This was a good one! The cover art is beautiful. I can see this being a book of the month choice! It was a real story that engrossed a reader from the beginning!

This book unfortunately fell flat for me. The characters weren't relatable and I found myself hating them, honestly. It was hard to follow with the inner monologue.

When two friends grow up and grow apart, what forces of life can bring them back together?

This beautifully told story shares the hard truths of two very different lifestyles - from the suburban stay at home mom to the ultra wealthy socialite. Though these once close friends let a rift grow between them, different crises in both of their lives will bring them back to one another in surprising ways.

Reasons for Avoiding Friends is a fun, funny, and heartfelt story that is deeply relatable, no matter where on the social ladder one might fall. Watching these characters grow not only within themselves, but towards one another, is deeply satisfying.

I found this book very enjoyable. Both main characters were compelling and interesting in their own way and the plot was fun. I found I could relate to these characters despite not being a similar age or in a similar life stage which speaks to the quality of the plot and writing.

I would recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary fiction about turning 40 and family life.

I love the relationship between Gwen and Iris. It's clear how much they still care for each other even after years of no contact. This story speaks to the true friendships people have, and it also speaks to the ridiculous pressure women are under in our society to be a specific way. Iris is struggling with keeping her husband happy and has a drinking problem, whereas Gwen is a homemaker who's husband is now unemployed and there's 3 kids to feed and take care of. Both women are refusing to open up about their problems when they truly need a friend to help them get through these dark times. Finally they talk and can be each other's support.

I enjoyed their relationship and the proof that friends can make it through anything together.

The trials and tribulations of reunited friends are hidden from each other to save face. One is in a failed marriage. The other is swamped by family events and feels like a failure. Their reunion reminds them of their lives together before time intervened.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Reasons for Avoiding Friends was different than I anticipated it to be. I anticipated more of a "beach read," but the book has a more serious tone than that. The story was interesting, showing how the lives of 2 friends from childhood turned out, and how they both believe they other's life is much better/more ideal than their lives turned out. The story had an undercurrent of anxiety throughout, making me feel the anxiety the characters were feeling as I read.

Reasons for Avoiding Friends is a novel that will draw you in and make you think about the quality of your social circle. Gwen and Iris are both flawed women who try to hide their troubles from each other even though they have been best friends for a very long time. Why is that? This novel does a good job of exploring complex relationships, especially female friendships that have faded over time. My favorite part of this novel is its themes and how it is able to convey different aspects of complicated relationships. Whether it be friendships or romances; each relationship has a particular strain and the reader sees it through a number of different ways. Whether it be through awkward dialogue, silent moments or difficult movements; it is easy to see both Gwen and Iris have struggles and at times are too proud to share them with each other. They both grow in different ways by the story’s ending and it is nice to see that.

I like this book. Leavell’s writing is good; she does a great job of capturing your interest and creating a simple but interesting plot. The pacing is slower than I would like but not so slow that it took me away from the novel. I do think some of the details in this novel are unnecessary and that overall about one hundred pages could be taken away without it hurting the story. I wish I could say I love Gwen and Iris as characters. Their troubles are certainly relatable but I had a hard time imagining myself in their shoes at times. But I understand I am not going to love every character I read about in a book, and maybe the point is I am not supposed to love these women. All in all I enjoy this book; I think it has a lot of potential but could use some detracting. I would suggest this book to anyone who has a close friend that drifted away, especially women. This book teaches you that it is okay to let your guard down and that a true friend will be there for you when you need it the most.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review.

Gwen and Iris were best friends at school but nearly 20 years later, they have grown apart as lives the life she dreamed of.

Gwen is a stay at home mom of three, but she doesn’t feel like the reality of her life in the small town she grew up in comes close to the dream she had.

Iris is married to a wealthy New York divorce lawyer but knows he is having an affair with her best friend.

When Iris returns to her home town and ends up staying in Gwen’s guest room both try to keep up appearances. But it doesn’t last for long before being together and sharing their reality helps both accept the reality and allow them to move on.

