The Friendship Breakup is exactly what the title indicates, a story about a woman who is suddenly being “ghosted” by someone she thought was her best friend. They are almost 40 years old and lived through the demanding early years of parenthood together. But suddenly Beatrice isn’t talking to Fallon or answering any of her texts, and Fallon doesn’t know why.

I was very irritated with this group of so-called friends. They acted childish and very superficial. Their group is called the Ma Spa Squad! (Ick) Fallon’s more long-term friends (Avery and Mel), who do not live in the same small town as Fallon, were much better people, in my opinion. There were a lot of women to keep track of in the story, but eventually I was able to keep everyone straight.

The story is pretty entertaining, with one disaster after another, so I chucked quite a few times. Underneath, however, are serious themes. Fallon is feeling the physical effects of stress. She has one young daughter and is trying to establish her own small business as a chocolatier, as well as hold her marriage together. This ghosting situation is pretty much the final straw and she does go see a doctor as well as a therapist. I liked Fallon’s personal growth throughout the novel and I was glad she eventually realized she could do better than those former friends.

A couple of quotes I liked:
“People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.”

“Walking away from a relationship that no longer works for either person is freeing.”

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook was narrated quite well by Brenda Scott Wlazlo.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook and to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Loved this book. Making friends as an adult mom can be so hard. And women can be mean. My heart went out to Fallon so many times and I just wanted to reach through the book, give her a hug and tell her "You're doing a great job, Mama". The narrator captured the emotion of the book beautifully. I'm already telling my friends to be ready for this one on publication day.

Thank you to NetGalley, Annie Cathryn and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The Friendship Breakup is an interesting story about a mom who is working on trying to figure out her life now that she is on the verge of turning forty and her friendships are not how she thought they would be. While I have read a lot of stories before around friendships and motherhood, they are usually surrounding single moms who are in the middle of a romance type journey. This one instead finds Fallon already married and instead focused on all the other aspects in her life. As Fallon lives in suburbia and does not work the nine to five type jobs, she had the time and money to do things like hang out with other moms, go to all the school events, etc., so this will not be relatable to every type of reader. It can come across as very privileged as Fallon’s main problems were just surrounding herself and her friends and not a lot of the other struggles that other people go through. While this was not a criticism, it was just details that I noticed while reading.

Fallon is part of a mom group in her suburb where she has been closest with one of the mom’s named Beatrice. Seemingly out of the blue, Beatrice stops talking to Fallon and deceiving the other members of the friend group, Lila, and Vivian, that Fallon is the one pulling away. The dynamic of the mom group is nicely set up as initially the reader sees Fallon with her husband and 7-year-old daughter Maya before the reader becomes familiar with one of the moms, Eleanor, who was going through a difficult time with her husband and ended up having a public affair with the principal at her kid’s school. I’m not a fan of cheating, so I could not quite understand why Eleanor was made out to be a sympathetic character as she was cast out by the mom group. I am not sure if it was just me or if other readers will feel the same way, but I did not see it as negative that the other moms cast out Eleanor as that is their choice.

While listening to this story, it was interesting to see how the author wrote Fallon’s determination to get to the bottom of her friendship with Beatrice and the possibility of them reconciling. It is not my approach to the situation, so it was difficult to fully connect yet I still enjoyed seeing another approach. If I was in Fallon’s situation, which I have in the past, I would still be curious about what happened to end the friendship, but I would not be interested in ever being close with Beatrice or the other women in the group again. Fallon does not approach things as I would, which is a nice thing to read about as this is the beauty of fiction as they are not copies of me. The story mixes in the lighter side in a way with just a basic friendship ghosting along with heavier topics, which was unexpected. I do wish that some of these were explored in greater depth, but I do like that it felt more realistic that everything was not super clean in either how it was dealt with or how it was resolved. Fallon’s life is messy and although it may not include some stressors that others feel, this was a nice story about her experience. Overall, the author’s writing style was engaging. As I listened to the audiobook, I also felt it was easy to follow along. Based on this story, I would read more from the author in the future.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed are completely my own.**

I don't even know where to start with this one! I feel so bad for Fallon but then I realize she doesn't know how to be a friend either. These ladies are exactly why I never want to live in a housing plan and I'm not sorry I'm not friends with all my kids friends parents. HAHA

Fallon has been excluded from her friend groups events and she has no idea why. Self doubt and miscommunication then run rampant through the rest of the book. This book gives a lot to think about in our own actions but also when we should just cut ties with people even if they've been in our lives for a long time. Fallon then decides to make some new friends but that just causes more drama. Thankfully Fallon has a supportive husband in Max. That ending! All the tears!

