Review - Just Friends by Monica Murphy

Just Friends (Friends #1)

By Monica Murphy

Published September 13th, 2016

3.5 stars 

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*I received a review copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. Thank you!*

Summary from Goodreads:

It’s the end of summer. Just before I start senior year with my two best friends in the whole world. Dustin and Emily are everything to me. We’ve been inseparable since middle school, and when we’re together, nothing can go wrong.

But things aren’t always what they seem. Em’s turned into a drunken mess who parties too much. Dustin and I have hooked up a few times—and now he’s ready to take our relationship to the next level. Yet I’m not sure I want things to change. I’m scared if I take it any further with Dustin, our friendship will be ruined forever. Then there’s Ryan. The new guy. He’s hot. He flirts way too much. And Em has totally set her sights on him.

So when my best friend betrays me in the worst possible way, guess who’s there to help me pick up the pieces of my broken heart? Ryan. But he’s so confusing. Annoying. Sweet. Sexy. I want to trust him, yet he makes it so hard. What I really want is for everything to go back to the way it was before.

Before I found out that best friends make the worst kind of enemies.

Review:

First things first, isn't that cover awesome? I just love the blue and pink. :) Now on to the review.

I was pretty excited to read Just Friends and was grateful when I received a review copy through the author and YA Bound Book Tours. It sounded interesting and mysterious and I was pretty intrigued. 

I had quite a time reading this book! I didn't exactly love every single moment of it, hence the 3.5 stars, but I could not put this book down. I actually started this before going to bed (bad idea) and didn't put it down till 2 or 3 in the morning. Actually, it's kinda weird because I didn't enjoy every moment but I wanted or needed to know what would happen to these characters. 

There is quite a bit of teenage angst in this book. The characters are true to life teenagers. I'm 20 years old so it hasn't been too long since I was 17/18 and I could see these characters at my school. While Monica did a great job at making them realistic, I wasn't able to really connect with any of them. I wasn't the kind of teenager that partied, drank, smoked, or even had a boyfriend so it was a little hard to relate to these characters. That wouldn't have mattered too much to me if I would have seen that they showed a little growth at the end. Unfortunately, they really didn't so I'm looking forward to seeing if they learn anything within the next book. 

Don't get me wrong. There were times when I felt bad for Livvy and offended on her behalf. I could only imagine what being betrayed by your best friends would feel like, especially during high school. 

Overall, this was a pretty good read. It was addicting and consuming but there were certain things that I had issues with. I wasn't able to really love the characters but I am definitely interested in seeing what happens with them later on. Amanda was one of the characters that I felt invested in so I'm looking forward to reading about her in the next book. I recommend for those looking for an addicting book with characters that are full of teen angst and incredibly realistic! You may not agree with everything they do but you won't be able to stop reading anyway! 

Vanessa