Best friends to lovers! I love this trope. It always makes for amazing books, just like this one. Maggie wants to be free and not settle down and Finn is the stable home body and they are best friends. Chefs kiss, perfect!!
I just reviewed Reasons Why Not to Date the Best Friend by Melanie Munton. #ReasonsWhyNottoDatetheBestFriend #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

First off don’t let this innocent cover fool you this book is spicy 🔥.

Overall I really enjoyed Maggie and Finn’s story. The only reason I am giving this 4 instead of 5 stars is because Maggies character is a little self sabotaging and her constant use of pranks etc. to deflect were really annoying.

You will enjoy Reasons Why Not to Date the Best Friend if you love:

- Small Town
- Friends to lovers
- Humor
- Found Family

This was a fun read that I would recommend to others.

this was a cute read, perfect for the summer, it was a slow start but once i got invested in the characters i couldn't stop. i was pulling for them the whole time. would definitely recommend

Maggie's been off for awhile. She's been feeling sort of out of place in her own community, has felt that way since her last birthday. Now her birthday's about to roll around again, all her friends save for one, are pairing up and settling down. So when a job is offered to her that will take her away, she's seriously considering it, considering leaving and trying to find her new niche, her new adventure. She underestimated her best friend, Finn, though, and just how adamantly he'd oppose the idea, and the lengths he'd go to keep her here, with him, where she belongs.

Damn but I was not expecting laid back Finn and his prankster best friend to be so damn hot together! Once they got together, they got dirty, and I was here for it. These two are some of the hottest friends to more I've read in a very long time, and their story is just as entertaining and good as their chemistry is hot. Throw in lots of pranks, lots of turtles, and a small town full of quirky friends, and this rom-com ended up being the perfect beach read.

I had really high hopes for this book to be a light and fun friends-to-lovers summery read, and it started off really great with a wonderful friendship, fun banter and a lot of hilarious moments. But sadly, about halfway it turned into a story that wasn’t my cup of tea at all, with too much vulgar smut and a borderline toxic relationship.

Reasons Why Not to Date the Best Friend is the third book in the Shell Grove series following a group of friends in a Southeastern small town. I haven’t read the previous books in the series, but had no problem getting into the story or the characters. The books in the series focuses on different persons, and even though the characters and past events from the previous books played a major part in this story too, it was really well done and everything was explained to keep you clued in to what had happened in the past.

In this third book, focus is on the two remaining singles, Maggie and Finn, who have been best friends since they first met eleven years ago, even though they are each other’s opposites. Where Maggie is spontaneous and always looking for a new adventure, Finn is as stable and secure as it gets, happy to run his local bar after his potential football career ended by an accident. With everyone in Maggie’s friend group getting married and having children, she’s feeling a bit left out and like it’s time to find a new adventure. Like accepting the job offer of her dreams in Key West. But for Finn, the news of Maggie leaving, makes him realize that he might have missed the chance to tell the girl of his dreams that he wants them to be way more than just best friends.

I really liked how Maggie was such a joyful, adventurous and badass character, and how her backstory made her so willing to live her life to the fullest rather than being bitter for what she’d missed out on. I also really liked her and Finn’s relationship as friends (even though it was a bit too unrealistic that there was no sexual attraction for so many years) and how supportive they were of each other and their constant banter and pranks.

But once they got together that all changed from fun and sweet into vulgar sex talks and smut, and toxic possessiveness. I don’t mind spice in a romance story, but all the vulgar talking and bad words, and the way Finn changed into a possessive alpha male wanting to stop Maggie from chasing her dreams was a big no no for me. All this talk about Maggie being his, belonging to him and him being her man, and Finns saying things like “Remove all your other male names from your vocabulary, Mags. Mine is the only one you need to know now.” just made me dislike Finn and the whole idea of his and Maggie’s relationship.

The ending made up for a bit - I have to admit that it was really sweet what Finn did - but then it was a bit too late sadly. Too bad when the story and the characters had such great potential!

But even though the story wasn’t for me, it still had a lot of good parts. I really appreciated how Maggie was such a strong headed woman who definitely took no sh*t from anyone and the sex positivity, as well as the wonderful group of friends and all the fun banter. So if you enjoy really steamy stories with dirty talks and obsessive alpha males, please don’t let my review discourage you from reading this book!

2.5 stars rounding up to 3.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my.honest feedback.

This is a fun romcom story with a friends to lovers \ forbidden trope set in South Carolina, with some good spice (🌶🌶🌶). I hope you lol dirty talk because the MMC has a deliciously filthy mouth.

Its characters are fun to go along a journey with, but one of the key messages I got from the story was that a woman can't be happy unless you are coupled up, and that's an unfortunate position in 2023.

The fun part is the MCs realizing their feelings for the best friend. It was great to get back to Shell Grove, Finn and Maggie were meant to be. Their friendship is not to be messed with, ven when they have a disagreement they still keep their standing friend dates. I liked the flashbacks to pivotal points in their friendship/life and how they were introduced as a memory from the character.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy that came out last week! This was the third in the Shell Grove series and I liked it enough I want to go back and read the first two (note: you don’t need to read the first two first)! Loved Finn and Maggie’s evolution, and I can definitely see how they tie in the previous books. Maggie’s character had me laughing out loud! Some of the sex scenes were a little too much for me (I don’t know why they had to be so sexually cheesy, cliche and use some vulgar words over and over). Overall, I gave it a 4 out of 5, enjoying dual POV (although sometimes got confusing) and the epilogue!

