Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was not aware that this was book 3 in a series until the author’s acknowledgment page at the very end of the book. I think that might have cleared up a few moments of confusion I experienced when the author mentioned side characters as if I should have previous knowledge of them and their relationships to one another. Despite that, this book could definitely be read as a standalone.

If you like your romance to be sweet, innocent, fade to black, with a friends to lovers storyline then A Guide To Being Just Friends is for you. This book was a PG romance with little in the way of funny banter and overt sexual tension between the main characters, Hailey and Wes. After a bad relationship, Hailey moves to a new city and opens up a to-go salad shop. Hailey is introduced to Wes one day when he mistakenly takes her for a date that was blowing him off. Wes eventually realizes his mistake and they’re able to quickly become good friends. Feelings develop by both characters but both try to ignore them, assuming the other person doesn’t feel the same way. Think of this book as a hallmark type of romance, if that’s what you like and are looking for, you’ll be satisfied with this book.

Overall, I really wanted to love this book but I felt unable to connect with either of the characters. As I was reading, I couldn’t feel their romantic chemistry which was disappointing. I would have liked for the author to provide more descriptive details to demonstrate the characters’ depth of feelings for one another rather than just telling us through internal dialogue. When the characters did eventually get together, I found I wasn’t excited it was finally happening but rather just relieved that something was happening to move the story along. Finally, I wasn’t a huge fan of the story being told by a 3rd person narrator that switched perspectives from Hailey and Wes because I found it difficult to follow at times.

I’ll give this book 2 stars because I think I might eventually revisit the first two books in the series because I really liked Wes’ two brothers, but I’m not compelled to do so immediately. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, just not for me.

I liked this book! While I obviously enjoyed the delightfully bumpy friends-to-lovers journey taken by Hailey and Wes, I have to say that I was also really fascinated by the growth of Hailey’s salad business and all that it entailed.
This is the last book in a series about three wealthy brothers; I haven’t read the previous stories, and though I wasn’t lost at any point while reading this one, reading about how Noah and Chris found love probably would’ve been beneficial (and I do intend to backtrack!).
Great characters, great banter, great book!

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a well written, slow burn rom-com by Sophie Sullivan. I read it not realizing its the third book in the Jansen brother series, but I didn't feel like I missed much by reading it first. That being said, I will definitely read the first two books now!

I enjoyed the premise of this book- Hailey is the new owner of a salad shop, as opposed to a bakery which seems more common in this genre. She accidentally meets Wes and throughout the book they are "just friends", however when told from alternating points of view, things aren't what they seem at face value. Both main characters have some baggage/background to work through, but this gives the storyline some depth. It was a cute set up for the inevitable, yet adorable, ending.

Thank you to NetGalley & St Martin's Publishing Group for the ARC!

What a great addition to the series. In order to understand all the characters its best to have read the other books first. I really enjoyed getting to know more about Wes and Hailey.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

"A Guide to Being Just Friends", is the third book in the "Jansen Brothers" series by Sophie Sullivan. This book centers around Hailey Sharp, who is making over her life by opening up a salad bar. Being new in town, it's taken some time to make new friends and grow her business, but things are finally looking up for Hailey. And an almost disastrous but adorable run-in with Wes Jansen sets sparks to flying. Wes, however, has sworn off love after watching the disastrous marriage between his parents, but Hailey has his mind thinking that perhaps love is worth the risk.

Both Hailey and Wes are extremely lovable and you want to root for both of them. They both have some relationship issues to work through, but you just want them to be happy. This was a cute, enjoyable book, and I'm so glad I was able to read all three books in this series. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you @NetGalley for this ARC.

This was such a fun read. Lots of laugh out loud moments. I really enjoyed the growth that each character made throughout the story. Loved how carefree and open Hailey is. I also really loved that Wes wasn't the typical "hot" leading man character.

So I didn't really this is the third in a trilogy, but it's all good..

Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropez, but this is a super super slow burn. Still enjoyable though

The tension in this book was immaculate- I could FEEL it. I loved the main female character and how determined she was. Also- the black dress moment😩😨😨😨

I was drawn by this cover and title, and was excited to dive in. However, I struggled with the writing style.
Despite a few attempts I did not finish the book. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The story was cute. I enjoyed the characters. The Type A / Sunshine trope was well executed. Super Super SLOWWWWW burn and closed door. Closed door romance is not really my jam and I didn’t realize it was closed door before reading. So just a heads up for other readers. My only real complaint is how much of the book I felt was about the brothers books. I didn’t even realize this had been a series but because I feel like we get both of their stories retold in this book I don’t feel the need to go back and read them. Author stated this was the last book since she finished with the brothers in the back but I felt she kept us wanting the sister (Ari) or Fiona’s story.

