Member Reviews
I really wanted to like this book, but to me something was missing. Ashley, Lauren, and Natalie go to Mexico for a Girls trip to try to repair their friendship. But when Ashley friends with Marco it just doesn't set well with the Natalie and Lauren. They think that Marco is up to something.. But one night the girls go out and Ashley doesn't come back. Natalie who was last seen with her can't remember anything. What happened to Ashley? I felt like I kept waiting for twist to happen and they just didn't. I loved the authors first book and I was so excited to read this one but it just left me hanging. Thanks Netgalley and a Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this book! Even thou I didn't like this book I look forward to reading more books by these two authors!
Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have done it again. Girls Night Out is similar to The Good Widow in the respect that it’s darker than their previous novels. Im not going to reflect on the plot here, because it really is best if the reader goes into this not knowing what to expect. It explores the damaged friendships between three women who have known each other since college. After I finished the book, I initially found myself wanting more - more details about where these friendships went wrong, and why. And after giving it some thought, I realized that I didn’t need to know. I had a friend in college whose personality was very similar to Ashley’s. We eventually drifted apart, not because of anything she did per se, but because of who she was and how little she contributed to the friendship. Drawing on my own life experiences made me realize that Natalie and Lauren’s reasons for their rift with Ashley were probably very similar to my reasons for growing apart from my college friend.
I really enjoyed this book. Many thanks to NetGalley, the authors, and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review it.
I absolutely love the writing team of Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, and Girls’ Night Out was another thriller from them.
Three best friends who have grown apart reunite in Mexico to try to repair their fractured relationship and one of them disappears. Told from each of their viewpoints, the story is riveting up until the very end. I definitely recommend this book to others!! It’ll keep you guessing and will have you asking what happened on girls’ night out?
A three some of friends is never easy to manage, there is always one who feels left out. The emotions are in chaos in this face pace thriller and oh so true to the emotional angst of friendships! After reading this, go hug your friends and never be selfish with apologies!
I received this book "Girl's Night Out" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. You feel like you are there! Those are your friends and you want to shout out at them that they are making a terrible mistake. I really liked learning about Mexico and I don't think I would ever go there. The book was fast paced and I couldn't wait to read more. Yes, one more chapter turned into five and then I had to force myself to put it down. I tried to guess the end but I was wrong. Great book.
Girl's Night Out is a msut read for all women.
We meet three formerly best friends and business partners who have come to a paradise resort trying to sort out the problems that are distroying their friendship.
Unfortunately, things don't go according to the plan. Instead of mending broken ties, the rift seem to be getting bigger and bigger. Especially when Natalie wakes up on the beach without any idea how and why she got there. She goes to Ashley for answers only to discover that she is missing. Together with the third friend Lauren she sets to find out what happened to their friend.
I especially liked that we get to witness all three woman's point of view and how the situation look from where they are standing.
It is fast faced, and as the story unfolds the excitement level rises. Very suspenseful and intriquing it is impossilbe to put down.
Another solid, great book by Liz and Lisa! I really enjoy their writing and all of their books in general. It's a quick, enjoyable read that makes you realize that even if you're stuck at home, maybe that's not a bad thing - going to Mexico is sometimes overrated. :) The story is a mystery set in Tulum, and I really do feel like they research their books well - you feel like you've been there by the end. You don't know who all is involved in the mystery until the end, but you do find yourself struggling to find someone to cheer for at times. Overall, a fun summer thriller!
3.5 stars rounded up
I liked this book, fast-paced and kept me reading and interested. Good mystery but didn't quite go far enough at the end. I liked the ending but wasn't wowed by it.
I connected with the characters, particularly with Natalie, and didn't care for Ashley at all. The chapters are from different points of view and that kept my interest because I got more hidden motivations brought out that way.
I have enjoyed all of the books I've read by Fenton and Steinke, they are good psychological mystery/suspense novels that are character driven and keep me guessing
"Sometimes it's the people closest to us that do the very worst things."
Girl's Night Out is definitely a page turner. I could not put this down once I started reading it. Three friends head out to Tulum, Mexico to try and reconcile their friendships. They are all broken in different ways and their relationships are quickly crumbling more and more each day of the trip. The book begins with Natalie waking up on the beach, in one of the hotel's chairs with her best friend and business partner Ashley missing. The book rapidly flashes POVs from present day and then flashes back to the days before Ashley goes missing, changing POVs each time between Ashley, Natalie & Lauren. I found the characters to be very relatable especially the dynamic that existed between the three friends and how each person had a different relationship with the other two friends. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys the suspense/thriller genres.
Thank you to NetGalley for the allowing me to read the digital copy for my unbiased review.
This book was a perfect mystery/thriller. I was constantly trying to determine what happened next, and the authors rolled out just enough clues to keep me engaged and guessing! The setting was also a great fit, Girl's Night Out used the scenery of Mexico to add to the story. If you like thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat without keeping you up at night, I'd recommend this one.
