This book may contain the best Epilogue I’ve ever read. It was the perfect ending to this wild ride of a story. I really liked Laura with all her flaws and Daniel but I realized very early on that Cherry was not what she was presenting herself to be. I really wondered how far she was going to go & the puppy scene made me gasp out loud. The characters were excellent both the good & the bad and the story was paced excellently. There was a lot of hype surrounding this book on my Facebook reader group and this book definitely lived up to the hype.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

It's mom versus girlfriend. At some points I felt myself leaning to the girlfriend's side. But as a mom with two boys, I was routing more so for mom. Both sneaky and determined, you are in for a heck of a ride with this page turner!

Compelling characters, a twisting plot, and a dynamic ending make The Girlfriend a truly thrilling read.  If you enjoyed Girl on the Train or Gone Girl, you'll definitely want to read The Girlfriend.

The story is mainly told from two perspectives: that of Laura, Daniel's mother, and Cherry, Daniel's girlfriend.  Laura and her son share a very close bond, and she is understandably protective of her child.  Cherry, on the other hand, is a young woman with a mission: she wants to marry a rich man who will take her away from the poverty she grew up in.  What I loved about this book is that neither woman is entirely evil nor entirely good.  Both women do very terrible things to block the other from access to Daniel, but at the same time, they aren't monsters.  (At least not at the beginning...)

The tension in the story begins slowly, but not too slowly.  At the beginning, both women want to bond with the other, but neither can seem to make the jump.  Laura is wary of Cherry, and Cherry is insecure around Daniel's wealthy, cultured mother.  As the plot develops, each woman becomes more obsessed with possessing Daniel, and thus go to more and more extremes to win him over.  There were many times when I was squirming because I couldn't believe some of the antics these women pulled.

I could not put this book down, and I read it in a very short time.  I simply had to find out what was going to happen.  Luckily, the ending did not disappoint.  I won't say any more because of spoilers, but I loved how the writer brought all of the events to their conclusion.

The Girlfriend was a thrilling, spellbinding read, and I can't wait for more from this author.  Five out of five stars.

This was a great read, completely worthy in my opinion of a full 5 star score!

Michelle Frances explores the complex relationship between a mother and her son's girlfriend; Daniel is the guy caught in the middle.

Laura is the mother with everything - or so Daniel's girlfriend Cherry believes; wealthy husband, beautiful home, villa in the South of France and a job with status! Cherry on the other hand comes from a poor background; clever, beautiful and ambitious she wants everything that Laura has, and will stop at nothing to get it.

When Daniel brings Cherry to meet his parents one evening, both are initially keen to make a good impression; however, Laura soon becomes suspicious of Cherry's motives for being with her son and the relationship between the two rapidly deteriorates.

When Daniel suffers a serious accident, as next-of-kin Laura is able to take the upper hand. In a desperate effort to maintain her hold on her son, Laura tells a horrific lie, one that is to have the most serious of repercussions.

As tensions between the two women reach a climax who will win...and at what cost!

I quite simply couldn't put this book down. Michelle Frances' character development was excellent, the story being told from several viewpoints in a third person voice. Cherry had just that right amount of 'sinister' and yet still maintained a believable human side capable of charm and manipulation where required; and taking into consideration the actions of Laura, maybe what she didn't like about Cherry was seeing a reflection of her own flaws in another woman!

Loved! 5 stars!

In this story, it's Laura, Daniel's Mom versus Cherry, Daniel's new girlfriend. Laura and Daniel have a very close relationship. When Cherry first shows up, Laura is excited. But something seems off about Cherry and Laura can't quite figure out why. Cherry was raised on the poorer side of town and has reinvented herself to try and fit in with the rich crowd. Does she love Daniel for himself or for the lifestyle his money allows her to live?

Oh my! This was an exciting read. The power to be the top women in Daniel's life swings like a pendulum between Laura and Cherry. First Cherry seems to hold all the cards, then Laura. Back and forth, back and forth. (Poor Daniel). The questions is - who wins out in the end?

I was very impressed by this first novel from Ms. Frances. I loved the twists and turns as Laura and Cherry try to one up each other. The suspense goes right down to the last page. Bravo!

ARC from Kensington Books via Netgalley.

This was a decent mystery. Nothing real new or significant as to the storyline. At times the flow of the story was choppy. An fun, quick read that I would recommend to others.

