I loved this book! Of all the books I read by Mallery, I think this is the best. Unity and Ellen put together a friendship list of things to do to make their lives better. Unity needs to get over the death of her husband and begin living in the present, and Ellen needs to show her son, Cooper, she can get along without him once he leaves for college. The items on the list add delightful experiences as Unity skydives, goes rock climbing and dates. Ellen buys clothes that actually fit her, gets a tattoo, and finds romance in an unusual place. Cooper’s coach, Keith, is special; supportive of his athletes, great father to his daughter, and best friend to Ellen who tries his patience. Each group introduced in this story adds insight and humor: the retirees, the grief group, and the athletes. Life’s hurdles are honest and real, characters are dynamic, and this is one book I look forward to reading again!

I absolutely loved this book. Susan Mallery challenged herself with this book by giving more than just the woman's perspective with some hints into the guys psyche. Both men and women were given to readers in just the right amount so that readers are pulled in and invested in the characters. Without giving up her writing style, Susan Mallery took her skills of blending multiple characters point of views to encompass more than just the main female leads. She covered the male leads in a way that didn't detract from the plot of the story. Its nice being able to get into the head of characters who interact with the main leads. The theme was well covered and expanded on throughout the book. There were moments when you cheered at progress being made and other times you burst out laughing at the ridiculousness showing how well the characters were developed. At some points my hopes were built up and then a small plot twist would happen and I'd find myself more invested in the book. I recommend this book if you need something to read that has romance and friendship. There is a theme of overcoming grief but don't worry no one dies in this story.

This was a cute quirky romance novel . I enjoyed the friendship between the two women and seeing how they both grew by challenging each other .

The Friendship List by Susan Mallery is at times heartbreaking and at times ridiculous. You have two women friends with no life for totally different reasons. They challenge each other to get a life and do things out of their comfort zone.
Ellen was a teenage mother and is now trying to prove to her son that she has a life and will be okay when he goes off to college. She was also trying to undo some of her mental issues from being a teenage mother and living with her parents. Her behavior after having sex with Keith seemed unrealistic.
I had a hard time liking Keith when half his storyline was making sure his daughter was taking birth control.

Unity and Thaddeus were my favorite couple. Unity lost her husband three years ago and cannot move on. Even though she was pitiful I was cheering her on to make changes in her life. I liked that she had her own maintenance company. Thaddeus was adorable and his relationship with his Aunt Dagmar was precious.

Triggers – this book may have triggers for someone who has lost a spouse.

Sexual content – several sexual scenes with adults and one with teenagers. A bucket list item was sex with a gorgeous man, cavalier attitude about sex
Drinking – lots of wine,
Language – 2 sh#t, d@mn

I received this book from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review.
You can see my full review at More Than a Review dot com where I rate the level of sex, violence, language and drug/alcohol use in books

I would like to thank NetGalley, HARLEQUIN-Romance and author Susan Mallery for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

This was a great story about two friends who decide to journey together to find themselves in their humdrum lives. The characters were relatable and fun, and I thought this was the perfect melding of women’s fiction and romance. This was true to life and cheeky, and reminded me of the perfect read for the beach or by the pool. If you need a nice distraction, this is the one to read!

Thank you to those named above for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

This is such a fun, light summer read. The one thing that (surprisingly) bothered me was what seemed like a character inconsistency... Ellen's parents were repeatedly described as having strict rules and conditional love. However, Ellen was VERY open talking about sex, which seemed to go against everything her parents were. Other than that one flaw, this was another great distraction read!

Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Susan Mallery continues to write women's fiction books featuring complicated relationships among families, friends, and lovers. Ellen and Unity are life-long friends who both find themselves stuck in lives that are standing still and without satisfaction, fulfillment, or joy. They challenge each other to a list of things they would each like to do (examples being sky-diving or getting a tattoo) in hopes of stirring things up. Each has a hard journey ahead and the road is not easy by any means, but with the help of two good men, they each find the strength to change their lives. Recommended.

