From the publisher:
A brand-new novel from the #1 bestselling author of VIRGIN RIVER
Four women come together at a tumultuous time in their lives, forging an unbreakable bond that will leave them all forever changed.Celebrity cooking show host Marni McGuire has seen it all. She’s been married—twice—and widowed and divorced. Now in her midfifties, she’s single. Happily so. She just needs to convince her pregnant daughter, Bella, of this fact. And maybe convince herself, too. Especially after Marni’s efforts to humor her determined daughter result in a series of disastrous dates that somehow prompt Marni to wonder if maybe the right man for her is still out there after all.
Similarly single, Marni’s best friend and colleague is confident she’s content without a man, but both older women soon find themselves leading by example as the young intern on their show appears caught in a toxic relationship—and Bella reveals her own marriage maybe isn’t built to withstand the stresses of the baby on the way.
Suddenly, all four women find themselves at a crossroads, each navigating the challenges of dating, marriage, loneliness and love. Thankfully, they have each other to lean on. The realities of modern love are far from easy, but there’s no better group to have in your corner than friends who will lift you up, no matter what, and hold fast in the face of any storm.
“The Friendship Club will offer fans the same supportive, talented, and kind characters they expect…Readers looking for a good story with relatable characters will be well pleased.”—Booklist
https://amzn.to/3vHaz3C
Feels like forever since I read a Robyn Carr book. Since the success of the TV series based on her book series, Virgin River and Sullivan’s Crossing, her publisher has been reissuing all her old books. Looks like I missed a new one, A Family Affair, in 2022 so that’s on me (but I will be reading it shortly!) Carr is one of my favorite authors, and this new book is a warm hug of a read.
Marni is the main character, a single mom – widowed, then divorced – and a chef with a successful syndicated cooking show. She is very close with her newly pregnant daughter, Bella, her producer of twenty years, Ellen, and her intern, Sophia, and these women spend a lot of time together. But things are starting to change; Marni starts spending time with Sophia’s single father, Sam; Ellen starts spending time with her neighbor, Matt; Bella is having wild mood swings thanks to the IVF hormone regimen that got her pregnant and is driving her husband crazy; and Sophie’s new boyfriend, Angelo, seems worrisome. These women come together to work through life and all its problems and promises.
Turns out Angelo is on the stalker track, but it takes Sophia a while to figure that out. The story really spirals from there – Marni finally tells her daughter and her friends that her first husband was abusive, and if he hadn’t died, it wouldn’t have been good. There are charitable works set in motion among these friends, and they try various ways to help keep Sophia safe.
Some readers may find the abusive boyfriend triggering, but that plotline is not sensationalized in any way. Book groups will have lots to talk about here, not the least of which are women of a certain age finding love. I loved it.
1/2024 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE FRIENDSHIP CLUB by Robyn Carr. MIRA; Original edition (January 23, 2024). ISBN: 978-0778311881. 336p.
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