Not Here to Stay Friends is such a cute, fun and funny read. I couldn't put it down! I loved Sloan and Liam, and the reality dating competition was a really interesting backdrop. This is one of the best friends-to-lovers I've read in recent memory-- a winner from start to finish!

I broke my strict bedtime rule to stay up late because I could not put this book down. Best friends catching feelings? A Bachelor-like reality show? What more could you want! Sloane and Liam had been best friends since forever. When Liam moves from Tennessee to California the two remain in touch. The summer before senior year, Sloane visits Liam in California for the whole summer. She has everything planned until Liam tells her he is working as a PA for the summer on his dad’s new reality tv show. The show ends up needing another contestant and Sloane agrees to join the show. What follows is such a fun story. I could not read fast enough!

What to say about this?

It's like a pinch of Cyrano meets a dash of The Bachelor, but remarkably down to earth and self-aware, given those two aspects. And it's funny. It made me laugh aloud multiple times.

The story launches with Sloane arriving in LA to spend an entire summer with Liam, her best friend since early childhood, and his family. While Liam moved a long time before that, they've kept in touch over facetimes, visits, and texting, but it's been two years since they've seen each other in person.

Sloane is excited. She's got a suitcase. She's got a bucket list of activities. She's so ready to reconnect with Liam and have a montage's worth of summery fun memories. And Liam? He's every bit as eager and anxious to be there with her as well.

Only Liam's dad (an executive producer in reality television who doesn't really respect Liam's desires to go into woodworking) pressures him into getting a PA job on set of his new reality dating show--a spinoff from a series Sloane and Liam both fanatically watch. The catch? It's staring a teenage celebrity with a poor reputation. And also now Liam won't have time to hang out nearly as much. On a tour of the set, producers learn that casting made an error, and they're one girl short for the first episode, which is set to film the following day.

Liam's dad swoops in and coaxes, nay, shoves Sloane into it. He dangles offers to introduce her to the right people to help kick start her screenwriting career if she can just stick around and make it to the top four. (ick. Yes. It is ick that he would offer this as a trade when he has the ability to just help her out, considering their families have been friends for years. But as you come to learn, Liam's dad is neck-deep in his own personal selfish, yucky behavior era.) Liam is stressed, confused, and frustrated, but most of all, he just wants Sloane to be okay and live out her dreams.

Sloane's stint on the show gets more and more complicated as her and Liam's feelings do, and the pair find themselves caught in the crosshairs of reality television and Mr. Daniels' poor decision making skills.

This is a friends-to-lovers YA romance with a bit of a strange plot, I'll admit. YA is less so my thing at this stage in life, and the book had a rocky start for me. ("Party in the USA" took a prominent role in the first chapter, and it felt a bit strange and old for someone from Gen Z to be fixated on that song.) But it grew on me! Liam and Sloane are down to earth but believable teens swept up in their first major "are you the one" romance. They make mistakes, they struggle with wanting validation and acknowledgement in a world too busy for them, and they always look out for each other.

I appreciate that the writer was relatively careful with her characters all the way through, and things like boundaries and trust seem more and more important, given the chaos of the reality tv set.

Overall, I felt the story was a bit cheesy, but in the best way. It played with some fun tropes without seeming too tired, and the pacing was spot on. It didn't drag or flounder, and that's probably what put this book over that fourth star for me. The characters were also easy to like (or loathe).

TLDR: T-rated content, super sweet romance, plucky MMC and FMC in a reality show setting that seems to conspire against them.

Many thanks to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. <3

Thank you @netgalley and @delacortepress for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"I'm her happiest memory. Which I can appreciate, since she's at the center of all of mine." 🌟

This was a great coming of age book that settled the YA craving that I had. So many sweet moments between the two best friends. We are taken through the internal dilemmas that they have as they learn to navigate how their feelings change from friendship to something more WHILE having to undergo the whole "The Bachelor" style show filming for teenagers. I love being able to get invested in those types of developments.

I'll admit, I'm not a fan of The Bachelor show because it feels SO fake and this book didn't help my love of the show with those behind-the-scene moments (LOL). But I can understand the attraction. Allows for cheesy moments!

I do wish the book would've included a bit more insight into what their relationship was like for the years that they spent apart after Liam had to move. I couldn't imagine at that age being able to keep up a good friendship with someone who moved states away but then again, we (or at least I) didn't have the same technology benefits that today's generation does - facetiming, snapchat, etc. Also, did I miss where it mentions what happens to Aspen and Ty? I need to know these details if you're gonna invest me in it!

Rating: Truly enjoyed reading and following along with these characters!

This book RELEASES on April 4, 2023 - go add it to your TBR if you enjoy:
- Friends to Lovers
- YA Romance
- The Bachelor
- Hollywood Setting

Cute YA romance book. Had reality show dating vibes. I don’t watch shows like that, but this was cute to read about. The writing was a little on the younger side for me. But if you are looking for a cute easy read I would suggest this one.

