Just Friends: The must-read emotional and enthralling second chance romance from TikTok star Haley Pham

by Haley Pham

This heart warming and swoon worthy second chance romance about childhood friends reconnecting as adults is the highly anticipated debut novel from BookTok icon Haley Pham.

Blair and Declan were inseparable growing up – best friends who knew each other better than anyone else. But when an impulsive kiss took them from friends to something more, everything changed. Just as quickly as their romance started, one moment shattered it all, leaving them with nothing but heartbreak and silence.

Four years later, Blair is back in their coastal hometown of Seabrook to support her mom and care for her great-aunt Lottie. To make ends meet, Blair applies to work at a coffee shop – only to discover it’s managed by none other than Declan. The boy she loved. The boy she lost. The boy who still makes her heart race.

As Blair’s path keeps crossing with Declan’s, old wounds resurface, secrets are revealed and sparks reignite. But could their future ever be free of their past?

Told in dual timelines that unravel the magic and pain of first love, Just Friends is a moving, romantic story about second chances, the weight of dreams and finding your way back to the people who feel like home.

Readers can't stop talking about Just Friends . . .
‘Honestly, I was so pleasantly surprised and completely blown away by this book’
‘I cannot stress enough how much fun I had with this book!’
‘The ending had an absolute chokehold on me’
‘They didn’t feel like characters; they felt like real people who had lived a whole life before the pages even started’
‘This is a couple I’ll be thinking about for a long time’
‘This book felt like having my favourite playlist on repeat’
'It felt light, bright and sparkled like only some books do'

Genres: Romance, Summer, Contemporary, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Second Chance

Audible Audio

First published March 3, 2026

Reviews

[ilana · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing was middle-grade at best, there was no plot, the romance was severely lacking in chemistry (and everything else). It felt like reading a wannabe Emily Henry book with a lot of telling instead of showing - the characters were two dimensional with no substance other than traumatic things written in to give them character or some semblance of personality.

Almost every sentence was stilted, the female main character was insufferable (blaming her bad behavior on grief, not taking responsibility or owning up to her own faults, being selfish AT ALL TIMES), and somehow the writing felt like a self-insertion of the author and her own characteristics. On top of all that… it wasn’t even FUN!

My opinion doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things but if anyone were to ask me, I wouldn’t recommend this book.

*I downloaded an eARC of this book and received no compensation for this review, it is purely my thoughts after reading*

[caleigh]

cue the parasocial relationships making this an immediate bestseller even though the blurb is a replica of every second chance summer romance in existence

[Ashlynn Calee · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️A stunning and memorable debut novel!! I felt touched and connected to the main character Blair in her grief as well as Declan and how tender hearted he was!! I love the theme of bird houses/birds in this story and don’t even get me started on the setting😩 Please transport me to the cozy coastal town of Seabrooke, CA asap!! The prose was well balanced between flowery and realistic. It flowed very nicely with the story and is actually the writing style I prefer in most books so this was exciting to read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I could write a 100 page essay on this book but instead I implore you to pick it up and read it once it’s available next year!!!

⭐️You can watch my full, spoiler free review on my YouTube channel: Ashlynn Calee

[aira · Rating 2 out of 5]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 2.25/5

Some of you need to calm down, get off goodreads, and go outside to touch some grass. Seriously?

For the love of god let people read & rate the books they want, the way they want. The amount of people I've seen in other people's reviews of this book bashing people for their opinions when it's literally none of your damn business.

Don't even bother trying to start bullshit with me about this book, cause I've had it with people on here consistently all up people's asses for the books they read. Just because you don't like it or don't want to read it, doesn't mean that anyone else cannot like it or read it. Or just because you liked it, does't mean that other people have to like it too. It's never that deep and the hate in the comments for the reviews of this book is on a whole other level.

I didn't completely love this book, but regardless you don't see me in people's comments trying to shame them for their ratings. Some of you take reading so seriously that it's ruining the fun in it for the rest of us.

Anyways, rant aside, it's finally review time. It's not that long, but I don't know what else to write.

Honestly, if I'm being serious, I requested this book because I saw this book on a lot of my bestie's feed. I don't watch videos from super popular booktokers or booktubers at all. I had heard about haley but my opinion of this book is completely separate from her as an influencer because I've never watched her videos.

While it wasn't totally for me, I still have to say that it was an attempt at a sweet second chance romance. I'm just a little harsh when it comes to rating books if you've ever seen the way I rate usually rate books. Although with that I have to say that if this is one of your most anticipated reads for 2026, I think you'll still could have a fairly good time. For me, the first few chapters were a little rough to get past, but it does feel like it picks up a little bit after that.

I'm not going to say that I didn't like it because there were things that I enjoyed. For example, I thought that the promposal scene was so precious because Blair and Declan were so sweet there.

However, at the same time, there were things I didn't completely love like the romance. The no smut was completely fine for me, but the romance was too linear for me. When there's no smut, all the romance falls on the interactions between the characters and there wasn't much for me to get a good read of their chemistry.

"I always wanted to give him more than he wanted of me."

"I miss you, Little Bird. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, fly back to me."

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for this arc! 💕

----------------

bye ✋🫣......so I just got the arc for this 🤧 and I guess that means I gotta read it soon.

[Maddy ✨ ~The Verse Vixen {AFK brb}]

The cover is screaming beach read energy!!🌅🤌🏻

-Cue Golden Hour by JVKE🏖️💌


----
WHAT THE HELL… WHAT THE HALEY?!

WE'RE GETTING A HALEY PHAM DEBUT NOVEL!! Woohoo!! I am sat🧎🏻‍♀️

I opened the blurb and blacked out...

-📢 BREAKING: Internet it-girl turned author Haley Pham said “Here’s your new emotional support second chance romance.”

“She gave us the BookTube glow-up, the BookTok brainrot, and now a COASTAL HEARTBREAK ROMANCE??? She went from BookTube baddie to romance author QUEEN — and we’re not okay.”