Overall I enjoyed this book that is really not even close to what I normally read. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to read and review this book. Brenda Scott Wlazlo did a beautiful job of bringing Annie Cathryn's story to life with her audio. 

#TheFriendshipBreakup #NetGalley #DreamscapeMedia#AnnieCathryn #BrendaScottWlazlo #MomCom #MomLife#MomDrama

We’ve all been in a situation where we’ve had a friend breakup & this story is so relatable! I’m so glad Fallon realized that she didn’t need Beatrice & had friends who appreciated her. It was refreshing to read his Fallon moved on & didn’t need to change herself to fit toxic expectations! I also loved the fact that Fallon & Max had a relatable marriage. All in all it was a very enjoyable read!

This was a delightful listen! I am not always a fan of audiobooks, but this drew me in. Though I did not like Fallon at first, I quickly grew to love her as I learned more about why she is the way she is. I could relate to a lot of the insecurities that Fallon experienced in the novel related to motherhood and life as a whole. I appreciate that her character was not and did not claim to be perfect. Thank you Annie Cathryn, Dreamscape Publishing, and Nat Galley for this eARC.

3.5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this book early! This is women's fiction defined. This book is about a woman named Fallon. She has a 7ish year old daughter, an OBGYN husband, and a friend group that has recently ditched her. Her best friend for the last 7 years, Beatrice, is ghosting her and she doesn't know why. The beginning of this book annoyed me terribly because Fallon is just so desperate to get back in the good graces of this woman and its annoying. However, we get to see her in therapy working through WHY she cares so much and she has a history that makes it make a lot of sense. I loved getting to see that inside look into Fallon and I loved seeing her be proactive in healing. Some of the exercises her therapist suggested were actually really helpful! Fallon has 2 other BFF's that are present for her throughout which made it even harder to understand why she cared so much about the jerky friend, but anxieties and insecurities don't have to make sense. I think this book said a lot about friendship and codependency and I appreciated that. However, it still was annoying to read at times. I don't think it'll be super memorable but it was pretty good while reading!

The Friendship Breakup introduced me to one of my least favorite main characters in a book in recent memory. Fallon is a young mom who is dealing with some fallout from her group of mom friends. Fallon does not know what she did to be pushed out from the group and spends most of the book trying to figure it out.

Fallon and her friends come off as super immature, entitled, petty, and just very annoying. From getting to know Fallon I don’t think a reason is really needed to kick her out of the friend group. Then on the other hand getting kicked out of a group like that is kind of a blessing.

I am around the same age as Fallon and I can confidently say none of my friends act like this at our age. This is all high school drama at a time of your life when you shouldn’t worry about drama like this.

Fallon is extremely fortunate. She has a loving husband and a healthy child. So many people her age would give anything for that. It took her way too long to realize what she has is more than enough. At least she got there tough.

I have a hard time recommending this one. I don’t know who it’s for. The description says Fallon will be relatable for millennials, but I respectfully disagree with that statement. No one I know acts like that. I did like the ending and how it all came together but it’s too much immaturity before you get there.

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!

I really enjoyed having the audiobook version for this one! The narrator was fantastic!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I was really excited to read this book. I love the cover. It is an interesting story. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it, the sorry was okay. I found it to me more of a suburban mom/wife just complaining about everything in her life and so bothered why her friend is not talking to her. Just for an adult woman just seemed ehh like a teenage girls diary entry.

3.5 Stars rounded up!

Fallon Monroe is a character you want to hug. She is written in a way to be very relatable and an example of all of our inner insecurities for the 30-plus age range.

She is a Mom, wife, struggling friend, up-and-coming business owner, and a pre-menopausal woman who is just trying to juggle it all.

This book takes you on a journey through a friendship with her bestie Beatrice. Who quite frankly, sucks! I felt myself cheering Fallon on the whole way and hoped she would find her confidence and worth.

I thought this book was cute and sweet. The Friendship Breakup was easy to listen to and held my interest. I wouldn't classify this book as a HAVE to read but I did enjoy it.

I did listen to this narration and wasn't a fan of the presentation. The narrator talks very slowly and breathy. I wasn't crazy about her voice changes for the character and sometimes she even felt pouty and whiny which I didn't enjoy. I did not take any stars away for the performance as I did not see that fair for Annie Cathryn.

