Quick Summary: An almost never to forever romance

My Review: The Soulmate Project by Reese Ryan is book #3 in the Holly Grove Island series.

About the Book: Best friends since childhood, Emerie Roberts and Nicholas Washington are at odds where matters of the heart are concerned. When one tries to shoot a shot, it is sadly rejected. Crushed beyond belief, a plan is put into place to secure a happily ever after love story.

My Favorite Scenes (coded, so as to avoid spoilers):

- The Turning Point
- Sway with Me
- This Kiss
- The Save
- New York, Where Dreams Are Made a Reality
- Yes!

My Final Say: I genuinely liked this story. It was simple and straightforward. It had the classic messages of: a missed opportunity, timing being off, having your cake and eating it too, seeing what's most important when it's no longer right in front of you, etc. It was all of that, in addition to the strong family/friend ties that made this book endearing.

Other: I think I would like to visit Holly Grove Island again.

* This would be fantastic as an audiobook. I hope that it gets the works.

Rating: 3.5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: 💛💬
Series: Yes
Special Note: This would be a good book club read. There are so many things that could be discussed.

Thank you to the author, to the publisher (Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever), and to NetGalley for granting access to this title in exchange for an honest review. The words I have voluntarily shared are my own. I appreciate the opportunity to read a digital ARC from this author.

Thank you NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Reese Ryan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is book #3 in the series but I didn’t read the first two. I was able to catch on quickly of the previous couples stories and didn’t feel that I was missing anything from this story by not reading the first two.

This is a story about Emerie and Nick. They have been best friends for over 20years and Em finally confesses that she likes him more than a friend. Nick claims he doesn’t see her that way and wants to protect their friendship.

The next day, Em surprises everyone in her life by announcing she’s on the hunt for a soulmate. Her friends rally around her in support - makeover, spa day, dating apps, business rebrand, etc Nick is struggling to support this project and instead starts to blur lines.

Overall this was a cute story but it was very predictable and felt very unnatural and “after school special” in their conversations. Part of it may have been that it was told in third person and I feel that often that’s more difficult for me to connect with characters. Either way, quick and easy read but not a ton of connection for me and the story.

2⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Forever(Grand Central Publishing) for an advanced copy of The Soulmate Project.

Emerie is in love with her best friend Nick and she finally works up the nerve to tell him on for him to reject her. She decides she is not going to sit around and wait any longer so she comes up with a plan to find her soulmate. She changes up her look, gets on dating apps, and puts herself out there more to find her soulmate. Nick offers to help her but he starts to realize he is in love with Emerie-can he tell her before it is too late?

This story was very predictable and my least favorite trope is miscommunication and there was a lot of that in this book.

this was an easy and cute read. i didn’t particularly connect with the characters and there are quite a few in this book but i connected enough to finish the book.

on new year’s eve, emerie confesses to her life long best friend, nick, that she’s in love with him and nick being emotionally confused, suggests that he doesn’t share those same feelings and that they remain friends instead. em decides to embark on a plan to find her soulmate and calls it “the soulmate project” because she’s ready to settle down. she thought it would be with nick but it’s not so moving on it was. but as she starts this project, nick gets progressively more and more jealous because he actually does reciprocate those feelings, he’s just afraid of losing her completely and would rather not risk that.

there’s a bit of miscommunication between the two of them at one point in this book but it gets resolved after they’ve had some time apart to think. it didn’t get blown out of proportion, which i appreciated. nick and em have a solid friend group and they’re all very supportive of each other. they have a lot of love around them within their friends.

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Read as an arc from the publisher (thank you Net Galley). It is a simple friends-to-lovers story, taking place in the Outer Banks. I appreciated the unique setting and community. But it lacked an edge; was a little Lifetime movie for me.

This love story is sweet. Best friends to lovers. Just a little bland, predictable and the third act conflict was eh.
I do like the main character, Em was great , Nick never behaved like he was described so I couldn’t get a good grasp on his character.



Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.i

This was yet another lovely read in this series. These two characters finally got their well-deserved HEA. I enjoyed revisting this world. This author never disappoints.

Thank you Grand Central Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Baby!!! When I tell you Reese Ryan is on to something with this Soul Mate Project! I may have to implement it in my life.

This book does an exemplary job of storytelling a familiar trope in the book world, best friends turned lovers. Although Nick is scared to admit his feeling for Emerie at the risk of losing their friendship. Her trying to find a man that’s not him ignites a fire in him to keep that from happening. Emerie is so brave, not just in her admitting her feelings for Nick first, but in learning to love herself as well.

The supporting cast is just as beautiful and their descriptions and interactions have you seeking a quaint beach town to visit in real life.

I can see myself coming back and reading this project again and again.

This book was absolutely DARLING! I fell in love with the characters so quickly and just adored this sweet story come together.

This wasn’t a favorite for me.
I found myself not wanting to finish it.
The friends to lovers is usually my favorite trope but this just fell flat

Emerie está enamorada del mujeriego de su mejor amigo,decide decirle sus sentimientos y cuando él le dice que sólo la ve como amiga decide volverse proactiva y buscar el amor.

