I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun sweet read! I haven't read the first two in the series but am excited to catch them next. I liked that each book can be read as a standalone in addition to being the same series.

Hailey is starting a new life, in a new town, and trying to get her salad shop up and running. Wes is a practical businessman with no interest in putting his heart on the line. When these 2 meet in a not so “meet-cute” situation, they start a budding friendship with determination to just keep it at that.

This rom com and friends to lovers trope was so cute and well written! I loved the main characters, and even all the supporting characters. I didn’t realize this book was the third of a series so I felt like I was missing some back story with a few characters, but loved the roles they played throughout the book regardless. Definitely would read more by Sophie Sullivan! I give this book 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my ARC on exchange for my honest feedback!

Apparently, this is book 3 in a series. Neither NetGalley nor Goodreads had it listed this way so I didn't realize that when I requested it. As a result, some of the characters weren't fully developed. I think if I had read the first two, I would have appreciated their personalities a bit more.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book. It's basically a Hallmark movie come to life. It's a classic grumpy-sunshine trope and it's super cute.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC!

This book was cute! I enjoyed the easy read and the main characters had good chemistry. It was a little slow at first but flowed better as the story progressed.

I received this book as an ARC. Having not read any of Sophie Sullivans books before, I went into this completely blind and I was not disappointed! I really enjoyed the writing style and the banter between the two main characters. It was the perfect amount of slow burn but not so slow that it gets boring. I also enjoyed that along with watching the romantic relationship develop between Hailey and Wes, you also see their friendship with each other and each other’s friends. I love when books have a few subplots within them so it doesn’t become solely about the romance between the 2 main characters. Very fluffy and sweet. Now that I know this is the third of a series I am going to go back and read the other two. 4/5 :)

Okay - so stupid me, I realized about 10-15% into this book that this was a third book in the series of these Jansen brothers. There were so many characters that I was just kind of supposed to “know” and I was like “wait…I bet her other two books were about these pairings”. So that was on me.

However, I don’t read TOO many friends to lovers and I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I think it comes down to the fact that I wish there was a love language of being known. Because I truly think that that would be what mine would be. I love when people send me a song to say “I heard this and thought of you” or “I saw this cup and it made me think of you” or “I got you a sandwich but I didn’t put x, y, &z on it because I know you don’t like that”. I felt a lot of that in Wes and Hailey’s friendship.

The only thing that kind of put me off was the third act breakup. I’ve come to expect them, but this one kinda felt like it came out of nowhere. Well it did, and it didn’t. I think I just wasn’t going in that direction and so it shocked me a little bit.

However, I love friend groups that operate as found family. That’s a way to my heart.

This book publishes in January of 2023 - so definitely pick it up. (But maybe read the other two first hahahaha)

Read this book at night so I could fall asleep more easily 🫶🏼 writing is good, has about 2 good scenes, almost put me in a slump. Wish it had more subplot to keep me going but wouldn’t recommend reading because it’s way too slow

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC.

I love a good slow-burn romance and this book checked all the boxes for me! A lot of good character development and I didn’t feel lost even though I hadn’t read the previous two books (yet).

If you love rom-coms and the friends-to-lovers trope, this needs to be your next read! I think this book is perfect for fans of books like "The Cheat Sheet" and "A Brush With Love". It definitely had those cutesy, sweet vibes and I just really loved this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

This book is fantastic! It's the first one I've read from this author and in the Jensen Brother series but I am definitely heading to her back catalog. I usually gravitate toward first person narratives, but this third person narrative did such a great job of getting inside Hailey and Wes's heads.

I loved reading about Hailey's experience starting up a business, and starting over building a new friend group. If you're a fan of found family, I think you'll love this too. Wes and Hailey had amazing chemistry - it was so clear why they were such a great match. They each had a great ARC as well. I also adored the cast of characters that supported their story. I can't say enough good about this book. Highly recommend picking this one up when it's released!

Hailey Sharp is starting over. She’s opening a salad shop, making new friends, and focusing on herself first and foremost. The last thing she wants is a boyfriend, especially after her most recent heartbreak. Wes Jansen is busy running a corporation with his brothers that focuses on giving back to communities. He’s handsome and a technology genius, but dating makes zero sense to him. So much so he’s completely given up on the idea of falling in love.

After an awkward encounter at a local bakery, the two become fast friends. The closer they become, the harder it is to deny their true feelings.

An adorable slow burn romance. I loved the development of Wes and Hailey’s friendship. Their Saturday night grocery shopping and movie dates were filled with the cutest banter. The sense of community that was portrayed in this book was heartwarming. From Wes and his friends to Hailey and her girlfriends. It was a nice reminder that were never truly alone.

