Hailey is trying hard to make her eatery By the Cup successful. She’s not long out of a toxic relationship and is in no hurry to have a repeat. Wes has had an unsuccessful run at merging women in dating apps. They run into each other at the bakery/coffee shop next to By the Cup when Wes mistakes her for his date. They hit it off and, shrug they are both attracted to the other, decide to be friends only. What follows is funny and warm and heartbreaking all at the same time. Can they be friends or will love find them?

I adored this book! It made me want to open my own eating establishment! The characters are fun and real. The angst is real. It gave me all the feels! Highly recommend for light, easy reading!

Thank you Sophie Sullivan and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I gave this book a 4/5!

I really enjoyed the characters and thought they were really well written! It's more of a slow-burn which I don't typically enjoy, but this book had such a great romance trope that I was able to enjoy it! Really enjoyed this novel!

I really enjoyed the idea of the story but being dual POV and written in the third person, I often found myself rereading sentences or even paragraphs to fully grasp the scene. Having more than one “third act break up” really made this book feel more real, which I appreciated. Wes’ struggle to accept his feelings really irritated me because he was so self aware in his business life, but Hailey had just the right heart to help him see what he was missing out on. Being in a similar situation as Hailey (at the beginning of the book), really helped me put myself into her character and hope to find a friends-to-lovers situation for myself.

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC copy of this

Hailey is to busy for love after starting her dream salad take out bar and moving on from her ex-boyfriend. Wes wants companionship but no love after navigating his parents messy divorce. After striking up a friendship they both feel like they have found the perfect balance but it is never that simple is it?

This is the third book about the Jansen brothers and I really enjoyed it. I hadn’t read the first two books but don’t feel like that really took away from the storyline at all. It was a fun, light and quick moving read. The characters were well developed and I found it hard to put down. I really liked Hailey, her ambitious nature and her kindness. Wes was really sweet and his relationship with his brothers was one of my favourites. This was a perfect summer read.

I would definitely recommend this book and will be reading the other books in this series!

Tropes
-found family
-friends to lovers
-miscommunication

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ / 5
🌶 /5

Finished reading this books before I realized it is book 3 of 3. Definitely will go back to read books 1 & 2.

Very sweet and heartwarming story. The being friends part was a bit long, full of friendly love sparks. Makes sense though, since it is a book about friendship. Good for the characters to build trust and accept themselves for who they are before taking on any romantic relationship. Started to pick up halfway through the book.

Very emotional towards the end.

This book had so many elements that lead me to not read romance - namely, forgettable characters with little growth and development, not enough chemistry, heavy on the tropes to the detriment of plot. Calling this "When Harry Met Sally meets 500 Days of Summer" is way way off. I generally have high standards for romance anyways, so I immediately knew this wasn't going to meet the bar.

I swear to you, I couldn't tell you five distinct things about either of the main characters, nor could I really explain what happened with their "meet cute." The book centers around them being friends, but that's just told to you through them repeating "we are friends" over and over. The side characters were similarly forgettable - from reading other reviews, I now know that this is the third in a series about Wes and his brothers, so maybe that's why the author is very light on describing them, but it only served to take me out of the story even more. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley in exchange for this very honest review!

I want to bash my head against a wall, this book started off cute but quickly turned into cringe city.

Cute read! This is the 3rd story of the Jansen brothers series, and it was so fun to finally read Wes’ story of finding love (even if he was resistant to the idea of love) in California. It can be read independently from the series, but I’d recommend reading all 3 of the books in order for maximum enjoyment. This has a meet-cute and a friends-to-lovers trope with a little spice. I’m looking forward to reading more from author Sophie Sullivan in the future!

wes and hailey are just <3
first of all the meet cute !!! (or not so meet cute) more books need those tbh
watching hailey and wes grow as their own people and as friends was so so sweet. i loved their grocery shopping dates and sweet nights in. seeing these two bring out the best in each other was such a treat. (also wes actually making hailey a guide to being just friends <3 )
revisiting the community that has been built in the last two books in this series felt like coming home to old friends. the heroine of this book felt like she was all alone and the world- it was lovely seeing her welcomed with open arms into this friend group.
overall i can't recommend this book enough!
i can't wait to purchase it on january 13th 2023!
thank you @netgalley for this digital arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a cute Chick Lit book that I could see being made into a romantic comedy or tv show right away!

Wes and Hailey have both recently moved to California and have a meet cute. In the process become friends, but they both decide ONLY friends. It’s a slow burn romance and I adored their friendship. It was such a fun read and perfect palette cleanser if you need a lighthearted book.

FYI: all of the romance scenes are fade to black and it’s very clean. Just wanted to throw that out there for all my fellow romance readers.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Such a cute novel! Definitely a happy, positive read! I loved this novel and quickly read through it as it was a quick read. Definitely recommend to fans of romance and contemporary novels! I love Sophie Sullivan's novels and this one is no different!

This was read through Netgalley.

A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan has a lot of good things going for it. The comparison to When Harry Met Sally is what initially drew me into this book, and I have to agree, that friends to lovers slow burn was a fair comparison.

My favorite thing about this story was how realistic and relatable it is. The characters and setting are developed really well - it is very much a story that could happen to anyone in real life and it felt very comforting for that reason.

