Sometimes we need to get out of our own way and just live our lives. "Friends to Lovers" reminded me of that fact. Ren and Joni had a relationship that was very special but somehow Joni kept making decisions that got in the way of their happiness due to her anxiety/fear of the future. Things that she can't really control. Ren also seemed like he took too long in letting Joni know his true feelings, so they always appeared to be in limbo. I am not a huge fan of friends to lovers (I feel like I always say this haha) but the aching and longing between these characters was fun to read. I wish it was amped up a bit more. More tension in a romance book never hurt anybody ... well maybe the characters themselves.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

If you’re a sucker for slow burns, pining, and all the delicious ache that comes with watching two best friends try really hard to pretend they’re not completely in love with each other—Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely will be your catnip.
Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were kids—the kind of friendship built on inside jokes, shared beach days, and late-night phone calls. Even when Joni moves across the country, they stay close through their adorable pact: be each other’s plus-one for every wedding. It’s charming, heartfelt, and totally working… until that line gets crossed.
The story picks up with Joni returning to their shared family summer home for her sister’s wedding. Tensions are high, secrets are bubbling just under the surface, and the once-unbreakable bond between Joni and Ren is in pieces. What follows is a wedding week full of forced smiles, stolen glances, and moments so tender they practically beg you to scream at the page: JUST KISS ALREADY!
Blakely does a great job layering past and present, letting us feel the weight of everything Joni and Ren have been through. There’s a quiet nostalgia to the book, like paging through an old photo album of a friendship you thought would never change.
I docked one star only because there were a few pacing hiccups in the middle—some scenes felt a bit repetitive as Joni tiptoed around her feelings (and Ren tiptoed around his), but by the time the emotional payoff hits, it’s so worth it.
Final verdict: Friends to Lovers is a cozy, heartfelt read that delivers on emotion, chemistry, and second chances. If you’re into summer settings, weddings with emotional baggage, and two people who are clearly meant to be—this one’s for you.
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely. Bring it to the beach, your book club, or anywhere you want to feel a little swoony and a lot nostalgic.

Friends to Lovers is a sweet, funny, and heartfelt story about two best friends who finally realize what everyone else has seen all along—that they’re perfect for each other. Blakey captures all the awkwardness, banter, and swoony tension of taking that leap from friendship to something more. The chemistry sparkles, the side characters add plenty of charm, and the romantic payoff is worth the wait. A couple of moments felt a little predictable, but honestly, that’s part of the cozy fun. A delightful, feel-good romance that earns a solid four stars!

I love a good friends to lovers story! This is a perfect summer read. I liked this take on the trope. The setup of two lifelong friends always being each other’s plus-one was fun, and their slow realization of feelings felt natural. Overall a sweet, slow burn!

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the chemistry between Joni and Red was really palpable. I really loved their friendship and their connection. I really enjoyed the back and forth between the past and the present, it was very reminiscent of People We Meet on Vacation, which is one of my favorite books, and I really enjoyed watching them falling in love and realizing that they were in love. I do think that the switch from friends to lovers was a bit sudden and I started to miss some of the connection that was very present in their friendship as opposed to their romantic relationship.

Listening to this romance, narrated by the fabulous Patti Murin, hit me with all the feels. I love the genuine friendship between Ren and Joni and the way they care for, support, and respect each other. I felt Joni's fear of losing her best friend and the way things are to take a chance on what they could be. And Ren. Ahhhh. My new book boyfriend. He is everything and when they get together their chemistry is on fire. This is a must read for anyone that loves a love story.

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5

This book!!!! 😭 Literally all the feels there are to feel! I didn’t know what to expect going into this but knew it would be a treat because @annasbookstacks does not MISS on her recommendations!

It does not take long to get sucked into this one. I was hooked from the start! The tension and yearning between these two is just electric. It was the perfect slow burn, too. Normally, I’m not a fan of friends to lovers, but these two were just so amazing together that you couldn’t help but root for them. My only wish is that their first kiss in the present had hit a little harder. It felt like an afterthought, and I wanted it to be this huge explosion of pent-up feelings!

