The Bookish Ashley

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

If you’re a sucker for slow burns, pining, and all the delicious ache that comes with watching two best friends try really hard to pretend they’re not completely in love with each other—Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely will be your catnip.

Joni and Ren have been best friends since they were kids—the kind of friendship built on inside jokes, shared beach days, and late-night phone calls. Even when Joni moves across the country, they stay close through their adorable pact: be each other’s plus-one for every wedding. It’s charming, heartfelt, and totally working… until that line gets crossed.

The story picks up with Joni returning to their shared family summer home for her sister’s wedding. Tensions are high, secrets are bubbling just under the surface, and the once-unbreakable bond between Joni and Ren is in pieces. What follows is a wedding week full of forced smiles, stolen glances, and moments so tender they practically beg you to scream at the page: JUST KISS ALREADY!

Blakely does a great job layering past and present, letting us feel the weight of everything Joni and Ren have been through. There’s a quiet nostalgia to the book, like paging through an old photo album of a friendship you thought would never change.

I docked one star only because there were a few pacing hiccups in the middle—some scenes felt a bit repetitive as Joni tiptoed around her feelings (and Ren tiptoed around his), but by the time the emotional payoff hits, it’s so worth it.

Final verdict: Friends to Lovers is a cozy, heartfelt read that delivers on emotion, chemistry, and second chances. If you’re into summer settings, weddings with emotional baggage, and two people who are clearly meant to be—this one’s for you.

Would I recommend it?

Absolutely. Bring it to the beach, your book club, or anywhere you want to feel a little swoony and a lot nostalgic.

Have you read this one yet? Let me know your thoughts—I’m still not over that scene on the dock!