DNF around 20%. It was a little messy/choppy. I felt like I was missing information. It may have all made sense eventually but I wasn't interested in continuing.
Thank you NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

A great follow-up to Built to Last with the most Golden Retriever of Golden Retriever book boyfriends. A swoony, low stakes, Friends to lovers romance with amazing country music references and original song lyrics.

Lorelai Jones was living the life with a rising career in country music and engagement to a superstar. After singing a protest song Nashville cancel culture kicks in and she is back to teaching school. On the night her world crashed she had a one night fling with a backup base player Craig Huckleberry Boseman. Five years later Huck is now a record producer with his own label. When Lorelai reaches out to him with a potential new song he immediately invites her to Nashville and to stay in his guesthouse.

This is a cute, spicy, friends to lovers romance. The miscommunications between the two is off the charts annoying. Somehow they can say things with lyrics and poetry but can’t have an honest conversation. The whole, don’t want to mess up being friends seems silly as they’ve already shared a night of passion. The telling is a little choppy as there are jumping flashbacks to get the whole back story. I’m not a big country music fan but this was light and enjoyable. I thought texting with best friend Shelby was hysterical. This book is a standalone but Shelby is the MC from the author’s previous book, Built to Last (Oct 2022) which I’ve read. (3.5 Stars)

Friends Don’t Fall In Love is the newest adult romance novel by Erin Hahn, and is what I refer to as ‘a sequel that’s not exactly a sequel.’ If you’ve read Hahn’s Built to Last, then you’ve been waiting for this book: the story of Lorelai Jones. The book starts with a bang, giving us the lyrics to Jonesin’ (as sung by Drake Colter). And if you read Built to Last, you know the song I’m referencing: A song sung by Lorelei’s ex-fiancé, in what everyone assumes is an attempt to woo her back. That’s not to say you have to read Built to Last first - they’re both excellent books that flow from one to the next, but they’re also stand-alone novels. Everything you need to know about Lorelai’s past is sprinkled throughout the book.

Friends Don’t Fall In Love takes us back six years to when Lorelai is dropped by her record label, her agent, and her fiancé for using her position to speak out against school shootings and gun violence. It’s very dramatic. Lorelai is devastated and prepared to leave Nashville behind. The only person who comes looking for her is her friend Craig. They say goodbye with a drunk hookup, and Lorelai moves to Michigan to teach elementary kids.

The book begins with Craig’s point of view, moving forward from that incident six years ago, showing us just how in love this man has been with Lorelai. He’s written songs about her - songs his ex-bandmate Drake Colter used without crediting him. Lorelai knows who wrote Jonesin’ - she knows his lyrics when she hears them - but doesn’t see them as the declaration of love they were written as. A declaration Craig never intended to see the light of day.

Lorelai is a talented lyricist and singer, but having been to the top of the charts and dropped by everyone that mattered, she’s timid and doubting her chances at a comeback. “Do you realize how impossible it is to become a famous country starlet one time, let alone twice? I’d have better odds inhabiting Mars on some billionaire’s dick rocket.” That lack of confidence isn’t just about her career; she is also oblivious to her friend’s love, all while quietly pining for him. Classic romance. And Hahn knows how to be tongue-in-cheek: Craig even says, “Best-friend trope in the flesh.” It’s delightful.

As any romance reader knows, knowing the trope doesn’t mean readers have a clue how the story will unfold, and, as always, Hahn’s readers will be sucked in. Built to Last fans will love the tidbits we get of Shelby and Cameron. You’d Be Mine fans will be head over heels to see Annie and Clay. Hahn knows how to please her readers, and we love getting to see old characters hop into new books. She deftly melds the old and the new together. She also knows how to bring the heat to these adult romances. I don’t want to spoil anything for readers, but the poetry in the book is swoon-worthy and so, so hot. Readers are going to love it;)

Friends Don’t Fall In Love is everything readers want.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-book. I really enjoyed this story between Huck and Lorelai. I enjoyed the POV of both. Sometimes I was annoyed at how they couldnt see what was in front of them but when they did it was so exciting. I loved how the author made me feel like I was right there with them I could feel the chills of the songs total A Star is Born vibes without all the toxic and drama lol if that makes sense. I loved also seeing Shelby and Cameron and heres to hoping Maren is next.

This brought me right back to one of my favorite cities - Nashville!

Lorelei and Craig have been friends forever. One wild night after a break up, they hook up…to then never talk about it for what seems like forever. While the miscommunication trope is not my favorite, this did redeem itself in how adorable both main characters were.

Overall, I loved this story and will definitively be recommending to friends!!

-He falls first and hard!
-he’s a closet romantic poet
-she’s a country music star and he’s the producer
-the side characters are amazing!!

