What a lovely little love story. It's not your typical 'friends to lovers' story, but it's so worth the happy ending. I think we should all try to find a man like Ren and never let him go! A well-written book with dual timelines that keeps you engaged throughout. If you are a fan of Emily Henry, you should definitely read it.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of this book.

"I think I'm always going to be waiting for just five minutes of you loving me like I love you"

This was absolutely amazing—definitely a 5-star read for me! If you’re a fan of The Summer I Turned Pretty, I think you’ll really enjoy this adult contemporary romance. It’s full of beachy vibes, dual timelines, and plenty of messy, emotional moments. The love in this book is so palpable, and Ren & Joni’s journey from friends to ex-friends to lovers? Chef’s kiss. I was completely hooked.

The slow burn was perfectly done, with the dual timelines really adding depth and tension to the story. It kept me engaged the whole time—I wasn’t just waiting for the NYE chapter; I was invested in every part of their journey. And when I finally got to that chapter? Let’s just say it didn’t go how I expected... but in the best way possible. So good!

We also can't forget to mention the amazing playlists Ren created for Joni in the book, especially the "For When Joni Doesn't Want to Put Away Her Laundry but Already Has More Laundry to Do"... I love this man.

A sweet second chance romance. The characters were endearing and relatable. I loved the growth of them from children to adulthood.

This book sucked me in! Like I stayed up until 2am on a work night because I just had to figure out what happened between the main characters. The pacing is so well done. Would recommend

Fake dating, friends to lovers, childhood friends, forced proximity...this book had everything I love wrapped up in it!

Joni and Ren have been friends since childhood and absolutely inseparable! When Joni moves away for a job they make a pack that they will be each others plus ones to all the weddings they get invited to, no matter what. That is until one wedding were their pack, and friendship, comes to an end. When Joni returns to town for her sister's wedding after 2.5 years of not being friends, Joni and Ren are forced to finally confront what went wrong all those years ago.

If you were a fan of People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry you will adore this book. When Joni and Ren are reunited you could feel the tension and chemistry through the page! One moment you are sad at the friendship they lost and clearly cherish, and the next you are laughing as they try and act normal to their family and rediscover their friendship. This story was full of angst, flirtation, found family, and great vibes. This is the perfect summer romance read!

5⭐️

So it appears everyone has had the same thought here: that this book reminds us of “People We Meet on Vacation”. Everyone is absolutely correct. The second-chance, friends-to-lovers, dual timeline flashbacks to specific events were all very reminiscent PWMOV. It also reminded me of “The Ex-Vows” given the wedding during the present timeline, and a little bit of Christina Lauren’s “In a Holidaze” regarding the family friendships and shared vacation home. Nothing in the plot is particularly profound so I was a little worried the book would feel redundant and regurgitated, but there were enough cute moments and humor to make it stand out for me.

Stand outs:
- I love a book that makes a trope the title.
- The Fratty Chicken had be smiling from ear to ear.

The only thing I kind of didn’t believe was her mom as a therapist, but that’s me being really picky.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin/Canary Street Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows Ren and Joni, best friends since birth, thanks to their incredibly close families—even sharing a vacation home. But Joni has been avoiding that house (and Ren) for a few years, and it’s clear her distance has something to do with their shifting friendship.
After college, Joni landed her dream job on the East Coast, leaving behind her family and Ren in Portland to chase her career. Despite the distance, they made a pact to be each other’s plus one at weddings, to keep in touch more often. The story weaves between flashbacks of their friendship at these weddings and present-day preparations for Joni’s sister’s wedding.
My only qualm with this story is that there is no way two heterosexual, attractive, normal people can be ‘besties’ for 30 years LOL. But it does get revealed later how/why this ridiculousness kind of works. But regardless, I loved Ren and Joni and was rooting for them, of course.
This book was fantastic, and hilarious in parts —beautifully written with well-developed characters that make you fall in love with Joni, Ren, and their families. I’m a sucker for a second-chance, friends-to-lovers romance, and this one absolutely delivered! Also love the PWN beach setting. Reminded me of all my girls’ trips to Cannon Beach, OR!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for this e-arc! I had a lot of fun with this second chances, friends to lovers story.
I love the PNW setting and the relationship between the families. There are periodic chapters that go back in time, and sometimes it was difficult to distinguish when times changed.
I think Emily Henry lovers would enjoy this one! It’s a quick read and perfect for a beach read or in-flight escape! 4 ⭐️s!

If you’re looking for the perfect quintessential summer beach read this is absolutely the blueprint.

All the best parts of the summer friends-to-lovers romance trope, yet somehow avoids being cringey or corny.

Loved the 2000s vibe of the music choices and need to download the playlist for summer beach drives.

Although the miscommunication towards the end made me roll my eyes a bit, it doesn’t take away from the sweet story & chemistry the characters have.

It definitely tugs the heartstrings of girls who fall in love with their best friends.

This was such a good surprise!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy for an honest review.

If you liked The People We Meet on Vacation or Every Summer After, then this read is for you!

