Five on My TBR - Best Friend

#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook. Learn more about it here. 

Best Friend

This is my first foray into this meme (which I saw on Dini's blog). I love any opportunity to feature more books and found this an interesting way to take a look at my TBR. I hope to also get some feedback from you. Should I keep these books on my TBR? Should I push them up the list? Without further ado, below are five books featuring best friends (in some way which) I am excited about reading. 

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The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

Two best friends who haven’t spoken in ten years pretend to date after break-ups with their respective exes go viral, in this delightfully fun and deeply emotional new novel from New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord.

June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. Now June is struggling to make rent on her beachside tea shop, Levi is living a New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager and failed novelist, and they've barely spoken in years.

But after they both experience public, humiliating break-ups with their exes that spread like wildfire across TikTok rabbit holes and daytime talk shows alike, they accidentally make some juicy gossip of their own—a photo of them together has the internet convinced they're a couple. With so many people rooting for them, they decide to put aside their rocky past and make a pact to fuel the fire. Pretending to date will help June’s shop get back on its feet and make Levi’s ex realize that she made a mistake. All they have to do is convince the world they're in love, one swoon-worthy photo opp at a time.

Two viral break-ups. One fake relationship. Five sparkling, heart-pounding dates. June and Levi can definitely pull this off without their hearts getting involved. Because everyone knows fake dating doesn’t come with real feelings. Right?

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The Sea Sisters Swimming Club by Sue McDonagh

Fifty-year-old police officer Fran Doherty thought she had a good few years left in her. But if a heart attack while dancing the night away at a disco in a sequin dress isn’t a sign to slow down, then she doesn’t know what is . . .

Fran’s waved goodbye to the force and hello to her pension. But who is she without her job?

She decides to get away from it all in Llanbryn, an idyllic seaside village in Wales. It beats feeling sorry for herself and watching Homes Under the Hammer all day.

Fran’s soon taken under the wing of the Sea Sisters, a group of inspirational women of all ages and sizes who swim in the ocean. They challenge her to move on from the past and face her life-long fear of the sea.

And the strapping Wyn catches her eye. He appears to be the local troublemaker, but perhaps Fran’s got the wrong end of the stick . . .

The closer she gets to Wyn, the more she’s unable to deny the feelings he brings out in her. And Llanbryn feels more like home with every passing day.

Fran feels more alive than she has in years, but Wyn has his own emotional scars. Maybe they can help each other?

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The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred

Sweet tea, corn bread, and soup beans—everyday fare for eight-year-old Alix French, the precocious darling of a respected southern family. But nothing was ordinary about the day she met ten-year-old Nick Anderson, a boy from the wrong side of town. Armed with only a tin of bee balm and steely determination, Alix treats the raw evidence of a recent beating that mars his back, an act that changes both of their lives forever.

Through childhood disasters and teenage woes they cling together as friendship turns to love. The future looks rosy until the fateful night when Frank Anderson, Nick's abusive father, is shot to death in his filthy trailer.

Suddenly, Nick is gone—leaving Alix alone, confused and pregnant. For the next fifteen years she wrestles with the pain of Nick's abandonment, a bad marriage, her family and friends. But finally, she's starting to get her life back together. Her divorce is almost final, her business is booming, and she's content if not happy—until the day she looks up and sees Nick standing across the counter. He's back…and he's not alone.

Once again Alix is plunged into turmoil and pain as Nick tries to win her love, something she resists with all her strength. Only one thing might break the protective wall she's built around her emotions—the truth about Frank Anderson's death. But when that truth comes out and those walls crumble, neither Alix nor Nick is prepared for the emotional explosion that could destroy as well as heal.

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When We Were Friends by Samantha Tonge

Four friends, one big secret... and the journey of a lifetime.

It’s nineteen years since they stopped speaking to each other, but now Morgan needs to contact her three best friends from school: Paige, Emily and Tiff.

Her teenage son wants to meet his dad and Morgan can’t ignore his requests any longer. And Paige, Emily and Tiff all knew what actually happened back then. Even if that was what led to their friendship group falling apart, they’re the only people Morgan can think of who might be able help her find the man who disappeared without a trace before she could tell him she was pregnant.

Can Morgan persuade her old friends to go on a road trip to track him down? As adults – with marriages, children and a whole bucket-load of their own problems – will they be able to work together to solve the mystery? And if so – just when forgiveness for the past looks like it might be possible – how will they cope with the biggest shock of all?

A story about love, families and how the people who know you best are the ones you will always need in your life. Totally heartbreaking, brilliant, uplifting fiction for fans of Jill Mansell, Paige Toon and Sheila O’Flanagan.

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Who We Are Now by Lauryn Chamberlain

Four friends. Fifteen years. Who We Are Now is a story of Sliding Doors moments, those seemingly small choices of early adulthood that determine the course of our lives.

It is 2006 and Rachel, Clarissa, Dev, and Nate are best friends, seniors on the eve of their college graduation. Their whole lives are before them, at once full of promise and anxiety. Bound to one another as they are, they imagine their closeness will last forever--but things change as they take their first steps away from one another and into adulthood.

Each year is told from one character's point of view, and in that way, we stride swiftly through their lives. These four friends feel their twenties and thirties flying by, and suddenly small moments fast become regrets or unexpected boons, decisions they'll spend years wishing they could undo and choices that come to define them. As the foursome endure professional setbacks, deep loss, and creative success, fortunes shift and friendships strain--and it will take a tragic turn of events to bring them together again.

Who We Are Now is a poignant story of epic friendship that jumps boldly through the years, moving at the same unforgiving pace as does that precious, confusing time between college and real life. This novel is perfect for readers who adore tales of friendship, explorations of the second coming of age moment that arrives in our thirties, and fans of Meg Wolitzer's The Interestings or Dolly Alderton's Ghosts.

What best friend books are on your TBR?
Let us know in the comments!