Member Reviews

A really nice feel good book, and a nice easy read! You can’t help but love each and every character - the ending was predictable from the start but loved it nonetheless.

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I enjoyed this book so much. Its a romantic novel which tells the story of 2 friends Bea and Peter, who have known each other since uni, and whose lives are lived out as friends only. The story progesses well, the characters engender affection in the reader. It's a simple romance, well written and I recommend it to fans of light hearted reads.
Many thanks to the author publishers and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.

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If you only read one bit of this review let it be this: Holly McCulloch is 100% an author to keep an eye out for.

Her story follows Bea, a 30ish year old single uninspired woman - she doesn’t know where she’s going in life or what she’s doing, not giving her all to anything - she’s a hot mess but a loveable one.

I don’t want to give too much away but she goes on such an incredible character journey finding who she is and her path in life that spoke to me on a personal level.
Sure it was friends to lovers (which might I add is basically my new favourite thing) but it was such a lovely tale of self discovery that I think everyone should definitely give it a read.

An easy 5* from me, no questions asked
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the ARC

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I really enjoyed this humourous account of a year in Bea's life. She has a wide network of friends but decides she needs to date again, leading to misadventures with dry January and chilli injuries. Her job isn't much fun and her side business isn't going anywhere either. But there are changes on the horizon. Bea's wry observations about life in London, 'adulting', and office life made me laugh, and took the saccharine off the romance plotline.

Recommended.

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Really enjoyed this feel good tale. I'm usually a thriller fan but this definitely put a smile on my face no matter how many times I wanted to bang Bea and Peter's heads together!

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This book is lovely and, I’m sure that many of us are guilty of not being brave for fear of losing a friendship.

Bea is determined to get back in the dating saddle and, seeing as all her friends are attached, she sets about trying modern dating. From apps to speed dating with an occasional random hook-up, she finds no joy. Thankfully, she can rely on her closest friend from University, the ever loyal Peter.

I’m not one for spoilers but, the synopsis and the title hint heavily at the plotline and, knowing, doesn’t detract from this delightful yet saucy tale.

Bea represents all women who have found themselves single in a sea of couples. She is desperate to find her soulmate but, she’s terrified that, in doing so, she may damage the one friendship that she values more than any other. Peter is the guy that she needs to find the courage to take a leap of faith with.

If you enjoy honestly romantic stories, Just Friends is a sure thing and will leave you happy.

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You know when you come across a novel and it speaks to you on a personal level? Well at times it felt Bea’s thinking was a reflection of mine.

Anyhow, Bea is a thirty something woman who realises she’s not actually happy. She has supportive friends, a stable job that she hates and a side card designing business that she’s not really doing much about. After her best friend’s wedding, as part of a New Year’s resolution she makes an effort to change things up and seek the happiness she feels all of those around her have achieved. One of the things she decides to go for, is putting herself back into the dating world.
Throughout the novel you will watch the highs and lows as Bea tries to make the best of what life throws at her, whilst learning a lot about her own person including the fact that maybe she already found the perfect someone without having realised it.

I loved Bea’s character and her growth and her little faults throughout. The characters were all well developed (even the dog Hugo!) and I enjoyed their supportive attitudes who would sometimes despite their best intentions, still cause some hurt. The writing was great; it flowed well and the pace felt even throughout the book. There were even a few moments that had me chuckling out loud. Never did the plot feel too over the top, in fact, it was downright authentic by managing to mirror life pretty well.

One thing that really bugged me though, was the formatting (I’m not sure if it’s just in the copy I’ve received from Netgalley) such as text messages being indistinguishable to the main text, a different font would have made so much difference. Another thing was the dialogue, and how it was written. Occasionally it would get a bit confusing as to who was saying what, and I would have to go back and try to figure it out, as it wouldn’t be made obviously clear. Lastly, it was too short - at least another chapter or an epilogue would have been amazing to tidy everything up, show how life for Bea was turning up after she decided to stop running from her problems. Some scenes could have been longer and if it were up to me I would have included slightly more interactions between Bea and Peter, as I loved their chemistry but just didn’t feel that they interacted all that much throughout the novel.

It was a lighter read and not often do I say that I ever choose to re-read those, but ‘Just Friends.’ is one I would like to keep on my bookshelf and revisit again.

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What do you do when your life is going nowhere fast? Procrastinate in the case of Bea. Stuck in a job she dislikes, making cards she loves but can't quit the day job, can't make enough money making cards and selling them in her free time.
Loyal friends from her university days make her feel cherished and despondent by turns. Taking up a dating challenge in an effort to get out of her rut and make changes.
Follow Bea on her journey, she will make you smile and laugh out loud whilst you cheer her on.
More to follow I hope in the life of Bea and her friends.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC of Just Friends which is the debut novel from author Holly McCulloch.

The book is in the friends to lovers genre and is a quirky, quick little read with true to life, likeable characters and a heroine in Bea who could be any one of us! Written from Bea's POV, Just Friends is essentially a snap shot of her life over a year or so, with all its ups and downs and relationship dramas.

It wasn't complicated and I enjoyed rreading it as an interlude between some other 'heavier' books. My biggest criticism is that it's too short - the book basically ends just as it gets going. Other than that, a nice little summer read during an afternoon at the beach 😊.

#JustFriendsBook #NetGalley

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Just Friends is a sweet story of the friends-to-lovers relationship of Bea and Peter. It was fairly well written but short on plot and action. I liked Bea’s straight-talking friend Mia and also enjoyed Peter’s original quirkiness which seemed to be toned down later in the book as he became more of a romantic lead. Or maybe the author just felt his quirkiness was already established, but as there was not much else to focus on it felt a bit of a shame. (I also liked his ‘lounge pants.’)

Nothing much happened until about quarter of the way through by which point I was in danger of losing interest. I kept on with it because the characters were lovely, but it could have stood more action. Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for the advance read.

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Gotta say, Bea, the heroine, is one hot mess! But what I liked about this book is that she remains a cute hot mess throughout and the character and the story don't go into cringe-worthy territory much. Many authors seem to go over-the-top in making their heroines messes so as to make them sympathetic, but Holly McCullough walks that fine line with panache and does it very well.
I would just have wanted some 'more' between Be and Peter - the story was, after all, about them and this attraction that creeps up unannounced on Bea. It's not a long book, but nothing on that front had actually happened by 10% into the story, so this aspect dragged a bit for me and didn't really catch required steam after that.
Still, it's a nice, good one to get lost into.
***With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book. This review is my honest opinion

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Loved this book!
A friends to lovers story for Bea and Peter, who have known each other since university. He has always liked her more than a friends and now she is finally noticing him, but is it too late?

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Bea and Peter met at University and have been ‘just friends’ ever since - this is a story about not realising what’s been right in front of you all along.

It was refreshing to have a relationship in a novel like the one between Bea and her friend Mia: Mia is straight talking and doesn’t hold back; this is exactly what Bea needs.

It took me a little while to get into the story, in places. I really wanted to hear more about the relationship between Bea and Peter (both how it flourished in the past and a much more developed interaction in the present, even if it remains minimal), but it never really materialised.

I really enjoyed aspects of this book, but I felt it was over too soon. I would have loved the author, Holly McCulloch, to have made it so that there was more chemistry between Bea and Peter (although, I appreciate this ‘new’ attraction had snuck up on Bea and this may have been a structural ploy in making the story what it is).

Thank you for affording me the opportunity to read this book for an unbiased review. I wish the author the best of luck with the release of her debut novel.

I’d give this book 2.5/5 stars.

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