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Just Friends
Can a girl and guy ever be just friends?
Emerson and I met freshman year of high school and we’ve been tight ever since. I’ve been pretty good about keeping her locked in the- girls I don’t think about having sex with part of my brain. Which is no easy feat because, let’s face it, unless we’re related, you’re potential spank bank material.
Luckily for me, Southern University has an overabundance of Red Devils hockey groupies, which means there are always plenty of puck bunnies for me to choose from. I’m just careful to make sure they look nothing like Em. So, it should be all good in the hood, right?
Wrong.
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but lately, I can’t seem to get it up. Unless an image of Em pops into my head. Then it’s all systems go. It’s a messed-up situation. One Emerson is blissfully unaware of. And that’s exactly the way it needs to stay. What I’ve learned is that friendship is a hell of a lot harder to come by than hookups. Ready for a complication? It turns out that Em is a virgin. And she wants me to be the one to, well…take care of business. You better believe I shot down the idea before it could gain traction in my brain. Maybe Em doesn’t realize it, but remaining friends after you’ve slept with someone happens about as often as spotting a tie-dye-colored unicorn that craps sprinkles. If it weren’t rare, everyone would be doing it, right?
Exactly.
As far as I’m concerned, Emerson has remained a virgin for this long, she can damn well wait to do the deed until after we part ways next year. Unfortunately, my best friend has other ideas. Which pretty much means I’m screwed. And not in a good way.
Emerson and I met freshman year of high school and we’ve been tight ever since. I’ve been pretty good about keeping her locked in the- girls I don’t think about having sex with part of my brain. Which is no easy feat because, let’s face it, unless we’re related, you’re potential spank bank material.
Luckily for me, Southern University has an overabundance of Red Devils hockey groupies, which means there are always plenty of puck bunnies for me to choose from. I’m just careful to make sure they look nothing like Em. So, it should be all good in the hood, right?
Wrong.
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but lately, I can’t seem to get it up. Unless an image of Em pops into my head. Then it’s all systems go. It’s a messed-up situation. One Emerson is blissfully unaware of. And that’s exactly the way it needs to stay. What I’ve learned is that friendship is a hell of a lot harder to come by than hookups. Ready for a complication? It turns out that Em is a virgin. And she wants me to be the one to, well…take care of business. You better believe I shot down the idea before it could gain traction in my brain. Maybe Em doesn’t realize it, but remaining friends after you’ve slept with someone happens about as often as spotting a tie-dye-colored unicorn that craps sprinkles. If it weren’t rare, everyone would be doing it, right?
Exactly.
As far as I’m concerned, Emerson has remained a virgin for this long, she can damn well wait to do the deed until after we part ways next year. Unfortunately, my best friend has other ideas. Which pretty much means I’m screwed. And not in a good way.
295 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 8, 2019
774 people are currently reading
1185 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Sucevic
71 books2,230 followersJennifer is the USA Today Bestselling Author of King of Campus. She currently resides in Michigan with her husband, kids, a dog named Rocky, and a kitten named Lily. After pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology also from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, she spent five years working as a high school counselor before moving out of state with her family. She enjoys reading, writing, and traveling. Please contact Jennifer at jmolitor6@hotmail.com. Connect with Jennifer on facebook- https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.suc... or check her out on Wattpad- https://www.wattpad.com/user/jsucevic. Jennifer can also be found on Tumblr at jsucevic (inspiration board).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
April 9, 2023
Just Friends is a bit let down. Miss Sucevic done more telling than showing in this book. The moment the friend turned to lover is done with more hurry. The chemistry is not hot either.
The writing is OK. The plot is typical NA sport romance. Both characters have so much potential to be developed.
3 stars
The writing is OK. The plot is typical NA sport romance. Both characters have so much potential to be developed.
3 stars
February 6, 2020
Unoriginal, cliche, with a heavy dose of misogyny
Emerson and Reed. Ugh. The author is obviously allergic to original ideas or thought so these 2 characters are the exact same characters that you've read in every other book in this young adults romance genre. She is almost perfect. Innocent, sweet, virginal. Reed is a supersized version of every douche canoe that came before him. He's 22. The world's greatest hockey player. The world's greatest lover and also it's greatest fighter. Take a drink everytime Reed growls of a groan rumbles up from his chest. I dare you.
