This was such a good read. I loved everything about this book and will be reading more from this author.in,the future.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

A really enjoyable book set in London in the swinging 60s following the lives of three very different Irish girls. Well written with surprising twists and turns throughout and a dramatic, exciting and satisfying ending. I enjoyed all of the characters in the book and found them all interesting and easy to relate to. Beautifully evocative in the descriptions of London in the 60s. A story of new beginnings, friendships, trust, secrets, betrayals, courage and some very dangerous criminals.

A surprising book which I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This book really is a contender for my favourite book of this year so far.

Right from the start it captures the reader and it doesn’t let go until the last page.

The story of how three young Irish women end up in the same part of London, what brought them there, and what happens to them over there, is engrossing.

There’s everything you could want in this book, humour, sadness, intrigue, shocks and tension, all set in the backdrop of the swinging sixties in London.

The three girls end up getting involved in gangland London, and it makes for some hard hitting, but fast paced and enthralling reading.

They all change and grow in London, coming a long way from their roots in rural Ireland.

I was very reluctant to drag myself away from it to go to work when I was 92% of the way through, and really needed to see what was going to happen next, but it was great to have that last little bit to look forward to when I got home.

I was delighted to discover Kate Kerrigan’s fantastic books earlier in the year, but I think this one is the best yet. Highly recommended.

London in the swinging 60's- a magnet for young people wanting to be part of it all.

Lara, a fashion design student flees there after her fiance tells her that he is breaking off their engagement to become a priest. She finds work in a rather seedy club but it gives her a base to begin on her real life designing clothes.

Shortly after her arrival she meets Annie in the local cafe. Feeling sorry for a fellow countrywoman she offered her a share on the flat at the club. But Annie has her own secrets. She is running away from the horrific end to years of abuse.

Noreen, engaged to John, the local guadai, doesn't want to take over her father's undertaking business and pub. She wants to spread her wings and enjoy the permissive world of free love in 60's London.

From the mad changing trends and fashions to seedy nightclubs and gangsters the narrative sweeps the reader along. It was captured the atmosphere of the times and with interesting characters it kept me reading. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for this fun read

Thanks Head of Zeus and netgalley for this ARC.

Really gives a sense of the 60's in London. I loved the way friendship became family to overcome a dreadful childhood. This book has adventure, love, action, and dangerous passion.

Other than the gorgeous cover that drew me in from the moment I saw it, I did not know what to expect from That Girl. Then, I read the first three chapters and had to take a small break because all mind kept saying over and over again was "What did I just read?" and "Wow, did that really just happen?". From there, I was hooked and could not wait to see what else lay ahead.

That Girl centers around three women from Ireland who, each for different reasons, travel to London during the 1960s for a fresh start. Hanna, who becomes Annie Austen, has fled after a terrible crime has been committed, holding tight to her new identity in order to forget her past. Lara comes to London to also escape and start over after her boyfriend, Matthew declares he wants to become a priest stating that even though he loves her, he loves God more. Noreen, Matthew's twin sister and Lara's best friend, gets tired of her boring predictable life. Her future is set for her to marry her fiance John and then take over her family's pub but Noreen wants more she follows Lara to see what Swinging London has to offer.

I honestly don't know where to start. This book has a little bit of everything to it. It has romance, amazing female friendship, self-discovery, suspense, and much more. While you have the three main characters who all come to live together in London, each of their individual storylines introduces you to a large cast of side characters as well. As the story unfolds you get engrossed into this world, following each of the girl's on their journeys as Hanna/Annie makes herself a new life, Lara follows her passion in fashion, and Noreen sets out to find the exciting life and independence she didn't have back in Ireland. And with the backdrop being London in the 1960s, it was just so much fun to just immerse myself and travel back in time. I became just as intrigued about the time period as I did with the story.

The only issue I had while reading this book was the switching of perspectives that happened within the story, sometimes without any indication of who it switched to. In the beginning, you knew who's perspective you were reading from but as the story goes on and more characters are introduced and the plot becomes much more intricate, it became rather difficult to determine who was speaking from time to time.

Overall, this was such a surprising read and I am so happy I got to read it. Kate Kerrigan did such an amazing job pulling me in from the very beginning and transporting me back to Swinging London. I fell in love with each of the characters until at one point I thought they were real people. If you are looking for a character-driven book with a little bit of everything, then check this book out.

