Title: A Guide to Being Just Friends       
Author:  Sophie Sullivan   
Genre: Romance    
Rating:  4 out of 5

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 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?

First, a confession:  when the previous book in this series came out, I tried it, and could absolutely not stand the main characters. They were both jerks. I didn’t actually realize this until halfway through reading this one.

Hailey’s salad shop totally intrigued me, and I enjoyed her personality and growth a lot. Wes was…a lot. I’m pretty sure I’d have smacked him a time or two. How can any one person be so oblivious to the feelings of other people? (Hang on. Maybe go ask my ex that question.) This ended up being a quick, enjoyable read…but I still wouldn’t recommend that previous book.

Sophie Sullivan is from Canada. A Guide to Being Just Friends is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

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