Friend Request: A Novel

by Susan Mallery

Childhood friends (re)discover one another after a startling request reunites them in this exhilarating, tender, and witty story from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Bookstore Diaries.

Some friend requests can’t be denied…

Through high school and college, only children Lily, Anne, and Maya vowed to be each other’s family. The Onlys became as close as sisters…until Anne married the man Lily loved. And it tore them apart.

Now Maya has a plan to reunite the Onlys. Using the ultimate guilt trip, she coerces her besties into a series of quests to recreate memories they should have made together. Somewhere between the girls’ trip to Vegas and the too-hot-for-turkey Fakesgiving, Lily and Anne begin to understand each other, their complicated past—and their beloved friend—in a whole new way.

If they can forgive their younger selves, maybe those old wounds can finally heal, and the Onlys can step into the future with a stronger bond than ever.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication February 2, 2027

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming and humorous novels about the relationships that define women's lives—family, friendship, romance. She's best known for putting nuanced characters into emotionally complex, real-life situations with twists that surprise readers to laughter. Because Susan is passionate about animal welfare, pets play a big role in her books. Beloved by millions of readers worldwide, her books have been translated into 28 languages.

Critics have dubbed Mallery "the new queen of romantic fiction." (Walmart) Booklist says, "Romance novels don't get much better than Mallery's expert blend of emotional nuance, humor, and superb storytelling," and RT Book Reviews puts her "in a class by herself!" It's no wonder that her books have spent more than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list.

Although Susan majored in Accounting, she never worked as an accountant because she was published straight out of college with two books the same month. Sixteen prolific years and seventy-four books later, she hit the New York Times bestsellers list for the first time with Accidentally Yours in 2008. She made many appearances in the Top 10 before (finally) hitting #1 in 2015 with Thrill Me, the twentieth book in her most popular series, the Fool's Gold romances, and the fourth of five books released that year.

Susan lives in Washington state with her husband, two ragdoll cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Her heart for animals has led Susan to become an active supporter of the Seattle Humane Society. Visit Susan online at www.SusanMallery.com.

Reviews

[Bookworman]

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Collins for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this heartwarming story. I loved the main characters and their path to forgiveness and freedom from the past. There was the usual witty Susan Mallery dialogue, love stories, a character who I loved to hate, an adorable cat with an excellent name, and a satisfying HEA.

Only closed door love scenes with some PG kissing which was a pleasant surprise.

A smattering of profanity which is quite unusual for a Mallery novel.

I'm looking forward to reading the final version and listening to the audiobook which I hope will be narrated.by Tanya Eby.

[Britney Ireland]

I really enjoyed this book about friendships and life. The storyline after the death of one of the onlys was full of adventure and forgiveness. I loved the beginning all the way through till the ending.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

[WeeBee]

Thank You NetGalley and publisher for this delightful book about forever friendships. Really enjoyable delight. Great characters.

[Jane Perron]

I really enjoyed this book and was drawn to the story. I appreciate the opportunity to read it.

[A Lane]

Oh. My. Gosh!!!! Susan Mallery has once again gifted readers with a deeply emotional and riveting storyline in her latest page turner, Friend Request.

Anne and Lily, once the very best of friends, are gathered to hear the will of their mutual friend, Maya. Anne and Lily have not seen or spoken to eachother after a huge betrayal left their friendship in ruins. Maya remained loyal to both, but on her deathbed devised a plan to bring the two back together.

This is a story of a journey back to a friendship that was more like a sisterhood. It is heartbreaking and heartwarming, sad and happy, and full of hope and forgiveness. This book is a reason why Susan Mallery is always a must-read for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced copy

[January]

Friend Request by Susan Mallery (Deluxe Limited Edition) (Feb. 2027) [read in September '26]
384-page Paperback

Genre: Women's Fiction

Movie Rating Equivalent: R for adult content

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½📹📃👭

​A Solid Tale of Friendship and Forgiveness
​
​I was up until nearly 1:00 a.m. attempting to finish Friend Request in one session. I was highly motivated, but my eyes were tired. I absolutely hate it when my body gives up on reading when my heart wants to know more, but I decided it was better for me to finish this book fully refreshed rather than half-asleep just because I wanted to see how it ended.