3.5 stars. This book was a fun read. I enjoyed it overall, though there were some structural decisions that made it a little bit less enjoyable for me. I enjoyed the friendship between Lorelei and Craig. I enjoyed Lorelai’s character specifically because she seemed very passionate about not compromising who she was to fit into any mold. This book starts off six years in the past, then goes to three years ago, then two, then one but then also throughout the story there are random flashbacks in time at random intervals. For me I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if the flashbacks were more structured. But overall, I enjoyed it. One thing I really liked was that it started with song lyrics that end up being something revisited throughout the book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Friends Don’t Fall in Love is Erin Hahn’s second adult romance, and she once again delivers a great balance of sweet and steamy. I’m a sucker for friends-to-lovers, and this book gave me all the feels.
While I’m only peripherally aware of country music, because of Taylor Swift and a handful of hits from a few others, I love the way the country-music community was conveyed here, from the positive aspects to the more problematic ones. Even as a more outside observer, I saw allusions to the Chicks’ infamous blacklisting in the early 2000s for their anti-Bush rant and the subsequent fallout to Maren Morris’ recent decision to leave country music, coinciding with recent conflicts with others in the country music scene about social issues, most notably her clash with Jason Aldean’s wife about trans rights.
Lorelai perfectly fits in with her rebel peers in this regard, albeit with a bit of a twist. In her previous career as a country star, she chose to sing a protest song condemning the Second Amendment in the aftermath of a school shooting, and this results in her immediately being blacklisted and immediately fading from relevance. Plus, she gets dumped by a country superstar fiance. Even with how intense that was, I admire Lorelai for not giving up; she took the time to lick her wounds and allow the public to hopefully forget, but she didn’t give up on making a comeback one day.
Craig, also nicknamed Huck after his middle name, is Lorelai’s longtime best friend and a songwriter. He also happens to have a somewhat adversarial relationship with Lorelai’s ex Drake, having gone from being bandmates with him to now being merely an uncredited writer of one of Drake’s biggest hits. However, Craig now has clout within the industry, owning his own record label, and this leads him to being able to more capably battle for rights to the song, as well as helping Lorelai with her comeback.
Their romance was so sweet. Craig has always had feelings for Lorelai, and they had a one-night stand in the past back when all Hell broke loose, before she disappeared into obscurity. Now reunited, I loved seeing them contend with their feelings now that they’re in proximity with each other again. They have such great chemistry together, and I rooted for them each step of the way.
I enjoyed this book as much as the first, and would recommend it to readers looking for a steamy contemporary romance, especially if you’re also a music lover.

This book was absolutely perfect. I knew it was going to be, I loved Built to Last so much. It was SO GOOD. The friends to lovers, the found family, the fact that he falls first and falls harder but somehow she’s also been harboring FEELINGS for so long but doesn’t know what to do with them, how difficult it is to be a women with actual opinions especially in the country music industry, making a comeback even though it was seemingly not in the cards for you, standing up for yourself and getting credit where credit it due. It was PERFECT.

First and foremost Craig Boseman is PERFECT. He is the perfect book boyfriend. He writes music, he has his own label, he writes anonymous (that everyone obviously knows about) sexy poetry (that’s definitely NOT about Lorelai), he stands up for his girl even though she doesn’t NEED him too. I loved their friendship and how easily it turned into more. They both wanted it SO BAD. And of course they didn’t ACTUALLY communicate their feelings…. And YES there was the part where Lorelai was convinced she was no good for him, for anyone really (but that was part of her journey!!) and of course he couldn’t do casual with her. Jokes on them neither of them could do causal!! Lorelai just didn’t know she actually loved him. And I loved watching her realize it.

I also loved Lorelai’s story arc. She never gave up her morals, even on her crappy ‘apology tour’ when she thought that was her only option, she just couldn’t give in. And I LOVED that. I also loved that she was able to find people who wanted to be there for her, really support her, and help her find her way again.

The epilogue was PERFECT. I think I cried the whole time and I loved every single second of it!! I cannot wait for Maren’s story!!

The first thank you goes to Erin Hahn for this beautiful book! And then of course a thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved Erin Hahn's Built to Last and was looking forward to Lorelei's story! Unfortunately for me it mostly fell flat. I did not feel like I truly got a sense of the deepness of Loralei and Craig's friendship. I kept getting confused by the multiple names of people in the story. I usually love a good friends to lovers trope, but I didn't feel that between Craig and Lorelai.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was my first Erin Hahn read, and I'm happy to say that it won't be my last. The rockstar romance trope is still growing on me, this one helped in a positive way.

I was super intrigued by the main problem in the book, in which Lorelai sings a protest song and as a result, essentially flatlines her country music career. I wasn't expecting it, but it was definitely realistic considering the subject of the song in question. Her agent tries to get her to rebrand herself as an apologetic, sweet country girl in an attempt to get her career back (ew), but Lorelai remains true to herself and her beliefs throughout the entire story, which I absolutely loved. Although she questioned her worth at times, Craig never once doubted her and her abilities. He is truly the perfect companion for Lorelai. This friends to lovers story was a little different, but I appreciate Erin Hahn's approach to it, and I loved seeing the few jumps in their timeline to put different pieces together on how their relationship and feelings for each other grew.