The amount of characters became overwhelming at some points in the story. I found it hard to keep up with everyone and how they were connected.

3.5 stars! Will definitely be reading more books by Sophie Sullivan! If you’re needing a quick romance read, this is the book for you!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced E-book copy. A Guide to Being Just Friends releases on January 17, 2023.

This was such a delightful friends to lovers romance!

I have not read the first two in the series, but similar to other slightly linked series, you can easily hop into this one blind and not have missed anything important to this story (though I’ll be going back to read the first ones!).

Our MC, Hailey, is starting out fresh after a breakup with a clear narcissist - and started her dream eatery - a salad shop! When she heads to a nearby bakery, she’s mistaken by our male lead Wes as his blind date. The mistaken identity leads to genuine friendship and gives us a fantastic slow burn 🔥 to lovers.

I loved these MCs and our supporting characters so much! A satisfying, sweet, and swoony romance that you’ll love!

This book is very much a 4.5 for me. I love the friends to lovers trope and I enjoyed how they were strangers when the book started. I liked the acknowledgment of how hard it is to find friends as an adult, especially when moving to a new place. The slow burn was real and the chemistry between Hailey and Wes was very dynamic. The relationship felt really authentic and realistic... up until the last few chapters. I think their first fight as a couple was done really well, but their second "fight" was just awkward. It felt a little miscommunication to me but then also cheesy revelations and a grand gesture and it didn't quite match the rest of the book. Wes felt too robotic at the end when he wasn't like that during the book. I also wish it wasn't left open-ended with the legal situation with their dad. It was pointless to have that in the book when it was just never really resolved at the end. Overall, 10% of the book could be cut and it would be an even better read; however it was excellent and I do recommend reading it. Closed door romance (1/5 for spice).

3.5 Hailey Sharp supported her ex-boyfriend Dorian's dream of becoming an actor, but he wasn't worthy of her love or support, as he was judgemental and mean. She gave up her food truck, moved to a different part of Califonia, and opened a salad shop, By the Cup salad shop.

Wesley Jensen moved from New York to California following his two brothers, Noah and Chris. We initially met them in How to Love Your Neighbor.

Hailey and Wes both have issues with relationships, and their meet-cute was a disastrous mess. What could go wrong?

A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan
Available: January 17, 2023
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pairs Well With: A salad

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC digital copy. My thoughts are my own.

Hailey Sharp is a woman on a mission. Defeated by love but not pessimistic, Hailey channels her energy into opening a salad shop in San Verde, California. Meanwhile, in the same town, Wes Jansen protects the hearts and bank accounts of his brothers, destined not to repeat his father’s mistakes in life and love. When an adorable meet-cute brings these two characters together, they believe the perfect solution to avoiding love is to define the exact parameters of a friendship and stay well within those boundaries. What could go wrong?

I absolutely adored this book. I will admit I have not read Sophie Sullivan’s previous books, and therefore did not realize this was the third and final book in the ‘Jansen brothers’ series. That being said, it absolutely can be read and enjoyed if you haven’t read the other two. I will be getting my hands on them as soon as possible though because I really enjoyed Sophie Sullivan’s writing style and can’t wait to reunite with some of the characters I felt a connection to.
One area of the book I found a bit overwhelming was the amount of supporting characters. Again, not realizing it was part of a series, I was at a disadvantage. I felt like there were a lot of characters that filled supportive roles, but also seemed very developed. I understand now that those characters were leads in their own novels. The misunderstanding in this case was my own, but something new-readers could take note of if they haven’t read “Ten Rules for Faking It” and “How to Love Your Neighbor.”

This slow-burn, friends-to-lovers trope had me invested from the beginning. The main characters were relatable and seemed mature; I find too often in Romance stories that the female character has to change or give up something to get the great love she is after, and Hailey does not do that. The ‘speed’ of the story was captivating as well; it took its time to build up to the conclusion, but didn’t drag on or feel redundant at any point.

Without spoiling the story, it is hard to say much more- I want to yell from the rooftops that Hailey and Wes’ story may be one of my favourites yet, but for now, my 5 star rating and insistence that everyone who loves Romance go buy a copy of this book will have to suffice.

I’d also like to say, for the record, the major pull to this novel was absolutely the cover! I think the cover art is adorable and it caught my eye. The colours and perfect- I love the font, I love the book title- this book is just perfection!

If you love a strong female lead, a tender romance story and a friends-to-lovers trope, this is a must add to your TBR pile. If you’re not sure you like those things, I highly recommend reading this book to find out!

