FOR THE LOVE OF FRIENDS by Sara Goodman Confino follows a thirty-two-year-old woman named Lily who’s a bridesmaid in five (yep, five) different weddings over the span of two months. Equipped with an anonymous blog, she tries to survive the drama.

I absolutely loved this book! It had a ton of petty drama, mean girls, friendships, and love. I found the character of Lily to be extremely relatable, and even when she said inconsiderate things, I couldn’t help but be on her side at least a little.

This book was crazy and fun, and had me actually laughing out loud. While I did guess the twist at the end from the very beginning, I still felt fulfilled in knowing I was right.

The only reason this book is getting 4 stars is that there were a couple ignorant comments made in the first half that left a weird taste in my mouth. Nothing that impacted the overall story, but stuck with me nonetheless.

Despite that, I’ll definitely be purchasing my own copy of this book because it met all of my standards as far as contemporary romances go!

Publication Date: August 1, 2021

*** special thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review ***

Posted to Goodreads and The StoryGraph: 02/17/21
Posted to Instagram (Bookstagram): 08/01/21

I loved this! A very enjoyable romance with a well-rounded main character whose supporting characters were also written well. I also enjoyed the humor in the book.

It's set in the area where I live, so it was fun to look for the various hints to location.

I enjoyed this book. The main character was fun, relatable, messy, and made a lot of bad decisions, but it was very fun. Loved the twist at the end, and the romance was very cute.

Lily weiss has a very busy year ahead. She has just been asked to be bridesmaid in five, yes five, weddings the following summer. One for a work colleague, one for her college room mate one for her oldest best friend, and annoyingly, both her younger brother and younger sister. Which means she will no doubt have to dodge a barrage of nosey questions about her non-existent love life from well meaning family members.
Being in the wedding party involves a lot of expense. The dress, the shoes, the bridal shower, bachelorette party and now, quite horrifyingly, the chemical hair straightening treatment, spanx, minimiser bra, eyelash extensions and even botox. Times five, Lily's bank balance is going to take quite a beating for the sake of keeping others happy. Not forgetting the interfering mother in law, overbearing mother of the bride, the stepford bridesmaid from hell, the non-existent best friend and the wonderful (but off limits) groomsman.
What better way to vent about all the craziness that happens when you're involved in five weddings, than an anonymous online blog, telling a warts and all saga of all the over the top behaviors and demands. With just a few exaggerations thrown in.
Let's hope this blog stays anonymous because I'm sure the brides won't be very thrilled to read it....

What I liked best about this book was Lily's energy. She is full of life even though she doesn't see herself that way. She has a great group of friends, a loving family and she is able to reignite her old passion for writing. Even when things get super awkward, she manages to find the funny side. I feel like we all know a Lily. That friend who somehow gets herself in the strangest situations and has the most amazing tales to tell. That to a stranger would seem completely made up, but her friends know that this type of thing is a regular occurrence.

I found the plot very predictable. It follows a tried and tested method that has been seen many times before, however this is because it works. I was still utterly gripped. I finished the book really quickly because I didn't put it down until I'd finished.

I really enjoyed this read. It was so laugh out loud funny in places. It pretty outrageous but still believable.
I can really see it being adapted for the big screen.

This book was not for me and I could not recommend it to anyone either.

From the start the tone is trying too hard and it does not get better.
The protagonist was unlikable, not as funny as she thinks she is, judgmental, immature, and it is near impossible to feel bad for her or relate to her in any way. She makes one bad decision after another, and it's not like they are unavoidable either, just a mountain of irresponsibility and "woe is me". Maybe if she was likable it would have been a fun read.
I could not wait to finish this book and was disappointed with the ending as well.

While this book did have some uncomfortable topics, I still really enjoyed it. I loved Lily and the blogging aspects of the story. I enjoyed that I was surprised quite often and that the story took turns I didn't expect. And a good wedding drama is always fun!