I'm going back to Craig, because what a character. He is beyond swoon-worthy with his sexy poetry and his passion for pleasing Lorelai. He's incredibly wholesome and cares so much about the people around him. He hates to cause problems, but he knows when to stand up for himself and others, and that only adds to his charm. He'll go to bat for anyone he loves, and he doesn't give up until he's successful. I adored him. Read this if you like rockstar romances and an MMC who almost exclusively writes poetry and songs about the love of his life.

Thank you so much to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book. Out of this WORLD. Friends who have been secretly in love for years. He’s a producer/songwriter, she’s a famous singer. Everything about this was phenomenal, the writing, the musical insights, the poetry(HORNY LOVE POETRY) Erin Hahn just cemented herself as a favorite for me.

This is such a fun, feel good book. I really enjoyed getting to know Lorelai better (she appeared in the book prior to this with her friend that was the main character) & getting to know Craig. Erin Hahn is good at writing relatable characters even though they're famous in the book. These are characters that sound like they would be interesting and nice to know. I look forward to reading Maren's story next.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy, & I give my review freely

I really enjoyed this story of Craig and Lorelai. They were friends years ago when he she was engaged to his bandmate. Country music dropped her after a scandal, and now she's trying to a comeback with Craig's help.
They were so good for each other the whole way through the book. I love their text game, and how he repeatedly demonstrates how much he cares about her.
There were lots of great side characters in here, and I rooted for Lorelai as she stood up for her values and what is right. This was a fun, quick read, and Shelby and Cameron from Built to Last make appearances.

Best friends to lovers with song lyrics & *secret* erotic poetry? Yes please!

📖 Friends Don’t Fall in Love
📝 Erin Hahn
🗓️ 10/17/2023
💜 Contemporary Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Lorelai & Craig (aka Huck/Huckleberry) are best friends, and it’s just never seemed like the right time for them to be more. From her being unavailable to them working together, Craig is in love with Lorelai from the start - she just has to catch up 😉

I struggled at first to get into this one, I felt the prologue a bit confusing and unnecessary, but once I was past that I really enjoyed it!
I loved the show Nashville and it definitely had similar vibes.

Tropes + Topics:
🎙️ One night stand
🎙️ Best friends to lovers
🎙️ He falls first
🎙️ Nashville country music scene
🎙️ Music producer mmc
🎙️ Country singer + teacher fmc
🎙️ Forced proximity
🎙️ Song lyrics & erotic poetry
🎙️ MCs over 30
🎙️ Dual POV/first person

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy to review. All opinions are my own.

Lorelai Jones was a country music starlet who played one protest song on a very public stage that led to her career imploding and her fiancé dumping her in a very public way. Her return to Nashville and attempt at a comeback brings her back in the orbit of Craig Boseman, a talented music producer and her long-time friend and one-time one-night stand.

I loved Built to Last, which this is kind of a sequel to, but Friends Don't Fall in Love can be read as a standalone. I find Erin Hahn's writing to be relatable, endearing, and emotionally satisfying, and all of that was true here. The friends-to-lovers trope was beautifully executed, the steam was on point, and the cameos from the prior book were fun. My biggest issue with this book was the amount of profanity used by both main characters. I think it cheapened an otherwise well-written story. That aside, I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for gifting me with an ARC to review! I enjoyed it.

4.5 stars
I’ve always loved Erin Hahn’s YA books, but she’s been killing it with her adult romance titles. Friends Don’t Fall in Love was a companion to her book Built to Last, but a friends to lovers music story—even bringing back cameos from the couple in her first novel You’d Be Mine. The chemistry between our couple was so electric and very spicy. I loved them.

This was definitely one of my favorite Erin Hahn books - right behind You’d Be Mine (which got some airtime this book as well 🙃).

📖The Details:
Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn

⏱️Quick Summary:
Lorelei Jones is making a comeback in country music after the industry shut her out for getting too political (a la The Chicks “shut up and sing”). She pairs up with a friend from the past (and former songwriter for her ex-fiancé who left her after said scandal). Friends to lovers, second chance.

💁🏻‍♀️My Take:
Swoooon! I really really liked Lorelei and her whole journey. I was rooting for her in personal life, professional life, and love life. She’s the girl everyone can be friends with. And Huck! What a guy. I loved their banter and how much they believed in each other. It was a such a sweet story with some insight into the music industry and some heavier topics.

4 ⭐️ recommend!!

After her world fell apart six years ago, Lorelei fled the music scene in Nashville to go back home to Michigan to return to teaching. Now she is back to see if she came overcome the past with the help of her longtime friend Craig, who now has his own music studio. This is a spicy romance where they are both afraid to let the other know that they love them. This is the second book in what looks to be a trilogy, though it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone book.

I loved this book! I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and this was no exception. The characters were great, the romance was fast-paced and believable, the anecdotes into the past were done really well. I’m looking forward to any other adult romances this author writes in the future.