Make no mistake about it. Read is one of the worst characters that has ever been created. The fact that the author thinks he is leading man in a romance material is laughable. When Emerson's ex boyfriend lets it leak that she's a virgin Reed becomes obsessed with her. He could be a good guy/friend and make her feel better, but of course he doesn't. He makes it his personal mission to humiliate her further by demanding answers that he doesn't deserve and forcing her to talk about it when she repeatedly says she doesn't want to. He tries to solve the problem by trying to force her to be in a fake relationship with him then having no clue why she wouldn't wanna do so because every other girl would kill for the opportunity. Seriously get used to this guy's ego if you're gonna read this book. It's ridiculous. Reid spends the majority of the book either upon gene or threatening every single God that even looks her way. There are multiple times where she's speaking to someone or having a good time with someone and he goes neanderthal on the guy and drags her way. His anger issues and violent tendencies are apparently romantic according to the author. It is actually uncomfortable for me to read from Reed's point of view because he takes ownership of her vagina. She offers him the chance to be the guy and he refuses so when she goes looking for someone else he refuses that to. As if it's his decision. I'm not exaggerating when I say he threatens to fight at least 10 people in this book And he even goes so far as to tell us how one particular woman is "lucky" he didn't choke the life out of her. Lucky he didn't choke the life out of her. This is the guy you want us to root for? This is what you think is romantic? It's so cliche for the guy to be able to sleep with every woman he looks at but for the leading lady it's completely unacceptable for a to her to even dance with a guy. Ugh. The author then makes one of the dumber decisions I've ever seen. Emerson is a virgin so you would think when she actually has sex we would see it from her point of view, but for some reason we see it from Reed's. In fact every time they have sex or do anything sexual it's from his point of view. Only further cementing the authors infatuation with enforcing to us that sex is only for a man's pleasure and the woman just happens to be there. My favorite part came after their first time when Reed just has to ask her if it was good. Fun fact: if you have to ask, it wasn't good. Maybe it would have been if he would have allowed her to enjoy her 1st time the way she wanted. To allow hard to experience it the way she wanted but of course he had to do the alpha male thing and force her to look at him. Then continue to demand that she look at him if she dared close her eyes to actually try to enjoy it. Then when she finally does start to enjoy it the 2nd time he has to make sure that she explicitly tells him so that he can have his ego sufficiently stroked. This author just repeatedly hammers home to us what an awful person Reed is but I truly think she just doesn't see it. The author then continues her unoriginal novel by throwing in the moment that every book has to have. Their looking out at a nice view. The girl says how beautiful it is, the guy agrees that it's beautiful but hes not looking at the view. Can we please stop writing this scene? We get it. To wrap it all up apparently the author realizes she has somewhere to be in 10 minutes so she ends this book completely out of nowhere. There's a huge rift between the 2 main characters and then literally OUT OF NOWHERE she ends it in the most anti climatic way possible. This was an extremely lazy effort. Without tell you there was not one of original thought in this book I am completely serious. If you've read only 1 other book in this genre then you've read this 1. This book is only further proof that people who read romance novels will give 5 stars to literally anything that has a happily ever after. Stop settling for crap. Push these authors to do better and give us better characters. The bar is set so extremely low for the leading man in this genre but almost no author will give us any effort to even try to reach that low low bar. They keep giving us the same arrogant, chauvinistic characters over and over. Do better.
Emerson and Reed. Ugh. The author is obviously allergic to original ideas or thought so these 2 characters are the exact same characters that you've read in every other book in this young adults romance genre. She is almost perfect. Innocent, sweet, virginal. Reed is a supersized version of every douche canoe that came before him. He's 22. The world's greatest hockey player. The world's greatest lover and also it's greatest fighter. Take a drink everytime Reed growls of a groan rumbles up from his chest. I dare you.
Make no mistake about it. Read is one of the worst characters that has ever been created. The fact that the author thinks he is leading man in a romance material is laughable. When Emerson's ex boyfriend lets it leak that she's a virgin Reed becomes obsessed with her. He could be a good guy/friend and make her feel better, but of course he doesn't. He makes it his personal mission to humiliate her further by demanding answers that he doesn't deserve and forcing her to talk about it when she repeatedly says she doesn't want to. He tries to solve the problem by trying to force her to be in a fake relationship with him then having no clue why she wouldn't wanna do so because every other girl would kill for the opportunity. Seriously get used to this guy's ego if you're gonna read this book. It's ridiculous. Reid spends the majority of the book either upon gene or threatening every single God that even looks her way. There are multiple times where she's speaking to someone or having a good time with someone and he goes neanderthal on the guy and drags her way. His anger issues and violent tendencies are apparently romantic according to the author. It is actually uncomfortable for me to read from Reed's point of view because he takes ownership of her vagina. She offers him the chance to be the guy and he refuses so when she goes looking for someone else he refuses that to. As if it's his decision. I'm not exaggerating when I say he threatens to fight at least 10 people in this book And he even goes so far as to tell us how one particular woman is "lucky" he didn't choke the life out of her. Lucky he didn't choke the life out of her. This is the guy you want us to root for? This is what you think is romantic? It's so cliche for the guy to be able to sleep with every woman he looks at but for the leading lady it's completely unacceptable for a to her to even dance with a guy. Ugh. The author then makes one of the dumber decisions I've ever seen. Emerson is a virgin so you would think when she actually has sex we would see it from her point of view, but for some reason we see it from Reed's. In fact every time they have sex or do anything sexual it's from his point of view. Only further cementing the authors infatuation with enforcing to us that sex is only for a man's pleasure and the woman just happens to be there. My favorite part came after their first time when Reed just has to ask her if it was good. Fun fact: if you have to ask, it wasn't good. Maybe it would have been if he would have allowed her to enjoy her 1st time the way she wanted. To allow hard to experience it the way she wanted but of course he had to do the alpha male thing and force her to look at him. Then continue to demand that she look at him if she dared close her eyes to actually try to enjoy it. Then when she finally does start to enjoy it the 2nd time he has to make sure that she explicitly tells him so that he can have his ego sufficiently stroked. This author just repeatedly hammers home to us what an awful person Reed is but I truly think she just doesn't see it. The author then continues her unoriginal novel by throwing in the moment that every book has to have. Their looking out at a nice view. The girl says how beautiful it is, the guy agrees that it's beautiful but hes not looking at the view. Can we please stop writing this scene? We get it. To wrap it all up apparently the author realizes she has somewhere to be in 10 minutes so she ends this book completely out of nowhere. There's a huge rift between the 2 main characters and then literally OUT OF NOWHERE she ends it in the most anti climatic way possible. This was an extremely lazy effort. Without tell you there was not one of original thought in this book I am completely serious. If you've read only 1 other book in this genre then you've read this 1. This book is only further proof that people who read romance novels will give 5 stars to literally anything that has a happily ever after. Stop settling for crap. Push these authors to do better and give us better characters. The bar is set so extremely low for the leading man in this genre but almost no author will give us any effort to even try to reach that low low bar. They keep giving us the same arrogant, chauvinistic characters over and over. Do better.
