This YA book to a quirky friends to lovers story that made me laugh for a majority of the story.
The awkwardness but self aware ness of the characters was refreshing. Definitely a reread.

A smart, sassy snack of a book! I loved following the characters from their rocky beginnings to that killer triumphant ending. And holy moly was it swoony! Kaitlyn Hill’s writing is so fun, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

“A few weeks. One little reality show. That’s all this will be, in the end. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Seventeen-year-old Sloane McKinney is ready for the rest of her life to start. She’s ready to move to LA, get into a stellar screenwriting program, and become a famous screenwriter. But first, she’s spending the summer before senior year in California, reuniting with her childhood best friend Liam Daniels for Sloane and Liam’s Summer of Fun. Except Liam has gotten a job as a production assistant for his dad’s new teen reality dating show, Aspen Woods’s Future Leading Lady—and when it turns out the show is one contestant short, Sloane is brought in as the perfect last-minute addition. Suddenly, both Liam and Sloane are mixed up in a whirlwind of reality TV drama as they start to realize that their very platonic relationship might not be so platonic after all. With their hearts on the line, can they figure out a way to deal with the drama both on and off the screen?

So obviously, I love reality TV books. And I also love romance. And I definitely love Kaitlyn Hill’s writing. So a book that combines all of these? Of course I’m gonna love it! And love it I did! I read NOT HERE TO STAY FRIENDS over the course of one day because it was extremely difficult to put down. Hill combines so many unexpected twists with her trademark humor and impossible-not-to-love characters that there’s no way this book could be anything but a masterpiece. Plus, it’s dual-narrated (cue happy Wendy squeals) with a fantastic friends-to-lovers relationship…I could go on and on about this book all day! Suffice it to say that NOT HERE TO STAY FRIENDS is just one of those books that makes your heart happy—and that’s that!

Content Warnings: Divorce, strong language, hospitalization, infidelity, emotional abuse

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Not Here to Stay Friends is a YA romance that’s just tons of fun. It follows besties Liam and Sloane, whose summer is turned upside down when Sloane becomes a contestant on the reality show Liam’s dad is the producer of. To add to this already fun premise, the show is like The Bachelor but with teens, and the the suitor is the swoony lead actor of a teen drama Sloane is obsessed with. It’s such a a wacky setup, but this book is self aware. Sloane and Liam constantly point out the strangeness of the situation, when they’re not too busy giving some of the sweetest friends to lovers content I’ve read this year.

My only issue with this is one I had in Kaitlyn Hill’s debut, although it’s less present here. These bigger issues, like how hard it is to be taken seriously as a woman in the writing industry, and emotionally abusive parents, are brought up, but never given the time they deserve. They aren’t handled poorly, but they don’t need to be handled at all. It’s not as heavy handed as her first book, but it would take me out of the story. Still, this was such a sweet romance and a fun premise. Teenagers will be happy with this, and I can’t wait to read what Kaitlyn Hill does next!

As a romance reader and a reality TV lover, this book hit all the right spots for me! Along with the well written characters, it was an easy, cute read.

I was so intrigued by the blurb but sadly the book didn't live up to its promise. The story dragged too long so I struggled to keep going or to DNF it. The plot and characters didn't keep me interested. I really wanted to like the book but just couldn't get into it.
Unfortunately, this book just didn't grip my attention.

Initially, this book was very slow to get into, however once the “competition” began, it was one this reader couldn’t put down. Sloan travels from Tennessee to Los Angeles to stay with her best friend, Liam, for the summer. They haven’t seen each other for a few years, and both are surprised to see how grown up (and cute) they both have become. Sloan is ready for a summer of fun touristy things, but Liam throws a wrench in those plans when he reveals that he has been roped into being a production assistant on his dad’s latest reality tv show. By the most random turn of events, Sloan joins the show, and that is when the book really takes off. If you have seen The Bachelor, this book is for you. The drama and comedic interactions between the characters are spot on.

I would love to interview Kaitlyn for my podcast, Raise Your Words. Not Here to Stay Friends is the perfect rom com book!!

