I requested For the Love of Friends because it is set in Maryland, where I live and who doesn’t love a familiar setting. I was excited to find that Sara is also based in Maryland.

The story follows Lily as she finds herself in 5 weddings happening over 2 months. She starts an anonymous blog as a place to vent her frustrations in a safe place while trying to earn money for wedding expenses.

I was hooked after the first couple of pages. Lily’s blog is harsh but so are some of the situations she finds herself in as a result of the brides or bridesmaids. It is also funny because some of these situations are just too much.

All the situations help Lily grow and figure out a few things about herself and her changing relationships with her friends and siblings as a result of thier weddings. There is a love interest but he is friend-zoned right away, which also helps with her growth.

For the Love of Friends will be released on August 1. Pick it up and take it to the pool, the beach or to the mountains. Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, drew me in and hard to put down. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

I finished this book in an evening! It was such a fun read with engaging characters and a fun premise. It reminded me when I was attending a lot of weddings. It was filled with family drama and a great love story.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Sara, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the digital arc of For The Love of Friends. This book is wittily warm and funny. The moment I started reading, I couldn't put it down.

I love how the beginning introduces Lily. It made me laugh a bit and engaged me into reading further. The narration hooked me. Surprisingly, I found the dialogues more interesting and way too funny. The characters are undeniably relatable. They made reading more engrossing when normal struggles and their reactions are perfectly portrayed. But, certainly, my favourite was granny. She makes this fiction complete.

Hilarious, poignant and intense, this novel is a must read. Definitely, I will recommend this book.

I received a complimentary copy of FOR THE LOVE OF FRIENDS by Sara Goodman Confino as part of a scheduled Let’s Talk Books tour!

FOR THE LOVE OF FRIENDS follows Lily Weiss, a young single woman living the ‘always a bridesmaid, never a bride’ life. Somehow she winds up agreeing to be a bridesmaid in five weddings, all of which will be occurring in the space of about six weeks. Two siblings, her best friend from work, her best friend from college, and her all time BFF have all picked the same time to get married. What could possibly be difficult about that?

The expenses and the stress of showers, dresses, travel and life soon begin to pile on and Lily needs an outlet. She decides a blog about the crazy wedding shenanigans will be a good way to vent her frustrations and maybe pick up a few bucks along the way. She figures the chances of anyone she actually knows stumbling onto her blog isn’t going to be a problem, but of course things are bound to go wrong!

I loved this book! It was absolutely full of people behaving badly, not the least of which was Lily. This definitely has some over the top bride moments (and thankfully the weddings I’ve been in have had brides much less demanding), but I could remember the stress and expense of a single wedding in a year, so could fully feel for Lily juggling five! I did cringe a bit at how thinly veiled her identity and those of her friends and family were. Still, it was so much fun to read about while waiting for disaster to strike!

I thought the author did a fantastic job at highlighting some fun and ridiculous moments in wedding planning while keeping the impact of Lily’s actions very realistic. I could feel for Lily and for the rest of the characters involved. This book is full of fun characters you’ll want to embrace and those you will love to hate!

FOR THE LOVE OF FRIENDS was a joy to read and it is available now! This is one to add to your TBR!

Ok wow I absolutely loved this book! I was cackling out loud many times. To me, even though some things were over the top, were very relatable for me. I wish Lily’s blog was real so I could keep reading. The parts about about Grandma had me laughing so much. Loved this authors writing. Highly, highly recommend picking this up!!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

For The Love of Friends centres around Lily as she tries to juggle being a bridesmaid in five weddings all in the same summer. Schedule clashes, horrendous bridesmaid dresses, financial worries and awkward relations with groomsmen follow.

Overall this was a fun summer read and I did enjoy it. There were mild pacing issues around the half way mark that make you question if five weddings were too much to cover. Plus there were quite a few clichés and tropes thrown in that it wouldn't have hurt to skip. Then again for some readers the predictability is probably comforting and makes it an easier read.

My favourite aspect was the relationship with Alex though the romance was not the main focus of the book. I wish more time was given to the relationship as the sections involving their interactions were by far my favourite.