not-interested
March 24, 2020I already dislike friends-to-lovers books in which they date with so many people before they realize they should be with each other but this one seems to be one of the worst examples of it as in this one, he sleeps with lots of girls but she is a virgin!
Please read this awesome review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Please read this awesome review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
July 27, 2019
Classic NA, nothing extraordinary but good enough.
But I do have one point that bothered the whole time.
Do people in American Colleges really care that much about other people and their sex lives? The plot where the whole school talks about the heroine‘s virginity just blows my mind. There are supposedly 10000 people in that school, why would someone’s virginity be such a big thing that‘s talked about for weeks?
But I do have one point that bothered the whole time.
Do people in American Colleges really care that much about other people and their sex lives? The plot where the whole school talks about the heroine‘s virginity just blows my mind. There are supposedly 10000 people in that school, why would someone’s virginity be such a big thing that‘s talked about for weeks?
July 2, 2019
I love hockey romance and this one is very good. It is out of the ordinary but still well done. The toughest dilemma is whether him and her want to be more than friends. They are best friends. She's a senior in college and still a virgin. He's also a senior but he's a player. He beds them and sends them on their way. Why would he stop?
Her jerk boyfriend reveals quite publicly that she's a virgin. And that makes the story...
Her jerk boyfriend reveals quite publicly that she's a virgin. And that makes the story...
June 12, 2022
This was an excellent read, I loved Reed and Em, but definitely Reed more. It was my first book by Jennifer, and I absolutely loved it ❤️.
I laughed out loud, got emotional, and felt the angst while I was reading it, and the inner monologues were top notch. You can feel the emotions these characters go through and you just want to shake'em up, to just reveal their heart's desires.
Reed is so considerate of Em at all times, and Em just can't help but melt against him. And it IS angsty, Reed is alpha when he wants to be, but a cute bear whom you just want to squish and cuddle with. Their friends, Brin and Colton were amazing as well, Colton giving Reed advice, and Brin looking out for Em, was just wholesome. Really enjoyed it 💟💯
I laughed out loud, got emotional, and felt the angst while I was reading it, and the inner monologues were top notch. You can feel the emotions these characters go through and you just want to shake'em up, to just reveal their heart's desires.
Reed is so considerate of Em at all times, and Em just can't help but melt against him. And it IS angsty, Reed is alpha when he wants to be, but a cute bear whom you just want to squish and cuddle with. Their friends, Brin and Colton were amazing as well, Colton giving Reed advice, and Brin looking out for Em, was just wholesome. Really enjoyed it 💟💯
April 11, 2021
A bit cliche but also very cute and I definitely just needed a story like this! <3
September 18, 2021
A fun read
Best friends turned lovers equals soul mates!!! Such a fun afternoon read on my porch. Can't wait for another Jennifer Sucevic read.
Best friends turned lovers equals soul mates!!! Such a fun afternoon read on my porch. Can't wait for another Jennifer Sucevic read.
December 10, 2022
2⭐️
Kitschiger klischehafter Friends to lovers Roman
Der Plot war absolut merkwürdig.
Ganz ehrlich als ob ein komplettes Collage soooooo austickt das es eine Jungfrau gibt??? Das juckt kein Schwein-
Ich find da hätte die Autorin sich eine bessere Storyline ausdenken können.
Dann wurde um die 70 mal auch erwähnt das die Hauptperson Emerson komplett anders ist als normale Mädchen „shes so different“ gott ich konnts nichtmehr hören.
Das Ende ging VIELLL zu schnell, also wirklich extrem zu schnell.
Buch hat mich unterhalten aber würds nicht wirklich empfehlen👍🏻
Kitschiger klischehafter Friends to lovers Roman
Der Plot war absolut merkwürdig.
Ganz ehrlich als ob ein komplettes Collage soooooo austickt das es eine Jungfrau gibt??? Das juckt kein Schwein-
Ich find da hätte die Autorin sich eine bessere Storyline ausdenken können.
