Guide to Being Just Friends
Most Anticipated Romance by Goodreads, Buzzfeed, PopSugar, and more!
When Harry Met Sally meets 500 Days of Summer in A Guide to Being Just Friends, a playful and emotional romantic comedy from the author of Ten Rules for Faking It.
"Sophie Sullivan’s writing feels like a warm hug.” —Rachel Lynn Solomon, bestselling author of The Ex Talk
Hailey Sharp has a one-track mind. Get By the Cup salad shop off the ground. Do literally everything possible to make it a success. Repeat. With a head full of entrepreneurial ideas and a bad ex in her rearview, her one and only focus is living life the way she wants to. No distractions.
Wes Jansen never did understand the fuss about relationships. With a string of lackluster first dates and the pain from his parents’ angry divorce following him around, he’d much rather find someone who he likes, but won’t love. Companionship, not passion, is the name of the game.
When Hailey and Wes find each other in a disastrous meet cute that wasn’t even intended for them, they embarrassingly go their separate ways. But when Wes finds Hailey to apologize for his behavior, they strike up a friendship. Because that’s all this can be. Hailey doesn’t want any distractions. Wes doesn’t want to fall in love.
What could possibly go wrong?
"A joyful, swoony romance full of heart and humor!" —Sarah Adams, author of The Cheat Sheet
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Community Reviews
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ✨
Before requesting this book I didn't know it was a part of a series featuring the other characters mentioned in the book. You don't need to read the others to read this but I think if I had read them I may have liked this book a little more.
This book features the friends-to-lovers trope and while it seems simple enough to do, it's very rare when someone gets it right. I didn't feel the spark between these two that made me want to root for them and beg them to give each other a chance.
I think my favorite thing about the story itself may have been the friendships that the MC makes throughout the book. As someone who recently moved to a new town, I completely understand the need to start fresh and look for genuine connections. Hailey gave me hope for finding my own little group of friends too.
Hailey's been navigating her life by herself since she as a teenager and after splitting from her boyfriend of a few years she's finally opening her own business. As Hailey navigates small business ownership she finds herself surrounded by the most supportive friends. I loved reading about the friendships between Hailey and her cousin Piper's friend Fiona who is such a firecracker. It showed how important a found family can be when you're own family isn't around to support you.
Wes is determined to never fall in love so that he can avoid ending up like his father. Let's just say he wasn't the best example to his three sons and we've been able to see that in glimpses from the other books in this series. I liked Wes and enjoyed seeing how his character evolved from this a man struggling with what his expectations of love were and what the reality of it is.
The spice was low but I was ok with that. I liked the banter between Wes and Hailey and am glad I got the opportunity to read this one. I hope we get more of these fun rom-coms. They definitely bring some light into my reading life!
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