FALLING IN LOVE ISN’T COMPLICATED…UNLESS IT’S WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND.I’ve got a problem. A big one. It involves a blindfolded kissing game at a party. I was supposed to be kissing my crush, Jeremy, the totally hot baseball player I’ve been crushing on. And the kiss…it’s amazing. Makes me forget all about my overbearing mother, my next-door neighbor’s drama, and the probability of failing my … neighbor’s drama, and the probability of failing my senior year.
But that’s not the big prolem.
The big problem is that once my blindfold falls off, I realize that heart-stopping, toe-curling, world-changing kiss wasn’t with my crush.
It was with Elijah Greybeck, my best friend since the third grade.
And even once I realize it’s him, why…why do I want to keep kissing him?
Heart-melting and romantic, What Are Friends For? is a swoon-worthy best-friends-to-lovers story that will leave you crushing hard.
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Remi and Elijah have been best friends since third grade. But an accidental kiss in the dark changes everything. As Remi says, “This should’ve been funny. Accidentally kissing my best friend? That was hilarious. Except that it was singlehandedly the best kiss I’d ever had.” She isn’t even that excited when her crush Jeremy finally asks her out on a date. While Remi struggles with her feelings, Eli seems oblivious, but his girlfriend Savannah is acting jealous. When the truth comes out, will it be the end of Remi and Elijah’s friendship or the beginning of something even better?
This is a sweet friends-to-lovers story. Misunderstandings usually annoy me, but this scenario is well-played. Remi and Elijah are both likable characters, as is Remi’s best (girl) friend Eloise. It’s also nice to see the parents play such a large part in a young adult novel.
Some minor criticisms: the names Elijah and Eloise are too similar; the epilogue is unnecessary.
Warnings: underage drinking.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post: https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2020/01/what-are-friends-for-by-sarah-sutton.html
What Are Friends For? is definitely on my top list of 2020 reads. It takes the friends-to-lovers romance in directions I have never seen before. From the beginning, I loved the dynamics between the characters. Even when things start to derail, it is great to see how the characters work through everything. This page-turner of a book kept me reading into the wee hours of the night which is something that never happens. This debut by Sarah Sutton is absolute perfection. I look forward to whatever she publishes in the future.
You, those who don’t read YA or plan to read only one this year, read What Are the Friends For? You, those within range of YA, please, read it! It is not only very possible but also very probable that all of you will like or even love it. And learn from it.
Don’t worry if you think that the blurb gives you a pretty whole image of what is to come. The author knew how to keep things interesting and the reader involved.
The events flow easily one from another whilst different courses are possible. The game of what we know that they know, what we don’t know if they know, what we suspect or hope that they know… or not offers a delicious and permanent curiosity about what will happen next and how they will get there. There are no clichés or empty words. There are apparent unresolved aspects, but their explanations will come at the most right time to give a new impulse to the story.
The author herself made her task even harder when she decided to don’t have negative characters. There are some shades on some, but not enough to give the main character (Remi) the possibility of an easy choice when, apparently, she is the “other woman”. Adults’ love experiences, the challenges of falling in love and the risk of falling out of love all will impact Remi’s feelings and insecurities. There is love, hesitations, and passion. Adult authors should read it too and remember how to be passional without being explicit.
There are so many things to discover, but it is best to do it yourself!
A great story told by a crafted author.
http://mythicalbooks.blogspot.com/2020/01/all-change-with-just-one-kiss-what-are.html
This is perhaps the best independently published book I’ve ever read – if not the best YA romance story I’ve read.
I loved everything about this book from the plot to the pacing to the characters. Everything was perfectly crafted making what could have been a boring story about high schoolers falling in love a page turner that I couldn’t put down until I finished it. I was so invested in everything that happened to Remi. The author did an amazing job fleshing out her character and making me feel everything she did.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
The cover for What are Friends For? really caught my eye and I am so glad that I picked it up. What Are Friends For? is the debut novel of Sarah Sutton. It is a really cute read and a great start for Sutton!
Remi Beaufort is happy with her life. She enjoys spending time with Eljah, her best friend and crushing on Jeremy, one of the basketball players. But one little kiss can change her life in a heartbeat. Remi finds herself falling for her best friend after an accidental kiss which could ruin her friendship with him forever.
