Better Than Friends

Posted January 22, 2025 by Carole in Reviews / 2 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Better Than FriendsBetter Than Friends by Jill Shalvis
Narrator: Andi Arndt
Series: Sunrise Cove #7
Published by Avon Books, HarperAudio on January 21, 2025
Genres: Fiction / Women
Pages: 336
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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four-stars

Old flames reignite in Sunrise Cove in this charming enemies-to-lovers, second-chance, small-town, forced-proximity love story about family, friendships, and true love from New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis.

When Olive Porter’s off-the-grid parents go missing, she reluctantly seeks out Noah Turner, her ex and the only person she both trusts implicitly and not at all.

As a special investigative agent for the National Park Service, Noah’s used to living under intense pressure. Or he was until he got injured on the job. Now unhappily recuperating at home while being smothered by his loving but nosy family, he’d love nothing more than a good distraction.

So when Olive shows up looking like a million bucks, he has to do a gut and heart check. Because nope, no matter what, he can’t fall for her again, the woman who once blew up his entire life and never looked back. How ironic then that his own personal hell (Olive) is also his ticket out of town. The question is, will the risk be worth the reward?

This was great! Jill Shalvis has earned a spot on my list of favorite authors. She writes characters who feel like family and you just want to see things work out for them. This story was no different. Olive and Noah were obviously meant for one another if they could just figure out how to make things work. I was hooked by this story very quickly and couldn’t wait to see Olive and Noah finally get over their past.

Olive returns home to help her best friend, Katie after her husband, Joe, is injured on the job. Katie’s brother, Noah, is also there to help which makes things interesting since there is some history between the pair. Both Olive and Noah have some guilt that they need to deal with along with a few career decisions to make. It quickly becomes apparent that the feelings they had for one another as teens have only grown stronger and the chemistry between them is off the charts. I thought that these two were perfect for one another and enjoyed seeing them reconnect.

Andi Arndt does a fantastic job with this book. She does such a great job with both the male and female voices which really helps pull the listener into the story. I love how she is able to add just enough emotion to her reading to make it feel like you are right there with the characters. I had no problems listening to this book for hours at a time and believe that her narration added to my enjoyment of the story.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to others. This is the seventh book in the Sunrise Cove series but works perfectly well as a stand-alone since the books in this series are only loosely connected. I can’t wait to read more of this entertaining series.

I received a review copy of this book from Avon Books and HarperAudio.

2 responses to “Better Than Friends

  1. I never have anything bad to say about Shalvis. The friendships were wonderful in this book, and I was surprised by how front and center the romance was. I always feel these books lean more (women’s) fiction, but this felt more like a romance to me.