3.5 upped to 4
i found the characters well plotted even if a bit too juvenile at times. Female friendship can a be a minefield and this books talks about we can be surprised by friends and how we can react and try to get them back.
It's funny but there's some moments that I felt cringey not humorous.
I'm on the fence but I'm sure a lot of people will like it.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This one didn’t work for me. In short…this felt cringey when it was likely meant to be funny.

This felt incredibly juvenile. You had 40 something Mom friends, but Fallon made everything feel very 7th grade dramatic. I’m sorry, but at my age (35) if my “friends” were treating me this way, I wouldn’t spend tons of money on lavish parties to “win them back” I’d have a conversation with them and move on.

This almost felt slap stick in the comedic attempts. Just not for me.

I liked this because it's a realistic look at female friendships- not all friends stick around for life because sometimes life just happens. That's what Fallon discovers when she realizes that Beatrice is ghosting her but she's determined to fix things. And, she's got her own stuff going on, not the least of which is a teen aged daughter, a husband, and a chocolate business to get up and running. Fallon also must deal with her own backstory, which she's pushed down for far too long. Some of this will make you laugh, some might make you nod in recognition but it's always got a good heart. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Forrest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Isn’t that the truth?

Meet Fallon - nearly 40 years old, pre-menopausal, chocolate-making, mother of one. But worst of all - she's being ghosted - by her best friend Beatrice.

A brilliant book about relationships- the good, the bad and the ugly.a story about how life doesn't always go to plan.

This book just felt so real and was completely relatable even though our life circumstances do not match up at all. Highly recommend!

4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Special thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Friendship Breakup
Rate: 3/5 stars

"If a friendship lasts longer than 7 years, psychologists say it will last a lifetime."

"If a friendship lasts longer than 7 years, you are no longer just friends, you are family."

Seven years. They are in the year that will either make or break their friendship...

For the past seven years, motherhood has become bearable for Fallon Monroe, an aspiring chocolatier and a mom to a 7-year old, all thanks to her bestfriend, Beatrice and their fellow mom-friends. Everything's well until Beatrice starts to ghost her and leave her out of the group without any idea why. Determined to win her bestfriend back, Fallon ends up on a series of missteps which eventually lead to self-discovery and learn what truly matters.

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THOUGHTS: A quick and lighthearted read that made me wanna hug my friends (and EAT CHOCOLATES!). The Friendship Breakup is a book that a lot of people could definitely relate to. It explores relationships, parenthood, and following your dreams. This book shed light on the importance of a healthy friendship and that it's okay to cut off people to keep yourself away from toxicity and leave yourself room for growth. I also enjoyed the references in this book- Harry Styles, FRIENDS, Katy Perry, and more! However, there were moments I believe is intended to be humorous but it didn't quite clicked for me. Still, this is an enjoyable read!

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review! Review will be posted on my bookstagram soon (near or on pub date).

This is a most welcome read, regardless of your status as a mom/parent/caregiver, etc. Women should talk more about the nuances and complexities of friendships in adulthood and navigating friendships across different stages of adulthood/different types of friends. I loved the story as it was filled with laughs but also was genuinely relatable, the insecurities that haunt us all from early adulthood, even adolescence, and persist somehow into our adult lives and relationships. I really liked the connection that emerged for Fallon with her younger self and how that informed her approach to an unexpected friendship challenge.

Learning and relearning your authentic self are always important stories.

I really enjoyed reading The Friendship Breakup as a fun, easy to read, entertaining story. I must admit I'm definitely the target audience for this one being a married, white mother in my early 40s so it was easy to relate. It was nice to have a focus on friendships, rather than romantic relationships. I especially liked the fact that Fallon had good friends who didn't live in her town, with her college best friend and her Mom friend who had moved away. The story tackles many deep issues such as divorce, cheating, adoption, exclusion but does so in a way that seems realistic and entertaining, not too depressing. I found the story moving and just an overall fun read.