I see I’m in the minority on this one but this book did nothing for me. Unlike most of the other reviews who loved this book and thought so much of it, it just did nothing for me. I wanted to like it but just never truly connected. DNF. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

Ms Mallery's recent books about sisters and friend trials struggle and bonding has become themes in her books and this title was no different. Unity and Ellen have been friends since childhood and now both are in their early thirties but yet not living their full potential. Unity is still mourning the death of her husband though its been three years. Ellen was a teen mother since her child's birth has never been on date since high school. In order for them both to come out of a rut they come up with a list herein lies the title of things they will challenge themselves to do. Along they way Unity becomes friendly with a man name Thaddeus who she's fighting hard not to be attracted to because of her still living in the past of her life of her dead husband. Ellen is trying to deal with her son Cooper reconnection with his father who abandoned him years ago and trying to not feel like her son too would abandoned her, she too have found love interest in her neighbor Keith who has always been a friend but becomes more and she wonders can she ever find love with him. This storyline is beautifully written we not only get a story of two friendships of these women but we get other subplots of teen sex a father;'s comical way of he deals with his daughter being intimate. We get introduce to other cast of characters from a senior home and young men from high school football them. Review on goodreads and amazon.

What a great read!!! For me, Susan Mallery is always a sure thing and The Friendship List is the perfect example of why! Centering around two best friends, Ellen and Unity, who both for there own reasons need to shakeup their humdrum lives! They decide to go on the journey together and create a pact—a bucket list of sorts to push themselves out of their comfort zone in hopes to reinvent themselves! I completely adore what Susan Mallery had in mind for these two!

Right off the bat, I found the characters sooooo endearing! I enjoyed the fact that this book is a complete standalone, but having said that, I really loved the characters and I hope that Susan will make it into a series! The Friendship List is wonderful combination of women’s fiction and romance! This 4.5 star gem is a heartwarming novel about friendship, new beginnings, and finding love! Put this book at the top of your summer reading list!

The Friendship List is a romantic and heartwarming story about the power of connection, friendship, and truths.

Another winner. Susan Mallery know how to write relationships, between best friends and between lovers. Everything was here proving close friends are family. I enjoyed Ellen and Unity sharing their deepest emotions with each other and how they helped each other move forward. Secondary characters added to the wonder.

May I say...WOW! I loved the way that Ms. Mallery reversed how the characters are usually written in romances. Instead of the women having to save men from themselves and falling in ln love with them first, the author reversed that, and it was the women who needed help and some convincing!

We have a story of two best friends, one who had a child out of wedlock and one who lost her husband three years ago. For each of them, those relationships were the only ones they ever had. These two are now regretting that they have become stagnant, and they both realize that they need to do something to change their lives. Ellen and Unity conclude that they need a list of things they could do to get them out of their ruts. Hence, the Friendship List.

This book brought out all of the emotions and stayed true to all the story-lines that a romance should. There were giggles, sadness, tears, laughter and naturally, hot sex. The sexual scenes were few and did not detract from the basic story.

I would recommend this book to any who loves romances that are true to life and a bit quirky.

*ARC supplied by the publisher.

I’m going to start by saying all best friends need a Friendship List! When we get stuck in our comfort zones, do something a little crazy.
Susan Mallory never disappoints on a feel good novel. Perfect beach read. Thanks for the opportunity!

Another fun, summer read from Susan Mallery. Unity and Ellen are a good decade younger than me but I felt like I knew then right off the bat. Ellen was maybe a bit over the top after she started having sex and Unity was also a little clueless when it came to men but they still came off as sincere. I liked the idea of these friends challenging each other to better themselves. A solid beach read!

