Nikki Grey’s idea of living dangerously is not wearing a seatbelt, yet calamity always seems to find her.Friends Who Move Couches is a laugh-out-loud story about life, friendship, quieting your inner critic, and surviving rejection. Married to a workaholic, mothering three rebellious kids, and feuding with neighborhood friends, Nikki Grey forgets her problems one afternoon by smoking marijuana. … problems one afternoon by smoking marijuana. That blunder ignites a lifelong yet dormant medical condition, and she loses her driver’s license. Suddenly stranded in her home, she’s forced to stare out the window at the women who have ostracized her.
Her true friends encourage her to concentrate on her health, but Nikki is her own nemesis. She embarks on a scheme to win back neighborhood friends but instead becomes the butt of their jokes. Her ache to mend her broken relationships escalates.
Not until her two-timing husband asks her a question that catapults her frivolous suburban life into a tailspin, is she forced to stop reaching for others and stand on her own.
If you like novels like Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty, you’ll love Nikki Grey’s hilarious journey in Friends Who Move Couches.
more
Nikki Grey is your typical suburban wife and mother with one exception: she has epilepsy. While spending the afternoon with a group of her best friends drinking wine and smoking weed, Nikki has a grand mal seizure. In one fell swoop, she’s confined to her home and can feel the walls closing in. Her workaholic husband, she discovers, is leading a secret life and she’s at a crossroads. Luckily, she has her dyed in the wool true girlfriends and they will stick by her, no matter what happens. Obsessing over past friendships overwhelms Nikki but when she tries too hard to win their friendship, they only laugh at her. It’s only when she delves into deep introspection that she realizes what’s important in life. Will she be able to stand on her own or will she lose everyone close to her?
Friends Who Move Couches is an incredible story about life, love, friendships, and quieting your inner critic. When life crashes around your head, who you can count on, and who you can’t become the only barometer necessary. Every single woman I know will be able to relate to the women portrayed in this book. CJ Zahner delves into women friendships with startling clarity and humor. Think Sex and the City meets Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. The antics Nikki and her friends get into, even if they’re just chatting while sipping a cocktail made me laugh out loud. The drama is certainly there and very accurate in its scope. The plot moves at an even pace and I found myself reading late into the night because I just had to be with Nikki just a little bit longer (hello 3 am). Emotional, gripping, humorous, and insightful, I recommend this book to women around the world. You’ll see yourself and your group of close girlfriends hidden in this story. Highly recommend.
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the author in the hopes I’d review it.
Favorite Quote or Character:
“Friends can’t live your life for you, Naggy. We can love and support you, but we can’t save you from yourself. If you want to spend the rest of your life with a man who cheats on you because of the rattling of little balls on the roof scares you at night, well then, you’re not the person I thought you were.”
My Rating: 5 stars
This book gets you right from the beginning!
This is more than just a book about friends and family, it’s about finding your worth, your inner beast, and standing up for yourself!
I laughed so much reading this that I was actually crying! Nikki is hilarious, and I could relate to her in so many ways. When everything in her life starts spiraling down, her friends and kids bring her back, only this time, she’s the one with the plan! She gets her life back, stronger than before! Of course, it wouldn’t be typical Nikki without something embarrassing happening at the end, and she goes out with a bang! Literally falling off the roof!
I absolutely LOVED this book!
This book was so funny. Nikki’s life is a mess. She has bratty kids, that are disrespectful. Her husband puts work first and is always gone or coming home late. She hates to be alone. day she desides to be free and she has an episode. She gets her license suspend and is stuck at home. She gas such great friends that hep her out so much and tell her how it is. I laughed throughout this whole book.
Cyndie has a way of pulling you into her characters and the scene. You feel like you are there in the dialogue with them. She is a skilled writer and this book in particular will be a fan favorite for all women. She takes you into a realistic world and shows you what can be humorous among friends. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Friends Who Move Couches is an entertaining, true to life journey of a typical suburban wife. I loved that Nikki goes through so much with friends, the good and the bad. By “luck” after an afternoon of drinking and smoking weed Nikki’s life changes forever. This book is packed with good friends, crazy antics, humor, drama and twists that had me turning the pages.
