Fallon was a part of a large group of friends, and now she is not included. Her best friend Beatrice seems to have turned her other friends against her as well. What’s even worse her daughter Maya has been left out of Beatrice’s daughter’s life. Fallon is a budding chocolatier and hopes to make a living from it. She loves making chocolate since it reminds her of her grandmother. Wanting to have her friend Beatrice back in her life, and be a part of the popular group again, she decides to win her back.
I loved the dedication and love Fallon put into the chocolate creations. I found it neat that Maya could help with the creations. The descriptions had my mouth watering. The steps Fallon takes to renew her friendships were humorous. However, I find it unrealistic that women of that age would go to such childish lengths to turn away a friend. Her two best friends did point out what a friend looks like. I liked that with support of a few friends, her husband, and her therapist Fallon was able to gain confidence in herself. The friendship app was an interesting idea.

I loved the premise of this book, looking at how friendships evolve and change and how we grow and change with them. A lot of reviewers commented that it was funny, but I just found it sad.

Even with it being fiction, a lot of what I read was absurd. Mean girls, multiple cheating scandals, the mud fight?!? If this was YA, I'd understand, but I have a lot in common with the main character - late 30s, married with kids, suburbs, life changes, friendships evolving - and this book completely missed the mark for me.

Based on how a few things were handled (the letters, the career change, the main character's own marriage), I think this debut author has the potential to deliver, and I hope her next novel reflects greater maturity.

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy to review!

I loved this book so much. This book will take you to a journey of difficulties of life and where our priorities should lie. We shouldn't prove anyone that we're good friend to them if they don't worth the effort. Rather we should put the effort in growing ourselves, doing things to make our dreams come true. It doesn't matter how many people are beside you, it matters who are beside you. You should cherish the people who are with you, influence you, motivate you, push you to achieve your dream no matter what. You shouldn't mop over someone who would doubt you over a rumor and didn't even think to clarify it. You're better than you think, so don't think yourself inferior. Fallon has faced too much since childhood that left an impact on her thinking. But she didn't saw things otherwise, she always got sad over the people who left her and thought she has problems.
I love her true friends which were Mel and Avery. They were the best. And obviously her husband, daughter and another Mom friend, Eleanor who was being left alone by others too. This story has a unique story that will push you to see differently.

My first mom-com and I loved every bit of it, I am not a mom but I know moms who read this book will love it, the author doesn't glamourise being a mom but shows the ups and downs of being one, whether you have one kid or more than one and I enjoyed that aspect.

Fallon's character was well written, we got to see her navigate her life from not just being a mom but also dealing with neighbourhood cliques, internal struggles, who you are outside of being a mom and following one's dreams with many obstacles in front of you. Her character showcases that it is okay to be still figuring things out, no matter how old you are, even entering your 40's and no matter if you're a mom, including when it comes to friendship groups and learning life aspects that not everyone stays and not all friendships last and it's okay, we can't control these things.

As a debut novel, it is well written and fast-paced so you aren't overwhelmed or get bored while reading it, the story is gripping and keeps you wanting to read right until the end, there is a balance of life and humour along with self-indulgence and many other aspects that if I give away will ruin the experience of this book, the execution of this book was done well, each character had depth and played a role in the message of the book and also to our main character Fallon and her choices, the ending wrapped up everything well and wasn't rushed, it showed progression in time and I admired that.

4 ⭐ The Friendship Breakup was such a fun, quick and easy read. I really connected with this, as I was a single mom for many years and having been through some friendship breakups myself.

I want to say this was a great read. The writing is great and the story here was great and way better than I expected but I don't think this was for me. I'm not sure if it was me ,because on paper I should commune with this book on a higher level. Working and balancing that along with relationships (being a wife, motherhood, friendships old and new) it can all get so hectic that you know even know what to do. This is an awesome book and I think lots of people will love it.

The Friendship Breakup follows the story of Fallon, a mom from a small suburb in Chicago. Having recently been through some friendship breakups myself, I immediately picked this book up, and I'm so glad I did!

Even though I'm not even married yet, I could completely relate to Fallon and her struggles of being a Mom, a Friend, a Wife and a Daughter. Initially, I was really annoyed with how much she was Fixated on her friendship and I began to wait for the moment when the 'why' would be revealed. However, as the story progressed, I realized the 'why' doesn't really matter. The growth of the MC and her relationships is what mattered. The true friendships she already has is what needs to be cherished, and we need to accept that some friendships just run its course. As someone who was struggling with broken friendships, this book was a breath of fresh air.

The Friendship Breakup was such a fun, quick and easy read. I highly recommend it if you want to pick up a funny and light-hearted fiction that shows a mom's struggles in developing a new business, giving time to her family and also maintaining her friendships!

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. The review is entirely my own opinion!

4 ⭐

I liked this book! I'm not usually one to read fiction that's not romance, but this book really caught my attention from the get-go and kept it the entire time. I've experienced a few "friend breakups" myself, so this book really hit a chord and I felt really connected to the characters. I'll probably recommend this to my friends!

