bookishkb 's review for:

Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter

4.0

emotional medium-paced

Loveable characters: Yes

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📖 Bookish Thoughts

I loved Evie and Theo together. They were just so cute together. And “friends with benefits”—literal health benefits? Hilarious and painfully accurate. 😭😭😭

This isn’t really a romcom. The story flips between present day and flashbacks of them growing up, and it deals with some raw, emotional topics—like chronic illness, grief, and the loss of a parent. It’s a romance with emotional depth, not something light or fluffy. Still beautiful, just not romcom vibes. 

💛 Read if you love:

• Friends to lovers

• Marriage of convenience

• Best friend devotion 

• Bi leading lady

💭 Final Thoughts

I really liked this one overall! Evie frustrated me toward the end—she was honestly so harsh to Theo. And I will never love the third act breakup. Despite all that, it really delivered emotionally. It was still a strong 4-star read!

⸻

📖 Final Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 Audio Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.75)

🎙️ Narration Style: Dual

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy for review. All thoughts are my own.