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A review by nclcaitlin
Cole and Laila Are Just Friends by Bethany Turner
2.5
Cole and Laila have been best friends their entire lives: intimately familiar with Laila’s oversized, pink, plastic, Sophia Loren glasses, and trying every single new dish Cole creates in his family’s restaurant . . . even though she has the refined palate of a kindergartener.
When Cole decides to move to New York City from their small mountain town, Laila doesn’t want to lose her very favorite person. She goes to NYC with him for the first few days and not just for his killer chocolate chip pancakes. It’s because she loves him. As a friend. Just as a friend. Obviously.
Highlight I know people will drool over - it’s dual perspective!
This kind of reminded me of Happy Place, in the sense that there was a larger focus on future ambitions and the surrounding supportive friend group.
I have just looked it up and it turns out there I s a book one and that explains the immediate love I felt the author had for all her characters (namely their friends who are a couple). I think I was more invested in their relationship (lol), so will be looking up book one!
”What if we’re so afraid to mess up what we have that we’re actually messing up the best stuff? The stuff we haven’t even seen yet.”
I also enjoyed the peppering of plenty of pop culture and celebrity references. Imagine just being down the street from Taylor Swift’s apartment?! Laila is also a maaaajor Friends fan so expect a lot of episode allusions.
However, I have a feeling this book will become dated quickly with all the popular culture nods.
Major Cons:
The amount of times ‘I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding’ used was waaay too much.
I also found it unbelievable that Laila was such a ‘country bumpkin’ that she didn’t even know what Uber was? Or that restaurants and takeaways are open past 8pm?!
In the end, I just felt the plot extremely frustrating and the lacking communication for two people who say they share everything unbelievable and convoluted.
Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for providing the audiobook in exchange for a review.
When Cole decides to move to New York City from their small mountain town, Laila doesn’t want to lose her very favorite person. She goes to NYC with him for the first few days and not just for his killer chocolate chip pancakes. It’s because she loves him. As a friend. Just as a friend. Obviously.
Highlight I know people will drool over - it’s dual perspective!
This kind of reminded me of Happy Place, in the sense that there was a larger focus on future ambitions and the surrounding supportive friend group.
I have just looked it up and it turns out there I s a book one and that explains the immediate love I felt the author had for all her characters (namely their friends who are a couple). I think I was more invested in their relationship (lol), so will be looking up book one!
”What if we’re so afraid to mess up what we have that we’re actually messing up the best stuff? The stuff we haven’t even seen yet.”
I also enjoyed the peppering of plenty of pop culture and celebrity references. Imagine just being down the street from Taylor Swift’s apartment?! Laila is also a maaaajor Friends fan so expect a lot of episode allusions.
However, I have a feeling this book will become dated quickly with all the popular culture nods.
Major Cons:
The amount of times ‘I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding’ used was waaay too much.
I also found it unbelievable that Laila was such a ‘country bumpkin’ that she didn’t even know what Uber was? Or that restaurants and takeaways are open past 8pm?!
In the end, I just felt the plot extremely frustrating and the lacking communication for two people who say they share everything unbelievable and convoluted.
Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for providing the audiobook in exchange for a review.