This book explores friendships and all the complexities that go with it
The characters are likeable and very relatable.
The book was well written but the pace was a bit too slow for me

Sadly this book just was not for me. This sat on my kindle for quite some time - twice I have attempted to read and twice I did not finish.

Thankyou for the opportunity but I will not be providing feedback on any commercial sites for this book.

This book is one that I could recommend for a female audience who enjoys fictional lifestyles regardless of if they are relatable. It is always fun to take bits of characters and make them similar to yourself. It helps you enter into the book as a ghostly background character.

3.5 stars!

This book was cute! It was a little predictable and some of the characters annoyed me but it was enjoyable otherwise! I enjoyed learning about each of the women as they countinued to meet after their friends passing. Overall, it was a light hearted journey between friends and their sisterly bond.

Brunch and Other Obligations was equally funny, sweet and sad. Following 3 friends as they navigate the journey of friendship after the loss of their best friend Molly.

Unfortunately this book was not my favorite. It took me so long to finish.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

A novel about 3 women who have nothing in common except for Molly, their friend in common who has died. Molly leaves quirky "gifts" for each of them and instructions that they are to meet one Sunday a month for brunch. This is a light (but fun read) that has these characters discovering the meaning behind what Molly leaves for them, as well as learning the value of each member, and why Molly wanted them to stay connected. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

Brunch and Other Obligations is unlike any book I’ve read before. It definitely falls under contemporary fiction, and it follows the world of three women after their best friend passes away.

Nugent cleverly weaves in grief, loss, belonging and friendship together into a really poignant tale here. One that isn’t too overwhelming sad, at that. It’s a truly human story, and I felt that, as a reader, you really get a brilliant grasp of each character. One to pick up this year.

This was a hard book for me to get through and has been equally as hard to review. As someone whose best friend discovered she has brain cancer at the beginning of the pandemic, the loss that the women face in this book is something that may very well be a reality for me. I started reading it just a few days before her diagnosis and then immediately had to put it down for over a year.

Picking it back up, was something that I wasn't eager to do, but felt with her current stable diagnosis that I would give it a try. I cried through a lot of it but also rolled through happiness and laughter. While I can't say if I would recommend this title to those who have recently lost or are dealing with a loved one with a terminal diagnosis, I will say that for others this was a very uplifting book dealing with loss. It was charming and frustrating, and very human, which was something I immensely enjoyed.

Molly dies... and this is where this story begins.

Her last request to her best friends is that the three of them will meet for brunch once a month. They all loved Molly so they agree to do so. even though they do not like each other at all.

This story is humorous, warm, and heartfelt about a group of unlikely women. This story will make you laugh and cry and I absolutely adored every page.

This is a lovely story with a different spin on friendship. I enjoyed the different perspectives and always like a book that allows us to see inside each character independently.

I really enjoyed this book and its many nuances. I like that it runs the entire gamut of emotion and then some. I found myself laughing so hard at different parts and recognizing some people I knew in the character. There is some mild language in this book, however I mainly found this book just to be endearing and smart. I want to definitely read more from this author. I think she has a unique flair for relationship dynamics and superb wit. Thanks for the ARC, Netgalley.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book had all the makings of a great emotional novel. It had the death of a friend and all the sorrow that entailed, along with the friends of the deceased uniting to help each other through the grief. It suggested that through these hard times the friends would be able to pull together, lean on each other and become stronger together through their loss. I love those bonding, we are woman (hear me roar) stories. Unfortunately, what came through for me, was three acquaintances forced together to attend Brunch and Other Obligations. The women never became people to me and as such, I was unable to emotionally buy into the story. Shallow, rather than deep, I cannot recommend this book to a true fan of women’s fiction.

I enjoyed this book, but I found the premise a bit hard to believe. It was a quick, easy read, but not one I connected with enough to recommend to others.

This was certainly an interesting book to read. Three females who are fulfilling the wish of their only mutual friend. The book was beautifully written and was certainly an enjoyable read.

Good: I absolutely loved the sense of humor of the author, which made the book so much interesting to read. I also liked how the story was telling the reader that although females have really strong characters, they can still come together and become friends.

Bad: I didn't like the fact that the author didn't describe the appearance of the characters. Although it was good to leave it to the reader's imagination, but I usually like to know every single detail and to know that I am myself part of the book. Additionally, I felt that there wasn't much excitement in the book... the story was about the three friends grieving and that's it.

