A Guide to Being Just Friends is a super cute read following Hannah and Wes. I loved the portrayal of Hannah as a business owner and learning about her salad shop. This book is a sloooooowww burn. If slow burns aren't your thing, you may find yourself losing interest. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and getting to know all of the awesome characters.

this book was cute! I enjoyed watching the relationship grow between Hailey and Wes throughout the book. I also enjoyed some of the side characters as well. I do feel like there was a tad bit too much filler and information at times.

The storyline was good, I firstly think I would feel differently about this book had I read the others in the series. I love a little spicy in romance books and this didn’t have that. It was an easy read tho, but I felt a disconnect in some parts. Overall, I liked Hailey’s story.

Sophie Sullivan has written a love letter to friends, to entrepreneurs, and to found families! A Guide to Being Just Friends is a joyful, swoony romance full of heart and humor! An absolute delight to read!

Sullivan finishes her Jansen Brothers trilogy (after Ten Rules for Faking It and How to Love Your Neighbor) with a friends-to-lovers romance featuring eldest Wes and salad shop owner Hailey, whose awkward meet-cute morphs into a tentative friendship when their paths keep crossing. The titular guide is a pact between the two to emphasize their single status—Wes has sworn off romance after his parent's disastrous divorce and Hailey is fresh out of an emotionally unfilling relationship—until both develop feelings and debate whether to potentially compromise their friendship. While Sullivan skips the theatrics when pushing her leads apart, her writing was missing that quintessential spark connoisseurs of romance may crave.

VERDICT: A cozy contemporary romance wrapping up an otherwise average trilogy. Recommended for libraries with an extensive romance collection or those already invested in the series.

For stand-alone romances in the same universe, I really felt like I was missing a lot with not having read the others. There were so many characters and I quickly lost track of who everyone was. I appreciated the friends to lovers storyline but I think the tension was lacking and that they should have spent more time together before becoming BFFs. I also felt that the storyline with Hailey's ex was too brief. I expected a bigger conflict around that. I did enjoy how there were several more minor conflicts rather than one huge one. I think that's a more realistic depiction of real life.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.

I rate this book a 3.5/5. I enjoyed this book, but I do wish I realized that this was the third book in series. It can be read stand alone, but I felt like there were a lot of characters that I was missing out on the context. I did like a lot of aspects of this book though! I loved the meet “cute” between the two main characters and I enjoyed seeing the development of their friendship into a romantic relationship. This was definitely one of the more realistic romances I have read in the while which was good. I enjoyed reading about the two different businesses, especially Haley’s salad business -just the cutest thing! I would definitely read the first two books of this series!

Overall I loved this book. A little slow in parts but it did keep me interested. The writing is top notch.

* MILD SPOILERS* A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan was so fun! The pacing in the first 95% of the book was great. The tension built slowly and the task of being "just friends" became increasingly difficult for Wes and Haley. The packing in the ending was rushed. Wes brings up topics that are essential for couples to talk about ( wanting to get married, kids, etc.) and they get brushed to the side and do not get addressed as they should be. I just wish that these fears of Wes and Haley's were addressed properly and not brushed to the side. Altogether I enjoyed this book, I related to the MC (main character) Haley. My biggest issue was the pacing. I did not realize when I received this arc that there are two other books that predate it that follow Wes's brothers love story. Although the book read nicely without me having read them in my opinion!

* This ARC was sent to me by netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own*

This is last in series of Jansen brothers. Wes is the Jansen oldest brother and a complete cinnamon roll! I have seen “How to love your neighbor” all over the booksta and was very excited to be granted access to this arc. It works as stand alone but there were references in the book that would be more enjoyable to readers familiar with previous books.

So basically Wes and Hailey try to find/write the guide to being just friends as you might have surmised from the title (just as I did, smart people that we are!!). Without giving away too much, it’s safe to say things didn’t work out for them in the way they wanted…and then things did work out, not just the way they initially wanted….and things didn’t work again..but did everything sort itself out?? Was there a guide to begin with? Can people use it? Well, you will have to read it to find out!!

I enjoyed this book, it was easy to pick up the characters despite not having read the first two books in the series about the other two bothers.

In my opinion the start of the relationship between Wes and Hailey progressed too quickly in the first three interactions. I would have loved to see more interactions between the two of them before they became "friends"

Overall I thought this was a really cute story.

Thank you to NetGalley for ARC in return for an honest review. Looking forward to reading more from Sophie Sullivan!

Made me want a salad and a brownie! It's a cute easy read that's perfect for the beach or a cozy afternoon.

3.5 Stars - I wish we were given this option!

This is the third (and final) book in the Jansen Brothers' series, however it can definitely be read as a standalone (which I did). I really enjoyed Wes and Hailey's story and overall it felt fairly realistic to me. There were moments where I felt the pace was slow and certain things were being dragged out but overall it kept me entertained. The romance was a slow burn with no spice, but it was a cute story with swoony moments. One thing I loved in this slow burn was the foundation that Wes and Hailey built through their friendship. It was adorable and what I'm sure many of us romance readers would love to have. If you enjoy friends to lovers, slow burn, ambitious and independent female main characters, I'd give this story a shot! Be warned, there is a fair amount of miscommunication in here, but doesn't love make us all a little crazy and confused?

