The Friendship Breakup by Annie Cathryn is a heartfelt and relatable exploration of the complexities of adult friendships and the emotional toll of drifting apart. The story follows Fallon, a woman grappling with the sudden collapse of her closest friendship, as she navigates feelings of loss, self-doubt, and the search for new connections. Cathryn’s writing is tender and insightful, capturing the nuances of friendship with honesty and empathy. The emotional depth of Fallon’s journey resonates deeply, offering a poignant reminder of how relationships shape and define us.

Great story and beautifully told! As someone who has experienced a friendship breakup in real life, this story was like therapy. It definitely resonated with me.

The Friendship Breakup follows Fallon as she realizes that she's no longer being invited to events by some of her friends, and her struggles to repair that relationship, on top of her other life events, such as opening her chocolate business.

Usually, a book like this where the main plot hinges on miscommunication would drive me crazy, however I feel like the way Fallon handled this was very realistic. All of her struggles and how she communicated about and dealt with them, with friends, her husband, and her therapist, all felt really solid. I think that's what I can commend Annie Cathryn for the most: she really understood her character and how she would react, but didn't let it go so over the top. And while some of the situations aren't something we would all be involved in, the central theme of this book being the search for friends and how to deal with this desire to be loved by everyone forever, really resonated.

That being said, the biggest reason I didn't enjoy this book was the pacing. Things felt too drawn-out, and I needed Fallon to just suck it up and have a talk with her "friends" already. This book could have been a bit faster paced and I think it would have benefited. Also for me personally, this book's theme didn't resonate. But I'm not holding that against the book, this is just very clearly meant for women in their mid-thirties and early forties and I think it needs that audience.

Overall, I think The Friendship Breakup was an interesting character study and read almost like a self-help book that Fallon loves reading. I didn't dislike it, just felt like it wasn't meant for me at this season in my life, and I wished it had moved a little faster, especially in the beginning.

We spend so much time thinking of romantic breakups and makeups, but friendship is one of the key drivers of our lives. I loved the concept of Annie Cathryn's The Friendship Breakup with its unapologetic focus on the ups and downs of female friendship.

This book is for anyone who has ever experienced a friendship breakup and was left sifting through the pieces.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

An intense, piercing portrayal of a concept that is common in almost everyone's life that is rarely spoken about. The Friendship Breakup is so captivating and heartwrenching!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

1/5 stars
I did not like this book at all, the only redeeming quality was that I enjoyed the narrator. I had it on 2x speed which is why I finished it till the end. If I was reading it I would not have finished. The reason I gave it one star is that I finished it.

The Friendship Breakup by Annie Cathryn is both funny and relatable. I enjoyed this read.

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This novel follows a mom who has a core group of friends, one of whom is suddenly acting...odd. Without any idea why, she tries to figure out how to 'fix' the problem. Through the course of the novel and one attempt after another, she comes to realize people you thought would be there for your aren't but that their behavior isn't always about her.

It is funny and poignant, although there are a lot of parts and things that happen throughout the novel. Overall I enjoyed the book, and its reflection on how life and people can be messy and beautiful all at the same time.

The narrator did a nice job and provided nice inflection as she read the novel.

This story was very enjoyable. It was different from a typical read as it focused on a friendship rather than a relationship. I enjoyed the writing, and the characters in this story.

BOOK REVIEW

The Friendship Breakup by Annie Cathryn

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This book… I truly have so many conflicting emotions. It shows how messy friendships, relationships and being a mom can be in a very real and relatable way. Plus, therapy, couples as well as individual, is a very integral part of the book which I love (everyone can benefit from therapy okay? I am a therapy STAN). It is a very healing book… but the main character and her fellow “mom friends” can be incredibly juvenile and because of that I found myself frustrated with the book more than I was enjoying it. However, there are some great take aways!

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.