​I was really excited about this story because the group dynamic reminded me of The Friendship List, which was my first Susan Mallery book and an easy five stars. When I initially skimmed the blurb, it sounded awfully familiar to a book I read barely four days ago, The Wish List Trip. I’ve read books with identical plots before that ended up being completely different stories, so that didn't deter me. At first, I thought, at least these three ladies are all going to be alive, so it’s going to be a different dynamic. Wrong. Immediately after reading the author's note, I knew this was another "memorial trip/final request" plot. I didn't know if my heart had it in me, but I went for it anyway. While both books hit the exact same plot points minus a few tweaks, the actual reading experience couldn't be more different. A major factor is the age of the characters and the length of the feud—which, in my opinion, absolutely warranted going no-contact. Ultimately, one story reads like a lighthearted comedy full of international travel, while the other is a slightly comedic drama grounded in the heavy weight of long-term resentment.

​This story follows the usual Susan Mallery formula: a group of friends or sisters in their late twenties to early forties, complete with teen/college flashbacks, and the typical turmoil they face—usually with one being a mother of teens. Anne and Lily are forced to reconcile to honor their late friend, Maya. Since this plot isn't entirely unique, you might think you know exactly where it's going, but I assure you it goes in a different direction. This story focuses a lot more on the homefronts of Lily and Anne and how their choice to end their friendship affected their lives long-term. Honestly, that's just not as exciting as going on a vacation with a frenemy.

​I tried my hardest not to compare this to previous Mallery books I've read and to simply judge it on its own, but that is nearly impossible. This book checked several of her usual boxes. I don't want to say it was totally predictable, but I knew what was going to happen in that marriage because the exact same thing happens in nearly every marriage you come across in a Mallery book, and I knew exactly what was going to happen in their friendship. I wasn't expecting the emotional depth of Maya's story, which was hinted at in the author's note. It definitely didn't have me in tears—it was sad, but it didn't go into a ton of detail, and I didn't feel deeply connected to Maya even though she was present throughout. I think letters are more heartfelt than videos somehow, although the videos in this story were outright hilarious.

​All in all, it was a good story and a major 180 from the contemporary romance I read by Mallery yesterday. It was good, but it didn't have any five-star moments for me. There was a lot of drama, and I did not love the two characters we were left with. Maya sounds great, but I really wanted to knock some sense into Anne and Lily. They weren't snobby, but there was a deep passivity in their personalities that really annoyed me, which is probably why I didn't connect with them as well as I have with previous Mallery characters. For me, her characters are always hit or miss: I either absolutely love them, or I want to give them a good wallop—and these two definitely needed it. While this isn't a dark story, it did feel a bit more tragic and heavier than the nearly two dozen Mallery books I've read. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if one of her future characters went into full suspense mode!

​Recommend to others: Yes! If you enjoy heartfelt stories about women's friendships and dramatic feuds, this is the story for you. If you have appreciated Mallery's previous women's fiction, absolutely read this book. If you lean more toward her contemporary romance plots, this has enough to satisfy you, but it's mostly about the girls.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harlequin Trade Publishing and MIRA via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Featuring: Bibliography for Susan Mallery, Author's Note, Estranged Friend Group, Only Children, Found Family, High School Teacher, Sherman Oaks, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County, California; Summer, Memorial Trip, Final Wish, Former Friends, Betrayal, Infidelity, Cancer, Death of Loved One, Almost Quadragenarians, Nurse, Sexually Active Teen, Travel, Las Vegas, Nevada; Marital Issues, Lawyer, Assault, Denver, Colorado; Childless Women, Self-Actualization, Reader Discussion Guide - Book Club Ideas, Discussion Questions Recipes

Live Status Updates: 📌 Page 14 – So, when I saw this plot, I thought, Oh, this is very similar to a book I recently read called The Wish List Trip, except these people are all alive. How cute! And then I read the author's note, and sure enough, one of the characters is deceased. So, I am reading the exact same plot.
​I'm not mad, because I've read several books that have the exact same plot but the stories end up being completely different. (This is why I don't buy the whole "Freida McFadden is writing the same plot" complaint. For me, it's not the plot—it's that the details are identical when I read her books. But I'm going to let that go!)
​But yeah, I just read this premise last week under a different title, so I'm interested to see how she handles this plot differently. When I skimmed the blurb, it reminded me of The Friendship List, which was my first Mallery book, and I was thinking, Oh, this is going to be good. Now I'm just hoping it doesn't make me cry—I lucked out on the other one!
🔖Page 346 of 300 [Chapter] Twenty-Seven - So the plot and key points are the same, but everything else is different, from the vibe to the details. I'm going to bed because I had to reread a few pages. I'll finish this in the morning with bright eyes.

