I wanted to enjoy, and love this book but it just didn’t work! The pacing was my main discouraging thing!

Three women - Brooke, Elizabeth, and Susan - navigate life, love, and friendship in the city of Manhattan.

The story follows Brooke, who questions her marriage and embarks on a new adventure in Hollywood. Elizabeth, facing a devastating diagnosis, strives to redefine herself and hold onto her identity. Susan, despite newfound financial security, grapples with uncertainty in her relationship and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

This book almost reminded me of "Three Women" by Lisa Taddeo, which I loved.

Book Review: "Friends With Issues" by Meredith Berlin

In Meredith Berlin's debut novel, "Friends With Issues," readers are introduced to three dynamic women - Brooke, Elizabeth, and Susan - who navigate the complexities of life, love, and friendship in the bustling city of Manhattan. Berlin's poignant storytelling and relatable characters make this book a compelling page-turner.

The story follows Brooke, who questions her marriage and embarks on a new adventure in Hollywood. Elizabeth, facing a devastating diagnosis, strives to redefine herself and hold onto her identity. Susan, despite newfound financial security, grapples with uncertainty in her relationship and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

Berlin skillfully weaves together the lives of these three friends, exploring themes of love, identity, and the unexpected twists that life can bring. The author's writing is engaging and evocative, capturing the emotional depth of each character's journey.

One of the strengths of "Friends With Issues" is Berlin's ability to create well-rounded and relatable characters. Readers will find themselves invested in the lives of Brooke, Elizabeth, and Susan, rooting for their triumphs and empathizing with their struggles. The author tackles complex issues with sensitivity and authenticity, offering a nuanced portrayal of the challenges faced by women in today's society.

Thank you for thw opportunity to read the ARC of this book. This was a run light read. A sex in the city type. Friendships and romance and career choices. I really enjoyed this book and I hope you do as well.

This book was incredibly confusing. The synopsis sounds like a good storyline, but when you get to about 25% in and still can't work out who is who out of the three women, it becomes somewhat of an arduous read. It was also very slow to get going, and just didn't really grab my attention in any special way.

Thanks to NetGalley and Warren publishing for access to an early copy of Friends with Issues. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. I found myself confusing characters often and that the plot just did not have enough to truly keep my interest. It took me months to get through this book.

This is a novel with an interesting plot, and considerable possibility, but it’s ultimately emotionally shallow and unsatisfying.
Nick and Susan have been married a long time, although they’re largely going through the motions now. It’s been years since they slept together. Both have regular affairs with others, and it’s questionable whether they still love each other. But their partnership makes for a comfortable day to day life, and so they continue, each aware of the others’ infidelity.
Elizabeth was initially Nick’s friend. A talented magazine editor, she and he (the financial backer) made a great success of a magazine together. Elizabeth has retired, though. A MS diagnosis, and the effects, have made it impossible for her to continue such a demanding job. But now, Nick is trying to entice her back. He’s found a failing magazine to buy, and he thinks that Elizabeth could help him turn it around.
At a dinner party, Elizabeth introduces Nick to her friend Brooke. Brooke is not in a great place. She’s realizing that her husband hasn’t kicked his addictions, their money is running out, and their daughters may be at risk with her husband. It’s hardly surprising that she’s attracted to Nick.
A rather lack lustre tale of entangled relationships, personal and professional, commences.
One of the challenges of a novel like this is that readers really need to either like or identify with (or ideally both) at least one character. Unfortunately, while a couple of the characters were mildly likeable, none of them were really engaging. Even more important, none of them were really the kinds of people you can identify with.
For example, let’s take Brooke. She’s a lawyer who stopped working to be a stay at home mum. But when she realizes that her husband is a drug addict, and their money is rapidly running out, does she get a job? No. She starts using semi precious stones in her metalwork instead of precious jewels. That’s not a particularly relatable reaction.
The entire novel is emotionally shallow, skimming the surface of what could be a moving and interesting set of relationships. If the author took us far enough into their emotional lives, the lack of relatability wouldn’t matter. Unfortunately, she fails. I never felt a character come to life, shared their emotions, or even felt for them. I just didn’t care.
Indeed, when significant events happen, like Nick’s death (this is explicitly foretold in the first sentence, so this is no spoiler), none of the characters really seem to respond much. It’s shown to us at quite a distance, and it’s hard to care because no-one else seems to.
There are strengths here. Berlin writes vividly of the processes involved in producing a magazine, and of many of the aspects of metal working. She also depicts the emotions involved in becoming disabled, and of having a disability where the effects can vary from day to day, vividly. In fact, this may be the best part of this novel. Her depiction of Elizabeth and her day to day struggles is empathetic and real. It is the closest thing the novel has to an emotional centre, although it appears that it’s supposed to be incidental to the main plot.
I found this readable, but not truly enjoyable. I found it hard to care about any of the characters and found the lack of emotional connection distractingly obvious throughout.

