Approachable yet well researched and inspiring.

“Stop seeking to be put together, and instead seek to be together.”

Friends of goodness don’t need you to have a perfect home and perfect life. They need you to show up as you are, to love and let them love you. Let them into your everyday life.

Love radically and don’t be afraid to look like a fool.

Comparison ruins friendships. Instead of envying what they have, be content in your own life and experience their life with them! Be there for their new and exciting things, weep for their losses.

Some talk about people, some talk about life, career, hobbies, goals, etc. who do you want to be friends with?

Service is SO important. If you take care of others you will be taken care of.

I’m inspired to be a better friend now, and even more grateful for the amazing friends that I have who have pushed me to become a better person.

These are some of my takeaways from this book regarding friendship, but that doesn’t even touch the way this book pushed me to reflect on how God acts in our everyday lives and relationships to show us His goodness and love, and the plans he has for us. While reading this book I had a feeling of looking at life through a more God-centered lens than I ever think I have. It showed me what’s possible. I love that it was centered in scripture and applying it to every day life!

I really enjoyed the book and thought it had a lot of good and helpful information that I can take with me. The writing style was engaging and causal which I enjoyed. I feel like it is accessible to readers across many seasons of life. It is very helpful to me in post grad and features tangable helpful steps that would have been very helpful when I moved to a new city. I would recommend this and I got a lot out of it. I also love the questions at the end of the chapter. I treated them like journal prompts as a way to process it more fully.

The Better Friend was a sweet and tender call to the greatest Friend of all. I’m learning more about and drawing closer to Jesus we discover a “Friend that sticketh closer than a brother” and as we strive to be like Jesus we become more like the “Better Friend.” I recommend this book to anyone seeking to become a better friend to those around them and seeking to draw closer to their Better Friend. I give this book 5 stars. I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.

WoW! This book hit really hard in the friendship department. I can relate to so much of the advice given and the situations I've been in. Friendship is really important for children and adults and this book described them really well. I will advise that there are several Bible passages in this book and references to it but it doesn't hinder the quality of the book. The book is also formatted really well, I didn't have to read the entire book either to get the idea of what it was conveying. It's still good to read it fully though, especially if you're struggling with friendships.
The author really describes different situations friends go through quite well and I really enjoyed reading some of her tips and tricks. Friendships are not 2D either, they are 3D and friendships can come and go. I hope this author continues to grow and publish more books.

Thank you for the publishers and author for this advanced copy. I really liked it.

Tired of one-sided friendships that leave you feeling lonely? Make the shift to life-giving connection. This is how you become a better friend for other.s

3.5 ⭐️

Reading Grace’s books is always like a breath of fresh air, uplifting my spirit as if I were speaking to a dear friend. She has a wonderful way with words, and we could all learn much from her. I deeply enjoyed the concepts presented throughout the book. She provided thought-provoking, faith-based concepts that offered a perspective on friendship.

The lists provided after each chapter were incredibly useful because they summarized key points and provided practical advice that I could easily apply to my own life. Additionally, I appreciated the bonus questions for reflection given at the end of the chapters. I felt that they were an encouragement as I dove deeper into the material and considered how it could impact my personal growth and understanding of the world.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced review copy. All opinions in this review are my own. This book releases on March 11th, 2025!

The Better Friend had lots of great advice and stories of friendship. It is very faith driven so may not suit all audiences, but I feel that I got some good pearls of wisdom from the book.

It’s not you, it’s me.

Every book has an intended audience, and unfortunately, I wasn’t it for this one. I went in expecting more about how to BE a better friend in existing friendships, but I found that most of the book focused on finding friends and assuming that you already ARE the better friend in the equation. I understand that adult friendship can be challenging, but I found the tone of this off-putting and a bit immature. Balance was lacking and there was an emphasis on what can go wrong rather than the fruit that comes from good friendships.

To be fair, it wasn’t all bad. I appreciated the part about loyalty showing up and the importance of presence in life’s big moments. I also appreciated the parts about serving our friends and connecting those who may be looking for friends. I think that a younger audience (college-aged or just starting out independently) or those who have struggled to feel like they belong in friendships will feel “seen” in this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and WaterBrook for the advanced review copy. All opinions are my own. The Better Friend releases on March 11.

2.5 ⭐️

This book is for anyone who is tired of one-sided friendships. Grace Valentine teaches us how to cultivate the deep, meaningful relationships we all deserve.

This is a book I wish I’d read in my late teens/early twenties.

Friendships are hard in any circumstance but having godly friends is harder. The author gives simple practical steps to being a better friend but also setting boundaries in friendships.

I would recommend this book to every teen and young adult that steps into my path,

The writing was well done and I could easily understand each point that was made.

This book, written by Grace Valentine, a young woman who shares her life of loneliness, searching for friends. Middle school, high school, college and independent living are reflected by her need to find her "community." Friends should build you up. But the culture we live in is obsessed with popularity. It is easy to be an energy giver rather than an energy taker. Joy comes from blessing others, shining and sharing Christ's love.

I did appreciate her emphasis on depending on Jesus as her friend.

"Once you seek Jesus as your friend you have a friend for life who creates miracles unexpectedly."

I first off want to say THANK YOU for writing this novel. For the past few weeks, I have been in deep contemplation on the subject of friendships in my own life. Reading this book felt like a friend just speaking into my soul, full of laughs and tears. The reality of this subject is that everyone in the world has to learn the hard truth about friendships at some point in their lives. I will definitely be recommending this especially to one of my newly found best friends. She and I just were having a conversation centered around Godly friendships and I think she would love this book!

The writing style made me feel like I was talking to a wise, God-loving friend about friendships and my own actions as a friend through a Christian lens. I’m eager for the release of this book so I can get a copy to sticky-note and share with friends. The writing style is casual, yet still prompts deep reflection. I particularly liked the many scripture quotations. Highly recommend this book!

I found a lot of this very useful, I think there was just a bit more god speak than I expected. Still very logically information.