Remi was an interesting character. I did not connect with her as much, but I still found her enjoyable to read about. She was impulsive & procrasianted, but she also learned from her mistakes. She was kind but quirky. I really liked reading about her interactions with Elijah and her family. Although Remi and her family did not always get along, they still loved each other.
Elijah was sweet. I liked him more than Remi, however he too had his own faults. He was kind of moody, but he grew on me. I could tell that he cared for Remi and he valued their friendships. However he didn’t know what to do about his feelings for her. I did not however like his girlfriend Savannah, she was really annoying.
I was really intrigued by this book and I wanted to know how it was going to end. I knew that Remi and Elijah would end up together, but I didn’t know what kind of obstacles they would have to overcome. Remin had to learn what it truly meant to love and Elijah had to let go of his fears.
What Are Friends For? was a good book. I am excited to see what else Sutton will write. I would recommend this book for teens, 13 and up. This was a wonderful debut novel. I would give it 3.5 stars, rounding up for Bookbub.
I read this book after reading Sarah Sutton’s second novel Out Of My League, which I wound up loving, so I just knew I would like this one too. I intended to buy a copy of What Are Friends For? right away after reading Out Of My League, but I didn’t get around to it until recently. I wound up purchasing a paperback copy because I had a lot of hope for the book, and because I loved the cover and wanted to add it to keep it on display in my bookcase.
When I received the book, I’d had it sitting next to me on my desk. I purposefully didn’t pick it up and look inside it because I knew if I did, I would need to start reading it right away, and I had work to do. I was able to ignore it for a few hours, but I quickly gave in. I opened the book to a random page, read one sentence, and immediately turned to the first chapter and started reading it. I was so enveloped in the story that I couldn’t put it down. I ended up clearing my schedule for the next day and finished the book in just that: a day.
I liked Remi. She was interesting to follow and I was able to relate to her. Elijah was a sweetheart. I enjoyed their friendship and loved watching it slowly bloom into a romance. I only wish there had been more focus on the relationship, but other than that, it was pretty much perfect. It made me long for the real life friends to lovers romance I never got the chance to have.
Something else I really like about the author’s stories is how realistic they feel. The characters, their thoughts, feelings, what they go through, and how they learn and grow throughout the course of the book. Elements like those aren’t often seen in any sort of media and it’s refreshing to read, honestly.
Also, I loved the little details that tied everything together, the perfume, connections between characters, just things that seemed insignificant in the moment but ended up playing a much larger part at the end of the story.
There was so much going on in the story, and after I finished the book, it made my head spin trying to take it all in. In the best way. But I couldn’t get it out of my system, so I’m already reading it again!
All in all, it was a great book. I can’t wait to read more from this author!
A sweet and clean teen romance that will give you all the feels! Best friends Remi and Elijah share a kiss, and sparks fly!
So, this is the second book I’ve read that immediately screamed: “I COULD BE A TEEN ROMANCE MOVIE!!!” and I had a veryyyyy hard time tearing myself away from reading it.
Best-friends-to-lovers isn’t my ultimate favorite romance trope; but when it’s done right, I actually enjoy it a lot. Which is exactly what happened with Remi and Elijah’s story.
The feels were there. The details were there. The angst was definitelyyyyy there. And even though the main focus was Remi and Elijah’s relationship, I loved that their relationships with their families were also very present. I also loved seeing the difference in how they both handled their feelings and problems.
I could go on and ON about everything I loved, lol, but I think you get the idea.
As far as content goes: I don’t remember there being any “actual” language (everyone does has different preferences and viewpoints on what counts as profanity though), so that was a definite plus for me! However, there was some suggestive content and mentions/hints of different topics that some readers might be uncomfortable with. Underage drinking was also part of the story.
If you want a cute (mostly clean) winter story about accidental kissing, mixed feelings, and sooooo much more…then you should absolutely give this one a read!!
4.5 cranky Stars
This book although predictable was told very well. I really enjoyed reading it.
Best friends for ever Elijah and Remi they were inseparable until an accidental kiss neither knew it was the other one.
This turned the friendship upside down as Remi had seen it was him as she ran out the locker at a party being held by her then boyfriend Jeremy she had lusted after him for so long but there were no sparks or butterflies.
Elijah had a girlfriend Savannah and there had been no jealousy until the fated kiss.
As I said before this is a different tale to the others and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
If you like Sarah Dessen, you’ll love this novel.