Nick esta atraído por Em, pero tuvo 2 relaciones con amigas que salieron mal y no quiere que su amistad con ella termine.

Falto que sufriera más Nick, sufrió, pero no lo suficiente.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really disliked the actual pairing, I did not like the male main character, Nick. I thought he was arrogant and entitled. I think Emerie can do SO much better than him. I hate how he depended on her throughout their lives to do the emotional labor of a girlfriend or partner, while not acknowledging her as such. She was such a great friend to him, supporting him and being available, even going to see his action movie franchise although she lost interest. He is actually kind of mean to her sometimes, teasing her about eating too many pancakes, teasing her about her singing voice. A lot of red flags to me.

🌟💖 Just finished a book that had me all excited for that classic "best friends to lovers" vibe, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me! 😅 Nick was super freaked out by Emerie's confession, and I totally get it—who hasn't been scared to risk a friendship for love? But Emerie's reactions felt a bit too weak for my taste. I'd love to see more backstory between these characters to really understand their connection! 📚✨ Huge thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! Always fun to dive into new stories, even if they leave me wishing for a little more. What’s your favorite friends-to-lovers read? 💕✨ #BookCommunity #ReadersOfInstagram #BookReview

This was a well thought-out and constructed love story with a truly satisfying ending.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a well written book with good storytelling and believable dialogue. I found it to be an extremely readable romance book. I like the small town island setting.

I really disliked the actual pairing, I did not like the male main character, Nick. I thought he was arrogant and entitled. I think Emerie can do SO much better than him. I hate how he depended on her throughout their lives to do the emotional labor of a girlfriend or partner, while not acknowledging her as such. She was such a great friend to him, supporting him and being available, even going to see his action movie franchise although she lost interest. He is actually kind of mean to her sometimes, teasing her about eating too many pancakes, teasing her about her singing voice. A lot of red flags to me.

Typically friends-to-lovers is my favorite trope in all of the romantic genre, but I hate how Nick took advantage of Emerie. He only became interested in her out of jealousy when she decided to do a "soulmate project" to find and commit to her soulmate. This is such toxic masculinity to me. And she had a makeover and now, all of a sudden, he notices her and is into her? This means he was into her all along but expected her to stay single and available to him emotionally, without him having to do any of the work or responsibility of a partnership.

I was engaged in reading, all the way to the end, but it is a difficult position to be in to be rooting for Emerie to cut him off.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever publishing for the ARC. Book to be published October 8, 2024.

I live a best friends to lovers trope. This one fell a little flat. Nick was freaked out when longtime best friend she loved him. He was scared their relationship would change as most of these stories go. Emerie just seemed weak when trying to move on , any little hint he showed interest in her she’d drop what she was doing. I read this as a standalone but I feel like with the other characters stories before this , there may have been a little more backstory to their friendship and would help define who was who. Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy . I’m leaving this review voluntarily

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Soulmate Project absolutely accomplished my goal for it, which was to whisk me away to a charming beach setting. I’m glad for that because the story fell a little flat for me. I like the idea of two friends finding themselves in uncharted territory with one, Emerie, wanting more and the other, Nick, not. But this book didn’t hook me in on Nick being the enticing catch Emerie made him out to be and the whole plot played out a bit contrived. Still a very sweet story and romance, but it had so much more potential that was easily within reach (for me, anyway).

What Emerie, an entrepreneurial, independent woman and her best friend Nick, a VP reaching the potential peak of his career, value most is their decades long friendship with each other. But as time goes on, their visions for their futures have changed - and so too have the nature of their feelings for each other. What if one of them took the step to change their relationships forever? It could be the best thing to ever happen to them, or it could ruin their life-long friendship and their close-knit friend group in one fell swoop.

The Soulmate Project expertly explores what can happen when a strong and determined woman dares to ask for more - and what two friends, individually and together, will have to learn and risk in order to get what they want - and deserve. The friends and family featured in this charming small-town were the icing on the 5 star cake. This was such an enjoyable read - I'm absolutely enamored and must go back to read the first two installments in the Holly Grove Island series (not to mention anything & everything else Reese Ryan has to offer)!

Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever and NetGalley provided an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

This small town romance started out with a strong premise, but the story didn’t live up to my expectations.

Some of my favorite things:
✅ Black main characters
✅ Small town setting
✅ Strong friendships and family connections


My not so favorite things?
➖ I wasn’t captivated by the MMC. There wasn’t enough on page to convince me that Nick was a charismatic heart throb who makes women swoon whenever he goes.
➖ The makeover was underwhelming. I absolutely love a good glow up storyline; this one just didn’t hit the mark for me.
➖ The third act conflict was a little cringey. I know l late in the story drama is a staple in this genre, but this one didn’t hit.

Overall, this was an OK read.


#TheSoulmateProject
#NetGalley