A story that resonated with me and might resonate with a lot of people. Gwen and Iris were best friends once in their small home town and then went their separate ways. Gwen thinks she has to portray the happy life of content mum of three even though her husband is out of work and the bills are piling up. Iris had a successful career and then became a full time socialite after marrying a rich and successful man but she is hiding a secret. When Gwen and Iris are reunited after years apart, the burden of the secrets they are hiding becomes too much. How much of what people see of us is carefully manicured to present the picture perfect world we think they expect? A great story.

I really enjoyed Reasons for Avoiding Friends by Megan Leavell! The story is about two friends who were best friends and drifted apart. This book show how the image we show to the world is not always what is really going on. We all need someone to understand us and support us now matter what. This is true for Gwen and Iris who rekindle their friendship when they need each other the most.

3.5 Stars.

Reasons for Avoiding Friends explores the relationship between two women, Gwen and Iris, as they come to terms with the fact that neither of their lives have turned out how they expected them to. Gwen is discovering that her role as a stay-at-home mum in their small town has not made her happy, and she's not sure what needs to change for her to feel fulfilled. Does she need to change, or does her life? Iris left town at the first opportunity and moved to NYC in search of a bugger (and better) life. Instead, she's become an alcoholic and discovered that her husband seems to be already on the lookout for his third wife, leaving her with no choice but to look elsewhere for her future.

When Iris comes to stay with Gwen, they must both decide how honest to be with each other, and how their friendship can overcome their complicated lives to make them both stronger.

To be honest, I really struggled with this one. It seemed to be everything I was looking for in this read, but there was just something about it that I struggled with. I'm not sure if it was just not the right book at the right time, but I really struggled to get through this. I ended up putting it own for a while and coming back to it. I did really like Iris and Gwen's relationship, and how realistic this novel was in terms of how complex people's lives and relationships are, but I REALLY struggled with the constant fatphobic comments made in Gwen's sections of the novel. I understand the reasons why that was included, but I really think it could have been a little less constant.

I received this book from NetGalley and Cedar House Press in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK REVIEW
Reasons for Avoiding Friends by Megan Leavell
4*

I will admit, I almost decided not to read this one- I have SO many on my tbr and initially I figured I wouldn’t relate to it or the characters because I’m child-free and I’m over the ‘you have to have kids to be happy’ plots..

Needless to say- I’m SO glad I didn’t DNF and that I finished this one as it was NOT like that at all. Megan weaves together the two lives of estranged childhood best friends: Gwen and Iris. Gwen is settled down in her hometown with three kids, a dog, and a picture perfect life- as her holiday card would indicate. Iris is married to a high-powered attorney in Manhattan with a life filled with glamour, riches and high society- or so you’d think. Gwen is jealous of Iris, believing that she has no obligations, no problems and therefore no stress. Iris believes that Gwen is the happy house-wife with her home in tact and everything she has ever wanted. Neither know what the other is battling until Iris finds herself back to her old stomping grounds with no-one to turn to, except Gwen.

This one was a little hard for me in some respects because I wanted to SHAKE each of them to just OPEN UP! The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and we never truly know what someone is going through looking from the outside. We can judge and believe what we think is happening ‘behind closed doors’, but most of the time it’s wrong.

I do wish there was a little more depth and complexity to the characters. Overall I loved the storyline and the alternating perspectives so we could get a glimpse into how each of them coped and their thought processes.

TW: Substance abuse, childhood emotional trauma

Thanks to @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I will be picking up more by this author in the future!

Books about friendship are ones I’m always drawn to. I wonder if it stems from my childhood love of the Babysitter’s Club? Reasons for Avoiding Friends is about two childhood friends who take very different paths in life and reconvene together when there’s no one else who will understand.

