I had really high expectations going into this book because I kept seeing it compared as a cross between People We Meet on Vacation and other books, and People We Meet on Vacation is one of my all time favorite books. I was really happy with Friends to Lovers! My favorite stories are second chance romances that are angst ridden, and throw in the dual POV and I am absolutely sold. This was a really smooth and easy read, and I really enjoyed Ren and Joni’s story so much. I do wish that there had been a little bit more time on page where they are together, but of course as long as we get that HEA I can’t complain!

I enjoyed this book and the love story behind it. This was likely a me issue, but I found myself getting confused at points if the story was in the past or present. I also wished it was a bit faster pace

A great beach read! It has a lot of similarities to Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation mixed with a less steamy Jessica Joyce’s The Ex Vows.

As the title suggests, the main trope is friends to lovers but also includes second chance romance, forced proximity, and only one bed. There is a lot of tension and angst, as Joni over thinks and analyzes things to a fault, really dragging out the friends-who-refuse-to-admit-to-wanting-more vibes.

Thank you to Sally Blakely, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

It had me guessing the whole time what the fall out was, and I just kept hoping for them to realize they loved each other. It kept my attention, and I love a good happily ever after!

Well that was just heartwarming. Best friends have a fallout then realize that they are IN LOVE with each other. This was romantic, hardly steamy, and I read it in one sitting,

Just finished *Friends to Lovers* by Sally Blakely and I’m honestly so glad I stuck with it! The pacing was a bit slow at times, but the characters totally made up for it. Their chemistry felt real, and watching their relationship evolve was such a sweet, satisfying ride. If you’re into slow-burn romance with heart, this one’s worth the read!

In the best way, this book feels like a marriage of Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation and Happy Place. Two childhood best friends reconnect at a family member's wedding and uncover where things went wrong. Joni is returning to her home state for her sister's wedding, with her life crumbling in pieces around her. Ren is the study presence that is always there. With so much history between the two of them, this summer feels like their last chance to see if they can make their lives fit together.

I thought this was a really sweet story with many elements of banter and shared history that I really enjoyed. There were some parts that felt a little bit long or made me roll my eyes a little bit based on how people dealt with certain situations but overall, this is a really solid romance novel. A wonderful friends to lovers that hits all the beats that you want it to. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Emily Henry or loves the friends to lovers trope. Just know that you're getting into a story full of meddling family dynamics, secrets, and lost time. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read more from the author.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review.

Blakely beautifully captures the tension between wanting to hold on to a friendship and acknowledging deeper feelings. The setting, filled with sunny beach days and starry nights, provides the perfect backdrop for the emotional rollercoaster that Joni and Ren experience. Their journey of self-discovery and navigating the blurred lines between love and friendship is both poignant and relatable.

adorable, fun, well-written, doesn't rely too much on tropes or anything like that and has some strong chemistry between the characters. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Based on the title, you kind of assume what will happen, but getting there is what makes it interesting. I enjoyed how the author wrote about the past and present so you could understand how the characters got to where they are. It's a reflective book, but I do feel like I've been reading a ton of books with this plot lately.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.

Yes, it is similar to Friends We Meet on Vacation, but I really enjoyed this book. Joni and Ren are very likeable characters, and the story unfolds in an interesting way to finally let you know what happened to break their friendship. I enjoyed the story lines around their families and really all of the characters. It is a slow burn spicy, without a lot of details (fade to black). I highly recommend for a vacation or beach read. Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book.

This was a cute friends to lovers romance (as the title would suggest), very reminiscent of Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation. Joni and Ren are lifelong friends. Their families vacation together in their shared vacation home on the coast each summer. But through flashbacks, we discover the event that tore them apart. They come back together at the vacation house for Joni's sister's wedding, and they have to decide whether or not to give their friendship another chance.

Overall I enjoyed the story, but it was so similar to People We Meet On Vacation that it felt a little stale. If you enjoy the friends to lovers trope, you will probably enjoy this, but don't expect anything too groundbreaking.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy of this book.

I definitely enjoyed this debut, friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes after all. I enjoyed the back and forth timelines with their past friendship turned to love, to the present timeline of having to find that friendship, and maybe more again. The FMC, Joni, is incredibly relatable with wanting to prove she’s enough, and yet never quite feeling like she is. Joni and Ren’s story is sweet, and hopeful, and shows how strong you can be when you have someone to stand beside you and love you for who you are. If you loved People You Meet On Vacation, then this is definitely for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Sally Blakey for this advance reader copy.

What a gem! Friends to Lovers predictably follows two long-time friends on their journeys and struggles to discover what they truly mean to one another.

The care and love for one another seeped from the pages, and the characters are the friends and family you want to be around. I really enjoyed learning about them and their relationship through the flashbacks and thought the character development in this way was creative. I also appreciated that it wasn’t a simple and smooth path to love, but also explored living with anxiety, loneliness and job loss.

This is a great read for fans of Abby Jimenez, Emily Henry and Anna Monaghan, or anyone that enjoys getting lost in a love story set to a good playlist.

I love the way the story bounces between past and present and how what happened between Joni and Ren is revealed. The spots the story switches to the last flows seamlessly. The pieces of the past fit in so nicely with the present that the story until folds itself perfectly.
The chemistry between the two of them is so obvious, and their flirty banter has you routing for them to get together.
I found all the characters in this story very loveable and entertaining. You can tell that they all grew up together and have a fun dynamic. I really enjoyed the plot of this book and flew through it pretty fast.
This is a great book if you want a light-hearted, entertaining romcom style story!

This was such a fun read! And I love the friends to lovers trope! I surprisingly enjoyed it here as the characters evolved from friends to something deeper.

I really enjoyed Sally Blakely's writing style. It was smooth and effortless to read! She also did a great job blending the tropes and I was gripped the whole time!

Feel-good book that's Happy Place meets People We Meet on Vacation.
As the title suggests, Friends to Lovers is exactly that, playing on the well loved trope with sprinklings of 'forced proximity', 'he falls first' and 'secret relationship'. Ren and Joni have been best friends their whole lives, with their families sharing a vacation home and always in each others lives, and although they haven't spoken for 2 1/2 years, they find themselves thrown back together for a family wedding and must sort through the years of friendship and longing they don’t want to acknowledge.

Jumping back and forth between the past and the present to reveal their relationship, the plotting structure is very similar to People We Meet on Vacation. It’s predictable, but I don’t read rom-coms for originality. It’s mildly spicy with a great slow burn throughout the story and all the feel-good moments you might long for in a book with this title. The characters draw you in quickly and easily and portray different aspects of love (familial, friendship, romantic) and I love the ways that the characters show and express love for each other when words aren’t their strong suit. There are some lovely healing journeys where the characters have to reflect on their actions and inactions and find a way to move forward. However, in this story of upper middle-class white folks with a beach house, I would’ve loved to see a bit more diversity in the characters.

Adorable story for Ren and Joni finding their way around and to each other. The flashbacks to the different weddings and events that lead up to the current times I really enjoyed. Predictable ending but I liked it.

Joni and Ren have been friends forever. Since childhood Joni and Ren have spent every important life event together. Joni moved across the country and they make a pact to be each other’s plus ones to every wedding they’re invited to. Lines eventually become blurred and their friendship changes. They have one more chance at Joni’s sister’s wedding to face what when wrong and what that means for their future.

People we Meet on Vacation Vibe
I knew I would enjoy this story but I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be invested in it because it would be a “romance genre” cliche. I was surprised with how quickly I was invested in Joni and Ren. I genuinely enjoyed reading their relationship. The side characters were lovable and I felt invested in their stories too.

Overall I was surprised with how much I loved this story and it exceeded my expectations! I loved that the flash backs were multiple chapters and I felt like I was living them with the characters. Blakely did a great job with character development and using those flashbacks to add to each character full arc. Also I loved that music playlists are important in the story and at the end Blakely gives us the Friends to Lovers playlist!

This is a great summer read! Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for the eARC of Friends to Lovers. All opinions are my own. #NetGalley #FriendstoLovers

The People We Meet on Vacation meets The Happy Place in this emotional reunion between two childhood best friends. This book is definitely for fans of Emily Henry and those who enjoy going back and forth in time to make sense of the present. I devoured this book in a day, finding myself obsessed with figuring out how we found ourselves in this currently reality between friends Joni and Ren.