Dann wurde um die 70 mal auch erwähnt das die Hauptperson Emerson komplett anders ist als normale Mädchen „shes so different“ gott ich konnts nichtmehr hören.
Das Ende ging VIELLL zu schnell, also wirklich extrem zu schnell.
Buch hat mich unterhalten aber würds nicht wirklich empfehlen👍🏻
June 16, 2019
I love friends to lovers tropes however this book missed the spot. The characters were both very immature and naive. There was so much miscommunication between them that it made it really hard to root for them. I would’ve love to see how their relationship transitioned from friends to lover. Rather than spending more than half the book fighting their attraction and only getting a few pages of their newfound relationship.
August 9, 2023
RTC
Same Reed as previous book- yucka
Same Reed as previous book- yucka
June 12, 2019
Review by Lisa Kane
There's no denying it-I love a good hockey romance. This one is hot and but manages to give you the warm and fuzzies at the same time.
Reed Philips is gorgeous and talented. He plays for the Red Devils hockey team and is quite the puck bunny magnet. He's sampled his share (and probably most everyone else's share for that matter) but he rarely does repeats. He has fun but his eye is on the prize-he's got a great chance at being drafted for the NFL. There's always been one constant in his life and that's his best friend Emerson Shaw.
They have been there for each other for decades. While everyone has always assumed they would hook up at some point they never have-not that both of them haven't crossed that line in their own heads. But it's not going to happen...
When Emerson suffers a huge embarrassment at a frat party, it's Reed who's the most shocked. His protective side turns him into an alpha to the max and the dynamics of their relationship are about to change.
But can best friends become lovers without ruining everything between them? Guess we're about to find out!
There's no denying it-I love a good hockey romance. This one is hot and but manages to give you the warm and fuzzies at the same time.
Reed Philips is gorgeous and talented. He plays for the Red Devils hockey team and is quite the puck bunny magnet. He's sampled his share (and probably most everyone else's share for that matter) but he rarely does repeats. He has fun but his eye is on the prize-he's got a great chance at being drafted for the NFL. There's always been one constant in his life and that's his best friend Emerson Shaw.
They have been there for each other for decades. While everyone has always assumed they would hook up at some point they never have-not that both of them haven't crossed that line in their own heads. But it's not going to happen...
When Emerson suffers a huge embarrassment at a frat party, it's Reed who's the most shocked. His protective side turns him into an alpha to the max and the dynamics of their relationship are about to change.
But can best friends become lovers without ruining everything between them? Guess we're about to find out!
March 26, 2021
* 2,5 sterren
Helaas moet ik toegeven dat ik meer verwacht had. Ik vond het wel fijn dat zowel het standpunt van Reed als dat van Em aan bod kwam, maar de daadwerkelijke interactie/dialoog tussen hen vond ik wat teleurstellend. Daarnaast miste ik ook wat meer diepgang. Ik heb niet het idee dat ik Reed en Em nu echt ken en dat is iets wat ik zelf altijd heel fijn vind om juist wel te hebben.
Helaas moet ik toegeven dat ik meer verwacht had. Ik vond het wel fijn dat zowel het standpunt van Reed als dat van Em aan bod kwam, maar de daadwerkelijke interactie/dialoog tussen hen vond ik wat teleurstellend. Daarnaast miste ik ook wat meer diepgang. Ik heb niet het idee dat ik Reed en Em nu echt ken en dat is iets wat ik zelf altijd heel fijn vind om juist wel te hebben.
May 15, 2023
As it happened with every book written by Jennifer Sucevic I've read so far, I got exactly what I asked for. Your typical NA sports romance, with characters with potential and a cute story that eventually ends well for everybody. Only... the characters never truly reached their full potential, and the final few chapters felt a bit too rushed for me.
March 3, 2021
Another great from Sucevic
Lighthearted, funny, sexy romance that I read in a day. Reminiscent of Friend Zoned by the same author. If you liked that you’ll enjoy Reed and Emerson’s story.
Lighthearted, funny, sexy romance that I read in a day. Reminiscent of Friend Zoned by the same author. If you liked that you’ll enjoy Reed and Emerson’s story.
April 15, 2024
mid book- listened to while on a roadtrip. was a good break from lauren pavlov and the weird nicknames she uses during 🌶️ scenes.
October 18, 2019
2 It is all they talk about STARS
Em is 21 and GASP she is a virgin! Reed is a player on and off the rink. They have been BFF's forever but can their friendship survive a little Friends with Benefits?
During a Fraternity party Em is outed as a virgin and for some reason this becomes all anyone in the entire college campus talks about for WEEKS. Come on people there is more than one V on campus and while it may be talk of their intimate social group. People in college are way too self absorbed to care about a random girl being a virgin. Now maybe if Reed was a V and being the huge Hockey player that would be talk of the campus for a little while but not Em.
I started skimming around 40%. Didn't even attempt to read full chapters by 60%. I was waiting for something to happen for me to get hooked in on their relationship and it just didn't happen.
Alex seems like an interesting character to read about wouldn't mind his book!
Em is 21 and GASP she is a virgin! Reed is a player on and off the rink. They have been BFF's forever but can their friendship survive a little Friends with Benefits?
