Susan Mallory is a funny author for me, as some of her books I’ve really liked, others not so much and I’m afraid this is the latter. For me the main issue in this book is that the main characters aren’t very likeable , and the scene where Kieth checks his daughters pill supply to make sure she wasn’t pregnant was just so off putting. He may aswell get her to pee in a cup every month, it came across creepy, and I found it hard to like him. The story was okay but without likeable characters I found myself skimming the story

Two women challenge each other to bring change to their lives with the support of family and friends. This is a quick enjoyable read.

Meaningful beach read centered on friendship and sisterhood. This book was the mom equivalent of a coming of age tale. Ellen and Unity need to pivot.... need to get out of their ruts... but they aren’t sure how to go it alone. Mallery provides emotionally supportive characters and ample adventures for these women to figure out who they really are, how to grow while keeping their values, and how to take the first big steps foreword. Fun and relatable.

It's summer now so, of course, I am thinking about summer reading.  Here is a good one to put on your TBR pile if you are looking for a relaxing and enjoyable book


This is a story about Ellen who is a single mom as the story opens.  She has a college  bound son, Cooper, who is worried about leaving her by going away to school.  What will happen? Why is he worried?


Readers watch as Ellen's friend, Unity, steps in and up. She develops a list of challenges for Ellen to get her moving forward.  Unity will also work on this list. (Readers learn that she is also stuck) How will they grow and change?  Read the novel to find out.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this enjoyable read in exchange for an honest review.

Susan Mallery at her best. This is the best beach read I have read this year and would highly recommend it. Friendship, love, and motherhood are all tested in this wonderful novel about second chances.

This is a story of women who depend on each other for advice and frienship. Unity is helping Ellen step out of her comfort zone by helping her create a list of challenges. Ellen's son is talking about not going away to college because he's worried about her living on her own. Now she's trying to convince him she will be fine. Both Ellen and Unity discover there is life after 40 and love knows no age boundary. A good story about 2 women who love each other like sisters. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Think of all the ways people pretend their lives are just fine the way they are. Dreams of family or a loving spouse get pushed to the back of the mind. No time in a busy life to fill that gap. Sad but all too familiar. So many first dates that it was more a bother than a joy to anticipate. Susan Mallery has once again – this time in THE FRIENDSHIP LIST created two fabulously flawed but wonderful characters complete with a fabulous supporting cast. Dialog is on point, at times pungent but always humorous.

THE FRIENDSHIP LIST combines a group of thirty somethings whose lives have an empty space that could really do with a special someone. Each character is so special that you have to wonder why. They are smart, friendly, honest, and independent. Perhaps that is the problem. They arranged their lives around being independent. Busy lives that eat up every hour of the day. Except for when the hole in the schedule provides the opportunity to think about what might be missing.
Not every person wants to be part of a couple. But in THE FRIENDSHIP LIST you can’t help becoming a major cheerleader for dating success. You want that missing piece of the puzzle to magically appear and give these terrific folk a happy ever after ending.
Okay so here is the scoop. Ellen and Unity are closer than sisters in many ways. The importance of their friendship cannot be minimized nor should it. They have taken turns at being each other’s rock when life took a wrong turn. When Unity lost her parents Ellen and her family formed a circle of care around her. When Unity lost her husband Ellen dropped everything to be at her side. And when Ellen at seventeen became pregnant and had son Coop Unity became Ellen’s anchor.
Both women now in their mid-thirties have remained stuck in a time warp of sorts. Neither dating nor moving forward in life. Ellen is a high school teacher, independently raising Coop who is now deciding about colleges. Coop is concerned with leaving his mom. Ellen knows she has to convince Coop that she is fine. But actions speak louder than words. Easier said than done of course. Unity is also facing her own demons. She has not moved on emotionally from the death of her husband. Candidly no interest in filling the void left by the loss of her great love.
So, as they’ve done for most of their lives Ellen and a Unity are going to attempt to forge ahead thanks to Unity’s brainstorm - the friendship list. A list of what each of them needs to work on, a random challenge per se. As if they are works in progress that has stalled. Ridiculously funny but at the same time prophetic.
Fabulous look at meeting the challenges of life and discovering wonderful things to look forward to if we only take some necessary steps. Get out of their respective ruts.
So if by accomplishing something on their friendship list they get a point. Winner gets a prize. But the prize isn’t really the goal which is to jumpstart their lives. Let the games begin.
Searching for a fun summer read. Look no further than THE FRIENDSHIP LIST by Susan Mallery. Truly anything written by the amazing Susan Mallery should be put at the top of must read lists. And if you are going to pack a great read for your summer vacation or beach time than THE FRIENDSHIP LIST is a must. Susan Mallery is at the top of her game.

