4.5/5

This is the cutest book ever.
It’s well written and immediately grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading. Joni and Ren have been friends forever. To keep from spoiling it- something happens between them and they go 2.5 years without talking. They are reunited at their families beach house for Jonis sister’s wedding.

This is such a fun read. Definitely read it!!!!

It’s the perfect summer read

I really enjoyed this book and I’m glad I requested it. If you like Happy Place, People We Meet on Vacation, or The Ex Vows vibes, you’ll love this book. The friends to lovers trope is one of my favorites, and this one was so well-written. I absolutely loved Ren and Joni and want the best things for them!

This was a really cute friends-to-lovers romance (obviously, given the title). I liked both of the main characters and actually felt that they belonged together. I also greatly appreciated how the characters/relationships in this book were actually healthy, which is not something you get with every friends-to-lovers romance, or romance in general. The MCs were not toxic and did their best (for the most part) to communicate what they were feeling.

That said, this book isn't anything new. This didn't necessarily diminish my enjoyment of the story, but I always felt like I knew exactly what was going to happen next. I also thought some of the MMC's behaviors were slightly unrealistic. He just goes along with whatever the FMC wants/feels without sticking up for himself sometimes. And I loved his character, so I wish he was a tiny bit more outspoken.

And this is a small gripe, but I also didn't like the way the dual storylines were organized. It was hard to tell what had happened in the past and what was happening currently, but given I read the arc version, I'm assuming this will be fixed by the time the book is released.



Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed the friends to lovers relationship. The pacing of the book was a little off for me, slow at times and then it would speed up. I really enjoyed the duel times lines and getting the history of Ren and Joni. The wedding was a perfect setting for the book. Overall it was a cute story.

Thank you NetGalley, Lauren Ford and Canelo Books for this ARC read!!

What can I say, I just love a cute rom com! Overall this one is a 4⭐️ for me. Low on spice level, which in this case I really actually loved because I feel like it really fit the story. The story was cute, tropes include rivals to lovers, fake dating, and forced proximity, all good ones in my book!

Lauren did a great job with this story. It was fun, quirky, serious at times. It made me laugh and I may have teared up a time or two! It probably took me a total of four hours to read this, It was a really easy read!

I’m so glad I requested this book. As soon as I saw the cover, I immediately hoped this would be something I would love. Friends to lovers is my all time favorite trope, mixed in with some second chance, all is right in the world of Bruna.

I went into this book blindly, the only thing I had read about it was that it’s great for Emily Henry fans, and boy if that ain’t the truth. What a treat 🥲 this book was very fast paced and easy to read, but it also made me feel all the feels. Joni & Ren reminded me so much of Poppy & Alex from People We Meet on Vacation, and I mean this as a compliment because that is my favorite EmHen book.

I loved everything about this book. I wouldn’t change a single thing. The main characters were so well written, I had so much fun with not just Joni & Ren, but all the other characters as well. Also Stevie 😭 I love her so much. Feels like this book was written just for me, I can’t wait for it to be out so I can get a physical copy.

Thank you so much NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for this early digital copy, all opinions are mine & mine only ✨

I don't think this book was very good. It sucked and wasn't very cute or romantic. It felt like a book trying too hard.

Thank you Sally Blakely and NetGalley for this eARC.

When I saw the title of this book, I knew I would be hooked. Best friends to lovers is one of my favorite troupes and I LOVED reading Ren and Jodi's story in multiple timelines.

The siblings in this story were amazing and I would have loved to read their stories before this one!

Great read. Kept me captivated and wanting to keep reading to figure out the mystery of what went wrong and how the MCs were going to fix it.

Loved the playlist, but all I could think of was Invisible String by Taylor Swift... if you know, you know.

5 Star read from a book girly who does not give 5 stars out often <3

AMAZING debut novel, best friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes when they are well written and this one met all my expectations, I love that the author details in much more depth all the insecurities of going from one type of relationship to another and it is not something instantaneous like in many other books, I loved the main characters, especially Ren. The only thing I can say is that it is a little slow paced to read at first but i totally get the intention behind it and it totally hooks you, I would totally recommend it!