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such an superb amazing read! I laughed so many times and basically read it in one sitting. It was so funny, light - had some touchy subjects and they were handled pretty good in this chick-lit and i loved how the main character had such character development, sucked up and fixed her wrongdoings. Plus the best man was such an awesome guy! The story development went along nicely, had a comfortable pace and let us get to know all the characters in a timely manner - so it was easy to know who was who and not get confused. So all in all, so good!

Such a fun read! I'm a suspense/thriller author & reader but I do like the occasional light-hearted read featuring comedy, friendship, and wacky life moments. The book played out like a movie in my mind: part Bridget Jones' Diary, part 27 Dresses, part Bridesmaids. I can't even fathom being in more than one wedding a year let alone five over the course of a few months. Plus, with every one of the brides' demands and more complicated requests from the bridesmaids. I really enjoyed this book from debut author Sara Goodman Confino! This needs to be romcom movie please!

So, it's February, I'm the singlest I've ever been (thanks global pandemic!), so what to do? Reaching for a feel-good romance seemed like a pretty good idea. And, not going to lie, it was.

I absolutely loved this book. I didn't think I would, since I had read something with a similar premise a few months back (secret blog, that kind of blows up and all that) and I hadn't actually loved it - I think I gave it a 2/5? For the Love of Friends, however, was a true delight. I genuinely loved Lily; she felt so real, so fully-fleshed out, and so well-rounded, it was hard not to root for her. Was she perfect? Fuck no, but I didn't want a perfect protagonist: I wanted to see a full, proper person, one that can sometimes be insensitive, and snarky, and self-centered, but is fundamentally good at heart. And that's what Lily gave me.

As for the romance? Oh my god, the romance. I could talk about this for days!! Lily and Alex had such an amazing chemistry and such an excellently-built banter I couldn't help but swoon. Alex wasn't perfect either and I don't think he was intended to be the swoon-worthy, perfect type of guy; he, just like Lily, felt like a normal, real person, someone you might actually meet and fall in love with (can you tell I'm feeling single as fuck yet?). I only wish we had gotten to see a bit more of them, as it was a bit of a slow burn romance. I certainly liked the ending, and I am praaaying for a sequel. Is it too early to speak of a sequel? I don't think it is.

And now, for the actual brides. All the Bridezilla moments were so fun to read, and I genuinely laughed out loud at certain points. I think Confino was very clever in the way she set out the layout of the book, as Lily's blog posts gave us a more caricature-like version of the brides and a more stereotypical depiction of events, while the actual narrative let them breathe and fully expand into actual people. Sure, Lily's posts, in all their exaggerated madness, were a lot of fun to read, but I thought it was very interesting to see the actual narrative and how the events played out and then be able to compare it to the version Lily put into her blog. This comparison was not only interesting to read, but also showed a side of Lily that was perhaps a bit insensitive and a bit too self-absorbed, and it certainly helped create a view of things that wasn't as one-sided. I also thought the resolution was quite realistic, despite being a bit cliche; again, the characters acted like normal human beings, definitely not perfect, but certainly human.


Overall, a delightful read that may send me down a romance rabbit hole. Oh well...

Lilly is smart, successful, and an all around “good catch,” if it weren’t for the fact that she manages to sabotage all of her relationships even before they can really even become relationships. But more important to Lily, she’s a good friend. Such a good friend that over the course of six weeks, she’ll be standing up as a bridesmaid in five different weddings. So when money gets tight and Lily decides to see if she can make a little side money blogging about her brides and co-bridesmaids, things really start to get interesting and Lily ends up having to take a hard look at exactly what type of good friend would write some of the things she’s published. The funny part of reading this book is that I thought I had checked out something different, so as I was reading and none of the characters names/jobs/locations were matching up with what I (thought) I had read for the book description, I realized my error---but what a happy accident! This book was exactly what I didn’t even know I wanted: light-hearted, funny, lots of description on the character’s and the fashion that goes along with all weddings. Even though this is not my usual genre for reading, I found it hard to put down and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Special Note: Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! Super cute and easy, fun read. These are the kind of books I'd love to see turn into a romcom (my favorite movies ever). Always the bridesmaid, never the bride - Lily had to have seen it coming that her blog would be found. The only thing I wish to have had more of is the love interest. But overall, such a fun read!

