Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Only Ever Friends

Rate this book
They were only ever friends... but is that how they're going to stay?

When Amie’s fiancé breaks off their engagement, she does what any rational, 24-year-old law student would eats her weight in Ben & Jerry's and pawns the ring her ex-fiancé could have sold a kidney for. But Amie's got more problems than her expanding her entire world was planned around (and by) Derek. Without him, she doesn't even know how she likes her coffee, let alone what she wants to do with her life.

Jason is stuck running the family business, when all he really wants to do is make filet mignon and perfect his crème brûlée. When his childhood friend shows up next door with a broken heart, he takes it upon himself to cheer her up, just like he did when they were kids. She's only around for the summer—what could possibly happen?

Amie and Jason were only ever friends, so when sparks start to fly it catches them both off guard—especially since Jason’s culinary dreams are about to come true and Amie finally has her life figured out. With summer drawing to a close and Amie heading back to school, will their friendship survive the tug-of-war between them? Or will the summer end with more than just Amie's broken heart?

230 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 26, 2021

40 people are currently reading
364 people want to read

About the author

Shaela Kay

15 books63 followers
Shaela Kay was born and raised near Seattle, Washington. She studied Theatre and English at Brigham Young University-Idaho, but left her studies in order to be a wife and a mother. She and her husband John live with their four children on the banks of the mighty Columbia River. Visit her online at www.shaelakay.com

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
100 (34%)
4 stars
106 (36%)
3 stars
67 (23%)
2 stars
12 (4%)
1 star
5 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
Profile Image for Esther.
Author 14 books1,052 followers
February 2, 2021
Lovely story with a slow-burn, character driven romance. I love it when characters really come into their own before falling completely in love and that is definitely the case in Only Ever Friends. There were a couple of amazing lines I would love to post here, but I really don’t want to spoil them for you. You need to experience them yourself.
Profile Image for Katie (hiding in the pages).
3,503 reviews328 followers
February 16, 2021
Delightful

It's so easy in life to go along with what makes others happy. I don't like conflict and don't enjoy rocking the boat, so I could understand and relate to Amie and how she found herself trapped in a persona that doesn't truly reflect who she used to be. A quick jilt just before walking down the aisle was actually the blessing in disguise that helped her dig out her long forgotten identity. I enjoyed discovering who Amie really was.

After a move back home, Amie reconnects with her childhood best friend, Jason. I loved how they each helped each other recognize their potential and callings in life. Fantastic characters are what really drove this book deep into my heart. I love good connections and the feel-good warmth of friends, familiarity, and love.

I'll drool over Ben and Jerry's any time, but it was Jason's cooking creations that left me with a wet spot on my shirt. I loved the flow of this story--the pacing, comfort, delicious descriptions, and dazzling chemistry made for a great story. This is my first book by this author and it won't be my last.

Content: mild romance
Profile Image for Melissa.
2,542 reviews267 followers
April 24, 2021
This is the story of Amie and how she becomes more of herself. It is a romance but there are not a lot of sparks. It is more a story of how Amie deals with a break-up that leads her to find who she really wants to be. I was happy she was seeing the truth in herself and in others. Jason is an old friend who helps her along the way. This author has some potential. The writing was good there were just some issues for me. I knew exactly what was going to happen almost every step of the book. Amie really started to annoy me, I wanted her to really learn from her mistakes but at the end of the book I could have slapped her upside the head. Not really a book for me. I like lots of romantic tension and unique story lines.
PG= I think this would be a story my 16 year old would like.
Profile Image for Sally Britton.
Author 47 books1,259 followers
February 2, 2021
A sweet, clean romance that's Friends-to-Love. I absolutely adored Amie, the heroine of this book, especially as she struggled to find herself. Because - as an innate people-pleaser myself - it can be hard to stop worrying about what others want and focus on our own needs.

This sweet romance has DELIGHTFUL kisses, food descriptions that made me drool, and a hero that pretty much did the same....

If you love clean contemporary romance, you'll love this book!
Profile Image for Kaele’s Krazy Book Obsession.
490 reviews1 follower
January 6, 2022
I don’t know why but I thought this was a best friends romance when I picked it up and it’s not. This is a childhood friends to strangers who meet again when she comes back to visit her hometown. It was a fun read. I liked Amie’s development to her deciding what she wants to do with her life instead of doing what makes others happy. Jason was so sweet, also where can I find a guy in real life who can and likes to cook and bake? I really want macarons now 😂 The ending was cute!
Profile Image for Deborah.
676 reviews52 followers
February 18, 2021
3.5

This book was cute and so enjoyable. I loved Jason and Ames. Their friendship was so fun and believable. It was a cute book!
Profile Image for Littlemissreadergirl .
92 reviews
January 29, 2021
Great must read romcom!