જ⁀➴ WHAT TO EXPECT (and emotionally survive):

~Serving hot just like declan's gonna be at that expresso machine 😋☕

🌊 Welcome to Seabrook—where the waves crash hard and so do your unresolved feelings.
🫶 Best friends to “wait, did we just ruin everything?”
💌 A kiss they swore they’d forget (spoiler: they didn’t)
📍“From Childhood Besties to Coffee Shop Tension: This Is Peak Haley Pham Cinematic Universe”
☕ Coffee shop drama with a splash of pining and a whole lot of sexual tension
“One Kiss. Four Years Apart. Unlimited Emotional Damage.”
📦 Declan “I make lattes and heartbreak look effortless” McHeartache
📖 Dual timelines — past: adorable chaos / present: emotional reckoning™
🫠 One kiss ruined everything. One job interview brings her back. One shift together? YEAH GOOD LUCK.
🤐 Secrets. Silence. Unspoken things. Like: “I never stopped loving you.”
🔥 Soft boy energy with a mean apron tie
📍 Coastal hometown with main character weather (read: rain, sunsets, and pain)
🎤 “I can’t work with him!”
Manager: “You’re hired.”
🎵 cue 'Cardigan' by Taylor Swift playing in the background, softly but emotionally
📦 tiny storage room + big feelings
💬 flashbacks like:
“You’re my favorite person, Blair.”
“Then why did you leave?”
🎶 sad violin intensifies
—🎶 “Oh no, I’m falling in love again…” 🎶- Taylor voice intensifies
— “THIS BOOK??? GONNA BE FEELS LIKE LISTENING TO ‘ALL TOO WELL’ (10 MIN VERSION) IN A WET SWEATSHIRT ON A DOCK.”


☕THE FLAVORS?

💌 Second chance, first love, ALL the feels
📍 Small coastal town where everyone knows your past (rude)
📦 One storage room. One ex. One emotional earthquake.
🎭 Past/present timelines that will absolutely wreck you.. OH!!💘
☕ Enemies-to-regret-to-maybe I still love you
🫣 Close proximity + slow burn = absolute menace to your emotional well-being
👵 Aunt Lottie stirring chaos while sipping chamomile tea
🌀 You, spiraling...🧎🏻‍♀️🤸🏻‍♀️


📖 Think:
"To All the Boys" meets “Everything I Never Said” — with Haley’s signature humor, aesthetic chaos, and the oh-my-god-did-that-just-happen tension that’ll have you throwing the book across the room.

TikTok is NOT ready. BookTok is collectively screaming...

-YouTube’s golden girl, lifestyle queen, and lowkey our parasocial BFF — Haley Pham — is stepping into the author world and she’s not holding back.

📝 “JUST FRIENDS” is here to ruin your friendship delusions and revive every teenage ‘what if’ you tried to bury. Besties-to-maybe-lovers? Misunderstood confessions? The one who got away? OH IT’S ALL HERE.📝 The debut novel from BookTok QUEEN Haley Pham-aka the girlboss who said “what if I wrote about the boy you never got over?” and then DID.
aka the reason you’re crying in your oat milk latte today..

👩‍💻 Haley Pham living her author dream in a cute blazer holding an iced matcha while fans scream about Declan?BREAKING: Haley Pham’s debut just invented heartbreak.
SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE??
SMALL TOWN COFFEE SHOP??
A BOY NAMED DECLAN WHO NEVER REALLY LET HER GO??
OH WE’RE SUFFERING.🧘🏻‍♀️
WE. ARE. HERE. FOR. IT.


So yeah, Haley Pham really said:
“Let me write the book that ruins your sleep schedule and makes you romanticize your high school crush again.”

Final diagnosis?
☕ BookTok’s new obsession.
📝 A love letter to nostalgia.
I’m spiraling. I’m swooning.
I’ve already planned the Pinterest board for their fictional wedding.
Buckle up, buttercup –
Because Just Friends?
Is anything but....☕🌊

Haley, congrats. We’re sat. We’re locked in. We’re RUINED...

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was definitely reheated Emily Henry nachos. And day-old Lunchable ones at that.

Both the writing style and characters felt very young YA, borderline middle-grade. I liken it to how you read Twilight for the first time at 12 and thought it was the pinnacle of literature because it used big words like “irrevocably,” but then you read it as an adult and you’re like, “what the actual fuck is this.”

Yeah, this was kinda like that.

It wasn’t outrageously offensive by any means, but it was incredibly overwritten and relied too heavily on the use of a thesaurus.

I’m seeing this a lot in newer writers; they think that writing in an overly-written, purple, flowery prose will elevate their story, but instead it just distracts. Good writing is one you never think about. When there are lines like:

“Faye intones, regal as always.”

Or

“I have to yield to a conglomerate of pedestrians.”

it gets distracting. It’s trying too hard. Keep it simple, stupid and use similes and metaphors only during special moments. And also, close the thesaurus tab, I beg.

It was also so obvious how much clear self-insert this was, which I vehemently despise (I use big words because I’m cool and I can, okay) Our fmc loved dystopian YA books as a kid, liked to buy physical trophies of her Kindle reads, and is now a published romance author.

Sound familiar? Yeah I didn’t think so either.

I was waiting for Declan to admit he’s always thought about filming challenges for YouTube and creating a “healthy” candy.

As for the relationship, it was FARR too rushed and not built out enough. Much like everything in this book, there was too much and not enough work done to flesh it out.

The two mcs talk about what bird they are one chapter and the next, they’re in love, ready to wed immediately like some kind of Mormon, military couple.

She also does the absolutely annoying, makes me want to hurl myself out of a window thing of making her FMC ask questions like, “why won’t he talk to me, why wasn’t I enough for him, why did he suddenly end things” when it was HER fault to begin with and I ask why? Why must we keep doing this?

And the “best friendships” which I’m sorry, was reheated Happy Place scrambled eggs. One of the friends uses “Blair” in almost every text or call and it drove me crazy. Also, the first time they meet (in person) she goes, “Blair, like Gossip Girl without the ‘e’?”

How the hell would she know that? She said her name out loud. Is there a text bubble above her head or something??

Everything was extremely tell-don’t-show. And because of that, the characters often felt two-dimensional.

We’re told Lottie’s backstory; we’re told Blair’s mom’s backstory; we’re told how much Blair loves Declan. Honestly, the only thing we’re ever shown is how annoying and self-centered Blair is.

I loved Lottie’s backstory and I went into this book with the hope that we’d get this rich, emotional dynamic between Blair, her mom, and Lottie and see why it was so important for these three women of a different generation to connect as a family.

We got like 3 interactions with Lottie max? She felt like a throwaway character designed only as a plot device for Blair to arrive home (and while, yes, technically that was the point) it shouldn’t feel like the point. In a story like this, one with both a romance and a general fiction plot, both need to be thorough and developed.

Last thing, I’m sorry to say, is because Haley is loaded, it’s very clear she doesn’t know how to write a struggle character. Financially, everything is tied up very easily in this book. Financial issues are solved by simply selling something to someone else or getting settlement money.

#SoRelatable

Thank you to Edelweiss for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I LOVEEEE Haley and I think she has a lot of potential!! This book was just not amazing (in my opinion) but I do understand why people like it!

[ashlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

HAPPY RELEASE DAY!! the book cover looking like her and ryan is the cutest thing ever🥹 i’ve never been this excited for a book🤭🤭

[manas · Rating 1 out of 5]

➳ abysmal work ☆

DNF @page 216???

firstly, thank you to bestie, kat for buddy reading this book with me. second of all, this is a full hate review. DO NOT take this seriously as i don't want to catch strays from anyone. this is a critique of the book—the words on the paper. there will be minor spoilers.

i am going to display some quotes that were present in this book...

