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.

Loved loved loved this book! I don’t think Susan Mallery could write a bad book If she tried. I come to her most often if I need a pick me up, or am in a reading slump because I know she won’t let me down, and this book was no different. Thank you thank you!

I simply adore Susan Mallery books and THE FRIENDSHIP LIST is just another reason why I do.

Single mom Ellen is looking at her life changing. Her teenaged son is off to college soon and she's having a hard time. her BFF Unity lost her husband a few years ago and is still stuck in her grieiving.

Together, they devise a list of things they have to do to start moving forward with their lives.
Here's a hint: some of those things involve men!

This book was sweet and funny and sad and emotional - everything you want women's fiction to be.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me a sneak peek.
5 well deserved stars!

The Friendship List by Susan Mallery really pulled on my heartstrings. It encompasses all the feelings that women have for their husbands, lovers, children, and friends. I absolutely loved it!

A great story about family and friendship. Llearning to start living life after and dealing with past obstacles

A wonderful character study of two women. Best friends since childhood they are both at a crossroad in life and challenge each other to step up.
It is both funny and dramatic. I really enjoyed their growth and the journey each took to find their way. Romantic family centric and inspiring.

Ellen Fox never minded being a single mom, all her efforts went into caring for her son. But then she overheard him saying he didn’t believe he could go away to college because she needed him too much. With the help of her BFF, Unity, Ellen tries to work her way through a list of challenges to make her more independent. Unity is also trying to work her way through the list, and together the two friends embark on a journey of love and laughter

The Friendship List will delight fans of good women’s fiction. Unity and Ellen have been friends for years. Unity is a war widow, still deeply in love with her late husband. Ellen has never had a grown up relationship. A single mom, she hadn’t been with a man or even on a date since she became pregnant as a teen. The pair come up with lists to force each other to open themselves up to new and unexpected experiences...including men! The author’s execution of her premise is clever, insightful, inspirational, and well written, with a great cast of supporting characters. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.

What a fun read by Susan Mallery ! I enjoyed how these friends pushed each other to over come their own obstacles. I couldnt put it down waiting to see what would happen next !

As usual with a Susan Mallery book, I really liked it. Though predictable, it was an excellent story about finding a new self, and the influence of friendship. Ellen has been happily raising her 17-year old son, who should be leaving for college in a year. She is a teacher, and doesn’t do much more than that and be a mother. She overhears her son tell a friend he can’t go to college because his mother doesn’t have a life without him, so she decides she needs to “get a life” so he won’t be denied the college experience and independence. She enlists the help of her life-long friend, Unity, and together they come up with the adventurous Friendship List of things they can change each other to do to put some excitement in their lives. Things like tattoos, rock climbing, sex. This is a fun book as you become friends with both women and want the best for them. Susan Mallery combines emotion, excellent storytelling and humor in the books she writes. I always look forward to her books. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ellen Fox and Unity Leandre have been best friends forever, but both are stuck in a rut. Ellen hasn’t dated or even had sex since she was impregnated at 17 (on her first, uninspiring, time); Unity has been in mourning for her dead husband for three years — living in his childhood hood, spending her time with the over 70 set, and basically waiting for it all to be over. They put together the “Friendship List” — a list of things each should do to get out of their comfort zone and set off to achieve their goals. Tattoos, skydiving, and hunky men ensue.

It’s a fun fairytale — I like Mallery because her characters have depth and are likable and her plots are plausible rather than stupid. I appreciate that her characters are basically honest and not manipulative. While the overall stories are not super likely (hunky, single men in their 40s don’t generally seem to be hanging around in real life), hunkiness is subjective and I like the way these characters model decent behavior for the readers of women’s fiction.

Fun, heart warming, and well executed (as always).