I loved the friendships in this book! The relationship with her dad was great too. I enjoyed watching Amie grow throughout the story. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good romcom!
Profile Image for Kim McCoy.
676 reviews11 followers
February 2, 2021
Loved it!

I raced through this one and didn’t want to stop reading. This is a sweet, well-paced novel. I enjoyed watching Amie figure out who she really was. I loved all the food descriptions although they also made me hungry. Now I definitely need some macarons.
Profile Image for victoria_tonks.
314 reviews
July 14, 2021
4.5 stars

What a lovely, comforting and hearwarming read. A beautiful relationship, with real character growth. Just what I needed. I am going to check out this author's other books.
Profile Image for Cathy.
1,947 reviews69 followers
February 7, 2022
I loved this book by Shaela Kay! I hadn’t read any books by this author before. But I was sucked in from the very first page. The characters in this one felt real. And the plot was so great!

Amie is the voice of this book. In the first chapter she’s happily engaged. Until her fiancé decides to end it all. I loved that she allowed her best friend to talk her into going home to Washington for the summer. And that’s when Amie starts learning about herself. She learns a lot about herself. And about why she does what she does. And she’s able to change and grow because of it.

I liked Jason too. He’s the best kind of guy. And he was always there for Amie when she needed him to be. I wanted to eat all of the recipes he made. It would be great if food would jump out of books sometimes!

I have to say that Amie’s mom annoyed me a little bit. She was hyper focused on Amie’s older brother. But seemed to push Amie to the side a lot.

This was such a great book! I loved it.
Profile Image for Maria Therese.
281 reviews7 followers
October 27, 2021
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is the first I’ve read by Shaela Kay, so I was a little on guard and wasn’t sure what to expect. Overall, I enjoyed the book and appreciated the story.

What I appreciated most wasn’t the story/romance (which honestly healthily played more of a side roll until toward the wrap up at the end of the book). What I appreciated with the realism of the characters, and the quality of their friendship for each other.

Tara? An absolute gem. She is there for her friend when she needs it. She cheers her on, comforts her, and challenges her, but is aware of the proper timing on all these things. She doesn’t point out Amie’s need-to-please issues that she notices when they are younger because she knows that Amie won’t be able to receive and grow from a direct confrontation about her fault. So, she just keeps in mind her fault as she interacts with her going forward. That’s true friendship.

Brandon? I know he’s presented as the perfect brother who maybe we shouldn’t like very much, but the beauty of this book is that you wind up realizing, when you meet Brandon, that he’s just a good brother and a good man. He cares a lot about Amie, and that is clear from the way he treats her and notices her little discomforts and addresses them. The book creates a greater realistic dimension through Brandon by allowing the reader to realize that it isn’t so much that Brandon is a “perfect” snob, but that Amie is wounded and feels she can’t measure up to him. She compares herself to him and makes herself his shadow by the way she sees herself, not by the way she actually is. However, Brandon cares about her all the same and is able to help her by the way he treats her and ultimately tells her how he admires her. That’s true brotherhood.

Jason? Well, he’s a mix of both Tara and Brandon. He’s there for her when she needs him. He looks out for the faults that she has and makes adjustments accordingly. He doesn’t push her, but bides his time waiting for her to seem ready to move from friendship to something more. Even when he initially makes that move, he doesn’t push her afterward to speak with him about it when she isn’t ready to talk. He’s a good friend. Moral of the story here is that good relationships begin and encompass good friendships. If you get drawn in by all the messiness and blinding feelings (like other novels portray), it’s going to be easy to wind up in relationships that don’t even contain a real friendship. It’s so so important for friendship to be a basis from the beginning and for that friendship to only mature and increase as any romantic relationship begins and grows.

Ultimately a good book that I am grateful for having found!
Profile Image for Vibliophile.
1,591 reviews130 followers
April 22, 2021
(4.5 stars) - An unexpected gem

Who knew personal growth could be such a sweet pleasure?

Amie is a sweet young woman who has always been a people pleaser. The kind of person who attracts pushy people like a magnet.

She's been soo immersed in getting along with & making other people happy - because doing so makes her happy - that when her fiancé breaks up with her, she's lost & not even sure what she likes or wants anymore

Now, you may be thinking "ugh, what a doormat" but she's got a few real friends who are there to actually help her sort things out & that's the heart of the story.