“that feeling is personified in my stomach right now, and not in the way i expected her advice to come true—about some boy, about declan.”

“i have to yield to a conglomerate of pedestrians almost every ten feet.”

“why can’t you see it? why can’t you see me?”

“i force myself to perceive its beauty like the travelers who flock here every summer might.”

“he seems unmoored, maybe more resigned to see me than shocked by my presence.”

“my voice pitches up, saccharinely sweet, eyebrows tented in faux sincerity.”

now...i don't pride myself on being smart or articulate, however, this is truly a hot mess. the overall theme and concept of this book is rudimentary at best. this overtly flowery language mixed with the rather simplistic sentence structure does. not. work. the novel does not have a basic understanding of what it is trying to portray to the audience and at times, even reads like a fictional autobiography.

the premise of this story is essentially about friendship. friendships that can have it ups and downs but eventually grow and develop into something deep and meaningful. we see this with the friendships, the romantic relationships, and the familial relationships. while all of this seems rather surface level, most of the approach to this concept is extremely underdeveloped and abrupt. there are several pivotal moments in the story where i should have felt something. whether that was happiness or sadness or anger. but ultimately throughout the story, all i felt was bored as everything was extremely predictable and very mundane.

the characters are all fit into one archetype, which they stay in for the entirety of the novel. at no point did any of the characters develop into something more into something greater…this is even funnier because i don't even remember the main FMCs name. everyone is in the background of their own story. in books, dialogue is one of the most important parts of a story, but in this case, as you saw with all of the quotes i listed above—that was an absolute mess and made no sense given the narrative structure. even if we dive into the most basic aspect of the story, which would’ve been the romantic chemistry between our two leads, that was also severely in authentic and fell extremely flat.

i have mentioned the obvious comparisons and the obvious love for emily henry that was screaming from the pages of this book, however, i’m not very familiar with haley so i don’t have a fundamental understanding of what she was going for when she was researching and writing this book. to put simply, coming from a rather unbiased opinion, there is no depth or complexity to the story. the majority of this book almost felt like a self in insert story—which there is nothing wrong with. however, i do find it very interesting. that famous influencers and youtubers are able to get huge book deals without actually putting in the effort or creating a unique craft that has their own signature on it. just copying another famous author and trying to put your own spin on it was a recipe for disaster.

regardless, i know that a lot of her fans are going to come after me for this review but ultimately, i could not keep reading this after around 200 pages. this felt like an absolute chore and once i realized i had free will...i literally put the book down and walked away. i don’t even think there’s anything to spoil going forward because at its core; this book is just a second chance romance between a girl and her first love. throwing in all the unnecessary vocabulary and verbiage and the familial drama give us a soap opera level self-insert, which may work for some people. BUT NOT FOR ME!

just, no.

[ray ౨ৎ]

why are people hating? (before reading it)🧍‍♀️like why wouldn’t someone use their following to promote their books; lauren roberts has done it and plenty of other booktok authors too. let’s start judging when we’ve actually read it 😚 yes her manuscript was accepted faster than others usually are but give her a chance before reading or js dont read it

people are being crazy. if someone says they think the book is terrible and they actually read it dont comment that it isn’t js bc you like the author? 🫩 like people can have opinions, whether you like it or not

also why are people giving it bad reviews before even acquiring a copy of the book??

also pls stop rating this book before reading/dnfing. there are other ways to support the author. i don’t even follow the author but even ik rating it one or five before reading is annoying

[jo ୨୧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

⋆｡‧˚ʚ🍓ɞ˚‧｡⋆

3.75

happy release day to just friends! if you want an honest unfiltered review, look no further !!

full review, read at your own risk or we can remain...just friends
huge thanks to netgalley and the publisher and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. all thoughts are my own


⋆｡‧˚ʚ first off, let's do a little disclaimer in this review before people start like hate spamming me and sending messages. i want to clarify that im a fan of haley and personally love her book content which is why i was pumped to see an arc in my inbox. all the opinions below are my honest unfiltered and if you dont like honest then go somewhere else babes. this space obviously isnt for you. you can be a fan and be dissapointed.

disclaimer aside. lets get into it because boy is it something and nothing at the same frickin time.


⋆｡‧˚ʚ when i first picked up just friends i didn't know what to expect. i mean the cover is giving ryan and haley fanfic and like sure its cute but also its giving ⋆⋆ nothing ⋆⋆ at the same time. i mean the characters are "just friends" right? genius title btw (yes i am being sarcastic)

so lets dive into the actual plot and novel we have. our fmc blair is back in her hometown for her great aunt lottie as her health is rapidly declining. shes about to start this big girl job and realizes that right now she needs a job in this town because MONEY MONEY MONEYYYY and applies at the local coffee shop where guess what? declan, her highschool flame is the manager of.

wow plot armor going strong here. (look im hating because i expected a LOT and was let down) but i digress (okay stephanie soo) she gets the job and starts working with declan as the chemistry is still there.

⋆ side note ⋆ this book could have been 10x times better without the time flashbacks. They did nothing and i did not care about what happened in highschool jsyk. dual timeline does not need to be in every story. esp not a regular old contemporary with nothing happening. like i see the great bbl em hen inspo but no babes. it's not it. end of sidenote ⋆

characters


blair

to be honest. at times i didn't hate her. and other times i want to smack her over with a copy of "the count of monte cristo". she's our bookish fmc who has a kindle and who is writing....a book.....yeah she's writing a FRICKIN BOOK. she also has some family issues and grief issues and communication issues. i mean relatable but also babes therapy

declan

so lowk this mans had no personality. he was all "yeahhh im rich and i played football in highschool and then had this accident and then like secrets and also my mom is a bword" yeah thats declan in a nutshell. also this man IS FILTHY RICH like okay babes

great aunt lottie

shes cute i liked her

blair's besties

faye and roshi are actually really good friends to blair and obvi as people grow older and have different lives it can get tricky. i literally have gone throush so many friend things but the FACT THAT THEY LITERALLY DROPPED EVERYTHING AND FLEW TO THE TOWN TO TAKE CARE OF BLAIR IS PEAK BEST FRIEND ENERGY

plot in general

forced proximity. the characters had feelings again within seconds and then theres some plot armor with blair and her aunt lottie and all of that. as a note i wish we could have pulled more from the vietnamese side of blair, i think that could have been really cool. like food. but im a food girlie so that may just be me haha. i just think for some of the marketing done, that could have been great. but i digress again.

anyways the plot was a little lackluster but it was cute i guess. deffo a cupcake in the moonbeam ice cream sunshine roses and all the cutesy things world. i wasn't a fan that our fmc is writing a book and does some other things. i get fiction but it also just felt a little to "girl is dis u????"

i would also say the writing was slightly forced at times. i think we could have had more humor and lighthearteded ness but it tried to hard to be something it's not.

end notes

hey babes u ready to stop hating on things?
never.
okay then.
theres my final review, if you are looking for a pallette cleanser that takes no brain power (no glue no borax) with some cute characters (and yes for all the peoples it's cleaner than the kitchen counter after my mom has scrubbed it twenty times), and a cuteish setting, just friends may JUST be the book for you.

thanks, this has been ranty reviews with jo, tune in next time.
xx babes
pre-review.