Gwen is living in her hometown, dealing with parenting and an unemployed husband. She has everything she wanted, but is it enough? Iris moved away to NYC and works hard to show the world this glamour and perfect life. But look closely, and you’ll see some fine cracks. The girls have grown apart and haven’t spoken In years until Iris goes to Gwen for support and understanding. They

This book was such good timing. I’m in a place in my life where people are settling down and having families and buying houses. I understand the disconnect between the women, one who stayed local and thought she got everything she wanted, but is really lonely and unhappy. The other who dreamed big, but wasn’t prepared for the reality. I did enjoy this pretty realistic story of two early 40 yr olds. It’s a lot of ups and down, but overall it’s a great read.

I love quirky contemporary fiction and I think the title of this book was what frew me in. The cover is beautiful too and I was intrigued enough to want to see what was inside.

Gwen and Iris were best friends throughout their youth but life has pulled them in different directions. Gwen is a mother of three with an unemployed husband and trying her best to work her way up the cosmetic-selling pyramid scheme that all the moms in the neighbourhood are part of. Iris has left Westlake, Wisconsin for a rich husband and a drinking problem in New York. Both of them are trying their best to keep up appearances and pretend that everything is fine but they’re about to realise that admitting to life’s imperfections is for the best and that true friends will always accept you for who you are.

Gwen’s life revolves around maintaining the image that her family is perfect in every way. She constantly notices her children’s shortcomings next to the apparently talented offspring of other women that she knows. Gwen is a very interesting character because while she seems to be preoccupied with the flaws in her own home, there is a sense that she doesn’t really care. Her heart isn’t properly in pushing this picture-perfect persona and it was always clear to me that she really doesn’t fit in amongst the affluent, yummy mummies she is surrounded by.

Iris comes to the realisation that her whole life revolves around being a kept woman and spending time with women who really don’t know her. It’s a life that she always thought that she wanted but the realities of it have forced her to drink her way through the years and she’s at breaking point. Her husband Julian’s infidelity is the last straw and she makes the decision to secretly escape back to the beginning and back to the real Iris.

When Iris announces that she has nowhere in Westlake to stay, Gwen does the classic people-pleaser thing and immediately blurts out that she can stay there despite there being plenty of reasons why she shouldn’t. I couldn’t help but smile and see myself in Gwen because I’ve definitely got myself into similar situations purely through my lack of wanting people to like me. It’s a bad habit that only gets worse if it sticks around through to adulthood.

A scene that particularly struck me was when Iris visits her mother and childhood home, which she hasn’t returned to for years. Her bedroom is still exactly the same as it was and I felt that eerie yet warm wave of nostalgia with her. That feeling of walking around a room that now feels like it belongs to someone else (because it was a different Iris who last lived in it) really resonated with me. Revisiting her younger years is something that Iris does a lot of during her time in Westlake and it’s hugely beneficial to her figuring out her next move. Perhaps that’s good advice for all of us, when we’re a little bit lost.

Gwen’s mother Eileen is a formidable force. She is lonely and obviously hasn’t discovered the joys of keeping your own company. This manifests in her constantly criticising Gwen, displaying some very self-absorbed behaviour and being a general drain on her daughter’s energy. I know so many women who have a similar relationship with their own mothers and I thought the dynamic between Gwen and Eileen rang so true.

Gwen sees Iris’ arrival in Westlake as an outlet for reverting back to the real her. She doesn’t want to introduce Iris to the insufferable Susan Sharp and the Forevermore Beauty ladies because she wants to keep the two strands of her life separate. I can completely understand her not wanting to taint her rekindled real friendship with the fake connections that have filled her life in recent years. So much of adult life involves juggling many moving parts and trying to keep them all in line and yes it’s really difficult sometimes!

A lot of what the book is about is the idea that nothing ever really changes. It may seem like they do but there will always be certain things (usually beautiful happy things) that don’t fade. Of course, there are other things that remain constant through generations like habits and certain personality traits even if you actively try to avoid them. I loved the exploration of this and once again, it left me with a comforting feeling that there are some things that we simply can’t do anything about.