This is a very memorable story, focussing on the lives of three Irish girls, Hanna, Lara and Noreen and their lives. As the girls escape their very different lives in Ireland to move to London with very different motives and reasons for their escape. It is a real page turner, an enthralling read, transporting the reader back to the ‘swinging sixties’ and gangland London. It is a story of how the girls’ separate lives start to entwine, creating a tapestry that  slowly develops to reveal a bigger picture filled with danger, angst and turmoil.

I’m trying not to give anything away about the plot! The story has great characters and is an emotional roller coaster ride! There are shocks and surprises along the way - and tumultuous times for all three girls as they become more involved in working for one of London’s most feared gangland bosses. There’s additional danger when people from their past come to call . . . .

This is a shocking, heartwarming, surprising and moving story of the three girls, their hopes, dreams, secrets, fears and friendship are all key to this amazing, dramatic story which I have absolutely no hesitation in highly recommending.

I requested and received a copy of this novel, via NetGalley. This is my honest review after choosing to read it.

That Girl is the eagerly awaited new novel from an award-winning writer who just keeps getting better and better: Kate Kerrigan.

When Hanna had escaped from the scene of a heinous crime, she knew that sticking around in Sligo, Ireland was not going to be an option. Hanna was well aware that in order to escape from the shackles of the past, she needed to shake off every single trace of her existence and reinvent herself. She needed to leave everything that was familiar to her behind and ensure that the police could never find her, so she packed her bags and headed off to London where she vowed to never let old memories and past wounds get in the way of a promising new future. Will Hanna succeed in starting over in a new country with a new identity? Or can one never truly escape the past?

Romantic Lara had thought that an idyllic future with Matthew, the man of her dreams, beckoned for her. However, all idealistic fantasies were smashed to smithereens when the man she had thought she was going to be spending the rest of her life with announced that he was joining the priesthood, leaving Lara humiliated, betrayed and alone. Incandescent with rage that her hopes for a perfect life in Dublin were ruined, a broken-hearted Lara vows to escape to the most godless place she can find: King’s Road, Chelsea.

While a lifetime of faith, chastity and charity beckons for Matthew, his twin sister Noreen is chafing at the constraints that are imposed upon her. Although she loves her fiance John, Noreen dreams of wild parties, fun and unbridled hedonism. London seems to be the ideal destination for Noreen to unleash her wild side and indulge in all of her deepest and darkest fantasies. But London is no place for a good girl like Noreen and she soon realises that she is out of her depth. Is is too late to go back home and for John to take her back?

With their boss, gangland boss Bobby Chevron, holding their futures in his hand, their new lives soon start to unravel. Is there a way out of this dangerous world they have found themselves in? Or will there be light at the end of this very dark tunnel?

Lesley Pearse meets Maeve Binchy in this engrossing and enthralling tale that will grab your attention from the very first page. A spellbinding tale of dark secrets, dangerous passions and powerful emotion, That Girl is a sumptuous and involving read you will find absolutely impossible to resist. Kate Kerrigan is a phenomenally talented writer and her books shine with beautifully rendered descriptions of the past, exquisite characters and nail-biting plots that keep you engrossed from start to finish. That Girl is a wonderfully dramatic read that once you start reading, you will find yourself unable to put down.

A first class tale from an outstanding storyteller, That Girl continues to cement Kate Kerrigan’s standing as an exceptional writer of women’s fiction!

This is my first read by this author. I can’t believe I’ve not heard about her before. I usually inhale any Irish authors I’ve been recommended so I’ll be catching up on this authors previous books soon.

Three young Irish girls, Hanna, Noreen and Lara flee Ireland in the 1960’s for a life in London. Each girl has their own reason for running.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt is not to judge a book by its cover. If I had seen this cover I’d probably have passed on it but thankfully the blurb pulled me in.
If your looking for a really well written romantic suspense then I highly recommend you read this. I loved it.

This is a great romance, with some thrilling crimes thrown in.

I liked how the girls’ lives paralleled each other. All three women are from Ireland, and they moved to London to escape the men in their pasts. They all end up together in the same apartment above a night club. Eventually, their pasts catch up to each of them.

The sixties atmosphere was great in the story. I found Lara’s “rags to riches” story a little optimistic. She goes from being a waitress to a designer in a matter of months, which is unrealistic, but it worked in the story.

Some parts of the story were quite slow. There were many parts where the characters reflected on things they had already done. But then something huge would happen that got the story going again. If it were a little shorter and more fast paced, the story would have been much better.

This story was an entertaining and thrilling romance.

