A great summer beach read! Loved the setting and the build-up to the history of these characters. Delightful read!

The perfect summer beach read ! I could not put this one down. 10/10 recommend.

Joni and Ren have been best friends their whole lives. Their family shares a beach house and they’ve done everything together. When Joni moves across the country, they decided to be each others plus-one whenever they went to weddings. Now it’s been over 2 years since they’ve spoken and a family wedding is forcing them to confront what happened.

I loved the dual timelines and how you saw Joni and Ren’s friendship over time. Definitely People We Meet on Vacation x The Summer I Turned Pretty kinda vibes. Slow burn. Second chances. Minimal spice. I’m casting Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch for Ren and Joni. 😍

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a great debut! Definitely gives People We Meet on Vacation vibes.

Friends to Lovers is about Ren and Joni who grow up together in families that are best friends. When Joni moves from Portland to NYC, she and Ren agree to be each others’ plus ones at all the weddings of their 20s. The book is told on two timelines - the present day when the two families are gathered for a wedding and the past six years of Ren and Joni’s meet ups at other weddings.

Ren and Joni had great chemistry and Ren is the stuff book boyfriends are made of. His little ways of showing Joni his love over the years had me swooning and also wanting to shake Joni by the shoulders because WAKE UP LADY, he’s obviously in love with you! I would have loved some of this to be told in Ren’s POV. I also wanted a little more backstory at times but overall this was a wonderful debut and I’d definitely read more from Blakey.

I read a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars!!

Ren and Joni have been best friends since childhood, spending summers together at the same vacation home with their families. After Joni moves across the country, they make a pact to be each other’s plus-ones to every wedding they attend, just to stay close. If you’re a fan of the *friends-to-lovers* and *second chance romance* tropes, this one’s for you.

I couldn’t put this book down. I found myself completely invested in Ren and Joni’s journey, eager to see how their story would unfold. It gave me the same warm, emotional vibes as *Happy Place*, *The People We Meet on Vacation*, and *The Summer I Turned Pretty*!

Thank you to Net Galley and the author Sally Blakey for the arc 😊

With a title like “Friends to Lovers”, a bit of predictability comes with the plot, but I enjoyed this author's take on this classic trope. I loved the past and present story telling and how this revolved around weddings and a promise. There were so many cute scenes between Ren and Joni that gave me butterflies and their chemistry was enjoyable.

As a person who used to live in the San Juan Islands, I loved the PNW vibes that this author captured with this book. I could smell the cool ocean breeze, see the beautiful greenery that surrounds that area, and the overall enchantment that part of the country has.

The ending was a bit messy and I felt a bit irritated that a majority of what took place could have been solved by one simple and honest conversation. Despite this, I did think that a lot of the moments leading up to the ending felt authentic to each character. Overall, this was a good debut and I can’t wait to see what the author has in store.

Thank you to Canary Street Press via NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Perfect summer read. A cute easy read. If you’re looking for the perfect summer read, look no further.

Friends to lovers was such a good read. It had me laughing and crying. I loved it. I loved Ren and Joni's story.

"He pauses, gathers his thoughts. “You’re it for me, Joni, and maybe there’s some day down the line where that isn’t true, but it hasn’t come yet. No matter how hard I’ve tried to will it. And the truth of it is that I’d rather be alone than with someone else. Maybe there’s something sad in that.”"

Joni and Ren childhood best friends are fresh out of college and it’s time for them to go their separate ways, but they make a pact to be each others plus ones to every event wedding to come. I won’t tell you anymore, but you need to read this book. Humor, heartbreak, love and growth 💕

A perfect quick summer read! Joni and Ren haven’t spoken in years, but a wedding at their families’ beach house brings everything to the surface. It’s packed with all my favorite tropes, and the mix of tension and heart made it impossible to put down.

Friends to Lovers is one of those stories that makes you want to curl up with a blanket and believe in slow-burn, soul-deep love. Sally Blakely delivers a tender, friends-to-lovers romance that had me rooting for Joni and Ren from page one.

They’ve been best friends forever, the kind of closeness that makes everyone else wonder why they aren’t already together.

The emotional tension is so real—the glances that linger too long, the jealousy they won’t admit, the fear of losing the friendship they’ve built. And when the truth finally spills out? Heart. Melting.

This book is cozy, romantic, and genuinely sweet. It’s about love that was there all along, just waiting for the right moment.

Highly recommend if you love:

- slow-burn romance
- emotional honesty
- friends-to-lovers done right
- soft, comforting vibes

You know those books that give you butterflies… the kind that make you squeal out loud? This is one of them!

Friends to Lovers is exactly what the title promises—two lifelong best friends realizing they’re in love. But of course, things like distance and timing try to get in the way. This book was so cozy and comforting to read. The relationship between Joni and Ren was absolutely adorable—I found myself screaming internally multiple times: YOU LOVE HIM! HE LOVES YOU!!

They’re just perfect and so sweet together.

I especially loved the wedding vibes, beach vibes, and all the true love energy. Definitely recommend picking this one up if you're in the mood for a heartwarming romance!

Thank you Netgalley and Canary Street Press for the ARC!

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.