I was ready to run my mouth at Joni by the end. I’m so glad her sister was able to talk some sense into her. If she had put my sweet baby Ren through one more heartbreak … thankfully, she didn’t, and the ending was so beautiful and sweet and just the best HEA ever.

I loved all the characters in this one. It wasn’t even found family, it was just family. One of my favorite scenes was Capture the Flag. I love fun games like that with family and friends. It’s just the most positive, upbeat thing. And flirting in the woods, seeing if he would tag her or let her get away 👀 … perfection!

I cannot recommend this book enough for fans of a friends to lovers trope or anyone who loved People We Meet on Vacation or The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy. Ren gives all the Alex and Conrad vibes. He is a true YEARNER!!! I cannot wait to see what else Sally Blakely comes up with. I have a feeling she’ll be an auto-buy author for me!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Sally Blakely, and NetGalley for the eARC! All opinions are my own.

Friends to Lovers Review! 💕

Thank you so much Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this gifted copy, in exchange for an honest review! Friends to Lovers is out now!

I’m not much of a romance reader, but I am a BIG fan of the friends to lovers trope, so I immediately requested this one when I saw it. This one was absolutely adorable. I loved both the main character and I immediately thought of Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield. The whole setting on the beach and the big happy family made my heart so happy. The miscommunication trope isn’t my favorite, so I knocked off a 1/2 star. Overall Friends to Lovers was a 4.5/5 ⭐️ for me! The perfect cute little summer read.

What you’ll find:
💙 Single POV
💙 Childhood Best Friends
💙 Forced Proximity
💙 Second Chance Romance
💙 Friends to Lovers

I hit a reading slump in July and struggled to find something that could pull me out of it, but I’m so glad this book did just that. It was the perfect read to wrap up the summer.

Joni and Ren have been best friends since childhood, inseparable for as long as they can remember. But after college, Joni has to move away, and that's when some of the dynamics in their relationship begin to shift. We get glimpses into their friendship as kids, see how they stay connected, and watch their bond evolve into something more.

I alternated between reading on my Kindle and listening to the audiobook, and I’m so glad I chose Patti Murin as the narrator. She consistently delivers top-notch performances, which likely pushed my rating from 3.5 to 4 stars. (If you're a fan of Katherine Center, you’ll vibe with this!)

If you enjoy books by Carley Fortune, Ellie Palmer, or Jenny Han, I definitely recommend giving this one a read!

Shared on Goodreads
Scheduled to be shared on Instagram on 8/19/25

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely is an absolute delight from start to finish. Blakely captures the tenderness, longing, and undeniable spark that makes the friends-to-lovers trope so irresistible, and she does it with charm, humor, and so much heart. The chemistry between the leads feels natural and deeply rooted, making every moment of their slow-burn journey satisfying and worth the wait.

What stood out most to me was how authentic and layered the characters felt—their bond, their banter, and even their moments of vulnerability pulled me in completely.

Sweet, swoony, and full of emotion, Friends to Lovers is the kind of comfort read that leaves you smiling long after the last page. Sally Blakely has crafted a romance that feels both timeless and fresh

Book Title: Friends to Lovers
Author(s): Sally Blakely
Publisher(s): Canary Street Press/Harlequin Audio
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Currently Available on KU? ✅
Audiobook? ✅

🍿 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: 2025 seems to be a year of debuts and Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely was a terrific addition to the growing list! I teared up quite a few times during this book, and the use of a dual narrative while having a single POV was the perfect route to go for the storyline.

🤩 𝚃͏𝚑͏𝚎͏ 𝙱͏𝚎͏𝚜͏𝚝͏ 𝙱͏𝚒͏𝚝͏𝚜͏: I found myself rooting for Joni and Ren throughout the book, and I loved that we not only had a focus on their journey as friends to lovers (see what I did there 😜) but Joni’s personal journey as well. Things were made even more interesting with the inclusion of their family dynamics and the fact that Joni is hiding a pretty large secret from almost everyone. The tension was high, and the slow-burn romance swept me off my feet.