This is a 3rd person, dual POV, 3rd in a series, book. Technically it is a stand alone novel, and you won't be lost by picking this one up first. However, if you plan on reading about any of the other two brothers, you really need to read them in order because each brother makes more and more of an appearance in each subsequent novel.

This novel has so. many. side characters. It's not just the two brothers and their girlfriends you met in Book 1 and 2. It's all of those side characters and friends too. It's a lot. It's too much.

I absolutely adored their meet-cute. So cute. So awkward. So awkwardly cute.

FMC is a strong woman who isn't super annoying in that "strong female character" way. She just knows what she wants, and if she doesn't, she's figuring it out. MMC is totally refreshing as an MMC because he doesn't believe in love because of his parents' nasty divorce. (Did my sarcasm come through well enough there?) But he makes up for it in the rest of his personality, so that's fine with me. He was sweet, secretly and not-so-secretly into his tech job, and I enjoyed a lot of the banter. Some of the dialogue came off a little unnatural and really slowed the story down with there being too much that wasn't needed.

The overall plot sounds so adorable on paper, but the execution felt a little juvenile. Two strangers dive head first into being "just friends" for their respective reasons. But then they keep bringing it up. "Friends do this." "This falls under friendship." Like just stop. Stop being weird. It's made worse by the side characters then not believing that they're just friends (but how can you NOT when they're constantly bringing it up???) And while I understood why the friends bring it up (they just met in the beginning pages. I would be skeptical of my friend doing something like this too.) it's one of my least favorite tropes. "Oh you know he's soooo into you right?" "Y'all aren't just friends, give it up." It's too much. It's weird. It's childish.

The writing is the same writing as the first two--a great mix of inner monologue and dialogue, with some of it coming off as too much in one direction sometimes. The copyediting leaves a lot to be desired with lack of commas and missing nouns in placement of pronouns. (A few chapters begin with "he" or "she" and you're just expected to know who--in the whole large cast of characters--is being talked about.)

I liked this one, but I didn't love it. It waffled between being just okay and liking it, so I round up to a 3.5. I think out of the three in the series, this was my least favorite though. I would 100% check out anything else that Sophie Sullivan writes though because I really enjoy her style, and that alone made this book super worth it to me!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Sophie Sullivan has quickly become a top romance author for me. In the vein of Sarah Adams, the beautiful and heartfelt romances are just such a joy to read. A Guide to Being Just Friends was a lovely friends to lovers story. With so much more than the relationship, there was family and self growth as well. This is a closed door romance, but that doesn't mean the angst and feels weren't there. I loved this one!

This was my first chance of reading a book by Sophie Sullivan and let me just say she did not disappoint. This was a super cute and funny story. This is a great read for romantic hearts every where. You have our lead characters, Hailey and Wes. Hailey who left a controlling previous relationship to start over and up and moves to San Verde, CA to start her new dream in a Salad By The Cup shop. Low and behold she goes next door for coffee and has the strangest meeting with the other character Wes. While he is rude and obnoxious in the initial meeting he makes up for throughout the book as you start to see that this nerdy, analytical, technology loving guy starts to open up. I believe his true self comes out to Hailey because at first they were friends and the intent was to stay that way, however, the heart wants what the heart wants and lines get crossed as feelings they did not mean to have or want come to the surface. They truly are a perfect match. He always wants to help and she wants to do it all on her own, what could possibly go wrong...You shall see. Honestly, this was an amazing quick, quirky, romantic read. Something light and perfect for the soul. Every now and then you need happiness and honesty and this book delivers. Thank you Sophie Sullivan for this amazing read, I will definitely check out more of your books.

Netgalley gave me an ebook copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. This was a slow burn romance which always takes me a little longer to read. I want them to just fall in love. It also didn’t have a lot of spice but it was still a really good story and I enjoyed the plot too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!

This is a cute, low angst rom-com that follows Wes and Hailey as they go from strangers to best friends to lovers and all of the messy slow-burn in between. I really liked watching the entire trajectory of their relationship play out through the story and the doubts and frustrations they had with each other and with moving from friends to lovers, in that way the book, despite being a rom-com, felt very honest and realistic. I really liked Wes as a character, probably because I so relate to his social anxiety, awkwardness, and fears. However, this did make me increasingly annoyed with Hailey at times in the book, particularly around the conflicts created by her stubbornness and pride (girl, let this man buy you a diamond bracelet pls!!!!!), and the ways she wasn't meeting Wes in the middle!!!

Overall, A Guide to Being Just Friends is a fun final book in the Jansen brothers series, that will make for a nice winter curl-up with a warm cup of tea read.