Liked the idea of this but unfortunately it fell short for me. I didn't overly feel the connection and there were moments that the dialogue really didn't sit right. One of the reviews says it's like a Hallmark romance in a book and that's very much the feel. It'll suit people, just not for me.

This book is adorable, and I'm secretly hoping we get a story about Fiona because she's just the best.
Wes and Hailey have great character growth throughout this book and they really are perfect for eachother.
My only issue was in the beginning, the talk about salads seemed to drag out and I became bored to hear about it. Luckily it eased up around the halfway point. Thankyou to NetGallery and Headline Eternal for the ARC. I'm excited to read more from the series

This story is the third instalment of the Jansen brothers, this time focusing on Wes - tech genius and adamant that he will never be in love.

When Wes meets Sophie, the owner of a new salad shop, his insistence on never falling in love is fully put to the test.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is the third and final book in the Jansen brothers series from Sophie Sullivan. Each book can be read as a standalone, but feature characters from the previous books in each subsequent one. I actually hadn’t read the first in the series, 10 Rules for Faking It, but really enjoyed How To Love Your Neighbour and so was pleased to be accepted to read the final instalment.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is the story of Hailey and Wes, the eldest of the 3 Jansen brothers. Having left LA and a bad ex behind Haliley’s focus is on making her salad shop thrive. Whilst Wes is looking out for companionship without the risk of passion and love, having seem the impact of love gone wrong through his parents’ bitter divorce. Following a disastrous meet cute that wasn't even intended for them, Hailey and Wes go their separate ways. But when Wes finds Hailey to apologize for his behaviour, they strike up a friendship - and that's all it will ever be. Hailey doesn't want any distractions.
Wes doesn't want to fall in love. What could possibly go wrong?

I enjoyed this one just as much as I did the second book in the series. Sullivan writes in such an easy manner that these books are a joy to read. The characters are all well developed and feel very real. Both Hailey and Wes have hang ups caused by past events that act as stumbling blocks along their path to a HEA, but they work through them in such a way that allows for real positive character growth. I felt they were a well matched couple, different from one another and yet complimentary. I loved their friends to lovers evolution. This is a relatively low tension romance, which though featuring a third act break, is not overly drawn out and resolved very nicely.

I enjoyed seeing more of Grace and Noah from
book 2 and liked Chris and Everly from book 1, which I will go back to read. I especially loved the found family element of this book and just how supportive the females were to Hailey and Wes’ brothers were with him.

Overall this was a really enjoyable read.

The premise of this book felt like a breath of fresh air. Most of the books in romance genre feel like they're based in school/college, frenemies working in the same company or roommates living under the same roof, and where this was different is the discussion around commercial decisions to make a business more profitable. Whether that is the female protagonist, Hailey, considering how use of a food truck will support her newly established salad bar or Wes, her friend and male protagonist , a technical wiz, giving her ideas of an app and business cards to get the word out amongst customers - I found that unique and genuinely interesting to read as part of the narrative. As much as I loved this book, about three quarters of the way through, particularly when the love story was building between the leads, I was disappointed by the lack of depth in their relationship and found the writing weak/rushed (I can't tell which it was but I was really enjoying prior to that moment). The protagonists and supporting characters are all likeable. Wes felt slightly out of character but you can understand his side in the climax where the story picks up again, so I would officially rate this a 3-3.5 stars and still recommend this book as I know alot of people will enjoy it. Thank you @netgalley and @headlineeternal for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book really fell short of expectations. I loved the premise and was so excited to read it, but unfortunately I really struggled to maintain interest.

Thank you to the publisher for kindly providing me with an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

~ thank you to NetGalley and Headline for providing me a digital copy to review ~

I’ll be honest, when I started this book, I didn’t realise it was a part of a series that I had wanted to read, but I fell into this book really easily. The book focuses on Wes, the eldest of the Jansen brothers, and Hailey, the owner of a soon to be thriving salad bar. Both have it clear in their mind that they don’t want to be in a relationship and want to build a friendship with each other, but as we all know when it comes to love, things never conform to a strict plan.

The characters were likeable, and I enjoyed their chemistry, especially as things progressed. Wes and Hailey have their own personal growth challenges as well as their situational differences in their relationship as friends. I also really enjoyed the involvement of family and friends, that always pulls my heart strings. I definitely want to find out more about the younger brothers’ romance stories as they seemed besotted with their other halves.

Overall I found this a nice easy read that did have me invested and I would recommend!

I loved this book!
Hailey and Wes have a meet-hate, but end up friends. Can they be more when he is clear he never wants to fall in love or get married, or will he just break her heart.
A great series so far, hoping there will be more books.