🎧 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝒩𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: I loved Patti Murin as the voice of Joni and she did a fantastic job bringing every emotion and character to life. I think the audiobook made me even more invested in the MC’s story and I would definitely recommend audio if you listen to fiction.

💭 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴: I loved the emotional depth I got in Friends to Lovers, and this is romance with a lot of heart. I love second-chance-romance and found family (especially together) and I felt like I got both of those things along with plenty of other elements. Plus, Joni’s job was so unique and fun! The only thing that kept this from being a five ⭐ read for me was really the number of times I wanted to knock Joni over the head for not seeing what was right in front of her. However, this was a stunning debut overall and I can’t wait to see what Blakely writes next!

T͏h͏i͏s͏ B͏o͏o͏k͏ i͏n͏ 5͏ E͏m͏o͏j͏i͏’s͏ o͏r͏ L͏e͏s͏s͏: 🤫🩴❤️‍🩹💒

𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝙰𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 🌶️

This book left me crying at midnight on a random Friday night because it's so absurdly cute, I CAN'T TAKE IT. The pining and the love and the crushing emotions that this book delivered have turned me into a weepy emotional mess. Trying to figure out what on earth happened between the two of them kept me turning the pages, looking for answers. The friendship between Ren and Joni is truly so precious - I love them. I love the depth of the relationships the author created, and the gripping longing woven between the pages. (Sorry this is a bit spoilery) Yes there is a HEA, but the journey getting there was a test of patience. Loved every agonizing minute of these two idiots' journey. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Friends to Lovers is the story of childhood best friends who are each other’s plus ones to weddings for years. Until things go awry. As the title suggests, you can guess where it goes but while predictable, it is a delightful journey. Including a game of capture the flag as part of wedding weekend festivities. It was the perfect amount of sweetness and romance to make me smile. T

Friends since childhood and connected through shared family traditions, Joni and Ren have one last chance to reconnect, clear up past misses, and see if they can transition to more than best friends.

☀️ Book Review: FRIENDS TO LOVERS by Sally Blakely

This is a friends-to-lovers romance that feels like a second chance for Joni and Ren. Best friends since childhood, they agree to be each other’s wedding date plus ones after Joni moves from Portland to NYC. We then follow a dual timeline of friendship, missed romantic connections, and wedding dates.

⛱️ My Take: As much as I enjoyed this, I also found it a bit painful. What takes Joni so long to see what’s so obviously right in front of her?! And why is she so eager to avoid grown-up realities like work and the hard truths of relationships? Maybe I’m too old for young romance, but she read as really immature to me.
The reader is also teased with whatever went wrong in the past and it’s not until the very end that the mystery is shared then resolved.

Read FRIENDS TO LOVERS for
💘 Friends to lovers, duh
🎶 Custom playlists, swoon
💍 Weddings of all sizes and destinations
🤫 Family traditions and dynamics
🌲 Pacific Northwest scenery and cabin home base

Has a more perfect friends-to-lovers book ever been written?! Oh my god I ate this up and didn't want it to end. I squealed, kicked my feet, swooned, cried, laughed, and loved every second of it. It was giving me Beach Read/The Ex Vows/People We Meet on Vacation vibes?? It was so perfectly written for the big screen too. It would be as iconic as How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days or 13 Going On 30.

Set in Portland and the PNW (home to me!), Ren and Joni have been best best friends since they were like, four years old. Once they graduate high school, they inevitably part ways for university but promise to always be each other's plus ones for weddings and events, which guarantees that they will be reunited throughout the years, and not just for the holidays. However, at a New Year's Eve wedding, they crossed the friendship line and Joni did something to break Ren's heart. After that fateful night, they don't speak or see each other for two and a half years. (Insert weeping emoji here!!)

