I often find that the hardest reviews to write are for the books where I have nothing but good things to say. That stands true for this novel in the most delightfully unexpected way.

I’ll admit, this is an ARC where I didn’t want the story to end. I was too busy having fun with the reality dating setting, while also watching the shenanigans unfold. It certainly didn’t hurt that the amount of characterization and backstory built into chapter one alone gave the story a strong backbone. With chapter one setting the stage beautifully for the plot and characters, I knew there were going to be few story construction issues. And that was, wonderfully, true. (Although, I did wish that this novel was another 50 pages longer—largely because I didn’t want the story to end, but also because I wanted some more time to watch all the character relationships develop, in both friendship and romantic terms. Those final three chapters passed by too quickly.)

Now, I wouldn’t say the strength of this novel is the writing style. I was often craving more sensory details—outside of the visual details, which were consistently present. On the flip side, the character voices were the greatest asset to the novel. The writing style was eclipsed by the strength of the main characters' voices (Sloane and Liam). I really enjoy being in both of their heads, but Sloane was my favorite of the two. Her humor and no-filter moments had me giggling and laughing. The voices Kaitlyn Hill crafted elevated the characters and brought them off the page.

Speaking of our characters, I must talk about the tropes that influenced their journey. Of course, this novel is marketed as a friends-to-lovers story, and that was true. But I appreciated that the friends-to-lovers plot got started from the jump. This trope is notoriously known for causing a slow-burn romance plot. Sure, that stands true for this story, but it wasn’t a negative experience at all. If anything, I appreciated that slow-burn because it gave the characters the page room to develop into their new relationships and new attraction toward each other. (And the miscommunication trope was, thankfully, short and only spanned the length of a chapter—a chapter that was full of wonderful female empowerment and revenge against dumb boys.)

I had a great time with this novel. It made me laugh, gasp, and squeal with excitement at all the right moments. While it wasn’t the best written I’ve ever read, the sheer joy and fun I had with this novel is not something that’s easily replicated. I look forward to reading more of Kaitlyn Hill’s novels in the future.

TW: neglectful parents (off page)

Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I liked this more than I thought I would! It was a sweet friends to lovers story that mainly takes place on the set of a reality show, which are two tropes I always enjoy. This story provided a slightly different perspective than your typical book inspired by “The Bachelor” type shows, and I appreciate that it didn’t put the female contestants against one another by making one the villain. The MCs were sweet and I loved getting to be a fly on the wall as they figured out their feelings and their relationship progressed. Overall this was a pretty sweet and solid YA romance.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Random House Children's. All opinions are my own.

This was just adorable! I couldn’t put the kindle down and even tho I usually don‘t enjoy YA that much anymore, I was sucked into it.

Sloane, is great! She‘s such a strong character with little flaws and insecurities but I love that.
Her palm tree obsession is highly relatable (coming from someone who only sees them on vacation too).
I thought she was funny and lovable and I couldn’t get enough of her.

Liam is the best. He‘s such an amazing friend and always trying to do the best he can.
I loved watching them together! Every interaction was packed with emotions in every sort of way.

I feel like in this book every character is great in their own way and the whole setting of a teen dating show intertwined with a tv show was just brilliant.
I‘m usually not a fan of dating shows but this one I would definitely watch!

Thanks to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

woah, woah, woah. This book was stunning.
First of all, the idea of it was so much fun, and so drama filled I love it. The side characters all do their jobs of helping the story progress, and the characters come together and the background is all super developed.
It feels like it’s a mix of YA, NA and adult- like anyone could read this book and adore it no matter the age, the characters may be teenagers but they are independent and it’s really nice to see the older side of YA.

Any kind of bachelor-like book is going to get my interest and this was no exception. I loved it from the moment I saw the cover until the last page. Cute, fun and adorable! loved it and will recommend.

Ummm this was so freaking adorable, and I now love this book with my whole heart. Childhood friends to lovers, with SO MUCH tension, reality show setting sign me up. Sloan and Liam were my absolute favorite, I loved their relationship so much. Hill so perfectly captured all the drama and angst and complicated feelings that come with teenage relationships, This book had me HOOKED, I finished it in just a few hours. I was laughing out loud in certain parts and smiling big in others. I absolutely can't wait to read any future book by this amazing author.

Although not my total favorite, this was a very cute book! It had many of my favorite tropes such as friends to lovers and some fake dating but it just felt a little young for me. I really enjoyed the “bachelor” type of reality show vibes and the growing relationships between Sloane and Liam but then I would get hit with a reminder that these are high schoolers when they were toasting with freeze pops. Lately I’ve been more into 20-30 something’s rather than teens. I think I would’ve been in love with this book had the characters been a little older. Nonetheless, it was still written very well. The plot moved smoothly and I enjoyed the slow burn between the two best friends.

Not Here To Stay Friends publishes on April 4th, 2023. You can preorder it now on all major retailers (and probably also your local indie as well!)