This book isn't bad it's just not for me. Nothing about this book kept me interested enough to want to finish it. I also think that the reason her and her friend separate is valid but isn't shown in the writing. If her friend is jealous of her marriage then the book should have done a better job at showing that they have a good one.

I received an arc through netgalley.

2.75/5 stars.

I really wanted to like this book because I feel like the struggles of the main character are relatable — middle-aged mom, trying to figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life now that she's past her childbearing years. But the issues she faced in the book just seemed so... upper class suburban mom? To the point that I would cringe sometimes at her train of thought. Like her friends aren't inviting her to things anymore so she decides to throw an expensive fiesta party that week? I think the book sent a good message that not all friendships are meant to last forever, but it seemed juvenile at times.

I liked at the end of it all that she followed her dream and did what was best for her, so for that, it gets 2.75 stars.

I ended up loving this book even though, at first, I didn't really like Fallon. And the rest of the women in this book? Oh, dear, what wonderful *ithches they were! Perhaps the reason I loved this book was because I'm older and have already lived through things like this?

This book ends up being a personal growth novel as well as a good gossipy back-stabbing *ithchy book. And let me tell you, sometimes I could really use a good one of those!

Fallon wonders what she has done to have her best friend ghost her, ignore her, yell at her, and take all her other friends away. At this point, I was snorting at the childishness of this, and then I though-oh, wait, that had happened to me too, and I did spend a lot of time worrying about what I had done to deserve treatment like this. So I could easily see myself in this position.

What we do eventually learn is that Fallon had a major issue when growing up that helps her be so unsure of herself.

Fallon has a wonderful hobby of making chocolates, so all you chocoholics may want to keep that in mind! She has a wonderful family, a great husband, and a good therapist, so that all helps, as well as Fallon making some new friends.

I think that this book is going to be going on my comfort read shelf for when I need a boost and some giggles,

*ARC supplied by the publisher Alcove Press, NetGalley, and the author Annie Cathryn.

The Friendship Break Up is something most women can probably relate to. Adult friendships can be complicated and not all relationships last. In this tale we meet Fallon who suddenly feels like she lost her friend and doesn’t know why. As she seeks to understand and build friendships there are many missteps. The moments that were probably meant to be humor-for me were more cringy. But the message in this story of believing in your own worth and finding the right tribe resonates. 3.5 stars

Such a good read! It felt super relatable as a mom, friend and wife. It was moving while still being very funny and heartwarming.

📚 The Friendship Breakup
✍ Annie Cathryn
📖 Women's Fiction
⭐3/5
Pub date: 2.7.23
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🙏 Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the eARC of The Friendship Breakup in exchange for my honest review.
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💭 Aspiring chocolatier and suburban mom Fallon Monroe has relied on her mom-friends to get her through the tougher aspects of parenthood the last seven years. When her best friend ghosts her and starts planning group get togethers excluding her, she begins scheming ways to win her way back into the good graces her friends. A few failed attempts at making memories later, she finds herself in the market for some new friends but starts to realize that the friendships that really matter have been there all along.
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🎯 What I loved: The importance of finding community when raising a child isn't a sentiment that is lost on me. Feeling like a failure when you're raising a small human is common and finding people that can laugh with you about the little things makes it all seem doable. I liked the scenes in this book that felt real and raw pertaining to motherhood (getting stuck in construction and being late for school, etc.).

🙅‍♀️ What I didn't: I found it really hard to relate to Fallon- even as a suburban mother myself. Her obsession with being part of the cool mom friends group felt superficial and immature and the amount of privilege she oozed throughout the book was frustrating. From her obsession with shoes and sunglasses to her comments about taking two years after her daughter went to school to 'organize her closets,' I was astounded by the level of ignorance one character could exude. And I know a lot of the small disasters she encountered while trying to win back her friends were supposed to be funny but something missed the mark for me.
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Read if you love:
*mom-friends, motherhood humor
*lighthearted fiction
*commentary on friendship later in life
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See also: Happy and You Know It, All We Ever Wanted, Truly Madly Guilty

The following review will be posted on my blog, Sunday, February 5th, 2 days before publication. It will be shared on Twitter and Instagram between that day and the day of publication, and has already been posted on Goodreads. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.