We get dual timeline POVs throughout the story so we don't find out what their conflict was until closer to the end. Love the anticipation that built! Other things I loved- SHE broke HIS heart, he has always loved her, he makes her mixed CDs, the family dynamics, the setting at the family cabin, the history between them. It felt like we were always uncovering more and more to their story which, duh, but it was just done so well.

Definitely a favorite read of the summer!

Thank you to Canary Street Press for the arc!!!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing & Canary Street Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Friends to Lovers delivers exactly what it promises: a tender, summer-soaked second chance at love between two lifelong best friends. Joni and Ren’s tradition of being each other’s wedding plus-one is sweet enough on its own, but watching them navigate unresolved feelings while pretending to be “just friends” again? That’s where the magic happens.
The dual timeline was handled beautifully, giving equal weight to their past connection and present tension. The setting—a family beach house during wedding week—adds an intimate, nostalgic atmosphere. The supporting cast felt real and warm, making the “found family” element just as enjoyable as the romance.
Sally Blakely writes with a balance of humor and heart, sprinkling in music references and sensory details that make the world come alive. The slow-burn yearning is well-paced, with moments that hit like a wave—quiet but powerful.
My only critique is that the romance transition felt a touch too quick after the long buildup, and I wanted more insight into Ren’s thoughts. That said, it’s a charming, emotional read perfect for anyone who loves:
☀️ Friends-to-lovers
☀️ Second chance romance
☀️ Forced proximity
☀️ Beach house wedding chaos
A lovely debut that left me smiling and a little bit wistful.

4.5/5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ALC and ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one! It has similar vibes to People We Meet On Vacation, which I absolutely loved.

Ren and Joni are soulmates. You can tell how much he loves her throughout the whole book. Ren is such a good guy and so sweet. I really loved his character a lot.

I think that Sally Blakely did a really good job with the friends to lovers trope.

Adding in chapters about the past helped develop the story and show their relationship at all stages. I really appreciate when stories do this, and it is done well.

As for the audiobook narrator, I love Patti Murin! She did such a great job, and I always enjoy listening to her narrate.

I definitely recommend this book, especially if you love the friends to lovers trope!

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely was a fun, light-hearted read that brings two childhood friends, Ren and Joni, back together at Joni's sisters wedding where Ren is Joni's plus one. I really enjoyed the friendship these two had and you could feel the author trying to express the emotions that these two had warring for each other. Overall, I enjoyed this book, even though it strongly reminded me of People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry.

Friends to Lovers was a light, summery read that started strong but gradually lost my interest. While there were some sweet moments, I found myself wishing for more—more depth, more emotional connection, and perhaps a dual POV to better understand both characters.

The premise was appealing, but Joni and Ren’s dynamic felt more like prolonged mutual pining than an authentic friendship, which made the “friends to lovers” label feel a bit misleading. I also wasn’t sold on the reason they stopped talking—it seemed like an issue that could have been resolved quickly, without years of distance and awkwardness between families. The story lacked much-needed moments of levity until the very end, and as a result, we never truly see their romance unfold on the page.

That said, for a debut novel, the writing style was excellent. I think the story might have been stronger with a linear timeline to give the romance more space to breathe.

Overall, it was a pleasant read with good potential, but it left me wanting more to fully bring the love story to life.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up

This charming friends-to-lovers story turned out to be a delightful surprise that exceeded my expectations! For a debut novel, the author truly impressed me by crafting a rich backstory that allowed me to connect deeply with the characters. The tension and yearning between them was palpable— I found myself wholeheartedly rooting for their romance to blossom.

However, I had some qualms about the conflict in the plot. It felt less like miscommunication and more like a complete breakdown of communication, which was quite frustrating. In addition, the pacing slowed down, particularly towards the end, which made it a bit of a drag. I also took issue with how the main character’s anxiety and panic attacks were portrayed; her mother’s tendency to coddle her felt a bit off and didn’t resonate well with me.

A huge thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC for an honest review!