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 ⭐️- I love Sophie Sullivan’s writing, and I was so excited to get my hands on this ARC! I didn’t realize this was the third in the Jansen brother series, but was so excited once I started reading. Hailey Sharp is new in town with her cute little salad shop, and she meets Wes Jansen in an awkward situation— he thinks she’s the girl he’s been talking to on a dating app, and he thinks she’s trying to stand him up. They leave their not-so meet cute feeling awkward, embarrassed, and sure that they will never see each other again, but of course that’s not the case!!! This book follows Hailey and Wes as they become friends and try (and fail) to not fall in love. This was a cute, easy read, and I loved getting to see how the other Jansen brothers are doing! A big shout out to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced readers copy!

I was so excited for the third and final installment in the Jansen Brothers series and Wes and Hailey’s story did not disappoint. Sullivan had me hooked with Chris and Everly from the first book… so I will admit that I didn’t fall for W&H like I did her other characters. My favorite parts of this book were seeing the worlds interact— I love the side characters and seeing the brothers come together. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic series!

First off, I want to thank Negalley and the St. Martin's Griffin for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I will admit here, I goofed a bit. I had no idea that this book, though it can be read as a stand-alone, was also technically third in a series until I read the acknowledgements. It makes a lot of sense honestly, because I was hoping that the brothers' stories would be fleshed out more in this book...but obviously they have their own books and are fleshed out in there lol. That aside, this was a really fast, enjoyable read with slow-burn romance and dual POV of the two main characters, Hailey and Wes. The book follows Hailey just moved into the area to restart her life after her dumpster-fire of a relationship and opened up a salad eatery/cafe, and Wesley, who is the son of a business tyrant who followed his brothers to CA. I will say I was surprised of the lack of spicy scenes, which I kinda assumed/expected from rom=com. Another thing was they both are stubborn on their hangout

I read this in basically a day because I really liked the tension and storyline for Hailey and Wes. I also loved how the book did include a lot of backstory on both Wes and Hailey and built upon that. One of my biggest pet-peeves is the miscommunication trope in rom-coms and I didn't really see that here, thank god. Or if it was technically miscommunication, the conflict was set-up in a way to be believable and something i could see happening IRL. Also, I adored that they had open communication during the resolutions and genuinely had some changes made because sometimes you read about the conflicts but they're never really resolved (which this didn't have). Also some of the sentences/prose in this book...especially about both of their difficulties in letting other people help them/let them in was spot-on.

Overall, this was a great read and while I goofed and read technically out of order, I will be going back to read about the other brothers!!

This was an enjoyable friends to lovers read, a trope I quite enjoy. Hailey and Wes have a meet cute, but are determined that they have their own lives to focus on. Funny and charming, I did enjoy this read. The characters were likeable and I didn't mind the slow burn of the when-will-they. Although I admit I didn't know it was part of a series and likely would have appreciated it more worth the back stories of other characters. The characters that I did know were loveable and I may go back to read the other books!

3.5/5⭐️

I wanted to give this book more stars but I don’t think that I can. To say this book was basic would be lying but to say it was unique would be giving it to much credit. I enjoyed it & managed to push myself to finish it, I just feel there could have been more. The first 20 chapters of the book were okay, I enjoyed the world building & character building however, it bored me. I felt there was no emotional connection to anyone in this book. I loved Wes & Hailey, their friends, Wes’s brothers, the much appreciated side characters, I just feel like the author could have gave more. More depth to each individual rather than playing “i don’t know how to love” & “ive been hurt by someone so I don’t trust anymore” cards. Also the miscommunication towards the end?? Very unnecessary. I’m not hating or anything because I enjoyed this, it just wasn’t what I hoped it would be. All in all I recommend this book if you like just hearing people rant & characters talk and build bonds. The romance took a little to long for it not to give what I thought it would. There are 2 other books before this with the two younger brothers that I feel I will enjoy more! Hopefully I will read those soon. As always though, thank you NetGalley, the author & publishers for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review!

so so so good, a amazing slow burn. if you enjoy mariana zapata you’ll definitely like how slow this goes. this is part of a series so i do recommend reading those before this. i felt a bit confused which is why i rated this a 4 and not a 5, jumped into this without expectations.

i was not left disappointed, this is the first book from this author i’ve read. i will be coming back for more.

i received an arc of this book, that at all does not affect my rating. i prefer being honest and truthful about my reviews. please give this an opportunity thank you for the opportunity to read this early!

4.25/5

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of A Guide to Being Just Friends!

This is the 3rd book in the Jansen brothers series but can absolutely be read as a stand-alone.

I loved this friends to lovers, slow burn & definitely recommend! I also loved the chosen family aspect of these characters & felt like I was apart of the group while reading. Highly recommend if you love a great friends to lovers book. I couldn’t put this one down!