The Friendship List by Susan Mallery is a stand-alone novel focusing on two best friends, who help each other make changes in their lives to move forward. Ellen Fox and Unity Leandre are our heroines, who are in their 30’s, with both being stuck in their own happy little rut.

Ellen, is a teacher, with a 17-year-old son, Cooper, whom she has devoted her life to. With Cooper checking out colleges, she worries if she can afford it, even if it’s a year away. But one day she over hears Cooper telling his best friend, that he can’t go to a college far away, as he feels his mother can’t do without him. She is appalled and is determined to change things.

Unity’s husband died three years ago, and she is still in mourning, unable to move forward, living in the past. She works as a ‘handyman’ and spends time with the over 70’s group she helps, including a grief counseling group, which in a short time she is kicked out, since everyone thinks she does not belong with them.
Ellen runs to Unity for help on her problem with Cooper and together they devise a plan to help both of them. Unity suggests creating a ‘friendship list” of things they can do separately that will get them out of their comfort zone, as well as change things including adding a bit of excitement in their lives. The list includes things like tattoos, skydiving, rock climbing, dating sexy men, & sex. We get to meet the men who will play a big part in their lives. Keith, is a coach at Ellen’s school, and her best friend; though neither look at each other as anything but friends. As much as Keith was a good friend, and popular coach, I did not like him early on, due to his over the top treatment to his daughter, Lissa, as well as his worry and fears when Ellen pushes him sexually (she hasn’t had sex since she was impregnated 17 years ago).

Thaddeus is introduced to Unity by her friend, Dagmar, and both got off on the wrong foot. But something about Unity drew Thaddeus to her, and he began to convince her to date him, using the friendship list (skydiving) as a start. Unity was an impossible case, unable to accept moving on to someone else, even if she began to have feelings for Thaddeus.

The Friendship List was very well written by Mallery, and it was fun to watch both Ellen and Unity experience many different things in their lives that they never would have done. I thought all the characters Mallery created were great (though I was on the fence with Keith for a while), especially Cooper, Lissa, Luka, Dagmar, etc. There were many emotional moments throughout the book, that had us smiling, sad, laughter, and hot chemistry between to two couples.

An engaging story of two friends who challenge each other to get back into the game of life. Laughter, tears, groans, sighs, are all part of experiencing the growth of Ellen and Unity as they discover there can be more than what they have. Realistic situations and reactions kept me engaged to the very satisfying ending.
I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

I've been reading Mallery for years. I know exactly what I'm in for and I LOVE THAT. Her writing is engaging, funny and this is the perfect summer book.

The friendship list is one of the best books I've ever read. I laughed. I cried. I laughed with tears streaming down my face. My husband thinks I'm nuts :-).

When I started reading this book I thought it might be a little hard to get into but with every page I sell more of my life and my experiences and my heart wrapped up in every word. So many experiences that last throughout your life are reflected in the pages of this sweet book - the pain of loss, the joys of motherhood, The ecstasy of dating, the amazing friendships that complete our lives.

The friendship list is absolutely a book that you won't want to miss no matter who you are.

The only thing I absolutely didn't love about this book is some of the steaminess and frank conversations that I don't enjoy and would keep me from sharing it with several of my friends.

This is a satisfying beach read.There is minimum drama and maximum pleasure when friends require each other to complete a challenge.

Susan Mallery is one of my favorite authors and her newest book, The Friendship List did not disappoint! Ellen and Unity have been best friends “practically since birth.” At 34, single mom, Ellen needs to find a way to convince her high school son that she has a life and that staying at home and going to a local college is not necessary. Unity, a widow of 3 years, is booted off of her pickle ball team and out of her grief group within a few days of each other. Then 2 of her closest friends agree that she needs to allow herself to enjoy life again. And so, The Friendship List is written to get the friends out of their “rut.” They make a pact to challenge each other, with the winner being treated to a spa weekend. They add things for Ellen, like “get a tattoo” and “wear clothes that fit”. For Unity they added things like “wear a dress and 3 inch heels” and “ go rock climbing.” Then they spend their summer trying to accomplish their goals. A great read about friendship, love, grief, healing and self care. Thank you Harlequin and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF for me. I tried to get into it a couple of times but just couldn't connect. I am so in the minority here and that is great! So many people loved it. Maybe if I go back to it at a later date but for now, it just wasn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley for a chance at reading this book.