During a Fraternity party Em is outed as a virgin and for some reason this becomes all anyone in the entire college campus talks about for WEEKS. Come on people there is more than one V on campus and while it may be talk of their intimate social group. People in college are way too self absorbed to care about a random girl being a virgin. Now maybe if Reed was a V and being the huge Hockey player that would be talk of the campus for a little while but not Em.
I started skimming around 40%. Didn't even attempt to read full chapters by 60%. I was waiting for something to happen for me to get hooked in on their relationship and it just didn't happen.
Alex seems like an interesting character to read about wouldn't mind his book!
April 9, 2021
Auch dieser Teil war wieder so, so gut😻
Reed&Emerson sind so toll zusammen! Und es ist wirklich die perfekte „best Friends to Lovers“ Story...nicht zu viel und nicht zu wenig und auch kein unnötiges Drama🙊
Es ist wieder lustig, romantisch und hat auch ein paar ziemlich heisse Szenen😏🔥🙈 ich werde mir definitiv mehr Bücher von der Autorin anschauen
Ich kann euch die Bücher (vor allem die 3 jetzt von der College - Reihe) absolut ans Herz legen, vor allem wenn ihr die Game on oder die Campus off Reihe mochtet...und wenn ihr auf Eishockey/Footballspieler und College steht ❤️🙈
Absolut und einfach nur zu empfehlen! Lest sie...ihr werdet sie lieben und ihr werdet definitiv süchtig danach😹❤️
Ps: sie sind alle in sich abgeschlossen
Reed&Emerson sind so toll zusammen! Und es ist wirklich die perfekte „best Friends to Lovers“ Story...nicht zu viel und nicht zu wenig und auch kein unnötiges Drama🙊
Es ist wieder lustig, romantisch und hat auch ein paar ziemlich heisse Szenen😏🔥🙈 ich werde mir definitiv mehr Bücher von der Autorin anschauen
Ich kann euch die Bücher (vor allem die 3 jetzt von der College - Reihe) absolut ans Herz legen, vor allem wenn ihr die Game on oder die Campus off Reihe mochtet...und wenn ihr auf Eishockey/Footballspieler und College steht ❤️🙈
Absolut und einfach nur zu empfehlen! Lest sie...ihr werdet sie lieben und ihr werdet definitiv süchtig danach😹❤️
Ps: sie sind alle in sich abgeschlossen
March 9, 2024
DNF
Does an entire university campus discuss the virginity of one girl student? This is so nonsensical. Then, even if she loses her virginity, how is she going to convince them all? Ried's plan of fake dating was much better and would have created the desired opinion on heralso can't understand how he is attracted to her and yet slept with other gals..
One more major put off point is too much internal dialog, so much so that you'd forget what was the previous dialog and who said it...
Does an entire university campus discuss the virginity of one girl student? This is so nonsensical. Then, even if she loses her virginity, how is she going to convince them all? Ried's plan of fake dating was much better and would have created the desired opinion on heralso can't understand how he is attracted to her and yet slept with other gals..
One more major put off point is too much internal dialog, so much so that you'd forget what was the previous dialog and who said it...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2019
2.5 stars. Not enough dialogue between the characters. I found there was too much inner monologues. I didnt think colleges work that way but the whole ‘issue’ that everyone found out about I don’t think would have lead to reactions like that from strangers. Sounded more like a high school that a college.
September 10, 2019
Yawn
I found this to be predictable and boring. The characters were not well developed and the end was abrupt. I expect romance novels to be somewhat formulaic but this was just boring. Save your money!
I found this to be predictable and boring. The characters were not well developed and the end was abrupt. I expect romance novels to be somewhat formulaic but this was just boring. Save your money!
August 17, 2019
DNF. EVERYTHING WAS SO CRINGEY
August 16, 2024
It was a smooth quick listen. Nothing particularly stands out with this story or the characters. There’s also a lot of romance tropes in this book, particularly phrases that just seem to be in nearly every adult romance book out there. The entire book was just about the fem MC losing her virginity and her bestie getting her jollies off in a train and on a plane, in a car both near and far. That’s literally it. This should have been a short story. The only reason why it wasn’t is because the male MC’s angsty inner monologues are long and pop up frequently.
The only thing that annoyed me was the intense gossip around the fem MC’s virginal status. Unless you’re going to a tiny college, especially a Christian college, I strongly doubt many students will give a flying fuck about some rando chick’s sexual status beyond “really? That’s “weird”. College is not the same as high school in most cases. There’s just too many people for everyone to know/care about people’s business, and being able to identify one random girl (who’s pretty but but not a flamingo in any other way) as the virgin people are supposedly talking about when you see a hundred (if not several hundred) other students on campus every day is so unlikely it’s laughable unless you share a class schedule. And at frat parties people have beer goggles on and could give a shit who you are as long as you come to have “fun”. I’m just not convinced being a virgin as an adult is the red flag in front of the bull it’s portrayed to be in cinema/books. Maybe it’s just that the whole “I’m a virgin” thing is usually portrayed in very similar ways and it brings out all the sleezebats (and only the sleezebats). Attraction is complicated, if it wasn’t everyone who wanted to be would be paired (or grouped) off. To boil down a virgin’s attractiveness to just people wanting to take advantage of her lack of experience is gross and narrow-minded. It would be nice if one of these books would give it more of a deeper dive. Maybe a side character is also a virgin and wants their first time to be with another virgin, maybe they’re excited (in a non-creepy way) by the opportunity to introduce the MC to the world of sex. Etc etc. anyway, lack of originality isn’t a crime, but it sure does get tiresome.
