A totally relatable story about losing a close friend. I think anyone can relate to this story no matter what age they are and take something away from the book.

Loved the narration! Overall the story was nice but introduced a few too many characters and the book was pretty long.

2.5⭐️ (rounded up)
ARC

Fallon is struggling.  She is a mother of one and has somehow found herself abandoned by her best friend Beatrice and her group of mom friends.  While she has been trying to get her chocolate business going, she’s put her friends and mom duties on the back burner, so Fallon thinks the way to win back her friends hearts is to plan a Mexican fiesta.  Fallon also decides to join a friendship app and finds an old letter that she’s continued to bury.  Will Fallon be able to win back her friends and get her life in order?  Or will her “perfect” mom life be a distant memory?  

The Friendship Breakup is a single first person POV, mom-com with major friendship drama.
*I saw that this was listed as a romance on Goodreads and I would say that is not correct.  While there’s romance between Fallon and her husband, this is not a romance book.  

First off I am not a mother and I am not 40, and yet I feel more mature than the main character.  If we removed the fact that the FMC had a child this would easily be set in high school.  Beatrice has ghosted Fallon and Fallon has no idea why.  Now these two have been friends for 7 years, SEVEN YEARS and all Fallon does is text Beatrice asking her how she is.  Beatrice literally lives down the street, they take their kids to the same school, same soccer team, same friend group and Fallon can’t walk over and have a proper conversation with Beatrice?! I’m sorry what?  So instead of getting Beatrice alone to have a proper conversation Fallon plans a Mexican fiesta and plans to talk to Beatrice there… what a group of people lol.  The whole situation with the mom friend group literally felt like high school, elementary school even, like there’s seriously a mud fight at one point.  THESE ARE A BUNCH OF 40 YEAR OLDS!!

Throughout this book I definitely enjoyed the ‘side’ plots more.  Fallon trying to run her over chocolate business and open a storefront and the whole storyline about Fallon’s past and family were way more interesting for me.  I even cried about Fallon’s mother.  Also yes to therapy!!! The inclusion of Fallon going to therapy and working through her problems and her issues with the friend group was very well done.  I always LOVE when characters actually go to therapy to help them, instead of something magical coming to solve everything.  

While there’s not much I can relate to with Fallon, I do understand the various stressors in her life.  While I would have reacted to them differently and would have handled the situation with Beatrice and the mom friends way WAY differently I can see how these small communities can become like the school ground.  

I received an audiobook version of this book, narrated by Brenda Scott Wlazio and she did an excellent job!  Great narration all around! Brenda was able to give each character a distinct voice and really added to the humour of the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audio copy for an honest review. I love you guys 💕

Honestly i didnt get into this qudiobook i had to put it down. Im waiting for the right time to pick it back up. Because it was one of my anticipated reads just wasnt feeling it when it came out

Don't let the sweet cover fool you into thinking this is fluffy and lighthearted.  Anyone who has ever experienced a friendship breakup as an adult can tell you that it can be really heavy and difficult. Getting ghosted by an entire friend group often takes a big emotional toll. Some of the characters are unlikable the whole way through, and others you can see growth and progress (just like in real life). It really hit home for me.

I did NOT rate/review this on any sites- I listened to 20% of the book.  The characters are all mean and awful, and I just wasn't connecting.  
Thank you for the opportunity, but this one just wasn't for me.

I loved the narrator, and I loved the idea behind the story. The idea of separating from friendships and finding yourself is a beautiful thing at any age. It was a great story that tugged at the heartstrings and put certain things in my own life in perspective. I really enjoyed this one.

This started off slightly whiny and annoying but once you got into the story it was interesting. The story covers many topics from adoption to cheating to found family. Fallon is suddenly being ghosted by the woman she considers her mommy best friend, Beatrice. Beatrice and Fallon have worked through the struggles of being moms together and their daughters have been friends since they were babies. Suddenly, she starts getting the cold shoulder and she doesn't understand why. The series of events gives Fallon panic attacks and she looks for help to better her friendships and her life. It was great to see a portrayal of how some friendships are temporary and how this is not a judge of character of you. People grow apart and there are healthy ways of coping with these types of situations. The narrator does a great job of portraying all of this.

I absolutely loved this book! As a mom of 4- I've often dealt with a lot of the problems Fallon had to deal with - gossips, passive/aggressive "friend" groups, jealousy, secretiveness, jockeying for position in the hierarchy of group, being left out - I know some readers discount these things as "silly" but the fact of the matter is, it happens. Maybe it didn't happen to you - but it does happen. It's not just on the playground to the kids - the moms are often vipers as well and carry on the mean girlery activities long after their school days. There was A LOT on Fallons plate - beyond the loss of her main friend - appropriately called B (and we all know how well that fits now don't we....) I dont want to hear "hurt people, hurt people" nah - sis was a witch and did her darndest to cancel someone that she choose to exclude from her circle without so much as a second thought. So of course I'm cheering during the exciting soccer championship game ;) and I love the ending and the growth that Fallon experienced by the end. I have a new author to stalk now - welcome to my list Annie Cathryn!!! I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to many more!!! The narrator for this book - Brenda Scott Wlazlo - was phenomenal! Huge thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape media for a ARC of this amazing book!

So I’m not going to lie. I literally initially read this book by the cover. And I assumed it was going to be a romcom sort of book. Chick lit. But the subject matter was much heavier than the synopsis led me to believe. The story was definitely a darker side of friendships, at least the emotional toll they can have.

