I did have to DNF this book. Unfortunately it was just not for me! The author is an amazing writer but all the characters names and the bachelor type feel didn’t do it for me. I also did not realize this was part of a series, otherwise i may have read the first few books in order to get more background information.

Just gonna be honest and say that I really didn’t care for this one. The male character just kept telling people to do their job and say he was doing his job. Lily FireBall kept saying how she was going to bring chaos but there was almost none to be seen and the flashbacks were so flimsy I almost wanted to skip them altogether. The flow of the book from the producer’s perspective didn’t work at all and came across boring. I never really sensed too much romantic chemistry between the Murray and Lily. I just don’t think the story worked too well.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

why do the characters have the stupidest names?? i dislike reality tv but i guess i also dislike it in book-form, too. this is a book series? i'll avoid the whole.

Not Here to Make Friends was an aptly named story that followed the unapologetic Lily and Murray in their roles of “villain” and producer of a Bachelor style reality tv show.

For a book that had a comedic feel to it, it dealt with heavy topics like racism, mental health, and grief throughout the story in a way that provided depth to the characters beyond the surface level nature of their show.

I enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes peek at what it’s like to run a reality tv show while attempting to pull the strings of a cast of characters who refuse to act as puppets. I loved getting a glimpse of who Murray and Lily used to be while being faced with who they are now, and what those interwoven versions mean for their future.

This was overall a fun, lighter read despite the nature of the topics addressed.

Not Here to Make Friends by Jodi McAlister tells the story of Murray and Lily, two reality show producers on a Bachelor-esque franchise. The story explores their relationship, past and present, as Lily appears as a contestant on the newest season of their reality TV show. I liked the premise of this story a lot, but thought the pacing was a bit off and I didn’t really feel connected to the characters until around half way into the book. I thought the past/present timeline switching was done well to help me understand the motivations of the main characters. Unfortunately, I felt like sometimes too much time was spent in the nitty gritty of the reality TV production aspect, and not enough time was spent developing the characters. Murray and Lily both felt a little flat to me, Lily more than Murray. It was just hard to imagine her as a person outside this very specific context. A cute story, but I wish the execution had been a bit better.

Thank you Atria Books & NetGalley for the ARC!

I was a big Bachelor fan a few years ago, so I jumped at the chance to request this book - I was so happy for the approval!

This book was a perfect beach read: soapy, romantic, sweet. It had a lot of great diversity and representation. The one thing that made it slightly hard to read were the characters with the same name. I know that was on purpose, but it kind of took me out of the story momentarily. Otherwise, it was a sweet read and I was very happy to read it!

Thank you again for the ARC!

Pining, friends to lovers, reality dating show tropes? Count me 100% in. I was instantly sucked into the Marry Me, Juliet verse from the first chapter. Murray and Lily, co-producers on a Bachelor-type franchise, have been in love with each other for ten years but both timing and self-sabotage prevented anything from happening. When Lily turns up after a year of no contact on the latest season of Marry Me, Juliet, they are both forced to confront their feelings (over and over). I loved the format of the book, with flashbacks from Lily that showed how much this was an idiots in love story.
The chemistry the characters have with each other is excellent, and not just Murray and Lily. McAlister builds the stakes higher and higher until writing in a very satisfying conclusion that got me a little choked up. This is a book I would read again on a rainy day. I realized about halfway through reading that this is the third romance set in this universe so if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to read the others.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

this book was a lot of fun. I had to go get the first two and read them first, as i had never heard of this series before. I hope that this author writes plenty more books, and even with the satellite characters, because I really enjoyed this. Getting to know the story behind Lily Fireball, and why she was such a bitch, was enlightening. The pace of the story was great, and it was interesting having the three different perspectives with the three different books. I'll watch for more !

Okay, so in college we had a thing called trash talking Tuesdays where we would eat trashy food (take out- the bottom of barrel crap) while watching trashy reality TV and talking trash about it. It was a fun semester making memories with my suitemates and started my love for reality TV. So you can imagine my trashed up little heart almost thumped out of my chest when I saw that this book was based on the Bachelor. What I did not expect was that the two main characters had been in love with each other since day one, but one was engaged and soon to be divorced while the other was married and the spouse was killed off in the first chapter of the story. How convenient! 😑😡

I could not get behind the main character Lily no matter how hard I tried. For instance she spews lines like this that make my skin want to crawl off. “He was still my best friend. He was still my partner. A ring on his finger affected none of that. I had lost nothing.” That’s truly messed up and I’ve seen a lot of trashy TV to stand by. So I just would recommend that you watch the most recent episodes of the Golden Bachelor followed by their TV special wedding and then google your heart's content about what happened afterwards rather than reading this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

Fans of The Bachelor and Unreal, this book is part of that universe! While I love those shows, this book felt like there were too many storylines happening all at the same time. The choice to name two main characters Dylan made the story confusing. So much of the book focuses on fighting racism, but calling the woman “girl-Dylan” felt like a step backward with sexism.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books and Jodi McAlister for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is book #3 in the series but I didn’t read the first two and felt fine without more backstory.

Lily and Murray meet as production assistants for a reality tv show. They quickly bond and become work “partners”, working side by side as they advance in reality tv production.

Despite their bond and unspoken attraction, their personal lives only briefly overlap.

After being in each others lives for 10yrs, Lily suffers a heartbreaking loss when her husband passes away suddenly. Immediately after the funeral she pushes Murray (and almost everyone else) away. Completely no contact for a year.

Fast forward to the newest season of their show and Lily shows up - as a contestant - and throws Murray.

I have watched the bachelor franchise for years so this was interesting to me but difficult to root for their happiness since they weren’t always acting ethically or in anyone’s best interest - just their own or for the show

I enjoyed the writing in this one, I wasn't aware this was book 3 of a series but I didn't feel too lost. The reality TV setting was fun! My biggest problem was that I could not connect with either of these main characters. They have been in love with each other for ages, but both married other people and basically emotionally cheated with each other. I didn't know the full scope of their past and their relationship with each other going in, and I wish I had. That whole situation is just not for me, I don't like when the main couple emotionally cheats on their spouses with each other. Otherwise this was a good read!

I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I didn't. With the storyline being another "The Bachelor" rip-off I thought it would be a home-run, but it turned out to be a strike-out.

I liked the concept of the story, but I just couldn't get behind Lily, and how she acted. Her love for Murray was clear BUT she had a very messed up way of showing it. Passive-aggressive much??

I did enjoy the 2 love stories that resulted from the season she hijacked though. They were sweet.

I don't think I'd recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this! The reviews were absolutely correct; this was a hilarious love story with witty, fun characters. I love reality TV and dating shows, and this was the perfect book for anyone who's a sucker for those type of shows.

Okay so I'm a big bachelor fan, so I was very intrigued about this one. It's the third in the series but can definitely be read without reading the others. I haven't read the first two, but went back and read about them. Turns out all 3 books take place during the same season of "Marry Me Juliet" but focus on different characters. I kind of like that I went into this without reading the first two.
First of all I am loving the rom-com turned reality television genre that seems to be becoming more prevalent lately. Mixing my two fav things together is bound to get me excited.
What I Liked: The behind the scenes and focus on the production of the show, rather than the show itself.
Overall the first half of the book was enjoyable. However I just wasn't a fan of the romance between Lucy and Murray. I found the last half of the book just wasn't for me. I didn't care for the characters and because of that didn't feel invested in the love story.

Started out strong, but fell a little flat for me.
I would recommend it to any fans of the bachelor franchise. If you don't like the show, this book definitely isn't for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

If you are a reality TV fan, you’ll likely know exactly what this book is going to be about based on the title alone, and it feels like a guilty pleasure in the same way that the TV franchise does.

Producers Murray and Lily have worked together for over a decade on a show where one contestant dates a large group of women or men, depending on the season. After a horrible event in her personal life, Lily stepped away for a year. This year, she shows up as a network plant, playing the villain on the newest season and flipping the show upside down.

I found the premise to be juicy, fun entertainment, and would definitely place it in the guilty pleasure category. The characters are honestly so unlikeable that I didn’t really care if they got their HEA in the end, but it was fun to be along for the wild ride along the way. Lily comes in as the villain, and she actually still feels like a villain even when she isn’t playing one. Her personality and character are just turned up times ten to be on the show, but she clearly loves drama and manipulating people and thrives on chaos. Murray isn’t much better, though at least we know via his POV that every once in awhile he does feel bad about the craziness he causes.

We get all the drama that you might see on the bachelor- racist contestants, a contestant maybe falling for another contestant, bad behavior and drama, and all the behind the scenes producer manipulation. It was an entertaining read, but probably not one that will stick with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC. All opinion are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was a funny, light and fluffy rom com. If you are looking for a cute romance to pop into your beach bag, look no further than this book. It is a highly enjoyable read, and a good escape from the stress of every day life. Definitely recommend this book!

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Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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DNF 10% - I’m not loving the overall tone of the book and I don’t like that they killed off Lily’s husband just to set up this book.

Note: I received this book free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this advance readers copy! This book was very interesting, it was fun getting a sneak peak into what it took to produce a reality tv show and what would happen behind the scenes.

This was a very fun romance with morally grey characters although I didn't realize it was the third in a series and was a little confused by all of the MANY side characters. I enjoyed how twisty and turny this is and I will for sure be going back to read the others!