the idea for this was so fun but i just had a hard time connecting with murray and lily, they didn’t quite feel real to me

thank you netgalley for an arc of this in exchange for my honest review!

Absolute candy for fans of the Bachelor and Unreal. This tells the behind-scenes story with plenty of details on how each show is made. Driving it all is the relationship between Murray and Lily, two veterans of the reality television scene. Like many real-life Bachelor contestants, they aren't always likable but they are relatable and the twists and turns of their relationship and their manipulations kept me guessing!

I want to start this review by being clear: I am a huge fan of reality television, and the more dramatic, the better. I cannot get enough of Vanderpump Rules. I always keep up with The Bachelor Franchise and devour any Netflix series hosted by the Lacheys. Additionally, I used to be a huge follower of Unreal. If any of the above also applies to you, Not Here to Make Friends will be your kind of read.

A quick overview: Murray is the showrunner of a reality dating show, and this is his first season where he gets to tell the story that he wants to tell. However, when his former best friend and co-showrunner shows up unannounced as this season's villain, they suddenly start butting heads for control of the season.

To truly enjoy this book, you have to know how reality television is produced and manipulated. Our main characters are not heroes, nor are they arguably good people. These are two cutthroat reality television producers, and once you accept that, you're going to have a much better time.

What I loved:
-The timeline of the story is set in the present, while Murray's POV is in the past. This really sets up the story from two different directions. Some readers had issues with Lilly and Murray being married at different points in their lives. I think having the story told throughout the span of time really solidifies that there is no overlap. It also runs a knife through your heart.
-The reality television aspect. The Romeo-Dylan and Juliet-Dylan are a treat to read.
-The structure. It was an easy read in the sense that everything flowed together nicely. I could feel Murray's stress and frustration throughout the book, which heightened my emotions.
-The effort to address the lack of BIPOC in reality television and how it shapes the media as a whole.

What I didn't love as much:
-I got really tired of reading "Lily Fireball" over and over. I understand why; it's the branding, but it got exhausting.
-You will have to suspend some disbelief. Things do sort of magically come together in a productive way despite all the mess and drama. It's not completely out of the realm of possibilities, but it is a bit far-fetched.

I had a really great time reading this book. I wouldn't categorize it as a "fun light" read, but it's not overly dark and heavy—it's somewhere in between.

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

This was a cute book. It goes with the trope of reality TV of a dating show and the Romeo and multiple Juliet's. So the Romeo-Dylan was very nice and did not like some of the candidates. He also did not want to go along with what the producer decided to do with the plot line. However, the producer gets a shock himself by falling back in love with his old co-producer. I don't want to give too much information to not spoil the surprises and plot line. I'm not a reality TV show watcher and this towards the end was a little hard to follow at who was with who. It was a cute "nice book" and a quick read. If you are someone who enjoys the "Bachelor/Bachelorette" type reality TV shows you will think this is a great read.

Murray and Lily are friends and Co workers on a "Bachelor" style reality TV show. And they also love each other but married other people. Told in the present from Murray's POV and in flashbacks from Lily's POV we find out more about their history and life as TV producers.

Sadly this book was not my favorite. I previously may have loved this book 10 years ago when I was obsessed with reality TV dating shows but I feel like their time in the spotlight has passed for me. So to be reading a book set in that world just wasn't my preference. I also didn't appreciate that they were in love with each other but were dating or married to other people. It felt like emotional cheating and I don't want that in a "fun romance book".

My review will be posted to Goodreads now and Instagram on the publish date

This was a really good book. It was the first one I've read by Jodi Mcalister. I can see why people like watching the bachelor so much. I might even myself. I'm grateful that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not a fan of The Bachelor, but I was definitely a fan of this.

The love story between Murray and Lily was just so good. The mutual pining over the years, the recognition of different kinds of love, the dual POV with Lily set entirely in the past and Murray set in the present. These two deeply flawed, conniving, lovely human beings have a beautiful story of finding each other again after loss. From Lily's need to reinvent herself after the loss of her husband to Murray's desire to make everything perfect for the love of his life, to the point of rigging an entire season of a reality show, it was just stunning. I loved the meta looks at reality TV, and McAlister's research acumen is in full force here.