Apologies that I wasn't able to read and review this book as planned, for personal reasons. However, I find the premise fascinating and do hope I'll be able to purchase and read in the future. Apologies to author and publisher.

I will read anything about a group of messy friends. This was a fun read.
This reminded me of sex in the city but just more modern but just as real. I loved how raw this was, I loved getting into the drama with all the friends.

Hm. How to describe this book? Well in the end I still don't really understand what was going on or the point behind it. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't horrible. It was a book about a group of friends and their crazy wild lives and how they intertwined. I got that. What I didn't get was the overall plot. I also thought the shock value was unnecessary. Just didn't seem like a clean wrap up at the end and if anything it just left me more confused. Who knows, maybe it was just me?

Short and quick read, fast paced but a little boring.

Overall it was alright.

As a Female over 40 , I loved this! So many books these days are about 20 somethings, or even 30 . It was refreshing to find a book with relatable women. I loved this book so much! Well written and full of fun, scandal and a real page turner. 4 stars

The idea of this book is nice, however it was too slow for me. I was struggling to read it until the end.

At first, I didn’t know what to make of this book. But as I read more & more of it, I couldn’t put this one down. It was interesting how the characters were separate but they interweaved together throughout the book. If not for other obligations, I would have read this one in one setting. I cannot wait to read more books by Meredith Berlin!!

Brooke, Elizabeth, and Susan are now in their 40s and living in Manhattan. After living their best lives in their 20s and 30s, they're each trying to figure out who they are now. With older children, aging marriages, and second act careers, we delve get an inside look into each of their personal lives. A deep inside look. This is Sex and the City: The Second Act. And it's just as juicy and dramatic as the original.

Written from the perspective of all three women, this is truly an exceptional inside look at women who are truly figuring out who they are and what they want in life. The cover doesn't do this book justice in my opinion. It's hot and sexy and thoughtful and heartbreaking. The author truly captured what life is like as a woman on the cusp of something new yet also leaving things behind. Touching on marriage, sexuality, friendship, and parenthood, this book is a must read for any Sex and the City or Real Housewives fan!

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Thank you to Meredith Berlin, Warren Publishing, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I liked but didn't love this book. I found the characters to be difficult at first and the book hard to get into.

I was first attracted to the cover and blurb! Thank goodness, the story itself did not disappoint. It feels like a milder version of Sex and the City as this story follows three women in their 40s as they navigate through their careers, personal lives and friendships. The characters were relatable and had great development throughout the story that you can’t help but empathise with them from time to time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend you to pick this up. Thank you Netgalley and Warren Publishing for the arc.

I really liked the premise of this book - a literary glimpse behind the curtain of each individual guest/couple at a dinner party (+ the before and after). I never felt super invested in the characters though, which made it a bit of a slow burn for me.

A compelling debut looking at how women's friendships evolve over time, I emjoyed this book. Looking forward to reading whatever Ms. Berlin writes next!

Such a fun read! I loved being in these characters’ worlds - it was a wild ride from start to finish and over all, I really enjoyed it.

This book ABSOLUTELY gave me “The Real Housewives” vibes - fairly unlikeable (yet glamorous) characters that you couldn’t help but root for and plot lines that made me feel as though I gossiping over coffee with friends!

This book is about real life - work, marriage, sexuality, illness, friendship… and although that might not be everyone’s jam, I quite enjoyed reading something that represented the challenges and triumphs of every day people.