Reasons For Avoiding Friends is a wonderful, heartwarming novel about lifelong friendship, the pressures of adulthood, rediscovering yourself and realising that getting everything you ever wanted may not be all that great. It’s very well-written with characters that are easy to root for, some lovely thought-provoking themes that many readers will be able to relate to and many reasons for avoiding friends!

This is a story about friendship. Gwen and Iris have been friends their whole lives but like many friends they grew up and grew apart. Circumstances bring them back together but they find out that even though they have grown apart there is a reason that they became friends to begin with and maybe that’s enough to be friends again. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pretenses Are Never Fulfilling
This story is about two life-long friends renewing their friendship after twenty years. The book begins in a depressing manner and seems to take forever to get where the reader knows it is going. When it does finally get to the good stuff, the author sails through it, preventing the reader from basking in the joy. It is a good story, but it could have been great. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Im recuperating from a visit to the ER over the weekend, so my review is coming soon! There were a lot of things I enjoyed about the book!

Growing up in their small town in Wisconsin, Gwen and Iris were the best of friends who both wanted completely different things in their lives. Gwen keeps telling herself she is living her dream, married with three beautiful children in her hometown, never mind her unemployed husband and relenting parenting drama. Iris, always determined to run from her past, settled in New York City with a handsome rich husband and the stability she has always dreamed of. However, nobody in New York really knows the real Iris including her husband, only Gwen. When Iris’s past catches up to her and unexpected circumstances arise, she is forced back to the one place she vowed never to return. Reunited after so many years, Gwen and Iris discover they really aren’t living the lives they have portrayed they were living over the years and rediscover that true friendship is accepting each other as they are.

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This story is told from 2 POV’s: Iris and Gwen. The beginning did start out sort of slow but gradually picked up along the way. My favorite was reading about Gwen and Iris reconnecting and opening up to each other about the truth of their lives and seeing that their bond is still strong even after not speaking for many years. There were not many likeable characters in this story, particularly Gwen’s mother, she always talked down to her daughter, degraded her in small ways and manipulated in her and was mentally abusive all the while Gwen would simply just take it and cave into her mother every single time.

I also did not like the constant digs at Gwen’s weight often from herself or her mother. I also was not a fan of Iris’s complete dependency on her husband mainly for the financial stability. I really did love seeing how Iris was able to become independent and her mic-drop moment near the end. Even if I was frustrated with these characters, they are human, they are flawed and life can be messy and I think this story was a good representation of the reality of life and the highs and lows we go through.

Happy Pub Day!! I would like to thank @netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In the midst of a global pandemic, do we really need MORE reasons for avoiding friends??? Ehh, who am I kidding… as a reading addict I can never have too many.

Megan Leavell’s new novel suggests that the demands of adulthood alone often provide reason enough to dodge not only snobby neighbors but the oldest of pals. Life demands, low self esteem, and hurt feelings make it easier to hibernate at home in sweats rather than suiting up in hard pants and engaging with the world.

I found this story of two 39-year-old childhood best who have drifted apart very relatable and honest. In many ways it reminded me of a lighter version of Kristin Hannah’s Firefly Lane (minus the weepy ending). After growing up in small town Wisconsin, Iris left for (overrated) New York while Gwen stayed to raise a (flawed) family. Iris struggles with alcohol, and Gwen struggles with body image - a lot. There are at least 20 references to her weight, but sadly I found that relatable too. I wish I could say that most women I know aren’t always aware of their size, but I can’t.

Megan Leavell has written dozens of highly-rated “heartwarming women’s fiction and small-town romance” books under the name Olivia Miles. I’ve not read any of them but can only speculate that perhaps the removal of rose-colored glasses and the addition of a little snark necessitated a rebrand. Whatever the reason, this brand of honest, romance-free contemporary fiction works for me.

“Gwen didn’t need pity. She needed some help. Really, she needed a vacation.”

Gwen, a former stay at home mom, is now thrust back into the workforce when her husband loses his job. On the other side of the country, Iris is struggling to keep her marriage together all while hiding her dependence on wine. When these two friends will reconnect after losing touch year earlier, they just might be the lifeline that each other needs to pull through their struggles.