I don't know if this novel should be considered a psychological thriller. If anything, this book falls more in line with a domestic thriller. Maybe I'm being a little too picky about classification but I think it's important; if I go into a novel thinking it is a psychological thriller, then I'm expecting certain things from it that I might not expect were it a different type of thriller. Anywho, I just wanted to make this clear for everyone else considering reading this book.

In terms of the structure, this novel is told from 3 perspectives: Laura, Cherry, and Daniel. While I liked that the author showed us these 3 sides as it allowed us to contrast the reactions of the different characters, I don't think it was necessarily done in the best way, especially when it came to Daniel's POV. His perspective didn't get its own chapter; instead, as you are reading from Laura's or Cherry's side of the story, there would be an abrupt and random shift into Daniel's viewpoints. This took me aback a lot and created a jarring effect when I was reading, which I didn't enjoy. 

The story itself was also interesting. I don't think there was any one character that was completely good or bad (except, maybe Daniel) and I really liked that because it gave them more dimension. The pacing was fast, which I enjoyed, and I was happy that the author tried to put some depth into the characters and their backstories even when pushing this fast-paced thriller. I wouldn't necessarily say I was on the edge of my seat, but I didn't get bored with the story, either. I have to admit that it was predictable, but it was still a nice read. 

Overall, this was a predictable read, but in no way bad for a debut novel. The characters were developed well but the story needed some more unique features. I would give this a 3/5 rating, and I look forward to seeing this author progress further.

This book is a thriller. Unfortunately my download only went as far as the end of Chapter 13 but in those 13 Chapters you get a really good idea of the characters and I must say the only decent person in this story is Daniel. His Mother Laura is extremely possessive of him and being 24 years old and studying to be a Doctor some private time with his new girlfriend Cherry is definitely what he wants. Laura is suspicious of Cherry and the feeling is mutual.

When Laura suggests they go away for the weekend, Cherry lies to her boss and gets the weekend off and has no intentions of sharing Daniel with his mother. Whilst Daniel and Cherry are out, Laura can’t help but snoop into Cherry’s belongings and what she finds obviously starts her thinking about what deceptions Cherry is up to.

This is as far as my download went to. I would have loved to finish this book as even though I am sure some terrible things are going to occur between Laura and Cherry and I am nervous to find out what they are, the story is so intriguing I am sure it will be a best seller.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A gripping psychological drama. The stage is set for lies and intrigue when Laura's son, Daniel, meets Cherry and falls madly in love with this charismatic young woman. When tragedy strikes, true colors emerge and the stormy alliance between mother, son and girlfriend explodes. Full of surprising twists, I read this in one sitting!

A mother who adores her son and their close relationship. Then the Girlfriend appears, Daniel is in love with Cherry and Laura the mum has her nose put out of joint. The story then launches into a fast paced, adrenaline pumping read of deceit, manipulation, pure evil and that lie! No really likeable characters but this only helps to keep the pace of this hold your breath drama. Only missing 5* from me as found the end a little rushed - would have liked a little more from the conclusion. A great read though.

Mother, Laura vs Girlfriend, Cherry... who will win? Both of these women have extremely questionable morals and values, bordering on the psychopathic! Daniel, is a devoted son and a dream boyfriend - kind, considerate, trusting and oh so malleable and therefore vulnerable. Both women profess to love Daniel and to have his best interests at heart. However, they are clearly motivated by self-interest and a desire to possess and control Daniel. In spite of these conniving, manipulative women (or maybe because of them), I could not put this book down! Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Loved this book, it was very different from the crime thrillers that I normally read. The story tells of the relationship between the boyfriend’s mother and his girlfriend. Both characters are flawed but there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end. A book you will not want to put down.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was pretty boring, honestly. It's really annoying when a book is marketed as a thriller, when it's really not thrilling at all.

Domestic thrillers seem to be making a comeback and I am NOT unhappy about that. They are fun reads and it's interesting to see how an author will bring this kind of story to life. In this case, we have two deplorable characters: Laura and Cherry. Boy did the author make me despise both of them! Cherry is just straight up certifiable, selfish and manipulative. Laura just lives in her little bubble and makes some extremely dumb mistakes... but they all at least stem from what seems to be a good place. Poor Daniel having to be stuck between the two of them!

