Better Than Friends

A Novel

By: Jill Shalvis

Narrated by: Andi Arndt

Old flames reignite in Sunrise Cove in this charming enemies-to-lovers, second-chance, small-town, forced-proximity love story about family, friendships, and true love from New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis.

When Olive Porter’s off-the-grid parents go missing, she reluctantly seeks out Noah Turner, her ex and the only person she both trusts implicitly and not at all.

As a special investigative agent for the National Park Service, Noah’s used to living under intense pressure. Or he was until he got injured on the job. Now unhappily recuperating at home while being smothered by his loving but nosy family, he’d love nothing more than a good distraction.

So when Olive shows up looking like a million bucks, he has to do a gut and heart check. Because nope, no matter what, he can’t fall for her again, the woman who once blew up his entire life and never looked back. How ironic then that his own personal hell (Olive) is also his ticket out of town. The question is, will the risk be worth the reward?

Not one of my favorite books of Ms Shalvis

I usually love her books, but this one just didn't click with me. Looking forward to her next release!

Love it

So good couldn’t put the phone down and stop listening to it definitely recommend if you love romantic novels

The Perfect Small-Town Escape

There’s nothing better than a small-town love story—especially in Sunrise Cove! I really enjoyed this one. It’s lighthearted, easy to read or listen to, and the perfect little escape. Whether I was flipping pages or playing it through my car speakers, it kept me hooked. And as always, the narration was top-notch!

Heartwarming romance & more!

Olive is back in Sunrise Cove to support her best friend, Katie, when her husband is injured in an accident. Unfortunately, she’ll be staying under the same roof as Noah, Katie’s brother, and they have a history.

Quick flashes from the past gradually reveal the details of Noah and Olive’s friendship and the attraction between them. However, all that came to a halt when Olive accidentally runs Noah over, changing the course of his career path. Olive never forgave herself and accepted an early internship overseas leaving soon after. There’s more to that story that Noah and Katie didn’t know about, and it made me mad!

Noah and Olive’s forced proximity makes it impossible to ignore the feelings they’ve always had for each other. Their romance was full of longing, a little bit of hurt, but also a lot of fun with great playful banter!

I absolutely loved Better Than Friends! Yes, it was a romance, but so much more! Quirky, fun secondary characters, like Katie, and her little boy Joey. Don’t get me started on the things that came out of his mouth! Hilarious! Not to mention the sweet animals! Holms, the dog, and kitten Pepper, named because she’s spicy and feisty. Their bond was so adorable! I also loved all the original marketing strategies Olive came up with for her customers. The gorgeous, small mountain setting was just icing on the cake for me! Definite recommend!

Andy Arndt was the best part for me. Her narration overcame some of the shortcomings of the story, though it was pretty good.

I had a hard time believing anyone could raise a child as Olive’s parents did. She turned out miraculously well despite all of that. It had its sweet moments!