I LOVED Kaitlyn Hill’s debut novel, Love from Scratch, so when I was approved for an ARC for Not Here to Stay Friends, I was over the moon excited! And I will say, Kaitlyn did not go through the Sophomore Slump I am CONVINCED most authors experience with their second novels.

Not Here To Stay Friends is a YA novel following Sloane, Tennessee native spending the summer in LA with her childhood best friend, Liam. After an interesting turn of events, she winds up participating on a Bachelor-esq show that Liam’s father is producing, competing to date the star of her all time favorite teen drama, The Cove.

I have made it known that I am not the biggest YA reader. However, Kaitlyn excels at writing YA books that don’t feel stereotypically YA. There is not the basic dramas that you’d expect, and the characters don’t read immature. She writes issues that feel like they reflect bigger issues, which I tend to love adult novels for. So, seeing that in a YA novel is what really makes me want to read more of her books. Additionally, Kaitlyn’s wit and humor bleeds through into her books, making them such entertaining reads.

The relationships in the book felt authentic, and I definitely got giddy at a few different points. However, one thing that stole the show, in my opinion, were the strong female friendships developed. I loved seeing the girls banding together and developing connections. Even the “mean girl” wasn’t all that mean in the end.

Overall, I gave this book at 4.75 star rating, and I am so excited to get my physical copy in to display on my bookshelf like the trophy it is.

This was such a fun read!

I enjoyed reading about the show being produced and all the drama that happened. It was even more fun than watching reality tv!

I also enjoyed getting to see characters pursue their passions while stuck doing something they wish they weren’t doing. It was nice to see good things come from situations they wouldn’t have chosen to put themselves in.

Fans of the dating show aspect of The Selection series would enjoy this book. The drama revolving around filming the show was the main focus in this story along with the friends-to-lovers romance. Also, if you’re a fan of the “kissing practice” trope you’ll be happy reading this book!

The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that the other boy in the love triangle was such a jerk it wasn’t really a true “love triangle” because there was no way you could want him to end up with the girl. If you enjoy love triangles, this one may fall a bit flat compared to others.

Overall this book was a quick, enjoyable read that I look forward to suggesting to other readers.

Wow I loved this novel. I can’t wait to see what the author does in the future. The storyline was amazing and the characters were so believable.

This was a very quick fun and entertaining read for me. I loved the main characters. The writing fr toe was pretty easy to get into. And the story had me hooked. Along with that I really the dual PoVs , got me extra insight into respective psyches. Loved it

I loved this story so much. It was such a fun read. It showed girl power between the contestants for the show. Along with the great friendship between Sloane and Liam, showing that no matter what all they both cared about was the others happiness. Even when they thought it was with someone else. I loved how close the girls in the show got during filming and especially in the end when the truth about everything came out. I also loved how Aspen was portrayed, it showed similarities to real celebrities who are loved by their fans. I also cherish how much both Sloane and Liam care about each other, yes, I am back on them, both were constantly fighting for the other’s future and their dreams. Liam was always trying to find ways for Sloane to be able to reach her dream of writing for the big screens. While Sloane stood by his dream of woodworking, supporting him every way she could even standing up for him against his father. I truly love everything about these characters, even Aspen at points. On top of loving the characters, I loved how the story was written. It’s always little details that matter, such as the fdsquote from The Cove in the beginning of each chapter. It was something that you don’t see in books all the time but it always in a fun extra that I love when authors add into their stories.

I’m an avid watcher of reality TV so I was very excited for the dating show plot from the beginning. It was just hard for me to grasp and find it believable since it was YA. Like what she wins in the show? It didn’t seem practical or something Sloane’s character would really be interested in since she wanted to write.

This is dual-POV which I love, the writing style was great, and I absolutely loved Sloane and Liam’s friendship but because of some of those big “what ifs” in the plot I found myself skimming a lot.

I would love to read more from the author but this book was just okay for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows two lead characters, Sloane and Liam, who find themselves involved in a teen reality dating show (Sloane is a contestant and Liam is a crew member) for the summer. The story utilizes the childhood best friends to lovers trope and is written from both Sloane and Liam's POVs. I found this to be a light and casual read that was fairly well-written, but there was not much more to it than that. Both characters had a glow-up after many years apart and each thought the other was cute, and they began falling for each other. Overall, this was a quick read that I would recommend to individuals who enjoy dual POVs and the childhood best friends to lovers trope!

loved this romance and what happened on the set. I loved the characters and that things changed for them. I enjoyed the friends to lovers and glad that the girls did something .

I absolutely loved everything about this book! The friendship between the two main characters in this book is one to be envied. When I first started this book I wasn't sure where the author was going with it, but it was so fun to follow along. I absolutely loved birth if the main characters and how was their friendship and story felt. If you live for the drama of reality TV but also want to know what's really going on behind the scenes, this is the book for you.