Grandma also deserves an honorable mention with her sections making me chuckle more than anything else. She is a lady many of us aspire to be when we get older.

This was such a fun read. This is the first time I have read a book related to a bridesmaid who actually spoke the truth regarding Bridezilla's! Her blog made me laugh, it made me happy my friends are low-key, and happy that I have never been in 5 weddings all around the same time. I found myself cringing with Caroline and missing my close friends with Megan. I loved that Lily had that single friend as well, to kind of ground her and ensure that she wasn't alone in the world. Alex is a loveable, book boyfriend character too. This is an amazing, light and quick romance. Check it out!!

The setup for this delightful book is something you probably think you've seen in a rom-com movie before. Our protagonist is Lily, a 32-year-old single-with-no-prospects, and she's horrified as person after person in her life gets engaged and asks her to be a bridesmaid. The wedding expenses and stressors keep rising, the five brides and other wedding party members become more and more ridiculous, and Lily decides to start a blog to anonymously rant about things and maybe make a few dollars to help cover her costs.

I'm a number of years past the "everyone's getting married" stage of my life and I definitely can't relate to a "32 and single = old maid" mentality, but I could relate to Lily's "make fun of things to help cope" strategies and loved her sardonic humor. In fact, the entire book is quite funny, and that's one of its strengths.

There aren't deep insights to be gleaned here. The book follows a well-traveled road, but it's still a very entertaining journey. I found myself speeding through the reading, not wanting to put the book down, because I wanted to see what happened next and how certain dilemmas would resolve. It's a perfect beach read and a very impressive debut effort from the author. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received For The Love of Friends from Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley. Lily is in 5 weddings in a few months and 2 of them are her younger brother and younger sister’s. Seems like enough? Well a few of them are bridezilllas or have bridesmaidzillas and Lily starts a snarky blog to vent/capture it all. This book is a fun romcom and almost all girls can relate to some part of this book.

This one is based on Lily who ends up agreeing to be a bridesmaid in five weddings that span over a two month period. Lily is 32 and single and her family does not let her forget it, especially with her two younger siblings getting married. Trying to cope with life and all the wedding shenanigans Lily decides to start a blog to vent some frustrations and write about the things that only seem to happen to her. She also vows to swear off men because romantic things never end well. Will she survive these weddings with all her relationships intact?

I loved reading this book. I flew threw it in a few sittings. It gave me a bit of the 27 Dresses vibe but changed direction in a good way. It had me laughing and shaking my head. I loved the blog posts in this book, they were also very entertaining. A lot of people rely on anonymity of the internet but it is not always permanent. I also appreciated the body positivity in this book and can not imagine some of the preparations some women and their wedding parties do before the big day.

I read an ebook copy of this and wondered if for the text messages if perhaps the font or format could be tweaked a bit just so it was obvious they were texts.

I would recommend this book to a friend no problem. It is a great summer read! My review will be posted in the next few days on my goodreads and Instagram and on Aug 1st on Amazon.

FOR THE LOVE OF FRIENDS - SARA GOODMAN CONFINO
PUBLISHED BY LAKE UNION PUBLISHING
PLOT - Lily Weiss, 32 and single is a talented writer who has been invited to be a bridesmaid for 5 weddings in a span of 2 months. But the stress of each is getting to her and in comes her anonymous blog Bridesmania where she can vent out honestly. But will it remain anonymous esp when her blog starts doing well? Will it ruin the HEA for her friends and siblings? Will it impact her own HEA??
MY THOUGHTS -
I loved this debut novel. The writing which is in 1st person is fantastic. It is honest, super funny and cute too!!
I was practically smiling and laughing the while time.
Being an Indian I knew about the role of a bridesmaid. But here it's acutely described and alos how difficult it can be to cope up not only financially but even emotionally.
There is quite a bit of bodyshaming and personality shaming which happens throughout the book but it's relatable esp when people around you are getting married and you aren't.
Wish we could hv a bit more of romance. Lily's and Alex's relationship was super cute!! Loved Grammy who was a rockstar at her age!!
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange of my honest opinion.
4.5⭐

Have you ever read a book where the writing is good, it is generally entertaining and some of the situations were funny, but it just wasn't for you? That is this book for me. This was not for me, folks. I want to start off saying this because this is a title that I think will land with a lot of readers. But, with that said, if any of the sort of ranty feelings I have below connect with you then this book may not be for you either.

