I absolutely love a best friends to lovers story and this one did not disappoint! It was my first book by Bethany Turner and I really enjoyed her writing. I was living for all of the 90s and 2000s pop culture references. And I adored the characters so much!! But let’s be honest, Cole and Laila have an unhealthy obsession with each other for two people who are not in a romantic relationship. Almost four decades is a long time to be best friends with a person you find attractive and able to keep it platonic. But when they are faced with the threat of separation, Cole starts looking at Laila differently. It makes for some amazing chemistry, anticipation, and build up
Thank you Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for this eARC!

I thought this was a cute and sweet book. It's a strong friends to lovers with a couple that has been best friends for most of their lives with no slip-ups during that time. Yet, once the door is cracked open, you discover that Laila has thought "what ifs" in the past and always wondered if they might end up together. And now Cole is having "thoughts." But what if things don't work out and they lose everything and their special friendship vanishes?

Cole has lived in the small town where they grew up for most of his life. Yet when something unexpected and unwelcome happens and he is taken by surprise, staying there doesn't feel right anymore. Except, his best friend, Laila is there. And he cannot imagine living in a place where she isn't.

At the same time, Laila wants to support Cole and she knows he's stunned by the recent developments in his life. However, she can't imagine her life without him living and working next to her in Adelaide Springs, Colorado where they grew up together. She never thought he'd leave. What will this do to their friendship?

This was a Friends to Lovers story with a unique feeling to it. Cole and Laila truly are the sweetest of friends. Yet, they are touchy-feely and affectionate and don't think twice about it. The question is do they just take one another for granted? How do they not realize there is more to their relationship? Their journey to discovering the "more" is a fun little ride.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The narration in the audiobook was done quite well. I thought the voices fit the character's personalities. It definitely made it easier to connect with the characters and story. 4 1/2 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for early copies of both the ebook and audiobook.

There are definitely a ton of things I liked about this book: good main characters, enjoyed the dual POV, I’m down for all kinds of romance so it’s nice to read a clean one occasionally, and liked the pop culture references mainly. However, there are a ton of them, and it does make it feel kind of dated or can alienate a reader if they aren’t as into pop culture as the writer. Additionally, I didn’t understand Cole and Laila trying for some romance sooner. I get that life happens, but you’re firmly an adult, it seems like the back and forth is something you get people would do. But maybe that’s just me? I’d still recommend this book to the right reader though!

What a fun “fake-date” romp through New York City! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this entertaining romance! The situation: Cole Kimball and Laila Olivet have been small town friends forever. The change: Cole is driven to leave his hometown for the big city. The perfect scene: Experiencing a fake-date through the streets and pop-culture icons of New York City. The perfect line: “Hey there. Did somebody call for a Lyft?” (This line, at exactly the right time, made me smile with delight.)

Cole and Laila are good people, treating each other and everyone they know with compassion. The fascinating relationship between Cole and Laila, held my interest as they reevaluated their connection. Even though I wasn’t sure how their experiment would end, I admired the trust, selflessness and love they gave each other. What would be best for each of them? Great ending, great humor, great small town vibes and great examples of friendship.

I’ve read many of Bethany Turner’s books and enjoyed them all. If you’re a rom-com devotee or like friends-to-more themes, I highly recommend this story! (Chocolate-chip pancakes, anyone?)

Favorite quotes:

“I think, in a way, I’m sort of hoping you realize it doesn’t matter where we are, as long as we’re together.”

“And if there is a hierarchy, how dare anyone minimize friendship? Isn’t friendship everything?”

“Well, I guess my grandmother was my first teacher. And she taught me that food is love….She used to tell me that when you didn’t know what else to do for someone, you should feed them….And sometimes you just needed to feed them so they knew they weren’t alone.”

*I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction. I was not required to write a positive review.

This was a cute read. I loved the characters and the different settings of the book. The relationship between Cole and Laila was kind of frustrating. Their friendship didn’t feel like one that was relatable. Cole was kissing her head and they were taking trips together and they are almost 40, but they are just friends? I’m not sure how many people can relate to that. And I knew from the beginning that they were in love, how couldn’t they be just based off their friendship? Overall, a good read. A wise lesson from this is communication is key. I was throwing my arms up just wishing they’d tell each other how they were really feeling!

I would like to thank Netgalley, the author and Thomas Nelson for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

As a lover of the friends to lovers trope, I was excited for this. I really wanted to love it, but I ended up disappointed. I almost DNFed but gave it a chance and skimmed most parts.

Maybe it was the writing style - too meandering for me, paragraphs were interjected all the time, cutting off a lot of the conversation. The sentences were too long and run-ons.

