Just Friends by Holly McCulloch

 

Bea isn't happy. Desperate for a change, she looks to her friends for inspiration. Every single one of them is paired off, perhaps that's what she needs too.

So, she starts dating again. But everywhere she goes - amid the hilarious and scarring dates - there's Peter. Good old, oddball Peter, her closest friend from university. He's always been firmly in the friend zone but something's happened lately - he seems taller, more handsome and suddenly making him smile is Bea's favourite thing.

But how can Bea possibly risk their friendship? And how do you even go about taking someone out of the friend zone? What if Bea and Peter were only ever meant to be just friends...

With so much worrying news surrounding ourselves on a daily basis I was desperate to lose myself in a light hearted rom-com so I turned to Just Friends by Holly McCulloch which with quotes stating it to be a laugh out loud novel sounded like the perfect book to distract me from the world.

Bea is at a point in her life where she needs to change, she is unhappy in her day job and although she has a creative talent outside that could provide her with an income she has no motivation and in all honesty needs a kick up the bum!

Her love life isn’t any better and it is time to get back on the dating scene and find the love of her life but is she missing something that is right under her nose?

There is a real gap in the market for witty reads so this book is a welcome addition to our bookshelves. Many of us have been where Bea finds herself in that limbo stage of life where you’re not happy and things need to change but making those first steps to change is daunting. We follow Bea on every excruciating moment of the dating scene and I found myself chuckling away at various moments especially at one particular moment involving chilli!

Peter is one of Bea’s best friends and you know from the moment we meet him that he is one of the rare good guys and that he has a soft spot of Bea. A pure gentleman and a heart full of gold he was always there to help Bea he was always to be relied on and I could see that they would make a great couple but when you have put someone in the friend zone for so many years I wondered if it was possible to see them in another light.

Ok so the outcome may have been a little predictable but that didn’t matter because the fun we had with Bea’s dating antics and watching her finally begin to get her life in order was entertaining enough.

I really enjoyed this novel and the author has a fast pace, easy writing style with characters who are down to earth and engaging. For those who miss Jane Costello and Fiona Gibson's early witty reads Just Friends will be the perfect light hearted, modern and witty read to brighten these gloomy days.

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