Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely

 

Summary (from the publisher): Always each other’s plus-ones, but never each other’s real dates, two childhood best friends have one last summer wedding to fall in love in this dual-narrative debut. 

Best friends Joni and Ren have been inseparable since childhood. So when Joni moves across the country for her job, the two devise a creative way to stay in they’ll be each other’s plus-ones every year for wedding season, no matter what else is happening in their lives.

It’s a tradition that works, until a line is crossed and the friendship they once thought was forever is ruined.

Now Joni is back at their families’ shared summer home for her sister’s wedding, and she’s determined to make the week perfect, even if it means faking a friendship with Ren—and avoiding the truth of why they have to fake it in the first place. How hard can it be to pretend to be friends with the person who once knew you best?

But as sunny beach days together turn into starry nights, Joni begins to question what her life is without Ren in it. And when the wedding arrives, bringing past heartaches to the surface, she’ll be forced to decide if loving Ren means letting him go, or if theirs is a love story worth fighting for.

Review: Joni and Ren have been best friends since childhood. When a move separates them, they remain connected by being each other's plus ones. And it works, until a line is crossed and their friendship seems to have suffered irreparable damage. Now, they're both back at their families' shared summer home for her sister's wedding and faking friendship to make it through the week. 

This had great summer vibes and was wonderful on audio. I did like all the history that Joni and Ren share and how well they know each other and each other's families. I also liked that it was her sister's wedding that brings them back together and how hard they try to act natural during all the wedding festivities. 

Unless it is very well done and exceptional, I tend to struggle to enjoy friends to lovers so the title alone should have tipped me off that this would not be my favorite. I have a hard time buying that Joni and Ren have been friends for so many years and it was totally platonic. It isn't revealed until pretty far into the book what happened to jeopardize their friendship and once it was revealed I sort of felt like ok that's it?? And regrettably I did feel like this was a People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry knock-off. 

Ultimately, I just struggled to connect to the characters or the story or to feel like this was unique or stood out in any appreciable way. It felt like Joni spent the whole book talking about and noticing how wonderful Ren was instead of acting on it or having an honest conversation with him. 

I do think friends to lovers and Emily Henry fans will love this one. It just unfortunately wasn't the best fit for me personally. 

Stars: 3