The characters were supposed to be in their late 30s but I don't think they behaved with enough maturity for their age. For two people who claimed to know each other so well, there was just so much miscommunication.

I did enjoy exploring New York with Cole and Laila, even though I couldn't relate with the pop culture references. I liked them enough to want what's best for them and loved their first date.

DNF at 34% - that says something. I really did give this book a shot!

But omg the beginning of this book was SO boring and it felt like small daily things were unnecessarily prolonged just for word count. Like nothing really interesting happened (except for the fall) until like 30% in!

Also, why was Laila’s POV in first person but Cole’s was in third person? I just couldn’t get past the weird discrepancy - I’ve never seen a book doing that format and it was just confusing and made Cole feel really distant.

Funny, relatable, and a great storyline. If you love friends to lovers, but are looking for sweet/clean reads, this is it!

As someone who really loves the friends to lovers trope, I wanted to like this but was slightly disappointed in this story. Laila and Cole have been best friends for most of their lives. The characters were supposed to be in their lates 30s and I did not feel like they had the maturity of that age bracket. The transition of friends to lovers was not very smooth to me especially considering their almost 40 years friendship. This was an enjoyable book but several parts fell flat for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a fun friends-to-more romance full of endearing characters, hilarious moments, pop culture references, a charming small town, and a big city adventure to boot.

While I really enjoyed the prologue, I was never fully pulled into the story. Not to say that I didn't enjoy it. I did. I just felt a bit disconnected from what was going on. But that was probably just me and the mood I was in.

I genuinely cared about Cole and Laila and only wanted the best for them. (Which was each other, of course!) And I really enjoyed catching up with Brynn and Sebastian.

I absolutely adored the small town of Adelaide Springs. I wish it was a real town! I'd love to visit it!

There were a plethora of pop culture references, and while I usually enjoy that, there were so many that it kinda pulled me out of the story at times.

While this wasn’t one of my favorite Bethany Turner books, I still had a lot of fun reading it and look forward to her next one.

This is connected to Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other, but you don’t have to read that to enjoy this story.

I received a copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.

Cole Kimball and Laila Olivet are BFFs.  They have known each other for so long that loving each other is second nature.  People think they are, or should be more, but they just laugh it off. When they do slow down and consider the possibility, they decide it would not work. They don't want to mess up their friendship to see. After all, being best friends is great, right? This is a fun, quick read. Perfect for the summer!
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

Cole & Laila Are Just Friends was a cute read - the ultimate friends to lovers story. I tend to overthink things so the whole time I was wondering why it took them 30+ years to realize they wanted to be more than "just friends". But aside from that, it was a cute story with likeable characters. I enjoyed the pop culture references sprinkles throughout.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for this eARC, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a very cute, easy to read story. It was a clean, slow burn romance. The way it was written, you root for Cole and Laila to realize their feelings for each other. Then you root for them to finally tell each other.

There were a few times the miscommunication got a little old and frustrating. They kept misunderstanding what the other person was trying to say or not saying. I wanted them to just be honest with each other.

The different points of view really helped the story move along.

Really enjoyed this one. It was not too heavy, although emotional situations did happen. The perfect happy ending, even if somewhat expected. Definitely a closed door romance but the way the author wrote the romantic scenes had me in my feels for sure. Highly recommend for a feel good, not too spicy romance.

I've never been so drawn in by someone's writing as I was with Bethany. It's amazing how she does it, constantly interrelating things that happen and making the characters develop like real people. The story of Cole and Laila turning from friends to lovers is something that will stay with me forever.
Cole and Laila have had an unbreakable bond all their lives, ever since they were children growing up in Adelaide Springs - not even the twists and turns of life could break it. However, these days, Cole finds himself being tugged towards New York by circumstances leaving behind a past that is as much Laila’s as his own. To sort out what lies ahead they spend a week together in the ‘Big Apple’, she wants him to stay rooted in his birthplace but he wants her to join him there so he can start fresh.
Their lifelong friendship is put to the test by new feelings of romance that arise throughout the week. These stir up lots of emotion as well as questions without answers. Cole and Laila are both very likable characters – they have odd habits and an amusing way of talking that also brings different cultures into it all. I longed for their tender moments to never end; each one was filled with so much warmth and detail! Even though there may be extra details from time to time, watching Cole and Laila grow from friends to something more is still an incredibly sweet experience.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Cole and Laila have been friends forever, but some life events shake up the status quo, leading to major revelations about their relationship. Will Cole and Laila stay friends, or will they be open to the love that's right in front of them?

