Member Reviews

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. Lily, the main character, was very relatable and I felt connected to her based on the narrative and her blog posts -- so much so that I didn't realize how self-absorbed she really was until she realized it herself ! There were a lot of very funny moments in the book and the supporting characters had enough depth to make me care about some of them and be very annoyed with others. This is a light, easy read yet I got totally caught up in it due to the author's easy writing style. I can't wait to read more by this author.

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I can't believe I just spent a day reading about a bridesmaid in "For the Love of Friends." It's a sweet love story that caught my attention. It made me think of opening the Modern Bride magazine and finding out about the latest in dresses, cake and music at a wedding.

This book is about 32 year old Lilly Weiss who will be in five weddings in the same year without a boyfriend. She has worked for more than ten years as the Director of Communications at a scientific company. She likes it because it's easy; not inspiring. While it pays the bills, she needs to create a budget to pay for all the requirements of being a bridesmaid. And then she had this brilliant idea: to write a blog about weddings and made money from advertisers. Pretty predictable - all of it: the brides, the good looking guy, the dominant mother and caring grandmother.

Yet, I enjoyed it. It made me think of all the young girls and how they're trying to do whatever it takes to make their wedding day perfect. But the bigger story wasn't about the bride but more about a girl finding her passion. And this is probably the story of the author. I hope she continues to write more stories.

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I really enjoyed this book. It follows 32 year old Lilly Weiss as she is a bridesmaid for 5 weddings. Since she is low on money, she decides to start an anonymous blog documenting her experiences preparing for these weddings. I thought Lilly was an excellent writer. Her blog posts were witty and snarky, and had such a distinct voice. Some of the brides made crazy demands, like Caryn, her coworker who wanted Lilly to wear a minimizing bra and get eyelash extensions and keratin hair treatments. The other bridesmaids were even worse (Caroline is pure evil). I loved the friendship that formed between Lilly and Alex, one of Megan's groomsmen. It started off so cute with the notes on the Starbucks coffee sleeve and by the end I was desperately hoping they would end up together. And of course as the blog got popular I was sitting at the edge of my seat wondering if any of the brides would find out about the blog. I loved the pacing of this book and thought it was a fun read.

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It starts with a work friend getting married, then friends from grade school and college, and by the time her younger siblings get engaged, Lily Weiss is faced with the prospect of being a bridesmaid in five weddings in two months. Her budget quickly blown by expensive bridesmaid dresses and fancy bachelorette weekends, she starts her Bridesmania blog to blow off some steam. As Lily's friends become brideszillas, Lily's behavior also turns snarky and sarcastic - can she survive this intense wedding season with her friendships intact? Could she even find love for herself?

I was looking for a light read to end the year, and this book was a perfect fit! Lily is a good friend, or at least, she tries to be, and I liked seeing how she interacted with the different brides and their families. Confino dreams up countless funny bridezilla/momzilla/bridesmaidzilla situations to throw Lily into, with predictably hilarious results. I'm pretty sure anyone who's been a bridesmaid or planned a wedding will relate to and laugh at this book.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This was the perfect feel-good novel to finish 2020 with. Although it was a little slow to get into, I was soon very much invested in Lily's adventures and the five weddings she was involved in. The premise of the story is that Lily, a budding writer working at a science foundation, is asked to be a bridesmaid in five weddings- all within weeks of each other. Lily soon realises that weddings are stressful for everyone involved and she needs an outlet to vent, thus starting an anonymous blog.

I loved Lily's characterisation- she was flawed but honest, and still felt like a character I could buy into. Her character growth was genuine and well-paced as well. I felt myself rooting for her and her love interest- although didn't see the twist at the end coming! (No spoilers!)

There were some elements that I would have liked to be resolved more effectively- such as some of the issues with Caryn (asking people to get Botox?! really?!), but overall I felt the resolution had cohesion.

Definitely check this one out if you like something heartwarming and easy to read! This won't be the next American classic, but is a lovely and fun read that I would recommend if you like a bit of romance and chicklit!

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Such a great read. As a bridesmaid many times over, I loved the witty and real take about weddings and what we will do in the name of friendship! Would definitely recommend.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced readers copy of For the Love of Friends by Sara Confino, in exchange for my honest review.

Confino’s writing was witty and fun, making me smile and laugh-out-loud as we follow Lily Weiss, 32 year old bridesmaid-but-never-the-bride. I found the plot of this novel refreshingly different from most romance/women’s fiction I’ve read recently. Lily narrates the entire book and I found her character to be extremely like-able (and realistically flawed!!) as well as hysterical. The situations she found herself in were completely believable/relatable and having grown up in the same area as the author, the brides/bridesmaids characters were spot on!!
The relationship between Lily and Alex was adorable and I would have loved to see a little more of it. I realize the plot was to be more focused on Lily and her growth, but I really enjoyed the sweet relationship she had with Alex.

This book was highly entertaining and fun. I would recommend to anyone looking for a entertaining escape from reality. I look forward to more from this author in the future!