As previously stated, this is truly an entertaining book. So entertaining that, despite the fact that I did not end up loving this one, I could not give it less than 3 stars. Feelings-wise, this is a 2 star book for me, but it is also so compulsively readable that 2 stars does not really feel fair. My biggest complaint with this read is the fact that the characters are so unlikable. Likable characters are not necessary for a book, but for lighthearted books like these I find likable characters are often what drives me to connect with the story. In this one, I could not connect with anyone.

Our main protagonist is so internally judgmental that I felt like I wanted out of her head. It is also consistently her bad judgment that gets her into the tough situations she ends up in. Some decisions are so blatantly wrong that I could see maybe a middle or high schooler making the judgments that she makes, but a PR representative who works for a scientific research organization?? She talks about how hard it is to be an adult and she is in her 30s so... I had a hard time understanding this immaturity. Again, with a younger protagonist, I could see it. She makes bad calls even in the smallest of ways. She complains about having some financial woes but then cannot give up venti lattes from Starbucks three times a week. Um, ma'am!

Let us not get into the fact that, as someone who works in PR, she thought it was okay to rant online about her friends and family. I mean, what?!? Admittedly, her friends and family are mostly terrible and self-centered too so I can understand her frustration with them, but she is not really any better than them and I was just ready to dump the entire cast of characters (except for Alex - he's precious) and move on with my life in a positive way because this book was not positive. It messed with my headspace.

Ok...as you can see, I did not really like this one. BUT...again, is it kind of hard to put down despite how frustrated you are with the characters? Yes, it totally is. Are there predictable but very funny situations? Absolutely. So what I am trying to say is read other reviews and get other options because this may be someone's happy read even if it was not mine.

I enjoyed this book. The writing style is fun and I’m sure most people have had experience with a Bridezilla before! Lily was a great protagonist, if only she stopped complaining about being single and actually enjoyed her life. Although I picked the twist early on, it was a lovely ending and I like that not everyone actually forgave Lily for the blog. Looking forward to the next book from this author!

A funny, relatable, and easy read that you simply cannot put down! This is the first book that I have read by this author, and I am definetely impressed.

The main heroine, Lily Weiss, has to act as a bridesmaid for five weddings in a short period of time. As she is 32 and still single her mother won't stop bothering her about finding a man, and obviously being a bridesmaid at so many weddings does not help her emotions at all. Plus, the responsibilities of such position brings her a lot of stress, anxiety, and a tent to her bank account. Thus, Lily decides to create a blog where she could vent.

I adore this book now! The writing is so witty and it just flows which makes you read the book faster. It made laugh many times, I smiled that my cheeks hurt, and there were so many secondary characters that stole the show.
So overall I enjoyed this book very much.

Has anyone loved the ending of a book so much they intentionally prolonged finishing it?

I wanted to slow down time during the last few pages because I wanted to soak up ALL the happy; I actually read every word of the Acknowledgements before putting it down.

Who does that? This weirdo.

{Book Review}: For the Love of Friends by debut author Sara Goodman Confino

4 stars
8/10

“A sharp and hilariously relatable novel about the business of weddings, the toll they can take, and the lengths one exasperated bridesmaid will go to for the love of friends.”

Lily Weiss finds herself as a bridesmaid in FIVE weddings within a month of each other.
As someone who was in 13 weddings, I can actually 100 relate to the simultaneous joy, envy, anxiety and fear of checking your bank account that occurs during wedding prep mode. Boys have it so easy compared to the planning and preparations, the politics and unspoken duties ladies go through before their bestie walks down the aisle.

