lisa (fc hollywood's version)'s Reviews > Just Friends

Many thanks to the author and the publisher, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, for providing me with this e-ARC.

Actual rating: 3.5/5 (rounded up to four because, after all, it was fun).

If you ask me what the superior romance trope is, I would say, without hesitation, that it is friends-to-lovers (even better if it's best-friends-to-lovers). However, I believe that this trope is rarely executed well (e.g., People We Meet on Vacation) because, after searching for many years for my cup of tea in both fiction and fanfiction, I have only found three. Sadly, this is not one of my all-time favorites, but it isn't without merit.

Let's start with the good: I love how the author created a tangible and healthy dynamic between our two characters. Good communication has become so rare in romance nowadays that I was actually impressed that Hazel and Alex communicated their vulnerabilities and feelings smoothly to each other. I am so sick of miscommunication done poorly as a third act conflict that I really appreciated their development from friendship to maybe-something-more to a romantic relationship. Additionally, I really like Hazel as a character and her growth. I always love a "vulnerable hero/heroine becoming more confident and caring for themselves" plotline, and I find that the author wrote it very well here. Again, I have to insist on how good the communication in this book is: Hazel, very hesitant about love after the heartbreaks, broke out of her shell to seek love in Alex by communicating with him and her loved ones. A lot of props from me for that aspect.

Unfortunately, this book didn't do so well in other aspects: Alex was flat AF, random character quirks that I didn't like, too much showing and not enough telling, cringy banter at times, and my biggest problem with this book (and with a lot of best-friends-to-lovers romance) is that the friendship wasn't developed enough. For example, I can say that my best friend knows me better than myself, but that's because we have known each other for 18 years. Obviously, I am not saying that the friendship needs to have spanned 18 years, but you can't expect me to believe that two adults are "best friends" and "know each other microscopically" when they have only known each other for two years, one of which was long-distance. I need to understand these people's deep connection and understanding of each other for me to root for them as best friends and as lovers. I need to see flashbacks, conversations, and development from a casual friendship to a profound one. Additionally, l-bombs were dropped way too quickly for my liking: the book starts when they meet, two pages later they were already best friends, three more pages and one of them is already crazy in love. I want to see the yearning, the desperation of loving someone you're afraid to lose and hurt, the hope but also the pain of having someone who sees through you, etc. That was what I expected getting into this book, but unfortunately, it didn't deliver.

I digress, so bottom line: Just Friends is a fun, feel-good romance if you're searching for a low-stress, agreeable, and overall quite delightful read. However, I wouldn't recommend it if you really want a profound friends-to-lovers arc, though.