The Friendship List

April 3, 2020

Everyone knows that Unity needs to move on. Three years have passed since her husband's death, and she is still going to a grief group and sleeping in his childhood bed. After a fight with her best friend, Ellen, Unity creates a list of new things she'd like to try to help her make a fresh start. It turns out Ellen is in a rut herself. She was a teenage mother, and now her son is looking at colleges--she's ready for a life of her own. Both women enthusiastically start doing the unexpected. But when they each find serious love interests, only time will tell how truly determined they are to make lasting changes in their lives. VERDICT This engaging story explores the power that lifelong friendship and unconditional love have to help us through life's challenges. Told with a style as authentic as it is entertaining, this book is for the author's many fans as well as those who enjoy Debbie Macomber and Susan Wiggs.--Karen Core, Detroit P.L.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2020
Best friends Unity and Ellen are in serious ruts. High school teacher Ellen, whose son's dream of going out of state for college is arousing financial anxiety, hasn't dated since she became pregnant on the night of her junior prom. Unity, a successful handyman, is grieving after her soldier husband was killed three years ago. Each woman goads the other to venture out of her restrictive comfort zone, daring the other to take on a list of challenges, ranging from singing karaoke to wearing sexy clothes, skydiving, getting a tattoo, and having sex. Summer brings big changes. Ellen accompanies her son, a dozen other high school athletes, and her good friend Coach Keith on a bus tour of Pacific coast universities. Unity, who works at a senior living community, is speechless when a septuagenarian friend tries to set her up with her great-nephew, but then she thinks about her bet with Ellen. Readers, especially fans of RayAnn Thayne and Robyn Carr, will enjoy how prolific women's fiction master Mallery (Sisters by Choice, 2020) orchestrates community connections, friendships, and fulfilling romances.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

Tanya Eby narrates this story of friendship and growth, set in the Pacific Northwest. Single mother Ellen Fox and her best friend, widow Unity Leandre, need to be pushed out of their comfort zones, so they set up a series of challenges for each other. Eby provides subtle differences between the women, allowing the listener to easily follow who is speaking. Ellen has a longtime friendship with a co-worker named Keith that develops into something more. As the romance blooms, Keith's tone grows huskier as he expresses the growing passion between them. Eby nicely expresses a diverse cast of characters--from Unity's sassy older friend to Keith's sullen teenage daughter. Listeners will find this a delightful escape. S.B. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

June 1, 2020
Mallery (Sisters by Choice) entices with this summery standalone about best friends choosing to go outside their comfort zones. Lifelong friends Unity Leandre and Ellen Fox have supported one another through thick and thin. Now Ellen fears that her son, Cooper, won’t go away to college because he knows she depends on him and Unity worries she’ll never break free of grief for her husband, Stuart, who died three years earlier. To break out of their ruts, the women challenge one another with summer to-do lists. Ellen’s list includes getting a tattoo and ending her sexual dry spell, while Unity focuses on expanding her social circle and moving her business to an office. When Ellen agrees to chaperone a college trip for Cooper and his classmates, sparks fly between her and her fellow chaperone, high school coach Keith Kinne—but Keith wants more than just casual sex. Meanwhile, Unity meets handsome, successful Thaddeus, but she isn’t convinced she can have a relationship with him without betraying her love for Stuart. Mallery’s authentic characters and their refreshing summer escapades are sure to resonate. The emphasis on the power of friendship and the joy of new romance make this sparkling novel a sure hit with women’s fiction fans. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency.