I gave this book 2.5 stars… unfortunately it was SO boring and way past cheesy… the main characters had total friend vibes and zero chemistry IMO. Not my favorite book from this author.

I didn’t realize this was a part of a brothers series so there were some parts I felt like I was missing parts of the story but it was okay… it was a bit slow for me at times.

I am trying to be more discriminating about my ratings - I’ve found that I get swept up in a story and give out my stars easily. Try as I might, though, I couldn’t give A GUIDE TO JUST BEING FRIENDS anything less. I immediately connected to Hailey and Wes, not to mention all of their friends and family, all of whom were lush and engaging characters. My heart ached for Hailey as I learned about her past, and I cheered as she chased after what made her happy. Wes could have easily been a character whose eccentricities made him annoying or unlikeable…but I adored him. His struggles, the growth, the setbacks: I was there for it all. This is a charming, friends-to-lovers, slow burn RomCom that truly invests in the friendship. In the final few chapters, I found myself tearing up and was so invested in Hailey and Wes’s story. I cannot wait until this book is published so I can buy a copy for myself.

Super enjoyable audiobook! Good solid characters, great general plot. I love a good character driven plot line.
Haley was fun and cute, as well as being very driven to reach her goals. She did, however, have a bit of a complex as far as “I have to do it all on my own” went, which did dent her personality a bit for me.
Wes was a great character, though extremely jaded. Having him repeat a million times that he only wanted friendship did get a bit tiresome, but in the end, he managed to pull his head out of his behind.
Parts of the plot felt a bit pointless, like being sued by someone I won’t spoil, that didn’t come to anything and wasn’t mentioned again. As well as some pieces where I wasn’t sure were meant to be thought of as malicious or were just memory flubs on the characters part?
I loved the side characters, and would love to see more work from this author following a story line with them. Leo especially.
All in all, an entertaining read. Gentle on the romance, a little laugh from the side characters, and a great happy ending. 3.5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Slow burn
Friends to lovers
Angst
Closed Door

This was a pretty standard cute love story. It was written well. If you like clean romances this was cute. This was a romance that had more story in their personal lives than the romance for 40%ish of the read. I don’t think I am the target audience for this read but it was well done.

I feel like I would have enjoyed this less if I hadn’t consumed it by audiobook. The actors added that but of adorable to these two.

I really enjoy the friends to lovers trope and this story was no different. Wes and Hailey first meet during a mix up. He’s waiting at a cafe to meet up with an online date and he mistakenly believes she’s his date because the cafe staff wrote her name incorrectly on her coffee cup. Quickly these two establish a great friendship that they both value and respect. When forced proximity situations begin to make them notice their attraction between one another, they’re torn between acting on their romantic feelings or keep their treasured friendship the way it currently is. This story was a sweet romance about taking chances, learning to be vulnerable and trust that someone else can take good care of your heart.

Read this if you love:
💜 friends to lovers
💜 forced proximity
💜 closed door (fade to black)
💜 independent business owner female lead
💜 caring, protective male lead

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced audiobook copy of this upcoming release. The audiobook narrators did a great job bringing this dual POV story to life.

A Guide to Being Just Friends gives readers what they hope for in a romance novel. Slow-burn romances are my all-time favorites, so I was excited that this book spoke to all of that. I would recommend this to anyone who needs a little escapism and a warm romance to curl up with.

I usually like to read romance over listening because I find that it adds a layer of separation that I don't want, but the narrator here was wonderful.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me listen early!

I wasn't able to finish this. It just felt so formulaic and obvious, I couldn't enjoy it.

________________________________________________-

A Guide to Just Being Friends is the third novel in the Jansen Brothers series, but it can be read as a standalone. Each novel in the series features one of the brothers and their stories. The first, Ten Rules for Faking It, followed Chris, How to Love Your Neighbor, followed Noah, and now it is Wes’s turn. While I did have the chance to experience the Noah’s story, I still need to read about Chris. The three brothers are together throughout the story along with the girlfriends, so there were moments where I felt I was missing out by not reading the first novel and others where I felt otherwise.

Hailey Sharp is new in town and has just opened her dream shop, a salad restaurant. After a messy break-up, she is not in the mood to date so when Wes mistakes her for his blind date at the café next door, the two do not get off on the right foot. The two end up on the way to agreeing to just be friends through Wes agreeing to help Hailey with her shop. As she is very reluctant to accept help and believes that she needs to do everything on her own to be successful, I feel I needed a lot more to understand this part of her character. The two spend time together and develop a genuine friendship that is a very slow-burn towards romance.

Each character has their own reasons for not wanting a romance due to past relationships and other feelings. I connected more towards Hailey’s side and wanted a little more exploration of Wes’s side and reasons. They are given in the story, but I wanted more exploration about the reasons since they did not seem enough, for me. Their transition to friends followed by lovers was expected, but I wish there was more build up to each transition as they seemed to happen quicker. While their friendship does last awhile before taking the next step, I did not feel that build up of romantic tension that leads to them admitting feelings for each other. They spend a lot of time around Hailey’s business, which I loved in a way as I felt the salad restaurant was unique and not something I usually read about; however, there were times it felt too involved in the business details that it took away from the characters and their relationship. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this story and its concept. Since I have not read the first in the series, I look forward to going back and experiencing how Chris finds romance!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

When they meet, neither Wes Jansen nor Hailey Sharp is looking for love. Wes has had a string of unsuccessful dates with app matches and doesn’t want romantic love anyway; he has a criteria checklist for what would make a good mate. Hailey is recently out of a bad relationship and is putting her all into making her salad shop a success. Naturally, they decide to be just friends, and they fall into a pattern of spending time together and helping each other. It should be easy to stay just friends, right?

Oh, feelings, they can be quite pesky and difficult to control after all.

This is a sweet friends-to-lovers story with an uptight MMC and sunshine FMC. I enjoyed watching their friendship grow and seeing how they support each other, seeing the family and found family aspects come together, and viewing the ingenuity in their gifts for each other. There is a fun supporting cast of characters, too.

This book is closed door / fade-to-black, but it doesn’t feel like the door is slammed in your face. You still feel the attraction and sizzle between Wes and Hailey. It would make a cute PG-13 romcom film.

For me, the book was perfectly pleasant but stretched a little long.

I tend to listen to audiobooks at 2x speed but like to slow them down to 1x for a bit before giving my review. In this case, I personally would not have enjoyed the narration as much at the default 1x speed, so I recommend giving the sample a listen before picking it up to see if the narrators fit for you.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

4.25 stars

It’s not often that I complete a series, and this is the only series I’ve read pre-publication for each book. I loved Ten Rules for Faking It a couple years ago and now Sophie Sullivan has completed the series based on the Jansen brothers. My favorite type of series are those that can be read as stand-alones and bring in characters from prior books, not those that build on each other and must be read in order.

Read if you like:
Closed door romance
Slow burn romance
Friends-to-lovers
Dual POVs
A love interest who loves a good spreadsheet

Thank you St Martin’s Griffin for an ARC through NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ALC.

Great book to curl up with on a snowy day. . The transition from friends to lovers is just really satisfying since you know they really care about each other! Sweet, simple quick listen. I enjoyed the narrators.

The perfect rom com to end the year on. The narration is perfect and just gives you all the romantic feels. Loved it,

- This was sweet. The transition from friends to lovers is just really satisfying since you know they really care about each other!

I appreciated that the characters were broken people and that we got a look into their thoughts and feelings. I would have recommended counseling (for both). Relationships are complicated and amazing, and it can feel like being in love (or lust) will solve all of our problems. But unfortunately, hurt people can hurt people, even the ones they care about.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an opportunity to listen to this book!

After a bad experience with boyfriends, Hailey is looking for a friend. After watching his parents and their relationship followed by a nasty divorce,Wes wants no part of a romantic relationship. As they nurture their friendship, they need to reevaluate their ideas. I loved this book. Wes and his brothers had such a good relationship. Hailey’s friends were so supportive in her life and work. This story stresses the need to be attentive to other’s feelings. It also shows the importance of friendship in love. Great characters and fun for all.

Read or Listen if you like:
❤️ Friends to Lovers
🧮 Uptight Successful Male MC’s
⛅️ Grumpy x Sunshine Trope
💔 Scared of Love MC’s

This one was a cute romance with two MC’s that are afraid to truly be vulnerable and love because they both have histories that lead them to believe staying guarded and keeping the walls high will keep them safe… but while they do this and immediately friend zone each other, it is clear that they have more than friendship feelings for each other… but will they let the ghosts of their pasts keep them from potentially something good that could be their once in a lifetime romance?

You’ll have to read to find out! Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my ARC copy of this one!

The opening to this book was original; I've never read about a salad shop. It really made me want to seek out one, tbh. Also, when the author was talking about the bakery next door, I really wanted to have some of those baked goods. So, really nice imagery. I was pleased with both narrators of this audiobook, their voices sounded well together (even though they never read at the same time). It bothers me when narrators are too breathy, but neither of them were thankfully. I liked the relationships in this book, between Hailey and her cousin and the 3 brothers. Plus their girlfriends. I didn't know this was a series with the other two brothers' romances, I will have to go check it out! Also, the video game that Wes made Hailey was adorable. I was just awing throughout the entire description. Overall, I would definitely recommend this to my romance loving friends. And I will definitely be checking out more from Sophie Sullivan in the future! Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!

A Guide to Being Just Friends is a fun, sweet romantic comedy. I loved how passionate Hailey was about her business. While the characters did grow and go through development, they all stayed true to themselves. The romance was sweet and a slow-burn — it's a great light-hearted read.

3.5/5

This is a sweet 3.5/5 stars story about how an awkward meet cute turned into friends and then lovers. Yes, it's a predictable slow-burn, closed door romance, but I really liked these characters and was thoroughly entertained while listening to the audiobook. Also, the narrators did an excellent job bringing this story to life.

When I started reading this I had no idea the Jansen Brothers was even a thing. However, that did not deter at all from reading this book, and actually made me want to dive into some other Jansen Brothers books.

Many thanks to MacMillan Audio, the author, and NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 stars
Strangers to friends to lovers. It was a cute story with friends helping each other and getting over what scares you. I didn't feel like it was a very memorable story and that could just be because I didn't read the first two in the series but it was just alright