I'm going to be honest. This was very slow. I almost had to adana's but I pushed through because I wanted to see what happened and I was curious if it would pick up. It didn't pick up for me until about 50% of the way in. If you don't like childhood friends to lovers, this isn't for you. Also if you don't like very slow burns that have 0 pay off then this also isn't for you. If you enjoy love stories where almost 40 year olds act like emotionally stunted 20 year olds while realizing their life long friends may be the love of their lives then yeah you might like this.
One aspect of the book that I did enjoy was the countless mention of 90s sitcoms and romcoms. I absolutely loved that.

Thank you @netgalley and @thomasnelson for the ARC.

I liked the idea of this book, but after getting a quarter of the way through it and still not caring about what happens, I'm DNFing. I like the friends to lovers trope, but this one just felt like it dragged on and to be friends for your literal entire life to the degree that these two were and have the intimacy and proximity that they do with each other was unbelievable to me. For them to have coupled friends that are also in their late 30s and none of them have ever suggested anything more happens between Cole and Laila is REACHING. I talk about a boy once and my entire friend group thinks that he and I are about to start dating lol. I have no desire to read any more of this one and with as many ARCs as I have to get through right now, it just doesn't seem worth it to try to push through any further.

This isn't horrible, but it isn't great. I like them as friends but I guess I just didn't feel chemistry between them. I do think that part of the problem is that they should be about 10 years younger. The fact that they are 40 and acting this way just didn't fit, but what do I know.

I received an arc through netgalley.

A friends to lovers romance for Cole and Laila. I liked how it was told from both points of view and the characters from the previous book are in this story too.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you ThomasNelson!
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I’m a sucker for childhood friends-to-lovers so I was absolutely the target audience here, but if that’s not your sweet spot, I don’t think you’ll like this one. It does have cute moments. Cole and Laila play tourists in NY while essentially completing a scavenger hunt of visiting many iconic places from classic rom coms—love that! It’s dual POV, which we also love of course. But it does change from 1st POV in Laila’s chapters to 3rd POV in Cole’s chapters, which I didn’t love.
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I’m normally down for a slow burn, but there was no tension building up and nothing really happens between them until around 85% in. For that reason, I’m calling it contemporary fiction instead of romance because there just wasn’t much romance. This is book 2, and the main couple from book 1 (Sebastian & Brynn Hate Each Other) do make an appearance. I had the same struggle with the writing style as I had in book 1. The internal monologue goes off on a long winded tangent to the point that I’d forget what was happening in the dialogue or at the start of the paragraph to begin with.
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While I don’t think this book is for everyone, I truly loved her books The Do Over and Plot Twist, and totally recommend checking them out!
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Another cute Bethany Turner book. I haven’t read Brynn & Sebastian Hate Each Other yet but I was easily able to follow along with this one.

Yes it’s predictable but Laila is so darn cute and it will have you smiling & rolling your eyes.

I loved the references to Friends and Gilmore through out.

If you love sweet, clean romances make sure to read Cole & Laila Are Just Friends.

Thank you NetGalley & Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Cole and Laila are nearing 40, codependent, and have been best friends their entire lives. When Cole’s grandfather dies the lack of communication starts up and Cole starts to have a midlife crisis he claims is not a midlife crisis. Somehow he finally realizes that there’s a possibility he might be interested in his best friend he’s never let himself like before, and chaos ensues.

This book was okay but as someone in their late 30’s also living in their small hometown, I had a really hard time believing their ages. Everyone I’ve ever known has already tried giving their best friend a chance by 30, and I think this story would be a bit more believable if they were ten years younger. It made me sad to think Laila was 39 years old and desperately in love with her best friend and had no other life outside of that.

This was a cute read. Turner has a witty voice that sparkles on the pages. Her characters are well developed, and I enjoyed the friends to more trope. Readers that love a good, clean rom com will want to check this one out.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

I didn’t realize this was a spinoff???? Regardless, I did enjoy this read. 3 stars doesn’t seem like a lot but it is a higher rating from me when it comes to romcoms. This kind of reminded me of Happy Place, which is my favorite Emily Henry book, because the book takes focus on the characters’ futures and ambitions.

I just wish “I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding,” wasn’t overused. It’s giving early 2010s fiction. It’s giving Wattpad Harry Styles fanfic. And I found Laila to be annoying at times.

If I’m being honest, the lack of communication frustrated me because these two supposedly share everything and have known each other since they could crawl. It also felt flat at times. Still, this might just end up being someone’s favorite book so take my review with a grain of salt. It really just wasn’t for me.

A delightful rom com with loveable characters, witty dialogue, and an interesting romance. The slow burn friends to lovers trope kept me engaged and the chemistry was sparking.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed reading this romcom. It was witty and fun and very engaging. I'm usually not a romcom kind of reader but the synopsis had me intrigued. I adored these two characters and their connection. It was well written and held my attention from the get go. I also love the cover art. Overall, I will definitely recommend this book.

I absolutely loved this book!! Cole and Laila’s friendship was so special and I appreciated that Cole had never really thought of them being anything more. But the way he took care of her and knew every little thing made it so easy to see how he really felt.

Laila is probably one of my favorite characters and reminds me of myself in ways. I loved her positivity and just wanted to make sure Cole was always happy.

I had to laugh when everyone pointed out to Cole his true feelings - and then that grand gesture at the end! I truly didn’t know what he would decide but absolutely loved the way it all wrapped up!

