I adore the friends to lovers trope - it is my favorite so I knew I wanted to read this book. I thought overall the story was cute and I enjoyed it. However, for these two people to be best friends for almost 40 years it seemed unrealistic that they never discussed anything romantically and when they finally did due to a sexy dream Cole had, it was "instalove". The whole appeal of friends to lovers is that they slowly realize that they are falling for each other and we did not get that - it was, "hey let's kiss" to "I cannot live without you." I wanted more longing, more passion, more "will they, won't they." Also, for these characters to be almost 40, they were a little immature and directionless in all aspects of life. There were also a LOT of pop culture references in this book which were cute but can get dated very quickly. Overall, I did enjoy this book and I am grateful for to Netgalley for the ARC.

Seriously, why have I not read more of Bethany Turner’s books?! I had a fabulous time with Cole and Laila and I’m sure that my bibliophile enjoyment was enhanced by the wonderful performances of narrators Talon David and Andrew Eiden. I highly recommend the audio edition of ‘Cole and Laila are Just Friends’. The narrators’ voices matched the characters perfectly and conveyed all the energy and angst to sweet perfection!

So — one of my favourite tropes is friends to more and this one was sooo good! I loved the relationship between these two besties. So tender and caring and loyal and they are so comfortable together. Thirty years is a long time to be ‘just’ friends though and I’ll admit to starting the read thinking these two must be pretty dense not to have figured things out earlier. But now, I honestly can’t imagine their love story unfolding in any other way. It’s perfect for them! And I loved every second.

A great blend of humour and drama — but the drama isn’t over the top. More deeply rooted and poignant, maybe? If that makes any sense. I love that Cole and Laila talk things out — not always right away, but they get there eventually. And the love and respect they have for each other is always at the forefront, even when they’re fighting. And honestly, they can’t sustain any kind of anger for long because….sigh, they are each thinking about how the other feels. Swoony sigh.

This book follows ‘ Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other’ though I don’t see it marked as a series. There are some carry overs from the first book — but I think this book reads fine without having read the other. I didn’t and I never felt lost. The books share a core friend group in a small Colorado town and I immediately got that vibe without feeling like I was missing out because I hadn’t read Brynn and Sebastian’s story.

Loved the jaunt to New York City and the drastic change that kickstarted a transformation in Cole and Laila’s relationship. Tons of classic rom/com scenes kept me giggling. Also, a lot of pop culture references relating to television and movies, which is so not my thing, however, I may not have gotten the specifics but I got the context which was just as fun, so it worked for me. 🙂

Of Note: This is one of Thomas Nelson’s general market selections (wish they’d create a catchy name for this non-inspirational line!) so no faith thread but definitely a clean romance.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio and Net Galley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgallery for this ARC.

This was such a sweet and wholesome audiobook. This is a stand-alone romance however I think you would benefit from reading the other books in this series beforehand. I hadn't read anything before from this author so didn't know all the background history for these characters.

The story follows two lifelong friends from a small time town. Cole and Laila are nearly 40 and have been best friend and work together since they were small children.

Cole grandad passes and family secrets are revealed which causes Cole to question his life , and make him consider moving to New York. With all these big changes and revelations , Cole begins to view his friendship with Laila in a new light.

This was a very sweet slow-burn romance with a HEA.

🔸Two best friends in their late 30s start to discover that they like each other as more than just friends.

✨Thoughts✨
I love a good friends-to-lovers story. Unfortunately, this one was missing the romance factor. The characters had very little chemistry. I believe the first and third-person POVs were absolutely distracting and made it difficult to connect with the main characters.

🎧I picked the audiobook because of Andrew Aiden. He never disappoints with his performances. The dual narration was excellent. I have zero complaints about that.

🔸Overall, this story might not have been my cup of tea, but if you are looking for more of an NYC best friend’s adventure, then do give this story a try.

Thank you to HarperCollins Publishing for this ALC.

I have a bad habit of wanting to give Bethany Turner’s books 10 stars all the time, but this one absolutely earns it! Laila and Cole’s history, effortless flow, and off the charts chemistry makes this a friends-to-more you will ADORE! I’ve come to love little Adelaide Springs, and the pillars of the town’s hierarchy—and it’s always fun getting the skinny on all of the drama in the group of 5 friends (which will happen, I promise). But Cole and Laila have been in a comfortable place their whole lives, and just one day wake up to discover that the world has suddenly shifted on its axis. Their raw emotions, their tenderness, the gentleness they care for and support each other is so beautiful it nearly made me cry (even though the book itself is flat out hilarious). I’ve always heard the saying that Love is just friendship set on fire, and CoLai exemplifies that so spectacularly. Grab it. Grab the book now. Grab the audio book too because it’s wonderful. Now please excuse me while I slip back into Adelaide Spriings again just for funsies. I received an advanced copy of this book/audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

Wow! Cole and Laila being friends for forty years isn’t reason to be friend forever…or is it?!?

Follow Laila and Cole as they navigate their friendship and decide is taking a chance on their relationship is worth their 40 year friendship. Love all of the New York City romance hints throughout the entire book make me want to take that trip to New York to see everything from the book!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I loved the characters of Cole and Laila when I read the first book in this series. I loved their best friend dynamic, and I enjoyed the fun of their small town life. In this book, Cole and Laila are still working together at his family's restaurant. After Cole's grandfather passes away, he starts to question if he is meant to stay in their town or move on to something else. Laila wants to stay, but she also wants to be wherever Cole is. They have been best friends for almost 40 years, and now, they are on the verge of being separated for the first time in their lives.

I struggled to get through this book because Laila's chapters were in 1st person POV and Cole's were in 3rd person. It was jarring to go back and forth. It was even more evident in the audiobook. Both narrators did a great job with the material. It was hard for me to stay interested in listening to the book though.

