ARC Review: Not Here To Stay Friends by Kaitlyn Hill

Sloane McKinney feels like a background character in her own life. But this summer will be different, because she’s spending it with her childhood best friend, Liam Daniels, in her dream city, Los Angeles. Sure, she’s surprised to find that Liam just happens to have had a Hot Guy glow-up since she last saw him, but so what? A little attraction won’t ruin her plans for their fun—and completely platonic—reunion.

What might, however, is that Liam has been roped into working for his producer dad’s new teen reality dating show, Aspen Woods’s Future Leading Lady. Liam figures Sloane can still hang out with him on set while he fetches coffee for the film crew, or whatever it is that production assistants do. Except it turns out the show is one contestant short . . . and Sloane is the perfect last-minute addition.

Once cameras are rolling, the whirlwind of dating teen heartthrob Aspen Woods feels way more real than Sloane expected, and Liam doesn’t exactly enjoy watching it all unfold. But it’s behind the scenes where the drama really picks up. . . .

Because wanting to kiss your best friend? That’s a plot twist neither Sloane nor Liam ever saw coming.

• Title: Not Here to Stay Friends
• Author: Kaitlyn Hill
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Publication Date: April 4, 2023
• Genre: Contemporary Romance  
• Source: Digital ARC via Netgalley 
• Targeted Age Range: YA
• Content Warnings: Divorced parents, infidelity, manipulation, drowning, 
• Rating: ★★★★.5 

I’ve been stuck in what I’ve been calling a “Reading Curse” for what seems like the longest time, where I’ve been reading, but every book I pick up just seems to be disappointing, or not my personal cup of tea. Because of this, I haven’t been picking up highly anticipated ARCs, but I finally bit the bullet and picked up Not Here to Stay Friends by Kaitlyn Hill. I read and loved Love from Scratch, Kaitlyn’s debut, last year, and it was the most cozy, sweet read, so I had incredibly high hopes and I’m so relieved to say that the reading curse has been broken! 

Not Here to Stay Friends really feels like a story that’s catered just for my own interests — friends-to-lovers, set on a summer reality tv show. I’ve always loved friends-to-lovers arcs; the pining and anticipation, the will they, won’t they, the hesitant “what if we ruin our friendship” — and Kaitlyn Hill delivered on this one. Not Here to Stay Friends primarily takes place on the set of the reality tv show, “Aspen Woods Finds a Leading Lady”, or AWFLL for short (pronounced “AWFUL”). When Sloane flies out to California to visit her best friend Liam for the summer, the perfect summer she’s planned for the two of them goes out the window when she finds out Liam’s dad has tasked Liam with working as a PA on the set of AWFLL. When the production team realizes they’re a contestant short, Liam’s father suggests Sloane as a last minute addition. For Sloane, the promise to be introduced to screenwriters, coupled with the chance to “date” an actor on one of her favorite shows, is one she simply can’t turn down. Besides, it’s not like she has anything else to do now that Liam will be busy at his new PA job. But the longer she’s in the running for Aspen’s heart, the more she can’t get Liam out of her mind. 

I often struggle with reality dating tv shows in books, especially as someone who used to watch The Bachelor religiously. A large amount of disbelief had to be suspended for this book, especially given the concept of a dating show for young adults. The idea that multiple parents would allow their children to go on a dating show for the summer, with limited contact, is really something that I struggled to wrap my mind around. Once I did set that thought aside, however, I did have a lot of fun with the concept and contestants of AWFLL. I wish we’d gotten more of the other contestants — I loved learning the bits I did about them, and I really enjoyed Sloane’s friendships with the rest of the girls.

As our protagonists, I loved Sloane. I wanted to give her the biggest hug, and was so glad to see her step out of her shell and become more of a “main character” in her own life. There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to be in the limelight all of the time, and I wish more people understood that. Sloane’s heart was so big, and it was so evident how much she cared about the people around her. Throughout Not Here to Stay Friends, Sloane has to grapple with her heart, her head, and also the deal she made with Liam’s father — If she makes it to the final four, he’ll put in a good word for her in the industry. At any given moment, you could tell just how much Sloane and Liam cared for one another and genuinely wanted the best for each other. I particularly loved how Not Here to Stay Friends was told in alternating POVs as it allowed us to get to know both Sloane and Liam better. I did find myself wanting to learn more about their friendship before the summer the book takes place, as well as their relationship once they got together. 

On another note, almost every single adult in Not Here to Stay Friends sucked. I really don’t have another word for it, just that they all weren’t very … nice. I wish that Sloane and Liam had more supportive adults in their lives who genuinely took time to understand and care for them. It’s not to say that their parents were awful people, but it was very clear that they didn’t understand their children, nor did they take the time to learn about what made them happy, what their fears and desires were. I wish we’d gotten more of a resolution, or more effort on their parts by the end of the book, but I do understand that not everything can be tied up nicely with a bow. 

For the most part, I really did enjoy Not Here to Stay Friends, and thought that the book could benefit from being longer. It was incredibly predictable, and there weren’t any high stakes in the book — which was fine, but left me wanting a bit more. Still, I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a sweet read! 

Links for Not Here to Stay Friends: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop.org | IndieBound