Cole and Laila are just friends is a fun sequel in the romcom series set in the village of Adelaide, Colorado and it's as fun as the first book. I had started reading the book, but then switched to the audiobook, which I highly suggest as the narration is perfect with acting for Cole and Liala.
This is a story of friends to lovers with Cole and Laila who are in late 30's. I enjoyed the change in scenery to New York City and the comments in reference to pop culture, which the author is the queen of doing in her stories. Having books that have characters who are out of their 20's is welcoming to many of us, but I am always a little sad that their great love was under their noses, and they could have started life together much sooner.
I recommend this to all those looking for a funny beach read as I do all of Bethany Turner's books.
I received a complimentary copy thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson, but all opinions are my own.

Oh my goodness. I loved this story. BASHEO was good, but Cole & Laila are even better. This is the story of two best friends who don't even realize they are in love with each other. I loved watching it unfold. It felt raw & real. Bethany Turner you hit it out of the park!

Quintessential Bethany Turner... 😍

I enjoyed getting to know Cole and Laila in "Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other" (BASHEO), so looked forward to returning to Adelaide Springs.

This story was a mixture of expected parts (great banter and dialogue, heartwarming characters, pop culture) and unexpected (this was not your typical BFFs romance! And there were a bunch of things which caught me off guard too). But the whole package was just what I needed to read.

I'm always fascinated by best friends to more romances. I often wonder how many ways a single "type" of story can go... and Ms Turner showed me a new way of going about this trope. I adored the love and comradery between Cole and Laila in BASHEO, and their friendship seemed even deeper and all-encompassing in this novel.

The romance between them wasn't really the focus in the first half (other "life stuff" was), but their friendship shone without the need for kisses. BUT! Once the romantic thoughts and eventual kisses hit those pages...? Um... 🔥🔥🔥

If you like small town romances, travelling to big cities, peeking into the lives of the "average Joe" and the one percenters, and love characters who'll wrap around your heart while chasing famous pop culture sights... this book is for you.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Cole and Laila are Just Friends by Bethany Turner is such a fun read! This book is for you if you enjoy the friends to more trope, great banter, humor, fun movie and TV references, and likable characters! I really enjoyed everything about this story.

I loved both Cole and Laila! Cole is the “always there for you,” “completely comfortable with” best friend. Laila is fun and spunky and I just loved everything about her. Their contrasting personalities made me love their relationship whether they were just friends or more. They were so compatible. Their first date was so fun and one of my favorite moments in the book! The humor was spot on. I also loved catching up with Brynn and Sebastian who were the main characters in Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other. If you haven’t read their story, while these are easily read as standalone’s, I recommend reading it first because you get to know the town and its residents.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were perfect for the characters! They added so much personality and fun to this story! I highly recommend it!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own. This is a clean read. 4 stars.

Cole and Laila have been best friends since they were in diapers. They’ve never explored the possibility of being something more than “just friends” (shhh don’t tell them I used that term!). When life events turn Cole’s world upside down, the future of his relationship with Laila is inevitably going to change. Will it dissipate or will they finally let themselves fall for each other, romantically?

Cole and Laila’s relationship is tender, sweet, and loving. In the most platonic way. It’s surprising they haven’t attempted at a romantic relationship before this. While I loved the NYC storyline, I didn’t think their best friends needed to be ultra rich. It wasn’t imperative to the story and it may have been more entertaining if they weren’t rich. The way the author brought in all the sites of sitcoms and movies in NYC was super fun. I would have liked to see more romantic tension, kissing scenes, and sparks flying.

As the title states, Cole and Laila are just friends, and they've been close friends since they were kids. But when Cole decides to uproot his life in the small Colorado town where they grew up and move to New York City, will their friendship survive or will it turn into something more? Had I known I was jumping into a series I wouldn't have read this one first. The very beginning of the book starts right in the middle of a wedding of the two main characters from the previous book and there are a lot of names and events tossed around that the reader is immediately expected to have prior knowledge about. It was chaotic and it made it hard for me to invest in the story and I didn't ever fully recover. There are dual POVs, which I normally like, but it was a little disorienting that Laila was 1st person POV and Cole was 3rd person. I do like that their characters are older (around 40). I would have liked to see more backstory to better show the history of their friendship. There was a fun sprinkling of pop culture references as they travel around New York city. Overall the book was fine, there are some bits of humor (which I always enjoy). I have read this author before and enjoyed her (I absolutely loved Plot Twist). But this was kind of a predictable read, and I'm not all that interested in going back and reading Seb and Brynn's story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this story, this is my objective review.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book at 30% after trying really hard to stick it out and finish it.

The idea of the book was promising but I just couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that these characters are almost 40 and act more like 20 year olds.

It was also super slow and I’m not sure if it’s just me right now and if I read it later I would have felt differently, but I found myself never wanting to pick this up. The writing style felt very young which isn’t bad if it hadn’t been said that the characters were full grown adults.

There was a lot of potential for this book but I just can’t get myself to finish it and I really tried.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the digital ARC.

This was such a wholesome and delightful read! And a quick read for when you just want something light and fluffy.
Slightly reminiscent of Big Stone Gap but with its own twist and set of characters so if you liked that book/movie then definitely give this a try.

With perspectives from both sides, it really makes you feel like you're part of the friendship and have the best view into the dynamics and love story of it all. Cole and Laila are both so likable that you are rooting for them from the beginning (even when another option who most of us would usually choose gets thrown in the mix). Laila is super relatable from her love of rom-coms and pop culture to her clumsy moments. And Cole is just the stand-up guy we all want in our lives.

I would've liked for the age of the characters to be played up a bit more. The way their lives and stories were written, they often read younger. It wasn't enough to take you out of the story but it's a unique aspect of the story and would have been lovely to see developed a bit more.