So the thing about this book is that I had high expectations - the title, the premise, the main trope: this was set up to be potentially my perfect book. Oh and then you have a charming family-friendship cabin-y situation?! Expectations were through the roof. And Blakely more than delivered! This was precious and tender and smart and tangible. I loved the settings in both New York & Oregon, loved the musical element, loved the interesting careers featured. The dialogue was well written, scenes were well-set, characters fully fleshed out, etc. Sally Blakely is now an automatic read for me!!

There was one tiny note - a sentence that didn't make sense to me. In Chapter 9 "when no one seemed to make a gin & tonic as much as I liked the one he made me". I know what was trying to be said but the wording didn't make sense!

I enjoyed Friends to Lovers and the chemistry between Joni and Ren, but I didn’t fully buy into the central conflict. Their two-year silence felt like a weak obstacle, which made it harder to connect with their emotional journey. That said, the writing is engaging, the beachside setting is charming, and the dual timeline adds depth. While I liked it, I didn’t love it—I just wanted a stronger reason for their estrangement.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

* I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. SO good! I read in a day!

Loved the setting of the book (god I miss the PNW!) but wow, the characters were not fun at all. So much miscommunication leading to hurt feelings alllll around. Wish the characters were more mature and communicated their feelings sooner- although I guess that would make for a shorter book?
It was a fun read but I was not wow'ed by it and would likely not read it again.

Joni and Ren have grown up together and are the best of friends, until they aren't. It has been two and a half years since these two lifelong friends have been together, when a family wedding brings them back to where their friendship started. Told in alternating timelines, this was a cozy, romantic read about falling in love and facing the fear of those feelings. The perfect read to snuggle up on a winter day and dream about the Oregon coast. This will be a great beach read this summer, but for now it took me to the beach and I really found it to be an enjoyable story. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book. If you enjoy second chances and friends-to-lovers romances, this story is a great pick. The emotional depth and tension really stand out, though the slow burn, especially with the dual timeline, made it a bit of a drawn-out read at times. The angst kept things interesting, but it did take some patience to get through. Overall, it was an engaging read, and I’m excited to read more from Sally Blakely in the future.

HUGE thanks to Net Galley & Sally Blakely for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. 💫

When the title is friends to lovers you know this girl had to read it (considering it’s my love story too) but I was disappointed in the miscommunication trope… apart from that (which I felt the author did a great job in explaining WHY there was such miscommunication) it felt more realistic to me. Joni & Ren are such great characters with personalities you just want to hold on to. I really enjoyed this book & recommended to anyone who wants a feel good, real life, romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely is perfect for fans of Carley Fortune’s books as well as Christina Lauren’s “Love and Other Words”. The book goes between present time and previous years (2.5 years in the past) detailing the friendship between Joni and Ren. I thought it was extremely cute that Ren was Joni’s person throughout their teenage years into adulthood. I also really enjoyed the concept that they would be each other’s plus ones to any wedding they received invites to. As with a lot of friends to lovers tropes, there is the inevitable conflict at the end where the two main protagonist almost fully go their separate ways but luckily they still end up together in the end! I’m pleased that Blakely surrounded the characters with other positive friendships as well - some of which had their own conflict resolutions. This is my first book by Sally Blakely and I’m looking forward to reading more!

I absolutely loved this book! The banter and best-friends-to-lovers dynamic were so well done, and I found myself laughing several times throughout. The music references added such a fun touch, and the back-and-forth timeline made the story even more compelling. It was an incredible read, and I can’t wait for it to come out so I can recommend it to everyone!

This book was cute and had a lot of potential, however, I found myself bored, trying to get myself to finish the book.

I loved this book! I loved the characters and their second chance. In general it drives me crazy when people don’t communicate their feelings, but that’s also just how most people are! Super cute book!

From the start, this book had me hooked, flipping through the pages with my heart breaking one moment and laughing the next. The dynamic between Joni and Ren is a whirlwind of emotions as they navigate family chaos and wedding festivities, all while trying to act "normal" around each other despite the undeniable chemistry and history between them.

Blakely does an incredible job loading this book with angst, expertly bouncing between past and present to reveal what broke them apart. The slow burn is intense, and I found myself on the edge of my seat, desperately wanting them to have a conversation and finally clear the air. But, of course, the family stress and wedding drama only add to the tension, making their journey even more compelling.

Ren is absolutely swoon-worthy—his unwavering love for Joni melted my heart, even though I found myself wanting to shout at Joni a few times. I loved their back-and-forth, even if it took a little longer than I would have liked to get them back together. I do wish we could have had a bit more of their happily-ever-after. After all the emotional ups and downs, it would have been wonderful to linger a little longer in their love story before the book came to a close.

For a debut novel, this story is impressive, and if you love second chances and friends-to-lovers romance

This is a charming romance between friends and lovers, as the title suggests. With occasional truly poetic passages, the writing is steady and descriptive. The timeline changes were entertaining to me. This book was adorable! Emily Henry fans will undoubtedly appreciate this!

3.0

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press and Sally Blakely for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thoughts:

Friends to Lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so it was a no-brainer that I would want to pick this up, and while it may not have delivered in every aspect, I got exactly what I came for and I am not mad about it! 🙂

Ren and Joni. Joni and Ren. Tale as old as time with our two main characters, and I aww’d audibly at a few precious moments between them as our book navigated us through their love story.

Ren and Joni truly do have tension and chemistry, and anyone could feel the yearning between this pair from a mile away coming off the page. I absolutely rooted for the both of them even through the clique and really trope-y scenes. However, I do wish there was more development between them in the present instead of just relying on the past to carry us in the story. I also really REALLY wished that we had more of a heart-soaring ending to them and with moments of more tenderness in an epilogue, but I still had heart eyes for this couple all throughout even with the dang ol’ miscommunication trope (*eye twitch*) lol.

Speaking of the past and the timeline, I believe the author did a great job in transitions. However, if I had one ask to make it easier to navigate as a reader, it would be to ask for the year marked on every chapter. The pace of our story bounced around a bit too much for my liking, but the structure of the story was well done! The 3rd act conflict was a touch too melodramatic, but the family drama wasn’t random and was built up and I appreciate that, so I wasn’t too thrown off when it came along.

Friends to Lovers was a cute, fun and trope-y read, and I would happily recommend it to anyone in the mood for a light romance that touches the heart.

Paperback/Hardcover/Audiobook/E-book:

E-book

Pace:

Fast to slow to fast to slow to fast again

Cover thoughts:

Cute! It is giving Emily-Henry-esque!

Quotes: *SPOILER SECTION*

“I’ll never forget about you.”

“You clean up nice, Miller” “You don’t look so bad yourself, Webster.”

“Okay, now look at me like you love me,” “I do love you”

“Tell me life is miserable without me” “Life is miserable without you”

“Hi.” “Hi”

“Why is it this good?” “Because it’s us”

“Don’t. Please don’t leave.” “I’m not going anywhere”

“The amount of time I spend thinking about you like this is actually embarrassing. I have to actively put it out of my head more than I’d care to admit to you. I want this to such an uncool degree.”

“I didn’t dream I’d ever get this lucky”

“Careful” “What if I don’t want to be careful”

“I just couldn’t not kiss.”

“I think I’m always going to be waiting for just five minutes of you loving me like I love you.”

“You’re it for me”

“Honestly, I’m just so fucking tired of not being with you.” “I love you,” I tell him again. “And I’m so fucking tired of not being with you too.”

“I’ve decided on us a long time ago”

Triggers:

Blood, Injury, Job Loss, Toxic Relationships, Messy Family Dynamics, etc.

3.75⭐️
I really enjoyed Friends to Lovers! I think that Sally Blakey really balanced the romance and emotional struggles between the two main characters.

One thing that kept this from getting a higher rating from me was there were times that it felt super unrealistic and needed some more editing or rewriting. The rehearsal dinner scene stood out as a big one.

Thanks NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a digital advanced copy of this book!

My absolute favorite trope - and this didn't disappoint! Thank you for bringing us along with the journey of these characters.

This review is based on an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review may contain spoilers

This was a solid 3.75/4 star read for me

I read this book at the perfect time because I have really been enjoying friends to lovers/it's always been you tropes lately. Something about all the shared history is really doing it for me, and this did not disappoint! I loved that it was a build up to the spicy bits (low spice and it was done so well!), I also enjoyed the that the dual timeline kept pulling us out of the present to give us that back story, it was so worth it to get all the history. So much yearning, yes give it all to me!

Ren and Joni had such good chemistry together, and I adored Ren as a cinnamon roll book boyfriend. Joni did have some struggles and made some mistakes, but I think it made her relatable and the story was about her becoming a better person! I was so invested in her and was rooting for her the whole time! The chaos of the family injected some levity really rounding this whole story out!

My only struggle was I felt like all the other characters' names were just thrown at us and I didn't know who they were. When I continued reading, I was eventually able to figure it out but it took me a minute.

I really look forward to reading more from Sally Blakely.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. #FriendstoLovers #NetGalley.

There was a lot to love in this book's premise, and it got off to a strong start. I enjoyed Joni's voice and rooted for her straight off the bat. Her dynamic with Ren and the snippets of their shared history set up a compelling intrigue. The family dynamic seemed warm, the setting idyllic... I settled in for what I thought would be a beachy comfort read.

As the narrative started to drag, I realized I wasn't reading the book I'd hoped for, so maybe the rating is more on me as a reader. I just wish we'd gotten more time to enjoy the characters happy vs. unearthing more conflict at every turn.

Ultimately, I think most of this comes down to Joni's anxiety. There are glimmers of the characters and events beyond her perception, but her anxiety (which she insists she's managing) skews pretty much everything. The conflict is almost entirely of her making and could be resolved with basic communication. While this is hardly the first book you could say this about, I found it to lean more frustrating than relatable in this case.

All in all, I'm not sure this was the right read for me in the thick of winter, but I do hope to read more from this author!

I loved the story of Joni and Ren and the journey of their friendship. It was a little bit of a slow burn for me due to the dual timeline; but that is mostly because I wanted to be back in the now with Joni and Ren. That being said, it does pick up and the flash backs are necessary and worth it.

I also loved the closeness of the two families.

This is a great book for readers who enjoy a friends to lovers romance, as well as, a dual timeline.

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Sally Blakely for the opportunity to read this ARC. This is my honest review.

The title gives it away, but this is a sweet friends-to-lovers romance. It’s a trope I don’t usually read, so it felt fresh and fun. The writing is descriptive and steady, with some really lyrical moments. I enjoyed the timeline swaps—it was like piecing together a puzzle to uncover the drama. One small thing: the chapter starts didn’t always indicate the year, which made me lose track of whether we were in the past or present a couple of times. Otherwise, a solid read!