First, the author shows us Amie pre-breakup so that we can fully appreciate her mindset & the emotional journey she's undertaking thru the book. Then, the author takes us along with Amie on her path of self discovery - which is actually funner than it probably sounds.

The book isn't a comedy in the lol sense, but it is gently & wryly amusing. Amie is not the kind of protagonist I would normally like, even if I sympathized, but the author makes her totally relatable despite my not being anything like her.

And the ending starts down a path that looks like it's going to be predictable, but there's a little twist to it that makes it substantially better. I'll definitely be following this new-to-me author from here

*Romance level: sweet kisses, nothing graphic
Profile Image for Megan T..
117 reviews8 followers
October 19, 2021
I did enjoy this book. I don’t know if What I say is a spoiler or not. So I’ll mark it as such. Anyways.

I really enjoyed the character development. The way she went from being confused to understanding herself from her point of view instead of others.

I’m still sad about her mother and her mother’s lack of awareness in how she compares her children. I wanted to see her grow or at least apologize, but realistically, most parents let those things fly over always thinking they are wiser. We can always learn.

This is a slow burn and I really liked that. We got to know the characters as individuals before they ended up together. I like that a lot. Sometimes I cringe when books have couples fall in love quick. NOT that it doesn’t happen in real life because it definitely can, but sometimes I feel like it is rushed. This book doesn’t do that. The author wrote so well!!

It would be cool if his ex came back or something to cause drama hahaha. I mean we all like a little drama right??!

And the way the book ended.
I would of liked an epilogue. Or something like them eloping since they were in Vegas 🤣🤣 but at least they ended up together. So whatever.

I would recommend this book to a friend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Tayo.
586 reviews24 followers
February 6, 2021
I really liked this a lot so don't be fooled by the 3 star rating. It was super easy and engaging to read and I loved the plot progression.

I really enjoyed the emphasis on Amie's growth and how it set out for her to discover who she was and this wasn't hijacked by a romance (which so often happens). Amie actually puts in the work and learns some hard truths about herself and picks her own path.

The family dynamic with her mother and brother and dad was great, super organic and added a nice depth to the story. It was also very believeable that it wasn't all wrapped up in a bow and entirely resolved by the conclusion of the book with her Mum's pressure on Amie.

What's not to love about Jason. He's relationship with Amie was very earned.
I did think the last 10% of the book was a little dragged out and seemed like it was just for the sake of it.

I really liked this and would definitely read more from this author. This book just didn't make my heart race and my cheeks hurt from smiling hence the 3 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
32 reviews
August 13, 2021
This was a really sweet book. I always like seeing personal growth inside a romance and this book sells that. In fact, I think it might sell the personal growth more than the romance. Jason and Amie are long-time friends, so their romance is one of (mostly) mutual support that slowly flirts with romance. This isn’t bad, but it made the pay-off a little short. By the time we get to a point where the couple are desiring to be together, the story is over. The story is told entirely from Amie’s point of view which means we don’t see Jason’s feelings for Amie until the very end. There would have been significantly more chemistry if we could have watched Jason struggle with not wanting to impose his feelings on her while still wanting to make himself known. There is no epilogue which makes the HEA very brief. Also, Amie has a somewhat tumultuous relationship with her mother and it never gets the resolution that it needed. Still a worthwhile read and I’d read another by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kris.
92 reviews
January 24, 2022
Very sweet and clean friends-to-lovers story. However, it lacked the depth I was yearning for. It felt so satisfying to read the part when . I appreciate the way the author delved into how Amie examined herself and her tendency to However, by the end The ending left me Sweet, yes. Mediocre, yes.
Author 13 books9 followers
January 5, 2021
I knew going in that this would be another enjoyable sweet romance by Shaela Kay and I wasn't disappointed! A ruined engagement from a rich-and-awful fiancé all leads to Amie going home for the summer between college semesters. She's ready to just lay low, but of course, her childhood friend Jason is the same thing as lying low... right?

Jason and Amie's romance was whole-hearted and such a delightfully slow burn. It was truly enjoyable to watch them fall in love, and the plot along the way left me completely satisfied. I wanted to eat everything Jason made!