**side note: the ePub which I downloaded on my Nook was defective. Every third page was impossible to read, with the font enlarged and only showing a portion of a few lines of text. I was able to read these defective pages on my NetGalley shelf app.

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Omg, so hilarious and so cute! This was a great after the holiday read and I wish a studio or production company would option it right now cause this would make an amazing movie! I will say, without giving anything away, that the ending wasn’t quite what I was expecting and in a totally good way. It made me think and hope that I’ll be more mindful in the future.!

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I picked this book because I really wanted to read something light, fast, and funny. And this book is those things, but not as funny (to me) as I expected. I quickly grew to like the narrator, but her blog was SO cringy, I couldn’t enjoy the humor because I was waiting for the other shoe to drop... I did like how the author handled things at the end.

This is a cute book, best read just for fun.

Thanks to #Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

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I wasn't able to read this due to the format it wouldn't upload properly on my e-reader. My apologies. I hear great things about this novel.

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Loved this quick chick lit to read:). The characters are reliable as well. Especially the main character Lily. Loved the over view of blogging about weddings however talking about what went wrong as you can imagine at a wedding nothing is plain sailing. Looking forward to more novels from this author.

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<i>*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review *</i>

This was a cute, fun, chicklit novel, wherein Lily, our main character, who has to be in five wedding parties over one summer (including the weddings of both of her younger siblings) has to learn to navigate her work life, her friends, and her family through this time, and causes her to evaluate some of her relationships.

Overall, this was a quick and fun read, however one of my main complaints is that the 'plot twists' were quite cliché and predictable. Also, I would have loved to actually see more of the romance side (while I know that wasn't the main focus of the story), as that felt a little sidelined.

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I was lucky to receive an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


So it's currently 1:30AM! I couldn't put the book down after the first chapter. I really enjoyed Lily's voice in the book she was very relatable and snarky and I loved it. As I read I kept thinking the name of the book was a little off but at the end you really understand why it's called For the Love of Friend.
Don't want to go into spoilers but Alex is amazing and definitely makes it to my Husbandooo List! The banter he and Lily had had me laughing throughout the book. Each of the bride's are pretty well developed so you get a feel of what's Lily is going through same can be said for her family.
Over all I really enjoyed this book, I can't wait to buy a copy and get the audiobook when it becomes available!

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<p>Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.</p>
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<p>This was a fun, easy, quick read, I really enjoyed our main character, as she was very dedicated, lovel and king to her friends and family, despite all the stress and consequences of being a bridesmaid to 5 weddings (to be fair, I thought this part might be a little over the top, I mean 5 weddings in 2 months, and a bridesmaid in all of them, but then I remember maybe it's something plausible in the USA).</p>
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<p>One thing I didn't enjoy as much, was that I felt as if there was some body shaming in this books and for me this is something I don't enjoy reading, or even seeing in books. Despite the plot and what the book intended to do, I felt no need for the characters to be so mean.</p>
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<p>I did really enjoy the author's writing style, for what I believe to be a debut, I was super impressed, I would try some other book this author puts out.</p>
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#FortheLoveofFriends #NetGalley

Special thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union publishing for providing me with ARC.

OH Woooow, this novel is so funny and i loved it, i never been a bridesmaid before and also i didn't have a wedding so i don't know what should i feel in situations like these but this novel describe it so good.

From now i will put Sara Confino in my list to read for her in the future.

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I have to say I really liked this book. I went in to it hoping for a fun rom/com and was not disappointed. The main character is in 5 weddings at once and ends up blogging about the disasters that come because of that. It was hilarious. I loved the self discovery and the characters. For sure going to read more from this author.

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As I myself have been a bridesmaid 18 times, I can certainly commiserate with Lily and her dealings with both the bride and bridesmaids. However, there is a certain line between sarcasm and snarkiness that can be perceived as mean and in writing her blog, I feel.she often crossed that line. Did I laugh out loud at times? Absolutely. Yet I can understand why she lost friends in the interim. I would read more from this author as it was certainly well written.

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A fun novel about the trials and tribulations of a girl who is always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Will she ever find her own one and only?

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I loved this book! It was hilarious, fast paced and interesting. Although it feels like a plot that I've seen numerous times, it still came across as fresh and intriguing. The main character, Lily, is a riot who is trying to balance 5 weddings and maintain her sanity. Her friends are driving her crazy so she decides to write about her experience somehow thinking no one will know its her. It's a story about choices, consequences and how those actions effect others. The writing had me laughing at certain points and stunned by some things people will ask of others all in the name of a wedding. I was happy to read about a character that would do anything for her friends, but was not without her faults. It was a realistic and satisfying read that left me wanting more. I recommend this book for anyone wanting a good laugh! I will keep an eye out for more from this author.

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Sara is a very talented writer and I’m excited to read her future releases.

Highly recommend this novel if you want to go along for a ride with Lily and her bridesmaid experiences. The novel was funny, fast paced and heartwarming.

Many thanks to Sara, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing a digital ARC in exchange for an independent, honest review.

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