This is a good book, apparently #4 in a series of which I've not read 1-3. I didn't feel lost in the least not having read 1-3.

Piper has raised her siblings after their parents died and she now feels ready to live her life. She is an EMT and wants to go to college and sell the cottage where she lives currently. On her birthday, both of her siblings come home and that throws her into a tailspin. They are keeping secrets from Piper but she is also keeping her desire to sell the cottage from them.

When she meets Cam, who is the son of her neighbor, she is immediately drawn to him but fights those feelings.

A relatable story overall, a little outside my normal genre but still enjoyable. ( )

I'm not big on chick lit especially when the main character is only 30 but Piper was very mature for her age (except for her journals with lists she made for everything), taking care of her siblings Winnie (now age 20) and Gavin (now age 27) after their parents died overseas after sending the kids back to the U.S. when they were all young and being an EMT. She inherits her grandparents house and adjoining cottages and trying to fix them up so she can sell the property and divide the money so she can attend college to become a physicians assistant. In walks her siblings after years and Gavin and Winnie have gotten their lives together and want to move back in and restore the house to make it into a b& b.

This is kind of a coincidence but not surprised since it's a small town in CA, but she's celebrating her 30th birthday with her friends in a bar which she hates, in walks Cam. She doesn't know he's her neighbor Emmitt's son. Piper always looked in on him because of his diabetes and because she liked him.

There's much more to this story and all it entails but let's just say it turned out the way I thought it would with Cam and Piper, Winnie and Gavin. ( )

Score another winning release for author Jill Shalvis!

Honestly, I've adored pretty much everything I've read from this author so far and ALMOST JUST FRIENDS was definitely one of my top picks. The lead characters were each amazing in their own way, and the atmosphere itself was charged with the sparkage between Piper and Cam. The supporting characters each have their own semi-feature roles to play as well (another bonus for this author's writing...she doesn't introduce many people JUST to have them on the sidelines!). I love the relationships she built, what with the sibling love-you-but-sometimes-want-to-strangle-you-but-will-always-support-you bits, the deeply felt loss for the brother/friend no longer with them shown from all sides and possible relationship angles, the oh-so-strong self resilience of each sibling from both families, and of course the romantic entanglements that get (at times) very much entangled. *giggle*

All in all, a great addition to the Wildstone series and a title that I definitely recommend for my fellow Contemporary Romance fans!


**copy provided for review; opinions are my own ( )

So many facets to this story. Piper and Camden, of course, were the main focus of this story, but relationships among all of the characters - Piper's siblings, Camden and his dad - added so many extra layers. Almost Just Friends is a story of romance, but also of family bonds, forgiveness and healing. Loved the inclusion of the reunion of Piper's brother and his ex boyfriend - it's nice to see LGBTQ inclusion in "mainstream" genres. ( )

Piper has raised her siblings since she was thirteen years old. Now thirty, she finally has a chance to do what she wants for a change, go to school to become a PA. That's when her sister Winnie returns pregnant and her brother returns a recovering addict. Oh, and there's the new dude next store who sets Piper's hormones racing.
Jill Shalvis writes good romance but there's more to this story in a family learning to trust each other. It's a short but good read and I'm happy I came across it. ( )