Kaitlyn Hill is becoming a favorite author of mine with her witty and cringeworthy writing, her cleverness (I mean, AWFLL says enough, lol), and the sweetness in each story. This story dives right back into variety/reality show land, though times a million with The Bachelor like dating show. I cannot wait for another book in this series and wonder what reality style show we'll get next :)

This was your typical bachelor season but more interesting (and with some twists)! If you like best friends to lovers, this is your new YA go to. Sloane and Liam spend the summer together (after being long distance friends since he moved), when his dad forces him (last minute) to be an assistant on his new reality show. Of course, they’re one girl short, so Sloane takes the last spot to compete for Aspen’s heart. In the midst of this dating show, Liam and Sloane develop more complicated feelings along the way. Super grateful to have received this arc from NetGalley!

(3.5★)

In the novel Not Here To Stay Friends by Kaitlyn Hill, production assistant Liam Daniels and high school student Sloane McKinney go from being friends to falling in love.

The intense chemistry between the two mc's is apparent from the beginning, yet they don't act upon it. Liam was also constantly jealous of Sloane's relationships with other guys, and vice versa, which I found to be really endearing.

However, it did become a bit frustrating how they seemed to be feeling something for one another but didn't express it. It seemed like it was prolonged, for the purpose of it just being a slow burn, which was fine, but like I needed Sloane and Liam to finally date.

In all, this was such a fun and sweet read.

*Thank you to Random House Children's, and to the author, Kaitlyn Hill, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.*

I loved this fun behind the scenes look at a teen reality dating show, with a romance between one of the stagehands and his best friend who joins the show. This was a great beach read, with lots of humor and poking fun at reality dating shows, while also admitting that we as the readers do love the drama and romance of shows like The Bachelorette, etc.

I loved how down-to earth the main couple were, and that the other girls on the dating show had more dimensions than those that first met the eye. There were some good plot twists, and the romance was sweet and a little bit spicy in some parts.

This was a great read!

Friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes and I really enjoyed the friendship aspect between Sloane and Liam. Their interactions are truly what kept me in this book because the reality show part of it fell flat a bit for me. I'm not a fan of unnecessary drama and some of the plot events in this felt like they were unnecessary and intentionally done to cause drama (more so than is normal for reality TV). There were some definite sweet and swoon-y moments with this one, though, so I think I'd still recommend it to my friends who have interests in these particular tropes.

A very cute friend to lovers YA romance! I definitely think fans of The Bachelor/reality TV will enjoy this one. I thought the premise was really fun, Sloane while visiting her childhood bff Liam in California for the summer, who she hasn’t seen in person in 5 years gets roped into being a contestant on a reality dating show where the lead is a famous heartthrob teen actor on her favourite tv show and Liam will be a working as a PA. Sloane is supposed to be dating/falling for the lead, but can’t help noticing something more than friendship growing between her and Liam!

I really loved the dual POVs in this, Liam and Sloane were both very likable characters and I always love shows or books that show behind the scenes of dating shows (like unReal). I found the story somewhat predictable but I didn’t actually mind because it was very well-written and the growing tension/chemistry building between Sloane and Liam as they try to make sense of their feelings kept me wanting to keep turning the page!

I liked the synopsis of this book, but it wasn’t for me. It moved so slowly that I just couldn’t get into it and ended up DNFing it. Despite trying to pick it back up 4 or 5 times. It just didn’t feel like much was happening to me.

Not here to stay friends follows two highschool students who have been best friends pretty much their whole life. When Sloane goes to L.A. to visit Liam, her best friend. She cannot wait to spend so much time catching up and hanging out together. Liam pretty much forgets to tell Sloane that he will be working on the set of a new dating show (think the bachelor). When the need a new contestant last minute due to someone dropping out, there's only one girl who can fill the role. Sloane. Can Sloane control her new (and confusing) feelings for Liam while also trying to publicly date a celebrity on national T.V?


I loved Sloane and Liam’s friendship. My biggest complaint about this book is that the characters are so young. I prefer to read books about older characters but due to the book being YA, this is to be expected and is just a personal preference of mine. I do love a friends to lovers trope and while the book was somewhat juvenile it was lighthearted and I had so much fun reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kaitlyn Hill for the opportunity to read this and review it before it is released. I cannot wait to see how the world reacts to “Not here to Stay Friends!”

This was a cute YA contemporary romance book. I liked both of the main characters and how their relationship developed over the course of the book. The start was a bit slow but it did pick up. Overall, I’d say this is a pretty good book for teenagers and I’d recommend it.

Liam and Sloane are childhood besties. Liam moved to LA and is going to serve as a production assistant to his father over the summer. Sloane lives in Tennessee with a big dream to become a screen writer. She visits Liam over the summer and somehow gets roped into a reality dating show with an actor from her favorite show!