I want to start by saying I did not know this was book 3 to a series and felt like it was fine in itself. The then and now was a great touch to see how things unfolded when Maggie and Finn were younger. Maggie was offered an amazing job but has to leave Shell Grove and Finn has to figure out a way to keep her there with him. This book gave me all the feels. I especially enjoyed the spice.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is Book 3 in the Shell Grove series, and I think it might be my favourite one! This book focuses on Maggie and Finn and their friends to lovers relationship.

I thought it was really cute how we got little flashbacks to their teenage and early adult years! It was a nice touch to see the past.

Maggie is at a point in her life where she feels stuck while everyone around her moves forward with her life. Just as things start to heat-up with Finn, an amazing job opportunity lands at her door and she needs to make the decision to go or stay.

Finn, finally comes to terms with his feeling for Maggie... It's been there for years, but neither one has wanted to admit or embrace these feelings. The best friends are each other's cheerleaders and support system, they co-parent an adorable dog too!

Watching these two come to terms with their feelings gave me all the feels! This book made me laugh, it made me swoon, it made me cry! There is so wicked spice in it which was off-the-charts hot!

I am now going to go buy this book to complete my Shell Grove Series on my bookshelf!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.


I thought this story was cute. I’m a sucker for best friends to lovers🥰

I love how much Finn was obsessed with Maggie. I found Maggie’s lack to communicate annoying but I kind of saw myself in her also.Their love story was very sweet.

I would say this is a 3.5 star for me so I’m going to put 4 and round up. I will definitely be checking out more of her books 🥰

I loved this book! I will jump at the chance to go back to Shell Grove! Maggie and Finn have been best friends since they were teenagers, and they are each other's biggest cheerleader and biggest supporter. They have always viewed each other as friends... until all of that changes. Things change when Maggie is offered her dream job, which would require her to me from Shell Grove.

Finn and Maggie have amazing chemistry, and there is so much steaminess when they get out of the friend zone. They were so sweet together too, and I loved that they were so supportive of each other.

Thanks to NetGalley and XPresso Book Tours for an ARC of this book.

I really liked this book from the cover, to the story line. It definitely surprised me with how steamy and spicy it got. Then again, if I had some pent up sexual tension with my best guy friend, I might be the same way. Love Maggie and Finn together, best friends for forever but now the situation seems to be turning. This book gives all the reason why not to date the best friend and how Maggie and Finn really feel about each other.

Such a cute and fine read. A perfect take to the beach or park for the day and sit back and relax and enjoy.

I loved this one so much! I've been waiting for these characters and it didn't disappoint. The romance is sexy and humorous. There's just the right dose of angst. We see favorite characters from previous stories. There's a lot to love about this one. And the ending was perfect!

Time to go back!!

I just love this series. Like everything about it.

I will continue to go back to Shell Grove EVERY time I get the chance.

Definitely, definitely definitely read these books because they will become an automatic buy when one comes out 😆

Omigod, I'm so in love with this book! And can I get a Finn to go, please? 🥵😍

This is so well written... The banter, the spicy scenes, the characters' (and their relationship) development - everything is on point!

I really couldn't put it down! Can't wait to read other titles by this author.

Highly recommend!

I really like this book. I like the writing style of the author, the plot was very interesting and everything was very enjoyable. I enjoyed the characters and the effort the author put into developing them. I felt as if they were my friends. I enjoy reading friends to lovers, but this was special in that neither friend had feelings beforehand, so you got to watch it all unfold and truly be a part of the love story. I found myself smiling, giggling, and kicking my feet the whole time and I can’t ask for anything more in a book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers of Reasons Why Not to Date the Best Friend for the advanced readers copy.

2.5 ⭐ s

Romance | Best Friends to Lovers

Maggie and Finn have been best friends since they met in high school and he accepted her for who she is. Although their friend group always give them banter for just being friends, Maggie and Finn typically ignore it and continue their friendship.

As their friend group begins to all get married and have children, Maggie finds herself questioning everything. Will her friends still want to be with her as much? Is she stagnant where she is at? What will become of her future? Why is she suddenly finding her best friend attractive?

All of the questioning leads to discovery when Maggie finds herself offered a new career and tests the waters with Finn and their relationship.

The introduction chapter to the book automatically put me off. It was vulgar and seemed unnecessary, in my own opinion, for the type of book. However, it seems the main character has a vulgar type of personality throughout the book and it stays consistent.

The writing of the book was not my style. It was heavy block paragraphs of details that seemed unnecessary. My eyes glazed over many large paragraphs and I feel I did not miss any important information.

*little bit of a spoiler in this next part*
The characters in the book seemed a bit toxic. I was not rooting for them to get together. I feel the book would gone better if they simply stayed friends, Maggie at least tried and visited Florida, and experienced life somewhere else by herself. In the beginning of the book her backstory is so random it bothered me. But I feel that due to her backstory she needed to discover herself more.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange of a honest review.

Reasons why not to date the best friend is a best friends to lovers romance.

I have wanted to read this since I read the book before in the series, I already knew Finn and Maggie had potential. And this book only confirmed my suspicion. The two of them had so much chemistry that was obvious even when they weren’t the main characters.

I really like this book and finished it in like three days even if I had other things to do. I like the writing style of the author, the plot was very interesting and everything was very enjoyable. The reason I can’t get myself to give it five stars is because of some of the points in the main characters’ discussions. I probably took it personally and that’s why I don’t think it gives less to this book. That’s only my personal opinion but I really think this is a good read and, in general, a good series.