While the main story unfolds as you expect it to, it is filled with unexpected twists and turns. I found I couldn't put this book down because I needed to know what happened next. This was such a sweet and fun love story! I pretty much loved everything about this book and will definitely be reading anything Kaitlyn Hill puts out!

Sloane and Liam reunite for a summer of fun together but when she find out Liam has signed on to be a PA for his fathers new reality show things change. Especially when they're short a contestant and ask her to fill in and compete to win the heart of teen heartthrob Aspen Woods. Sloane soon develops feels for at least one of the two boys and needs to try and continue on the show for her careers future.
This book was warm and adorable. I loved the drama and the relationships in this story.
The quotes from the Cove at the beginning of each chapter was such a cute touch and they all made me laugh and added a bit to the story I didn't even know I needed.
Very easy read and I did not want to put it down once I got about 50% through.

This book was fun! I do think this whole reality show dating game plot is overdone the past two years but alas this was a quick cute book!

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review

Kaitlyn Hill is officially on my auto-buy list.

If you know me, you know how much I love romances with dating show plots despite not being an avid-watcher or having any interest in shows like The Bachelor, Love Island, etc. But when it comes to books, I can't get enough of them. Not Here to Stay Friends might be my favorite so far.

From the blurb: "This friends-to-lovers spin on The Bachelor follows two childhood besties reuniting to spend the summer in L.A. after five years apart—but when they both get involved with a teen reality dating show, their lives take an unexpected turn for the unreal." Upon landing in L.A., Sloane is cast as a last minute replacement for the final contestant in a new teen reality dating show based on her favorite popular teen drama, The Cove. She will be (mostly unwillingly) competing to be the real-life love interest of The Cove's main heartthrob, Aspen Woods, while her childhood best friend, Liam, swallows his jealousy from the sidelines. Literally. He's (also very unwittingly) been forced to work as a production assistant by his father, a Hollywood mega-producer who plans for his son to follow his footsteps.

It's a rejuvenating take on the dating show trope - from a former producer's standpoint and current lover of competition and conflict, I love the concept of taking an existing, super popular teen drama and creating a reality-competition spinoff. I'm not normally a friends-to-lovers fan - it's my least favorite trope - but I loved this one. It's a feel-good read that feels like summer. I definitely recommend this for romance fans who want a light and cute read!

5/5

Thank you to Random House Children's / Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Pub date: April 4, 2023

This wasn't the book for me. And I'm really torn on where to rate this. On the one hand, I enjoyed the characters a lot more than Ms. Hill's debut novel where the FMC was one of the worst I've ever read. But on the other hand, this is a slower concept/plot (and it's dual POV) and I skimmed ahead but really DNF'd. DNF's normally get 1 star for me. But even then, this DNF isn't alike those other ones in the same vein. This story isn't terrible, the writing doesn't suck, and--thank God--the characters aren't the worst. This is the kind of story I would come back to knowing that it'll take me a week to chunk through the story, rather than devour it all in one setting.

I liked the FMC and MMC individually. I liked their friendship. I'm not convinced of their feelings for each other. If I had been, I probably would've been less inclined to skim. This is a slow burn for the actual relationship, which was completely fine by me. You get the old "practice kissing" for their first kiss, but it was written exceptionally well. But the chemistry is just not there. I was sad because I love a well done friends-to-lovers.

I like the plot, to an extent. I love plots around reality tv and dating shows. I was interested to see how it was going to work out on the YA/underage level, but I think I had a hard time jumping that realistic hurdle. The comeuppance at the end was fun to read, but I'm not sure it would actually track like that on the reality show. But all the girls coming out to get to say their piece? Brilliant. The girls hurling things at Aspen? Not sure how that'll fly with readers. Pun intended. And with so many side characters constantly being introduced, it just became overwhelming in an annoying-lite way. There was also a lot of set up that took time to explain and weave into the story, but that honestly feels like Ms. Hill's writing style.

The parents seemed realistic and unrealistic at the same time, but they were very much minor characters in the story, so I can look beyond that. There are so many side characters, and they all felt the same. I had trouble keeping track of who was who. Lots of repetition in inner monologue that I think should've been cut down, especially because it's dual. I don't need the same scene from both thanks. It made a little slow re:boring and easy to want to skip ahead and skim.

Very low stakes book. They haven't seen each other for a while, so what if they try to date and don't work out? Then what? This is also a product of me not buying their chemistry, I think. Even the show--she wins a relationship? And an acting role? She's not even an actress. She wants to write. The stakes made sense for a dating show for teens, but just practically didn't make sense.

I adore the title and the cover.

Ultimately, if you read Ms. Hill's debut and loved it, you'll enjoy this one. Same writing style and storytelling--a lot of inner monologue and descriptions that unfortunately don't always keep this reader invested--except this is dual POV. I'm interested in giving her one more try as an author because I do believe she has talent and can tell a great, typical YA love story, even if I'm always left wanting more from her books in not a great way. This book is great for a one time read. Probably not a reread.

Ugh. I hate giving critical reviews.