Liam has to serve behind the scenes while Sloane gets to date the one and only Aspen Woods. Along the way both Liam and Sloane realize maybe they have feelings that are more than just in the friend zone.

If you like YA and reality dating this is the book for you!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the read.

I'm a huge fan of all things reality TV, but I'm not always super into friends to lovers so I went into this one a bit hesitantly. I liked it though! I think the Bachelor style romance added a lot of fun twists and there's a lot of references to the original show.
It's a bit cheesy but I feel like the overall vibe was still fun and cute.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Synopsis:
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.

Sloane McKinney feels like a background character in her own life. But this summer will be different, because she’s spending it with her childhood best friend, Liam Daniels, in her dream city, Los Angeles. Sure, she’s surprised to find that Liam just happens to have had a Hot Guy glow-up since she last saw him, but so what? A little attraction won’t ruin her plans for their fun—and completely platonic—reunion.

What might, however, is that Liam has been roped into working for his producer dad’s new teen reality dating show, Aspen Woods’s Future Leading Lady. Liam figures Sloane can still hang out with him on set while he fetches coffee for the film crew, or whatever it is that production assistants do. Except it turns out the show is one contestant short . . . and Sloane is the perfect last-minute addition.

Once cameras are rolling, the whirlwind of dating teen heartthrob Aspen Woods feels way more real than Sloane expected, and Liam doesn’t exactly enjoy watching it all unfold. But it’s behind the scenes where the drama really picks up. . . .

Because wanting to kiss your best friend? That’s a plot twist neither Sloane nor Liam ever saw coming.

Review:
This is a fun YA romp for lovers of the bachelor, love island, etc. Not entirely my cup of tea though I did enjoy the two main characters and I love to see friends turn into something more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers of Not Here to Stay Friends for the advanced readers copy.

5 ⭐️ s

Friends to Lovers | Hollywood

How do you know you are about to read a 5 star book? The author starts her book of quoting Miley Cyrus’s song Party in the U.S.A.

Hill’s friends to lovers romance is a one sitting type of read. It’s hard to put the book down! Her writing allows the reader to easily flow through the book feeling engaged the whole time.

The most dramatic season yet? Watch out Chris Harrison and ABC. Hill’s book is basically teen Bachelor starring a celebrity. How could it get better? Oh wait - main character Sloane, who comes to Hollywood to see her childhood best friend, gets put onto the show last minute!

Throughout the book the reader is taken through the day to day of being in a bachelor style dating show. Except for the predicament of Sloane possibly just maybe learning she has feelings for her childhood best friend?! Love triangle time!

Hill does a great job of showing how two childhood friends can overtime start to realize their feelings for each other while they struggle with also wanting the best for their friend. Their friendship goes through a rollercoaster and her writing shows their progression in their relationship so well.

Not Here to Stay Friends is an easy read, tugs at the heart, and makes you grin.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kaitlyn Hill, and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for providing this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Not here to stay friends is a YA Romcom set in a Bachelor-like reality show. Sloane thought she was coming to LA to spend the summer with her best friend Liam (who had a big glow-up) instead, she finds herself as a contestant on the dating show where Liam is a PA. While she is supposed to be falling in love with a celebrity, Sloane realizes that her feelings for Liam might be more than platonic.

This was such a sweet YA romance with such likable characters. Liam and Sloane were so enjoyable to read about, and I love how the book gave us both of their perspectives. I love how the author utilized the friends-to-loves trope here, but my favorite thing about the book was the friendships and bonds that Sloane made while on this reality show.

I think for anyone who wants a funny, light, swoon-worthy romance, you should definitely put Not Here to Stay Friends on your TBR when it releases.

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for this eARC.

This book is super fun and I honestly loved it. Sloane and Liam are childhood best friends who haven't seen each other since Liam moved to LA, aka, years. This summer Sloane finally gets to visit him in LA, which is also her dream city. She has a whole "Sloane and Liam's Summer of Fun" planned out. Unfortunately, Liam's dad, some big-shot reality TV producer, roped him into working as a PA on the set of Aspen Wood's Future Leading Lady "AWFLL" (pronounced AWFUL), which is a bachelor style TV show around finding love for Sloane and Liam's favorite TV show actor, "The Cove" star, Aspen Wood. After some production mishap, Sloane ends up as a contestant. The book flip flops between Sloane and Liam's point-of-views, and navigates their feelings for each other.

This book had me on the edge of my seat. Friends to lovers trope is my absolute favorite. Liam's point of view of watching Sloane potentially falling for the TV star was so heartbreaking. The bachelor plot was good. Sloane developing friendships with the other girls and standing up for the other girls and standing up for herself was very well written. Also, love the parts about Liam and Sloane growing individually, learning about their own hobbies/dreams and actually chasing them, and building better relationships with their parents.

I loved this book so much I had to read it again!

5/5 for sure!