I'm going to start out by saying that I didn't realize this was the third book in a series when I requested this, so I read the first two books before reading this and I'm so glad I did because then I could fall in love with all three Jansen brothers. I really like how the characters from the previous books are regular characters in the book and not just making an appearance.
Wes and Hailey embark on this journey of friendship all the while ignoring their romantic feelings because of their past emotional issues. Wes is absolutely dreamy and loves to take care of the people in his life. Hailey is so relatable and I love watching both of their character growth.

*Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review! *

A Guide To Being Just Friends

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This romcom comes out next January, and you’ll have to put it on your list to check out! Wes and Hailey alternate chapters as they start out with a solid friendship. Friends to lovers is not my favorite trope, but I enjoyed this.

I really liked Hailey’s character. She had a unique business and I loved watching her growth. The finale fight in this was a bit predictable and dropped the rating down a bit but still an entertaining book.

I enjoyed this book so much. Wes is guarded and a workaholic and the eldest of the Jansen brothers who doesn't see it coming!
Recommend.

Hailey is a new small business owner who is new in town. Wes is the wealthy tech guru/ investor who mistakes her for someone else, for a meet very un-cute. From a salty meeting to friends to lovers. I read this in one day. While it is third in a series and I haven't read the first two, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the world of the other characters. It took me a bit to catch the names of Wes' brothers matched with their partners, but I got into it. Hailey's business is fun - salads to go, all served in a cup for easy transport. Their friendship is fun and funny but the burn is sloooooooow. Like 2/3 of the way through slow. I appreciated the backstory building of why both Hailey and Wes are opposed to being anything more than friends, but once they did get together, I was a little confused by the progression and regression. I honestly thought based on how Wes acted (and the words he said) that his outlook had changed - until it came to a halt and he clammed up. I also wish that at least some of the *things* that happen off the page leading to the third act conflicts would have happened on page. It seemed to skip forward and I had to fill in the blanks.

Overall, an enjoyable read with a fun group of characters. I'd recommend to readers who enjoy romance, slow burns, friends to lovers, rom coms (movies as well as books), and spice off page (if this was a movie it would be PG).

This book was very cute. It gave me Harry Met Sally vibes, which the book even alludes to. I would say that this is truly a friends to lovers. Because the friendship starts and develops through more than half of the book. And only then do they become more. Some friends to lovers books really skip over the friends part. If you like closed door, fade to black, romances this is the one for you.

✨Book Review - A Guide to Just Being Friends by Sophie Sullivan✨

Hailey Sharp owns a salad shop, is getting over a bad breakup and just wants to focus on her business and living for herself. Wes Jansen doesn’t do love. The two meet and strike up a friendship, what could possibly go wrong?

This was a cute little rom-com book. My issue is that there were a lot of characters brought into this that I just didn’t know. Since this was a 3rd in a series, I feel like I would have connected better had I read the other two first. But, I didn’t. There’s also a lot of salad talk and while I typically go for food driven stories, I would have liked less of that. Otherwise, it was a fast and easy read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was super cute and I loved the storyline of it. Hailey is the owner of a really cute business that sells cups of salad which I honestly think is a great idea- why isn’t there one of those in real life?! When it doesn’t look very promising for her business, she pushes onward and upward. Her initial meeting with Wes creates a good tension between them that can be shaped into something good eventually. In fact, because of the awful scenario, they’re friends and Wes is disbelieving of love so he doesn’t want it to become anything more.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a book about people who realize that being independent and loving yourself and coexist with a supportive, romantic relationship as long as both parties love each other :)

The reason I didn’t give it more than 3 stars is I lost a little bit of interest about 2/3 of the way through.

THIS IS IT. The slow burn romance has a chokehold on me.

Not my first book by this author, but can I just say that I enjoyed this more. I was satisfied with everything.

So, didn’t realize this is a 3rd book in a series, and I think I probably would have understood some of the main characters more if I had read the other books first but:
SPOILERS
I wasn’t a fan of Hailey. I don’t like wealthy people was her entirely her personality. I mean, me either, eat the rich but wait
Her new BFF is a handsome rich man.
Whatever can go wrong here
Oh you guessed it, he tried to buy her something.
Also, this has 0 sex in it. 0, none, they maybe imply it so…safe for 6 year olds to read

Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for honest review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book, provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! Friends-to-lovers is my favorite because it's "our" story - meaning mine and my husband's. We were friends for longer than Wes and Hailey, but we were determined to be friends, even trying to set each other up with other people! The heat and chemistry was there for Wes and Hailey from the beginning, and I'm kind of glad the sexy times were closed door. This book was very story-driven, and it didn't need sex scenes to add to the sexual tension.

The characters actually talked to each other, and their friends, and they didn't just fall all over each other, which I really liked. It wasn't just about them or how one or the other would inevitably screw up their relationship. There were multiple relationships floating around. I'm really big on series like this.

I especially enjoyed the cast of side characters, and how they were all like a big family. I've already put then first two books in this series on my wishlist so I can read them too!