New to me author Kate Kerrigan delivers a spectacular romantic suspense story set in London in the 1960's. I found myself swept up into the lives of Annie/Hanna, Lara, and Noreen as they escape their lives in Ireland and forge friendships and careers in this most grooviest of place and times, the Chelsea district in 1966.

The story unfolds perfectly and the unexpected occurs at almost every turn. Although all three woman have their story, Lara is the center. She befriends Annie and with the appearance of Noreen, the story takes off. Soon these three are living together and Annie's secrets, Noreen's audacity and Lara's ingenuity create a story line that kept me transfixed.

While Lara and Annie are easy to get behind, Lara is admirable and Annie is easy to feel compassion for, Noreen was another story. She grated on my nerves and it was hard to find anything vaguely likable about her. Her actions set in motion a series of events that tear away at the stability Annie is building and her jealousy undermines Lara's happiness. She makes a great antagonist but I will admit that as the story closes she redeemed herself a bit.

The characters are well developed and the the twists in the story, the way some of the secondary characters add a great deal of mystery. Being new to Kerrigan I had no idea just how far she'd take certain elements and I thought it was a perfect balance of romance and suspense. If you are looking for something a little different, That Girl offers a great escape into a time and place that I didn't even know I was curious about.

Favorite Quotes:

Unlike Italy , with its Popes and volcanos and sunshine and pasta, Ireland had nothing of note. Just nuns, rain and potatoes. It was an unremarkable place to anyone but the Irish themselves. In fact, mostly to them as well.

… as if a piece of him had gone missing in her presence. He was afraid that if he gave her what she wanted, then she would leave the room and, if she did that, he might never get it back.

You could catch up on a month’s gossip in Lyons’s in less than an hour if you knew who to sit next to.

Business took precedence over pleasure, always. The dead don’t book in and they don’t bury themselves, her father used to say.

He instinctively understood things about her that he knew were true… Without her saying a word, he could see in her beautiful eyes that she was carrying something that did not belong to her. It was a lifetime in a moment; this was the world standing still.

Sure all them miniskirts around here would turn a blind man horny!


My Review:

Visiting Ireland remains on my Bucket List, I’m sure I have distant ancestral roots of some sort and would just love to see the Old Sod, although these three Irish gals didn’t seem to be enjoying their life there in the turbulent 60’s and fled for “Swinging London.” Although, each of the three had fled for a different reason. Hanna was running from the brutality of her life, Lara was striving toward a different future, and Noreen was desperately seeking adventure. From the cover, you might be expecting a breezy and light-hearted book, well, think again. The well-crafted and engaging storylines were packed with drama, quirky gangsters, betrayal, suspense, angst, tension, heartache, aspirations, anxiety, intrigue, and excellent writing. The 60’s and 70’s were a period of profound and explosive social change worldwide, which was as confusing as it was exciting. I came of age a decade after these gals, but could easily identify with the issues.

I quickly slipped into the story and only fell deeper with the addition of each new character. The writing was emotive, observant, and descriptive enough to place me within each scene; I could hear the music, smell the food, feel the tension, and recognize the entire peculiar cast characters by sight. It was hard to put my Kindle down and even though I had not lived their experiences, I could fully relate and empathize with each of the female characters as well as a few of the men. But I tilted the most toward the couple of Lara and Coleman. Poor Lara, when the love of your life informs you he has decided to be a priest because, “I suppose I love God more than I love you.” Ouch. I would have hightailed it out faster than Lara had, although I would have torn a pound of flesh off of the weasel first. The suspense and tension were maintained beginning to end and oh, how I reveled at the sweet and well-deserved endings for each one. As if reading a superbly written book wasn’t pleasure enough, I have new additions to my British Isles Vocabulary List, which I’ve recently realized I needed to rename from My Brit Word List due to the inclusion of Scottish and Irish colloquialisms. My new collection includes, “clobber” which the Urban Dictionary defined as new clothes or personal items; and “face like a spanner” which means ugly. It’s always a red-letter day when I can boast of expanding my verbosity.

5 REASONS TO READ THAT GIRL BY KATE KERRIGAN
January 17, 2018 trish Book review 4 ★★★★

I could just give you one reason to read this book. Basically because it’s a great read. But I really want to you to read it, so I’m throwing 5 reasons to read That Girl by Kate Kerrigan at you. Because more is more, right?

FIRST LINE OF THAT GIRL BY KATE KERRIGAN

“It was her first visit to Dr Dorian Black’s surgery, and Hanna liked him straight away.”

