This is a book review of Just Friends by Haley Pham with minor spoilers.
I’m going to side with the part of the internet saying this book is… not great. Quite unmemorable. Interestingly written, to say the least.
The Facts
Author: Haley Pham
Release Date: March 3, 2026
Genre: Romance
Main Characters: Blair & Declan
Number of Pages: 333
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
[Some of] The Internet Was Right
When this book initially came out, some of the internet girlies swore this book was the best thing since sliced bread. Other internet book lovers said this book was garbage (but in a nice way). I’m going to have to agree with the latter group.
Simply put, the writing is bad. The sentence structure, and sometimes grammar, make no sense, especially with all the literary devices. One thing I know, two things for certain: Haley Pham loves a simile. She leaned on similes and metaphors to provide descriptions. “My body jolts like a boomer being shown one of those videos of a baseball flying straight at the camera.” I dislike this unnecessary sentence so much, but it is a good example of the subpar writing. The “‘uh-oh!'” on page 163 is the hardest I’ve cringed in a very long time. On page 229, “He fits the lock in the door and swings it open.” Huh?
Also, the transitions between chapters needed some work, especially those random chapters in the beginning when she goes back in time. There are so many incomplete plot points and attempts at having multiple tropes. The third act “break up” was the worst one I’ve read in a couple of years. Easily.
When looking at the specifics of the characters, Blair is incredibly annoying, and constantly referring to herself as emotionless was starting to test my nerves. Declan had his moments of being adorable, like the connection between his “Little Bird” nickname and the birdhouses he builds. Aunt Lottie’s broken English is what my nightmares are made of. Like, I know many people speak with broken English, but reading it versus hearing it are two totally different things. Reading it scratches the wrong part of my brain.
This book felt like a girl had to write a short story as a high school sophomore, and it was required to use all the ACT vocabulary words. The girl thought she ate the story up, so she she revamped it a little and put it on Wattpad. That’s the exact energy this book gives.
I saw a woman on Instagram raving about Now Back to You by B.K. Borison and said “Anyone can be an author but not everyone can be a writer.” She meant it positively when talking about B.K., but after reading Haley Pham’s book, I would say Pham falls in the “only an author” category.
Though if I had to pick a positive, I liked the font chosen for Declan’s letter.