This was a fun rom-com read!

Lily is 32 single (to the dismay of her mother) woman who finds herself in a pickle when she ends up being a bridesmaid in 5 different weddings that occur in the same 6-week time span. She's drowning in weddings, so she creates an anonymous blog to vent her frustrations. Will she survive the wedding day shenanigans? Will she finally find Mr. Right? Or will her blog cost her everything?

All in all, this was cute. There were a lot of fun characters (the grandma and Alex stick out) and some crazy wedding situations. But at it's heart, this is a book about friendship. After all, that is what gets Lily into being a bridesmaid at 5 different weddings. I really enjoyed how important friendship is to this story. Also, I loved the literary and pop culture references. I really was not expecting a lot of them, but they were so enjoyable.

If you're looking for a sweet romantic comedy with a lead who does make mistakes (and has snark in spades), give this a read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC of For the Love of Friends!

For the Love of Friends by S. Goodman Confino, published by Lake Union Publishing is a witty and fun read and is told from a first pov.
Lily seems to be a bridesmaid for forever, this year alone for 5 weddings. A ons to add, she's the queen of making mistakes.
FtLoF is a rom/com, well written, entertaining, enjoyable. A great read, 4,5 stars.

3.5 stars

This was an easy and fun read which I really enjoyed!

For the Love of Friends tells the story of Lilly, who ends up agreeing to be a part of 5 weddings over the course of one summer. The reader is taken along for the journey of the dramas and shenanigans that follow when Lily decides to put her degree in journalism to good use by creating a blog to vent and document her experience.

Lily was a very likable and relatable character, watching her try to balance the wedding duties with her every day life was amusing. The secondary characters were also well thought out and highly entertaining.

The only aspect of the book I found lacking was the romance which I found myself wanting more from, however this was still an easy and quick light-hearted read which provided a nice escape from the real world for a few hours.

I really enjoyed this book! Lily has definitely over-committed herself to be in 5 weddings in a. very short time-period! This book is witty, sarcastic, and an overall fun read!

I have mixed feelings about this book. The premise sounded fun, but I felt like the execution was lacking. It seemed like Lily was explaining how things happened instead of drawing us in to experience it.

For the Love of Friends had me laughing, tearing up, and feeling commiseration for Lily and her five weddings. It was very well written and the character development was so on the nose. I could vividly picture every one of Lily's friends and fellow bridesmaids. I loved that the blog posts and email newsletters were also part of the story. I love an epistolary novel, so any element of letter writing in the book makes me very excited. I wholeheartedly recommend this book. I know it is Sara's debut novel, but I can't wait to see what else she writes next!

Lily Weiss is the director of communications of the Foundation for Scientific Technology, but at thirty-two with no significant other she's her mother's worst nightmare. Then all hell breaks loose when she's asked by five brides to be in their wedding, all taking place within six weeks of each other. After waking up hungover with a groomsmen after an engagement party, Lily knows she needs a place to air out all her wedding frustrations - lo and behold, her anonymous blog Bridesmania is born. She shares every single bit of drama she encounters with her readers, increasing the snark to keep them coming back for more. But even Lily isn't prepared for the day being anonymous is no longer an option, and she has to face the brides beyond the screen.

So, I wanted to love this book. I really did. The premise sounded hilarious, and the added blog element had me even more intrigued. But boy did it fall flat in several ways. A lot of it is personal taste, so definitely take what I have to say with a grain of salt, but I'll get into exactly what rubbed me the wrong way (wihtout going into too much detail, as I don't want to give spoilers).

I want to start with the positives. I really loved Alex as a character, and enjoyed watching his friendship with Lily progress throughout the story. He's had a bad past with relationships, coming out of a toxic marriage with an ex-wife who was controlling and manipulative. He's always there with a joke or snark to cheer Lily up when she's stressed with all the wedding drama, and even offers to be her fake date so people will stop asking when she's getting married. He also cares deeply for his dad, who suffers a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital, and there's a moment when he's vulnerable and expresses to Lily how he's never thought about how his parents won't always be alive, and be with him. Alex was definitely the shining star of this novel for me, and while I didn't understand his motivation towards the end of the novel, I was still rooting for him.

