Sullivan brings peak friends-to-lovers trope in her latest romance

     Sophie Sullivan’s newest book, and the last book in The Jansen Brothers Series, comes out on January 17th and the title pretty much sums up what the book is about! A Guide To Being Just Friends showcases the epitome of the friends-to-lovers trope and how trust and friendship can lead to something more.
     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?
     This book was a cute read and friends-to-lovers romances are always adorable if you ask me. That being said, I kind of felt like the romance got dragged out a bit too long (too many descriptions of salads maybe?) and the third act break up was a bit abrupt in my opinion. However, I still enjoyed this book. I just think I liked the previous one better!
     Besides that, Hailey’s determination to be successful in her small business and Wes’s drive to be impactful in his community were both fun journeys to read about. I just wish they would’ve accepted their feelings for one another a little sooner!
     If you liked closed door romances, then this is a good book to read, but it wasn’t my favorite of the series.

*I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest opinion.

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