I really enjoyed this women’s fiction novel. It effortlessly explored the topic of female friendships in adulthood and how they evolve during the different stages of a person’s life. The main character, Fallon, was very likable and had a lot going on in her life that was causing some anxiety and panic attacks. She saw a sudden change in her friendships with other mothers in her community and suddenly found herself being excluded from get-together without any explanation. I thought her exploration into the complexities of these friendships and her journey into determining if these friendships were worth saving to be insightful. She really seemed to find, with the help from her therapist, the reason she held these friendships so close and also found ways to really take a closer look at them to see what value they were or weren’t bringing to her life. Her friendships with Avery and Mel were wonderful and it was great being able to see that side of her.

Her further exploration into her marriage, motherhood, adoption, and her start-up business really brought a lot to the story and provided opportunities for a lot of character growth. There were situations that Fallon found herself in that provided readers with laugh out loud moments and also times of reflection and understanding. This was a great read for me and I really enjoyed having the audiobook version for this one!

Fallon is married, has an adorable daughter and a great group of mom friends. Everything is perfect, until she notices her best friend Beatrice is ignoring her, and so is the whole Ma-Squad. So she tries to find out why that is.

I found it quite difficult to relate to Fallon. I know what it's like to lose touch with friends but I thought that both Fallon and the other moms were behaving childishly. I found none of them to be very likeable but then again I'm not a white suburban mom, so I can't really relate to their problems. I guess I'm just not in the main target group for this kind of book. I'm sure others will enjoy it more, as it was both funny, while also showing more serious topics, like the struggle of motherhood and the loss of friendship.

Thank you to the author, Alcove Press and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this debut novel a very mixed bag - on the one hand, I found the protagonist deeply relatable in terms of her issues and questions around friendship. Her thoughts, desires and vulnerabilities are those that many of us also experience. Once the story revealed more of the protagonist's backstory, this became even more understandable. and I loved the judgement-free and positive portrayal of therapy/couples therapy - although I found the way the adoption sub-plot was dealt with disturbing. And on the other hand, the protagonist lives a life that oozes privilege: cis straight white upper middle-class, very comfortable financially (100 pairs of shoes, really?), US stay-at-home mom living in a wealthy, boring suburb. Not to mention the ingrained cultural/sexual biases that are communicated as the normal status quo - sorry, this was not my cup of tea at all. Okay, I don't live in the USA, so maybe this rubbed me the wrong way - but I kind of hoped we were past these types of characters.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐩
𝐁𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐲𝐧
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐀𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟐.𝟕.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝒞𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒮𝑜𝑜𝓃!

Thank you @msanniecathryn and @alcovepress for the gifted ebook and @dreamscape_media for the complimentary audiobook.

I was lucky enough to participate in the cover reveal for this book, and now I had so much fun listening to it.

Fallon is so relatable because she’s a wife, a mom, an upstart business owner, and about to turn forty. But what resounded with me the most was that she was losing friends, and she wasn’t sure why- 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!

Annie Cathryn did a great job displaying the truth of how rumors, gossiping, and petty jealousy can destroy friendships, or maybe it brings to light the toxicity that exists within a circle of friends. Though Fallon struggled and was caught in the mire and misunderstandings, there were some very humorous moments. The narrative also wove in a subplot about Fallon’s own adoption discovery that adds depth and insight to her character.

Overall a fun, heartfelt story about how messy female friendships can be. Oh, and be prepared to want a sweet treat seeing that Fallon’s business launch is chocolates.

I loved this book! Will be checking more out from this author and will be recommending it to friends!!!

Fallon is being ghosted by her best friend and by extension, the entire friend group and doesn't know what to do with herself. After some soul searching, she ends up with a better support system and moves forward.

This book was out of my regular wheelhouse and I would class it more literary fiction than I usually read. I was charmed to see that the main character had previously had relationships with her spouse but was generally in a good place. All of the drama came from outside the home. I didn't see why she was fighting so hard to keep these friends but to each their own.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove Press, and Annie Cathryn for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

3.5 upped to 4
i found the characters well plotted even if a bit too juvenile at times. Female friendship can a be a minefield and this books talks about we can be surprised by friends and how we can react and try to get them back.
It's funny but there's some moments that I felt cringey not humorous.
I'm on the fence but I'm sure a lot of people will like it.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This one didn’t work for me. In short…this felt cringey when it was likely meant to be funny.

This felt incredibly juvenile. You had 40 something Mom friends, but Fallon made everything feel very 7th grade dramatic. I’m sorry, but at my age (35) if my “friends” were treating me this way, I wouldn’t spend tons of money on lavish parties to “win them back” I’d have a conversation with them and move on.

