Escapist, funny ( )

In The Friendship List, author Susan Mallery transports the reader to the Pacific Northwest town of Willowbrook, Washington, to follow the summer of change and self-rediscovery for best friends Ellen Fox and Unity Leandre.

Ellen Fox is a single mother and high school teacher. Her seventeen year old son Cooper will be entering his senior year of high school in the fall.

Unity Leandre is a widow and owns a maintenance / handyman business.

Ellen and Unity have been best friends since childhood. Ellen finds out that her son may not go to college even though he wants to got to UCLA on a partial wrestling scholarship because he's worried about the money and leaving his mom alone, Ellen knows that she has to do something about it. Ellen talks to Unity and they come up with a plan they call The Friendship List, where they make a pact to challenge each other throughout the summer to step out of their comfort zone and make changes in their lives. Ellen is determined to convince Cooper that she does have a life, and will be fine while he chases his dreams in college. Meanwhile, Unity has been stuck in a perpetual grief for three years since losing her husband Stuart, and needs to get out of her rut and move forward with her life. What ensues is a summer of change for Ellen and Unity, as they accept the challenge of The Friendship List, and rediscover themselves, and learn the meaning of love, friendship, family and moving forward with their lives.

In The Friendship List, author Susan Mallery easily captivates her readers' attention with this beautifully written tale through a seamless and flowing storyline, and characters who draw you into their lives with a strong emotional pull, along with their complexities, flaws, fears, heartaches, heartbreaks, and longheld secrets.

The Friendship List is a wonderful story that engages the reader to follow along as this summer of change will bring plenty of drama, emotions, and trials and tribulations, as Ellen and Unity are determined to complete The Frienship List. Throughout the summer, Ellen and Unity's bond of friendship is strengthened as they discover that life is full of humor, heartache, and an unexpected second chance at love. I loved the strong friendship between Ellen and Unity, as you follow their journey of rediscovering themselves, you will feel the full gamut of emotions along with them.

The reader will be kept engaged as this heartwarming story unfolds. With a cast of interesting characters, The Friendship List is a compelling story about love, friendship, family, and second chances in life.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book via NetGalley. I also purchased a copy of the book from Harlequin - Summer Reads Collection - monthly book subscription.

https://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-friendship-list-by-susan-... ( )

Ellen and Unity have been best friends all their lives. Now, as grown women, Ellen is close to sending her 17 year old son off to college and Unity is still grappling with the death of her husband 3 years before. When Ellen overhears her son talking about not going away to college because he's worried about her, she takes it as a sign she needs to get her life in order and show him she'll be fine. At the same time, Unity's geriatric friends are convinced her life has stalled and she needs a swift kick to get going. Together, the two women draw up their own lists of things to do in order to breathe life back into their lives. They just don't expect the directions the lists take them in.

I adore books with long-standing female friendships, so this was right up my alley. As soon as I was invited to take part in the blog tour, I knew I had to do it. I could see myself in both women just by reading the description, so passing on this book wasn't an option. I'm so glad I did because, while it wasn't perfect, it was a ton of fun, super easy to read, and a wonderful distraction.

The Characters: Two Best Friends

The cast of characters in this book is quite diverse, from high school students preparing to apply to college to the geriatrics Unity works with in the local senior community. I adored all of them and thought they were all brilliantly done. The young ones felt young and naive and the old ones felt both spry and like they had definitely been around the block more than once.

My favorites were, of course, Ellen and Unity. Lifelong friends, they know each other inside and out. But knowing someone that long also comes with knowing each other too well. I loved how they both supported each other, danced around serious topics, and forced each other to face the truth. I wish more of the book had put them together, but Ellen spent most of it on the road with a bunch of high school students, which was, honestly, a lot of fun. Mostly, though, I loved just how messed up both of them were and how their histories contributed to it, from Ellen's teenage pregnancy to Unity's early widowhood. I loved that it always seemed like one or both were about to unravel at the seams and that they were making mistakes left and right, but owning them.

In contrast, the love interests, Keith and Thaddeus, are remarkably put-together and know what they want. I loved seeing them be the ones pushing for something, making demands of Ellen and Unity. They were absolutely brilliant love interests and well-matched to each lady. I must say I think I adored Keith a little bit more, but he was really just that much more fun. I loved the sections told from his perspective; they really tickled me. In contrast, Thaddeus was much more proper, but still a man. I really enjoyed how cautious Unity made him and really kept pulling for him the whole book.

Around this quartet were a handful of other fun characters. Like Ellen's son Coop who sees things as him and his mom against the world. He really melted my heart and is probably what every boy mom hopes her son will be as he grows up. It was so clear to see his love for and embarrassment of his mother, and fun to see him switch from overprotective son to normal teenager. I also loved Dagmar, Unity's geriatric friend, who was just full of so much color and life it was impossible for me to not look forward to seeing more of her. She understood things so well and really cared about Unity. She was so much fun, and I hope to be like her when I'm her age.

