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A review by parklandmom
Cole and Laila Are Just Friends by Bethany Turner
4.0
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)
Read: May 2024
Format: Advanced Reader Copy (sent to Kindle)
Challenge Prompt: CNL’s #4 of 50 - “With a tree on the cover.”
Book #46 of 2024: This novel picks up not long after where Bryan and Sebastian Hate Each other left off in Adelaide Springs.
Cole and Layla have been best friends for their whole lives. I completely agree that the term “just friends” doesn’t encapsulate friendship properly. It sounds like a low grade or something. A friendship shouldn’t be less than wonderful.
I wondered how the author would handle such any sort of romantic transition. It’s one thing to go from friends to more but it’s another thing to go from LONGTIME best friends to more. She handled it really well and it didn’t feel forced or overly dramatic. The change was awkward, kind of goofy, kind of complicated, & silly-sweet. That’s exactly how I think it would be to alter the course after decades of friendship.
Three things that felt off for me:
1. I did feel that I was reading about a couple in their mid-twenties and not about to turn forty. I’ve been through both myself. Their actions, behaviours, etc were fitting of twenty-somethings.
2. I’m not a pop culture and celebrity fan so I definitely could have done with a lot less of that.
3. I had some difficulty getting into the first part of the book. It wasn’t until they were in New York and sightseeing on their own that the book hit its sweet spot and my rating went up. I love Cole and Laila. I couldn’t help but root for them!
I really enjoyed how the book ended. The talk with his Mom, the additional info, the surprises, etc. It all felt…. just right.
I’ve read all of Bethany Turner’s books and her humour is always fun. There was definitely some SWOON in this book!
>>> Thank-you to Net Galley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy. My rating and review are completely my own.
TWO OF MY FAVOURITE QUOTES FROM THE ARC:
“And then there were the decorations that Cole seemed to have had more of a hand in. Edison bulbs were strung from side to side and back again across the expanse of the roof, creating the perfect subdued lighting with a gorgeous yellow tint. Not the sort of yellow tint that made you wonder if someone’s kidneys were failing. The kind that created that soft sepia hue that was so much more flattering than jaundice.”
(Loc. 3200)
*and*
“What was the expression? That women’s brains were spaghetti, able to mix everything together and get sauce on everything all at once, while men’s were more like waffles, only able to absorb syrup in one grid at a time? Something like that.” (Loc. 2029)
Read: May 2024
Format: Advanced Reader Copy (sent to Kindle)
Challenge Prompt: CNL’s #4 of 50 - “With a tree on the cover.”
Book #46 of 2024: This novel picks up not long after where Bryan and Sebastian Hate Each other left off in Adelaide Springs.
Cole and Layla have been best friends for their whole lives. I completely agree that the term “just friends” doesn’t encapsulate friendship properly. It sounds like a low grade or something. A friendship shouldn’t be less than wonderful.
I wondered how the author would handle such any sort of romantic transition. It’s one thing to go from friends to more but it’s another thing to go from LONGTIME best friends to more. She handled it really well and it didn’t feel forced or overly dramatic. The change was awkward, kind of goofy, kind of complicated, & silly-sweet. That’s exactly how I think it would be to alter the course after decades of friendship.
Three things that felt off for me:
1. I did feel that I was reading about a couple in their mid-twenties and not about to turn forty. I’ve been through both myself. Their actions, behaviours, etc were fitting of twenty-somethings.
2. I’m not a pop culture and celebrity fan so I definitely could have done with a lot less of that.
3. I had some difficulty getting into the first part of the book. It wasn’t until they were in New York and sightseeing on their own that the book hit its sweet spot and my rating went up. I love Cole and Laila. I couldn’t help but root for them!
I really enjoyed how the book ended. The talk with his Mom, the additional info, the surprises, etc. It all felt…. just right.
I’ve read all of Bethany Turner’s books and her humour is always fun. There was definitely some SWOON in this book!
>>> Thank-you to Net Galley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy. My rating and review are completely my own.
TWO OF MY FAVOURITE QUOTES FROM THE ARC:
“And then there were the decorations that Cole seemed to have had more of a hand in. Edison bulbs were strung from side to side and back again across the expanse of the roof, creating the perfect subdued lighting with a gorgeous yellow tint. Not the sort of yellow tint that made you wonder if someone’s kidneys were failing. The kind that created that soft sepia hue that was so much more flattering than jaundice.”
(Loc. 3200)
*and*
“What was the expression? That women’s brains were spaghetti, able to mix everything together and get sauce on everything all at once, while men’s were more like waffles, only able to absorb syrup in one grid at a time? Something like that.” (Loc. 2029)