The Friendship List by Susan Mallery

I love to read a book about strong female friendships and this is certainly the case in The Friendship List.

Ellen is a thirty-something single Mom whose son is about to enter his last year of high school. She is quite happy with her life – she enjoys her work, her friends and her son who has turned out to be an amazing kid. She overhears her son remark to his friend that he won’t be applying to colleges away from home. He explains that his Mom would be lost without him, that he’s all she has. This conversations forces Ellen to re-examine her current life- is she as happy as she could be? She knows she doesn’t want her son to miss the experience of living in a college residence because of her.

Unity is a thirty-something widow having lost her husband three years ago. She has built a successful business as a handyman, and enjoys socializing with the seniors she meets while working for them. But she just can’t move past the loss of her husband. In fact, she has inherited her husband’s childhood home and chooses to sleep in his childhood bed.

The women decide that in order to challenge each other to move outside of their comfort zone they will develop a list of tasks to be completed by the end of summer. What transpires guarantees changes in each women that extend far beyond the list.

I enjoyed reading this humorous look at friendships and relationships that enhance and push us in life. These women, in my opinion, initially act much older than their stated ages. Having said that, each has experienced tremendous challenges in their lives created by circumstances beyond their control. The characters are well developed and the story engaging and show insecurities that many women also experience.

I recommend this story to fans of women’s fiction and humour.

Thanks to Edelweiss and Harlequin for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

The Friendship List publishes August 4.

My rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5.