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc!!!

this is a super cute friends to lovers ya that centers around a reality show. the dating competition is based off a teen drama hit, which gives very the oc energy (my favorite show of all time if you don’t know!!!).

the relationship between the main characters is sweet, he is really attentive and understanding and their chemistry was totally believable.

and a teen soapy drama/reality tv setting ALWAYS works for me. love!

i also really loved the friendship sloane builds with the other girls!!

my biggest issue with this is that no part of it felt very interesting or unique. i’ve read books with everything that happened in this one, and not just the tropes. i think there was potential with this concept that didn’t end up following through.

overall, a fast and fun read especially for a younger audience, but not one i think i’ll be recommending over and over <3

Sloane is planning on spending the summer with her childhood best friend Liam before they go off to college. Liam has to work on his dad's tv show all summer and Sloane gets wrapped into being a contestant on this dating show for a former child star.

I really enjoyed this book. I was entertained the entire time and felt that the pacing was great. I wish that the characters would have been older because this felt more like a story for people either college-aged or older. I was confused why this dating show existed for high schoolers .

Not Here to Stay Friends by Kaitlyn Hill explores a long distance friendship between Sloane and Liam that begins to change when Sloane stays with Liam in California for the summer. When Liam's father, a producer, is looking for a last-minute addition to his celebrity dating show (and the star happens to play the main character in the two's favorite tv show), Sloane decides to join to further her dream of becoming a screenwriter.

I really enjoyed Liam and Sloane's dynamic and who they are when they are together, and the perspective felt very real for the age range this book is targeted toward. It was fun, easy to read, and enjoyable. However, the use of a love triangle wasn't really my favorite, especially when with the blurb and title, it makes it clear what's going to happen. I also would have liked more character development for Aspen in general.

3.5/4 Enjoyable and fun

What a cute YA coming of age/romance with a Bachelorette reality show inspired premise. I loved Sloane's character and how she used her time on the reality show to figure out who she wanted to be. Liam was the perfect teenage crush - sweet, attentive and caring. Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC.

Oh my goodness, this book. It was absolutely ADORABLE and so funny! I found myself laughing out loud soooo many times.

Liam & Sloane's friendship is magic. The chemistry between the two of them had me smiling so much! The storyline is so, so good. Set around a reality television dating competition. One teen heartthrob and twenty five leading ladies. And yes, all the drama and fireworks we have come to expect from reality tv.

Friends to Lovers. One of the BEST tropes! Not Here To Stay Friends did not disappoint. If you love a feel good romcom, check this out.

Cute, cute, cute!!! I absolutely loved the setting which was a young adult take on a reality dating show similar to The Bachelor. This was an epic best friends-to-lovers story that played out in such a good way. I really enjoyed that this was dual-POV. It worked really well to see both Sloane and Liam's thoughts and what they were doing.
If you like reality dating shows or a sweet YA friends-to-lovers trope, definitely pick this one up!

Super cute YA friends to lovers trope.! Sloan heads to LA to see her childhood friend Liam and he had a glow up she wasn’t expecting. Liam works in his dad’s set of a dating show similar to the bachelor and Sloan gets roped into being a contestant. This forces Sloan to either fall in love with the contestant or her childhood best friend. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy of the e-book in exchange for my honest review.

"Expect awful, be pleasantly surprised if it turns out amazing."

Sloane McKinney's glib advice about Aspen Woods's Future Leading Lady (AWFLL, for short) is pretty much how I feel about Kaitlyn Hill's sophomore novel.

It's no secret that I love YA contemporary, but I have a bad habit of picking up books that I think will be fun guilty pleasure-type reads but end up being disappointing instead. It's gotten to the point where I brace myself whenever starting a new book and have a bunch of 1-2 star reviews to justify it.

Thus the quote.

But Kaitlyn Hill's latest novel exceeded my expectations. I took one look at the cover art and synopsis and hoped for an enjoyable, albeit cheesy, read. When I actually read the thing, I was pleasantly surprised it turned out to be kind of amazing.

So in the spirit of reality TV-inspired stories defying expectations, I thought I'd try a different kind of review format today.

Expectation: Typical YA unrelatable "relatable" MC
Reality: Awkward fangirl with some main character energy

I recently went on this whole rant about I am that awkward friend who never gets the boy and never really relate to any of the female protagonists in YA. I'm not the cutesy girl-next-door or the pretty-but-thinks-she's-ugly or the cool confident one. I guess I'm maybe not like other girls, but not like that.