There is a lot of soul searching in this book and getting to a place of acceptance. I enjoyed how the two friends come together in the end.

Reasons for Avoiding Friends was a fun read, with a really relatable premise.

Gwen and Iris were best friends as kids. Although they had two very different personalities they had an incredible bond which they thought would last forever. Adulthood had other plans and both of them went their own way, in the opposite directions. Now, over a decade later, they find themselves reconnecting, both with issues (and secrets) of their own. The rest is a wonderful tale of friendship and learning to love and accept yourself.

While I found it a bit slow at times, the characters were relatable even if they weren't always likeable. Overall it was a great summer read.

Recommended: Sure
For a quick contemporary read, for a female-friendship story, for a look at alcoholism and falling into patterns even when they don't make you happy and how to break out of it

Thoughts:
I went for this book because I had been reading a lot of heavy topics and depressing novels, and I wanted a bit of a break. I more or less got it with this, but it did have more serious issues than I expected. One of the main characters is DEFINITELY an alcoholic, and it's painful to watch the many terrible decisions she makes. And somehow never admits or recognizes. DAMN, GIRL. It's really not a whole lot easier to watch the other MC live in her sad rut of a life without galvanizing to do anything about it.

That said, the book is (as you can probably guess) about each of them facing and trying to resolve exactly those issues. The thick of the story relies on their relationship with each other and the secrets that are slowly dissolving their facades. There's not a whole lot by way of plot, honestly. What is there serves as a foil to learn about them, but doesn't really stand on it's own as a compelling aspect. Come here for the characters, not the story they tell.

There's not really any romantic aspect in this book, despite there being a lot of tension with husbands and other men in the novel. It's mentioned, it plays into things, but it's not the core and there's no big dramatic moments to draw attention away from the two women and their own internal strife.

As for the ending, I guess I liked it? It was tidy, and more or less went the way I wanted it to. Nothing very unexpected. It reflected the way I felt about the book overall: it was fine and did what I hoped it had. But it's been about two weeks since I finished it, and I don't remember either main characters' name, so that should give you some idea about it's staying power. Grab it for a quick diversion, but probably don't seek it out for it's own merit.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Disclaimer: I got this in exchange for an honest review.

This book is incredibly slow. I liked the concept - that two friends were exploring the possibility of love but I wish there was more to the book than that. Gwen and Iris are childhood friends but they become estranged at a certain point in the book. Because they're supposed to be in their thirties I expected them to act a little more rationally. I think others would enjoy this more than I did.

Can friends and friendships stand the test of time? It’s all subjective right? Or is it. Do we just forge the easiest path and close the doors to the past.

I loved Reasons for Avoiding Friends! This book discussed so many important issues about growing apart and finding our way back to each other. Such an important story to share.

Gwen and Iris have been friends forever, since first grade when Gwen was sitting by herself on the swings in a party dress much too fancy for school. Iris, from the wrong side of the tracks, but much more outgoing, befriended her and they were besties for years. And then Iris became a model, moved to NYC, and married a millionaire. Their lives have been so different for years and they haven't communicated at all.
Gwen is back in their home town, married with 3 kids, while Iris has been so wrapped up in her society page life that she didn't even invite Gwen to her wedding. They both have secrets: Gwen's husband has been unemployed for months, her kids are anything but Christmas-letter perfect, and her mother is a passive/aggressive harridan. Iris' stepdaughters hate her and her husband has a wandering eye. When Iris' life implodes, she has nowhere to go but back home, where she and Gwen have to rebuild their friendship. The author, Ms Leavell, depicts in a very sympathetic manner people living in "silent desperation". But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and these two friends know just how to turn things around. Painfully funny in parts, with a lovely message about the family you make for yourself.
I received this book at no charge from Netgalley and the author, but all opinions are my own.

