I love a second chance Romance and this has that ! I also like dual time lines the place it lost stars was The Fmc Joni lord did I want to shake her sometimes ! Over all cute book . Everyone meshes well

I’m not generally the biggest fan of second chance romance, but Sally Blakely does it so well! I adored this book and all the tropes that this one hit:

One bed
Friends to Lovers
Forced proximity

Where it lost some stars for me was the back and forth timelines, I'm really just not the biggest fan of those. And we have so much angst and buildup with these characters that the getting together part could have lasted a bit longer.

All in all though, a solid read!

4.5⭐️ This book had me giggling and kicking my feet all weekend! After a falling out and two and a half years of no contact, Ren and Joni, best friends since they were 3, have to spend a week together for Joni’s sister’s wedding. The story is told through chronological flashbacks leading up to their falling out interwoven with present day. The time jumps worked for me and it had me reeling to find out what happened next.

Second-chance, friends to lovers, and forced proximity are all things I LOVE, and if you enjoy them you’ll love this book.

I absolutely LOVED Ren and Joni as well as the other characters. The two families mesh so well and I would love to know more about everyone. I do wish we could have had more of Ren and Joni at the end, after everything they’ve been through together.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin, and the author for the ARC

Friends to Lovers was a warm mix of every favorite romance book Ive read over the last few years (Happy Place meets People We Meet on Vacation sprinkled with This Summer Will be Different).

The wedding plus one aspect was a nice way to sprinkle in romantic settings, and I enjoyed the implied childhood experiences rather than the book progressing through the entire lives.

Overall an enjoyable read, even though I wanted to shake Joni roughly by the shoulders multiple times.

A delightful tale of friendship and love. When two best friends discover their deeper feelings for each other, it results in moments of silence until a wedding brings everyone together. Although the beginning is a bit slow, the intense longing towards the end more than compensates, and I devoured the second half of the book! I appreciate the storytelling style, which presents the problem at the outset and then unfolds through flashbacks that explain how the main issue arose. However, I wish there had been dual narrators to provide a fuller perspective on both sides of the story.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely.

This book had such a heartfelt and engaging start, immediately drawing me into Ren and Joni’s dynamic. As lifelong best friends, they have an agreement to always be each other’s plus-one at weddings, but when they reunite for Joni’s sister’s wedding, something between them feels different—strained, awkward, and full of unspoken words. The forced proximity at their shared family vacation home only heightens the tension, making it clear that something happened between them before the story began.

The story is told partially in alternating timelines, flashing back to a handful of the weddings they attended over the past six years. These glimpses into their past added so much depth, showing their evolving relationship, the undeniable sparks between them, and the slow unraveling of the friendship they once thought was unshakable.

The chemistry between Ren and Joni is undeniable, with sparks that have clearly been simmering for years. Their banter, the way they understand each other, and the history they share made their romance feel so natural and deeply rooted. Fans of People We Meet on Vacation will love the slow-burn tension, the emotional depth, and the way these two navigate their complicated past.

I loved watching them fall back into a rhythm despite the time apart, and the way Ren still knew exactly how Joni was feeling even when she tried to hide it. The romance was sweet, the emotional moments were touching, and the ending left me with a happy heart. If you love best-friends-to-lovers stories with forced proximity, alternating timelines, and deep emotional connections, this one is a must-read!

⭐️ 4.5 rounded up!

I LOVED the story of Ren and Joni so much. As others have been saying, this is the love child of Happy Place and People We Meet on Vacation. Any of you EmHen lovers are going to adore this book!

Thank you Sally Blakely, NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review! This is going to be the perfect summer read and I’m so excited to read more by this author.

Thanks So much to Sally Blakely and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for the eARC of this book. I loved this one! The friends to lovers trope is one of my favorites! Sally wrote Ren and Joni's so well! I can't wait to read more from Sally! Definitely recommend.

I will say that friends-to-lovers isn't usually my favorite trope, but when it is done well and feels realistic - count me in. I'm so glad I gave this book a chance because I really loved it. I loved both characters and felt for each of them as I cheered on their love story. I was honestly sucked in from the very first page. Our library already has holds for this book and I will keep recommending it. Thank you so much for letting me read this early.

”I thought I knew how our story would go, two parallel lines stretching into forever. But in retrospect, our lives were never destined to take that shape."

4 Stars

What a debut novel! I'm a big fan of the friends to lovers trope so this book called to me from the title alone. But once I started reading, I realized how much more this story and these characters had to offer.

Ren and Joni are childhood best friends, who have grown up together, visiting a shared beach house every summer as kids. After college graduation they end up a cross the country from one another but attempt to keep their friendship alive by attending weddings as each others plus ones. This seems to be working until Joni realizes she's been in love with Ren the whole time. But a series of miscommunications and lies, break them apart for 2.5 years.

Enter today, where they are thrown back together for Joni's sister's wedding. Over the course of the week, they find their way back to each other, but is it enough to start a real love relationship or should they stay best friends?

YES to this book!! This was reminiscent of People we Meet on Vacation (with the flashback weddings) and The Summer I Turned Pretty (with the childhood best friends love interest). Both of those are favorites of mine so this was a total winner.

Congrats Sally Blakely! I can't wait to read what you write next.