I GOT AN ARC ?!

IT"S HAPPENINGGGGGGG !!!!

cover thoughts

so the cover is giving ✨️unoriginal✨️ but okay

[Julia • readwithjul · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am going to start this review off by saying that I am not trying to be rude or harsh. I will try my best to be objective, but quite frankly I do not have anything positive to say about this book.

I am a fan of Haley's YouTube videos and have been interested in hearing about her writing process since she started sharing about it on social media. From her announcement of the book, to the cover and title reveal, to getting approved for an ARC, I was along for the ride. So it hurts for me to say that this book was very poorly written. It doesn't even seem like she had an editor. I was surprised when she mentioned an editor in the acknowledgements because I genuinely thought she didn't have one.

The amount of "likes" Haley used was distracting to the point that it was almost comical. It felt comparable to a writing piece from an ELA class where the teacher just taught similes. Not to mention, there was very weird phrasing that did not translate well to written text, such as "Uhhhhh", "haha", and "gah-hah" when the character was laughing.

I understand that this book is being marketed as new adult (which is more advanced than young adult), but it felt closer to middle grade to me. The characters and situations that they put themselves in were very juvenile and immature. They were constantly picking fights with each other, and the entire plot felt like one big third act break-up. Right when things would be going well between Blair and Declan, one of them would do or say the wrong thing, and we would be back at square one. I did not feel one ounce of chemistry between them.

I probably should have DNFed, but as I've mentioned in NetGalley reviews before, I try my best not to DNF ARCs. I want to support Haley and her book but I cannot justify writing a positive review because it would be dishonest.

One of Haley's goals is to make the New York Times Bestseller list. While this book certainly was not for me, I still think that this book will make it on the list - but it will be because of her impressively large following, not because of the content of the book.

[Jaime Fok · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

This is a book for the overthinkers. For those who are looking for a more subtle romance story. Less flash, less fire, but more reality. And so so so sweet!

Blair is a flawed protagonist. She’s anxious, she overthinks EVERYTHING, she’s has no clear direction, and honestly was refreshing to read about! I loved how her Vietnamese heritage tied into her development as a character. Growing up in an Asian household myself, I know what it’s like to be raised surrounded by family members who are committed to hiding their emotions, and thought that was represented really well in this book!

The third act conflict? Not my favourite. Felt like a very convenient plot device. But also not the worst I’ve read!

And the writing… it’s a mix of casual romance writing with a few hits of extra purple prose in there. A few sentences were off-putting, but after the first few chapters, the writing smoothed out.

Overall, this was a gentle coming of age story alongside a sweet romance. An easy read with a surprising amount of layers. I enjoyed it!

[Ali Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - my favorite part of this book was the writing on grief. There were sooooo many quotes and metaphors about grief that were so beautifully written. I also enjoyed how it's part romance and part Blair just navigating life (including grief, her relationship with her mother, & what she wants in life).

For the romance, I thought it was super cute, but I wasn't obsessed with it like I wanted to be. I'm not the biggest second-chance or friends to lovers girl, though, so that's partially personal taste.

Overall, a super cute read & I loved the coastal setting.

[omar (lanatic) · Rating 1 out of 5]

you’re better off reading a story about two thesaurus’s who can’t communicate. ew

edit: like 6 months later changed your to you’re since so many people hated on me for accidentally using the wrong “your”… it’s not like the author of this book is a grammar literacy master without her thesaurus

[gabby ───.°ʚɞ ݁ ˖ {watchin w my breezy boo} · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my review for Just Friends by Haley Pham, aka the mother of booktok.
.ೃ࿔ 𓇼 *:･


જ⁀➴ ✰ 6 stars || 13+
⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆ ⋆.˚
┍━━━‧̍̊˙· 𓆝. ୨ ᵇᵒᵒᵏ ʳᵉᵛⁱᵉʷ ୧ .𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊━━━┑
♡┊ title : just friends
♡┊ author : haley pham
♡┊ genre : ya; contemporary romance
♡┊ rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
♡┊ tropes : second-chance-romance; friends-to-lovers
┕━━━━━━━━━━✃━━━━━━━━━━┙

» how deep is your love by the bee gees «
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▯


spoilers may be below!!
read with cautionnnn 💋



ˋ°•*⁀➷ plot ⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆
Blair and Declan were inseparable growing up- best friends who knew each other better than anyone else. But when an impulsive kiss took them from friends to something more, everything changed. Just as quickly as their romance started, one moment shattered it all, leaving them with nothing but heartbreak and silence.
Now, four years later, Blair is back in their coastal hometown of Seabrook to support and care for her great-aunt Lottie as her health declines. To make ends meet, Blair applies to work at a coffee shop- only to discover it’s managed by none other than Declan. The boy she loved. The boy she lost. The boy who still makes her heart race.
As Blair’s path keeps crossing with Declan’s, old wounds resurface, secrets are revealed, and sparks reignite. But could their future ever be free of their past?


ˋ°•*⁀➷ writing ⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆
Okay Haley is literally a literary genius. Her writing is a-MAZE-ing. Like when I was kinda deep in reading, I would read something and be like, OHMYGOODNESS THIS IS BEAUTIFUL WHY ARE MY EYES WATERING?? {those were probably my exact thoughts}
THE FLASHBACKS??
THE BANTER??
THE EVERYTHING??
one word: amazing.

ˋ°•*⁀➷ characters ⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆

spoilers below!!

-ˋˏ. ݁₊ 𓆉 . ݁𓇼˖ . ݁Blair-
༄｡° ohhh my goodness. I loved her. Yes, she was a little… drama-llama at times, but aren’t we all?? Like yall gotta give her a little grace. She seems like literally my twin… im literally 99% haley was spying on me somewhere because ummm yea… i js wanna give my twin a hug. I love her omllll


-ˋˏ. ݁₊ 𓆉 . ݁𓇼˖ . ݁˚࿔ Declan-
༄｡° DUDE SOMEBODY GET THIS MAN AN AWARD!! AUGH LIKE JS HIS DESCRIPTION SOUNDS HOT!! I NEED FANART OR OFFICIAL ART LIKE RIGHT NOW. bc i just KNOW hes stunning. LIKE BRO WROTE BLAIR A LETTER. LETTERS ARE MY LOVE LANGUAGE, KAY?? THIS MAN HAD ME GIGGLING. INTO. MY. PILLOW. {book bfs are lwk dangerous things 😉}


{lwk I just did Blair and Declan bc they’re so amazing- keep in mind I love the other characters, but I just felt like doing them. 😌)

₊ 𓆉 . ݁ personal thoughts ༄｡°
Okay yall… to those that gave this 1 star… this may be a little bit triggering. I'm gonna hold your hand while I say this: I loved this book SO much. Yall were too harsh on Haley!! {Lwk think yall were expecting perfect…} FOR SOMEONES DEBUT NOVEL?? Gold. {that being said, ive never read a debut novel sooo}

Yes. I did cry at the end. Happy tears. Trust.

────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──

𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰

⇨ Christian: None

⇨ spiritual: None

⇨ sexual: 6 kisses; 4 of which were more passionate

⇨ language: 3 piss {pissed me off}, 3 sexys {not as in saying it to someone}{may have even been 2}

⇨ magic: none

⇨ lgtbq: none

⇨ violence: none


⇨ other: none that I can think of as of now…

⇨ triggers: absent parent

ANYYYWAYYY thank you for reading my reviewww
Byeee love yall
xx
-gabs



🌊post-read:🌊
OMW. THIS BOOK.
Yes, this was the fastest ive ever read ANYTHING and also NOT the latest staying up at night to read this!! (it was almost midnight so not bad) BUT THIS WAS SO AMAZING OMGOMGOMGGGG {AND COME AT ME BUT THE WRITING WAS LITERALLY BEAUTIFUL} {actually dont come at me}
rtc!!


🌊pre-read🌊
Ahhh its out today!! im so excited for this u have no ideaaaa!! cant wait to start this!! *happy dance*


✨pre-release✨
I’m sooooo excited for Haley’s book! I’ve heard little things from her Insta about Blair and Declan and IK IM GONNA BE OBSESSED! March can’t come soon enoughhhhh!!!

[jenoodle✮⋆˙]

🫧🤍 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞: GUYSSS THE COVER IS SO CUTEEE BUT LIKE- why is it giving wattpad 🥲

HOLY CRAPPP?? HALEEEYYY IVE BEEN WAITING FAR TO LONG FOR THIS ART TO BE REVEALED 🙈🙈 im screaming guys I have a feeling this is going to be INCREDIBLE!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️

ੈ♡˳ Best friends growing up, Blair and Declan were inseparable. But when a kiss turns their close friendships into something more, everything changed for them when they began their short romance, which quickly ended when one moment broke it all and left them both estranged and heartbroken. Four years later, Blair returns to her coastal hometown of Seabrook to support her mom and be there for her great-aunt Lottie, whose health is deteriorating. So, she applies for a job at a local coffee shop in town, only to discover that the manager is Declan. Even though she tries to ignore her racing heart whenever she’s near him, Blair can’t forget what was said and done in the past, and it seems like Declan can’t either. Can they ever move past the secrets and wounds that still affect their present when their hearts long for something more in the future?

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵


ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ: Take Me Home by Benson Boone
0:57 ───ㅇ───── 3:01


❦ “I want everything from him and don’t have the slightest clue how to begin getting it. Every year. Every lost year. I want it back. I want us to spend every foreseeable second together until the memory foam of our bodies returns to their forgotten positions. I want to come home.” ❦

ੈ♡˳ I want to start off by saying that I am a big fan of Haley Pham and I love, love, love watching her videos, but even if I didn’t, the critiques I’m about to make have nothing to do with her or her platform. I applaud any author who gets their work out there in the world because I know how hard it is to write a book. Believe me, I tried, and it’s really horrible. 😂 Unless you're Ali Hazelwood or Freida McFadden, then writing books is just child’s play at that point. 😏

This book has been my most anticipated read for 2026. The preorder was an early birthday gift from a sibling, so I was waiting patiently yet impatiently FOR MONTHS. So when it finally arrived at my doorstep, I was over the moon because, oh my gosh, I have Haley Pham’s book in my hands! Like, what?!?! Ugh, I am so, so happy for her. 🥹🫶🏼

Now, I really, really liked this book, but I didn’t exactly love it. Yes, it was cute. Yes, there were sweet moments between Blair and Declan. Yes, there was an emotional aspect of the book (particularly dealing with grief) that made this more than just a regular romance book. In fact, I’d say this was more women’s fiction or literary fiction rather than a romance. It was there, but it wasn’t playing center stage. It was more like a side character, only showing up to support the lead of the story. And for me, that’s fine because I do love literary fiction, but isn’t this marketed as a romance book? That’s what I was expecting, and to me, the romance was…okay. It didn’t make me swoon or kick my feet in the air. It was sweet–nothing more, nothing less.

I did feel like the dialogue was a bit forced, but I think my main problem with the book was the characters. Not their personality, per se, but more like the lack of it. I related to Blair and the walls she built around herself because of her mom’s experience, and then what happened between her and Declan. I get it, I really do, but she just felt a little emotionally immature. Granted, she’s 22. So am I, which is great because I hardly read books where the main characters are the same age as me. But the way she perceived things and situations just did not make sense to me, and that’s coming from someone who has more issues than there are ingredients listed on a cereal box. And the way she handled them? Yeah, she has some growing up to do. But there are thirty-year-old FMCs that act way worse than Blair did, so it didn’t bother me as much, and it’s nothing that time, communication, and experience won’t fix. Besides, she was grieving, so obviously that plays a huge role in decision-making.

Now, with Declan, I felt like there wasn’t much personality to him. Okay, he’s sweet and kind, and we do see that from time to time, but it was more tell than show? He felt more like an acquaintance rather than a best friend who knew Blair better than anyone else did. I just did not feel that big a connection between them. Yeah, like I said before, there were cute moments of them together, and I honestly liked the parts of them together as teenagers more than when they were adults, but best friends tell each other everything, right? They know things no one else does, yet they hold back from each other, specifically Blair holding back from Declan, and that made their short romance rocky because of their lack of communication, or misuse of it. I don’t know. I just didn’t feel that spark or that chemistry that makes me want to scream like I’m at a concert. But at least they took accountability for their mistakes, so that is always a plus in my book.🙂‍↕️

And you know what this was also missing? Community. Seabrook sounds like a freaking paradise, but it was more like a set for the story than a real place that I can just pack my bags and go visit in hopes of buying from the small businesses and meeting the colorful characters that make Seabrook home.

