Thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This was a better book than I anticipated. From the book cover and the title, I thought this was going to be a light-hearted chick-lit read, which would have been fine. And with lots of chocolate and alcoholic drinks, there were frothy elements throughout. But there were also more serious issues that gave this debut more depth, specifically the topics of adoption, divorce, motherhood, and panic attacks. All in all, it’s a fun read, and the heavier subjects are handled with sensitivity.

Fallon, who is turning 40, has one young daughter, a great husband, and a group of close suburban mom friends, “the dream group of friends I’ve always wished for. We’ve become so close these last few years: brunches, ladies’ nights out, family gatherings – even weekends away skiing or at a water park.” Then suddenly out of the blue they’re ghosting her, and her panic attacks begin.

Her husband convinces her to see a therapist, who gently helps her to acknowledge why the loss of these mom friends is so devastating. As the book progresses she decides to seek out new friends in addition to trying to find out what’s going on with her current friends because “I crave friendships with close friends to laugh with, that will support you no matter what. I crave bonding with my girlfriends. My sanity depends on it.”

At the same time, she is starting a chocolate business. “Chocolate brings me joy, and I want to bring joy to others just like my Grandma Rose used to.” I think many readers will related to Fallon’s perspective: “I’m turning forty and feel as if half my life is over, and I thought I’d have more to show for it. If I don’t do it now, when will I?”

There are a few disastrous yet humorous incidents, as well as poignant discoveries. The insanity of early motherhood, ghosting of friends, drinking, parties, shoe collections, and gossiping puts this in the chick-lit category – and some reviewers are calling it a mom-com. The book concludes with a feel-good ending when Fallon admits her happiness and fulfillment can be realized by following her dream and letting go of the past.

Warning, reading this will have you craving gourmet chocolate.

The Friendship Breakup is a beautiful and meaningful portrait of a mom, a wife, a friend, a worker, a dreamer. In one word: a woman.
This book tells the story of a woman who constantly turns pain into power by facing what life throws at her day by day. Her superpower is the ability to repeat to herself everyday that she is enough and worthy of love, even when everything seems to fall apart. This book's superpower is the one to teach us that life doesn't have to turn out exactly the way we pictured it. On the contrary, it's ok for our lives to be perfectly imperfect.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A wonderful debut by Annie Cathryn! The Friendship Breakup tells the story of Fallon, a suburbanite shoe-collector, mother of seven-year-old Maya, self-help book junkie, wife of gorgeous doctor Max, and fledgling entrepreneur who finds herself at a crossroads with her longtime Mom-Friend group just as she's also turning 40 and facing some other life changing milestones. Not knowing what to do or where to turn, Fallon faces a few hilarious, gut-wrenching, and highly relatable situations that make the reader want to be her friend. Well done and highly recommended!

3.75/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Would’ve never picked this up on my own, but it was an enjoyable read that allowed for some self reflection. I loved Fallon’s growth as a character both in terms of setting boundaries and her acceptance of her being adopted. Her strength and triumph over hardship was admirable.

I wanted to kill her so called ‘friends’ the entire time. They bothered me so much and just shows that some people don’t change from their younger years at all. Some people don’t go through the growth that Fallon did and it shows. But the author did a great job portraying the reality of this phenomenon.

Some of the dialogue felt forced at times and not very natural, but I did devour this book in almost one who sitting, so that definitely says something about the writing style. It was simple (in a good way) and engaging, and the humor kept it chugging along.

It’s not my type of book, which is why I rated it lower, but I was grateful for the e-ARC from NetGalley and Alcove Press! Thanks to them for the opportunity to read it!

I was really excited for this novel that was going to explore adult friendships. That topic feels like one that is tricky for so many of us, and under-represented as the main theme in a fiction book. However, this one did not end up being what I hoped it would be. Instead of exploring the challenges & nuances of adult friendship, this one felt like it settled for petty, surface-level drama that I struggled to relate to. I made it through about 1/3 of the book before I decided I couldn't do anymore. I wasn't enjoying this book, was becoming frustrated with the main character's people-pleasing and didn't even care what the big reveal would be about what was behind the current conflict with her friends. This one was disappointing & I wouldn't recommend it, unless you want to read about privileged, petty friend drama.