GIrls Night Out is the story of 3 women who take a girls' trip to Mexico in the hopes of re-connecting and re-establishing their friendships, due to the cracks that have occurred within their relationships with one another, and the disappearance of one of them on their final night of the trip. Ashley and Natalie are the business partners of a company, at odds with each other when an offer comes to buy them out. Natalie wants out in order to focus on her family and to try to fix her troubles at home; however, Ashley, who is in a failing marriage, feels as if she'll lose her identity by selling. Then there is Lauren, who for the duration of their friendship has always been in a contest with Natalie over Ashley's friendship, and whose relationship with them has been non-existent for the past year after an altercation with Ashley after Lauren's husband passed away. The story alternates in time, and among the perspectives of the three women, from the disappearance of Ashley, through the events during the week leading up to the disappearance., and the search afterwards for the truth over what happened.
Girls Night Out is an excellent depiction of the complex relationships of these women, who are all keeping secrets from each other, and their individual perspectives on what has led to the breakdown of their relationships. This was the first book I've read by these authors, and look forward to reading more by them in the future.
Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
This was really a suspenseful page turner - It started just a bit slow for me but as the story progressed I couldn't put it down. I loved the story - I had been hearing about this book for some time and was excited to have an opportunity from Netgalley and the Publisher to receive an advance electronic copy to review.
First & foremost thank you very much to Netgalley & Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read a free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review ❤️🙏🏻.
I MUST start off by saying that when I browse through Netgalley and choose which books I'd like to review I always go by the synopsis of the book and don't really pay attention to the cover or the author(s). I absolutely love a good thriller, so when I read what this book was about I couldn't hit the "request" button fast enough. When asked what appealed to me...I indicated the subject matter. How could I not relate to going on a trip with two of my best girlfriends? Sign me up! Then, since I am very new to this process, only joining as of May 30th, I was approved for a large amount of novels all at once and this one got lost somewhere in amongst the crowd. I read 15 books BEFORE this one, which would not have been the case had I taken a brief moment to contemplate where I had heard the two authors names Lisa Steinke & Liz Fenton before.
To continue on with my story...I was ready to select my next book to read last night and came across
" Girls' Night Out" somewhere in the middle of my shelf and thought to myself, " Awesome...Download!" It wasn't until I was flipping through the beginning pages ( you know, the ones that are usually passed by and disregarded until you find page 1 or " prologue.") when I saw other books listed by these co-authors. There in plain sight was " The Status of All Things," one of my favorite books of all time! My review of this book clearly indicates " definitely in my top 20 books of all time" and it's categorized in my favorites folder on goodreads! Total fan-girl moment!!!!! Kate was one of my favorite characters, I saw so much of myself in her! So...before I review this new book I must also insist that if you're reading this to please also pick up their other book " The Status of All Things" which I have already recommended to every single one of my friends. It is about a girl in her thirties that is obsessed with social media ( who isn't?) who is able to keep changing her life & the lives of those around her based on her Facebook status updates! It reminds me of Lauren Oliver's "Before I Fall" meets "The Butterfly Effect" movie. End rant, sorry! But read it 😜
Now onto my review of " A Girls' Night Out!" Whew! The suspense was almost too much to bear in this one! Just imagine...you go on a much needed vaca to a beautiful island with two of your best girl friends and one of them disappears!!! Yes, you wake up and she's gone..one friend can't remember because she was so intoxicated and the other basically left her to fend for herself and went home with some random bartender. Which one would you rather be? The missing? The drunk? The sexaholic? Not very good friends if you ask me.
I started reading around 9 pm and read for so long that I fell asleep with my kindle on my face, woke up at 4 am and read some more, and couldn't put it down all day today! I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner all the while flip, flip, flipping through the pages and devouring every word! It was like this book was my oxygen and I needed it to survive.
I had myself talked into various scenarios because I so desperately wanted to figure out what was going on! At one point I thought that Marco was a setup from the beginning, a plant to take Ashley away and cause problems for her marriage. Payback time? Then I thought that Lauren had drugged Natalie and done something to Ashley herself. I also thought that Ben, Jason & Natalie were in on something together against Ashley because they all wanted the money from the business. I also thought Marco wasn't even real and maybe someone that both girls made up to get away with murder! Man does my head hurt! This book gave me whiplash 😂😂 I won't give away any spoilers or endings but what I will say is that when they showed up at the morgue to identify the body my heart was pounding like I was right there with them. Please don't let it be her.
How can these two best friends perfect two completely different genres? I don't know, but they did! A great team! Can't wait to read ALL of their other books! Another one to add to the favorites folder!
In reading the summary, the play out of the story line was seemingly predictable, but I thought I would give it a try. There were a few twists that the story took that were not so obvious, but overall it was just that. Knowing this going in and expecting for a good read made this three stars for me.