And what on earth happened to Calvin?? My guy was like the wind--there one second and then gone the next. Where did he go? I...kinda liked him. 😢😂

Gosh, I know this sounds like I’m just hating on the book, but I’m really not. Besides the few things I didn’t like about the story, I still enjoyed myself and everything else about the book was amazing. 😻 Blair's friends were great, so was her Mom and great-aunt Lottie.🥹 I thought Blair and Declan were actually pretty mature for 22-year-olds, and I still rooted for them and wanted them to be together because I need my characters to be happy, gosh dang it. 😭❤️

I also really, really liked the writing, and if you saw all the underlining I did in my copy, then you’d know how much I like it. 😉 I’ve read reviews where readers said that the writing is kinda like Emily Henry’s, but since I haven’t read a single book by her, I can’t say that's true. And I’m honestly glad I haven’t read any of Henry’s books yet because that would seem a bit unfair to compare this book to other books that are written by someone with more experience. Mind you, this is a debut novel. It’s not meant to be perfect, and I think this was a great start to the author’s writing career. I read this well into the night, and I could not put it down the next day. I just had to know how it ended. And, it’s safe to say, I’m pretty happy with the ending.

All in all, this was a cute, cozy read, and I know I said this a hundred times already (sorry 😅), but I enjoyed it. I hope Haley writes more books in the future because I will be the first in line to get every single one of them. 🤭💌

❦ “‘I want you. And I will do whatever it takes to make you remember why you wanted me.’” ❦

❗Content Warnings❗
Loss of a loved one, grief, & mentions a car accident (recalled by character) and an abusive marriage (off page).
Swearing: No
Spice: Only kissing. (🌶/5)

[jasmine ☆₊⁺🦢🪽₊⁺★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ⭐️
╰► 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄!

⋆˚꩜｡ 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 💭
╰┈➤ i’m pretty surprised that i enjoyed this with how many people didn’t. i fully went into this book believing that there was no hope, but it really wasn’t that bad. for a first novel, it’s very solid and quite interesting. there were a few parts where i was like “okay…”—like for the reason of their separation, it was a little underwhelming

𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 ✍️: like many people said, i think she did use too many big words that was unnecessary and i feel like in most of the chapters she tries to make almost every sentence sound meaningful.

for the first half of the book, it was like every page was mentioning that the setting is in seabrook, california. that’s something that was kind of annoying me because like… i know where the characters are and mentioning it in every chapter is just a little much.

besides that, i think the writing flows nicely, although i did get a little confused on the amount of time that passes by in the book (it was 2-3 months excluding the epilogue)

˙⋆✮ 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙧 📚
╰┈➤ i found myself relating to blair at certain points in the book. especially with the way she felt that she didn’t really have a lot of support during her time of grief. her friends didn’t check on her and instead called her to ask about other things or tell her about what they’re going through. so, i didn’t really like her friends until the end. blair is also pretty selfless and cares very much about supporting her mom in any way she can. blair isn’t the best fmc i’ve ever read about, but she was decent.

˙⋆✮ 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙣 ☕️
╰┈➤ mmm…i liked declan, but he didn’t really have a huge impact on me. definitely not one of my favorite mmc’s but he was okay. i honestly can’t really say too much about him because in some ways, he’s different from other characters i’ve read about, but at the same time, it’s been done before; again and again. however, i felt like you could really tell that he truly enjoyed being around blair and that his love for her never went away.

⋆˚꩜｡ 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣🔒
╰┈➤ being a fan of haley since i began reading again (2022) i’m glad to have received this arc! this book is pretty cute but not one that i’d pick up again

↠━━━━ღ◆ღ━━━━↞
❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･pre-read ʚɞ
i received this arc last year and since the book is coming out in 2 days, i need to read it 🙂 i don’t know if i’m excited for it anymore because i heard that a lot of people didn’t like it 😬 the first page had a lot of typos already but hopefully it won’t be like that when the book is released

⤿ ⋮ ⌗ ┆ 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥: 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 1𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥: 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 4𝘵𝘩

ᝰ.ᐟ ˖᯽ ݁˖· ─ 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸
⟢ 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚: 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 3𝙧𝙙, 2026
—
𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 💌
𝗜'𝗠 𝗦𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦! 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘁𝘂𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 😭 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆

[Ashley]

guys i just saw someones review for this on tiktok 😭 she got me with “a conglomerate of pedestrians” i need to know what’s going on

[Tia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where do I even start with this?

I’ve been following the author on YouTube for a few years now and I was so intrigued when she announced she was writing a book, to see whether it would be any good. Reader, it was not.

The writing in this was so pretentious and unnecessarily wordy, there were so many sentences that just did not make sense. I actually started highlighting on my kindle anytime I read something that annoyed me or didn’t make sense and I was highlighting entire pages at one point. This needed some HEAVY editing.

There was so much telling and not enough showing. We were told over and over how much they loved each other but I just didn’t feel it. We were told Blair was so smart but that definitely was not portrayed through the writing - she came across very dumb and immature, not to mention selfish. We were CONSTANTLY told that Blair was grieving her great aunt but I felt absolutely no attachment to that relationship, we barely saw the aunt even though Blair kept saying she was her second mother.

That characters felt so flat and I hated both of them!!!! Miscommunication trope fills me with rage and this one in particular is one of my least favourite executions. I felt absolutely no connection to the characters and tbh this is one of the times that I predict the couple breaks up in 6 months time (probably due to miscommunication again lol).

The plot felt so disjointed and random, i feel like nothing happened in this whole book and i have no concept of how long i was in the story for. There were so many unnecessary scenes and characters that added nothing to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Summer (playing pokopia) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc!

I want to start this by saying this is my opinion. I’m not judging anyone or anything besides the book itself, so if you want to argue with someone, the wall will be far more receptive.

The story is meh, the writing is… definitely words on a page. I feel like it needs a few more rounds of editing, reorganizing, and workshopping. I’m not convinced this isn’t a book for 6th graders. It’s supposedly “new adult” but is far more similar to the reading comprehension level of a middle schooler.

Right off the bat, there’s the feeling that this book was written with a thesaurus opened up next to the screen. Which is weird, because like I said, this felt like it was written for middle schoolers. (I’m also going to say it is so obviously written by a religious person I was actually laughing at how there was never one single “oh my god” it was always gosh or goodness. And the FMC went to Pepperdine, which is… a choice. Especially coming from a high school dropout) There were a couple instances of random characters appearing in weird places. But I won’t judge that as this is an arc and hopefully will be edited a couple more times before publishing.

It also felt like we were only being told things. We aren’t trusted to pick up on things, we must be told what every little interaction is meant to convey. I prefer a book where I feel what and notice what the character does, and not being told what I’m supposed to be feeling or noticing.

