DNF for me:

I really wanted this blurb to be true: “If When Harry Met Sally had a quippy literary love child with Gilmore Girls' Luke and Lorelai, you'd get Cole and Laila. Just . . . don't tell them that.” Which maybe set it up to be impossible to like - it’s a hard bio to live up to. Setting expectations is important. This was not equal to that.

I just could NOT get into it. I tried multiple times to pick it up and quickly my brain floated away… They’re boring. It felt slow and disjointed and just held no compelling reason to continue. The characters were uninteresting and the storyline blah.

I absolutely loved some of Bethany’s other books so I won’t give up entirely, but this was disappointing.

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

I wont be reviewing this publicly , I got 60% through the book but the writing style is just not for me. Im also in a slumpy mood , and I dont wont that to reflect worse on the book.

A contemporary romance with actual adults?! Count me in! A refreshing read where the characters are actual adults who talk things out and are making decisions that make sense for them where they are in their lives. They talk things out. They recognize the impact of their actions and it is just so refreshing. Of course there's like a little miscommunication but then they call themselves out and they have the conversations they need to have.

I truly loved these characters and to see everything come full circle was just it made me giddy and happy and gave me all the feels that you would expect from a romance.

Thank you NetGalley & Thomas Nelson for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cole and Laila have been best friends for their entire lives but start questioning everything about their relationship after Cole’s grandfather’s death sets off a chain reaction of unexpected events.

This was a cute story with a ton of 90s and early 2000s romcom and pop culture references! Bethany Turner did a great job in capturing the insecurity and curiosity the characters felt about change and what the future held. The reader could sense the love and respect the characters felt and how each other’s happiness was the priority through all the uncertainty. I liked that the characters were older and well-developed but some of their interactions felt a bit flat and immature. The miscommunication drove me a bit mad at times and the slow burn felt a little off. With almost 40 years of friendship, I thought we’d get more glimpses into the past to build up the burn rather than experiencing it over a handful of days on a quick trip to New York.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read a digital copy of this book. This was a sweet friends to lovers romance that had all the makings of a Hallmark movie. An easy read and a good palette cleanser, even if it did drive me a little crazy at times that it took them so long to realize that they liked each other.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. what i loved: nyc as the setting and getting to read about the landmarks/places they go. what i disliked: why are they in their almost 40's and acting like children by just realizing they have feelings for each other?

I liked the continuation of the Brynn/Sebastian story line. I didn't really care for the friends to lover angle, even though that was the whole point of the story. I just didn't buy the relationship by the end of the story. I wasn't invested.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Unfortunately, not really for me. I loved the storyline, but their ages threw it off. I don’t like that they were in their late 30s early 40s. I think if they were that old, someone needed to already be married and either divorced or widowed.

I had high hopes for this book. I love the friends to lovers trope.
This book just didn’t do it for me.
I loved the NYC setting.
The writing seemed disconnected because in the same chapter the perspectives would change from first to third. It is a dual perspective book which I really like.

Oh so sweet and funny, wonderful friends-to-more romcom.
I really enjoyed this story about Cole and Laila. And their friendship - truly amazing.
However, it is obvious (to everyone else, except the two of them) that they are actually already more than friends, they are just believing it is only a friendship.
Thus, it was not too hard for them to move to more, but...that progression...were they on the same page? Oh the awkwardness, the questions, and so much more!
If you are looking for a When Harry Met Sally (and yes - there are tons of references like this contained within these pages), then look no further!

Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review, and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

My standards are higher for this title because of it being published by a Christian publisher. The book has no Christian fiction elements but more so questionable elements if it was a real Christian fiction (shared bed and living space).

Overall, that aside the writing was poor (mixed first and third person between chapters), characters were very immature for being 40- I kept having to remind myself they weren’t 20, and even with friends to lovers being my fav trope- this fell flat and wasn’t showing me why I should route for them and felt more immature than believable. Overall, this author and series isn’t for me because I felt the same about the first book. I’m also still eagerly waiting for Thomas Nelson to start publishing real Christian fiction again.

I wanted to like this book but it really dragged out for me. I honestly felt like it took me about as long as their friendship to finish reading it. The build up wasn’t what I was hoping for because it felt painfully obvious and equally as absurd that two people would be friends for 30+ years with that level of intimacy in their friendship and not already be in a relationship. Also not much happened in the book beyond the two main events of the reading of the will and trip to NY, and there wasn’t any character development beyond them admitting to their feelings.

Cute! I love a fun friends to more story. And Cole and Laila are just adorable and you can definitely see that they are the best of friends. The perfect start to any relationship! I loved how they knew each other so well that they could anticipate what the other was thinking or feeling. That's a gift to have in any relationship. But I will say that I had to suspense reality and my disbelief that these two have known each other their whole lives and are 40ish years old and this is the first time that they are realizing there is more to their feelings than just a platonic friendship. Yes, the author does put some thoughts in both characters' POVs about them brushing off those feelings and just staying friends but now with Cole getting ready to leave their small town, those feelings come rushing to the surface. So if you can suspend reality and your disbelief on those and go with the story, it is really cute and full of humor and great references that older adults will love! Gilmore Girls and many other tv show/movie references, and lots of celebrity references that those in their 40s+ will understand and giggle over. And hey, hopefully others who are younger will catch the references and will enjoy them as well!

The book opens with some sad news that builds up for Cole thinking about moving to NYC where his and Laila's best friends live. We get to go on an adventure in the Big Apple with these two and I loved that!

Content: There is a one bed trope moment that the main characters share a bed. Nothing happens but some looks and thoughts but the thoughts didn't get graphic. Some kisses but nothing further. Clean language.

I received a copy of the ebook from the publisher, Thomas Nelson-Fiction, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

It’s rare to find a story where the characters are a little older, in this case around 40. It’s refreshing. I enjoyed seeing Cole and Laila’s amazing friendship although it was a little hard to believe that they hadn’t considered dating each other at some point in all those years.

The characters are memorable. It was fun seeing Brynn and Sebastian again. I like the quirky characters like the pta ladies. Small towns are amazing and I hope there’ll be more stories in Adelaide Springs.

This story is a lot of fun and I’d recommend it. Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Very enjoyable story, just like a hallmark movie. I enjoyed this friends to more story. These characters are in late 30s + 40s, they have been best friends for ever, each other's person. when the rug gets pulled out from Cole his life turns on its head. One last birthday together and things shift. The usual things happen, it falls apart but seeing its obvious to everyone but themselves that they were meant to be it comes together for a HEA.
This is a sweet story nothing more than some sweet kisses. I was able to read the ARC and listen to the ALC. Audio was easy to listen to and was also enjoyable.

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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