Besides that, this book was aight.
The only thing that annoyed me was the intense gossip around the fem MC’s virginal status. Unless you’re going to a tiny college, especially a Christian college, I strongly doubt many students will give a flying fuck about some rando chick’s sexual status beyond “really? That’s “weird”. College is not the same as high school in most cases. There’s just too many people for everyone to know/care about people’s business, and being able to identify one random girl (who’s pretty but but not a flamingo in any other way) as the virgin people are supposedly talking about when you see a hundred (if not several hundred) other students on campus every day is so unlikely it’s laughable unless you share a class schedule. And at frat parties people have beer goggles on and could give a shit who you are as long as you come to have “fun”. I’m just not convinced being a virgin as an adult is the red flag in front of the bull it’s portrayed to be in cinema/books. Maybe it’s just that the whole “I’m a virgin” thing is usually portrayed in very similar ways and it brings out all the sleezebats (and only the sleezebats). Attraction is complicated, if it wasn’t everyone who wanted to be would be paired (or grouped) off. To boil down a virgin’s attractiveness to just people wanting to take advantage of her lack of experience is gross and narrow-minded. It would be nice if one of these books would give it more of a deeper dive. Maybe a side character is also a virgin and wants their first time to be with another virgin, maybe they’re excited (in a non-creepy way) by the opportunity to introduce the MC to the world of sex. Etc etc. anyway, lack of originality isn’t a crime, but it sure does get tiresome.
Besides that, this book was aight.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2023
3 solid stars
Em is desperate to get some action after her shitty boyfriend tells a whole frat house that she's a virgin. Enter Reed, her best friend and campus hockey god/playboy. When Em asks him to deflower her, he's hesitant at first. He's already developing unwanted feelings for her, to the point that he can't *perform* without picturing Em. Eventually he relents, and they make a trip to Chicago for him to meet with an NHL team. While on the trip, they come together to solve Em's issue with her virginity. But the real test is whether they can maintain their friendship after they get back to school or succumb to the growing feelings both are harboring for the other.
The spice in this book was phenomenal. The build up was great. And Reed was precious and patient. That's about the point my praises come to a roadblock.
Em was so freaking annoying. It's virginity, baby girl. Being a 21 year old virgin isn't the end of the world. And IF it were that big of a deal, she could've lost it long before it got spread around campus as gossip. And if it WEREN'T that big of a deal, any dude would've done in a pinch. Either way, her behavior towards not only being a virgin but also over being part of the rumor mill was severely dramatic.
She also has this HORRIBLE habit of cutting Reed off, not letting him explain himself, and being unnecessarily stubborn most of the time. She just wasn't that great of a person, if you ask me.
Then there was Brinley. Her best friend and roommate who was even more abrasive than Em. Not once did I feel Brin had Em's best interests at heart. She was a super selfish friend who had a bad habit of guilt tripping people who didn't behave how she wanted them to.
I didn't really care for any of the characters except Reed and his hockey friend whose name I don't remember. But the spice between Reed and Em was hands down the star of this show. Some of the best spiciness I've read in a while. And again, those slow burn "first time" tropes really brought the ol' razzle dazzle.
If you like friends-to-lovers, hockey, first time with a touch of slow burn, this is right up your alley and I'd definitely recommend this book to you. Otherwise, meh...
Em is desperate to get some action after her shitty boyfriend tells a whole frat house that she's a virgin. Enter Reed, her best friend and campus hockey god/playboy. When Em asks him to deflower her, he's hesitant at first. He's already developing unwanted feelings for her, to the point that he can't *perform* without picturing Em. Eventually he relents, and they make a trip to Chicago for him to meet with an NHL team. While on the trip, they come together to solve Em's issue with her virginity. But the real test is whether they can maintain their friendship after they get back to school or succumb to the growing feelings both are harboring for the other.
The spice in this book was phenomenal. The build up was great. And Reed was precious and patient. That's about the point my praises come to a roadblock.
Em was so freaking annoying. It's virginity, baby girl. Being a 21 year old virgin isn't the end of the world. And IF it were that big of a deal, she could've lost it long before it got spread around campus as gossip. And if it WEREN'T that big of a deal, any dude would've done in a pinch. Either way, her behavior towards not only being a virgin but also over being part of the rumor mill was severely dramatic.
She also has this HORRIBLE habit of cutting Reed off, not letting him explain himself, and being unnecessarily stubborn most of the time. She just wasn't that great of a person, if you ask me.
Then there was Brinley. Her best friend and roommate who was even more abrasive than Em. Not once did I feel Brin had Em's best interests at heart. She was a super selfish friend who had a bad habit of guilt tripping people who didn't behave how she wanted them to.
