Anywhere With You by Ellie Palmer is one of my most highly anticipated books of 2025 and it did not disappoint!

Twenty-nine year old Charley Beekman is struggling. She’s sold most of her furniture to stay in her too big house, loathes her all consuming job, and recently discovered that romantic love is a lie after her husband of less than a year asks for a divorce. The only upside to her recent tragedy is that Charley and her childhood best friend Ethan are talking again, well texting again. Ethan is perpetually moving, he’s a musician that plays college campuses and the like while living out of a camper van. Ethan and Charley have a special relationship and Charley never has to worry about it getting weird because she knows they both want wildly different things. When Charley’s free spirited sister announces she and her on again off again boyfriend are eloping, Charley freaks. Charley knows from experience that even the most stable people can’t offer you safety in a marriage, it’s all a lie. She has to stop her sister from making this horrible mistake, even if that means roadtripping into the woods of Minnesota with her chronically unavailable ultra handsome best friend Ethan.
After reading Palmer’s debut novel, Four Weekends and a Funeral, I knew I had to read whatever she put out next. I was thrilled when her second book was announced as a friends to lovers roadtrip story, I mean could it get any better!?! The answer is yes. Palmer writes such beautiful characters that feel familiar, complex, and honest. Anywhere With You is filled with depth, heart, messy relationships, and so much humor. Fans of Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez will love this book! I can’t wait to purchase a physical copy of Anywhere With You for my bookshelf!

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This book was chaotic in the best way! Charley is fresh off a divorce when Ethan, her childhood best friend, reaches out. Their story takes place over the course of a road trip while Charley starts to heal from her childhood and broken marriage.

The unrequited love aspect was a little unbelievable in my opinion.

Tropes:
Second chance
Dual timeline
Friends to lovers

This was so adorable! That said, it took a minute to get there. The first portion didn’t do well to draw me in, but once we really got in to Charley and Ethan’s history, I was sold. I loved their friendship, I loved Ethan’s free spirit, I even loved her sister, and their relationship in the end. I’m a big fan of the friends-to-lovers trope and this one was well done!

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for this ARC.

If you’re a fan of friends to lovers, this might be the right fit for you. I loved Ellie Palmer’s first book. Her warmth and humor carry over to this easy read. I struggled a good bit with the believability of the storyline. The timing, attachment, and ignorance of our protagonist felt a bit rushed or forced at times. The storyline juggles between past and present, but I would have preferred to focus more on our characters now or had a linear timeline to help the flow for the book. Overall, this is a nice summer read if you’re a fan of this trope. #anywherewithyou #netgalley

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam and Ellie Palmer for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars!

Charley Beekman is having a bit of a rough go. She's divorced, can't afford the fancy house her ex-husband insisted on purchasing (but she sure didn't want him to get it in the divorce), and her job kinda sucks. She's an attorney but gets absolutely no respect at work and works ridiculous hours. Since she has no personal life to speak of, she just keeps her nose to the grindstone.

This story is told as a series of flashbacks detailing how Charley and her sister Laurel met and became friends with their neighbor boys Ethan and Petey (who are not related). Laurel and Petey have an on-again off-again relationship throughout the years, whereas Charley and Ethan are just friends. Best friends, actually. But there was no love lost between Ethan and Charley's ex, so they stopped talking while Charley was married.

Now, Laurel and Petey decide to get married in an off-the-grid locale, and Charley needs to stop the wedding. After all, there is no such thing as an everlasting love. So, she and Ethan reunite and take his residence-on-wheels on a road trip to the wedding. Sparks fly.

This book made me feel so many feels! It goes really in-depth into how we are all the product of our environment. Charley and Laurel's parents are on-again/off-again, and as an adult, Charley craves stability more than anything else. Ethan's parents, on the other hand, have a generally happy relationship and run a family-owned company together. Therefore, Ethan has experienced comfort and love in a way that allows him to be more adventurous. So, in addition to being well-written and funny, there's also depth to this story that I wasn't expecting. This was so much more than a (closed door) romance novel!