I went back and forth in how I really felt about this book. I would put this more in a Domestic Suspense/Drama category than a thriller. As such, we get the full on cat and mouse game between Laura and Cherry. The author does it well - she definitely kept my interest and I quickly finished the book as it was highly entertaining and easy to get through. I did, however, feel that it became a bit repetitive at times. Cherry, Laura, Cherry, Laura, Cherry, Laura... get my drift? I felt myself growing just a bit tired of it by the time I got to the end. I also felt the ending was a bit predictable.

What I absolutely loved about this book? The late night Lifetime movie I feel it had. I'm a SUCKER for those! Those who love the domestic suspense type novels that is more character driven will take a shining to this lovely book. I definitely found it highly entertaining.

For those of us with sons, this is one freaky, scary book! It really pulls you in at the beginning, kind of slows a bit in the middle, and then, wow! Things start happening and you don't know in what direction it's going. It's girlfriend versus mom of boyfriend, both at fault for lying about the other, and it causes things to really go wrong for both. This is a a great psychological thriller that had me staying up late because I just had to know how it was going to end. It didn't disappoint. This is one I'll be recommending to my friends.

I received an advance review copy of The Girlfriend through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A page turner of a read for sure, and found myself rooting first for the mother and then for the girlfriend, as the story unfolded. The author kept pulling on my heart strings as I felt empathy for a Mom as her son is grown, and her marriage is collapsing, and now maybe she will find a friend in her son’s new love.
Then we have the girlfriend, and you find her a very smart girl that born into a different family would have achieved a lot, but she is poor, and not happy about it. Of course, there are other ways to achieve what she wants, but then Daniel becomes her obsession.
I really didn’t see the ending that happened, but this was quite the ride, and pitted against each other the mother and the girlfriend were quite the pair.
A book that is going to keep you up late reading to find the answers, and when you do, surprises abound.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Kensington, and was not required to give a positive review.

This is an odd love triangle....the mother, the son, and the daughter in law. Both the mother and daughter in law love Daniel, which is a good thing. But....when a serious accident happens, things get to be a bit 'strained' between Laura the mother and Cherry the daughter in law. Lies are told, that changes their lives. This is a wonderfully twisted psychological thriller with a great ending. I would like to than Net Galley for a copy of this book.

This book nearly killed me with the suspense of it - in the best way possible.

Laurel seems to have it all - a successful career in television, a long marriage to her rich husband, and a wonderful relationship to her 23 year old son Daniel. However, her life from the inside isn't quite as perfect as it looks, with cracks in her marriage, and her relationship with Daniel bordering on obsessive.

Suddenly her perfect son meets the girl of his dreams, Cherry. Cherry is beautiful, charming and very, very clever. Cherry's background is no where near as privileged as Daniel's was, and Laurel quickly becomes worried that Cherry's intentions for her son are not nearly as pure as Daniel believes.

Laurel and Cherry find themselves locked in a battle for Daniel's affections - and when tragedy strikes, it will all come crumbling down.

Michelle Frances knows how to write perfectly complex, and wonderfully horrible characters. One of my very favourite things about this book is how much I enjoyed disliking most of the main characters - I am a sucker for a good villain, and this book delivers on that! Generally speaking, I am usually quite good at sniffing out twists before they happen, but I am happy to admit that this book had me on the edge of me seat, and unable to see what was coming next.

I don't want to give away any plot points, because this thriller deserves to be read without expectation - I will say that this read had my anxiety ratcheted up to the highest possible point (in the BEST way) as I was dying to see what would happen, and who would come out on top, the mom or the girlfriend.

A completely delightful and scandalous read - this will be a favourite for book clubs everywhere.

I'd like to say that this story was original, maybe I'm just gullible I don't know anymore! I felt for almost every lie, and was shocked at every revelation ha! definitely a page turner, and only a few times I found it predictable, but it didn't take away form the story. it was an easy read, and one that I enjoyed. will def be recommending this one.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a book about two women who were basically trying to one up each other in being awful. Don’t get me wrong, it kept my interest, and I found myself reading it whenever I got a chance... but it made me think. Why are women so awful to each other sometimes?

Although the main characters were not people I would want to be friends with, I enjoyed this read, and would definitely read another from this author.