this is a great summer read, it’s set at the beach and has “beachy days that turn into starry nights.” i really enjoyed that the chapters were short because it helped the story flow. i also liked the writing style. this was a cute read, however i didn’t feel connected with the characters, and i fear this may be because im not a huge friends to lovers girly. i went back and forth between my e-arc and alc — thank you to the publishers!

two best friends joni and ren have always been inseparable. that is until joni moves across the country for her job; but they come up with a creative way to stay in touch. no matter what is going on in their lives, they will always be each other’s plus-one’s every year for wedding season. this has worked for them, until a line has been crossed and their friendship was no more. joni’s sister is getting married and is determined to make the week perfect, even if she has to fake her friendship with ren (while avoiding spilling the truth of why they aren’t friends anymore to her family). is she going to let ren go or is their love story worth fighting for? read and find out ;)

tropes: friends to lovers, second chance, forced proximity, dual timeline

Can I give this book 6 stars? ⭐️ I absolutely loved Ren and Joni’s story! Told through Joni’s perspective, this dual-timeline story is perfect for fans of friends to lovers (duh!) and second chance romance. My heart was in my throat the entire time I was reading! I can’t recommend it enough!

I really enjoyed this novel! I hope to read more from this author! Thanks for the ARC. This was my first time receiving a copy from NetGalley! I’m still learning the ropes of how this all works but I’m posting a link to my Goodreads review from back in April!

This sweet romance focuses on Joni and Ren, estranged best friends since childhood, as they reunite for Joni’s sister’s wedding in Oregon. Joni and Ren used to have a pact where they would be each other’s plus ones to weddings throughout the years, until a rift unexpectedly occurs at the last wedding they attended together.

Now, with years of silence between them and their close-knit families unaware, they must navigate through pre-wedding activities and the tension they both feel, without alarming the wedding party. But the more time they spend together, the harder it is to deny that deeper, more complicated feelings remain between them.

This was a cute summer romance that alternates between the past weddings that Joni and Ren attended throughout the years, and the present one where they must face their collective past together. Joni is an authentic character who deals with anxiety, and I appreciated how that was handled in this novel. The dynamic between Ren and Joni was sweet, and I liked seeing how their relationship evolved throughout the years.

I definitely recommend checking this one out, especially if you’re in the mood for a summer romance!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this #gifted eARC, in exchange for my honest review!

Friends to lovers is a trope I either really like or dont, but since this one had kind of miscommunication as a theme I leaned towards dont :( I like how Sally writes but this book was not my cup of tea but I think many will enjoy it!

Friends to Lovers is one of my favorite tropes, if not my favorite trope, and I love a dual timeline romance. However, this book fell prey to the wrong type of friends to lovers, where the characters simply don't communicate and if they had, the book's conflict would have been wrapped up on chapter one.

A wonderful beach or summer read. I enjoyed it, however I didn't feel as connected with the characters as I would've liked. I loved the summer vibes and that it was a quick read. Fast paced and easy to digest.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for accepting my request! Honestly this book was such a nice surprise. This is my first time reading something from this author and it won’t certainly be the last time! I loved the story so much, I found the characters to be entertaining and well written. I recommend!

I’m not always a fan of the friends to lovers trope because it can be portrayed almost as insta-love sometimes but honestly.. this was done so so well.

I saw a lot of myself and my own life struggles and inner-monologue in the FMC so I really resonated with her! There was some miscommunication in this book but not so much that it completely threw off the story for me. About 60-75% felt a little slow until towards the end!

I actually loved these characters so much and am a sucker for dual POV but this is all from the FMC POV.

Great summer romance, light spice, lots of tense moments between the two main characters! It’s very Emily Henry adjacent

Now, it's essential to start this review with the fact that I normally dislike friends-to-lovers stories, so when I began reading a book literally called "Friends to Lovers," I genuinely didn't have high expectations.

Boy, was I proven wrong!! This book follows Joni and Ren, whose families have been friends for decades, so they have been best friends since they were toddlers. As teenagers, Joni and Ren promise to be each other's Plus One for any weddings the other is invited to. They hold to this promise, but at the start of the book, they've been estranged for two and a half years. We discover why through a series of flashbacks to their time at the various weddings they attended together.

