This book was definitely not for me. I am sorry to say that I couldn't even get past 10% of the story. I did not appreciate all the political talk and was not a big fan of the writing style. It felt like I was reading a Wattpad story. The only good thing I got from this book is good nostalgia to my sleepless nights on Wattpad. I wish this book would find its right audience, though.

Jake is at a crossroads. Having his heart broken by his best friend, he starts a no strings drunk situation with his current best friend and roommate, Jess. Jess, who has her own walls up barricading her heart from love.

But what happens when Jake has to face his ex-best friend for the first time in three years? He asks Jess to join him on a trip back to NY and the Hamptons, where she hopes to save him from himself.

The build is somewhat predictable, but also fun to watch as they each battle their demons.

Laura Carter’s Friends with Benefits is a gorgeous romantic comedy guaranteed to touch your heart and make you giggle.

New Yorker Jake Harrington is living the dream in London. He loves his life in the British capital, his lucrative hedge fund job and the way women swoon over his American accent. Being thousands of miles away from the woman who had shattered his heart into a million pieces has certainly made his life in London even sweeter – as well as his friends-with-benefits-arrangement with his gorgeous flatmate, Jess.

This no strings arrangement with Jake suits Jess down to the ground. Jake is a good friend, they are having fun and nobody is running the risk of getting hurt. When Jake asks her to accompany him to New York, Jess doesn’t hesitate. She knows that going back home is going to be tough for him and she wants to be there for him in his hour of need. However, when Jess realises that she’s fallen in love with Jake, she wonders whether he is willing to move her out of the friend zone or whether the only way forward would be parting ways for good.

Laura Carter’s Friends with Benefits is a delicious romantic comedy with a smart heroine, a gorgeous hero and plenty of witty zingers, laugh out loud moments and emotional punch to keep you glued to its pages. Perfect for fans of Portia MacIntosh, this friends-to-lovers romance is one to be devoured in one irresistible sitting.

This book was a relatively enjoyable read but I think this just wasnt the right time for me to enjoy this book. I am delving more deeply into fantasy but this book is a solid contemporary.

So so cute!!!!! The characters were well fleshed out and the writing style was very easy to get through. Laura Carter always writes the sweetest romances ever, I’m so happy I was able to read this

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Friends With Benefits by Laura Carter is a fun, steamy, and heartfelt rom-com that brings the classic friends-to-lovers trope to life in a charming way. Jake and Jess, the main characters, have an undeniable chemistry from the start, and their easy going "just-sex" arrangement adds plenty of spice to the story. But as their feelings grow deeper, the emotional stakes rise, making this more than just a light hearted fling.

The dynamic between the high-flying American investor and his sexy British flatmate is playful yet relatable. The banter is sharp, and the way they navigate their evolving feelings adds a layer of emotional depth that fans of contemporary romance will appreciate. Their trip to New York is a key turning point, and the tension between past heartbreak and future possibilities is well-explored.

While the plot follows familiar rom-com beats, Carter's writing is engaging, and the story never drags. It’s perfect for readers who love friends-to-lovers stories with a fake-dating twist, a dash of humour, and plenty of sizzling chemistry. If you're a fan of steamy romances with a good balance of heart, Friends With Benefits is definitely worth a read!

My only "gripe" is that some of the conflicts felt a little predictable, but the overall journey was still very satisfying.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - A classic 'will they, wont they' story which was perfect reading for a long flight home.

I didn't realise this was the third book in a series. It works well standalone. The characters are likeable, I enjoyed the mix of British characters and American, and I was hoping it would turn out happily.

This would make a good Hallmark movie!

Thank you to @netgalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to review.

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I didn’t realise it was part of a series, but it didn’t really affect it, I still enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Friends With Benefits by Laura Carter was great. The characters are well-developed and the plot is engaging. An awesome read. I highly recommend!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the e-ARC. All opinions expressed are voluntary and my own.**

Thank you for my earc of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t get on with this book,, particularly the characters, so I DNF

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
This was a wonderful book and I'll be purchasing it for the library!

This was a fun friends-to-lovers fake dating romance. When Jake has to return to New York from London, his flat mate and friend with benefit Jess agrees to go with him. When Jake realizes he has to face his former flame who left him for his best friend, Jess agrees to be his fake girlfriend. It quickly turns to something real and emotions fly as they all try to figure out what they really want. It was an entertaining read.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Jake Harrington's time in London has been great, as has his no string attached relationship with roommate and friend, Jess. So when he has to go back to New York and asks if Jess will go with him, it's great for him that she agrees. He has to see his ex, and Jess being there as a buffer will definitely help. Jess's feelings for Jake are complicated. Sleeping with him when they are drunk is one thing, but pretending to be his girlfriend in New York is definitely something else.

I'm not sure what to rate this book. It's definitely somewhere between a 2 and 3 star read, so I'll err on the side of caution and go for 3 stars. Jake was a chauvinistic pig for the first part of the book, and I couldn't see what Jess saw in him, not ever as a friend. He thought of women as temporary, there for his pleasure and not much more. When he realised that his feelings for Jess were greater than anything he had ever felt for his ex, and understood that he loved her, he did change his ways a little, and because of that, this book wasn't a total disaster. Even so, I don't think I'll want to read this book again in the future, it made me too angry.

This book didn’t do it for me. I realized after the fact that it was #3 in a series. They stand alone so I didn’t feel as though I was missing anything.

I get that the author was trying to make the characters relatable, but some of the comments were a little off putting to me.

Love me a good HEA, but all the issues in this book felt very forced and it didn’t flow as well as I would’ve liked.

Not bad, just not my favorite!

I didn’t realize this was #3 in the Brits in Manhattan series, so with that being said you can read it as a standalone. I think overall it was a cute Hallmark like book. You read this book to feel good and predict what’s going to happen, but you don’t read it in hopes to be mind blown or teary eyed. This book is good for what it is!

I enjoyed the writing style of this feelgood romcom which made it such an enjoyable read. You can't miss the chemistry between these two best friends and their friends certainly can't either. However, this is more than a 'will they, won't they?' or friends to lovers story. As you get to know them both, you realise that there are issues in the past which have affected their attitudes to relationships. Jess, in particular, has many deep seated fears about letting anyone get close.

As characters, Jake and Jess are like opposite sides of a coin. Jake is a risk taker, with huge attachments to his close family and friends. Jess is the sort to run away from getting too close and protects herself by building a framework of rules around herself and how she will act. Yet you also glimpse her quirky, individualism and her enjoyment of friendships when it is on her terms.

The story is well paced and with plenty of laugh out loud moments provided by the gang of friends who welcome Jake and Jess to New York. You are always rooting for them, that they will sort through their relationship and the tomantic parts when they come are reminiscent of many a good film.

In short: a romcom which fizzes with love and romanc

This was the first Laura Carter book that I have read and I loved it. such a beautiful writing style and i loved the story too.

Hero 3/5 | Heroine 3/5 | Plot (Point, Originality) 2/5 | Writing Style 2/5 | Steam 3/5 | Romance 3/5 | Angst-Suspense 2/5 | Darkness 0/5 | Humor 2/5 | Secondary Characters 3/5 | Drama-Conflict 2/5 | Mystery 0/5 | Twists 2/5 | Pace Steady | Action 0/5

Who doesnt love a FWB story thats laced with drama and humour, what a wonderful, fun story. I enjoyed it very much, Easy to follow and a light hearted read.

The story of Jake and Jess. Roommates and more, but will they have a future together? Both of them have issues they need to sort out before the can move on together. A great read.