Thanks to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a very quick, cute read. I loved the relationship between Ren and Joni and how their friendship was portrayed over the years. I loved the time jumps as well. The first 70% or so of the book was leading to the build up of the friendship break-up. I was really interested to find out what caused it. The actual breakup reasoning fell flat and then it seemed tough to finish once I learned the "why". I also struggled with how oblivious Joni was to his love for her, and how clueless she was towards it. Overall I did enjoy this and would be interested to read more from this author.

Joni and Ren, childhood best friends, haven’t seen each other or spoken for 2.5 years. We get the past perspective of their friendship and insight into how they ended up estranged. In the present timeline, we witness the awkwardness between the pair, as they are forced to reunite for a family event and have to face their history and the feelings they have kept hidden.

If you are a fan of EmHen’s People We Meet on Vacation, this one's for you! The writing style also reminded me of Jessica Joyce’s books. I can’t resist second-chance and friends-to-lovers tropes so this one was right up my alley. There is tension and angst. I really wanted more time to witness the romantic chemistry, as the angsty friends-who-want-more vibes were more drawn out. We only get Joni’s POV, so maybe getting glimpses into Ren’s POV would have helped. Still, it was an entertaining read and I give it a solid 4⭐. I’ll definitely be following Sally Blakely’s future work!

Thanks to the publisher (Harlequin Trade Publishing) & NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Pub date: 7/22/25

I love friends to lovers as a trope and this book was a perfect second chance love story! Huge fan of writers like Emily Henry and she did such a wonderful job capturing the characters chemistry and story line.

I ate this book up! Perfect for fans of Emily Henry, this book cemented my love for a second chance romance. Joni and Ren are childhood besties who had a falling out, then came together for a family wedding, and a chance for reconciliation. I loved all of the tension between these two, and found myself giddy and kicking my feet the whole way through! Can’t wait to revisit their story when this book releases in July ☺️

This book was everything I wanted in a friends-to-lovers romance! The chemistry between the MCs was absolutely swoon-worthy—I was kicking my feet and giggling like a schoolgirl the entire time. Sally Blakely does a fantastic job of building tension, making every glance and touch feel electric. While there were a few moments that didn’t hit quite as hard for me, the romance more than made up for it. If you’re a sucker for slow-burn longing, heart-fluttering confessions, and that perfect mix of sweet and steamy, this one’s for you!

Thank you, #NetGalley, for the ARC of Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely. #FriendstoLovers is a cute romance that jumps back & forth through time frames between Joni & Ren. Best friends since childhood & traditionally each other's +1 at weddings. Over the course of many years, their friendship does go through some changes as they grow up & get established in their own lives. They both return to their families co-owned beach house for another wedding when all their secrets & drama come out. Lots characters to keep track of, but it's a fun storyline none the less. I look forward to hopefully reading more from Sally Blakely again soon. All thoughts and opinions are my own, but if you're a romantic at heart, please add this sweet story to your TBR list.

i wanted to love this so bad especially after seeing a few positive reviews trickle in, but i fear i am going to have to dnf for now 😔 i just could not get into the writing at no fault of the author- purely personal preference and i’m certain there is an absolutely beautiful love story within these pages!!

Excellent! This reminded me of a blend of People We Meet on Vacation and Happy Place while still being a completely unique story. A perfect summer read.

In Friends to Lovers we meet best friends Joni and Ren. They've known each other since childhood and their families share a summer home together. When Joni decides to move to New York for a job, they agree to be each other's plus ones for every wedding. Somewhere along the line, their friendship is drastically changed and they stop speaking to one another. Now, stuck together at their family's summer home for Joni's sister's wedding, they must pretend that everything's ok. Flashing back and forth between current day and 8 year's worth of weddings together, readers are deeply drawn into their relationship as Joni and Ren decide whether their love story is something worth fighting for or letting go.
Filled with loveable characters and a story that pulls on the heart-strings, Friends to Lovers is great for fans of Carly Fortune.

Friends to Lovers is the sweet story of childhood best friends Joni and Ren. After a lifetime of being there for one another Joni moves across the country to persue her dream career and the plus one pact is enacted... A promise to always be each others plus one for the many weddings they attend. This works, until it doesn't. After crossing a line and creating an immeasurable rift for 2.5 years the pair find themselves forced back together for Jonis sisters wedding at their families shared vacation home on the beach. We follow the tense days leading up to the wedding, eventual implosion of the relationships, and finally reconciliation.
Ren is a walking green flag, I'm confident you'll fall in love with him as quickly as I did. Joni reminds me of myself with her struggles with anxiety, internalizing problems and difficulty letting others in. There were times I wanted to take her by the shoulders, shake her and tell her to just use her words BUT I know that I'd likely put myself in her same position. Blakely does an excellent job bringing the tension, anticipation, joy and love from the pages to life and I look forward to reading more from her... Maybe we'll get a sequel or series with the stories of the siblings?!
Second chance romance, friends to lovers, forced proximity, dual time lines of past and present, complicated family relationships, timeless friendship and reconciliation... This romance has it all! If I could give a half star I'd give this one a 4.5, the .5 deduction only because I wish we got a couple more chapters between the end and the "one year later" epilogue. Don't sleep on Friends to Lovers or Sally Blakely... You won't be disappointed.

Huge shout out to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel.