter-pattering all over the place throughout this read! Sometimes the dialogue felt a little cheesy or too on the nose, but what a cute story!

This is the first romance I’ve read in a long time, and truly, I couldn’t have hoped for a better reintroduction. This book was fun and emotionally relatable on so many levels. It had the right amount of humor and a good dose of reality, which will keep this story resonating with me for a long time. In fact, I might even re-read it someday.

The slow burn romance is a win for me. Loved the dual POV. And the constant overthinking on both accounts was utterly realistic. Definitely not disappointed. It was delightful, and I found it hard to say goodbye to the characters at the end. Bravo, Sophie Sullivan!

An unexpected results, my first ever 5 star rating for a romance book!

This had all the makings of a favourite, quality writing, believable characters, and a well established web of relationships (courtesy of the prior books in the series) which all worked together to give this story more depth than the average contemporary romance.

Really glad I picked this up, about to recommend it to friends and then read the first two in the series.

I want to start off by saying thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book through net galley! Second of all there was no information listed on net galley (or goodreads at the time i requested the book) about this book being the third in the series. I believe not reading the other two books has effected my review.

The start of the book felt a little awkward for me to read and took me a couple chapters to get used to the writing style. As characters are introduced it feels a little like you should know who they are already and know their vibes which if you havent read the rest of the series you dont.

This is a slow burn romance of two people becoming friends and trying to stay just friends. This felt like the slowest burn that barely led to a burn. I enjoyed their friendship but didnt enjoy how their relationship evolved. Instead of feeling the spark between the two it was more so each of them getting jealous and not communicating their feelings about the other dating other people. I didnt enjoy their conflicts and the major conflict felt very rushed along with the resolution feeling rushed as well.

Aside from romance i felt like there was a lot of filler about the businesses and the side characters. Overall I did not get attached to any of the characters including Hailey and Wes.

I really wanted to enjoy this book because the concept seemed but in the end it was enjoyable. One thing i did enjoy about the story was that Wes started creating an actual guide to being just friends. I think maybe if they were more forthcoming about their feelings for each other and throughout that continued to try and stay just friends it could of added more to the book.

This was a cute story and fun to read. I didn't realize it was the 3rd book in a series until I looked at goodreads. I saw other readers read this as a standalone book and enjoyed it and I'm glad I did as well. I'll go back and read Sophie's first two books in this series soon.

Although I hadn’t read the first two in this series, I loved this book! While I definitely will be going back to read about the other Jansen brothers’ love stories, I didn’t feel like I had missed anything by starting with Wes’s story! Wes and Hailey were an adorable friends to lovers couple that felt real and lived in. I’m sure fans of the series will also enjoy all the character cameos from previous books!

This book is sweet. It's a Hallmark movie, put in book form. It was almost a little too sweet for me. Everything came together in one perfect little package. Our main man, Wes, is smart, rich, handsome, and caring. Really, too good to be true. Hailey has her own start-up business, her ex is a movie star, and she's also smart and beautiful. The only real conflict in this book is that Wes and Hailey fall in love, but don't want to be in love. (Oh, and Wes is too rich and generous. lol) Anyway, I think this book could have used a little more grit with some more exciting conflict. But, as a I stated, it's sweet, cute, heart-warming, and entertaining. So, I can't complain!

Well, one thing to complain about.... Hailey owns a salad business. There's an awful lot of salad talk in this book, which just didn't do it for me. I prefer our typical bakery or coffee shop talk! haha. But. that's ok. I would recommend this book to all the Hallmark movie watchers out there. And a big thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Now, I'm going to go back and read the previous two books in this series!