5 REASONS TO READ THAT GIRL BY KATE KERRIGAN

heart icon That swinging sixties setting. You can’t go wrong with London, fashion, some sinister gangland criminals and the sixties. All these elements combined to make the book feel unique, plus they made it buzz with energy. London seemed so vibrant, and anything seemed possible. I loved the setting and it was one of my favourite things about this read.

heart icon Three very different characters. Hanna, Lara and Noreen couldn’t be more different if they tried. And they don’t always have a harmonious friendship, but I loved all three points of view. Each of them had different experiences in London, different reasons for being there, and all had their own journeys to find themselves. Above all, I appreciated how they all grew through adversity.

heart icon Girl Power: Any book where the female characters are fierce, determined, chasing down goals has a head start in winning my heart. Here you have all that in abundance.

heart icon Running for your life! Another huge theme in this book is that all 3 girls escaped their lives in Ireland. I love a good reinvention plot, and where better than a new city to reinvent your life. Especially a city in a decade where everything is changing, and away from expectations of home, you can be whoever you want. Of course as the reader you know, you can never outrun your past, and it’s only a matter of time until the past travels to London. Waiting for those fireworks made this an exciting, page-turner of a read.

heart icon An emotional satisfying read. You have characters to root for, hidden pasts, a dangerous undercurrent and it all added up to a very touching journey as I got very involved in their lives. Above all else, I love when a book reaches me and makes me feel attached to the troubles and strifes of the characters. And the complex emotions captured my imagination and make really think and reflect on what I would do in similar circumstances.

Rating Report
Characters four-stars
Setting four-half-stars
Pace three-half-stars
Did I feel it? four-stars
Overall: four-stars

WHO SHOULD READ THAT GIRL BY KATE KERRIGAN?
I’d highly recommend this to you if you like the idea of a Swinging Sixties London setting, escaping from your life and reinventing yourself, and an underlying dangerous vibe. If you enjoy authors such as Sheila O’Flanagan, Faith Hogan and Kate Hewitt, then you might also enjoy this one.

Thanks to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book for review consideration. As always, no matter what the source of the book, you get my honest, unbiased opinion.

Compelling, beguiling, and undeniably moving!

That Girl is an enthralling story about dreams, courage, heartbreak, goals, secrets, adventure, new love, self-discovery, and friendship all set against the backdrop of 1960s London when King’s Road was alive and grooving and had more than its fair share of velvet, miniskirts, pubs, gangsters, and violence.

There are three main Irish lasses in this novel; Hanna, a young woman running from an abusive past; Lara a hardworking, brokenhearted seamstress; and Noreen a fun-loving gal, looking for a good time.

The prose is expressive and effortless. The characterization is spot on with a wonderful cast of characters, including some determined, fearless women who learn through friendship and compassion to let go of the past and embrace the future. And the plot is the perfect blend of heart, humour, hope, surprises, and drama.

Overall, I have to say that Kerrigan has done a smashing job on this novel. That Girl is truly a fantastic read with a little bit of everything, suspense, romance, and even a dab of dark comedy and just in case you couldn’t tell already, I absolutely loved it!

10☆ Powerful Story of friendship and New Beginnings.

Wow oh Wow That Girl was one Powerful Rolletcoater ride that had me hooked from the very first few chapters!

That Girl is a story of New Beginnings, Family, Heartbreak, Secrets, Lies, Murder, Gangsters, Relationships, Learning to Trust, Finding Love, Finding ones identity, Breaking Boundaries, Courage, Strength... the list could go on and on it's that good.

The story is set around London.
Three Young Irish Girls escape Ireland for very different reasons.
All ending up meeting in London and living together. Well Two of them are Best Friends.

No questions asked, just a sheer bond between them, they are all from Ireland, all damaged Souls, all needing refuge, a job and security.

That comes when Lara meets Coleman who owns the Stripper Club. They give Lara the flat to live in and a place to work!
Lara meets Annie in the Cafe that helped Lara when she needed a meal and a job.
Annie starts to work in the Cafe and she couldn't be happier.

Annie/Hanna for me was my favourite of the three girls. She has a tortured Soul, she is vulnerable, but has so much beauty and her need to nurture and love shines through!
Her past is horrific, and I was so glad she escaped. But we all know you can't run away from your past forever!!!.... or can you??

Lara comes to London to mend her broken heart and persue her passion for fashion.
She comes across as a little guliable, but her passion for fashion and art sees her grow from strength to strength.
Her sizzling connection between Lara and Coleman is brilliant.
He is a big hard gangster but when it comes to Lara he is putty in her hands!!

