Member Reviews

Loved!! I usually prefer thrillers, suspense, mysteries, etc but this seemed too interesting to turn down & super glad I didn't!! This was the most fun, a wonderful guilty pleasure-filled read. And even though it's more of a women's fiction book, Tatum was so full of drama that plenty times in the book, there was suspense!!! 5 solid stars!!!!

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This one was just a little much for me. I generally like chic lit but I just could not get into this one. Thank you for letting me read it.

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This book was pretty funny, but also intriguing. Julia thinks she has the perfect life--until she doesn't. There were parts that I laughed out loud when reading this book, which is always a good thing to me. I also liked the twist it took away from the funny to the serious. I can't wait to read more by these authors!

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I feel bad I forgot to send my review on this one because I did not finish it. Not every book is for everybody. I read to the 30% mark and gave up. The Frenemie trope just wasn't for me, so sorry. I just did not connect with these characters, it felt like she was just using the lady. I may have just picked this up and the wrong time.

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I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I couldn't get into this book though, I may try to listen to it in the future.

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Cute quick read, love this type of relational chick lit. Will definitely want to read more from these authors.

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Upper East Siders who ride at SoulCycle 83 and on the Luxury Liner to the Hamptons: this novel is for you! It's for anyone who can feel the burn of spending the off-season in the city...

...which is where we readers find Julia Summers (get it?), attempting to save face by spinning the narrative—quite literally. Julia plots to make an indoor cycling instructor out to be the new It girl (think: Stacey Griffith) to get in with; only, things don't go as planned, and her picture perfect world is upended by scandal.

It's ultimately a when-life-gives-you lemons-make-JuicePress-lemonade story of self-reckoning.

Pack it in your MZ Wallace, and enjoy the read on Main Beach!

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Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC.

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This is decent chick lit. Upper East Side mom connects with a carefree sunny fitness instructor who is trying to break into the fitness industry. Mom tries taking the instructor under her wing but things go haywire when the instructor is not what she seems.

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Thank you, Ballantine books for our gifted review copy. This one is so much fun. I laughed & turned the pages quickly. This is definitely a great slumpbuster read & one that makes you smile. Anyone in the mood for a fun story set in NYC - grab this!

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This novel is set among the socialite moms of the Upper East Side, as main character Julia seeks to maintain/improve her social status by taking a young spin instructor under her wing. Julia is slightly less vapid than the rest of the characters but still not exactly relatable, and the plot and characters in general were kind of cartoonish. But yet it was a light and easy read which was what I was looking for.

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That ‘s What Frenemies Are For is a quick escape. Books that have co-writers have always fascinated me. This was my first book to read by these authors and I will definitely be checking out more of their books.

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To be completely honest, I DNF’d this book. I really tried to read it and enjoy it, but I could not connect with the main character. I thought it was going to be this fun, sassy read, and instead I found it to be very negative with the way women treated other women. I really didn’t connect with the way the main character was essentially using this “friend” of hers to look good to other rich women. I couldn’t continue reading it because I didn’t like the negative gossipy feeling that it gave me, and I really did not like the story line. I felt that it constantly was about going to spin class (and I love spin class) but it was missing a lot more substance to me.

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Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early copy.

I decided to put it down, because of the main plot and the writing style.

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Entertaining and kind of creepy based on how manipulative the women were. Definitely see it's appeal for a certain type of reader.

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Nope, nope, just nope! This one is waaaaay too snarky for me and I had a bad taste in my mouth within minutes.

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Fun, frothy, entertaining, and exhausting. This was an over the top Book about mean girls all grown up and there need to keep up with the Joneses. Julia’s life was seriously exhausting, can’t even imagine trying to keep up an appearance of living a perfect life at all times. When she is unable to summer in the Hamptons with everybody else she needs to come up with a new plan. She decides to hit up Flame the new fitness hotspot where she befriends a new spin instructor Tatum. I have worked in the fitness industry most of my life and I found this part hilarious. When her “friends“ return home after the summer Julia is certain that she is now the top dog introducing her friends to this new fitness craze. But then the backstabbing and sh*t talking begins. A lot of this book made me cringe, I just cannot believe how cruel these women were to one another. The constant jockeying for position of power was draining and despicable! It is so unfortunate that there is so much truth in this, women should spend more time building each other up rather than trying to tear one another down. Although I have to think there were some lessons learned during the course of this book. What a wild ride with a somewhat satisfying ending.

This book in emojis 💳 🚴🏻‍♀️ 💅🏻 🗡

*** Big thanks to Random House for my gifted copy of this book ***

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How is it possible to like a book so much and dislike basically all the characters and everything they do?

This is a book that is hard to review. I didn’t like the characters and I found their “problems” to be annoying and petty and I often found myself cursing at the main character to get her s**t together or to open her damn eyes.

As much as I felt annoyed by basically everything in this book, I couldn’t put it down. You see, everything I was feeling was all by design and that my friends is what makes this a 4 star book.

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Short plot synopsis-Julia tries to have it all and rule her rich mom circle by finding the "next big thing," which just happens to be the fitness center called Flame. This leads to her trying to do a Mean Girls makeover on Tatum, a young and dumb instructor. Naturally, the plan backfires.



Look. The book isn't terrible...but it isn't the best thing ever written. The whole time I was reading it I kept thinking that this plot has been done before, and better at that. In a world where Mean Girls AND Heathers exist, this book isn't really anything special. Julia is a rich snob. She has everything, but she's still so miserable. OMG, CRY ME A RIVER. When it came to Tatum, I knew exactly what type of girl she would end up being.



I don't know. It was a nice enough book. If you're looking for something of no substance to kill time, this is a good one. I've just read too many really good books this year to not be a little disappointed by it.



🌟🌟🌟/5 stars

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This book felt incredibly niche. Maybe I'm no longer interested in reading books about rich people on the upper East Side of NYC? Or is it because I’m not a mom? Maybe I don't care about NYC in general? Either way, this book felt like a beach read at it’s best. It was a fun read, but since you know the downfall is coming from the start (it’s talked about in the first chapter), I spent the first half of the book dreading it and not being able to enjoy the book. It just felt like secondhand embarrassment and I was just uncomfortable.

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Julia Summers lives a privileged life in Manhattan’s upper east side. She has a hardworking husband, two children in a private academy, and many well-heeled friends. When an accident turns her summer plans upside down, Julia find herself investing in a new gym, workout routine, and protégé. Focused on impressing the Jones’s, Julia gets herself into trouble and discovers what really matters along the way.

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