A cute and feel good story - just what I was needing right now. Will read more by this author. I can see I have quite a few titles to catch up with.

It's been a long time since I read a story about women's friendship with one another and That's What Friends Are For was an excellent escape from life. While Marcie Steele writes about situations that are incredibly realistic, some even difficult and full of angst, I knew I was getting a happy ending and a feel good read. I didn't love all the characters, in fact I couldn't stand one in particular, but I enjoyed the book as a whole and appreciated Steele's honoring of how true female friendships work.

A very enjoyable read. The author created well developed characters and a good storyline. It is very worth a read. I feel others will be as charmed as I was.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will. Enjoy

I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book. I found myself not connecting to any of the characters and it took me a long time to finish

Such a lovely story! It's my first time to read a book by Marcie Steele. Marcie has a very lovely writing style. It's so smooth and comfortable to read. "That's what friends are for" is a real page turner. I had a real hard time to put the book down when I had to... It's a book about friendship, about love between mother and daughter, it's also a book about school bullying on social media, and it's about love. I could only recommend this book to any woman!

I really liked this book. It put a smile on my face and a tear in my eye. The only thing missing for me was an epilogue. I wanted to know what happened next with some of the, for me, unfinished storylines. And because an epilogue is not possible anymore, I wil setle for a sequel, please? ;)
Marcie Steele, you have found yourself another fan.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Sam and Louise have been best friends since they hung their coats side by side on the first day of primary school. Now in their thirties, they’re just as close, but life is a little bit more complicated…
On the outside, thirty-something Sam seems to have it all; the gorgeous husband, the beautiful home and the flourishing business. But things are not quite as rosy as they seem. So when handsome stranger, Dan, walks into her life, Sam finds his attentions hard to resist.
Louise might seem like life and soul of the party, but her outgoing exterior hides her sadness about the heartbreak in her past. She just wants someone to love – but all Louise gets left with is a quick fumble with an ex at the end of the night.
When a glamorous face from the past returns to shake things up, things get even more complicated for Sam and Louise. And just when they need each other the most, they’ve reason to wonder whether they ever really knew each other at all.

*3.5 stars*

It seems that getting started in a book tagged as "women's fiction" harder for me than I thought. It felt starting this one that I was climbing a very tall hill with a lot of boulders being thrown at me. I was sort of dodging and weaving through the start of the book, looking for a narrative that I could connect to.

But, then, miraculously, it just picked up and became quite a pleasing story of friendships and how well you know those around you. Sam and Louise are characters that are absolutely believable - they are flawed, they make mistakes and they aren't picture-perfect beautiful. I appreciate that in books like these as that is generally how most people are. It is a refreshing change. Louise's daughter also added a hit of reality - a teenager with attitude and a bond with her mother that is both beautiful and corrosive. Again, like a lot of mother-daughter relationships.

The biggest positive for this book, however, was the way the reader is pulled into the stories the characters tell and how easily we make assumptions about people. The writing was on-point for this style of story and it was easy to get lost in the multiple narratives.

So, apart from the really difficult start, the other reason this lost a star was the cover. I am not sure who came up with that idea, but it in no way reflects the depth and style of this book. It looks "girlie"and a little lighthearted...and I wouldn't classify this book solely like that.

Anyway, having said that, a solid story after a bumpy beginning. Well worth a look.


Paul
ARH

Please note that there were likely many changes from the ARC I received and read to the book that was published. My review is based on the ARC I received from NetGalley.

I enjoyed the basic guts of the story but the execution and writing style had room for improvement. I was a bit bored while reading the story and almost didn’t finish reading it half way through. I hate not finishing a book in case it does get better, but this one really didn’t click for me.

The basic themes of the novel were admirable. The story was filled with the idea that secrets kept between friends and family can come around eventually and hurt you. True friends will always find a way to work through their troubles. There was the theme of love; new love taking off on the beginning of life’s adventure and old love dying with no hope for tomorrow. There was also the theme of infidelity and that notion that you shouldn’t take the people in your life for granted, because they aren’t always going to be there if you treat them like they don’t matter. I thought the themes presented in the story were all important but I thought the reading was a little slow-paced for my liking.