This book feeling so realistic also made this a little tricky to get into. I love stories that make me feel like I can escape from “real life” for a bit, and this certainly wasn’t that. It felt a little slow to read because I was very much aware that I was reading a story, rather than getting so sucked into the book that I forget about everything else.

Overall, I’d give it a 4⭐️. If friends to lovers is your thing, I think you will really love it. If you prefer more fast-paced stories and angst, this one probably won’t hit for you.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC! This book will be published January 17th, 2023.

@netgalley @stmartinspress

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3.25 ⭐️

I thought this book was cute! It was definitely a slow burn, friends to lovers story where the intimacy was implied rather than described. However, I do think the character development and relationships between characters was lacking. In the beginning, I liked Hailey and thought her entrepreneurship was endearing, but as the book went on she seemed so adverse to Wes’s financial situation that she refused any and all help from him. Also, I think Wes’s perspective and background deserved more time as the plot about his father left me confused and I’m not sure it was really relevant. Lastly, the conflict and resolution felt rushed and unnecessary. Overall, I thought Hailey and Wes’s friendship was super cute and wholesome but not sure if their chemistry was right for me.

Big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was a sweet, friends to lovers romance. Wes and Hailey, met while building their careers in a new town. Both were burned in previous relationships and had bad dating experiences. So they decided they would take a break and just be friends. After becoming close, they decide they will develop a little guide to being just friends. Adorable.

I will note right away that this is fade to black. There was a lot that built to get to Wes and Hailey admitting their feelings for each other and I was bummed for a fade to black- but that is just my preference!

I loved Hailey's salad shop and her friendships with other business owners and Wes' family. This is the first in the series I read, so there were people I did not know, but it definitely worked as a standalone.

I did not love the third act conflict, or conflicts. I felt like they fought, made up, fought, made up and fought. So the ending dragged a little for me but overall I enjoyed this adorable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This was so cute! A wonderful romance, filled with witty banter, delightful characters, and just enough steaminess. A must read for romance lovers!

I’m torn between liking and disliking this book. I didn’t love either of the main characters. Hailey is supposed to come off as hardworking and independent. I did feel this way some until the Valentines scene and then she comes off as obnoxious and ungrateful. Then, she says something along the lines of her and Wes being “real” so she had to tell him she didn’t like the gift but it only reminded me of when people say they are being honest when they are just being harsh. I also found her very cheesy and cliche. Some of the scenes like her standing up to Anna seemed unnecessary and led to me finding her cheesy.

Wes was fine. His introduction scene, I thought he was rude. Then, he’s sweet and charitable. He seems very cute and sweet, the video game thing does not do it for me but it’s not bad.

This is a very slow burn friends to lover book. I thought it went on a bit longer than it needed to and that some of the “extra” scenes and moments at the end of the book were unnecessary.

My biggest complaint with this book was the amount of characters and dialogue. It is very overwhelming trying to keep track of the different characters and who is doing what and their relationship to the other characters. *However* I did not realize this is the third book of a series, so that may be on me as a decent chuck of the characters are introduced and developed in previous books.

Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Can a guy and a girl really be just friends? Or will they end up finding something better together? I really liked Sullivan's third installment in this series! While they can be read as standalone books, I loved getting glimpses of the other brothers and their relationships too! This was the perfect light-hearted read.

This book is the third in a series but you don’t need to read the previous books to understand the story and characters.

Hailey has had a bad break up and has moved to a new city to start fresh. She’s starting a new business and finding her self again.

Wes has moved across the country—joining his younger brothers— to assist in running their new business venture, away from the toxic influence of their father.

After a meet ugly and a second, cuter meet up, Hailey and Wes start to tentatively become friends, both at a point in their lives where they would prefer to avoid romantic entanglements.

The main characters are pleasant, with realistic back stories. The secondary characters are a bit thinly characterized, perhaps because they figure more prominently in previous books.

Despite this I could not get invested in this story. I found some of the internal monologues repetitive and parts of the book telling far more than showing. The conflict didn’t really feel believable to me. I didn’t find myself deeply invested in the characters either. It’s a pleasant read but not something I’d go back to, nor have interest in reading more about these characters.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC.

After a rough breakup, Hailey decides to start over in a new city. There she befriends Wes, a businessman who is convinced that love is nothing but trouble. While there is a clear chemistry between the two of them, they're determined to stay just friends. (You can see where this is going)

I thought this book was super cute, and a fun read. I loved the slow-burn and the found family elements. The banter between the main characters was wonderful. I was genuinely surprised at how much I liked a book that centered in a woman who owned a salad shop.

Because this is the third book in the series, there are a lot of characters. If you're like me and you haven't read the previous two books, it is a little hard to keep track of everyone. However, I don't think you're missing anything too vital if you haven't read the others.

I will also warn that this is absolutely a fade-to-black romance. If you're a spicy romance only kind of person, this might not be for you.

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

I will start by saying that I did not know this was the third book in a series when I started it. However, that did not take away from how much I loved this book! I loved seeing the Wes and Hailey grow from their friendship. Overall this book brought me many laughs and presented a perfectly done slow burn that left me feeling happy after reading. I will definitely be going back to read other books by Sophie and highly recommend this one to others!