READ IT! I don’t care if it’s now or much later, READ IT!

Dr. Jo is trying to navigate success, both professionally and personally, romance, both platonic and sexual, along with abandonment and belonging. Then, as a Black woman, there’s always a dash racism and misogyny. She is truly torn between friends and lovers.

This is the first time in a long time that I enjoyed the woman character more than the male character! Shirlene Obuobi crafted such a relatable character that I found myself reflecting on my own actions. Mal was also the perfect balance to Jo’s imbalance. Do patient men like Mal exist in this world?!

Jo (aka Dr. Jojo) was such a complex and relatable character who I kept rooting for throughout. The things she grappled with when practicing medicine were real and things I saw first-hand during my ten years working in allied health. Now, working in community health, this resonated with me even more. I love a romance that makes you consider more than the love story.

“Hearing my colleagues who’d grown up with two doctor parents refer to poor patients as “not wanting to help themselves” when they showed up in our Emergency Rooms worse for wear?”

“It hadn’t been strength or talent that fueled me, but constant, crippling fear that I would miss something, do something wrong…”

Of course, the romance in here was crackling. It’s kind of a love triangle but not really…you’ll have to read it to get what I mean. Malcolm is clear top tier book boyfriend material and makes Ezra look like a schoolyard crush in comparison. I adored Jojo’s story and had to pick up a copy of my own for the shelves! Definitely recommend this one for romance readers! I Received an advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

I really enjoyed this book! the story line between the characters was amazing. I loved seeing the evolution of love legit between friends and lovers! it was so amazing! Also, I am glad with our girls choice in men at the end heheh

All in all, this was a great contemporary romance read and I would 10/10 recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager Publishing for allowing me an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I’m a first-time reader of Shirlene Obuobi books. I must that I enjoyed reading about Mal and JoJo. JoJo is a doctor with many Instagram followers. On camera JoJo’s life is so much different than her life off air. JoJo has a lot going on whereas on camera she gives out good advice to her Instagram followers. Mal is an author. Ezra is an actor who JoJo has crushed on. JoJo and Mal meet at Ezra’s birthday party when he shows up with the girl who bullied JoJo. Didn’t really care for Ezra what was his game plan. Did he show up with the childhood bully to upset JoJo? Doesn’t really matter because JoJo met Mal hit it off rather well. This is rather entertaining read it deals with issues of everyday life.

I received an ARC via NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

No lie, I was recommended this book by Lauren from the duo Christina Lauren. I genuinely adored it and was captivated from the start. It was fun, cute, feel good, and left me wanting more with each page. I adored the characters and loved their interactions. I can't recommend this book enough.

I liked that Between Friends & Lovers had tropes and stereotypical romance setups that didn't lead to typical solutions. The surprises and twists and turns were original and kept me reading the story of Jo, Mal and to a small extent Ezra.

4 stars.

"Between Friends and Lovers" by Shirlene Obuobi is an interesting story. Based on the title and cover alone, I was intrigued. I have heard good things about Shirlene Obuobi's book "On Rotation," so I was excited to read this one. It did not disappoint. It is full of friction and tension, of longing and could-have-beens. I really liked Mal and Jo as a couple, as well as individuals. Jo is vulnerable but strong, smart and quick-witted. Mal is peak book boyfriend material, nurturing and sweet but willing to give Jo space when she needs it. Ezra definitely threw a wrench in Mal's plans, but not nearly as much as he thought he was. Ezra and Jo have insane chemistry with one another because they have been friends for so long. But, Ezra does not seeminglt stand a chance against Mal... or does he?? I also liked the influencer aspect of this story as well. Usually, "Instagram influencer life" is an overused and overdone trope in the romance genre, but the exploration of how it can go so wrong and lead people to a dark place is an interesting twist. I like the honest, forthright conversation Obuobi has about how social media can lead people into a deep, dark depression if they listen to what strangers tell them about who they are. This book is well-developed, engaging, and sexy. Definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Shirlene Obuobi, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

An emotionally deep friends to lovers romance between a social media influencer and a best-selling author with anxiety. The mental health rep in this book was excellent (depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation)! And I loved the dual POV exchanges between the two main characters. Great on audio narrated by JD Jackson and Mela Lee and highly recommended for fans of authors like Tia Williams. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Ok so I enjoyed this book but I have to be honest it felt like something was missing. I just didn’t believe the romance between Malcolm and Jo…..and for it to be a love triangle I needed to feel that so I could root for them and I don’t care for Ezra so it should have been easy for me to do and I just didn’t. I liked them as individuals but them together just didn’t hit for me. I will say the author did a great job with banter and really fleshing each character out. Malcolm is such a cinnamon bun MMC, he really liked Jo and I appreciated that he really wanted to take the time to get to know her and build something real with her. I liked the side plots too and I was glad they didn’t feel forced. This is my first read from this author but I’ll definitely read more from her!