[Angie Holden]

Nothing says *lifelong friendship* quite like twenty years of resentment, one spectacular betrayal, and a mutual best friend apparently deciding, "Fine. If you two won't fix this yourselves, I will be assigning homework."

Maya had RANGE.

Lily, Anne, and Maya were once the kind of friends who genuinely believed they would be each other's family forever. They even called themselves The Onlys, which is adorable right up until Anne marries the man Lily loves and detonates the friendship with the efficiency of someone pulling a pin and casually strolling away from the grenade.

Years later, Maya finds a way to force Lily and Anne back into each other's orbit through a series of ridiculous, emotional, occasionally humiliating quests designed around the memories they should have made together.

⋆ friendship
⋆ betrayal
⋆ grief
⋆ forgiveness
⋆ second chances
⋆ grown women being forced to confront the consequences of decisions they made when they were younger and significantly more stupid

My favorite thing about this book is that forgiveness is not treated like a magical eraser. Lily and Anne don't just spend a weekend together, cry prettily into matching glasses of wine, and decide twenty years of hurt was actually no big deal.

Because...no.

It WAS a big deal.

The betrayal that ended their friendship is messy enough that I understood why Lily couldn't simply shrug it off, and I appreciated that the story allows her anger to exist without immediately framing it as bitterness she needs to "get over." At the same time, Anne isn't frozen as the villain she was in Lily's memory. Time has changed both of them, and the more they actually confront the past, the more complicated the story becomes.

Which is much more interesting than deciding one woman was right, one woman was wrong, everybody hugs, roll credits. ♡

The nonlinear structure works especially well because we aren't handed their entire history in one giant emotional casserole. We get little pieces through memories, conversations, and Maya's plans, and each one slightly adjusts what we think we know about the friendship.

Maya is also somehow still managing these women from afar like the world's most committed group-chat administrator.

Respect.

There were definitely moments where I wanted Lily and Anne to stop circling certain feelings and SAY THE THING, but unlike books where miscommunication exists solely because the plot would collapse if two adults exchanged eight honest sentences, the avoidance here actually made emotional sense. There is history behind it. Pride. Shame. Grief. A betrayal neither woman has ever properly processed.

That distinction matters to me because apparently *A Love Letter to Whiskey* permanently altered my nervous system.

✦✧✦

I also liked that the quests give the story some lightness without pretending the heavier pieces aren't there. One minute these women are confronting some genuinely painful truths about who they were and what they lost, and the next Maya has essentially arranged a posthumous field trip designed to inconvenience them into emotional growth.

It's slightly unhinged.

It's also kind of brilliant.

The character work is where the book is strongest, although Anne took me longer to warm up to. There are choices in her past that are difficult to excuse, and I don't think the book really asks us to. Instead, it asks whether someone can regret what they did, become a different person, and still deserve the opportunity to repair something they broke.

That's a much harder question than *should Lily forgive her?*

Maya occasionally edges toward being almost TOO perfect compared with everyone else. She's the bridge between them, the loyal friend who never stopped loving either woman, the architect of this elaborate reconciliation plan...

Meanwhile Lily and Anne are over there emotionally throwing folding chairs.

Ma'am deserved hazard pay.

The romances running alongside the friendship story were sweet, but I was much more invested in the women repairing what had been broken between them. That's where the emotional weight lives. Romantic relationships can change your life, sure, but losing the person who once knew every version of you is its own kind of heartbreak, and Mallery understands that.

By the end, I wasn't thinking about whether Lily and Anne could ever become the exact friends they used to be.

They can't.

Too much happened.

Sometimes repairing a friendship isn't about dragging the old version back from the dead. It's figuring out whether the people you've become still have something worth choosing.

And Maya was apparently going to make sure these two figured that out if it was the last administrative task she ever completed. ♡

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. ✦

[Julianne Harkleroad]

This book was intentionally written not to be enjoyed, but experienced. There was some humor, but no joy. Check the trigger warnings below if you're of the ilk.

