Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg: Review

Title: Better Off Friends
Author: Eliabeth Eulberg
Publisher: Scholastic
Buy This Book: Book Depository /Amazon  

For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can’t be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan’s friends. They are platonic and happy that way.
Eventually they realize they’re best friends — which wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t keep getting in each other’s way. Guys won’t ask Macallan out because they think she’s with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can’t help but wonder . . . are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?From romantic comedy superstar Elizabeth Eulberg comes a fresh, fun examination of a question for the ages: Can guys and girls ever really be just friends? Or are they always one fight away from not speaking again — and one kiss away from true love? (Goodreads summary.)

I am a firm believer in that guys and girls can be best friends but that's probably because my best friend is a guy. We've known each other since we were five and gone through everything together and it has never been more than that. I think we found each other because, even at five years old, we were the two shortest people in our year at school and that never changed. We are literally like brother and sister and luckily people stopped assuming we were together once they realised he was gay. It did make me intrigued to see how this would deal with it though, because most of my friends are guys and I really do believe that guys and girls can be just friends!

This book can be summed up in one word, cute. It was undeniably cute and these two characters together were brilliant. Like all best friends they have their inside jokes and sayings that no one else will get. They have a TV show that only they watch and they constantly quote it to each other. The end of each chapter is dialogue between the two of them looking back on the memory that has just been shared and those were my favourite parts. They have all the hilarious banter that you should expect from best friends and it was adorable. And yes, I was totally rooting for them to get together!

It had a few issues and my main problem was that it was a little too repetitive. They date other people but never at the same time, so one wants the other one but it's inconvenient and not the right time. But then it seems like it might work out but now the other one is in a relationship. And it had some moments that seemed plucked straight out of Friends, I'm thinking of one airport scene in particular.

It was a fun and easy read and I knew what I wanted to happen between the two of them. I got a little sick of the near misses with the pair of them and that did get a little too frustrating. But for the most part I enjoyed it, I really loved these two as characters and how great they worked off of each other. The author definitely captures best friend banter and jokes perfectly and it made me smile.

4/5 Stars

I really couldn't decide between 3 and 4 stars for the longest time. But I realised that I really enjoyed it and although it was a tad predictable and the repetition got a little boring, it was a good read. It's a really cute read and I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a light, easy, romantic read. 

*I received a copy of this novel from the author/publisher/publicist via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review and received no monetary compensation for this review.