Alright, now I'll get into my negatives. The first had to do with a stylistic choice - There are various moments when Lily is conversing with other characters through text message, and the author does not differentiate what I said through text, who is talking, and what is narration and/or Lily’s internal monologue. It made it difficult for me to follow along with the text conversations sometimes, and I found myelf rereading several paragraphs just so I could be clear who said what. Then, there is so much body shaming in this book. I understand it happens in weddings, when bridemaids compare themselves to each other, or brides obsess over what the pictures will look like. But I just found it so excessive. I wrote down so many quotes about dieting and using a minimizing bra and losing those extra pounds, and I could understand if it was just one bride (as the author could play on that sterotype), but it was EVERY one (or at least one person from each respective wedding party). And this last point I'll make is the most personal take - Lily is thirty-two, and she has two younger siblings Jake and Amy. Amy, the youngest, is eight years younger, which makes her twenty-four. Every time Lily thinks about her younger sister, or has to go shopping or on trips with Amy, she makes either a verbal or a mental comment about how much of a child Amy is, or how incompetent / how much of a screw-up she is. Even Lily's friends make comments, and no one believes she will actually go through with her wedding, and she's just playing pretend. I am Amy's age, and am also the youngest of three children, with a ten-year age difference between me and my oldest sister. Just hearing Lily talk about her younger sister that way, and trying to imagine if my own sister had those same thoughts about me, rubbed me the wrong way.

Some people will love this book, I know it. They will think Lily is just saying what everyone in a bad wedding party wants to say out loud but can't. I just thought she was a character who made everyone else out to be the villain, and only took responsibility for her actions when it came down to losing her friends (and even then I had some issues with her apologies). If you're interested in the premise, I still think you should give this book a try, because you might be able to get so much more out of it than I was able to. Definitely not the book for me, though.

For The Love Of Friends is a hilarious tale of an overwhelming, if not nightmare, scenario, that you would absolutely take on for your friends and family. Finding yourself in 5 weddings over 6 weeks feels like a situation you try to get out of, but Sara Goodman Confino does such an incredible job of timing and storytelling that I found myself completely understanding how Lily ended up in the position, and why she would take it all on.

Wedding and romance lovers are going to ADORE this book. With five weddings you hit just about every trope possible but it all feels fun(maybe not the word Lily would use!) and nothing ever feels rushed or shoehorned it. There's even bullet journals to try to keep every single event organized. Imagine trying to keep 5 weddings worth of dress try-on's, wedding showers, budgets, and everything else straight!

But for wedding cynics- don't go running just yet. I'm the kind of person who never dreamed of weddings as a kid. I thought about it once for like a minute, decided someday if I got married I would elope, and that was that. I still had a blast with this book! Lily isn't exactly a lover of all things wedding herself. A lot of the blog posts talking about her experiences had me in hysterics over the drama of everything that goes on in making a wedding happen.

There's even an adorable romance side plot that had some of the cutest and funniest moments of the whole story.

A lot of books that involve blogs or social media can feel shallow when they glossing over any content actually being made. So the use of actually including blog posts and emails from Bride A were a perfect addition. I really loved those parts.

I laughed from beginning to end and never stopped being highly entertained.

For the Love of Friends by Sara Goodman Confina is an adorable novel about Lily, a woman in her early 30s who has committed to being in 5, yes FIVE weddings in the course of a year. Lily is a frustrated writer, so she decides to start a blog about her bridesmaid adventures, which she called "Bridesmania".

The blog takes off, her humorous, snarky posts eventually going viral. She feeds off of it, and when she is outed as the author...well, I don't want to give things away! This was a very funny, enjoyable light read, will be great for the beach this summer! It would also be a great read for brides on how NOT to treat your bridesmaids!

Thank you to the author, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.