Thank You, NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just reviewed The Friendship Breakup by Annie Cathryn. #TheFriendshipBreakup #NetGalley
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Fallon is a mom, wife, and entrepreneur. When she becomes too wrapped up in her business, her friends start to ghost her and she's not sure why.

While I did, for the most part, enjoy this book, the drama was way too juvenile. Fallon is also EXTREMELY whiny, which drove me nuts. She's a try-hard too. If I had those crappy "friends," I wouldn't go out of my way to throw a party for them to make them like me again. And she went to therapy over it? Like...what?! It annoyed me to no end. I think the whole situation could have been avoided if she would have just confronted the friends from the beginning.

That being said, the story was good. I definitely don't feel it was as funny as some reviews I've seen are making it out to be, but that's just my personal preference. I wasn't bored and it was a fresh concept than what I had read before. Also, Brenda Scott Wlazlo was a fantastic narrator! I think she easily made the book more enjoyable with her performance.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media, NetGalley, and Annie Cathryn for letting me listen and review!

I’ve had many friendships fade over the year, but I did have one large friendship breakup. It was horrible!!

Fallon is a self-help book junkie with an only child. She quickly made friends with some of the other moms at school drop off when her daughter was in kindergarten, and now years later, she finds herself being ghosted by the leader of these friends. Fallon does everything she can think of to get her old best friend to talk to her, but nothing is working, and Fallon soon finds herself in a bigger mess. Will Fallon be able to patch things up? Or is it better to move on and forget sometimes?

What an emotional and enjoyable read! I loved Fallon and connected with her deeply. Fallon thought she had everything figured out and then her world comes crashing down – dammit! But what she does in the face of this devastation is truly magnificent. She reconnects with her oldest friends and seeks the help of her therapist among other things. I mean – that is so smart! Ah I just loved her. Of course, the happy ending on this one was perfect and gave me all the feels. I won’t go into what made it a happy ending, but it was perfect! This wasn’t your traditional rom com, but I was totally onboard with it. Friendships are some of our most important relationships and this book was a great reminder of that.

Huge thanks to the publisher, Dreamscape Media, @dreamscape_media, and Alcove Press, @alcovepress, for my ALC in exchange for an honest review. This magnificent book is out February 7th!

The Friendship Breakup is a described as a “mom com”and while that is a perfect description I would like to add a version of “friend com” if I could find a reasonable rhyming pair!

When Fallon Monroe - a mother of one & a budding chocolatier - starts to feel excluded by her group of mom friends she seeks out ways to win them back. Eventually she joins a “friend app” to meet more friends while not letting go of her original group of mom friends.

I had so much fun reading this book that deals with friendship on all kinds of levels! Although, during the beginning of the novel Fallon’s actions really annoyed me and I found it hard to like her character. However, as the story progresses, we find out more of what is going on in her life I found myself warming up to her more and more.

The book touches on serious issues in sensitive ways (adoption, infidelity, rejection).

This is a book that you will want to enjoy with your friends while you eat chocolate!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape for the ALC of this book. Brenda Scott Wlazio did an excellent job giving voice to the characters of this story!

Thank you to Alcove Press and Annie for allowing me to read an ARC of "The Friendship Breakup."

As someone in their mid-twenties with no kids, a husband, and two dogs, I was sold on wanting to read this book because of the main character, Fallon's, love of chocolate. However, I ended up connecting with her on more levels than I was expecting.

Fallon is on the brink of turning 40. She has a kid named Maya and a husband named Matt who she's been married to for 15 years. Now that Maya is 7 and old enough to go to school, Fallon is reaching a turning point in her life: her mommy BFF won't speak with her, she's looking to start a new business, and her family history gets turned on its head as Fallon begins self-reflection the closer she gets to her birthday.

There are SO many storylines in this book that get wrapped up with a neat bow at the end, which I thoroughly enjoyed. If you've ever had a friendship break up, regardless of age, you'll enjoy this book. You'll be rooting for Fallon to catch a break after each quirky/clumsy/human mistake she makes along the way.

Realistically, I'd give this a 4.5/5 stars but Goodreads doesn't do the half stars. I wish privilege was addressed a bit more in this contemporary book, but otherwise, a sweet, cozy read that will have you gasping at the twist and turns it takes.