This is also very much a story about grief. Honestly it could use a TW/CW. It’s almost literary fiction in that way. Which I don’t mind! Honestly I think I would’ve liked it more if it was a lit fiction, because the grief and emotions in it is very much something I can relate to. It’s just something to note.

The characters fell very flat for me, mostly because we only know them with eachother. Blair is most definitely a self insert. We don’t experience the FMC with genuinely anyone else in the flashback chapters, we never hear about any friends she had previously. She has only new friends from college and we barely see them. This girl is 3 things, and that is Lottie, Mom, and Declan. Okay maybe four if you add in the desire to write books that randomly pops up like 50% through the book, and is literally only brought up by the MMC. We aren’t told about it at all until then.

The miscommunication made me want to throw dishes at the wall. Like genuinely made me angry because it was so stupid and so easily resolved if the characters had more than two shared brain cells fighting for second place.

I think that Haley was trying to tell a story, and this being her first ever book, I won’t be too harsh. But I think the thing that’s glaringly obvious IS the fact that this is her first book. There is a system most authors go through. They publish 10 books before one eventually gains traction and they become popular. And as they publish these books, they get better and better at writing them. Not saying that’s how it should be or anything, but that’s why a lot of our favorite authors BECOME our favorite authors. Because they’ve written so many books that they have improved through those failures and successes. I think it just sucks for indie authors who have so many self published books looked over for the debut of a popular YouTuber. Because let’s be clear, that is exactly what happened. I just hope publishers keep looking for indie authors, whose true passion is writing, to promote and sign as well.

[ଘRory (Mr.Darcy Devotee)]

˗ˋˏ ✮ updates ✮ ˎˊ˗:
Is it just me or is Haley Pham trying to copy Emily Henry?? Like don't get me wrong, I do not mind having two Emily Henry's actually we would be blessed in the literature world so I'm not mad at that.But.....I think Haley Pham did not actually have enough time to write this book well. The writing style is lyrical !You can tell she has potential but this reads like she was rushing. Like the bones are there but the execution needed more time in the oven idk.


Pre-read 💛:
I'm neutral about Haley Pham 🤷‍♀️but I've decided to read her book even though it's getting TRASHED with one-star reviews 😭.


P.S.I didn't even know she wrote a book until a negative review went viral on BookTok .

[T.S]

Currently Reading

Fighting the demons of my reading slump so i can read this!! 😭

2nd read of the year btw 🫩 ✌

[vicky ꨄ︎]

dnf @18%

As someone who watched Haley Pham journey of writing her book, I’m very happy for her but this book wasn’t good. She has written this book to be read flowery with including big/complex words in places where they don’t tend to make sense. She writes the book in a normal way and then suddenly puts in a big word, I tend to not mind having big/complex words in books but it just doesn’t fit in what she’s trying to do. I had to reread so many sentences because my brain was misreading them, it was a hot mess.

Here a few quotes that just annoyed me personally, also there were more but I feel like those would make it seem like I don’t understand what they mean when in fact I do. It just doesn’t fit in the story itself.

“That feeling is personified in my stomach right now,”

“I have to yield to a conglomerate of pedestrians almost every ten feet.”

“My eyes finally land on him and the floor of my stomach becomes a faulty elevator.”

“A laugh escapes me, chest feeling warm at the easy camaraderie I’ve always shared with him.”

—————————————————————————————-

𐙚⋆°. preread

Buddy reading with girlies, guys pray for us. I’m such a naive person for agreeing to this

[⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆ Kim ⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆]

⋆˙⟡ 𝒫𝓇𝑒-𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹 (7/31/2025): OMG WE HAVE A COVER!!!!! See it here!

⋆˙⟡ 𝒫𝓇𝑒-𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹 (6/27/2025): Hi, yes, what do I gotta do to get my hands on this book before March 2026, Haley?? Because that’s too far away and I want it in my hands like, NOW!

[Lea ★ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25 ⭐️
so in the summer of 2024, i was scrolling through my phone and came across a video of haley pham talking about her hyperfixation with holly black’s folk of the air series. she was gushing, and honestly? the way she talked about it-so passionate, so aesthetic, so beautiful-i decided to pick up the book myself. i hadn’t really been into reading at that point. college hit me hard, life was chaos, and books? not on my radar. but somehow, haley pulled me back in. i owe her for bringing me back to reading after a decade. and honestly, cardan and jude from the cruel prince? forever in my heart. i love them so much. if i could go back to 2024 me, i’d say: “this is your future. reading, watching these girls’ videos, this is your life now.”
so when i heard haley was writing a book...first i was shocked. and then the second i got over my shock i was like...oh my fucking god. we are going to have the best book ever. because haley’s reviews? i could relate. every book she loved, i usually loved. of course, not always, people are different, but her taste? impeccable. i trusted her. every time she recommended something, it went straight to my tbr or i picked it up immediately. and honestly? watching her grow as a person, along with her husband ryan-like, they both raise so much money for charity, they’re genuinely incredible humans-it felt like a privilege to witness. seeing her flourish, watching this journey, it was beautiful and honorable, and i was genuinely bawling my eyes out when the book was announced. i was that happy.
but now that the book is out...i have to be 100% honest. i never lie in my reviews, not for arcs, not for anyone. and just because it’s haley does not mean 5 stars automatically. no. the book?-> was bad. like, really bad. if you don’t like rant-style reviews, fair warning: spoilers ahead.
first of all. the miscommunication. my number one hate trope. this book? two hundred thirty pages of miscommunication. two hundred thirty. pages. it’s ridiculous. you’re both adults. just talk. just. have. a. conversation. it’s insane how long they went without it.
then there’s the fmc. blair. (i think) honestly, she was awful. her father was abusive, yes, but she weaponizes that trauma constantly. she insults the man she supposedly loves, her ex, comparing him to her abusive parent, like...tf? if i had an abusive person in my life, i wouldn’t use it to hurt someone who’s actually trying to care for me. and the trauma itself? barely explained. just mentioned when convenient, so she could justify being a terrible person. no healing, no reflection, just excuses.
and the mmc. zero personality. literally nothing. he existed. we know he’s there. he has a name. that’s it. the “romance” is basically high school friends awkwardly interacting as adults. no depth, no emotional resonance, no chemistry that feels earned.
the writing style itself...haley has a way with words. beautiful words. i get it. but the book is overexplaining to the point of suffocation. every scene is described rather than experienced. instead of showing what the mmc is feeling or doing, the fmc guesses, and we’re supposed to accept it. the intimacy, the tension, the emotions-gone. replaced by paragraphs of... words. words. words.
pacing? nonexistent. story? thin as tissue. it’s like a collection of short pov “cute” moments slapped together. it feels like a tumblr video, but in book form. nothing flows, nothing lands, nothing grows.
and the cliches. oh my god. so cheesy. so cringey. so forced. jokes meant for millennials that make zero sense for twenty-somethings. teenage characters acting like… not actual teens. nicknames like “little bird” thrown in like we’re supposed to be cutew. sorry, i didn’t. just gibberish.
i could go on. the jealousy over a cousin posting a picture. the trauma comparison conversations. the overexplaining bunk beds. literally, everything stacks up, everything is bad, everything is unnecessary. it’s exhausting.
if you’re looking for better versions of this “second chance, small town” trope, i highly recommend ghosted (so good, literally gave me life this year) or love in other words (similar vibes, but executed way better). honestly, don’t waste your time on this one.
that said... haley herself deserves every opportunity. she’s incredible. her writing potential is massive. the problem isn’t her talent, it’s the choices in this book. it feels like she tried to emulate other authors she admires rather than just being herself. it’s like she was aiming for a trending book rather than enjoying the experience of writing, of creating something authentic. and the pressure from the community? probably didn’t help. this book didn’t need to be perfect it just needed to be her.
so yeah. love haley pham I FUCKING ADORE HER. would follow her to the ends of the earth. but this book? it was bullshit. sorry. it was.