This book is a light summer read and I enjoyed reading it. Gwen and Iris are childhood friends who lost connect with each other when life gets in the way. Social media seems to be the only way they keep a tab on each other and they both think the life of her friend is perfect until they meet in person when they are thirty nine. Gwen is very relatable and I love the way Megan Leavell narrated the story, situations and relationships of these two women between themselves and also with the society around them. My rating is 3.5.

The story reminded me of some characters in TV and movie shows. Gwen reminded me of Claire Dunphy in Episode 14 of Season 1 of the Modern Family when Claire compared herself to her successful old friend; Gwen's mother, Eileen, gave me the vibe of Naomi Bunch who has high expectations of her daughter, Rebecca Bunch, in Crazy Ex-girlfriend; and the women in Gwen’s neighborhood, are comparable to the condescending “plastics” from the Mean Girls.

The familiarity of the characters facilitates connection with them but the plot development was too slow for me that I wanted to quit the book midway. My curiosity about how the two main characters resolve their problems kept me going. However, my anticipation turned into a tepid reception of the moment they met after twenty years without communication and the moment their vulnerability uncovered their secrets. I was expecting a big drama but I guess the novel was intended to be a light read.

The author was still able to deliver the message of the book-- the people we love are more important than material things we have, which I greatly appreciate. She prodded me to reflect on my priorities.

I was really intrigued by the title of this novel. What could possibly make you want to avoid you friends?

Iris is a grab the bull by the horns type of woman, who goes after what she wants, and always gets it. Gwen likes to keep the peace without stirring the pot, and feels as though she is always one step behind. They were the best of friends, only brought closer through their differences… until one day they were not.

This is so relatable. The older we get, and the more “adulting” we do, the harder it is to stay in touch with friends, especially when they don’t live in the same city or even state. So what you see is what you get when it comes to social media, and usually that’s only the best of the best.

Interesting circumstances bring Iris back to her hometown in Wisconsin, where she reaches out to Gwen to get together for the first time in over a decade in person. One awkward situations leads to another, and she ends up staying with Gwen for three weeks.

Told from alternating perspectives, both women are still keeping secrets, but how long before one of them cracks? And can friendships really last through all of the deceit?

A special thanks to Megan Leavell, Cedar House Press and NetGalley for this ARC. The book comes out September 14!

CW: addiction, alcoholism, emotional abuse

This book was good but not my normal read. I enjoyed it but not too much going on in the drama area. I enjoyed a few of the characters for sure. And a few I didn’t connect with. Over all this book was a good read from the normal thriller drama that I normally read.
Iris was one to remember for sure. She was not what she seems for sure.
I would recommend this book to friends who need an easy mindless read to get out of everyday life.
Thanks NetGalley for this advanced copy!

Iris and Gwen, lifelong best friends, haven’t seen each in over a decade. Gwen, an almost 40 year old stay at home mom, is stressed about all the weight she’s put on, fitting in with all the “mean moms”, worried about her marriage and her husband’s unemployment, raising her three kids, and how to handle her overbearing and extremely unpleasant mother. While Iris, living “the dream” in NYC, is an alcoholic in rehab, and unhappily married to an older wealthy man who seems to be having an affair.

Iris reappears on Gwen’s front step seeking a place to stay and Gwen can’t turn her away. Over the course of three weeks these two women rediscover their friendship and help each other through some difficult circumstances and big decisions.

I thought this book was just ok. Gwen’s experiences are somewhat relatable to any stay at home mom, struggling to raise kids, worrying about weight gain and making friends. Gwen’s mother is awful. I don’t think I know anyone in real life who treats people including their own family quite like she does. She is selfish, spiteful, jealous, and mean. Iris isn’t a character I can relate to either. She moves to NYC to escape small town and marries a filthy rich man thinking it will solve all her problems. Does money ever solve all the problems?

The title is not really referring to avoiding actual friends. I think it’s referring to all the “mean moms” or casual friends who we wouldn’t trust with our deepest secrets. My advice, find your person or persons who you can be your self with and cut out all the toxic people from your life. Thank you to @netgalley for the free arc.