I didn't really care for any of the characters except Reed and his hockey friend whose name I don't remember. But the spice between Reed and Em was hands down the star of this show. Some of the best spiciness I've read in a while. And again, those slow burn "first time" tropes really brought the ol' razzle dazzle.
If you like friends-to-lovers, hockey, first time with a touch of slow burn, this is right up your alley and I'd definitely recommend this book to you. Otherwise, meh...
October 25, 2024
📖 rating: 2⭐️
This was my first book by Jennifer Sucevic and I didn’t really enjoy it. The characters and the premise of the book just felt immature. I know it’s a plot device and is essentially the reason the story happened but a large portion of the student body caring about Emerson’s virginity is so unrealistic. Her whining about it for 200 pages got really annoying too. What happened to her sucked but we get it girl, you’re a virgin. Don’t even get me started on Reed. He’s doing important meetings for his future with his top choice NHL team and all he can focus on is Emerson and sleeping with her? Come onnnn. The way they both acted on the Chicago trip was so immature. (Are you sensing a theme?)
The chemistry between Emerson and Reed was weak. Where’s the flavor? The banter? Not to mention, the transition from friendship to relationship was rushed. I was more interested in Brinley and Colton’s story than the main couple’s (if there’s a book about them, let me know 👀).
I felt like the author’s word choice didn’t make sense at times. This is a romance novel about a woman losing her virginity WITH explicit sex scenes but you won’t use swear words until 3/4 of the way through the book? She used the word ‘freaking’ a lot in the first part and it felt juvenile. It would’ve been better to not use anything at all. On top of that, Emerson uses the phrase “going downtown” when referring to oral sex at one point. Maybe it went over my head and it was supposed to be funny but again the phrase just felt kind of juvenile.
Overall, Just Friends wasn’t really my cup of tea. I am definitely willing to give this author another chance because I don’t think it’s fair to judge off one book. I really hope there’s a book about Brinley and Colton because the little glimpses we got weren’t enough. Would I recommend it?…probably not but reading is subjective and you may love this book so take my opinion lightly.
As always, happy reading! 📖☁️🌸
This was my first book by Jennifer Sucevic and I didn’t really enjoy it. The characters and the premise of the book just felt immature. I know it’s a plot device and is essentially the reason the story happened but a large portion of the student body caring about Emerson’s virginity is so unrealistic. Her whining about it for 200 pages got really annoying too. What happened to her sucked but we get it girl, you’re a virgin. Don’t even get me started on Reed. He’s doing important meetings for his future with his top choice NHL team and all he can focus on is Emerson and sleeping with her? Come onnnn. The way they both acted on the Chicago trip was so immature. (Are you sensing a theme?)
The chemistry between Emerson and Reed was weak. Where’s the flavor? The banter? Not to mention, the transition from friendship to relationship was rushed. I was more interested in Brinley and Colton’s story than the main couple’s (if there’s a book about them, let me know 👀).
I felt like the author’s word choice didn’t make sense at times. This is a romance novel about a woman losing her virginity WITH explicit sex scenes but you won’t use swear words until 3/4 of the way through the book? She used the word ‘freaking’ a lot in the first part and it felt juvenile. It would’ve been better to not use anything at all. On top of that, Emerson uses the phrase “going downtown” when referring to oral sex at one point. Maybe it went over my head and it was supposed to be funny but again the phrase just felt kind of juvenile.
Overall, Just Friends wasn’t really my cup of tea. I am definitely willing to give this author another chance because I don’t think it’s fair to judge off one book. I really hope there’s a book about Brinley and Colton because the little glimpses we got weren’t enough. Would I recommend it?…probably not but reading is subjective and you may love this book so take my opinion lightly.
As always, happy reading! 📖☁️🌸
December 15, 2025
Emerson and Reed have been friends forever. Reed is getting ready to go to the NHL but still living the college life with all the ladies. Lately he's been finding himself seeing the face of his best friend rather than the face of the girl he's with (bit disconcerting if you ask me). He tries to stop thinking about Emerson in those situations but it's hard not to do, especially when he can't get hard without doing it.
Emerson is dating a guy that she goes looking for while at a party. Making matters worse, Reed is helping her look. Dude should've locked the door when started hooking up with the girl Emerson finds him with. Don't worry, it gets worse. He proceeds to say he wouldn't need to cheat on her if she wasn't still a virgin. Yeah, this was a secret no one knew about Em. Not even Reed.
Ok, I have to say it. It bothered me that so much of the book was about her virginity. It's fine that she wants to lose it, and she wants Reed to help her with this. It's the part where her loser boyfriend sells her out, then the campus starts to talk about it… yeah, that's a bit much for me. How small of a campus is it that they would actually sit around and talk about someone being a virgin like that? I know, most books aren't realistic anyway but this part was just, dare I say… ick… for me. It's an otherwise cute story but for others to care that much about her being a virgin was just too farfetched for me.
