I wanted to like this book so much and it started off ok, but then it really just went on forever and I pretty much wanted to smack all of the characters. Our “heroine” is so catty and shallow, I just can’t get behind her. I liked the ending, but wish she had learned from her experience and was a little less catty.

I loved this book and it actually made me laugh out loud. It is great for a beach read. The story did make me appreciate the life and the friends that I have!
Many thanks to Random House Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Reading this book, I was immersed in the chic, social climbing, Upper East Side world of Julia. Julia’s life work is to stay relevant, as the consummate trend setter among her group of friends. When she meets spin instructor, Tatum, a new project is born: to take credit for transforming the small town girl into New York’s most fashionable fitness guru. When Julia suddenly finds herself in both social and personal crises, she must figure out what is most important in her formerly perfect world.

That’s What Frenemies Are For is a sharp, witty and fun peek into a world of privilege and cutting edge trends. Beyond that, it is a look at what matters most and a cautionary tale of who to trust and what is left when the Instagram likes and retweets dry up. I fully enjoyed this book, the satire and snark! This will make for a perfect summer beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the free eGalley of this fantastic novel.

Think of this as the Manhattan version of Big Little Lies. Julia is a wealthy mom living on the Upper East Side of New York City, who is constantly thinking of ways to impress her fancy friends and reach the upper echelon of her rarefied social circle. And she’s sure that she has found her ticket when she meets, Tatum, a fresh, young, Spin instructor at a new gym in the neighborhood. She soon takes Tatum under her wing, polishing her image, buying her fancy clothes, and building her “brand” as the Spin instructor du jour of the Upper East Side. But turns out, Julia is perhaps too good of a teacher. Before long, Tatum is extremely popular, quite conniving, and not nearly as naïve as she first appears. Suddenly, Tatum seems to be distancing Julia from her friends and pushing her out of the social circle she held so dear. This book is the definition of a beach read—fun, light, and an irresistible guilty pleasure. Anyone who has ever lived on the Upper East Side—or summered in the Hamptons—will recognize characteristics of many of the outrageous women portrayed in the book. It’s laugh-out-loud funny in parts, it’s painfully accurate about New York society, and above all, it’s just plain fun.

It's really hard for me to rate this book because while I did find it immensely readable I pretty much wanted to smack everyone from Julia to her husband to Tatum to Brooke... you get the drift. Almost every single character is annoying. Maybe it's because I don't live in that world but I was quickly over the catty and calculating Julia and she really didn't improve for me during the novel.

This is a fast paced read that doesn't require a lot of deep thought and would be perfect for a girls trip or on the poolside.

I'm sure many will love this book but for me it wasn't a winner.

Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse for an eARC copy of the novel in exchange for my honest review.

A deliciously funny, behind-the-scenes look at the loves and lives of Upper East Side families, That's What Friends Are For is an out and out entertainer for lovers of smart, sassy fiction.

This delightful book demonstrates how quickly we can fall from what we believe are safe and secure positions in society’s false hierarchy.

The heroine thinks she has it all: perfect husband, perfect car, perfect children, perfect clothing and shoes and hats and bags and wraps. When she meets a young Spin instructor, she makes it her personal mission to recreate what she believes is her own, personal, Pygmalion. But, as we know from the story of Pygmalion, sometimes protégés turn on their mentors, and when that happens in this book, we are all left wondering how we can be so gullible - ignoring all the hints that something is a little bit off.

And something is a LOT off, not only with the protege, but with the entire foundation upon which our heroine’s life has been erected.

I initially thought this was going to be a fun, light read. Surely there are elements of that. But there’s a lot in this book that reminds us all that we just might live in an insubstantial house of straw - one that the Big Bad Wolf, who is never that far away, can blow over in one big whoosh.

Highly recommended. I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

This book is the definition of a fun summer read! The dialogue is clever and the story well paced ad plotted. Yes, it was a little predictable, but that was what I wanted at the moment as I read it by the pool. I'll keep an eye on these authors in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.

