**CURRENTLY READING**

*Friends to Lovers*
by Sally Blakely
Sally Blakely presents a Nora Ephron-esque debut novel of two young friends who settle for the *right* thing instead of risking pain and loss — only to face it all anyway.

This is where young love hurts… when you’re fearful, hesitant of losing what you have that you get in your own way and settle for what you think is the right thing to do instead of risking pain and loss — only to face it all anyway. Because when you deprive yourself of that love, you’re still losing. But being brave and taking the leap could mean you have everything to gain. Sally Blakely struck that chord perfectly.

Get your copy of Friends to Lovers (Amazon) and read with us!

What Victoria Loved

VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5

Once I started, I couldn’t stop.

Friends to Lovers is exactly why I struggle with the combination of friends to lovers and second chance tropes. It just feels like someone has ripped my heart out and keeps squeezing it until it’s about to burst. I could actually feel the hollow ache in my chest reading the flashbacks, and it made reading the present-day chapter that much harder.

The tension between Joni and Ren from the flashbacks and present day was subtle yet absolutely painful. With each wedding that passes in the past, we’re given a clearer picture of the impact time and distance has had on their relationship— and you can already guess how they ended up in their current situation. AND ALL I WANT TO DO IS DIVE INTO THIS BOOK AND LOCK THEM IN A ROOM AND TELL THEM TO CONFESS IT ALL.

It’s painful, yet heartwarming. And the promise of an HEA got me through this book because I was so desperate for Joni and Ran to finally get the ending they deserve.

I love how interwoven the families are. How in-sync and perceptive the siblings and parents are, how Ren and Joni can fall back into themselves despite their years apart. I have this dream of owning a home where my best friends and our families gather. A home that’s home to everyone we love. And I love so much how this cozy Nancy-Meyer cottage along the Oregon coast is the setting for this story. It’s picturesque but obviously also so loved and well-worn, how could anyone resist falling in love?!

Read my Sneak Peek.

Set the mood. Binge your favorite Nora Ephron films before (and after).

What the Book Club Loved

FIREWORKS & STEAM: 2.5/5
Okay, let's be real: we were craving way more than we got. It was incredibly mild… almost felt like a YA (Young Adult) novel, even though it definitely wasn't marketed that way. While there was a lot of general tension, we were missing that deep, "stomach-butterfly" sexual tension and yearning. We wanted the author to really lean into that forced proximity! We needed more description of how they felt in those close-contact moments. The consensus? It was fine, but our spice-meters were left flickering.
WRITING STYLE: 4.75/5
Honestly, the writing was the star of the show. It felt so cozy — a "palette cleanser": “This read more like a screenplay... I can already see us sitting down to watch the movie and loving it.” The wedding-to-wedding through-line and the timeline jumps kept us hooked, though we did have a few lingering questions about some loose ends by the finale. As for the setting? There were some cute nods to the Pacific Northwest, but the location didn't really feel like a "character" itself; this story could have happened pretty much anywhere.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 3.5/5
This is where things got a little messy. We struggled with the sheer volume of side characters—trying to track three different family trees plus new wedding guests in every chapter was basically a full-time job.But the real talk? The FMC’s emotional intelligence was… lacking. It was hard to watch her miss what was right in front of her face for so long. And don’t even get us started on the mothers! Their overbearing energy and the way they inserted themselves into the romance was a lot. We really missed that feeling of a family actually rooting for the couple instead of just betting on them.
THE LOVE STORY: 3.75/5
If you’re a die-hard fan of the friends-to-lovers trope, you might enjoy this more than we did. We found the conflict a bit too obvious, which made it frustrating when the characters stayed oblivious. Given how long they had known each other, we found it a little hard to believe it took her that long to have her lightbulb moment. It felt a bit unoriginal at times, but the journey was still a fun ride.

“I’m vibing with it. This book hits the good end of a classic romcom. You can read it over and over and it doesn’t get old. It gives classic romcom vibes that isn’t made anymore.”

- LISA

If You Loved Friends to Lovers, You’ll Love These

THE ONE WHO GOT AWAY: Wild and Wrangled (Rebel Blue #4) by Lyla Sage (Amazon)
This second-chance romance is a redemption for a first-love that was too big at the wrong time. Lyla will draw you in and tug at your heartstrings, planting seeds to pull at your curiosity, lure you into craving answers to understand how a love so seemingly big went so wrong. All while simultaneously weaving Cam and Dusty’s past and present, into the most tender and heartwarming romance.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
CHILDHOOD LOVE, NEAR AND FAR: Powerless (Chestnut Springs #3) by Elsie Silver (Amazon)
A childhood friends-to-lovers romance that brings together a hockey player and a ballerina. Although their friendship was never a secret, they did drift apart as they got older. But when Sloane suddenly finds herself unable to walk down the aisle, Jasper (the man she’s secretly loved her entire life) is there to rescue her. I’m a fan of this entire series (so you can start from Book 1), but this stand-alone was a cute one! There’s mutual pining and that courageous jump from friends to something more.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
SECOND CHANCE AT THE LAKE: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune (Amazon)
Every Summer After is a beautifully written nostalgic love story that spans six years and one weekend when Sam and Percy are forced to face how their big young love fell devastatingly apart.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
“WEDDING DATES”: Jilted by Vi Keeland (Amazon)
Wedding journalist and ex-pro rugby player (seeking to start a US expansion team) meet at his friend’s wedding. After a memorable encounter, he pitches a series for his dad’s magazine that would require Sloane to cover all of his friends upcoming weddings… because he wants to spend more time with her. It’s witty, quick, and steamy.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 3/5
BY THE AUTHOR: This is Sally Blakely’s debut; but she’s made it on the automatic TBR list! Her next novel releases this summer.