Emerson is dating a guy that she goes looking for while at a party. Making matters worse, Reed is helping her look. Dude should've locked the door when started hooking up with the girl Emerson finds him with. Don't worry, it gets worse. He proceeds to say he wouldn't need to cheat on her if she wasn't still a virgin. Yeah, this was a secret no one knew about Em. Not even Reed.
Ok, I have to say it. It bothered me that so much of the book was about her virginity. It's fine that she wants to lose it, and she wants Reed to help her with this. It's the part where her loser boyfriend sells her out, then the campus starts to talk about it… yeah, that's a bit much for me. How small of a campus is it that they would actually sit around and talk about someone being a virgin like that? I know, most books aren't realistic anyway but this part was just, dare I say… ick… for me. It's an otherwise cute story but for others to care that much about her being a virgin was just too farfetched for me.
May 14, 2023
Long lasting Friendship, Connection, Emotion with a Steamy Sizzle of Romance.
Just Friends
Author: Jennifer Sucevic
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
First things first, I have been binge reading a bunch of different novels from Jennifer Sucevic in anticipation of her new novel “Hate You Always.” But yet again I wasn’t disappointed by the characters and progression of this story even though I’m not one for the friends to lovers trope fan.
So in the end, Emerson and Reed’s friendship is absolutely craveable! I love how they care about each other and how deep their connection runs beyond the physical and emotional romantic relationship.
I love Reed as a character. His compassion and devotion to Em is absolutely adorable. Plus I loved how he tried so hard to stay away or say no when propositioned. But I also love just how not subtle their connection and development into a different relationship worked.
It doesn’t take long to connect and feel for the characters in this one. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and look forward to seeing how Reed pops up in future books. 💕
#books #romance #givememore #readers #review #booklover #bookstagram #romancenovels #romancenovel #romancebooks #bookcandy #bookaddict #romancereader #book #kindlereader
Just Friends
Author: Jennifer Sucevic
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
First things first, I have been binge reading a bunch of different novels from Jennifer Sucevic in anticipation of her new novel “Hate You Always.” But yet again I wasn’t disappointed by the characters and progression of this story even though I’m not one for the friends to lovers trope fan.
So in the end, Emerson and Reed’s friendship is absolutely craveable! I love how they care about each other and how deep their connection runs beyond the physical and emotional romantic relationship.
I love Reed as a character. His compassion and devotion to Em is absolutely adorable. Plus I loved how he tried so hard to stay away or say no when propositioned. But I also love just how not subtle their connection and development into a different relationship worked.
It doesn’t take long to connect and feel for the characters in this one. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and look forward to seeing how Reed pops up in future books. 💕
#books #romance #givememore #readers #review #booklover #bookstagram #romancenovels #romancenovel #romancebooks #bookcandy #bookaddict #romancereader #book #kindlereader
April 27, 2022
INCREDIBLE! Jennifer Sucevic is AMAZING!!!
One word, REED! Holy incredible Reed! I love Emerson too but wow Reed blew me away. This was absolutely incredible. It had me swooning, crying happy tears and doing a happy dance at the end! I loved this story sooo much.
Emerson and Reed have soooo much history between the two of them. Friends forever. And when Reed finds out Emerson’s huge secret that is being spread around campus, he steps up to help her. But will it ruin their friendship? Can girls and guys be just friends or will the feelings between them snd their long history of knowing each other so well get in the way.
Ohhhh, you have to read this! It will melt your heart and have you falling hard for this incredible couple! Jennifer Sucevic is incredible! Her books are fantastic and her characters are relatable and so swoony. You absolutely must devour this incredible, fantastic, amazing book!!!
One word, REED! Holy incredible Reed! I love Emerson too but wow Reed blew me away. This was absolutely incredible. It had me swooning, crying happy tears and doing a happy dance at the end! I loved this story sooo much.
Emerson and Reed have soooo much history between the two of them. Friends forever. And when Reed finds out Emerson’s huge secret that is being spread around campus, he steps up to help her. But will it ruin their friendship? Can girls and guys be just friends or will the feelings between them snd their long history of knowing each other so well get in the way.
Ohhhh, you have to read this! It will melt your heart and have you falling hard for this incredible couple! Jennifer Sucevic is incredible! Her books are fantastic and her characters are relatable and so swoony. You absolutely must devour this incredible, fantastic, amazing book!!!
August 17, 2020
Just friends follows the friendship between Reed the hotshot hockey player and Emerson the smart and sassy best friend. Their relationship eventually evolves from friends to lovers after Emerson's asshole boyfriend reveals to the college that Emerson is *gasp* a virgin, in retaliation Emerson is desperate to lose her V card and turns to her experienced bestfriend. Then they can't ignore their feelings for eachother, but they don't want to lose their friendship... blah blah blah
Overall, the book was okay. Cliche and predictable but it wasn't horrible, I enjoyed it but didn't love it enough to re-read or recommend it but didn't dislike it enough to DNF it. I think there are other better books to read and wouldn't waste your time with this one.
Overall, the book was okay. Cliche and predictable but it wasn't horrible, I enjoyed it but didn't love it enough to re-read or recommend it but didn't dislike it enough to DNF it. I think there are other better books to read and wouldn't waste your time with this one.
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