Review: Just Friends by Monica Murphy

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Rating: PG-13

Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, New Adult

Score: ❤❤

Pace Count: 398

Book #1 of the Friends series

Publisher: EM Publishing

Published: September 13th, 2016

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:

PROS:

1. I was sent an e-copy of this book by YA Bound Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I was first interested in this book when I saw the beautiful and almost sad looking cover. The colors really roped me in and when I read the synopsis, I thought it might actually be worth reading since it sounded like it would have some good ole teenage drama. However, it was much more than just that. And not necessarily in a good way. Here's the review: 

2. I'll start off with saying that it totally contains a lot of angst and isn't an easy book to predict. There were so many twists and turns in this book that it had my mouth dropping pretty much every other chapter. I was just waiting to see what the next crazy thing was that would happen to the characters and what secrets and lies would come up to the surface. Needless to say, I had no idea where this book was headed and it kept me on the edge of my seat for the most part. As a side note, this read is definitely for readers 18 and older.

CONS:

1. Oh boy, where do I even start? I guess the characters is what I'll be reviewing next. I did NOT like a single one of them except for one being Amanda. She was the only character that I found a very loyal and trusting friend who was so sweet and her romance with Jordan made my heart flutter. I'm quite interested in the next book in this series since the story will be following them instead of the main characters in this first novel. I couldn't stand any other characters besides the previous two mentioned. Just no. Olivia made the worst decisions, she was too much of a brat, and she flipped too easily back and forth between Dustin and Ryan who were both HUGE jerks. Dustin made Olivia feel guilty for things when they were his fault, Ryan came onto Olivia WAY too hard, his mouth needing a serious washing out with soap and disinfectant, and Em was probably the worst friend in existence. Everyone except Amanda and Jordan had no character development and were all backstabbers, liars, and let their emotions control them, not to mention they were bratty and full of themselves.  

2. The other thing I didn't like was how rushed this book was without even having much of a plot. The whole love-triangle was the main focus and it just got way too unrealistic way too fast to add anything great to the story. Especially since the book ends in a cliffhanger and leaves things still very unclear which makes me question how this story will be wrapped up in the sequel since it will be Amanda's story instead. 

Overall, this book wasn't for me in any way but if you're looking for a book that will have you tearing your hair out but still addicted to teenage drama, then go for this one. I think this book is more so for fans of 90210 or even Pretty Little Liars, neither of which I've watched in the past but I've gathered enough info to know they hold D.R.A.M.A. Some people love this book, some not to so much so it's really a toss-up depending on your personal taste in books. For me, it just wasn't a winner.

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon (US)

Amazon (UK)

Amazon (CA)

Amazon (AU)

iTunes

Barnes and Noble

Kobo Books

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About The Author:

New York Times, USA Today bestselling author and #1 international bestselling author. A believer in kissing. A believer of love.

I also write contemporary romance as USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson. 

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READ THE EXCERPT

Synopsis: There's a party over at Jordan Tuttle's house tonight and everyone is there. Including...

Olivia: Who's leaving for her dad's house in Oregon tomorrow. So she plans on having the time of her life tonight with her best friends.

Dustin: Who wishes Livvy could see just how much she means to him.

Emily: Who's trying her to best to get with someone. Anyone.

Cannon: Who has an encounter with Em he won't be able to forget.

Amanda: Who's finally ready to go all the way with her boyfriend. 

Tuttle: Who discovers the girl he's always secretly liked just might like him back.

Meet the cast of characters from my upcoming book JUST FRIENDS (coming September 13th!)  in ONE NIGHT, my FREE short story. Hope you enjoy!

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So I hope you guys enjoyed this book! Read on, bookworms! See you in the next chapter!