The best part of the book was definitely Lily's POV in the flashbacks. What a stand-out narrative device! The quasi-emotional cheating never really bothered me, especially since we already know these characters are morally grey.

I went into this book cold; I had never read anything by this author. While reading, I found myself getting confused a lot by the sheer number of side characters, especially since we are supposed to care about these other romances as well. It wasn't until I was so frustrated that I looked it up and found out this was the third in a series! It's pretty ambitious of McAlister to set three romances in the exact same time frame (we love subplots), but it was definitely confusing at times and took away from the central relationship. I'm sure for long-time fans of this series, seeing an alternate perspective to beloved characters was wonderful, but I found it distracting. I couldn't bring myself to care about any of them. Maybe I'm the morally grey one here.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Partially my fault: I hadn't realized this was the third book in a series! I think I probably would have enjoyed it more with the background from the previous books.

Otherwise, it was fun, though sometimes the characters were a smidge unlikable.

Murray and Lily were friends… once. Co-producers… once. Something more… once. Then Lily went through a personal tragedy, and everything changed. After a year of no contact with Murray, she is now in front of the camera on Marry Me, Juliet as this season’s villain. Through both Murray and Lily’s perspectives, “the most dramatic season” of reality TV unfolds, giving readers a peek behind the curtain and into the editing bay.

I enjoyed the book as a whole, but what held it back from being a 4-star book was how difficult it was to connect with Lily at first. She was calculating in an Amy-Dunne-from-Gone-Girl kind of way. Dramatic in a Regina George kind of way. And tragic backstory aside, her motivations didn’t click for me. It didn’t help that the concept of “Lily Fireball” was cringe-worthy from the start. I was surprised that the persona was meant to be a jumping-off point for a reality TV influencer career - the name alone would get any modern bachelorette eaten alive. About halfway in, she did grow on me. Seeing her soften around Murray was key to this. You get to see the depth that she cares for him and understands him, which smooths her hard edges somewhat, putting me more firmly on her team, wanting her to succeed.

Connecting with - and rooting for - Murray was easier by comparison. He is just as calculating as Lily, but maybe because we are along for the ride of the main narrative with him (rather than through flashbacks to past years with Lily), we can see the reasons behind the choices he makes, even if we don’t agree with them.

In all, it’s a sweet story, and I do feel compelled to seek out the other two books to find out if Jodi McAlister had all the character interactions and relationships planned from the beginning (if so, kudos - interweaving multiple narratives can’t be easy!). You don’t have to have read the other books to pick up on what is going on; it seems like you can enter this series at any point along the way. If you liked The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren, this one will be right up your alley.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Jodi McAlister, and Atria Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

loved this friends to lovers and working on a bachelor show. I loved that had their own language and both loved each other and supported them while they were married to other people. Loved the sexy times and they found love.

This was a hard to read book for me.

There is so many different layers, feelings when there shouldn't be, loss, love, TV, and then current vs in the past.

The book sort of fell flat for me. It took a while for the slow burn to become a flame, like 75% mark honestly.

Overall, it was alright, lots of characters, lots of back and forth.

Thank you nNetGalley and publisher for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Not one of my favorites. Holding grudges is one thing, but this grudge didn’t make enough sense for the characters to have gone years without speaking.

I enjoyed Not Here to Make Friends the reality tv setting gives such a clear way to include absurd hijinks. I have not read the other two books in this series so I was unfamiliar with the two other love stories happening in the background, but Lily and Murray were fascinating to read. A former producer who after a devastating loss returns to her dating show not to work but as a contestant where her former partner in crime/not entirely platonic best friend is now the sole showrunner without telling him. She shows up with the plan to be the season's villain, to ruin who she used to be because she cannot be her anymore. The current story is told primarily in Murray's POV being blindsided by Lily but we learn through flashbacks the history between him and Lily.