Thank you HarperCollins Christian Publishing | Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for this advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cole and Laila have been just friends for decades. During a trip to New York they begin to explore their relationship during a rom com nostalgia filled “first date.” This is a sweet friends to lovers romance filled with fun banter and nostalgia.

Just finished "Cole and Laila Are Just Friends" and it was so cute!
Imagine best friends forever taking a trip to New York City together. Except there's a secret crush brewing! This book is perfect for you if you love friends-to-lovers with a slow burn. Plus, the audiobook narrators are amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Christian Publishing for the ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love the characters! I love that they are older !! I enjoyed the narration they kept me interested in the book. I absolutely loved the storyline the older characters just made it such a better story. I adored the banter 🖤

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.

This was a really cute book! I appreciated that there wasn’t an overuse of the miscommunication trope especially with the characters being older. The narrators were both great and I felt like they fit the characters well. I had fun listening to this book and I’ll definitely be recommending it to friends.

I’ll be honest, I always go into friends-to-lovers’ stories with the strong belief that I won’t like it. I’ll always say they’re not for me. When I got approved for this audiobook, I thought I’d maybe like it a little. In the 1/4 of the book, the thought cemented that it would be a 3-star read at best. I was wrong. This is one of those crazy bingeable reads. Every time I paused my audiobook, I kept finding a reason to press play again. All the while saying that I can’t like it too much because it’s friends-to-lovers.

But I think I might like friends-to-lovers more than I thought. Maybe it’s because Bethany Turner is a super talented author, or because the trip to New York gave me a new setting that I prefer over the small town feels. I screamed at these two idiots to stop with their fear because they missed decades together because of it. The worst part of the book was the final argument/miscommunication moment for our leads, which felt so unnecessary. Otherwise, it’s a truly amazing book.

Well, I have mixed feelings about this. They were friends for almost all their lives and were both almost forty years old, yet they had never once dated or talked about the possibility. None of them even had long-term relationships. They were just there for each other all through, being the best of friends.

I'd say imagine they're probably in their twenties or haven't been friends for like three decades so that it can be believed that they'd never once had any close calls or discussed being more. That would make more sense but alas.

Aside from that, I did enjoy some parts of their story. How they handled each other once they acknowledged that things were different was awesome. I loved the way they communicated in a time when things were changing drastically. Would've loved more of them together as the romance seemed to come out of nowhere after so long a time.

I enjoyed the audio. Both narrators did an awesome job. Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🎧

What would you do if your best friend was floundering because everything they ever knew was turned upside down?

I loved the connection between Laila and Cole. They are each other's rock. When Cole's beloved grandfather passes, and he discovers the most heartbreaking of betrayals, he doesn't know what he will do or where his future will take him now.

Everyone wants to be there for Cole, but Cole just needs time and distance. When he gets the opportunity to possibly move across the country, it devastates Laila; they have been there for each other throughout it all.

It's a story about growing into the person you want to be and the person you need to be and having hope that it will all work out the way it was meant to.

It is a fantastic story with amazingly talented narrators who give us all the emotions to elevate this novel to the next level. I honestly didn't want to pause for any reason. It was that good.

this was such a sweet read! I really loved Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other, and this was such a fun follow up! I was so excited to read Cole and Laila's stories. Bethany Turner just writes such a good, sweet romance! This was clean and closed door and so, so swoon worthy. Plus I LOVED the New York City setting and the FUN tour of *spoiler alert* rom com sites! So, so fun!

The audiobook was so well done and I truly couldn't put it down!

Thank you for the ARC of the audio book.

What an easy and fun read. Cole and Lelia are best friends, they always have been. They live in a small town, Adelaide Springs, and they have the type of friendship most can only dream of finding, and even with how well they know each other, they still don't know everything. The main characters are older, late 30's, and this is a clean romance that focuses on the relationship and the feelings that go along with a shift from friends to something more.

When Cole receives news that changes how he thought is life would play out, he decides he needs a change. A job offer plus friends who life there he decides to give New York a try. As his best friend, who can't imagine life without him, Lelia goes along. Her life is settled and she has many reasons to not want to leave their home town. She goes along for the adventure as well as to try and convince him to stay, that Adelaide Springs has as much to offer as it always has.

The trip turns out to be the trip of a lifetime, not only because they get to wander finding iconic spots from movies they have watched over the years, hello Ghost Busters Firehouse and the Friends Building. It's also a chance for two friends to get to know each other even better and to discover that the feelings they have for each other are deeper than just friendship, when they take a chance and go on a pretend date, one where they act as though they have just met.

Through the twists and turns, this is a fun easy read, the narrators had me wanting to meet Cole and Lelia. They felt so real and were believable.. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants a clean and well written romance for their summer beach read or listen.

One of my favorite tropes is friends to lovers. I enjoyed the dynamic between the characters, but their immaturity sometimes felt exaggerated for their age. Laila's attitude and behavior were quite insufferable, and while they had good banter and inside jokes, it sometimes felt overdone. Their interactions often made it seem unrealistic that they were unaware of their feelings for each other.

I am usually a big fan of friends to lovers stories, but I kept getting so distracted by the dialogue. I liked the story, but I felt like so much of the dialogue was unrealistic. It could be that I listened to the audiobook rather than reading it, but I’m not sure. I liked the characters but I just felt some of the little cutesy jokes and conversations between them were a little unbelievable. I do love the cover.

This was a nice & cute friends to lovers story. I did enjoy the characters of Cole & Laila but found they could be quite childish considering they are supposed to be in their late thirties.
It does have its laugh out loud & feel good moments which I loved and I love a dual POV!
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Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Thomas Nelson Fiction for the opportunity to review this book.