Not Here to Make Friends

Murray O’Connell needs to produce another season of reality show Marry Me, Juliet and he has to do it without his best friend, Lily Ong. Or so he thought. After a year of silence, she's back - as Lily Fireball, not a producer and not the woman he knew, but the villain of his season. She could completely derail his plans...or help him make the most brilliant season of reality television ever.

I don't often get obsessed with a series. I'm extremely obsessed with this one.

I devoured the first two books, so of course I did my damndest to pick up an ARC of the third instalment. I was not at all disappointed! It was so much fun to read about two MCs who are such a mess - especially when they are so delightfully messier when put together. Lily Fireball is one of the most complex characters I've ever encountered and you will easily find yourself rooting for the "villain" here. McAlister has done it again - and yes, I'm still obsessed.

I really enjoyed ‘Not Here to Make Friends’ it was really good and had a good time reading it. I will definitely be checking out the other books in the series 😀
Rating 5 Stars

I originally rated this book 4 stars but after writing this review, I'm changing it to 5. I can't fault this book, it had me hooked the whole way through.

Murray O'Connell is a tv producer working on a reality show called Marry Me, Juliet. He's thrown a curveball when the big boss (who gives Michael Scott from The Office vibes) sends in a "spicy meatball" for the new season, Lily Fireball.

Lily Fireball is an interesting character. At times, I found her to be frustrating due to her forceful, unapologetic nature but overall, I was still rooting for her. Murray is likeable and incredibly hard-working, I felt proud in the moments where he stands up for himself. This book held the perfect amount of tension the whole way through and handled some tricky topics well. This was my first McAlister book and I absolutely will be going to read her other books asap!

Not Here To Make Friends by Jodi McAllister is the third book in the Marry Me, Juliet series. It's also my FAVOURITE.

I absolutely loved Murray and Lily's story. This book had less focus on the pandemic than the previous two books, instead focusing more on the complexity of Lily and Murray's friendship and history.

Lily Fireball's motives in the previous two books were kept under wraps. We knew that she wasn't as bad as she pretended, but until this book, the reasons why were mostly underwraps. She is such a fascinating character, with so much depth and complexities. After this book, she is 100% my absolute favourite character in this series.

Honestly I can't rave about this book enough - This is a fantastic story, Lily and Murray are the most perfectly imperfect characters and I absolutely loved it. Highly recommend!!

I have no complaints about this book because I was completely engrossed.

Lily Fireball is a complex and intriguing character. Because of her aggressive, unapologetic demeanor, I occasionally found her to be difficult, but generally, I was still cheering for her. Murray is likable and highly dedicated; when he speaks up for himself, I feel proud of him.

The tension in this novel was just right throughout, and it addressed some difficult subjects nicely. This was my first book by McAlister, and I will definitely read more of her work soon!

I was so excited to be accepted to read an Advanced copy of Not Here To Make Friends, Lily and Murray had my heart from Jodis' first book in the Marry Me, Juliet series.
Another fantastic read that I could not put down. It was such a thrill to read from Lily and Murray's POV's.

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.