Author Susan Mallery is always a "must read" for me. Her stories of friendship and romance are always funny, sexy, smart, and heartwarming.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about two lifelong friends who are both "stuck"and the gentle competition they enter on the pathway to their new lives. Of course, anyone who's read a couple of romance novels could tell you from the first chapter exactly how this was going to end, but this story is more than the sum of its parts. I needed a gentle, lovely, comforting escape for a few hours, and this book fit the bill perfectly.

My thanks to #NetGalley, the author and publisher- they supplied me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unity and Ellen have been best friends since forever. Unity is a 34 year old widow who is stuck in a rut. She only socializes with the older people in the retirement village where she fixes things for them. Unity's husband died 3 years earlier and she has not gotten out and done anything since he passed away. She and Ellen get together and have drinks but that is about the extent of her social life.

Ellen is a single mom that has not dated nor had sex since she got pregnant as a teen. Ellen's son is a senior in high school and one day she hears him talking to one of his friends about how he can't go to college. He doesn't not want to go off and leave his mom because her whole life has been about him and he doesn't think she will make it if her goes off to college. Ellen feels guilty and know that she has to do something to show him she is ok on her own and has a life outside of him, even if she doesn't.

When Unity and Ellen are talking over drinks one night, Ellen is telling her about what she overheard her son saying and the two friends decide to make a sort of "bucket list" of things to get them out of their rut they are in. So the journey to get these two back out in the social world and out of their rut begins.

This is a good read for a summer afternoon outdoors. You will fall in love with Unity and Ellen. Going on the journey with these two while they try to get back out into the real world and out of their comfort zones is one you won't forget soon. Very well written and planned out.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book.

Thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley for a chance to read this title before it publishes later this month.

Ellen and Unity are best friends, in their thirties, who live in a small town in Eastern Washington. Both are stuck in their lives – Ellen hasn’t dated for the past 17 years and Unity still mourns her husband who died three years before.

So Unity makes a list of what they should do so everyone thinks they’re okay and Ellen’s son won’t forego his chance to go to college out of state because he’s afraid his mother can’t get along without him.

The list differs for the two women. Ellen’s has get a tattoo, wear three-inch heels, buy clothes that fit and the common denominator for both – have sex with a handsome man. Unity’s goals include skydiving, rock climbing, and hiring a full-time worker for her handyman business.

During the time both women are working on their lists, they come to realize that they are changing. And changing for the better.

I really loved this book, although I don’t usually like romances. It was quirky, humorous, predictable, yet cozy and comforting. As the conflicts came into play, I found myself cheering on each of the women.

I don’t think I’ve read Susan Mallery before, but I will certainly pick up her books again. They are feel-good remedies for the times we’re in. I highly recommend this one.

I laughed and cried right along with Unity and Ellen. These two friends decide to have a contest and both make must do lists. They have the Summer to check off as many items as they can. The loser must treat the winner to an expensive spa weekend that neither can really afford! These lists forces them out of their comfort zones and gives them the push they need to learn to live again. A friendship summer cozy!

Ellen and Unity have been friends forever, and have seen each other through tragedy and joy. Now, they have to help each other find a way to start living life in a meaningful way again, even if it all starts out as just checking items off a list. Great characters that are well developed, plenty of humor, and lots of heart warming moments, this is Mallery at her best. A great summer read about friendship and the love that carries us through.

I think all of us reach times in our lives when we realize that if we don't charge our life, life will leave us behind. A child-focused life is great for the mother of school-aged kids, but when those kids go to college it is time to find another focus or to focus on other kids. When you move to "part-time" at the office, you can pack your desk and head for the golf course, library, gym or fishing hole, or you can come in every morning to see if anything is happening that they need your help on. Which is healthier? Unity and Ellen both realize their lives need to change and as best friends they challenge each other to make the changes needed.

While I found some of their choices questionable, I enjoyed watching them embrace a new time in their lives.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. Grade: B.