SGC (coining it now) is probably going to be one of my new fave rom-com authors. She’s sharp, raw, witty and has unapologetically real main characters, with completely relatable family dynamics.

I laughed, cringed with, and cheered for Lily. It was a hilarious ride, with serious self-reflection and growth she experienced during this novel.

Lily finds herself in blog-worthy moments with some of her bridezillas / ‘bridesmaidzillas’ and does what any writer would do in her situation--write about it. But instead of taking to a journal for a creative outlet, she publishes a “Bridesmania” blog that ends up going viral.

Of course there’s also a ‘friends to lovers’ trope, which I will always catch the bouquet for.
A little birdie told me there WILL be a spin-off sequel so get your hands on this now!

PUB DAY IS Aug. 1st, so SAVE THE DATE! (See what I did there)? ;-)

Thank you @netgalley @lakeunionauthors @saraconfino for the gifted copy ARC!
#saragoodmanconfino #fortheloveoffriends #netgalley #arcreviews #newromcom #newromcombooks #romance #hilariousbooks #funnyreads #justfinishedreading #bookrecommendation #newfiction #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #alwaysreading #bookblog #instareads #bibliophile #bookblogger #bookreviews #readerforlife #read #readingforsanity #booked #ilovebooks #eatsleepread #bookphoto #alwaysreading #igreads #bookcommunity #bookloversunite #booksbooksbooks

What a wonderfully hilarious book!!! Lily is in five weddings within two months. While she is thrilled for her family and friends, five wedding is a lot.

This is the perfect escape book. You can envision Lily’s life as she deal with the demands of five weddings and five brides. Lily is such a true friend. She is willing to bend over backwards to support the weddings, no matter how difficult. To help make money to fund her involvement in these wedding she starts an anonymous blog to vent and tell the horror stories. While you know the blog is not going to end well it is so funny. If you have ever been in a wedding your will completely relate to this book.

For the Love of Friends is the quintessential summer chick read. Lilly was a relatable main character that showed great development throughout the book.
This is definitely the perfect book for a beach vacation!
I started this book today and could not stop until it was over - I loved it so much! This was cute, romantic and had just the right amount of conflict. I would have liked to see more of the relationship between Lilly and Alex! Maybe a sequel?

Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union and Sara Goodman Confino for my ARC in exchange for a review- I will definitely be buying a copy for my shelves!

For the Love of Friends by Sara Goodman Confino
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Thanks Netgalley for this digital copy!
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Lily Weiss is 32 and single, which is her mother’s worst nightmare. Luckily for Lily, she will have many opportunities to find “the one”....at the five weddings she will be a bridemaid at this summer. 😅😅😅 But oooohhhh these weddings are killing her, and bankrupting her, how can she let off steam about it? A anonymous blog is a great idea! Right?
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I loved this book so much. It made me laugh, it made me cry, I was mad, I was sad. I felt ALL of the emotions and I was only disappointed when it ended.
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This book was pretty predictable and I knew pretty much what was going to happen, but I still settled in with my snacks for reading exactly how everything played out because I was still COMPLETELY entertained by Lily’s story.
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This book had quite the reminiscence of the movie 27 Dresses but with characters that I wound up loving more!
Also Lily’s dad and 88 year old grandma completely “stole the show” in this book, I loved them.
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5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ loved, loved, loved.

I ignored all my responsibilities just to finish this book--and it was 100% worth it!

Lily Weiss is 32 and single, finding herself in FIVE weddings one summer. Surrounded by brides between friends and her two younger siblings, she starts an anonymous blog to help cope, sharing her (hilarious) experiences. Cue the whole "nobody's gonna know..." song you've seen all over TikTok.

The bridal antics themselves are next level, but I really adored the writing throughout! Author Sara Goodman Confino is funny, smart and deeply portrays familial relationships and self-reflection as well. I could've easily read another 100 pages of just blog posts and conversations between Lily & Alex.

I could truly continue to gush about this one but I'll just suggest reading it when it comes out August 1st! This book is one of my favorites so far this year!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy of this and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.