Between Friends & Lovers was the first book I've read by Shirlene Obuobi and it will certainly not be my last. I thought the story was intriguing and fast paced, which made for a great read.

I thought it was great that the FMC Jo didn't have what she wanted to do with her life worked out. Not sure she wanted to continue to be a doctor and unhappy with being an influencer feels like a real life situation. The pressure of being a doctor can be intense and being in the spotlight all the time can be exhausting. While both can be extremely rewarding, there is so much for to each job than what's on the surface. I also found her to be extremely relatable, as I myself was bullied as a child. I can only imagine what it would do to me to see my best friend show up with one of my bullies as a date and then pick her over me.

I also really liked Malcolm Waters, the MMC. He was sweet, understanding, and just an all around great guy. I couldn't help but root for him in the love triangle.

Now Ezra Adelman was extremely unlikable for the majority of the book. It was frustrating to me how much Jo was hung up on him, but it wouldn't be a love triangle without the third person, right?

I think that Obuobi was really good at making the reader guess if Jo would pick one of the guys or herself. I'm sure everyone, like me, will have their favorite. The fun is in finding out who she ends up picking and the journey Jo takes to get there.

If you're looking for a fun love triangle, with some heavy character growth, I would highly recommend Between Friends & Lovers.

This book is so important! I went to a event where the author was speaking about her book. She said that portraying soft black men in books is so important, and I just love Mal (the male lead). We love a good book boyfriend. I do want Ezra (the secondary lead) to have a redemption arc in a second book.

For people who don't like love triangles (that's me), this is actually the perfect book. The 2nd lead is not really a lead, more like a prior romantic interest that the female main character has to get over emotionally.

Avon give us a sequel!

Loved this novel, the characters were witty and well fleshed out and the story.ine was engaging. The “do they or do t they” aspect played out very well.

I needed to sit with my thoughts before writing this review. Right off the bat, I immediately hated Ezra. Dating your bestie’s bully—are you crazy?! But I was also really annoyed with Jo for having feelings for a man-child who clearly spent years showing he wasn’t ready to settle down and now displays a serious lack of emotional intelligence.

Then there’s Malcolm. Sure, he has a history of social anxiety and staying in relationships with overbearing women for too long, but other than that, he’s written almost too perfectly. I wasn’t convinced he was going to be a good thing for Jo either. And don’t even get me started on Ezra, who kept buzzing around like a garage fly, trying to justify his trash behavior.

All in all, this was a good book. I wouldn’t say it’s a love triangle in the traditional sense—it’s more about three people overcoming trauma to move forward toward something healthier and better. I definitely recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this romance novel! I read it in one day. I appreciated the expertise of the mc and Shirlene and resonated with what she was going through. I loved both male leads and lived for this love triangle. Can’t wait to read more from Obuobi!

Between Friends & Lovers offers a refreshing take on contemporary romance that transcends the typical love story. While the romance is present, it's Jo's character that truly shines through. Intelligent, candid, and unafraid to shake up her professional life, Jo captivates readers with her unapologetic authenticity. After years of harboring feelings for her best friend Ezra, Jo decides to move forward. At a party, she meets author Malcolm Waters, who is both surprised and delighted to learn that Jo, known as Dr. Jojo online, is the influencer he's been following. The mutual admiration leads to a date, but their chemistry is more subtle and nuanced rather than electrifying. This novel's strength lies in its well-rounded characters and engaging storylines beyond romance. Jo's journey, in particular, keeps readers hooked, proving that sometimes, liking the characters and their personal growth is more than enough to make a story memorable.

This one was a solid 3-star read for me. I enjoyed this book, but there was something ... missing. I think that the main plot might be just too shallow to support a full-length novel. There definitely isn't enough conflict, and there aren't any fully fleshed out subplots that really contribute well to the themes of the book. This one reminded me quite a bit of Olivia Dade's latest, At First Spite. Dade's book makes this one feel flat and superficial in comparison, especially when it comes to its exploration of mental health and the ability to pursue and maintain healthy personal and professional relationships.

I think the author has an engaging voice and I did love her characterizations of Malcolm, Josephine, Malcolm's friends, and Josephine's roommate. I felt like I got to know them and understood their motivations throughout the book. The banter is cute, and I was #TeamMalcolm from the very beginning so I loved that he enjoyed such a satisfying ending.

My hot take is that the story would have worked a lot better if one of two things had happened: Ezra became part of the action so that there was a true love triangle, or cut entirely from the present narrative and referenced only in flashbacks as context for Josephine's insecurities. As it is, his character kind of straddles the line between "this guy is trouble for our MCs, what's going to happen next" and "sigh,,.. who cares about this jerk."

This is only the author's second book, and there is enough good stuff happening here that I think it will be interesting to see how she progresses in the craft and learns how to construct a story.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.

This was such a fantastic follow-up to On Rotation, which I absolutely loved. It's more heavily romance focused, but still explores important issues including depression, anxiety, parental neglect and racism, although they are so skillfully woven into the story that it never feels fake or preachy.