I read a lot of romance novels so I was intrigued when I saw The Friendship Breakup and ready for some relief from the romance drama. I forgot how much drama there is in friendships though!

I totally related with the MC, Fallon, in trying to navigate the ins and outs of being a good mom while struggling to fit in with judgy moms, be a good partner and follow my own passion.

I love that this book provided a dash of self-help along with the juicy story. While there were times I wanted to jump into the page and stop Fallon from doing something stupid the ending made all of the frustration totally worth it 😆

This book is great for all the moms out here trying to find their tribe. We're all in this together 💕

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for this free arc in exchange for my honest review!

A four-star read that the was made with the ending. This was a good read, but the ending made it for me, there were bits that I felt like they went on a little bit too much, there was too much description on some parts and then other characters and places were just touched upon. The best thing about this story though is how the author manages to get under the surface of female friendships, the bonds and politics that go on underneath. Then you explore the aspect of motherhood and that adds something else as well. It adds to the whole story, this will make you laugh and it may also make you tear up.

What a disappointment. This was not what I was expecting at all. I was hoping for a fun mom-com with a meaningful look at a failing friendship, but what I got was catty and immature women throwing mud at each other. For real. The characters were all cringe-worthy and extremely juvenile. They acted like they were still in middle school, not approaching forty. This just wasn’t believable to me at all. Ugh. Sorry, but I do NOT recommend this book.

I read the ARC of "The friendship breakup", At first i didn't think it would be the kind of book i usually like but it was surprisingly good. This book talks about so many issues that every people experience at some point in their lives and i really liked the main character's developement

I read this book during a time of complete chaos and stress and I found it comforting and relatable. I loved that the characters were middle age women which was different from typical high school-teen dramas, the daily obstacles parents face and balancing life altogether felt somehow refreshing to read about.

Fallon Monroe is one of the soccer mums who's love for chocolate stemmed from grandma Rose and now she decides to spread joy by making her own chocolates. She bonded with other mums back when her baby girl, Maya, started school and they have been friends ever since. They say friendships that last more than 7 years will last a lifetime and on the "make or break" 7th year of their friendship the mum group turns cold towards Fallon especially her best friend, Beatrice. She's always trying to reach out to the group because the thought of losing them leaves her feeling lonely and depressed.
Does she really win them back or is it goodbye forever?
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fun yet heart-warming read, definitely worth it!

I connected to Fallon right away. Although she is younger than me, I, too was at a junction in my life … post Covid, left my 30 year career, and became a single mother of three. Granted, my kids are older, but still require my services on a daily basis. What I didn’t have was friends. This was daunting. How do you make friends when home and kids are your life. Fallon had to deal with gossip, misunderstandings, and immature cliques, but the desire to find “your people “ is strong. The story kept me interested with humorous antics and circumstances that played out like a comedy, but the feelings to connect were sincere and heartfelt.

The MC mentions her BFF Beatrice no fewer than twenty times within the first chapter. And OMG alllll of the italics!!!! This was a DNF for me.

This book was such a good read and I'm so happy that I was able to read it. Annie Cathryn truly knows how to tell a story. The main character, Fallon, was written so well and I always found myself rooting for her no matter what. I was able to connect with her vulnerability, which added so much more to the story for me. Fallon, however, was about the only character I could really stand. The jealous "best friend" was something else... and don't even get me started on the husband. The story was still a memorable one and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for this free arc in exchange for my honest review.

"Fallon Monroe, mother of one, self-help book junkie, and budding chocolatier, has always relied on her mom friends in the Chicago suburbs to get her through the trials of adulthood."