Ugly: I was quite disappointed at the end of the book. Was it rushed? Was it left to the reader to come up with a proper ending?

Overall, I would recommend this book to my friends.

☕️ |#partner|Thank you to @netgalley @shewritespress & Suzanne Nugent for the free advanced copy. It’s available now!
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🌟BOOK REVIEW🌟
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▪️MY THOUGHTS
✔️I went into this book worried it would make be so sad but when I finished it I was so upset that I didn’t cry. I liked the book I was just hoping for a bit more emotion from the characters after the loss of their friend. At one point one of the characters did break down and I was ready for it...then nothing. I did love that Molly left messages and instructions for each of her friends. It reminded me of the movie PS I Love You and for those that know me - know I bawl every time I watch that movie. I just felt as though the ending was a bit abrupt so you don’t really see the full impact of what was left behind for each of the characters. I honestly think that’s just me going into this book having a different idea of what it was about. I did enjoy that each chapter was told from different perspectives and that it discussed some sensitive topics like fertility and deteriorating health of a parent. If you enjoy stories about women and unlikely friendships this book might just be for you!

I started this book and I didn't think I would finish it. It felt predictable and at first, I couldn't connect with any of the characters. As I continued to read, I actually appreciated the character growth and the author's way of making the characters real and enjoyable despite their flaws. This book was a surprise to me and I actually enjoyed more than I initially thought I would. Ending was a bit of let down only in that it was predictable but the rest of the story made up for it. Clear fit in the women's fiction genre but if you enjoy books about female friendships this is a quick, enjoyable read that overall I would recommend!

I give this book 3.5 stars. It was a little hard to get into this book at first, but once I did it was an interesting story.

When Molly died of cancer at the age of 34, her 3 best friends from childhood, Leanne, Christina, and Nora must follow her last wishes she left them. Molly was best friends with each woman separately, the four of them have only been in each other's presence once at a group sleepover when they were 15 years old. Each woman is completely different, which is why Molly loved each of them separately. But Molly felt that she was the one who didn't enforce the relationships between the others. So when she dies, she leaves instructions that the 3 women must meet once a month for brunch; hoping that they would make their friendship build.

Christina is a high powered attorney taking care of her sick mother. She has no filter and says what she thinks.

Leanne is a people pleaser. She had a terrible childhood because her mother made her feel unloved. She married her husband because he checked off the right boxes and her mom told her she got lucky.

Nora is a recluse. She'd rather be home alone in her apartment with her books and alone.

Now all 3 of them have to tolerate 12 brunches to fulfill their friend's last wishes. Can they make it drinks it?

This book really took me by surprise. I went into it expecting a light, fluffy read, one I would probably forget the following week - shallow, I know. Even if it doesn't make it to my top 10 books of the year, it will definitely make it as my most surprising read; yes it was a relatively easy read, but it was also a very emotional, very sad one, one that made me tear up on multiple occasions.

First of all, I absolutely loved the three leads. They all felt so real, so flawed, yet so amazing, that I couldn't help but feel for them, root for them throughout the course of the book. I loved their individual journeys, I loved how the relationship between them developed, and I loved how we got to see Molly through their eyes: she slowly stopped being the "perfect best friend" and she revealed herself to be a deeply flawed woman, one that loved her friends in her own own unique, weird way.

I especially developed a soft spot for Christina, as she really reminded me of myself and how I approach my daily life. The part where she literally screams "Don't tell me to fucking relax! I will relax when I want to relax and no one can tell me how to fucking relax. I am plenty relaxed!" could have been an actual quote of mine during lockdown. So, I ended up having two characters I absolutely loved (Nora a bit more than Leanne), and one I could deeply relate to. What more could I want?

An absolutely delightful narrator! I'm not sure how to properly explain it (bear with me, I have never taken a literature course in English), but the narration style was absolutely hilarious, with an all-knowing narrator's voice that allowed us to delve deeper into the minds of supporting characters and their pasts - like Molly or Maeve. It allowed us to have a greater understanding of the background and the context of the story, without overflowing the actual plot with too many narrators or voices. And it was also fucking hilarious! A genuinely great choice and a wonderful addition to the book!

** An ARC was provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. **

I loved this book!!!! I loved that it felt real! The variation in characters was so stark, yet totally worked! And I totally loved that Fred the dog was a character in himself!
Great read!!!