Did I have any normal friends left? Or did weddings turn everyone into unrecognizable zombies who fed on bridesmaids instead of brains?

For the Love of Friends (From ARC, quotes may have changed in publication copy)

Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lily Weiss is her mother’s worst nightmare: thirty-two and single—the horror! She’s also a talented writer but hides behind a boring job at a science foundation. To her friends, she’s reliable and selfless, which is how she winds up a bridesmaid in five weddings in six weeks. Anything for her three best friends and two (younger) siblings, right? Even if her own love life is…well, she’d rather not talk about it. To keep her sanity, Lily needs a safe place to vent.

And so her anonymous blog, Bridesmania, is born. The posts start pouring out of her: all the feels about mom-zillas, her vanishing bank balance, the wicked bridesmaids of the west, high-strung brides-to-be, body-shaming dress clerks, bachelorette parties, and Spanx for days, not to mention being deemed guardian of eighty-eight-year-old Granny (who enjoys morning mimosas in the nude) for her brother’s destination wedding.

So far the blog has stayed anonymous. But as everyone knows, few things online remain secret forever…

When all is said and done, can Lily help all five couples make it to happily ever after? And will her own happy ending be close behind?

I’ve never been a bridesmaid, but I have my big wedding in just over a month, and let me tell you: reading For the Love of Friends amid final preparations and planning was a wild but enjoyable experience. 

The story follows Lily, a single (much to her mother’s chagrin) thirty-two-year-old surrounded by happy couples getting engaged and married—five to be exact. And she’s a bridesmaid in every one of the weddings, which all happen to fall within the same six-week period. It’s enough to stress to make anyone snap. So, since she’s a talented writer, she starts an anonymous blog as a place to vent. 

Between the high-strung brides, moms from hell, constant body shaming, and her dwindling bank account, Bridesmania helps her prevent a nervous breakdown. And Alex, a sweet groomsman from one of the weddings who has become a confidant, doesn’t hurt on that front either. But as the brides get crazier and crazier, the blog gains more and more popularity, threatening not only her anonymity but her relationships with her friends and family and her potential relationship with Alex.

I loved this book. From the blurb, I was a little afraid that the romance element would be scarce, but Sarah Goodman Confino perfectly blends the story of Lily and her five weddings with a romance. The slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance was perfect. I loved how it allowed there to be equal focus on the chaos of the five weddings and the conflict Lily’s blog ends up creating. I also just loved Alex. He’s sweet, supportive, and charming in an adorably quirky way. 

The side characters were so much fun, especially the cooky grandma and Lily’s dad. As a Marylander, I loved all of the little references to the area, and it made the book feel all that much more immersive. Overall, For the Love of Friends was a fun and easy read I didn’t want to put down. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for Sara Goodman Confino’s writing in the future.