Life doesn’t always have to be about those love stories where both the couple in question falls hopelessly in love right away and then overcomes some obstacles. Sometimes it is a slow-burn romance where the couple is friends first before realising that love could have been staring them in the face all along. This story had the hopes of a heartwarming friend-to-lovers but delivered such a slow burn between the pair that I didn’t feel any connection building between them.

This was a really sweet book and I loved the idea of it. I haven’t read the previous 2 books but I thought the plot was just fine to follow along with.

I really liked Hailey and Wes’ characters but there was a lot of miscommunication between the two of them. Obviously both have issues that need to be worked through but it just felt like there was no effort to sort through them until the very last few chapters.

The third act breakup felt completely unnecessary, it would have been just as effective if they had had an argument and not broken up but oh well. I also thought it took WAY too long for them to get together, I understand that it’s supposed to be slow burn but seriously 😅 at the 70% mark they still aren’t together.

It did make for a bit of a boring and predictable read until the couple were together and there was more depth introduced. I did like how Hailey was able to stand up for herself, she wasn’t just letting people walk all over her. There were some very sweet moments in the book which I did really enjoy and which showed a bit more connection between the characters.

I received this book as an arc and honestly didn‘t really know anything about it going in. I didn‘t even know that this was a three book series, but luckily you can read each book as a stand alone, since it‘s a series like for example Lauren Asher‘s Dreamland series, where each book is the love story of each brother, so that really worked out in my favor.
The story is about Wes and Hailey, Hailey moved to the city after breaking up with her ex and decided to start her own business there. She settles in with her business and even finds herself a good friend circle which includes Wes who quickly becomes her best friend. This book is such a cute and quick romance, I seriously couldn‘t put it down since it also has some of my favorite tropes. It‘s a friendship-to-lover romance with quite the slow burn, which I personally LOVE. I‘m not really into those instant love stories, so this one was perfect for me. I really enjoyed Sophie‘s storytelling and the characters. Again it‘s a cute and predictable romance book but that‘s exactly what it should be. I do not read romance for plot twists, I read them for comfort and that is what this book gave me. I really liked Wes and Hailey‘s story a lot. So much so that I might check out the previous books from this series

I really liked this book! I thought the premise was really different. Interesting and fresh from what is out in most womens fiction at the moment.I loved the characters of both Hailey and Wes. They each have there reasons for not being in love with love at the moment, but an unintended meet cute changes all that! More thoughts and a full review to come, but definitely pick this one up! You won’t be disappointed. I’ll definitely be looking for more from this author in the future.


Hailey Sharp has a one-track mind:
Get her salad shop off the ground.
Do everything possible to make it a success.
Repeat.

With a head full of entrepreneurial ideas and a bad ex in her rear-view mirror, Hailey's one and only focus is living life the way she wants to. No distractions.

For Wes Jansen, companionship, not passion, is the name of the game. After the pain from his parents' angry divorce and a string of lacklustre first dates, he'd much rather find someone who he likes, but won't love.

Following a disastrous meet cute that wasn't even intended for them, Hailey and Wes go their separate ways. But when Wes finds Hailey to apologize for his behaviour, they strike up a friendship - and that's all it will ever be.

Hailey doesn't want any distractions.
Wes doesn't want to fall in love.
What could possibly go wrong?

This one was a quick cute read. Is a part of a series but can be read as a standalone. Is also a slow burner as first the friendship is developed and then turns into romance. I wasn't a fan of the drama at the end anf the fact that a happy ending has to end up with someone married and/or wanting to have kids. I enjoyed the mention to BTS, though, big fan!

There is nothing ew with this romance and nothing bad about it either. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

A Guide to Being Just Friends is Sophie Sullivan’s third novel. It is told in third person from dual POV. This is the third novel in the Jansen Brothers series. This story follows Hailey Sharp who wants to get her salad shop off the ground. She is struggling but is determined to get it running. Wes Jansen is really not interested in relationships. He has had very lacking first dates and has some trauma from his parent’s divorce. He would rather have a companion instead of a romantic partner. Hailey and Wes meet in an awkward way, but they move on from it and become friends. This was a perfectly enjoyable romance; it wasn’t really anything new, but it was a fun time. Hailey was a sweet character to get to know and Wes was great too. The only issue I had was that I wasn’t a huge fan of the conflict at the end. I also struggle to connect with heroes who don’t believe in love. Overall, I would recommend this and if you are a fan of this series this is a must read. The cover is beautiful too. Overall, 3.5 stars rounded to a 3 because I have read romances with more spark than this

thank you very much for the opportunity to review and acquire this book
full review to come. Love the premise and Hailey and Wes and how their disastrous meet cute leads to something more. I love these types of books! Def a feel good love story
5/5


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 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?