Cole and Laila Are Just Friends by Bethany Turner: Book Review

*Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

The Book

Cole and Laila have been inseparable since they could crawl. And they've never thought about each other that way. Except for when they have. Rarely. Once in a while, sure. But seriously . . . hardly ever.

Cole Kimball and Laila Olivet have been best friends their entire lives. Cole is the only person (apart from blood relatives) who's seen Laila in her oversized, pink, plastic, Sophia Loren glasses. Laila is always the first person to taste test any new dish Cole creates in his family's restaurant . . . even though she has the refined palate of a kindergartener. Most importantly, Cole and Laila are always talking. About everything.

When Cole discovers a betrayal from his recently deceased grandfather that shatters his world, staying in Adelaide Springs, Colorado, is suddenly unfathomable. But Laila loves her life in their small mountain town and can't imagine ever living anywhere else. She loves serving customers who tip her with a dozen fresh eggs. She loves living within walking distance of all her favorite people. And she's very much not okay with the idea of not being able to walk to her very favorite person.

Still, when Cole toys with moving across the country to New York City, she decides to support her best friend--even as she secretly hopes she can convince him to stay home. And not just for his killer chocolate chip pancakes. Because she loves him. As a friend. Just as a friend. Right?

They make a deal: Laila won't beg him to stay, and Cole won't try to convince her to come with him. They have one week in New York before their lives change forever, and all they have to do is enjoy their time together and pretend none of this is happening. But it's tough to ignore the very inconvenient feelings blooming out of nowhere. In both of them. And these potentially friendship-destroying feelings, once out in the open, have absolutely no take-backs.

If When Harry Met Sally had a quippy literary love child with Gilmore Girls' Luke and Lorelai, you'd get Cole and Laila. Just . . . don't tell them that.

The Author

Bethany Turner has been writing since the second grade, when she won her first writing award for explaining why, if she could have lunch with any person throughout history, she would choose John Stamos. She stands by this decision. Bethany now writes pop culture–infused rom-coms for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight. She lives in Southwest Colorado with her husband, whom she met in the nineties in a chat room called Disco Inferno. As sketchy as it sounds, it worked out pretty well in this case, and they are now the proud parents of two teenagers. Connect with Bethany at seebethanywrite.com or across social media @seebethanywrite, where she clings to the eternal dream that John Stamos will someday send her a friend request.

Book Review

Cole and Laila Are Just Friends follows Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other. While you'll see more of some familiar characters if you've read that first book, I do think this one could be enjoyed just fine as a standalone as well.

This was such a cute friends-to-love story! I will say it got off to a bit of a slower start for me, but I think that might be in part because of the alternating POV going from first (hers) to third (his). This is not my favorite style and takes me a little longer to get used to. Once I got used to that, I was ALL in. These two had such a sweet friendship and I just adored them. They had been friends since childhood and had only ever been just friends, but during a trip to New York when Cole starts to see things a little differently, things get complicated. Their first date might just be one of my favorite fictional dates ever... it was so fun and unique, and I couldn't help smiling throughout. There were a ton of pop culture and New York references... some of which I recognized and some I didn't, but I thought those were a fun addition too.



Get your copy: https://amzn.to/4aNVYlL