“I am grateful for the experience 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. (…) When I think back to the term BFF, I realize the promise of forever isn’t always guaranteed. It’s more like forever for now.”

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discussed unhealthy relationships, infertility, divorce, and friendship breakups (duh).

“The Friendship Breakup” follows Fallon Monroe, a mom-of-one and aspiring chocolatier, as she travels through life after her best mom friends ghost her, and refuse to tell her why.

It took me a while to finish this book but that’s only a reflection on how busy I have been—because once I grabbed it with a bit of free time, I couldn’t put it down. How is this Annie Cathryn’s debut? It’s astounding.

The climax was so cathartic, reminding us that sometimes its okay if things get messy. The premise in general was captivating and beautifully executed. I literally would not change a thing about this book.

This book is heartbreaking in a way that, I feel, most of us will understand. In early adulthood and I can only assume that beyond, we lose friends. Only a lucky few have had the same friends since childhood. Even if you have a few old friends, new ones tend to come and go—and sometimes we don’t even know why, and sometimes the reasons don’t even have much to do with us. That’s why I related so much to Fallon, even if I am not more than just a dog mom and engaged to be married.

I looked at “The Friendship Breakup” and I pondered about where me and my friends and my significant other will be 10 or 20 years from now. How much would change, how much would stay the same. I’ll be carrying this book with me for a while.

I would highly recommend this to any young or new adult, no matter what stage of your life you’re in. It’s described as a mom-com, but really it’s so much more. “The Friendship Breakup” will bring you lessons of friendship, relationships, parenthood, and following your dreams. Seriously, I cannot recommend it enough.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: February 7, 2023

ARC kindly received via Netgalley for an honest review

This was my first Annie Cathryn book.
I will say, that I did get to about 30% and was going to DNF it, as I just couldn't with out main lady Fallon any more.

To me, she spent so much time on friends that were ditching her, I just wanted to tell her to move on
I know, I know harsh, and I know how hard it is to make friends as an adult, but she has so much other good stuff going on in her life that her fixation on those so called friends had me questioning her sanity at times.

I did persevere though, and things did get better. I get the cliquey kind of groups, how you think they are your people, but are they really? These women were ok at times and other times so childish it came across as a bit pathetic really, like what nearly 40 year olds are really like this?

I did like some of the secondary characters (Avery and Mel FTW!), and I liked the personal growth we saw in most of the characters.

The writing style was pretty good, though I wouldn't really call this a mom-com or any sort of comedy really, so to me that is a bit of mislabelling (but this is a me problem more than anything else).

Wow this was such a big surprise! I loved this book. It was my first momcom and even though I’m not a mom, I could really feel Fallon. The writing was amazing, the story was real and I really loved Fallon.

I don't think I picked this one up at the right time. There's definitely significantly better things to read, I'm not sure if this is a priority purchase for most libraries.

This was a pretty quick read I was able to finish it in a less than a day. I rather enjoyed reading it. Even though the character was a little annoying at times but eventually grew on me.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy of this book. It definitely lived up to its hype. This author has become a must read.

I enjoyed this book well enough. It depicted female friendships and how women navigate their way through the fine thread that is adult companionship. As a mom you need other moms as friends to relate to but also just other friends who are willing to understand your load even though they don't relate. Fallon had both these kinds of friends in her life and believe it or not its the former kind that let her down. That is to say, she thought she found people to relate to but they kicked her to the kurb because of their own jealousies and insecurities. I didn’t like Fallon's non confrontational methods in the beginning, I kept wanting her to put her bitchy non friends in their place, but it all worked out for the best in the end as they do. It was a decent read with semi decent characters and a very relevant storyline. Would recommend.