first thoughts after read-> rtc to come but for now; would NOT recommend if you hate:
1) miscommunication
2) no emotion
3) over explaining (if thats a thing)
4) fmc that accuses other people of things rather than looks at herself first
5) mmc who had ZERO personality
6) you know those short pov videos with cliche moments that have no prior introduction? that was this
7) no pacing
8) no story
9) (this is one that i personally really hate) the fmc had someone awful in her life and she mentions that person ONLY in moments she needed to insult someone. believe me, if i had someone like that in my childhood i wouldn't have been using them to hurt other; i would grow from it.
it was never explained what really happened with that person, it just existed so that the fmc had a "reason" and "explanation" to why she could insult others

im very disappointed with this read and i truly tried to love it

😍 quotes->
"I did do that. But I think we both know by now it was more about me not becoming my mother than you being anything like my father.”
so? you still accused him of being like your abusive father..

"Oh, it looks like you forgot something.”
“Uh-oh! I’m so sorry. What did I—”
“Your number. It seems to be missing.”
so she can date other people BUT gets mad when her EX posted a picture with his COUSIN. tf.
also this gave me such second hand embarrassment..

"As I fit my head through the top and start tying a knot behind my back, I look up to find Declan studying me like I’m a puzzle he needs to solve. Making eye contact is an improvement, at least, but I hate the way I physically feel the difference in how he looks at me now. What was once intimate is now replaced by something cold, hard, with the tiniest hint of inquisitiveness. Like he doesn’t understand me anymore, but he wants to."
every single scene is described like this- no real emotion, just... words. rather than him doing or saying something, she makes the fmc "guess" what he is feeling...

"I mean, yeah? I don’t mean to make your relationship with him sound easy, but at least you have a relationship to struggle with.”
you would rather a abusive father then no father? disgusting. tf, why are we trauma comparing?

"Little Bird"
WHAT. MOTHER HALEY FEEDING US WITH "LITTLE BIRD"


"No football buddy would look half as cute as you did when it hit your face.”


"For Ryan, who made my life a romance book before I discovered them"
IM GONNA BAWL MY EYES OUT RQ

⭐️ updates->
small problem i have (actually big but whatever) is when authors over explain things. i love the words haley uses but cmon i dont need a whole paragraph describing a bunk bed 😭😭 (tho it did sound like my dorm one so can relate)


PRE-READ #8:
one day until its official out so i wanted to say some things yk! 💕
1) do i expect this to be the best book ever written? no, but those that mean i cant share my HONEST opinion on it? ive seen so many people say "its her debut novel so its not fair you were 'harsh'" but in my opinion (!) you need some harsher reviews to grow as an author. of course that doesn't mean you can insult anyone (and i dont get people who say something rude abt haley she is so nice) and i personally love haley, but we cant all dance around the question did we like the book or her as our fav booktoker/tuber.
2) IM SO EXCITED LIKE I CANT EVEN!!! IVE BEEN WATCHING THIS WOMAN FOR YEARS AND SEEING HER GROW AS AN AUTHOR BUT ALSO PERSON IS SOSOSOSO STUNNING AND SUCH A PRIVILEGE 😭😭😭
3) hope i can get it as soon as possible!!

PRE-READ #7:
okay so by the reviews of bookgirlies that got the arc, it's not good... like at all. 😬

PRE-READ #6:
I TOTALLY FORGOT TO COMMENT ABT COVERRR. ITS SO CUTEW (and kinda looks like haley and ryan, am i the only one 🙈)

PRE-READ #5:
cover prediction- like a cartoon-ish cover, smth like Lynn Painter

PRE-READ #4:
HALEY AM EXPECTING COVER DROP TODAY AS THE LAST DAY OF 50 DAYS ACROSS AMERICA SERIES 😝

PRE READ #3:
MARCH THIRD LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MARCH THIRD
SJGABAJAKA OH ABSMSBASHAJABHABAHSVSBFSJKS

PRE READ #2:
IVE BEEN YAPPING ABT THIS TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS 24/7 NONSTOP!!!

PRE READ:
FUCKINGGGGG YESSSSSSS IM SO READYYY FOR THISSSS ABBANDKWKANAMSKS

[anna ୨୧]

↳˗ˏˋ 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 ˊˎ˗ 💌

*edit: guys it arrived today 🤭 soso excited to finally read this 🫶🏼 childhood friends to lovers is my fav trope so i hope it delivers!!

i pre-ordered this and it’s not coming until Monday 😭 i will be dropping everything to read this plus it’ll be my spring break! talk about perfect timing 🤭

also i will be reading this and giving my honest thoughts like i always do, but i’m not going to let my feelings towards Haley play a part in my review. even tho i love Haley’s content, this still deserves to be read and rated just as normally as any other book i pick up. no matter what i’m still proud of Haley (and anyone who writes a book) bc that’s a huge accomplishment.

[michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book was written by someone who likes to read, took inspo from other romance books/ movies compiled it all together and boom we have just friends.
You could not tell me Blair and Declan liked eachother even in the flashbacks which weren’t necessary did not give a hint of high school cutie pie vibes. The choice of words and writing style not only distracted me from the story but pulled me out of it all together. I wanted to connect to the mcs and instead felt like I was being told how to feel and when to feel it. Also the grief/conflict really turned me off as Blair thinking she can retire her mom from her first college grad job… honey no
We need justice for Lottie.

Undiluted: I have written book reports better than this book don’t waste your time and all the positive reviews are most likely Haley Stan accounts which good for you

[Kaily White · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written story about love, loss, and the complicated emotions that come with both!