Reasons for Avoiding Friends was one of the realest books I've read in awhile. It depicts real life as a wife and a mother and let's face it...it's not always rainbows and sunshine. Growing up, you have this vision of what your life is going to be and soon you wake up almost 40 and you realize that your life is nowhere near that vision. Amplified by tough times and a crumbling marriage, it's never been more evident.

I related to both women, but Gwen's character spoke to me a little louder. As a wife and a mother, it's tough. Gwen's a great mom, but she lacks confidence in herself, especially as she ages and realizes her life is veering down a path she never thought it would go down. Coupled with financial problems that thrust her marriage into uncertain circumstances, it can feel almost impossible to wade through.

Reasons for Avoiding Friends has heavier themes, including alcoholism, rehab, cheating and stealing.

Thanks to Cedar House Press, the author, and Suzy Approved Book Tours for the gifted copy.

This book comes out on Tuesday 9/14 from Cedar House Press - thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The story looks at the lives of two 39 year-old women who grew up as best friends and reunite after a long stretch of not keeping in touch as their lives diverged. It's an interesting reminder that others' lives may look perfectly put together on social media but that rarely tells the whole story. I enjoyed that chapters alternated between each woman's point of view, giving relatable insights into both each character's experiences and each's view of the other. Recommended for fans of women's fiction!

Gwen and Iris are childhood friends who have grown up to be very different. Gwen is a married mother of 3 who lives in the town she grew up in, Iris is married to a wealthy man in New York. The book takes you on a journey of both their lives and meeting up again after many years apart.

I didn’t really like this book, the author talks about the mother as over weight and Iris is an alcoholic. It’s a very slow read, I wanted it to get better and the last few chapters were good, but a bit unrealistic.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy.

yes yes yes!!!!! this book is so deliciously good!!! please pick it up as soon as you can! i loved the characters and the settings and it was so sweet and precious!!!!

This book was gripping. I was sucked in and could not put it down! The concept was so unique, I loved this book.

Reasons for Avoiding Friends was an interesting look at how friendships change over time and how the environment we grow up in shapes us. I found it a little hard to connect to both characters, they just felt very out of touch with themselves, especially for being 39. I liked the progression of Gwen and how she grew to realize what others think doesn’t matter. I also liked that Iris finally realized she wasn’t happy.

Iris and Gwen are childhood friends who have grown apart as their lives changed. The book centers on their facing their challenges individually and together and their finding their new paths. At first I found it a little hard to get going with the story because of the device of one chapter Gwen and one chapter Iris (just interrupts the story flow for me) but once their characters and stories were established it was a quick read. I enjoyed some of the flashes of humor. 3.5 stars for me, rounding up to 4 because of the readability.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Reasons for Avoiding Friends is about two women who have hit their middle-life. They used to be such good friends, they knew each other so well. And yet, they haven’t spoken in years. Then Iris shows up needing Gwen’s help, and guest room.

I enjoyed this story. I liked how Gwen and Iris kind of stumble around each other trying to find that rhythm they used to have. As they move through their story, we get to watch them realize that they don’t need to pretend, they can be who they truly are.

These women are completely relatable to me. They are wives, mothers, friends, trying to make it all work. I enjoyed their story, and I found myself really invested in what was happening to them. I think that the beginning was a bit slow, but it picks up as we get to know the characters and situation. So, I guess I would call this one a slow-burn with a great payoff. This one is great for readers that enjoy character-drive stories of friendships and life.

The beginning of the book felt slow to trudge through, but then I began to like these characters. I feel like through Iris and Gwen we see that even if we think someone has it better than we do, we don't see the problems that they potentially hide. I feel like with the current world, most people only try to show the happy and I feel like this book is very appropriate at this time. I know this book isn't for everyone, but overall I enjoyed it and would give 3/5.

**Thanks to netgalley for a preview copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. **