Just Friends

YouTuber Pham debuts with an introspective if somewhat familiar second-chance romance. Ambitious recent college graduate Blair returns to her picturesque hometown of Seabrook, Calif., to help her mother care for her ailing great-aunt, Lottie. She feels torn between her family responsibilities and her career goals—especially after taking a temporary gig at a local coffee shop, which is very much not the job she was expecting to get after graduation. Worse, her new boss is her childhood best friend turned ex-boyfriend, Declan. Four years earlier, their promising young relationship ended after an accident destroyed Declan’s college football dreams and left him feeling stuck in Seabrook. Flashbacks to this teen heartbreak flesh out their present-day rekindling, but while the relationship is sweet, the characters don’t feel like they’ve grown or matured much between the two time periods. The gentle plot takes a turn when Aunt Lottie dies, but remains primarily driven by the characters reckoning with heavy emotions and disappointed dreams. Meanwhile, conflict arises from miscommunications that could be easily cleared up, a trope that will frustrate some readers. Still, the charming coastal backdrop, exploration of grief, and endearing romance make for easy reading. (Mar.)