AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “THE FRIENDSHIP LIST is a must. Susan Mallery is at the top of her game.”–Fresh Fiction “Mallery beautifully illustrates the power of female friendship and the importance of reaching for one’s dreams. This irresistible, heartfelt story will appeal to romance readers and women’s fiction fans alike.”–Publishers Weekly “The Friendship List is a sassy, … Weekly
“The Friendship List is a sassy, sensuous tale about two women who discover their femininity for the first time.” –New York Journal of Books
“Best Book of August 2020.”–CNN.com
A witty, heartfelt and irresistible story about two best friends determined to help one another shake things up and live life to the fullest in a summer that will change them forever.
Susan Mallery, #1 New York Times bestselling author of California Girls and Sisters by Choice, has delivered the perfect escape about the power of female friendship and the importance of making your dreams come true.
Single mom Ellen Fox couldn’t be more content–until she overhears her son saying he can’t go to his dream college because she needs him too much. If she wants him to live his best life, she has to convince him she’s living hers.
So Unity Leandre, her best friend since forever, creates a list of challenges to push Ellen out of her comfort zone. Unity will complete the list, too, but not because she needs to change. What’s wrong with a thirtysomething widow still sleeping in her late husband’s childhood bed?
The Friendship List begins as a way to make others believe they’re just fine. But somewhere between “wear three-inch heels” and “have sex with a gorgeous guy,” Ellen and Unity discover that life is meant to be lived with joy and abandon, in a story filled with humor, heartache and regrettable tattoos.
Don’t miss The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery where one woman discovers the beauty in chaos in a poignant and heartwarming story about the threads that hold family together.
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WELL, it was a quick and light read. Wasn’t all what I was expecting. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was younger. The characters were fun but about half way through it seemed it was all about sex. Who has it, how they have it and who wants to have it. Otherwise a good chick lit and good girlfriend read. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for THE ARC
I have read Susan Mallery books since the beginning and I am never disappointed. She writes the female emotion/psyche so well! In this book, two best friends decide to challenge themselves– and each other– to get out of their ruts and live their best lives. Though there is wide open door bedroom scenes, they are easily skipped without losing the story’s thread. A quick and satisfying read.
The friendship between the two women was so good. I loved that they pushed each other out of their comfort zones and found that life was a lot more fun.
Although I have read and enjoyed other books by this author, I can not in good conscious recommend this one. Our bookclub was looking for a fun and light read so we picked The Friendship List. It is about two good friends in their mid-thirties who are stuck in life and love so they challenge each other to make a list to “make their lives more full and exciting”. Ellen, a single mother, has a 17 year old son and not dated since she got pregnant with Cooper. Unity’s husband died three years ago, and she is yet to move on. The story goes on to see both of them blunder through a relationship each. Unfortunately, the characters were shallow and the language choice, surprisingly juvenile. Lastly, there are fairly graphic and unnecessary sex scenes which are not a staple of this author. I hate to give an author I have liked a low rating but I can not recommend this book.
I found the book hard to follow and unable to hold my interest
Susan Mallery never disappoints. These friends sound like some I have been fortunate enough to have in my life.
I loved this book and especially the Epilogue which really tied up any loose ends.
This book surprising me by stirring my emotions and making me appreciate the likable characters more than I thought I would. Even as I wondered how two such “out of it” women could exist.
Once these women started following the items on their To Do list, the action changed.
I’ll admit I was rooting for them both–– and their men. Oh, btw, there’s some hotness, so enjoy.
A fun read, what I need sometimes and I’m not afraid to admit it!
Interesting characters.
Loved this book!
Really enjoyed the two stories of woman ver coming emotional hurtles and moving on with their lives
Great premise but the execution didn’t feel true to the women’s past experience.
I love all her books and this was as enjoyable as the others
Ellen and Unity are friends that you will want to sit down and have dinner with. Taking the journey with them as they push themselves out of their comfort zones is heartwarming.
The Friendship List will have you laughing, covering your eyes, and crying. It’s a novel you do not want to miss and one of Susan Mallery’s best yet. I recommend checking out this book. You will not be disappointed. I was not and cannot tell you enough what a surprised find this read turned out to be. I will be rereading it!
Susan Mallery
“The Friendship List” by Susan Mallery narrator: Tanya Eby
I am ever so glad I got on the wait list to download this audiobook from my state library. It was worth the wait. Once I started reading/listening to this book, I really didn’t want to get interrupted. Yes, I loved this story. I laughed and I cried. I relished the shared hope and friendships found within this story. Happy Reading ! !
Susan Mallery has done it again. She’s written a wonderful book that introduces us to two best friends who are on the cusp of changing their lives.
Ellen is a single mother who has raised her teenage son all by herself. He’s almost ready for college but doesn’t want to go away because of her. Ellen realizes she needs to ‘get a life’. Unity, on the other hand, was a military wife who’s husband was killed. She’s stuck in the past and can’t seen to move on. At first, I had a tough time liking Unity. But as I got further into the story that changed. I was routing for both of them at the end.
They each created their own ‘Friendship List’ that contained challenges for them to complete in hopes of getting them out of their ruts and moving on to living life. In fact, they both find love even though they weren’t looking for it.
Susan Mallery again created both believable characters and a story that kept me interested from the start and wanting to see what happens as the book progresses. Very well done!
It has been a long time since I enjoyed a book so much. Life, you know…gets in the way of my reading. The characters were unpredictable. The mingling of two friend’s stories was so engaging. Susan Mallery has become one of my favorite authors.
Susan Mallery has written an emotional book that delves deep into the lives and hearts of two women who have been friends since childhood.
Ellen is a single mother who has raised her teenage soon without any help or acknowledgement of his existence by his father. Her whole life revolves around her son. Cooper is the center of her world. When she overhears him telling his best friend that he can’t go away to the college he wants to attend because his mother needs him too much, Ellen realizes that she needs to get a life and prove to Coop that she will be fine while he is away at school.
Unity and Stuart married right after high school graduation. She has never known anything except being a military wife. When Stuart is killed, she locks herself into an unending period of grieving. After three years, she still has no interest in meeting someone new. Stuart was her whole life.
Unity and Ellen create the ‘Friendship List’, a list of challenges to encourage each other to start to live again.
Ms. Mallery has once again created believable characters and a realistic storyline that captured my interest at chapter one and kept me reading until the end. Susan Mallery never disappoints.
Another entertaining stand alone from Susan Mallery about two 34 years old BFFs, who are stuck in their lives and the men who managed to break down their defenses. Humorous banter, interesting characters and very real situations make this fast pace read a delight.
Ellen Fox got pregnant when she was 17, leaving her with a very unsatisfying sexual experience but also pregnant. Her parents were very strict, supporting her enough to have her baby and get a college degree, but then basically leaving town and forgetting her and their grandson. But she has a wonderful relationship with her son Cooper, now a senior in high school and all his friends. When Unity Leandre’s parents had died in an accident, she had come to live with the Foxes. She had married her high school sweetheart, who then enlisted in the army. But he was killed in action three years ago and she has not been able to move on. After Ellen overhears Cooper telling his best friend that he can’t go away to college, because he can’t leave his mother, Unity comes up with the idea of a Friendship list- a list of things they need to do to get out of their ruts and prove to Cooper his mother is fine.