This is a fun read with several laugh out loud moments. It is like an elevated teenage drama, but with soccer moms and scandals. 

Audiobook Narrator was a good choice to bring this story to life. 

Big thanks to Net Galley, Annie Cathryn, and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to review this audiobook production.

This book is everything a 30 something mom has thought.  It's tough. Its funny. It's sad. It's fucking rough. But it's amazing. It's not ane easy read as an anxiety mom.  But it was an experience.

Great listen (or read).  This is certainly not your calm quiet suburb where all the moms lovingly help each other and they teach their children kindness and good behaviors by teaching by their behaviors and actions and hoping they’ll mirror them. These are mean girls turned mean grown women. And by mean, I mean awful, gossipy, truly awful nasty, snarky, lying jealous women.  They’re all a bunch of horrible high school girls with more money and cars. Fallon is trying to live her life, keep the wheels on the rail, get to the soccer game on time, fulfill her dream of opening a chocolate shop and mostly just trying to get through the day without disappointing herself, anyone else or have any major faux pas.  An enormous feat and one that seems harder and harder each and every day. The writing is fabulous and this is a total escape.  Fallon is fabulous. She isn’t trying to be anything other than who she is.  Human, fallible, resilient, a good friend, mom and partner.  When it all hits the fan, she tries to figure things out, and pivots to make the best of her life that she can when all the people she thought were her friends turn their snarky backs on her. It’s emotional, funny, witty, smart, well written, relatable and a thoroughly enjoyable book.  This is the authors debut and now I anxiously await what comes next.

The title of this book had me excited to read it. Stories about friendship can be quite rare, but those about friendship ruptures are nearly nonexistent. That very well may be the reason I wound up rather disappointed by this book. Rather than being able to to focus in on why the friendship came to an end, I was distracted by repeated mentions of whether or not the women in the story had children. I can acknowledge that not every story is written for me, but as a woman there is so much more to us than whether or not we have kids and I wish this story hadn't contradicted that. 

I did appreciate that the main character experienced good growth throughout though. 

2.5 stars rounded down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for the opportunity to read and review.

Having been ghosted by friends and feeling the pain of it all. This hit home for me. This was true to life and also entertaining.

When it comes to books about motherhood, this is a must-read. As moms, we’ve all experiences the highs and lows of making new mom friends, but this story looks at what happens when friendships run their course.

Do you fight to keep the friendship alive or send it on its way? Well, Fallon is not letting them go so easily and her attempts to win back her friends are hysterical, but also poignant. This book about friendship had me examining my own relationships.

The Friendship Breakup is a story about a mom being ghosted by her mom friends. 

Fallon's friends ghost her, rather than have a difficult and uncomfortable conversation about changes to their own relationships. We see the ripple effect of having one friend cut her out of the group, and how that impacts her other relationships as well as those of her daughter's and Fallon's navigation of the situation.

I think anyone that has been through a similar ghosting by a close friend will come into this book with expectations about the pain that ensues from from a friend breakup, and I actually thought this book was a bit more shallow than I expected. It was interesting that other reviewers thought it would be more lighthearted, but everything is subjective! The treatment of the subject made the book not too difficult or painful to read, but I don't know that it adequately presented the aftermath of this type of ghosting. 

Enjoyable audio narration.

Thank you to @netgalley and @alcovepress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @dreamscape_media for a free download of the audiobook. 

Synopsis:  
Fallon Monroe, mother of one, self-help book junkie, and budding chocolatier, has always relied on her mom friends in the Chicago suburbs to get her through the trials of adulthood. So, when her bestie Beatrice inexplicably starts ghosting her and takes all their mutual friends with her, Fallon’s left wondering how everything went so wrong. Pushing down a lifetime of insecurities, Fallon doubles down and decides to win them back. First, she hosts an epic Mexican fiesta that goes epically wrong. Then she joins a friendship app but discovers a disturbing secret about one of her new friends.

Thoughts:
I loved the emphasis on friendships and the roles they play in a woman’s life as she gets older. The characters are complex, and I enjoyed seeing Fallon grow over the course of the book. I was expecting this book to be a little more lighthearted. Some of the storyline felt forced, but not enough that kept me from enjoying the overall story. 
  
4 stars 

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #alcovepress #dreamscapemedia #ltbreaderteam #thefriendshipbreakup #anniecathryn

This was a compelling mom-com women's fiction story perfect for fans of authors like Camille Pagan and Kelly Harms. Highly relatable, especially in this age of increased isolation and loneliness. The author does such a good job illustrating how difficult it can be to maintain old female friendships and begin new ones (especially for moms!). Great on audio narrated by Brenda Scott Wlazlo (a new to me narrator). Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

What a stunning debut novel by Annie Cathryn! It hits you right between the eyes with real life mama drama that any mother is faced with at any point in their lives as you try to navigate friendships with your mom groups.

I had an immediate connection with Fallon and can feel her pain and confusion that arises from her friend group ghosting her. She is left on the sidelines as the rest of the group plans spa days, lunches, and get togethers that they love to flaunt on social media.  Most of us have dealt with a friendship or a group of friends that have suddenly turned on you. You are faced with the unknown of what happened, being left on the outside looking in. A hole being ripped open and dread settling heavily upon yourself, as you come to terms with the adult mean girls.

I found so much joy in reading this book. The descriptions and details that go into Fallon's chocolate making will leave you reaching for a bonbon or a truffle. Friends will come and go, but true friends will always be around no matter what.