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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this for sure! I love love LOVE A FRIENDS TO LOVERS
Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC audiobook of #FriendsWithBenefits by Marisa Kanter.
I wanted to love this—truly. As someone who lives with chronic pain, I was excited for a romance that centered chronic illness with care and representation. Unfortunately, Friends With Benefits missed the mark.
Evie is living with Crohn’s disease and dealing with very real medical trauma and grief, which I absolutely understand and respect. But her behavior throughout the book—especially toward Theo—was hard to stomach. She treats him terribly for most of the story: emotionally distant, ungrateful, often outright cruel. And Theo? He just keeps bending over backward for her, no matter how much she pushes him away or takes him for granted.
The imbalance in their relationship made the “romance” feel more like martyrdom on Theo’s part than mutual love or growth. It’s not that Evie couldn’t have been a flawed, complicated character—but the book never really holds her accountable or gives her a believable arc of change. Instead, it felt like her illness became an excuse for her emotional immaturity and the harm she caused. I would argue that Jacob (Theo's basically estranged father) is more emotionally available than Evie...
I appreciated the attempt at chronic illness rep and the discussion of healthcare access, but ultimately, I finished the book feeling frustrated and let down. Illness may shape us, but it doesn’t give us license to treat others poorly—and in a romance, mutual care and respect should be non-negotiable.
This one just wasn’t it for me.
I wanted to love this—truly. As someone who lives with chronic pain, I was excited for a romance that centered chronic illness with care and representation. Unfortunately, Friends With Benefits missed the mark.
Evie is living with Crohn’s disease and dealing with very real medical trauma and grief, which I absolutely understand and respect. But her behavior throughout the book—especially toward Theo—was hard to stomach. She treats him terribly for most of the story: emotionally distant, ungrateful, often outright cruel. And Theo? He just keeps bending over backward for her, no matter how much she pushes him away or takes him for granted.
The imbalance in their relationship made the “romance” feel more like martyrdom on Theo’s part than mutual love or growth. It’s not that Evie couldn’t have been a flawed, complicated character—but the book never really holds her accountable or gives her a believable arc of change. Instead, it felt like her illness became an excuse for her emotional immaturity and the harm she caused. I would argue that Jacob (Theo's basically estranged father) is more emotionally available than Evie...
I appreciated the attempt at chronic illness rep and the discussion of healthcare access, but ultimately, I finished the book feeling frustrated and let down. Illness may shape us, but it doesn’t give us license to treat others poorly—and in a romance, mutual care and respect should be non-negotiable.
This one just wasn’t it for me.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
No
emotional
hopeful
informative
I really enjoyed this one, and learned from it! It is a friends-to-lovers romance, and the friends do a lot of “I love them, but I’m no good for them, I’ll only hold them back” angst-ing. Like, A LOT a lot. But if you hang in there, there’s also really interesting commentary on navigating relationships and career opportunities while managing chronic illness. And I had absolutely no idea what “Foley” work was, and it’s fascinating! I liked both of the main characters in this one. While they were very good at silently suffering in a way that sometimes seemed unnecessary, they also supported one another and worked hard to change patterns shaped in their childhoods so they could communicate better and more honestly. Quite satisfying overall!
“Wake wake on Saturday night could be New York maybe Hollywood and vine” I liked this book. There is of course my least favorite trope 3rd act breakup. Also not a great idea to read a book about getting married for health care when they just voted to gut healthcare coverage 🙃
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another great story from Marisa Kanter. Evie and Theo are both so clueless about their feelings for one another. I love how Marisa walks these two characters through little situations to help them realize their feelings.
The ending is perfect.
Gail Shalan and GM Hakim did a great job narrating this story and I look forward to listening to more of their work in the future.
The ending is perfect.
Gail Shalan and GM Hakim did a great job narrating this story and I look forward to listening to more of their work in the future.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Kudos to my therapist because I managed to get through a book about two traumatized kids, one who endured a life-altering injury for which she had to give up her art, and after which she was diagnosed with a chronic illness, and I didn’t have a breakdown
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders