This was an ARC read. Thank you to NetGalley, Sally Blakely, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read this early! This was a cute romance story about two people who literally grew up together and then became something more. I enjoyed this book and it was a nice lighthearted easy read. I needed something fun to read as we move in to the spring and this "hit the spot." If you enjoyed The Summer I Turned Pretty, you will love this one!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.
Overall just a mid book for me. I enjoyed it, but I won’t keep thinking about it.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I rate it 4 stars. I had been reading some heavy books and needed something light. This fit the bill. I wanted to know the ending and finished it in a couple of days. Joni and Ren are children of lifelong friends and have grown up together. There was a situation that happened that drew them apart for a couple of years, but neither wanted to say anything to their families so they get paired up for a wedding. You can imagine where it goes from there. This is a cute story and perfect to throw in the beach bag or any time you need something light.

This was absolutely fantastic!! It's as if Love, Rosie and Happy Place had a baby which are two of my favorite media pieces! The writing was absolutely fantatsic and I will definitely be reading more from this author. I have been screaming about this on my bookstagram since I started it. This would be the perfect beach read and I really enjoyed how we saw the flashbacks from the characters and the different pov's. They have a story that is relatable to so many and it just felt like a warm hug. I was completely immersed in this story! LOVED IT SM

It's cute but super predictable. I like the tropes in it but was hoping for an edge, or a twist in them. Not for me. Writing is good, pacing is good.

Cute, Sweet. Predictable. I felt it went on a bit long for what it was, but overall an entertaining read.

Reading Friends to Lovers brought back a nostalgic time when all of my friends were getting married! I remember always feeling like love truly was in the air! It’s no wonder that in this story best friends who agree to be each other’s plus ones feel drawn to each other!

I enjoyed the will they won’t they for the majority of the book. I was frustrated with Joni as I always am when a character is causing herself so much pain. Ren was wonderful, and the best best friend!

I enjoyed this read the whole way through! I got caught up in the thrill of a family wedding, best friend tension, and just all around fun characters! A lot of the setting is in Oregon where I live so I trip appreciated that aspect! I recommend reading, definitely a fun beach read!

We ended up getting the sister's apology but I stand by my opinion that mom also owed Joni an apology for the debacle

Cute; Blakely did well at really conveying the friendship and how Ren and Joni were each other's person. The tidal wave of feeling like you'd lost your best friend/were losing your best friend was shown very well and conveyed how much it hurt.

That said, the last 15% was wild. It felt like the issue and the resolution were rushed and chaotic in the not-so-great way. I did have an arc copy and there were a couple of errors here and there, but I have no doubt those will be resolved by the time the book fully comes out.

thank you Netgalley and Sally Blakely for the arc!

As soon as I saw this book was recommended for fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty, I knew I had to pick it up!

While Friends to Lovers isn’t usually my go-to trope—I tend to gravitate toward Enemies to Lovers with all the tension and angst—I actually really enjoyed how it played out here. The transition from friendship to romance felt natural and well-developed, making me root for the characters every step of the way.

Sally Blakely’s writing style is effortlessly engaging—smooth, immersive, and honestly, dare I say, immaculate? She masterfully balances the tropes, storyline, and pacing, creating a book that’s easy to get lost in. From the emotional depth to the well-executed romance, everything just clicked.

If you're a fan of heartfelt, well-paced love stories, this one is definitely worth a read!

A fun romance with lots of pining moments between best friends. Ren and Joni have had years together, but for a variety of reasons are not together-together. And, trust me, the vibes are very much there. Friends to Lovers takes you on a time-jumping journey through their near-misses and not-so-near-misses. I really enjoyed the chapters where their tension builds and they can't hide from their feelings, they had gobs of chemistry and I couldn't get enough of it. I did find a few of the time jumps jarring as they extend for 1-3 chapters, but that may be just been the ARC-formatting more than the story itself.

Perfect for fans of Best Friends to Lovers trope!

Specials thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for this ARC.

My rating: 4.5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this one. The dual timelines were woven together really well. We truly got to see what made Ren and Joni, Ren and Joni. The way they came together slowly not only felt authentic, but also created some delightful tension. There was a lot of character grown, in both MCs, but most obviously in Joni. It made you understand why it took her so long to come to grips with her feelings. And it’s impossible not to fall in love with Ren.

Than you to Harlequin publishing and the HTP Hive for access to an ARC of the ebook. My review is voluntary and my own opinion

this book will definitely have its people, but that does not include me. To me it was unremarkable, bland, and my favorite pages with a blank ones. People who like Friends to lovers, dual timeline, single POV, and travel aspects will enjoy this. I was just bored through this entire story of miscommunication, lack of self awareness, and confusion.

I usually am not huge fan of the friends to lovers trope. However, I was recommended this book by a friend and so glad I listened. I loved everything about this book, especially the fact that it was dual timeline. This explored there past and present perfectly. I would definitely recommend this book even if you usually like this trope. I promise it is worth it!

