Review: Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg

Better Off Friends
Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Publisher: Point
Publication Date: February 25, 2014
Pages: 276
Format: eARC/NetGalley

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?

Review: Ok, so I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a lot of books that tend to have some high school drama. But this was a bit much. While I very much identified my own high school self in many of these scenes, my high school self was also like "seriously, just freaking tell each other already!" Like it was too high school. 

So our main characters are Macallan and Levi. Levi moves to Wisconsin and starts at Macallan's middle school. She's tasked with showing him around. She really isn't into it, but after being cold giving him the tour, she later tries to be nicer and invite him to sit with her and her friends at lunch. The two of them end up bonding over a British show they both just absolutely love. They end up becoming really great friends, best friends. I really loved the friendship. It was just so natural and free flowing. Its one of those friendships you never have to try at. Until they start having feelings for each other. And then its this stupid, angry back and forth for a good year or so because they realize they do have feelings for each other but they won't just sit down and say it. It's excuse after excuse. Oh, she can't feel that way about me, oh he has a girlfriend now that I suddenly want to tell him. Like honest to god, we could have avoided a years worth of drama in this story if they had just sat down and admitted their feelings regardless of everything instead of playing this stupid game of excuses not to tell each other. I mean, it was painfully obvious to literally everyone around them for over 2 years they liked each other. But only they seemed oblivious to that fact. I'm sorry, sure, in high school, I'd beat around the bush with admitting my feelings for a guy I liked, but for like an entire 1-2 years, no. A few weeks at most. This was really ridiculous. I literally know no one that did this for 2 years. 

Then there's the friendships. Like I said, I really liked Levi and Macallan's friendship. It was so easy going. It reminded me of how things are with my fiance. It's easy going. We have jokes no one else really understands. We can talk easily to each other. It feels natural. I liked that. And I liked Macallan's friendship with Danielle too. She seemed like an overall fun, good friend, though we definitely don't see as much of her as I would have liked. But Emily. Oh my god she reminds me of friends I had. Keep this secret of me cheating because I'm confused about my feelings. Nope. I had a fair amount of friends in high school. Some that dated each other or at the least, people I knew, and then would do that. Nope. This whole thing didn't fly with me. Friends that make you keep secrets of them cheating suck. I felt for Macallan with this stuff with Emily. And then Levi's friends. They were definitely the jock type. More concerned about sports than anything. But one friend in particular went to far in pissing off Macallan and definitely got what he deserved because of it. 

Honestly, this book felt really predictable to me. We knew by the end of the book Levi and Macallan would get over themselves and admit their feelings and end up together. I saw the friendship ending with Emily coming a mile away after the whole "keep my cheating a secret thing." And who didn't see Macallan and Levi having fights and issues over the whole not admitting their feelings for like 2 freaking years. That was painfully obvious. 

The things I did like. We see Macallan having real grief over her mothers death. We see her struggle with it and things that remind her of her mom. We see her work on healing after it. And then we see her get to the point where it doesn't hurt so much and she can actually open up about her mom and talk about her without having panic attacks. We see her healing process over the span of 3-4 years and it really showed how people deal with loosing a loved one, especially a parent. Also, I loved her cooking. It was like once Levi's mom showed Macallan how to cook it because her way of processing her grief. And she found something that she absolutely loved to do. It really helped her in a way I don't think she ever expected. I also liked that Macallan stood up for those who had disabilities. She cares so deeply about how they are treated because of her uncle, and it was really refreshing seeing a character that stood up for them.