I just…didn’t love this. I didn’t like bouncing back into the past which was helpful but not necessary context. I found Charley’s neuroses grating, and sometimes pointless (there were too many mentions of the liquids for it to have no point, or if there was one it was so tiny I completely missed it). Charley and Ethan are cute, and the unresolved sexual tension hit the mark, but overall the book fell short for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

I always have trouble giving a new (to me) author a try, and I’m so glad I did with Ellie Palmer.

First, Ellie is single-handedly bringing back chapter titles. I miss the days when chapter titles were a given, and a creative or comedic storytelling device.

Second, her dialogue is humorous, emotional, relatable, fast-paced and entertaining. I couldn’t put this one down.

Finally, even though this was a great romance/rom-com, I especially enjoyed the development of the relationship between Charley and Laurel. It was relatable, raw and full of heart.

I can’t wait to read more from Ellie Palmer!

I wanted to love this one so badly, but it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I happened to read an ARC of Ellie Palmer’s debut, Four Weekends and a Funeral, way back in 2023, and I loved it! So I’m not giving up on Palmer after this one, by any means, but Anywhere With You just felt a little chaotic and not all that well fleshed out to me.

It’s a childhood best friends to lovers story told only in the female’s POV, but she’s not the most reliable narrator. The timeline also jumps around to different years throughout the friendship, which sometimes makes things more confusing, rather than shedding light on their past. The characters are pretty likable, but as is the case in many books that are told exclusively by the FMC, I found myself liking her less and less, because I didn’t have another POV selling me on why I should like her. 😅

Despite all that, it was still an entertaining read. There were plenty of supporting characters throw in for comedic relief, and everything was eventually tied up nicely for a satisfying ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of this book!

I REALLY LOVED THIS ONE they were so cute and meant to be from the start it was so perfect. The way they would talk to each other and their little banter just made me the happiest lady ever. I loved the way that Charley and Laurel worked things out in the end it was very sweet and sisterly it was perfect. I RECOMMEND

Anywhere with You was so unique and such a fun ride (hehe pun intended)! Friends to lovers is just the best trope! I was so excited to read this one from Ellie Palmer-excuse me while I go read Four Weekends and a Funeral! This would make for the best Netflix rom-com material! If you want a good laugh, cry, and swoon, I suggest you read this one!!
Thank you to Penguin Group for my complementary copy! All thoughts are my own!

So while I did like this book , it was a little too predictable for me ! I do think it started out on a high note but just fell flat for me. Charley made me mad a couple times and I get it she just went through a divorce but trying to ruin her sisters wedding annoyed me ! Also it was obvious Ethan was in love with her !

I loved this book! Couldn’t put it down and was smiling and laughing at parts. Charley was likeable and someone I was rooting for as she worked through her life post divorce. Ethan was her perfect match but just had to wait for the right timing.

𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂 is the culmination of every sitcom romance in one cover.

Charley is in a bit of a pickle. She's got a wedding to call off - not her own, her sister's.
So she's on a road trip cooped up with none other than Ethan Powell, her best friend, forbidden fantasy, and the man who deserted her wedding, whom she hadn't spoken to, not before her marriage fell apart. Just as he said it would.
No hard feelings at all.

~

Charley and Ethan were inevitable. That's the first thing I thought of when I read their backstory.
The rest is history as they say.
Their romance was subtle throughout the years, in their lingering eyes and unfinished sentences.
Actually it was more than romance. It was their entire life.

Each detail was intricately crafted to portray how and why each character was the way they were. The way their families made them into who they are today but how their love will make them into who they'll be tomorrow.

Overall, all the nuances made up for a spectacular read.

~

3.97 / 5 ★

Thanks to Putnam Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is my first Ellie Palmer book and I’m pleasantly surprised! I really enjoyed this. Best friends to lovers is always a great read and she nailed it!

Thank you so much to Putnam and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of Anywhere With You by Ellie Palmer!

Following her divorce, Charley’s sister shares that she intends to elope with her childhood sweetheart, Petey. Intent to speak with her sister in order to stop the wedding, Charley embarks on a road trip into northern Minnesota. Her recently reappeared best friend, Ethan, is just the person to get her there in his camper van. Charley has worked hard to keep Ethan in the best friend zone but this becomes harder amidst their reunion.