Then we have Noreen.... now she is Lara's best friend from Ireland. She leaves her boyfriend and sets off to have an adventure in London.
She isn't the best Character she's selfish, rude, but when it counts she stands up and prooves she cares!

I can't say anymore than this as I truly don't want to give anything away.
But be prepared for Twists, Fun, Shocks, emotion and heartwarming moments.

This book is a fantastic Tapestry of Emotions, Twists, Secrets, Passion and most of all Friendship!
It's a story of three girls and how their very different lives entwine, but somehow connect.

That Girl had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through, I couldn't put it down.
It's a beautifully Heartwarming, Poignant read that literally has a lil of everything!

You know when a book is the one!,  when it makes your spine tingle, makes you laugh, makes you cry, and fall in love with the Characters.

I can't recommend this book enough.
If there is going to be one book you read this month let it be 'That Girl ' you won't be disappointed!

This novel, about three Irish girls making their way in sixties' London, is very enjoyable though a little over the top at times. Hanna/Annie is the first character introduced and her reasons for leaving Ireland are much more serious than those of her flatmates, Lara and Noreen. The three girls are well drawn and Noreen especially is an appealing character with her forthrightness and ability to control even the toughest of men. There are nice details throughout the book, giving it a real atmosphere of the sixties.

There is a gangster element however, which I didn't find totally convincing and this leads to an ending worthy of one of Shakespeare's tragedies. Blood and gore everywhere! However on the whole I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone who wants to remember the sixties.

THAT GIRL by Kate Kerrigan is a very special book that centres around three girls who have all escaped Ireland in the 60's for different reasons (some more horrific than others) and headed for the bright lights and anonymity of London. As they try to discover who they are away from their families, their past, and their religion, Hanna, Lara, and Noreen find themselves together sharing a flat and mixing among the powerful and the criminal. But as things slowly begin to fall into place for the women they will all realise that you cannot simply walk away from who you were before as the past always seems to find a way to catch up to you.

The three main characters are superbly detailed in this novel and I really felt as though I knew them. While I loved Lara's passion for fashion and making her own way and Noreen's spunk and lack of fear, it was Hanna's character who really got under my skin as she regained a piece of herself every day, slowly but surely learning more about what she wanted from her future. Hanna is such a strong character in the face of adversity and for that reason, she was my favourite. The swinging sixties and fashionable London scene are wonderfully descriptive in this story and I lost myself easily among the pages.

THAT GIRL by Kate Kerrigan made me smile, made me tear up, and made me think about the value of friendship and forging your own path regardless of what anyone else thinks or says. A truly fabulous novel!

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. Looking at the cover, it is easy to think it's just a chick-lit novel, but it is so much more complex than that.

The story centers on the lives of three Irish girls - Hanna, Lara and Noreen, and follows them as they search for love, courage and themselves in the 'Swinging Sixties". There are a couple of twists, turns and troubles along the way, but things slowly workout. There are a couple secondary characters, all who are colorful and add so much to the story.

I loved how each girls story was separate, yet over time, they become more entertwined. I was a bit worried towards the end about whether the girls would get a HEA but I absolutely love the ending.

Book blurb…
You can escape a place. But you can't escape yourself.
Hanna flees the scene of a terrible crime in her native Sligo. If she can just vanish, re-invent herself under a new name, perhaps the police won't catch up with her. London seems the perfect place to disappear.
Lara has always loved Matthew and imagined happy married life in Dublin. Then comes the bombshell – Matthew says he wants to join the priesthood. Humiliated and broken-hearted, Lara heads to the most godless place she can find, King's Road, Chelsea.
Matthew's twin sister, Noreen, could not be more different from her brother. She does love fiance John, but she also craves sex, parties and fun. Swinging London has it all, but without John, Noreen is about to get way out of her depth.
All three girls find themselves working for Bobby Chevron – one of London's most feared gangland bosses – and it's not long before their new lives start to unravel.


My thoughts…

I must admit to enjoying this novel a little too much!! The era and narration is something unique (to me, at least) and the gangster mole character makes for some feisty femme fatales in this tale of three women, each with very different backgrounds but all looking for one thing — genuine and lasting love.
Kate teases us with a complex cast of characters and a story with a simmering speakeasy feel.
Then, wham! The pace and the plot-twists grab you by the throat and you discover what a woman is capable of when she’s desperate and pushed to the edge by a man.
The narration is clear and colourful and befitting the fabulous period depicted in That Girl.
I’m now slowly working my way through Kate Kerrigan’s backlist.