Friend Request is a book about two women, heartbroken after the death of their shared friend, Maya. These women, Lily and Anne, used to be friends but after too many bad choices have messed their lives up so badly that no one is happy and they haven't spoken in years. I was surprised to feel miserable for most of the book. Neither marriage nor singleness were painted in an encouraging light and now I just feel gross. There's a toxic marriage, miserable realization that X missed out on her own motherhood and it's only her fault, one woman falls in love but lies to the man and NEVER has that kind of relationship. They are all keeping secrets from each other and discover no one actually knew Maya. I could never keep something like that from my friends- why weren't they involved?? I'm so confused, sad, and discouraged. It's been a while since a book like this has made me feel so yucky. And that's before the poor marriage and divorce advice 😬

I cannot say Mallery did a great job convincing readers why Anne and Lily agree to hang out and fulfill her dying wishes at the beginning of the book. I read it: they wanted to be a better friend to Maya in death than they were in life. But they were soooo upset with one another at the beginning of their forced time together I had a hard time believing the narrative. Without communication between the characters showing their hearts or to the readers via their thoughts, why should we buy into this compulsory adventures? This was just one more example of the suspension of disbelief failing. Too quickly, they're joking about be lesbian wives without a solid reunification scene? THEN that scene?! Ugh. They are so selfish, embarrassing, disgraceful, disrespectful, and rude. My mouth was literally down turned for most of this book 😭☹️

The one night stand scene was ROUGH. I get it was written to force more proximity, vulnerable conversation, and stir compassion, but it's grossly violent for this kind of niche and distracts from both Lily's character and the book. There's nothing wrong with an employed person having "two sides": professional and fun. In fact, I absolutely recommend your personal crazies do not appear in professional settings. Neither should every human be the button up, straight-laced Grandma figure, but Mallery made Lily out to be a wildly dangerous idiot. And she's teaching high school students? At least it's a strong argument against hook-up culture...

Tropes: forced proximity, adventure, second chance friendship, sisterhood, secrets, Hea
Spice: 3/5 🌶️
Gore: 4/5 🩸
Language: 3/5 👀
Triggers: cancer, death of a loved one, assault and battery, domestic abuse, mocking pregnancy, cheating, pedophilia, rape of a child, infertility, miscarriage, forced hysterectomy

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC!

[Jessica]

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own. Honestly, I debated giving this one only one star. I’ve never read anything by this author before, but the blurb sounded good, so I went for it. Sadly, I was not impressed. There are three friends (one of whom has recently died) that had a falling out and became two-some friend groups instead of 3 with one friend in the middle splitting her time. I liked this idea of Lily and Anne being forced into spending time in honor of their friend Mya. One of the issues was I couldn’t realistically imagine any of these conversations going this way. I will not ruin anything by saying the mutual deceased friend was way too harsh in her videos when she was the one who remained friends with these women. You can’t come back from the dead in a video you left behind and just yell at people when these two people legit had no clue you were this mad. Next, Lily and Anne had conversations where they also raged on each other, and Anne had fights with her husband that just seemed to go from a level 1 to a raging 10 in seconds. It was weird and happened way too often. Furthermore, the teen daughters did not talk like any teenagers I know to the parents or each other. It just all seemed so artificial. There were actually times I rolled my eyes and thought-ok, here we go again where this author pretends she’s had a lot of conversations with teens and knows how they think. I’m not saying I’m an expert, but as a secondary teacher, I can pretty firmly say it felt very fake. I also found it odd how much they were confiding in this lawyer. He was in charge of Mya’s estate but, as a professional, was not supposed to be friends with Mya or Anne and Lily. It was kind of odd and creepy. Finally, the twist at the end put me over the edge. It felt like-what more can I squeeze into this book? The only reason I would give it 1.5 stars is because it does show depth of relationships and the power of friendship and had some entertainment value, but I won’t read something by this author again and had a hard time finishing this one. FYI some profanity but mostly clean of sexual situations (mentions of “making love” but no details and talk of safe sex with teens), def some triggers for some people with sexual and mental/emotional abuse and violence

[Topo Chicas]

Susan Mallery’s latest dramedy novel, Friend Request, introduces us all to The Onlys, a trio of young ladies who were closer than friends, and more like sisters. All of them went to the same elite high school, but after college, Lily and Anne went their separate ways due to a relationship with a boy, leaving Maya ping-ponging between them for the rest of her life.

I loved Mallery’s usage of a nonlinear narrative, using multiple timelines and vignettes both in the construction of the novel, but also within with Maya’s videos. It allowed us to get glimpses of why and how things had ended us all with the current situation amongst the grown women who used to be so close. It was like we were fed little sips of the truth…just enough to advance the plot.

I loved all of the crazy adventures that Lily and Anne went on, courtesy of Maya. They visited each of my emotions, and left me in tears of laughter and heartache. An example was when a piece of luggage gifted by Maya was jettisoned from the airplane that Lily and Anne were on. It scared them both to pieces, but then landed in a skate park for teenage boys to find it, and the bras inside of it. All of the internet got to see the bras, due to the teenagers’ shenanigans.