It was a fun time and these two though sometimes kind of terrible were definitely the perfect team.

I received this ARC from Simon & Schuster Australia (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD:


I have not read the other books in this series, but I do not think I will be. I have read many other books that have a "reality TV show" type setting, and they were significantly better.

What I liked:
-Romeo-Dylan, I really enjoyed his character actually and he was one of the few characters I liked.
-CeCe, the other character I liked (also neither are the 2 main characters)
-It was an easy read

What I did not like:
-the FMC. I have read dark romance, romcoms, contemporary romance, etc. I have never read a FMC I hate more than "Lily Fireball". First of all, that is the dumbest name and her whole reason for returning to the show was absolutely outrageous. Lily was a grade a b**** for no freaking reason. The entire time her supposed "best friend" was married or dating someone she was still trying to get with him even though HE WAS WITH SOMEONE ELSE AND SO WAS SHE. I hate hate hate a "homewrecker" trope and that is exactly what this felt like. She was a b**** just to be one and I hate that.
-The MMC. He was so obnoxiously whiny and why the hell was he working himself tired for? All to make it "perfect for her", puke. He had no redeeming qualities and he truly lost me when he was screaming at the contestants on the show because they fell in love with the "wrong" person, double puke.
-the romance. It will come as no surprise based on how I felt about the main characters how I felt about the romance. This is not a "second chance" romance, they never had a first chance. Sure, they had sex 1 time but that does not equal romance that equals sex. Honestly this would have been a better book from Romeo-Dylan and CeCe's point of view and if the author writes that I would read that.
-The pacing was strange and felt off.

Overall, I do think people who have either read the entire series and liked it or who have not read much romance would enjoy this book. I just could not care for the important characters, I felt they wee both shallow and selfish, and just meh.

2 star read though for Romeo-Dylan and for the fact that this was a quick read.

This book was very entertaining. I could not put it down. The female main character had some great character development throughout the book. And I loved the romance quite a bit!

Wow! This book wasn't at all what I was expecting.

The premise - a heartbroken reality TV producer reinvents herself as the villain on her own show - spoke to something fun and campy, something cheesy and possibly lacking depth. It's the kind of plot that exists just outside the lines of plausibility, and sometimes those are the hardest plots to swallow. But I forgot something vital - good writing makes the unbelievable feel believable. This book was fun, yes, but also beautiful and, at times, heartbreaking.

I truly fell in love with Murray and Lily. God, I'd give Lily the biggest hug if I could. Everything worked here - the chemistry between the leads, the concept of the book, the narrative structure, and the larger group dynamics. For some reason, I love books that deal with TV production and I'm a sucker for friend-to-lovers, long-term pining romances. I prefer flawed characters to those who are too perfect. It's seriously like someone mined my brain for what I'd like to read, and then wrote that book.

Seriously can’t stress how much I loved this book. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this advanced reader copy in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

These books are such a joy to read. I LOVE watching reality TV and honestly, these books feel like sitting down and binge watching (reading) an entire season in the one book. But with no ads If you like The Bachelor - give these a go!
I really liked that there was some depth to this. Yes there was the usual reality tv type stuff you would expect, but there was also deeper under currents of struggle, grief and relationships.

Ok this book was really fun! I was living for the drama. Definitely a good read for lovers of contemporary romance who also enjoy reality tv dating shows!

I never thought this book would take me on such an emotional rollercoaster, but hey, that's what I signed up for, right?

I really enjoyed the way they handled the dual POV, shifting between past and present. It definitely added depth to the story.

As the plot unfolds, you can feel the attraction between Murray and Emily growing stronger, and I absolutely loved the chaos it caused throughout the story

.Thank you, NetGalley, and Atria Books for sending me this ARC

.(Will post a more detailed review on social media closer to the release date)

An enemies to lovers romance set on a reality TV show. While competing for love on a dating show, one of the contestants falls for the show runner and former best friend. Their attraction overshadows the actual show leading to complete chaos and drama.