A review by yvo_about_books
Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

Finished reading: July 6th 2025


"I thought I knew how our story would go, two parallel lines stretching into forever. But in retrospect, our lives were never destined to take that shape."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Canary Street Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I saw this debut being compared to People We Meet On Vacation and I do tend to enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope, so in the end I couldn't resist adding Friends To Lovers to my shelves. I liked the sound of that plus-one wedding tradition between the two best friends, and I've been looking forward to pick up this book to watch their story unfold. And while there were a couple things that prevented me from rating this book even higher, as a whole I can't deny that it was still a pretty solid romance.

Like the title already suggests, this book focuses on two best friends falling in love somewhere along the way. The story switches between the present and flashbacks to different points in the past, mainly to whatever wedding they attend as each other's plus-one after they stopped living in the same state. While those flashback chapters are key in understanding both their relationship and the current rift between them, I do have to say that the transitions between past and present could get a little confusing at times. The pace was also slower than expected, making the story drag in points and it took me a lot longer than expected to make it to the end.

The story is told from Joni's POV both in past and present, and at times I wish we could have had Ren's POV as well... Basically because out of the two, I liked him so much better. Following Joni around could get seriously frustrating at times, especially when it comes to certain actions and decisions... Although both are to blame for the amount of miscommunication happening at various points in the story. Seriously, SO much could have been solved with just a simple conversation, and this miscommunication is one of the reasons I didn't rate this story higher. Then again, it has always been a pet peeve for me in the first place.

As for the rest of the cast: I had mixed thoughts. Most of the siblings were a great addition and added a dose of humor to the plot, but I wasn't a fan of all that focus on parental pressure when it comes to both mothers. Especially Joni's relationship with her mother was more toxic than anything, and it bothered me that nobody saw it that way. I did like the background story with the two families buying a house together and the two being best friends since they were little... The Oregon setting was also great.

As a whole, Friends To Lovers turned out to be a pretty decent romance debut. If you enjoy a friends-to-lovers trope and don't mind that there is little actual romance to be found thanks to the miscommunication, you will probably enjoy this story. I agree that this book is pretty similar to People We Meet On Vacation though! And if you compare the two, that one ends up coming out on top. 
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