They are forced into proximity of one another again during Joni's sister Stevie's wedding, where their closest friends and family, and the pressures of the situation, cause secrets to come to light.

As many others have said in their reviews, this was incredibly reminiscent of Emily Henry's writing, which I, of course, LOVE! Something about this style of prose and storytelling just really elevates a book for me!

I so appreciated a friends-to-lovers story that intentionally showed how deep the friendship was that it turned into love, rather than just creating surface-level characters who are pushed together just because. The ensemble of side characters was so integral to the story as well, and they were fully developed, realized characters, not just plot devices.

And ugh, the love confessions <3 This was just really well-written and cinematic and everything I want in a romance novel!!!

Overall I enjoyed Friends to Lovers. It was a slow start for me and I kept getting confused on all the different moments in time. But about three quarters of the way through the book it became the best book ever. It just took forever to get there! I also loved that it was set in Portland and the Oregon coast because that’s where I’m from. Anyway, read this book and keep in mind that it gets better and better near the end.

Best friends since childhood, Ren and Joni make one misstep that fractures their relationship… will they be able to get it back? 👥

4.5 ⭐️ Let’s address the elephant in the room first - this book is going to get a lot of comparisons to People We Meet on Vacation, as the premise is somewhat similar. To take it a step further, I can see some comps to Happy Place as well, since there’s an element of pretending everything is fine for the sake of the characters’ families… which I’m sure will lead to the “stop trying to be like Emily Henry” comments. 🙄 Hot take - books can share set-ups and plot points and still be fully original, as I feel this book was. Yes, I got PWMOV vibes as I was reading, but it didn’t bother me in the slightest. I love EmHen as much as the next gal, but she doesn’t own the market on friends-to-lovers with some sort of incident and dual timelines just because she wrote a really popular book with those elements. 🤷🏻‍♀️

With that said 😂, I loved this book, and it was such a pleasant surprise! I don’t always have high expectations for debut contemporary romances, but I thought this knocked it out of the park with great writing and a solid sense of place. I liked the dual timelines, with half of the book being set at various weddings where our MCs were always each other’s plus-one. This timeline is where you lead up to “what happened,” and I appreciated that it wasn’t quite what you assumed it would be that broke the friendship. I did sometimes get confused as to which timeline we were in (this may be an ARC issue), and the reveal could have happened faster for me. And gosh, did I want to shake our FMC, Joni, at times. 😂 Even so, this had a great ending, and I really, really loved it! It would make such an amazing movie!

My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a complimentary advance copy of this eBook, out 7/22/2025.

Two childhood friends who are each other's forever wedding dates each cross a line and ruin their friendship.

Ren and Joni have been friends since forever. Both of their families are very close and they grew up with each other and visited the combined family summer house each year. When Joni moves away to New York, her and Ren agree to be their forever wedding dates so they can stay close and have excuses to see each other to keep their friendship strong.

After one wedding, when things go too far, their friendship fractures and they cut all ties.

Two and a half years later, they both return to their families shared summer home for her sister's wedding and they have to fake their friendship since no one knows they had a falling out. Being around each other day and night for all the events leading up to the wedding starts to peel back layers of regrets and the tension starts to ease between them but can these friends get to a place where they can revert back to old times or will they fight for more?

Gah! This was such a great summertime read! The tension between them was strong and palpable. The contrast of how at ease they were with each other in the flashbacks really showcased how close of friends they were compared to the awkwardness of their present day. It was really well done. You knew something monumental had to have happened to drive these two away for them to not speak for a few years. Ren’s the ultimate book boyfriend and Joni was just neurotic enough to make you simultaneously adore her and be annoyed by her.

The tension, the push/pull, the old memories and flashbacks, the meddling family and friends, it was all there and I enjoyed the heck outta it. Read this book if you enjoyed Emily Henry’s Happy Place.

I will be posting reviews on my instagram page @mycuppacoffee_books on release day 7/22/25.