This was a unique take on a chick lit novel. It was deeper than just hilarious rom-com antics. It made you feel intensely for each one of them, and also for the other members of this book. This book gets all of my stars.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and MIRA for this amazing digital ARC!!

[Kimberly]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
Friend Request by Susan Mallery is a heartfelt and beautifully written story about friendship, loss, forgiveness, and second chances.

Anne and Lily were once best friends, but a painful event nearly 20 years ago left their friendship fractured. After the death of their beloved friend Maya, they are unexpectedly brought back together when they learn that, according to Maya’s will, they must complete a series of “quests” designed to help them confront their past and repair their broken relationship. Each quest is delivered through prerecorded videos from Maya, making her presence—and her love for both women—felt throughout the story.

As Anne and Lily work through Maya’s challenges, old anger and hurt resurface, along with deeply buried secrets and unresolved feelings. What follows is an emotional journey of understanding, healing, forgiveness, and rediscovering what their friendship once meant to them.

Mallery does a wonderful job developing both the characters and their relationships. I became so invested in Anne and Lily’s journey that it often felt as though I was right there alongside them, experiencing their struggles, revelations, and moments of healing.

A touching and emotional story about the enduring power of friendship. Definitely a must-read!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Alba]

Friend Request is about three best friends, but after a huge betrayal, two of them stop speaking for twenty years. When their other friend, Maya, passes away, she leaves behind videos with different requests for them to complete together, hoping they can somehow find their way back to each other.

I liked seeing how much time had changed both of them. There was still a lot of hurt from the past, and honestly, what happened between them was a pretty big betrayal, so I didn’t feel like it was something that should just be brushed aside. But I liked watching them slowly talk through things, spend time together again, and figure out if there was still a friendship worth saving.

I also really liked the little extras at the end. There are book club questions and recipes included, which I thought was such a fun addition and made it feel like a really good book club pick.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It’s about friendship, grief, family, forgiveness, and how differently life can turn out from what you thought it would be.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Mamawattto4 Melissa]

Thank you Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed Friend Request! Susan Mallery does such a great job writing about friendship, complicated relationships, and the kind of history that can make it hard to move forward.

I loved the idea of Lily, Anne, and Maya finding their way back to the friendship they once had. Their history is messy, emotional, and sometimes heartbreaking, but there was also plenty of humor along the way. Maya’s plan to bring the three of them back together made for some fun moments, and I especially enjoyed watching Lily and Anne slowly start to understand each other and let go of some of the hurt from their past.

This was such a heartfelt story about forgiveness, second chances, and realizing that family doesn’t always have to be the people you’re related to. The friendships felt genuine and imperfect, which made them easy to connect with.

A warm, witty, emotional read about finding your way back to the people who have always felt like home.

[Kim L.]

Friend Request by Susan Mallery was such a heartfelt and emotional read about friendship, grief, forgiveness, and second chances. Anne and Lily were once inseparable, but after a huge betrayal, they haven’t spoken in twenty years. When their best friend Maya passes away, she leaves behind a series of quests that force them to spend time together and confront everything that happened between them.

I really enjoyed watching their relationship slowly unfold and seeing whether all those years of hurt could finally be worked through. Their friendship was messy and complicated, but that honestly made it feel more real. There were some emotional moments, some fun adventures, and even a little humor along the way. Overall, this was a touching story about the friendships that shape us and finding your way back to someone you thought you’d lost forever.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for the eARC!
#FriendRequestDeluxeLimitedEdition #NetGalley
Pub. date: Feb 2nd 2027

[LibraryNinja_Beritk]

Susan Mallery’s latest book introduces us to three women with complex pasts—Maya, who has just died, and her two best friends, Lily and Anne, whose histories are filled with trauma and separation.

Flash forward 20 years, and Maya maintained separate relationships with each woman throughout her life. Now that she has passed, she leaves these estranged friends a series of quests to undertake, revealing her desire for reconciliation and growth. They owe her for the damaged friendships, and Lily is wary because they haven’t talked in so many years and their lives are completely different.

This book is about friendship, love, loving yourself, and growing up without losing sight of what really matters.