Jo is a strong, capable, wonderful FMC who has so much difficulty and pain in her life, yet somehow manages to not only carry on but to do so with grace and with the strong desire to help and educate other women. She has received strong recommendations to finish her medical residency, but the thought of continuing on in a hospital setting leaves her cold. Instead, she's become "Dr. Jojo", beloved by a legion of fans online for empowering women and demystifying their medical issues.

As the book opens, she's not only struggling with her future plans, she's also realizing that it's finally time to move on from the man she's been in love with for the last 10 years, her best friend, Ezra, an up and coming actor and the son of a famous supermodel and a venture capitalist who was born with all the privilege. It's at this crossroad in her life that she meets Malcolm, a sweet, cinnamon roll writer with social anxiety, whose debut fantasy romance novel is being lauded far and wide.

Jo's challenge to truly move on, both in her professional and personal life is so movingly portrayed. This is a love triangle, but it's pretty clear which way the wind is blowing right from the start. Malcolm is so loving, accepting, and supportive that he's almost too perfect, but I didn't care, I'm always there for a gooey cinnamon roll hero.

Shirlene Obuobi is just so good at portraying strong, complicated women who are accused of being "too much" but really are just claiming the space they deserve in this world. I can't wait for her next book. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Thank you @avonbooks for my free finished copy!

Y’all— when I say I want big cover energy, this is exactly what I’m talking about, the cover is so pretty and I am loving the colors!

I really adored this story!! Malcolm was my #1 favorite character that I just couldn’t get enough of. The way he loved on Jo was *chefs kiss!!* and I was so here for all of it! & can I also add that his character was narrated by my fave male narrator— JD JACKSON— so I don’t need to explain just how well he brought Mal to life! 👏🏽👏🏽

I got way more from this story than what I was expecting honestly. I thought I’d be just getting a romance but I feel like there was more to be discovered here. I enjoyed reading about the complexity of the friendship between Ezra + JoJo but not at all surprised by the feelings that came to be because of it. Reading about Jo’s relationship with her mom was quite heartbreaking & I was hurting for sis.

I also really love what Jo was for Mal and vice versa— it was so evident at just how they not only complimented the other but also how much they needed each other.

“There’s freedom in being in love..” 🥹

Y’all pick this one up!! It’s sexy, it’s emotional and it’s fun! 💗

After being in love with her best friend for years, she's finally had enough and now she's ready to fall for someone else... but now her best friend wants her back and the new man in her life has her questioning whether or not she's actually felt love before him. Josephine Boateng is a doctor who has a large following on instagram. On camera she's perfect, she's smart and kind. Yet off camera her life is much more complicated: she's dealing with depression and the pressures of her career, having a longtime unrequited crush on her best friend, actor Ezra Adelman, and it only gets more complicated when Ezra shows up to his birthday party with her childhood bully as his date. Jo has had enough and is finally taking her own advice and cutting the cord. Then... to her great shock she meets Malcolm Waters, a famous author who is as sweet and kind as he is handsome. Malcolm and Jo meet at Ezra's birthday party and instantly hit it off. But Jo is still dealing with her feelings for Ezra while Malcolm wants a serious relationship... and on top of that Ezra wants Jo back. Being in a love triangle is messy, but being in a very public one is even worse. Can Jo sort out her relationships before it destroys her? This book was definitely for people who enjoy love triangles, and it just kind of missed the mark for me. Jo is dealing with a lot and is a bit of a mess. Ezra was just ew for me and I adored Malcolm. Malcolm was so clearly the one from the beginning and you just find yourself rooting for the best for him. Overall, it's a fast read and if you like love triangles definitely give this one a go!

Release Date: July 30,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC of Between Friends and Lovers!

Dr. Jojo is an Instagram sensation. Her message: be smart (she has a medical degree after all), be significant, and do not put up with foolish men. But Jo’s story is more complicated—she finds her influencer career underwhelming; her potential career in medicine overwhelming, and she’s hung up on her best friend, nepo-baby and romcom heartthrob Ezra Adelman. After confronting Ezra at his 30th birthday party, she escapes to her bedroom at his mother's house to have a breakdown only to find it occupied by Malcom Waters, already having his own breakdown. Jo decides to move on from Ezra by getting it on for the first time and Malcom Waters is her target.

I really enjoyed this book! Jo is such an amazing character. A woman who is confident one moment but then overwhelmed by what career move to make next. The fact that she is great at her job but still uncertain is so refreshing to see. I love how she explained shy she feels overwhelmed and what she wants to do but is is just struggling with how to get there. I also enjoyed Malcom's character and how they come to depend on each other. Malcom felt almost a little too much like a man written by a woman but maybe there is a man out there like him that I just haven't encountered. I sure hope so because he is the ultimate book boyfriend.

I will definitely keep reading what Shirlene Obuobi writes!