I wanted to love this but I just couldn't I thought the characters were never fleshed out enough, I just wasn't invested into the story like I could have/should have been - Ren and Joni have been friends for life- families are best friend right down to sharing a vacation home - striking a deal out of college they decide to always be plus ones to weddings - and they have done that but something has happened at the start of the book we do not know we are at the vacation home getting ready for sister Stevies wedding (daughter named Stevie and Joni - this i did love) - We work our way back in time to the wedding of past and through to present time to find out what happened - it's ok i fought through to the end but I was left wanting more and sometimes I didn't buy it so to speak but like I said it was fine

PERFECT for fans of people we meet on vacation! or friends to lovers/second chance romance. I devoured this book in one sitting! It was exactly what I needed. Loved their friendship and the past/present. The wedding settings were fun and so was the summer house!

This book is PHENOMENAL. I devoured it in a weekend and can't wait to read it time and time again. Sally Blakely flat-out knows how to write, and her words had me in fits of laughter, in moments of profound reflection, and in puddles of tears. Blakely can paint a vivid picture and turn a heart-stopping phrase, but what makes this book SO spectacular is its cast of characters. Across the board, these people are lovely and enjoyable and rarely infuriating, but they also feel relatable and deeply human. I saw so much of my own anxious heart in Joni's and empathized with her struggles immensely. I fell in love with Ren immediately, which deepened with every page, and I fear I'll search for pieces of him (probably fruitlessly) in my own dating endeavors. Leo is an angel, Stevie is a riot, and I wish these people were real so I could find them and finagle my way into their friend group. Friends to Lovers might look like a beach read (and I certainly plan a reread in the sunshine when I receive my physical copy this summer), but do not conflate its cover or title with a lack of depth. There is so much meaning within these pages, and every person I know would be better for reading it; I know I am.

Massive thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Press for this ARC!

I was not a fan of the pace of this book. It felt very slow at times and then rushed out of nowhere. I was not a fan of the story constantly changing from past to present. I think the story was fine but would have worked better if prologue was long and the rest of the story was present day.

There is so much I could say about this book. So many great emotional amazing things. This book broke my heart and put it back together again. Ren and Joni’s love story is my favorite I’ve read this entire year. It’s not often I come across a book that evokes every emotion possible from me, but when it happens, it feels magical.

Okay, I flew through this book. I do love a friends to lovers troupe and Sally Blakely did an excellent job with this one. Ren and Joni have been best friends since childhood and decided to always be plus ones to weddings after Joni moves to NYC but is that all their relationship is? Told with a dual narrative, this book is a slow burn in the best way. I found myself rooting for Ren and Joni despite their flaws. I would recommend and look forward to what Blakely writes next. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a sweet story. I liked the switching timeline, and the past catching up with the present. I wish there was a little more action-it seemed to drag a bit in the middle. But overall, very cute!

Sally Blakely’s Friends to Lovers delivers a sweet and familiar romance, focusing on the slow-burn journey from platonic friendship to heartfelt love. The connection between the main characters feels genuine, with moments of tenderness and humor that will resonate with fans of the trope.

However, the story struggles with pacing, taking too long to build momentum, and some of the emotional beats feel underdeveloped. While the friendship dynamic is charming, the transition to romance lacks the spark and tension needed to make the payoff truly satisfying.

This was a super sweet book about childhood best friends who have both been pining for one another for years, but unbeknownst to the other . It was a little slow for me to get into, and I would've loved to read more about Ren and Joni being happy together towards the end. I don't always love a miscommunication type trope where if the main characters would just talk to each other instead of some major assumptions, they could get out of their own way and be happy. Ren and Joni's relationship ultimately did come back around and I enjoyed them finally getting to the lover stage! A good, light read!

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

I’m a sucker for a friends to lover romance, and this book is it! I enjoyed this read so much and I devoured it! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book!

<i><b>” I thought I knew how our story would go, two parallel lines stretching into forever. But in retrospect, our lives were never destined to take that shape.</b></i>

OMFG I loved this so heckin’ much! <i> SO MUCH. </i>

At every point I was rooting for them and their relationship. I do wish we’d gotten a <i>tad</i> more of them happily together. But as a self proclaimed Ren and Jodi addict, I gladly took every morsel I was given. I’m not sure if Sally Blakely plans to do this as a series but I would also <b><i>reeeeeeeally</i></b> love to read any of the siblings’ love stories. All I’m saying.

The past and present timelines progress in such a smooth way and had me constantly ready for what was coming in both timelines. This aspect reminded me of Seven Days in June by Tia Williams and what can I say, I loved it there too. The pacing was great in giving me exactly what was needed drama and context-wise to keep me both interested and eager to see what would come next.

<b>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review! </b>