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A review by witching_hour_reads
Just Friends by Madison Wright
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing the ARC.
I will preface that I did not realize this book was part of a series until after I finished it, but it didn't really affect the story in any way.
I want to start off by saying that I love Hazel and Alex. I thought they were adorable characters and their friendship was really something amazing to see. However, I felt like this book had all the makings of a friends to lovers story, but it never quite hit the mark.
The first half of the book felt really rushed to me. It seemed the author was trying to build up the tension between Hazel and Alex with their blind date situation, but because the pacing was so fast, it didn't give me enough time to get on the same page. Additionally, one of the best things about friends to lovers stories is seeing the realization when the person who falls first realize that they love their friend. Alex was already smitten the minute he met Hazel, and while he became her friend, there was always an undercurrent of non-platonic love for her. So we did not get that pivotal scene.
The last 40-ish% of the book was where most of the meat was and also where the author's pace slowed down significantly. It is here where you see how Hazel and Alex's relationship develops and how Hazel begins to understand the feelings she has. But because the foundation was missing from the beginning, this part did not really live up to expectations.
I did like the book. Like I said, Hazel and Alex are great characters and I loved the premise of the story. I just wish the pacing issues were fixed and the beginning fleshed out a bit more than it was.
I will preface that I did not realize this book was part of a series until after I finished it, but it didn't really affect the story in any way.
I want to start off by saying that I love Hazel and Alex. I thought they were adorable characters and their friendship was really something amazing to see. However, I felt like this book had all the makings of a friends to lovers story, but it never quite hit the mark.
The first half of the book felt really rushed to me. It seemed the author was trying to build up the tension between Hazel and Alex with their blind date situation, but because the pacing was so fast, it didn't give me enough time to get on the same page. Additionally, one of the best things about friends to lovers stories is seeing the realization when the person who falls first realize that they love their friend. Alex was already smitten the minute he met Hazel, and while he became her friend, there was always an undercurrent of non-platonic love for her. So we did not get that pivotal scene.
The last 40-ish% of the book was where most of the meat was and also where the author's pace slowed down significantly. It is here where you see how Hazel and Alex's relationship develops and how Hazel begins to understand the feelings she has. But because the foundation was missing from the beginning, this part did not really live up to expectations.
I did like the book. Like I said, Hazel and Alex are great characters and I loved the premise of the story. I just wish the pacing issues were fixed and the beginning fleshed out a bit more than it was.