I love Ellie Palmer so much! I adored Four Weekends and a Funeral and I’m obsessed with Anywhere With You. This is the ultimate friends to lovers romance! I enjoy stories where we move between the past/present and it worked so well for telling Charley and Ethan’s story. I also incredibly enjoyed the storyline for Petey and Laurel, told from the POV of our main pair. The last third of this book wrecked me (in the best way)!

Also, the simple words “Me” and “You” have never stirred my heart so much as in this book.

Highly recommend checking out this book on August 5, 2025.

I loved this book so much! The best friends dynamic/banter is delicious and had me laughing and kicking my feet. Probably one of the best friends as to lovers books I’ve ever read!

Thank you for the early copy!

ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || ANYWHERE WITH YOU [thank you to @putnambooks and @netgalley for my #gifted copy!]

I have been PAITENTLY (and not so paitently) waiting for the update that @elliepalmerwrites book had been updated on NetGalley so I could finally download it and read it…

Which I did — approximately 10 minutes after getting it on my kindle and it did not disappoint.

Title: Anywhere With You
Author: Ellie Palmer
Genre: Romance
Format: Digital
Star Rating: ★★★★★

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:
Charley Beekman has life mostly figured out—despite being a cash-strapped, career-languishing, 29-year-old divorcee. But when her free-spirited sister decides to elope with her chaotic childhood sweetheart, Charley sets off to stop the wedding. Her road-trip partner? Ethan, her infuriatingly gorgeous, commitment-phobic best friend. As sparks fly in their camper van, Charley must decide if risking her heart again is worth it—especially for the one person she swore she could never fall for.

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
5 Stars — No Notes. This was such a delight to read and I honestly could not put it down once I started!

Who’s a mom who ignored all her parental responsibilities this weekend to read a romance novel? This girl.

I absolutely loved watching Charley grow and change and realize that the life she built for herself wasn’t everything she thought it would be. That trying to find security in things wasn’t giving her the security she wanted - that people was where it was at.

And Ethan is a new top book boyfriend. His constant support, his facial expressions, and, honestly, his passion for his camper van were all top notch for me!

I highlighted full pages on my kindle because I couldn’t get enough of Palmer’s prose.

Just do yourself a favor and read this book. Honestly. I fully plan on getting the audiobook to do a reread later.

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
“It’s Always Been You”
Friends to Lovers
Strong Character Development
Everything Goes Wrong
Dual Timeline
“Let’s Get It Out of Our Systems”

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 4.38 ⭐️
# of Pages: 368
Pub Date: August 5, 2025

Nothing like getting divorced and suddenly finding yourself a road trip through the midwest with your childhood best friend and theres repressed feelings that finally come to light when you're in forced proximity? Sign me up!

This is my first book by Ellie Palmer and it will not be my light. Anywhere with you is romantic, hopefully and angsty in the best way. Charley is divorced and ditched the boring rich guy but when her sister plans to elope, she thinks its best to catch up and stop her. Ethan is someone she hasn't seen in years but my god, their chemistry right off the bat was perfection and undeniable. I loved the scenes where it goes back to childhood and them growing up and you can clearly see the pining. I love the moments of them alone, talking, you really see where the pick up and the nostalgia and the falling in love, right person, wrong time. It's such a swoony and cozy childhood friends to lovers that will leave you feeling warm and cozy inside!

Thank you #netgalley and #elliepalmerwrites for this early copy of Anywhere With You. What I adored about this book:
Friends to lovers
Close proximity trope
Lots of tension but classy fade to black in the romance department
Great banter between longtime friends
Their nicknames for one another.
Beautifully written and hard to put down. I read this sweet rom-com in two sittings. Now I’m going back to purchase Ellie Palmer’s first novel that I somehow missed! Great read!!!

Charley is recently divorced. She craves stability because of her childhood but when her sister decides to elope. Charley and her best friend Ethan decide to talk sense into them. This book journey of self discovery, laugh out loud moment and childhood friends to lovers.