LIKES - I found this book really interesting! It showed the layers and seasons that friendships go through very beautifully. The themes of community and connection were also very apparent throughout the whole book as well.

DISLIKES - I didn’t love that Fallon tried so hard to fix friendships with people who didn’t seem to care about her.

Read if you like:
*a mom-com
*friendship analysis
*a very relatable story
*humor along with challenging topics

Rating: 5 super shiny stars!!!

Review:
Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC of the Friendship Break Up by Annie Cathryn . This is a debut novel and has a publication date of February 7, 2023.

From her very first words "Right between the milk and the eggs, I go into menopause." I instantly fell in love with our main character Fallon, she became one of my book besties. I don't think I ever laughed out loud at the very first sentence of a book before and I just knew...

Fallon is kind of a hot mess as she hilariously navigates the Mommy life in a small town in the midwest as she learns to let go of a painful past, and to lesser degree, present and evolves into her best self. There are a slew of friends turned frenemies surrounding her and some old friends, some new friends. They all make an impact on her life.

I appreciate the author's choice to focus on the importance of female friendship in our lives and how the people we choose to surround ourselves with hold up a mirror to who we are, not who we want to be. When I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about the characters and wondering how things would work out. When I was reading it, I had to to pry myself away from the pages with a crowbar on so I could:

A. Go to work

B. Speak to my actual friends and family, and

C. Force myself to go to sleep hours after bedtime.

Do yourself a favor, treat yourself to fun time and read this book! I will be keeping my eye out for more from this new author.

This book delivers hard truths about friendship and who is worth putting effort into through the delightful lens of a mother who has been outcast by her group of suburban mom friends. Everyone has had friendships that end in less than ideal ways and this book delivers meaningful lessons about how to move on and accept the life that you are living. Pick this book up if you love life lessons and quirky women’s fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fallon is a mom who, like most of us, doesn't have it all together. With a daughter and sweetly devoted husband, close friends, and a chocolate business that she hopes will start to take off, it seems she has the important things in life handled. However she finds herself wondering what happened when her group of mom friends suddenly starts snubbing her. Fallon is desperate to repair her friendships, but maybe not all relationships are meant to be fixed.

I'll start by saying that Fallon is a likable and completely relatable character. I love her imperfections and the fact that she cares so much about all the people in her life. But maybe I related a little too much, because the first half of the book gave me anxiety reading it. I have spent too much time in the past over analyzing my own friendships and avoiding drama that this came across as too realistic. The pettiness that all stems from miscommunication and people not just talking about their problems gave me high school vibes at times. I just wanted her to stand up for herself more and have straight-forward conversations or cut ties. Despite all that, the book as a whole works once we're given more backstory and she finds the strength to decide what's important to her. There are definitely humorous moments. When Fallon fails at things it tends to be a drastic and laughable fail at least. And some friendships in here show the true meaning of "lifelong friends" who will stuff their faces with chocolate and be there for you when you need it.

This was an enjoyable and quick read. I would read more from author Annie Cathryn. There were lighthearted moments in the story, but definitely some deep feelings. Trigger warnings if you struggle with friendship or abandonment issues. I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Honestly, I had a hard time getting invested in The Friendship Breakup. The MC was too self-absorbed to see what was going on in her friends lives and would make assumptions/pity herself throughout the story. I constantly found myself rolling my eyes at her. However, the last few chapters were fantastic! I really enjoyed how the story ended and having all the loose ends tied up. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

I love the premise of this book…it’s something I could relate to and connect with. It’s difficult when adult friendships end but that’s hoe life leads you sometimes. Thank you for the ARC NetGalley!

3.5 stars rounded up. There were so many things to enjoy about this book — the drama of a small town, the ups and downs of life as you grow older , the ability to bless and release things that no longer serve you.

Fallon really grew on me as this book progressed — I loved the discussions with her therapist that were included and the growth she experienced as she began to unpack the motivation behind her desperate need to maintain her friendships.

This book was funny, poignant, and very real!