I'd highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys sweet romances, friends-to-lovers, and macarons.
Profile Image for C. D'Arc.
Author 13 books33 followers
January 24, 2021
Clean contemporary romance that breaks the Hallmark expectations!
I particularly enjoyed this one as someone who has lived within two hours of Las Vegas and Spokane.
Amie's a people-pleaser (which I can relate to) who has found the perfect man...at least until he dumps her only weeks before the wedding!
She goes to live with her parents for the summer and reconnects with a childhood friend. The main characters were very relatable with unique traits and personalities. Sign me up for another contemporary romance by Shaela Kay!
Profile Image for Jill.
835 reviews39 followers
February 1, 2021
Personal growth

I’m glad that we got to see Amie’s transformation. At the beginning seeing her so wishy washy wasn’t fun. The indecision didn’t last too far into the book. I love how she took control of her life little by little. Her good friend really stepped up for her. Jason’s cooking and the kid testing was fantastic. Made me hungry reading about all the food and sweets!
The HEA was a really long time coming. I swear it was down to the final pages before you know how things will work out.
Rating: PG, clean- just kisses
795 reviews
August 31, 2021
I felt that the ending of the book dragged a little, but otherwise, I enjoyed this book a great deal. The mother got on my nerves, but I'm pretty sure she was supposed to. I liked the fact that Amie's relationship with her mother wasn't fixed by the end, and there was a lot in the main character that I found relatable. There were a few laugh-out-loud lines as well.

I would like to read a prequel about the best friend and her statistician husband, because it seems that there definitely must be a story there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Gwen|| Bookish Blondie.
1,284 reviews11 followers
November 29, 2021
This was a quick and easy read. It was cute for sure and I enjoyed the slow burn romance between the two mcs.

I did not enjoy how awful her mother was to her and I sincerely hope that Amie goes extremely low contact with her, since we don't see a payoff in the novel. I'm glad Amie stood up for herself though, because honestly fuck her mother who very clearly tolerates her existence and doesn't actually love her, let alone like her. I could go on a much longer rant about how horrid her mother is, but I won't.
Profile Image for Lisa.
747 reviews8 followers
February 25, 2021
Amie is on a path of self discovery after being dumped 2 weeks before her wedding. She goes home, reconnects with her friend from high school, and tries to figure out what she wants out of her life. It was a nice story. I liked how her friends knew her so well, and were patient enough to let her figure things out on her own. It's a sweet, wholesome romance, and I found myself smiling through a whole lot of it.
8 reviews
July 19, 2023
I have loved everything I have read from Shaela Kay! This one is delightful, high school best friends into something more...? I love the way she portraits the difference between infatuation and true love. In the beginning you would think there is only one perfect match for her, until she discovers who she is without him.

As always, I am grateful for authors I can trust to produce clean books to satisfy the veracious appetites of my bibliophile children.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for mary Ethington.
334 reviews
February 10, 2021
It was cute but there were several slow parts that I skimmed through to get to the good stuff. Author spent too much time on details of rooms and the like which I didn't care about.
The character development was good and I was glad she talked to Derek, but didn't feel any better about her and her mom's relationship
Profile Image for Leanne Johnson.
162 reviews3 followers
April 25, 2021
I loved this book! Amie had a great life until she gets dumped. She then takes this terrific journey home where she finds herself. She also finds her friend from high school who is totally dreamy. I love Amie and Jason together and the way the story wrapped up. It was a perfect quick read that was completely enjoyable in every way!
Profile Image for Tiffany.
1,531 reviews14 followers
June 19, 2021
This is a sweet getting-to-know-yourself read. I liked how Amie’s friends knew her well enough to let her come to her own opinion on things. I wish there was one more conversation with Amie’s mom. All in all I liked Amie and Jason together. They were a good fit and had a solid friendship base and built on it. Contains: mild language, kisses
Profile Image for Bryant Condie.
Author 4 books2 followers
June 22, 2021
Fun friends romance

Such a great story of friends becoming more! I loved how Amie discovered who she really was while at home with her momma's cooking and her good friend Jason's encouragement. The story and its emotions felt real, which isn't always the case in romances. I look forward to more books by the author. She's a great addition to the sweet romance genre.
108 reviews
July 20, 2021
Sweet and smart

I loved this book. It kept a good pace and didn’t get bogged down at all. Great friendship between between 2 people and they have amazing chemistry. This book is so much better than some of idiotic rom- com’s I’ve started and finally gave up on. I read this book in one sitting. Hated for it to be over.
Profile Image for Maria Claudia.
358 reviews15 followers
August 20, 2021
We all know good books with friends to lovers theme. This one doesn't miss a beat but there is something incredible refreshing in the plot: the heroine is a pleople-pleasear. She had her heart breaked only two weeks from the wedding . And this is the beginning of a journey of self-discovery. Light read. Good characters. I want more.
.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.