This almost felt slap stick in the comedic attempts. Just not for me.

I liked this because it's a realistic look at female friendships- not all friends stick around for life because sometimes life just happens. That's what Fallon discovers when she realizes that Beatrice is ghosting her but she's determined to fix things. And, she's got her own stuff going on, not the least of which is a teen aged daughter, a husband, and a chocolate business to get up and running. Fallon also must deal with her own backstory, which she's pushed down for far too long. Some of this will make you laugh, some might make you nod in recognition but it's always got a good heart. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Forrest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Isn’t that the truth?

Meet Fallon - nearly 40 years old, pre-menopausal, chocolate-making, mother of one. But worst of all - she's being ghosted - by her best friend Beatrice.

A brilliant book about relationships- the good, the bad and the ugly.a story about how life doesn't always go to plan.

This book just felt so real and was completely relatable even though our life circumstances do not match up at all. Highly recommend!

4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Special thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Friendship Breakup
Rate: 3/5 stars

"If a friendship lasts longer than 7 years, psychologists say it will last a lifetime."

"If a friendship lasts longer than 7 years, you are no longer just friends, you are family."

Seven years. They are in the year that will either make or break their friendship...

For the past seven years, motherhood has become bearable for Fallon Monroe, an aspiring chocolatier and a mom to a 7-year old, all thanks to her bestfriend, Beatrice and their fellow mom-friends. Everything's well until Beatrice starts to ghost her and leave her out of the group without any idea why. Determined to win her bestfriend back, Fallon ends up on a series of missteps which eventually lead to self-discovery and learn what truly matters.

----------------

THOUGHTS: A quick and lighthearted read that made me wanna hug my friends (and EAT CHOCOLATES!). The Friendship Breakup is a book that a lot of people could definitely relate to. It explores relationships, parenthood, and following your dreams. This book shed light on the importance of a healthy friendship and that it's okay to cut off people to keep yourself away from toxicity and leave yourself room for growth. I also enjoyed the references in this book- Harry Styles, FRIENDS, Katy Perry, and more! However, there were moments I believe is intended to be humorous but it didn't quite clicked for me. Still, this is an enjoyable read!

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review! Review will be posted on my bookstagram soon (near or on pub date).

This is a most welcome read, regardless of your status as a mom/parent/caregiver, etc. Women should talk more about the nuances and complexities of friendships in adulthood and navigating friendships across different stages of adulthood/different types of friends. I loved the story as it was filled with laughs but also was genuinely relatable, the insecurities that haunt us all from early adulthood, even adolescence, and persist somehow into our adult lives and relationships. I really liked the connection that emerged for Fallon with her younger self and how that informed her approach to an unexpected friendship challenge.

Learning and relearning your authentic self are always important stories.

I really enjoyed reading The Friendship Breakup as a fun, easy to read, entertaining story. I must admit I'm definitely the target audience for this one being a married, white mother in my early 40s so it was easy to relate. It was nice to have a focus on friendships, rather than romantic relationships. I especially liked the fact that Fallon had good friends who didn't live in her town, with her college best friend and her Mom friend who had moved away. The story tackles many deep issues such as divorce, cheating, adoption, exclusion but does so in a way that seems realistic and entertaining, not too depressing. I found the story moving and just an overall fun read.

This book isn't bad it's just not for me. Nothing about this book kept me interested enough to want to finish it. I also think that the reason her and her friend separate is valid but isn't shown in the writing. If her friend is jealous of her marriage then the book should have done a better job at showing that they have a good one.

I received an arc through netgalley.

2.75/5 stars.

I really wanted to like this book because I feel like the struggles of the main character are relatable — middle-aged mom, trying to figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life now that she's past her childbearing years. But the issues she faced in the book just seemed so... upper class suburban mom? To the point that I would cringe sometimes at her train of thought. Like her friends aren't inviting her to things anymore so she decides to throw an expensive fiesta party that week? I think the book sent a good message that not all friendships are meant to last forever, but it seemed juvenile at times.

I liked at the end of it all that she followed her dream and did what was best for her, so for that, it gets 2.75 stars.

I ended up loving this book even though, at first, I didn't really like Fallon. And the rest of the women in this book? Oh, dear, what wonderful *ithches they were! Perhaps the reason I loved this book was because I'm older and have already lived through things like this?

This book ends up being a personal growth novel as well as a good gossipy back-stabbing *ithchy book. And let me tell you, sometimes I could really use a good one of those!

Fallon wonders what she has done to have her best friend ghost her, ignore her, yell at her, and take all her other friends away. At this point, I was snorting at the childishness of this, and then I though-oh, wait, that had happened to me too, and I did spend a lot of time worrying about what I had done to deserve treatment like this. So I could easily see myself in this position.

