A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan

Narrated by Stephanie Willing and Timothy Andres Pabon

When I requested this audiobook from NetGalley, I didn’t realize that A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan was third in a series. It’s not classified as a series on Amazon, but it is, and I did feel like I missed out on some important background information about the hero Wes, since the previous two books were about his siblings.

That being said, it was still a cute listen. Hailey is new to town, starting her own business, By The Cup, which features some delicious, unique sounding salads in a cup. Much of the story is about her business which I enjoyed, but I think it may have been to the detriment of the romance.

After a disastrous meet-cute, Wes and Hailey became friends, in fact, she became friends with his entire friend group and I really liked that for her. Friends became something more, but I never really felt it. I felt like they never fully connected, or maybe it was me never fully connecting to any of the characters.

Likes:

I love her salad shop. Some of the salads sound yummy!
I liked the concept for the book. It had a good storyline.
I enjoyed reading about the struggles of starting a business (been there, done that).
Some good side characters, especially the ones who worked in her shop.
I enjoyed the relationship between the brothers.

Dislikes:

I never FELT in this book. Perhaps it was a lack of connection to the characters.
The “Guide” mentioned in the title was mentioned like once or twice and then never fully fleshed out.
She was ridiculously stubborn about accepting help. A good businessman knows to take what you can.
Amazon should clearly label this as book 3, because I felt like I missed some important background information.
This is a clean romance with some suggestive moments, but perhaps I needed passion to feel the connection more.

The Narration:

Stephanie Willing and Timothy Andrés Pabon are both new to me, and though they narrated just fine, I felt like there was something missing. The delivery was a bit dry, but that could have been because the story was as well. I think I would read this one instead of listen.

The Down & Dirty:

I liked A Guide to Being Just Friends. At no time did I think of DNFing, but I never quite connected with the book. I never felt the couple’s connection either. Part of this may be because I didn’t read the first two in the series, but since Hailey is new to town, that shouldn’t affect my connection with her, but I just never quite felt it. I really enjoyed reading about her salad business, but the romance was just kind of lackluster for me.