For the most part, my feelings towards Just Friends are pretty neutral. There were moments where I was having a decent time reading the book, and then there were moments where I struggled to enjoy it. I love a second chance storyline, so I really wanted Blair and Declan to find their happily ever after. Almost from the very beginning of the story we were given clues as to what happened between them in the past. That mystery fueled a lot of my reading. I had to know how two people as close as they were could stop talking.

Just Friends was told from a past/present timeline. I really enjoyed that part of the storytelling. I loved the art with each chapter heading indicating what timeline we were in. I thought that was a cute element for the book. The last chapter from the past happens at the halfway point in the book. I would have liked some more chapters from that timeline. There were things from their history that we could have read from the past tense, but instead the author recalled their memories in the present tense. It felt weird that the past timeline just stopped. There could have been so much more storytelling done in the past tense.

Although this story covers some serious topics like grief and depression, I felt like it wasn’t a very good excuse for the third act break up. To me, the whole story was about how much Blair missed Declan (along with grieving her aunt) so it bothered me how easily she gave him up. I can understand what the author was trying to do, but the whole grieving situation with Blair and the loss of her aunt was hard to feel emotion toward because I don’t feel like we understood the depth of their relationship. I didn’t feel like we had a chance to connect to the characters, Blair especially. I felt like what we knew was fairly superficial. I would argue I felt more of the grief that Declan had to deal with in the past tense.

In the beginning, I had a hard time getting into the story. The sentences felt too elaborate. I had to be completely focused to understand what was being said. It seemed like the author was trying to write every sentence as one that could be highlighted. I prefer writing that flows easily. Something that feels natural. My overall thoughts: didn’t hate it, didn’t love it. If you’re familiar with Haley Pham, I’d say go ahead and check it out.