This was a sweet and steamy friends to lovers story set in the country music scene of Nashville. I’m not a country music fan so I didn’t get all of the references, but a country music fan would and might enjoy the book even more. Hahn’s writing is witty as ever, making her characters very likable and entertaining. The reader should be aware that there are some recurring mentions of school shootings. Thank you to NetGalley and Griffin for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy of Friends Don’t Fall in Love in exchange for this review.

The second chance romance and friends to lovers troupes are two of my absolute favorite and I thought this author did a great job of weaving the relationship between our two main characters. Opening up with a scene in the present day was a smart idea, because I immediately bought into it and wanted to know how we got there. I enjoyed this format.

That being said, these characters won’t be ones I’m talking about months from now, and there isn’t anything really particular that makes this book stick out as a home run - it’s a perfectly fine romance, but nothing unique.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for this review.

Well, this one was absolutely adorable! I loved the connection to Hahn's previous books and the cameos from those characters. I also loved the Nashville music setting and getting the behind the scenes of that. This was a sweet love story and I can't wait to read what is next from this author!

I LOVED Built to Last, and while these are stand alones, it was so fun to see some of Shelby & Cam in this book. Friends Don’t Fall in Love is about Shelby’s best friend Lorelai, and her best guy friend Craig aka Huck. There were a lot of similarities to Built to Last, like a missed opportunity, a celeb coming back into the spotlight after building a slower life, and a second chance romance. But that’s where the similarities end — the characters and situations in FDFIL are new and unique! Huck was so adorable and I just adored his pursuit of Lorelai, he is all action to back up his words. Lorelai just seems like the kind of girl you could be besties with and I loved her character, as well as the supporting cast. And then all the country music rep?! I loved that aspect of it, from songwriting, and behind the scenes in the studio, to the setting in Nashville. All around this was a swoony and fun romance with an amazing cast!

I really enjoyed this friends to lovers story about Lorelai and Craig in the midst of their music careers. The voice actors were perfect in the audio version and I loved the inclusion of music/songs.

Lorelai had it all, but she played one little protest song at a concert and ruined her country music career. Five years later, she rcalls up the one person who stuck by her: her dear friend and her former fiancé’s co-writer and bandmate, Craig. If he can confront his past and embrace his gifts, he might just be able to help Lorelai earn the comeback she deserves—and maybe win her heart in the process.

I loved this! (I mean I’ve never read a bad Erin Hahn book.)

I think I need to read more Erin Hahn. My first experience with her was reading Built to Last, which I adored. Friends Don't Fall in Love didn't grab me in exactly the same way, but I still loved it. Lorelei and Huck were so great together and I loved reading about their past and present.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my digital ARC!

I love friends to lovers and the moment when characters realize their love has been there all along. I definitely enjoyed reading about this love story and can't wait to read more by Erin Hahn in the future!

I'm dnfing this book very early on because of the triggering content (i.e. school shootings) and because I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style.

Rating: 3.4

I picked up "Friends Don't Fall in Love" from the "Read Now" shelf on NetGalley just before heading out on vacation. Excited to dive into a romance novel while lounging by the pool, I was intrigued by the music industry backdrop, which is quite different from my usual reading choices. This book proved to be a delightful poolside read, providing just the right amount of escapism for a relaxing getaway.

Lorelai Jones and Craig Boseman have been best friends forever, sharing a bond that has weathered many storms. Craig has always stood by Lorelai, even after her disastrous performance that derailed her career and made her question her future, especially following the breakup with her fiancé. Their friendship is rock-solid, but there's a definite hint of underlying romantic tension that keeps you turning the pages.

Throughout the story, we witness Lorelai and Craig navigating their careers in the challenging music industry while also navigating their evolving relationship. The story captures their personal growth, their professional growth, and the gradual shift from a deep friendship to romance.

To be honest, while I found this book to be a good read, it didn't leave a lasting impression. It was enjoyable and easy to get through, perfect for a light read by the pool. However, I didn't find myself deeply connected to the characters. Despite this, it was still a pleasant experience, and I appreciated the themes of love and friendship that Erin Hahn explored. Great book to pick up for a more thoughtful friends to lovers story!

Thanks to NetGalley and Erin Hahn, in collaboration with St. Martin's Press, for providing me with a copy so that I could provide an honest review prior to the publish date (despite my inability to publish this review prior to release)!

I wanted to like this more. There were parts that worked for me and parts that didn't. In this book we follow Lorelai Jones, who is Shelby's best friend from Built to Last. She had an ill fated country music career inspired by the Chicks, but instead calls out gun control and school shootings. Our author is a teacher so that's a huge point of the story. A lot of this story is Lorelai second guessing herself but also being headstrong simultaneously which makes for some frustrating moments, while trying to be accepted back into country music. Country music, as we've all seen, can be some of the most stubborn in what is and isn't acceptable (Nas X getting booted from the Charts and cancelling anyone making Liberal statements or flak for changing Confederate bands names) and the fan base can be just as bad as the executives if not worse. So she got kicked out, cancelled, and sent home with her heart in a doggy bag to be a teacher again. But you can't take the musician out of her so she'd been secretly writing and posted a song about Shelby and Cameron in Built to Last that got her the shot she has in Friends Don't Fall in Love.

She works with Craig, whom she calls Huckleberry, who is formely her ex-fiance's band member/songwriter and is currently an indie label music producer. The 2 had 1 night stand after Drake ghosted her and broke off their engagement on social media and Lorelai was drinking away her sorrows. Well the ex-fiance slimeball makes a few appearance and causes some conflicts along the way. The 2 have had it bad for each other for about 10 years but can't seem to recognize that in each other. They both think neither could want the other long term, and they run around feelings without admitting anything. We're shown their "relationship" through sporadic flashback chapters thrown in after a moment where knowing before would make more sense. It got confusing at times and not my favorite. In the end she makes it back in her own way and the fools admit what literally everyone else already knew. Sticking it to the over conservatives in music along the way.

This book had a good plot overall but it felt like there was backstory with the side characters missing. I had trouble staying interested.

This was a very good book. I enjoyed reading it. The characters and plot kept me interested. I would read another book by this author.

Entertaining and sweet. I actually enjoyed reading the perspectives from both the male and female characters, which is something that usually irritates me. There were a few times I thought, "finally, they will stop pining and just get together because this is dragging on," but I understand that would have made the book too short. Overall, a pretty good read and a tad bit spicy.

Readers that enjoy sweet, romances that are a level one jalapeno spice will enjoy this work.




Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

This took a while for me to get into and ultimately, I think it was cute but didn't quite do it for me. It was well-written, but I just couldn't get invested in the characters.

Friends Don't Fall in Love is, not surprisingly, a friends to lovers romance and it's one that I absolutely adored. Things this book has going for it: 1. The music. (I absolutely adore books centering around music. If there's talk about how to write a song or writing a song in general, I'm seated. And this book has a lot of that.) 2. The friendship. (I believed that these two are REALLY actually friends. And so I understood the hesitancy to mess it up.) 3. The FEELINGS. (They're big and expressed in the funnest of ways... An anonymous erotic poetry account is just maybe one example.) 4. The world. (Erin Hahn has created a whole universe for her characters to live in and I just really love the way she's done it. In a contemporary romance, world building is usually less of a focus, but I really appreciate how grounded her books are because there's a full cast of characters that are consistent across books.) 5. The romance. (I just really loved the turn from friends to more that happens here. Loved it a whole, whole bunch.) 6. Craig's nephew. 7. Lorelai's Celiac representation. (It makes me so grateful that I'm just gluten intolerant and I used to think that was the worst thing in the history of ever.) 8. So much more honestly?

If you're wondering what this book is actually about, essentially Lorelai pulls a The Chicks and gets kicked out of country music, which also results in her "losing" her fiancé (the jerk) and moving back to Michigan. Except now it's been a few years and Lorelai is ready to make her way back to music so she moves back to Nashville and into the other side of a duplex that Craig (her ex's former bandmate) owns. She and Craig have always been such good friends, but they also had a pretty steamy moment right after the breakup and right before Lorelai moved away. The tension is tensioning and the romance is definitely romancing. If you haven't read this one, I would definitely recommend.

I enjoyed this friends to lovers story and loved being in the world of country music. Lorelei Jones and Craig Boseman have a solid friendship with such great chemistry, and a fun setting in Nashville.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-friends to lovers
-miscommunication
-country musician
-second chance
-Nashville setting

*many thanks to St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review.

1. Some of the thematic content in Friends Don't Fall in Love contains discussions of school shootings and gun violence, neither event occurs on the page. Lorelai Jones and I have both spent time in the classroom and this subject is very close to our hearts. Please take care when reading.

2. There was a mistake made when printing the early ARC covers and the wrong copy was sent to the printer. It will be rectified on the final copies but those readers who win GR giveaways will be receiving the *special mistake editions*. I guess we’ll call them collector’s editions! Enjoy!

3. Despite the adorable cover, FDFIL is a very spicy romance with explicit descriptions. Be advised of steamy content! ❤️

Not only is this author a Michigan author but her romances are always fun. I love how these two had a past, not in a bad way at all but they were friends. I love how their relationship developed but they also didn’t let their romance get in the way of the business relationship they had as well. I also love the music element to it and I would love to see some of these created.

This was so adorable! I absolutely loved it. The banter between Craig and Lorelei was top tier! I can’t wait to read another one by this author!