Ren and Joni are lifelong best friends and in true fashion, they are inseparable, until a job takes Joni away. To keep the friendship alive, they decide to make a pact to be each other’s plus ones every year during wedding season.

Naturally, there are challenges and obstacles that make them wonder if the friendship they cherish will survive the distance, until something happens that might ruin it forever.

Filled with forced proximity at their families’ shared summer home, Ren and Joni must reconcile their mistakes and decide if their friendship is worth it or will they let each other go forever.

Ren is certified book boyfriend material and his relationship with Joni is everything I love in romance novels.

This will be an incredible beach read for the summer!

Thank you Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC. Joni and Ren besties since childhood, with a falling out in their adult years, seeing each other again at Joni’s wedding. Their families don’t know they haven’t talked in years either. I loved the back and forth between past weddings they’ve been to together and present day. This book made me emotional. It was such a lovely story about family and friendships and love.

I just finished the best romcom. Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely was such a fun read. Watch for this one this summer.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy of Friends to Lovers. Overall, I had such a fun time with this book. I sat down and was able to finish it in pretty much one sitting. I think it could benefit from another run through by an editor, but there is plenty of time to do that before release day. I loved the characters and their relationship. It felt very similar to Love and Other Words and Every Summer After, which meant it was perfect for me because I loved those books. 4 stars!

I enjoyed the premise and the story line. I knew what to expect with the plot and yet I wanted to keep reading to see how it got there. At some points it felt like it was taking too long, but overall I wanted to keep reading to the next page.

The part that touched me the most was family and relationships the characters had with it each other. I liked the story and the characters were well written.

This is a solid four star book. It’s a great childhood friends to lovers with interconnected family dynamics included. The main characters are relatable and likable.

The one note I have is that it is hard to attach to the book in the beginning. It finds its rhythm in the middle. I think something that makes the first part of the book drag is the sentence length. The author frequently writes long, run on sentences. There were sentences that were four lines long for one sentence. I noticed this when she was describing the setting. You could get lost in the length. It was hard to follow the cadence of the book because of that. It hit its stride in the middle and as the tension between the characters rose. Once I got the rhythm down, I didn’t want to put the book down.

This is a good debut and I would like to see how the author grows.

When done right, friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes of all time, in any form of media. For the most part, this book did it right.

Joni and Ren are best friends, ever the distance between them. Ren is back with the family in Portland and Joni is in NYC living her dream as a stop motion animation (this sounds like a nightmare…stop motion is so creepy). Joni and Ren reunite yearly for a wedding, since everyone they seem to know is getting married and it’s all within a one year span of each other. I thought the miscommunication between them that triggered the rift was very stupid and a product of Joni’s overreaction (why is it always the woman?). Also, one of my biggest gripes with romcoms is that every other character outside of the female and male lead serve no purpose other than plot away from the love interests. This book had some of that, but not overly too much. I enjoyed whenever Sasha and Stevie were on the page. Overall, they’re friends to lovers and it was a good and enjoyable book, although I do wish there was a bit more yearning. Other tropes include forced proximity (not too much, since I hate that trope), miscommunication, and he falls first.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Blakey perfectly captures the development and challenges of navigating a friendship into something more. The way the protagonists are portrayed through their unique perspectives on their relationship journey demonstrates depth in human emotion and true consideration to humanize these characters.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 ⭐️

Something about me? I EAT UP a second chance romance and childhood friends to lovers story. My actual freaken favorite.

Joni and her family share a summer house with her mom’s best friends family for the entirety of her life on the beach in Oregon. That’s how she has been best friends with Ren since she was 3 years old. Joni works in animation and gets a job in NYC, so since she’s moving, her and Ren make a deal to always be each others wedding plus one’s. Meant to keep their friendship close and alive from across the country, they meet for weddings until something ends the friendship. 2.5 years later, now Joni’s sister is getting married in Oregon and everyone will be at the summer house for the week. Joni is forced to reunite with Ren and everything that ended the friendship comes rushing back.

I loved Ren so much. He felt so hard and everyone knew but Joni. I read this in almost one sitting, I truly couldn’t put it down because I just had to know what happened between them. And then of course how it ended. A fan of
Second chance romance will love this!

such a cute romantic comedy! i stayed up wayyyy too late reading this book but i could not put it down!!!

The premise was very promising and I think it almost delivered. The writing over all was good and the characters felt fresh but I wanted more. It feels like an almost ready draft. There is just something missing.

My biggest issue is the pacing. It was rushed at the beginning and the back and forth for the timeline didn’t really help. Eventually, I got oriented to the story world but the book hits the ground running and as a reader I feel like I don't get to see Joni's normal before I see her in chaos. Another is Joni calling Ren perfect so many times so I wish we had a moment of seeing him not be as perfect as she makes him out to be. I needed him to be a little more human.

Minor ding because I confused who was who and whose sibling XYZ character was. Stacie/Stevie's names were just too close together and I mixed them up until about half way through the book. There are also several additional side characters who weren't different enough to mentally separate but that wasn't detrimental to the plot.