I'm a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope, and I really enjoyed this one. This is what I wanted "Love and Other Words" and "Every Summer After" to be, along with a dash of "People We Meet on Vacation." It is a bit of a slow burn, which I like. I felt invested throughout and personally liked the pacing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

Giving this one a generous 4 stars! It took a little while to find its stride for me, but once it did, I really enjoyed the read. I loved the dual timeline, though I’ll admit, it was occasionally hard to follow. A simple design tweak (like repeating the year or using distinct fonts for past vs present) could’ve made the transitions feel smoother. This could have also just been an issue with the e-ARC.

This is definitely a book I'd recommend for People We Meet on Vacation lovers, though I actually liked this one more. The chemistry between Joni and Ren felt more palpable and the spice was gooood. It did kind of come out of nowhere, I think there could have been a bit more flirty touching/banter to set it up. Ren was dreamy in the best way and Joni was relatable, which I liked. Their dynamic kept me hooked, and the slow build made the payoff extra satisfying.

And I really appreciated how quickly things wrapped up at the end without dragging the resolution out too long.

My only real critique is the portrayal of Joni’s mom—she felt a little too over-the-top and lacking in empathy, especially during the rehearsal dinner scene. That moment took me out of the story a bit, and I think toning it down (IE: maybe not having her blame Joni for causing a scene when it was literally her that did it) would have helped.

Overall a heartfelt read and a well-done friends to lovers romance!

It took me a minute to get into the book, but once I was hooked, that was it! I love a good childhood friends-to-lovers trope, and this was right up my alley! The banter was great between the two MCs and the way the timeline alternated between the past and present kept me on my toes because just when I thought I would finally find out what happened between them it would take me to a different timeline!

Overall, it was a fun read and I was rooting for them by page 5!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC!

4.5 ⭐️

This was so good!

Friends to Lovers follows childhood best friends, Joni and Ren. After Joni moves to a different state, the two friends decide that they will always be each other’s plus ones at any wedding they are invited to so they can remain in touch. However, everything changes after one eventful wedding, breaking apart the once impenetrable friendship between Joni and Ren.

With Joni’s sister now getting married, the two have to pretend like they’re still friends, even as past heartbreaks and truths are revealed, and questions about love and friendship are brought to light.

I had a feeling I was going to enjoy this book, and I was so right. I literally was smiling the entire time I was reading about Ren and Joni. One of the main things I liked was how realistic the characters and friendship in this book felt. They were so adorable, and it was easy to fall in love with them individually, as well as together.

This book is told in flashbacks and present time, and there wasn’t a moment where I felt bored or thought I was being taken out of the story with the dual timeline. I actually really liked the flashbacks and the way they helped to build the relationship between Joni and Ren.
The slow burn of the developing and growing feelings between the two was done so well, and I thought the more technical aspects of this story aside from the plot, like writing, were also great.

This was just a wonderful romance book that was sweet and cute but also had its emotional and moving moments.

If you are a fan of authors like Emily Henry, the friends-to-lovers trope, and are looking for a fun summer read, I would definitely recommend reading this one!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

Friends to Lovers is a genuinely lovely read that hits all the right notes for a perfect summer romance! Joni and Ren have an undeniable bond, and their journey from childhood friends to something more is beautifully told through dual timelines. From the perfectly paced romantic tension, to seeing how their relationship evolved, shifted, and endured over the years, this book truly captured me. The weight of both characters' shared past and unspoken feelings simmers beneath the surface.

While I devoured this book, there were a couple of tiny moments where I wished for a bit more direct communication between Joni and Ren. Sometimes it felt like they were just on the cusp of a big conversation, only to pull back. However, this did make it more of a slow burn as well.

Overall, Friends to Lovers is a warm, emotionally satisfying, and wonderfully written debut. This book is perfect for fans of People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, capturing the friends-to-lovers, romantic feelings, and dual timelines. 4/5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Friends to Lovers is a tender romance that beautifully captures the messiness of love and friendship. Joni and Ren’s bond feels authentic and heartfelt, and their reunion at a summer wedding is packed with emotion, nostalgia, and second-chance charm. A lovely, beachy read for anyone who believes the best love stories start with friendship.

The perfect emotional summer read! I loved seeing the different time lines & the way their relationship shifted from childhood friends to lovers! The tension of “will they, won’t they” was perfect. I love a forced proximity, second chance, friends to lovers plot.