Basically, I have a hard time relating to the main characters in YA even when they're so generic it seems like any reader could relate to them.

Enter Sloane McKinney.

From the very first paragraph, I knew I was going to like this girl. Voice is super important to me, especially in first-person narratives, and Sloane's personality is so distinct and clear, it leaps off the page. It certainly helps that we share a similar sense of humor and penchant for being unnecessarily verbose, but Sloane's most endearing quality is her inability to think like a functioning human being when her crush is around. (It's me, hi.) Shoutout to Hill for reminding us awkward people deserve love too!

Expectation: Alternating POVs with indistinguishable narrators
Reality: Two dorks in love giving us their side of the story

I always kind of cringe when I see first-person alternating POVs in YA because most of the time it's completely unnecessary and we end up with a book where EVERYONE SOUNDS THE SAME, which is quite possibly my biggest pet peeve of all time.

Kaitlyn Hill doesn't make that mistake. Sloane's voice is definitely the stronger between the two, but Liam's chapters are just as enjoyable and, more importantly, easily distinguishable from his best friend-slash-crush.

Expectation: Ugh, love triangle
Reality: Kind of an isosceles if you squint?

I have a love-hate relationship with love triangles, but I mostly hate it. Unfortunately, they're super common in YA, so you just kind of learn to live with them when your comfort genre is contemporary romance.

Fortunately, Kaitlyn Hill doesn't give us the usual drama-fest that usually comes with love triangle. If you're looking for a tug-of-war between two hot love interests, Not Here to Stay Friends might not be here for you, but if you're looking for mutual pining with a little jealousy from perceived competition thrown in, look no further.

Expectation: Cringe-worthy pop culture references
Reality: Clever I-understood-that-reference-type Easter eggs that highlight Hill's razor-sharp humor

The humor is probably the biggest reason Not Here to Stay Friends is the delight that it is. Maybe I'm biased because Kaitlyn Hill and I have a very similar sense of humor.

Someone recently asked me to describe my sense of humor, and I was at a loss. At the time, the best I could come up with was that it's definitely sarcastic.

But it's more than that.

It's self-deprecating, sharp, understated, and snarky.

The banter is snappy, the jokes are smart, and pop culture references are subtle.

I usually don't like pop culture references in my fiction, but Kaitlyn Hill hides Easter eggs like she's Taylor Swift dropping clues for her next album release, and it's amazing. I mean, I'm a little biased because we're both Disney fans, but she writes her references in a way that won't confuse or distract readers who miss one or two but that makes the reading experience extra enjoyable for everyone else.

Expectation: Fun, but forgettable summer read
Reality: Perfect summer read

Not Here to Stay Friends gives me hope for the future of YA contemporary romance. It takes a story that could easily become formulaic and forgettable and plays with familiar tropes in a refreshing way. If you're looking for a reality TV x fandom-inspired childhood friends-to-lovers story with distinct narrators and a dry sense of humor, Kaitlyn Hill's latest book is for you.

I enjoyed this YA fiction more than I expected to. The characters were well developed and easy to root for. It was a great beach read, as a reality dating show fan, this book was great! I will say, if you're not into YA you may be disappointed but it was a fun quick read that I enjoyed.

this was enjoyable but also a little odd having high school folks in a reality show, it made even what could have been a great book with 20s a little odd and awkward.

I thought this was a super cute book with likable characters. i did not realize when i was requesting it was a YA romcom, so going into it I was surprised when there were teenage characters. That is totally my bad tho!! Overall cute story line but too young of a book for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!!! It was so easy to read and I just couldn’t put it down. The characters were so cute and hilarious. I found myself laughing at multiple points. Reading this makes me want to read Kaitlyn Hill’s other books ASAP. I loved my reading experience with this YA friends to lovers novel.

Sloane is excitedly anticipating a summer of fun with her best fiend Liam after finally reuniting to spend a summer with him in LA. However, when she arrives he is way more attractive than she remembers. Liam experiences the same occurrence as they are forced to navigate this summer of friendship, fun, and maybe more. To top it all off Liam’s dad is working on a reality TV dating show that is one contestant short and Sloane is the not so obvious replacement. Will their friendship blossom into something new or will it crumble under the drama filled world of teen reality dating shows???


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