I fell in love with this book’s exploration of friendship, heartbreak, and second chances. I connected with Joni’s struggle as she tried to navigate the complexities of her past with Ren while putting on a brave face for her family. I felt the bittersweet emotions as she tried to make her sister’s wedding week perfect while pretending everything was fine with the person who had once meant everything to her. The author’s vivid descriptions of sunny days and starry nights at the summer home made me feel like I was right there with them, reliving memories and questioning what had gone wrong. As the story unfolded, I felt Joni’s emotions deeply—her doubts, her hopes, and the undeniable pull she still felt toward Ren. I admired how the book captured the tension and vulnerability of rebuilding trust after a relationship has been fractured.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves stories about rekindled connections, the blurry lines between friendship and love, and the messy, beautiful journey of finding where you truly belong. It’s a heartfelt, moving read that left me reflecting long after I turned the last page.

Ahhhh this book sucked me in right away because I LOVE the childhood friends to lovers trope, and I also love the beach house setting trope (Summer I Turned Pretty, Every Summer After, Same Time Next Summer). Ren and Joni have always been best friends and each other’s plus ones until one wedding changes the course of everything. Friends to Lovers alternates between present day and the past to help tell the story of friendship, love, and heartbreak. I love when authors write books this way, because it gives the present day so much more weight when you truly understand how much exists between two characters, and how much is on the line if it all goes wrong.

After a painful two years apart, they return for Joni’s sister Stevie’s wedding, but is Joni hiding the fact that she was just fired, and together they are hiding the fact that their hearts have been shattered by each other. I felt so much nostalgia and the strong magnetic pull between these two is undeniable, especially when they find themselves paired up in their old sleeping quarters (forced proximity eeeek).

I love Ren, his thoughtful playlists, and his deep and quiet unwavering love and support for Joni. He’s steady and protective of her despite their recent past. He is seemingly immune to all of the influences and personalities that collide when the families and friends come together because his focus is all about Joni (swoon!).

Themes
-childhood friends to lovers
-second chance
-beach house/ vacation home
-beach read


Genre: Romance
Spice: Some, not super graphic.
Rating: 4 Stars
Series or Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone
Thanks to @sally.blakely, @harlequinbooks, and @NetGalley for the ARC copy! This is my honest review.

Thank you to Sally Blakely, NetGalley, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC!

Friends-to-lovers, dual timeline, and a romance that melts your heart - are we sure this is a debut novel for Sally Blakely?!? This was such a fun and endearing ride that had me enthralled from start to finish. I do not typically enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope but this book is an exception. Prepare to audibly ahhh when you pick up this book!

Friends to lovers has always been one of my favorite tropes but then add in second chance and dual timeline?!?! I’m SAT

Both the main characters were so sweet and I was rooting for them the entire time.

I absolutely lived the summer wedding setting. It just made the perfect vibes for a summer romance.

This book is perfect for people who love People We Meet on Vacation and The Ex Vows.

This story of life, love, friendship and family had me feeling all the feelings. There were laughter, tears, frustration, and it ended with me smiling and thinking finally. I wanted to be part of the families and spend time at the vacation house with them. Joni and Ren are best friends and do everything together until Joni lands her dream job on the other side of the country. They try to stay close and it works until they make a choice that changes everything. Now that they are together for a family wedding can they find their way back to each other and take a chance? Or will fear keep them from even trying? I highly recommend this book to readers that like friends to lovers stories.

I wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't get into it. It's definitely a slow burn, which I'm not opposed to. Admittedly they are never my favorite, but I can appreciate them when done right. However, Friends to Lovers has a frustrating and unbalanced pacing that continually baits you with the promise of clarity and/or story advancement rarely without the fulfillment of said promise. I wanted to get lost in this friends to lovers troupe, but this one just didn't do it for me I'm afraid.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this novel!

I found the start of this book to be so summery and loved the premise of two friends who have drifted apart having to forced together to celebrate their siblings marrying each other. Ren is our mmc and he is the typical tall, dark, handsome and a great best friend to Joni. Joni starts this story having just gotten fired from her "dream job" that actually seems to have taken over her life. Ren and Joni formed an agreement after college that they would be each other's plus one for weddings. The story jumps timelines to various weddings they have attended together. Eventually you untangle what pulled them apart and by the middle of the story I found my self rooting for these two to talk it out and share how they feel. I also loved the cast of characters that made up Ren and Joni's respective families, they all added humor to the main character's angst!

While I loved the premise and beach house setting there were some parts that felt tedious at times. First off, Joni avoids all conflict and hides herself from her family, much of her and Ren's conflict stems from her not sharing how she is feeling, this got a bit frustrating as she manages to miss out on every meaningful relationship including her sister, mom and Ren. I also found her avoidance of sharing about her job to be extreme, by not talking about it she was just catastrophizing in her head about it. Then at the end its all sunshine and roses because it means that she can easily relocate back home which fixes all her problems.

I think this is a great summer read but I am taking off a few starts for the tedious nature of the fmc!