The Setting: West Coast

The Friendship List takes place in Washington and up and down the West Coast. Being an LA native myself, I really enjoyed this book as it took me to places both familiar and foreign. It also made me long for the beach and Disneyland.

Since Ellen is on the road doing a college tour with some high school athletes, their coach, and the coach's daughter for most of the book, there's a lot of travel between the small Washington town they live in and San Diego. I got a general feel of Southern California, more so than Northern California and Oregon, so it felt familiar and had me wishing for more. Overall, it wasn't really overwhelming, more interesting with just enough to offer a vague sense of setting.

I did love the small town near Seattle that the characters lived in. I didn't get a real idea of what it looks like, but I liked the feeling of the small town that wasn't too small. There was a nice general sense of community, especially in the senior community Unity spends much of her time in. I liked that it felt small enough to feel cozy, but big enough that it could contain the walking messes called Ellen and Unity.

The Plot: Getting Life Back on Track

This was a fun, yet serious story about two messed up women in their early thirties trying to get their lives back on track because the people around them are worried and think they need to. The Friendship List moves at a great pace, introducing the characters and their problems early on and then guiding them along their journeys to a new chapter in their lives. Some of it did feel a bit slow, but, overall, it felt like it moved organically and at a smooth pace.

This book starts off as fun and games as neither woman seemed terribly serious about their respective lists, but then they started accomplishing things and it started to snowball into the big things they had hoped to avoid. I loved reading along as they slowly spread their wings and fell into their journeys. I did want to shake at least one of them at least once, but it was fun to read about them dancing around each other and their emotions. As much as it was fun, it was also quite serious as they dealt with the dark, heavy things that had been clouding their lives, and I thought the balance was really nice.

Harlequin epitomizes romance, so I was expecting romance to play a heavy part in the book. I did not expect the guys' perspectives to come in so heavy. I felt like I heard from them just as much as from the women, which was interesting and fun as the few romances I have read usually lean more towards the women's perspectives. I was a little confused at first when the guys dropped into the story, but quickly figured out they must be the love interests, and for which woman. It was fun to hear so much from them, but my favorite part was that it was the guys who were so self-assured and the women who were so messed up and had to do the relationship fixing. It was a nice reversal.

If I have one complaint about The Friendship List it would be the end. I felt a few things had completely fallen by the wayside even though they'd played an important role in getting the story started. It was a little disappointing to realize something felt left out, but I'd also become so involved in the characters' lives that I didn't notice until I'd started writing this review.

Overall: A Fun, Easy Read

Overall, The Friendship List was a fun book. It was easy to read and had some really great moments. I adored the characters and enjoyed the setting, but my favorite part had to be the role reversals. It felt almost timid, but then the women slowly became emboldened and it just made sense that they had to fix things. This was a fun, easy read with some seriousness thrown in.


Thank you to Justine Sha and Harlequin for a free e-copy. All opinions expressed are my own. ( )

Sweet book. Interesting issues but a fun easy read. ( )

The Friendship List by Susan Mallery was enjoyable, but not quite what I was expecting. I'm a huge fan of Mallery as she writes great characters and engaging stories. I liked the premise of the story: Unity and Ellen are good friends, both clearly stuck in a rut, and have written a list to shake up their lives.

This is definitely chick-lit - it's easy to read, light, and packed with both good humor, and a lot of sex (at least, for Ellen, a woman who has been pretty much celibate since she was a teen mom). Her character felt the most uneven and almost unbelievable at times.. Unity's situation was harder to relate to, but one I could be sympathetic with, as I can imagine how hard it is to move past the loss of her husband.

But when the senior community kicks you off their pickle ball team, and there goes your social life of sorts, you've clearly been in more of a rut. Unity was in a deep, deep hole.

Ellen's story moved at breakneck speed, getting a makeover, shedding the saggy clothes and getting a new wardrobe, and falling into a relationship with her best friend - which also means lot and lots of sex. She has 17 years of making up to do, and she clearly isn't wasting any time. Unity's story unfolded a little more slowly, and I was rooting for her. Letting go isn't easy.

The personal growth stories weren't limited to Ellen and Unity, either. Their romantic interests also saw a bit of growth; Ellen's Keith comes to grips with the fact that his daughter is growing up and will soon be an adult, while Unity's Thaddeus learns that life doesn't always fit neatly into your "plan".

The novel is laugh-out-loud funny at times, and infuriating at others. The side characters were especially strong. I loved Ellen's son Scott - he's a well grounded kid. Dagmar, Thaddeus' aunt and Unity's confidante, was simply a hoot. I want to be her when I grow wiser.

Three-and-a-half stars for this one. I enjoyed it, but the main characters were just too uneven and unbelievable at times for me. ( )