The writing is good, the idea of the story is good, it is all good. I enjoyed the book overall, just wasn't super excited about it.
Three friends get together for a re-bonding after a year off from their friendship. They travel to a beautiful resort in Mexico in the hopes of reconnecting and forgetting and forgiving the past. Lauren, who lost her husband just a year before - exactly when the friendship deteriorated and Ashley and Natalie who work side-by-side in a joint business ownership all meet with the outward appearance of letting bygones be bygones but inside all very nervous and doubtful.
What starts as an awkwardly fun night, turns into a very stressful few days as Marco, a local and admirer of Ashley's, infiltrates the group at every possible moment. Ashley swears it's as the guide to many adventures, but Natalie and Lauren feel it's not like that at all. Once Ashley goes missing and the need to involve the Police occurs, Marco is nowhere to be found so Natalie becomes the prime suspect as she was the last one to see Ashley alive.
Stuck in Mexico searching for your long-time friend, while dealing with feelings of guilt, anger, loss and sadness combine into an end to the trip that is in no way the life-saving adventure they were all hoping to take.
I enjoyed the Good Widow and jumped at the chance to read a new suspense this summer. Three best friends take a trip with expectations to rekindle their friendship. Each friend has secrets. This is a page turner and will keep you reading until the very end. This would be a book I’d recommend going into blind so I won’t spoil anything but this is definitely one I’d recommend to my book club girlfriends.
Girls' Night Out is a intense, quick read because you will not want to put it down. Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have beautiful writing technique that draws you in on page one and grips you to the very end. The dynamics between three long time best friends go to Mexico to repair their currently rocky friendship from the past year. Each lady joined the trip with specific expectations and lots of baggage that were hidden secrets. They thought they knew each other, yet they all had things that they held back. It all unravels throughout the week.
This suspenseful, page-turner could definitely be a movie. I am ready to go visit Tulum, Mexico after reading this novel.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All Opinions are my Own.
This is a story about the friendship between Ashley, Lauren, and Natalie. Their friendship is complicated by real life hardships and they hope that a girls vacation to Mexico can help resolve some of their problems and help them remember why they were friends for so long. Their vacation, and any chance of reconciling, is put on hold when Ashley goes missing.
I’ll be honest. After a 1/3 of the way through the book I really wanted to quit reading. It wasn’t capturing my attention, I kept getting Lauren and Ashley confused, and I just wasn’t that into it. But I didn’t quit and I’m glad I kept going. It really started getting interesting about 1/2 way through and I really wanted to finish and see what happened to the characters. All in all a good easy read but it just wasn’t great for me.
I receive this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have followed Liz Fenton on Goodreads for quite some time and I've always liked her so I was very happy to receive this book. This is a book about adult friendship, marriages, secrets, lies, and a beach resort - who doesn't love that??? I really enjoyed this book - I enjoyed the dynamic between the female friends because as any adult woman knows, maintaining lifelong friendships isn't always an easy thing to do. I think that was captured well. I could relate to each of these 3 main characters at different times during the book. I was kept guessing until the very end of the book what actually happened and I like that. This is a book I will definitely recommend to friends!
This one captured my interest from the start. The title is intriguing and so is the relationship dynamics between the three friends that are the focus of the story.
Ashley, Lauren and Natalie have been friends for about 20 years and recently something happened between them that drove them apart. Ashley, who feels guilty over the rift, invites the others to a resort in Mexico, with hopes that they can mend their relationship.
However, once there, Ashley meets Marco and doesn’t appear that interested in reviving her friendship with Lauren and Natalie. The nuances of a three person relationship were captured so accurately by the authors. It does always seem as if one person is the odd one out when there are 3 involved. This scenario plays out over and over again throughout the book.
I was completely immersed in the story, but did grow weary of the constant drama between the women. At times, they seemed more like high school or college age than the 40-somethings they were supposed to be.
I think this would be a great book for a book club discussion, as it touches on several topics that women can relate to in some way. It also had a bit of a twisty ending, which is always a plus!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read an advance copy and offer my honest review.
I was really looking forward to reading this novel because the author’s first collaboration The Good Widow was such an easy enjoyable read. This one was good but it was a little hard to get into, I think some of this is that I found the ladies we follow in this story a little annoying at first. The early story also depends on alluding to past events and secrets to draw us in, that isn’t my favorite way to start a story. I also have a hard time believing some of the resentments grudges and fights these ladies had.
Once some of the events and secrets are reviled I feel like the mystery part of the story starts to get better and the characters themselves seem to deepen and become more sympathetic. I enjoyed how the story got your thinking about relationships and why you have them and what you want from them. These three seemed a toxic blend for sure but history has a way of making us hold on. As the story progressed it became a little easier to understand some of the fights but still a little hard to understand why they were not more open with one another.
The mystery itself was good and I like how it unfolded and eventually resolved itself.
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me the ARC of Girls Night Out.