I just finished this book and I'm absolutely in love with it. Shows the messy bits of being a Mom, a friend and a wife. At times in the beginning of the book, Fallon (main character) peeved me by how much she wanted to fix her friendship with people that didn't even care to include her. Throughout the story though, I begin to like her alot more and understand the "why" behind it all. The ending made me tear up. I absolutely loved how it all wrapped up and everything fell together. Such a fun book with messy bits that make you laugh and gasp but also some parts you might want a kleenex for. Beautifully written and so relatable as a Mom and friend.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publishers to read and review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

3.5 stars — I found it hard to connect and like the MC at times in this story. I feel like a lot of us as adults and even as our younger selves have gone through and felt a lot of the same feelings that the MC in this book went through. With finding new friends, trying to keep old friends, and all that in between along with really trying to survive motherhood, adulthood, being a good wife, mom, friend, working, having and keeping lasting friendships and relationships, anything really you and all us could be going through and not necessarily sharing in it lives, it can be really freaking hard. I got that from this book, and I did love the message in the ending. However, I was really annoyed with how the MC throughout the book came across to me as very whiny. I think that’s why I just couldn’t connect with her. I connected with a lot of the thought and idea of the story and the theme of the story, however I think I would’ve given it more stars if I had liked the MC more earlier on. I did like her friends at the end and it was sweet how her husband was so supportive of her. But that’s about it.

This one was such a good read for me! It had a great balance of emotions and humor, and it really made me think about the female friendships in my life.

Relatable, engaging, funny, thought provoking, definitely a must read!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is was my first Mom-Com and I think I found a new favorite style of books. This book was so relatable and engaging. This book made me laugh so much and I loved every second of it.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the ARC I enjoyed this. This was a different kind of book. I don't think I have ever read a book so heavily focused on the topic of a friendship breakup, and it is something most women have been through. While the writing felt a bit clunky at times, (too much tell, not enough show), I know this is a debut, and I would definitely read something else by this author.

Fallon lives with her husband and daughter in the suburbs. She is a budding chocolatier and relies on her friend group of fellow moms for support through the struggle of everyday life as a mom and wife.

Then her friends start to ghost her, one by one. Addicted to social media she can't help but keep track of all they do, and more importantly what she is not invited to. She tried desperately to get back into the group, without much luck. Then she joins the friendships app, but that brings just more troubles.

After discovering an important letter, she gets a new perspective and is finally able to move forward.

The Friendship Breakup is a lovely tale of the ups and downs of family life, ob struggle of being a wife, mom and businesswoman and adulting.

It is the kind of story that grows on you and stays with you for a long time.

thanks to Crooked Lane Books & NetGalley for the ARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Right between the milk and the eggs, I go into menopause”
“People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime”
This story was absolutely beautiful. A women’s fiction book about a woman, close to her forty, who’s trying to figure out what happened with her friendships and dealing with family and career.
This is a book that celebrates women and their endless strength in trying to figure out how to balance everything and how sometimes having a friend or a partner by their side can help sort it all out.
Fallon is a great woman and a great inspiration to describe what it means to have a hard time and feeling lonely and abandoned from people you thought would have accompanied you until the end of times.
Sometimes things can get more complicated than you can ever imagine. But raising from the pit is not impossible. It just takes time. When you think things can’t get worse, sometimes they do. And even if it may seem that life is having fun of you, Fallon makes you realise that it’s actually not the case.
I really liked how I could see her grow into a dimension that was good and healthy for her and gave her the happiness she deserved.
I’m very glad I had the chance to read this book!!
“Is there a possibility you fear abandonment?”
“If nobody hates you, you’re doing something wrong”

Everyone's lost a friend at some point, and the Friendship Breakup is an emotional and delightful look into what they can be like - it's relatable, it's generous, it's well written. Recommend!

Maybe it's because I'm not a mom, but this was a boring book to me. Everything that the characters experience were the usual humdrum of daily life. The things that go wrong felt like they were unusually annoying because it was clear they were made up by the author - putting the humdrum and the annoying in conflict. It just felt off.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm giving this a rough 3 stars.

The book was alright, it just didn't really meet my expectations.
The issues the main character goes through are totally mundane and relatable to many, which isn't a bad thing at all!
Unfortunately, so many things go wrong for her for ridiculous reasons that it just got annoying.
When these issues do get addressed and worked through in the end, the reasonings on why these issues came up at all just seem pretty far fetched.

I did like some of the side characters and it was kind of relaxing to read something without much complicated plot, but if you want to read something of the sort I still think there's some better options out there.

The Friendship Breakup by Annie Cathryn.
My first Mom-Com! The Friendship Breakup does a really good job at examining female friendships and how they fall apart over time. This book was SO real, it had me thinking about my own relationships and friendships. It was relatable, and very engaging and funny. There were many laugh out loud moments, but emotional ones as well, such a good balance of both.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

“𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥. 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙜𝙤."

What a fantastic debut novel from Annie! Flew through this book in a day, which is fast for me. I laughed and I cried, and I do not cry often in books. This book explores friendships and the importance of connecting with others. As a military spouse I have moved many times and have to start over with friendships each time. Some of those friendships I know will last a lifetime and others were only for that season and that’s okay.

This book is an absolute must for women in the 35-45 range. I am approaching my late thirties and so much of this book resonated with me. The main character Fallon has a daughter the same age as mine and was never able to have more children due to secondary infertility. My husband I weren’t able to either. Gosh, I related to her so much in that regard. When she takes a pregnancy test at age 39 I could feel the emotions she was going through while waiting for the results. 😭

Navigating friendships in the midst of motherhood can be difficult. Finding friends can be a bit like dating and I love the fact that Annie explores that with Fallon going on a friend finding app. I did find a lot of the adults in the book to be very immature at times, but I suppose that happens with people even in their 30’s and 40’s. Mom cliques still exist and it can feel like you are back in junior high or high school.

Read this if you are looking for a book that explores the struggles of juggling friendship, motherhood, marriage and finding yourself in the midst of all of that.

Content warning: infertility, divorce, infidelity, adoption