Ellen and Unity have been friends... forever. When Ellen got pregnant as a teen, Unity stuck by her. When Unity's husband died, Ellen stuck by her. Now Ellen's son is heading off to college and her life is about to change irrevocably. Meanwhile, Unity is still stuck in the mourning phase for her husband. Everyone gets to grieve differently but Unity's friend's seem to think that three years are enough. Both are fairly young to be in the position of about-to-be-empty-nester and widow so they decide to push each other to live a little by creating a list of things to get themselves out of a rut. Ellen finds herself getting closer to a long-time platonic friend while Unity's moves end up opening her up to her friend's son.
It took me a bit to get into this story. The middle of the story was definitely the better part than either the beginning or the end because that is where we really get to meet Unity and Ellen and they get their chance to grow into the people they are going to be.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out May 26th
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Love this book!!!!!!!!!!!! It has Susan Mallery's signature lovely style of writing that makes you feel like you personally know the characters and you feel everything with them. This story is about Unity and Ellen. Two women who are lifelong best friends and both of them realize their life is at a standstill and decide to do something about it together. Follow along as these women change their lives for the better together. Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Books for my honest review.

An adorable rom com in book form. This is the absolute perfect quarantine read, beach read. Simply a fun story about two good friends who challenge each other to start living life.

This is a story about 2 women and their friendships. Ellen is raising a teenage son she had when she was only a teenager herself. She has raised him alone. Unity is still in mourning from her husbands death 3 years ago. She can’t bring herself to move on. Ellen overhears a conversation between her son and a friend and she realizes she has to make some changes for the sake of her son. Ellen and Unity challenge each other to make changes in their lives. This is a story about friendship and love that will pull on your heart strings. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Well this was really good! I enjoyed the two main characters (Ellen and Unity) and their "list". I also felt frustrated with both of them while still rooting them on. I also really liked the epilogue we got in the end. I think Mallery typically does not include those in her romance novels. Both of the heroes (Thaddeus and Keith) were great though I wanted to shake Keith a lot especially when it concerned his daughter. I thought that all of the plot lines were realistic and I think that Mallery did a great job of capturing teenagers who (shocked gasp) actually do have sex. It was nice to see parents in this one talking about it as a known thing along with discussing safe sex and making sure that they are enjoying it and ready.

Ellen and Unity are long time best friends in their mid-30s. They love their sleepy little home town and are content with their lives. However, Ellen overhears her 17 year old son is scared to leave home for college since he thinks his mother needs him too much. Unity is still in love with her dead husband who passed away 3 years prior to the start of the novel. People have been patient with her, but now even her grief counseling group is telling her she needs to move on. (ASIDE FROM ME: Girl she needs to...badly). When the two friends have a falling out, they both separately realize that they need to move past things in their lives. They settle on having separate lists that they will accomplish over that summer with the winner getting an all expenses paid weekend spa trip with the loser.

So I actually really did like Ellen and Unity both. Even when I wanted to shake them both. Ellen had cold fish for parents, so after getting pregnant as a teenager she really didn't do much besides go to school and take care of her son. She hasn't had a romance since that time and is scared to lose her son. I did love that she realizes that and takes steps to make sure that he is moves on from her though.

Unity, woo boy. She got kicked out of a grief counseling group! Honestly at first I thought Mallery wanted us to dislike her since she was so obtuse about things. When she was rude about Ellen's problems, I didn't like her much. But she started to grow on me. She's stuck in her past and doesn't know how to move on from it. I know some romance readers don't like romances with widows or widowers, but I think Mallery did a great job with this character.

The heroes in this one have some..pizzazz? I think I can say that. Thaddeus's backstory was unexpected. Think Magic Mike. Keith was kind of stupid about things here and there, but in the end showed he was a very good dad. Though he was pretty invasive with his daughter's privacy.

The writing was really great and the dialogue was crisp. I loved the secondary characters like Dagmar, Cooper (Ellen's son) and Lissa (Keith's daughter). The flow worked nicely and I found myself rushing through this one.

The ending was pitch perfect and we get to see a Happily Ever After (HEA) for both characters. The only reason why I didn't give this 5 stars was that I did not quite the initial connection between Unity and her hero. It just didn't work, but then it did and I loved it. Other than that, things were fantastic.