This is what I would call a “find yourself” story. Nikki is a wife and mother who doesn’t get along with her neighbors. One mistake and everything in her world are changed. Nikki’s friends encourage her to take care of herself, but she is her own worse enemy. This story shows the reader not to take themselves too seriously and it is okay to learn new things about yourself that others may already know. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from Booksprout.
Real life!
This book runs the gamut of emotions from sad to laugh out loud funny! It explores friends who stand by us in hard times compared to those that simply desert. Nikki’s life is in constant upheaval in this story, and she is doing her utmost to keep things (especially her family) intact. She does this despite rejection from several directions in addition to the fact that she has epilepsy. I actually felt proud of her when she decides to not just “take it” but to fight for herself and the life she deserves.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Friends Who Move Couches was such a good read, and hit home with me I so many ways. Like Nikki, I have been lucky enough to have some very good, close friends that would definitely help me move more than “Couches” and really understood the love, and loss, she felt. I enjoyed the camaraderie with her friends, the antics they got up to, her love for her family and could relate to her self-doubt and questioning of everything. Highly recommend this. It’s the fourth book by this author I have read and she just keeps getting better and better. Can’t wait for the next one! I was given a free copy by the author for an honest review.
I loved this book like i haven’t loved a book in a long time. Yes there are serious subjects i thought the author handled really well. She taught me a lot about Epilepsy, and I have lost someone to Alzheimers so that was really relatable to me. But she got me to laugh out loud, a rarity, and I loved her smooth writing style. The story of a family torn apart by cheating sounds like a self help book. But with the love of her friends, her amazing kids and her own smarts, the h grows and learns how to become a strong self reliant woman her humor intact. Amazing read! If you want to laugh so hard your partner runs in your room to say “What’s wrong?” this book is for you!
Different. Quite different from what usually read. I did however enjoy the overall theme of the story about finding one’s own strength and self despite all the obstacles in the way.
Friends Who Move Couches read like two different books to me. I struggled with the first half to the point where I stopped reading it. The different friends and their relationships confused me and to be honest I didn’t particularly like Nikki Grey. I was judging her- drinking and smoking pot although an epileptic, living comfortably on her workaholic husband’s money, her attitude towards her children and her pathetic need for girlfriends. Then I realized she’s an amazing character to have gotten under my skin and I am so glad I finished it. The pace picked up and what unfolds is a story of true friendship and a woman “finding herself”. A unique storyline that runs the gambit of emotions. A perfect story to read with your girlfriends!
This book was very relatable to me as far as friendships go. I think so many of us go through periods where we question our friendships, and want to be friends with certain people for whatever reason. I absolutely enjoyed reading Friends Who Move Couches and would definitely recommend it to other people. It was entertaining, had it’s sad moments for the main character, but also it was great to see who life changed for her. I absolutely loved the ending for so many reasons!
The story is about Nikki, her family, and friends. Nikki has always been dependent on people to help her get through life. She feels great loss over friendship that are no longer there. She develops a plan to get those lost friendships back but along the way she has to take a deep look at herself. She decides she only needs the friendships that will help her “move the body” and not just the couch. It was a good story and I enjoyed reading it.
This is a beautiful book and so really recommend reading it. It is well written and captivating but even more than that it managed to be both moving and uplifting. The book tackles some tough topics really well. The idea of true friendship and the pain of growing apart from childhood friends is handled with humour and care and can’t fail to resonate. There are some beautiful passages that really stuck with me, especially the concept of people not ever seeing their true selves and strength and needed a strangers perspective to see themselves more clearly.
Author tells a story of finding your true friends, letting go of the “couch” friends. Learning to stand on your own two feet but knowing your “body” friends are there if you need them.
CJ Zahner is new to me. I really enjoyed this read. It’s one I couldn’t put down.
This read has a great storyline and its an easy flow.
I highly recommend this book.
this was a really great book! she is a grown mother with children and a husband who works alot. she just wants her friends. so when she finds out something and now its game on. read to find out what happens.
I had a hard time getting into the groove, however it did pick up after the second or third chapter. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of who was who. Some things I could totally relate with. An ok read.
An OK story. It dragged in parts, but the ending was worth the read.
This was such a wonderful book and amazing friendship !! This book had me all over the place with the feels and the giggles, and I look forward to reading it again !! Awesome book !!