Thank you to Susan Mallery and Harlequin Trade for allowing me to read this arc freely in advance for an honest review
#SusanMallery #libraryninja📚

[Trish]

This is a heartfelt story of friendship paused for twenty years then rekindled per the wishes of a third member of the Onlys - a group of three each from a different background. After Maya passes Lily and Anne learn that Maya left a list of friend requests in hopes of rekindling the broken friendship of Anne and Lily as they complete the requested tasks left to them by their adored friend.
Plan to cozy under a favorite blanket with a cup of warm beverage as you read this book. It's one you won't want to put down
Five stars and my thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to early read and review Friend Request.

[Carolyn]

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Mira for the ARC.

What elevates this book beyond a typical chick-lit romp is its emotional weight: underneath the comedy is a genuine, realistic look at friendship, forgiveness, and how grief reshapes a person. It takes a little while to warm up to Lily and Anne, and makes one question whether they deserved Maya's loyalty at all — but the story wins that goodwill back once it gets going.

In short: a nonlinear dramedy that uses a deceased friend's video messages (instead of the usual alternating timelines) to unpack a broken friendship, balancing screwball set pieces with real emotional depth. The characters took a little time to win me over, but Friend Request ultimately delivers a funny, heartfelt read about loss, forgiveness, and reconnection — a full five-star, can't-put-it-down winter read.

[Julia]

This was a great book about friendship, forgiveness, and a very realistic depiction about how loss changes you, who you are, and your next steps. I did like this book a lot. I had some issues getting into the narrative at the beginning, and in fact, I didn't find the characters to be worthy of Maya's friendship upon "meeting them', but this book progressed well and I read it in one evening once I got into it! Definitely a great read for this winter!!

Thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Tina Weathers]

I loved this book! Loved the characters and the ending. Any book that makes me emotional is a 5 star read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jessica]

Susan Mallery always writes a good book. I've enjoyed everything I've read so far and I'll come back for more! She always gives us characters to love and heartwarming stories. This one was about friendship, love, grief and forgiveness. It had it's sad moments, but there was so much hope and tenderness as well. It also had it's witty moments and I really enjoyed the way everything came together in the end. Such a great story about the bonds of friendship that last a lifetime and truly feel more like family.

[Rachel Floyd]

What a great story of friendship and forgiveness! Lily and Anne let a guy come between them, and Jeff was definitely not worthy of either of them. What a jerk! I loved the sweet twist with Dane, and Maya’s tragedy really tugged at my heartstrings. This story is a reminder that even our closest friends may be dealing with things we know absolutely nothing about. A beautiful story about friendship, second chances, and learning to forgive!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley

[Shireen Hakim]

After I got over the shocking twist in this romance/drama I thoroughly enjoyed it. FRIEND REQUEST is mostly plot-driven because I didn't like the characters too much. I did like Lily but couldn't really forgive Anne. (Maya is too good to be true). The male love interests were nice too.
This is probably one of Mallery's heavier novels, and could use a trigger warning. It's also one of her best.

Thank you HarperCollins/MIRA and Edelweiss for the advanced digital review copy.

[Kheyra Santos]

This was such a fun and creepy read! I loved the way the story played with social media, secrets, and that feeling that something is definitely not right. The mystery kept me guessing, and I enjoyed slowly putting the pieces together. Some parts didn’t hit quite as strongly for me, but overall, I really enjoyed the suspense and the uneasy atmosphere. It gave me that “just one more chapter” feeling, and I’m glad I picked this one up.

[Barbara Lack]

This has some very sad moments. Maya’s friends are full of grief. This book is all about friendship. Lilly and Anne have a ton of hurt feelings between them. It was a journey watching them navigate back to a loving friendship. This book threw me into a kind of melancholy. It’s wonderfully written. I really enjoyed this book.

[Beth]

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this advanced copy. I enjoyed this book from start to finish. One of the main characters was harder for me to like, but by the end of the book I had looked past her personality quirks. The book was all about friendship, grieving, and moving on when your life hasn't turned out how you planned. 5 star!!

[Debbie T]

I really enjoyed this one! Such a lovely story about friendship, forgiveness, and loss. It was a great read, and I’m so glad I got the chance to read it. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

[Tracy Smith]

Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy of this book. First off, Susan Mallery was an auto buy author for me. Her last few books were just ok for me but I have to say this book turned it around. I love the story, the characters and their interactions. One of the best books I read this year.

[Amanda Hooks]

Susan Mallery did it again! This book is just so heartwarming, nostalgic and sad all in one book, the way the story flows between the characters is really just beautiful!

[Heather Putnam]

I wasn't sure about this storyline but it totally worked. Great characters and the story kept my interest the whole time!