I loved that this story was about characters in their late 30s and early 40s! You don't see that age represented enough in romance novels. I also appreciate sweet romances, especially when we see scenes containing comfy cozy hugs that bring all of the love and emotion! I loved the ensemble cast represented here primarily by Brynn and Sebastian (from "Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other"). The small town turned big city feels were great as well! I especially loved the pop culture references!!

I had a bit of difficulty suspending belief with regards to the fact that Cole and Laila were nearly 40 but hadn't ever given each other a shot at love especially considering how special they were to each other. It just felt like such a good relationship (for the most part), that they should have taken the leap long ago. Additionally, I found myself skimming through some parts of the story due to what felt like extraneous information. But I still really enjoyed the story!

I'd like to thank Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was NOT good. And when you read this, know that friends to lovers is my favorite trope.

I really didn’t like that the characters were completely platonic until almost 85% of the book and then the author tried to throw down our throat that “they were in love with e/o since they were 11 years old”. NOPE, I refuse that you try to tell me and not show me. I need proof. I need emotions. I need memories and shared moments.

The fact that the story switches from 1st POV in Laila’s chapters to 3rd POV in Cole’s chapters made me completely lose it. How can that be?? Where are the betas? I was completely lost and disconnected from the characters.

The writing style overall really didn’t do it for me. It goes like this: Laila says things like “My dress was green like a cucumber” and then 30 PAGES of some absolutely boring anecdotes about that one time she ate a cucumber to FINALLY return to what’s happening.

Okay, I’m going to stop writing this review because I'm starting to feel angry.

Anyway. Some moments were cute. I guess.

Although I was the very target for this friends-to-lovers romance, I unfortunately didn’t enjoy this book at all.

“What if we’re so afraid to mess up what we have that we’re actually messing up the best stuff? The stuff we haven’t even seen yet.”

I won’t lie - this is a bit of a generous 4⭐ …. it probably could’ve been a 3.5. However, the loveable characters and friends-to-lovers rom-com won me over in the end. A perfect, lighthearted, summer beach read!

Plot Thoughts: The plot itself is a little lacking; it definitely reads as a more character driven novel. There is a little family drama and angst that I wish would’ve been explored more; but two best friends from a small town falling in love while adventuring in NYC was definitely a nice backdrop! ❤

Character Thoughts: I adore the characters - they are sweet & quirky & swoon worthy! I will say, I felt like they were late teens/early twenties most of the time when in fact they were actually forty. I prefer/enjoy adult characters, but when they are written like teenagers and have miscommunication like teenagers it does end up feeling confusing to the reader. It didn’t always feel like a traditional friends-to-lovers…it felt like basicallylovers-to-lovers in many ways (but in the end I guess that was the whole point). Also, I do wish we got a little more of Laila & Cole without Brynn & Sebastian…as Brynn & Sebastian already have their own book! (That I loved and reviewed previously, btw!)

In the end, these things weren’t enough to deter me from enjoying this heartwarming interconnected standalone. It was a right book, right time kind of read!

👍🏻Would recommend to someone looking for a lighthearted summer romance!

Cute friends to lovers romance.

I listened to this as an audiobook and I really liked that Cole and Laila each had their own narrator, because the chapters are told from their alternating points of view. The narrators brought the story to life in a fun way.

This book follows Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other, which in retrospect would have been helpful to have read to get the setup for the characters. Alas, I did not read that one, but I was not terribly lost as they are only side characters in this book.

Cole and Laila are in their 40s and have been best friends all of their lives. They have never been more than friends, but when everything in their lives is set to change, they begin to reconsider their feelings.

I did enjoy the later in life development into a relationship, but I just wondered why? I struggled a lot with the naiveté of the characters, particularly of Laila who at times made it seem like she was a clueless teenager rather than a full grown adult. I just didn't have buy in for their ages based on the way they were acting. In their late 20s maybe, but after so many years you would think they would be more siblings than all of a sudden noticing a spark.

Regardless, this is a cute story and if you enjoy pop culture references and fun banter, this book is filled with it. If you just go with the romance and don't think too hard about it, you'll enjoy the journey.

Happy Publication Day!

This book picks up after the events from the novel Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other. While I don’t think it’s essential to have read the first book before beginning the second, I’m always a fan of doing so because I enjoy having all the info!

This was certainly a sweet, enjoyable, clean romance. I did take one star off however because I felt the characters were a bit juvenilized. I believe a romance can be clean while also representing men and women in their late 30’s and early 40’s more accurately. One example was a character saying that their friend taking 3 ibuprofen was the equivalent of their friend being like Courtney Love at the Chateau Marment.

Once I acknowledged and moved beyond that however, it was all in all a cute story that I’m sure many will love!