This book was so cute! A perfect summer beach, especially for anyone trying to escape Manhattan for the summer! I love the “soul cycle” like vibe of Flame and the cattiness is the other mom’s was just enough. This was a very fun read

A solid 3.5 ... not quite a 4, but this was an “unputdownable” novel that was like the grown up version of Mean Girls. While our main character was truly unlikeable, and I often found myself cringing about her spending habits, the tension between her, other socialite moms and her manipulative pet project Tatum was addictive and written so well. I loved the drama of the Upper East Side elite. Great summer read!

Very entertaining and delightful novel of the trials and tribulations of the New York city wealthy hausefrau. Very engaging and eye-opening. Great summer read!

A book about New York snobs and the battle to be on top. A fun read, Ive heard it before and nothing like a revenge book with a happy ending

You know you are in for a ride on a train wreck just by reading the description of the book. How many different ways can Julia’s plans for acceptance and trying to get the upper hand with some crazy high society moms go wrong?? When you have a book that feels a little out of touch with reality you have to have characters that can keep their feet on the ground. Usually it is one of the main characters that are grounded but this book had some surprising secondary characters that played that role. It was an easy book to read that kept a pretty fast pace. I did want to close my eyes because you knew social disaster was on its way.

I loved this book! It was the perfect light summer read. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick escape. I devoured it in two days!

This novel is a fun new take on the “My Fair Lady” tale. Julia, a well-to-do wife and mother who competes in the private school mommy scene, plucks an eager and unknown woman from a cycling studio to turn her from trashy to classy. A pet project to get Julia through the summer, Tatum’s star rises and Julia’s falls as their entwines lives become more complicated.

This was the perfect summer story to reinvigorate me! Set in Manhattan, full of backstabbing mommies and complete with an underdog story, That’s What Frenemies Are For” should be added to everyone’s beach read list!

Julia and her family cannot spend their summer in their Hamptons house because it had to be renovated after a burst pipe. She wants to find a way to reconnect with her friends when school starts and decides to make a new spin instructor her project and "new find" over the summer. She eventually finds that the instructor is using her for her own purposes and things spin negatively out of control.

The book was okay. I enjoyed the ending but wasn’t too thrilled with the subject matter of rich, fashion-conscious, catty Manhattan socialites and their lives. If you like that genre, you will probably enjoy this book.

I love reading about this socialite world. I can't relate to it whatsoever, but it's neat to live vicariously through this story. The authors really nailed Julia's personality, and as I moved the through the events in her life, I was able to understand her motivations, emotions, reaction, etc. The way she plucked Tatum out of obscurity and turned her into her newest frenemy is something most women can understand. This is a nice, light read.

The spin class is a great metaphor for Julia's life: she spins her wheels and gets nowhere. She has no job, no goals, little interest in taking care of her of her own children, and little regard for her husband except to the extent that he's her personal ATM. She only cares about her socialite world, her fancy clothes, her pathetic reputation and her pretend endeavors.

I downgraded this book from an initial 4 stars to 3 because it went on too long and lost my interest. Julia's choices got worse and and worse and I was exhausted at 70 percent. I still give this book a solid 3 stars. I liked it. But i stopped loving it and i stopped loving Julia.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Littlefield, Lauren Gershell and Random House for this ARC.

I absolutely LOVED this novel. It's the perfect chick lit summer read! Everyone loves a good frenemie, and Julia and Tatum are the perfect frenemie duo. I love Julia's character arc throughout the story, and am now very interested in finding a spin class in my own town.

Overall, an excellent addition to the many fantastic novels written by Sophie Littlefield and a humorous, delightful first novel by Lauren Gershell. I can't wait to read more by this duo!

This was a really good book I just feel like I didn't like it as much as everyone else seems to have. 3 stars though.

If you are curious about how the society ladies live, then this is the book for you. The rich really are not like the rest of us!! Most of the characters were not particularly likable or had any redeeming qualities to speak of. An enjoyable read, which I would recommend if you are looking for something light.