Thank you Dreamscape media for the audiobook copy of The Friendship BreakUp. What seems like a standard light women's fiction story is actually one filled with some depth as well as humor. What resonates is a story about suburban women who have what I think are far more common than we realize "faux friendships", the type of friendships that don't have a lot of depth to them and may just have some hidden rules or strings attached; the protagonist in this story learns this and is forced to reconcile a complex past and present.

This is a relatable story for many women, the challenges of early parenthood, the social media presence of superficial friendship (privileged upper class white women's lives anyway), and the realization that adulthood is still filled with a desire to belong and to be seen.

THE FRIENDSHIP BREAKUP

Annie Cathryn- DEBUT Novel
Mom- Com
Goodreads: 3.99
Publishing Date: 2/7/23
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📖Fallon is a mom of one who has survived the last 7 years of being a new mom with the help of her mom friends. As time goes on, these very important friendships change and she is forced to look at why she needs these friendships, the state of her marriage, childhood trauma’s lasting effects, and more.

💫As a mother, this book spoke to me in so many ways. Annie Cathryn portrays so many truths about the difficult early days of parenting. The struggle to connect and maintain friendships with other moms, the overstimulation of childrearing, and the need to find yourself again. As a member of a mom group when my kids were little, Annie Cathryn portrays this unique group so accurately in both comical and dark ways. The narrator of this audiobook, Brenda Scott Wlazlo, was excellent and her voice was a perfect Fallon. I loved this book so much and already miss Fallon. I will definitely be getting a physical copy to read again!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC.

Instagram: @shanns_shelf

4 solid stars for The Friendship Break Up!
I was immediately drawn in by the blurb— female friendships can be so complicated. I related to how heartbroken Fallon was as she tried to process losing her friendship circle. I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure how I was going to like this book when there were too many (not so) funny situations at the beginning. I’m glad to say that leveled off as we delved further into Fallon’s attempts to find out why her best friend turned on her. I’ve been dealing with the reason, season, lifetime issue with female friendships for so many years and I feel like Annie Cathryn did a very good job capturing the situations and emotions of adult female friendships at every stage.
*Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this advance audiobook copy for review.

“The Friendship Breakup” is a common story with multiple themes interwoven throughout. It is a story about a mom in the midst of maintaining friendships and marriage while raising a daughter and growing a business. It is the perfect read for any mom in the thick of raising children. It tackles so many real topics with wit and charm including the challenges of making friends as an adult, the difficulties of marriage, the importance of therapy, the impact social media can have on our lives and how our life experiences impact us as we grow. Throughout the book, I found myself chuckling along because I related to Fallon’s inner dialogue. As Fallon stated, she “found joy in the unexpected and that has made all difference.” Isn’t that so true?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


✨The Friendship Breakup✨ by will be available on February 7th, 2023! Thanks to Annie Cathryn, Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the audiobook ARC!

The Friendship Breakup by Annie Cathryn
Narrated by Brenda Scott Wlazlo

Never having had kids, in many ways it's hard for me to relate to Fallon Monroe. She's a mom of one and, until recently, had been deeply embedded in the group of moms of her daughter's school friends. There are all the things a mom must do for their school age child, the soccer games, the school events that need a mom as a volunteer, the get togethers of the neighborhood families, just so many pulls on a mother's time that it's hard for Fallon to understand how those with more than one child do it all. And to think that Fallon had once wanted a huge family. Now she knows that having one child and a husband is more than enough work for her.

But she has a dream of opening her own chocolate shop and in the focus on her future plans, the experimenting with recipes and all the work needed to perfect a plan that will merit all it will take to open a shop someday, Fallon has missed several of her daughter's soccer games. This has allowed her to not notice that she has been ghosted by her best friend, Beatrice. Actually, there are a lot of important things Fallon hasn't noticed and now that she does notice them, trying to fix what is broken only makes things worse.

The story is funny and the audiobook narration is very good, with the narrator giving the many characters their own unique voices. But under the humor are some very serious issues that Fallon has ignored, squashed down, or allowed herself to beat herself up over. The stress of everything has Fallon's body rebelling and as she tries to become one with her friends again, her issues and the issues with her mom friends become more glaring and harder to endure. It appears that not only has Beatrice dumped her but so have almost all her other friends.

I can't relate to most of Fallon's problems but I can relate to the stress that Fallon feels over those problems. As Fallon deals with her life, her past, her present, and her future, the story has some real life lessons. The story is also very inspirational, which is a big surprise since I was feeling like Fallon's problems were as hopeless as she felt like they were. Maybe chocolate can win out, with enough help from the right people.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ARC.