What we do eventually learn is that Fallon had a major issue when growing up that helps her be so unsure of herself.

Fallon has a wonderful hobby of making chocolates, so all you chocoholics may want to keep that in mind! She has a wonderful family, a great husband, and a good therapist, so that all helps, as well as Fallon making some new friends.

I think that this book is going to be going on my comfort read shelf for when I need a boost and some giggles,

*ARC supplied by the publisher Alcove Press, NetGalley, and the author Annie Cathryn.

The Friendship Break Up is something most women can probably relate to. Adult friendships can be complicated and not all relationships last. In this tale we meet Fallon who suddenly feels like she lost her friend and doesn’t know why. As she seeks to understand and build friendships there are many missteps. The moments that were probably meant to be humor-for me were more cringy. But the message in this story of believing in your own worth and finding the right tribe resonates. 3.5 stars

Such a good read! It felt super relatable as a mom, friend and wife. It was moving while still being very funny and heartwarming.

📚 The Friendship Breakup
✍ Annie Cathryn
📖 Women's Fiction
⭐3/5
Pub date: 2.7.23
◾
🙏 Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the eARC of The Friendship Breakup in exchange for my honest review.
◾
💭 Aspiring chocolatier and suburban mom Fallon Monroe has relied on her mom-friends to get her through the tougher aspects of parenthood the last seven years. When her best friend ghosts her and starts planning group get togethers excluding her, she begins scheming ways to win her way back into the good graces her friends. A few failed attempts at making memories later, she finds herself in the market for some new friends but starts to realize that the friendships that really matter have been there all along.
◾
🎯 What I loved: The importance of finding community when raising a child isn't a sentiment that is lost on me. Feeling like a failure when you're raising a small human is common and finding people that can laugh with you about the little things makes it all seem doable. I liked the scenes in this book that felt real and raw pertaining to motherhood (getting stuck in construction and being late for school, etc.).

🙅‍♀️ What I didn't: I found it really hard to relate to Fallon- even as a suburban mother myself. Her obsession with being part of the cool mom friends group felt superficial and immature and the amount of privilege she oozed throughout the book was frustrating. From her obsession with shoes and sunglasses to her comments about taking two years after her daughter went to school to 'organize her closets,' I was astounded by the level of ignorance one character could exude. And I know a lot of the small disasters she encountered while trying to win back her friends were supposed to be funny but something missed the mark for me.
◾
Read if you love:
*mom-friends, motherhood humor
*lighthearted fiction
*commentary on friendship later in life
◾
See also: Happy and You Know It, All We Ever Wanted, Truly Madly Guilty

The following review will be posted on my blog, Sunday, February 5th, 2 days before publication. It will be shared on Twitter and Instagram between that day and the day of publication, and has already been posted on Goodreads. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.





“I am grateful for the experience of our friendship. Rather than continuing to force the friendship at the cost of losing myself, it’s okay to recognize the friendship has run its course and served its purpose, and to let it go. (…) When I think back to the term BFF, I realize the promise of forever isn’t always guaranteed. It’s more like forever for now.”

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discussed unhealthy relationships, infertility, divorce, and friendship breakups (duh).

“The Friendship Breakup” follows Fallon Monroe, a mom-of-one and aspiring chocolatier, as she travels through life after her best mom friends ghost her, and refuse to tell her why.

It took me a while to finish this book but that’s only a reflection on how busy I have been—because once I grabbed it with a bit of free time, I couldn’t put it down. How is this Annie Cathryn’s debut? It’s astounding.

The climax was so cathartic, reminding us that sometimes its okay if things get messy. The premise in general was captivating and beautifully executed. I literally would not change a thing about this book.

This book is heartbreaking in a way that, I feel, most of us will understand. In early adulthood and I can only assume that beyond, we lose friends. Only a lucky few have had the same friends since childhood. Even if you have a few old friends, new ones tend to come and go—and sometimes we don’t even know why, and sometimes the reasons don’t even have much to do with us. That’s why I related so much to Fallon, even if I am not more than just a dog mom and engaged to be married.

I looked at “The Friendship Breakup” and I pondered about where me and my friends and my significant other will be 10 or 20 years from now. How much would change, how much would stay the same. I’ll be carrying this book with me for a while.

I would highly recommend this to any young or new adult, no matter what stage of your life you’re in. It’s described as a mom-com, but really it’s so much more. “The Friendship Breakup” will bring you lessons of friendship, relationships, parenthood, and following your dreams. Seriously, I cannot recommend it enough.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: February 7, 2023