244 reviews for:

Friends with Benefits

Marisa Kanter

3.65 AVERAGE

ronitmol's review

4.0

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

melissaloyola's review

4.0

medium-paced

its_sam383763633773's review

5.0

emotional informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

beckerdoodled's review

3.0

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I would rate this book 2.5 stars. It’s just a very “mid” romance. I’m a fan of marriage-of-convenience stories, and have never read anything from this author, so I was excited to get this ARC from NetGalley.

Things I liked: The representation of someone living and navigating life with an autoimmune disease was relatable. Theo was a great book boyfriend, and I was rooting for him to get his happy ever after more than I was the FMC. I also like that Evelyn being bisexual wasn’t a storyline; it was just her relationships that were.

Things I didn’t like: The book was SO long. It didn’t need the flashbacks. I know their issues were influenced by previous traumas, but by 60% of the way through, I wanted them to get over themselves and figure their shit out. It felt like the author was putting them through unnecessary torture to extend the book. Evelyn has been in therapy since high school and felt no more evolved than when she was younger. Also, it felt like the spicy scenes wanted to be spicer and just got forgotten about.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad story, and I’m glad I finished it. The epilogue chapter was probably my favorite chapter because the author finally let the main characters’ minds rest and be in love.

I want to express my gratitude to Celadon Books, for providing this book for review consideration through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

sovonreads's review against another edition

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Too triggering for me at the moment

emiesaysya's review

4.0

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Thank you NetGalley for early access to this book! This book hooked me cause it mentioned that fans of Emily Henry would love it. I am, if not one of the biggest Emily Henry fans out there. And I’m happy to report, this book did not disappoint. It was sweet and tender and pulled on your heartstrings, while still supplying the comfortable, found family aspect that I love so much. The POV wasn’t my favorite, but the storyline and the characters made up for it. Would highly recommend to anyone wanting something that has the weight of a romcom but needing something a little deeper to get them in their feels!

hannah_lostinbooks's review against another edition

2.0

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honestly, I was just exhausted by the back and forth by the end. Theo deserved better, imo.

carrionlibrarian's review

3.0

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Open-door but not very sexy/explicit. Couple have sex too early in the book to maintain tension. FMC acted like an idjit in the last quarter. Rep for cronic illness: FMC has crohn's

allison_jo's review

5.0

emotional hopeful fast-paced

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As someone who also has an auto-immune disorder, this subject matter and love story was handled with such care and consideration. I saw so much of myself in both characters, and I can’t wait to read Kanter’s next book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness

Moderate: Medical trauma

sashajane19's review

3.75

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Solid. I liked characters and I think the book was trying to do a little bit too much, to the detriment of some fundamental chemistry and plotting.