Her Closest Friend by Clare Boyd is not the first thriller I’ve read by this author and having enjoyed the first I had high hopes. Unfortunately surprisingly enough for me I really could not get into this book.

Her Closest Friend is a tale of two friends and the secrets they share. Naomi and Sophie have been close for years and always expect each other to be there for one another. Years before the two of them covered up and kept a secret but now those events are being brought to the surface.

I do remember with the other book I read by Clare Boyd that I didn’t particularly love the characters but the story was engaging regardless. Now with this story I found myself disliking the characters yet again but instead of still being pulled into the book I couldn’t ever really get engaged. Instead I found this one rather slow going and a bit repetitive. While it’s not for me others are still enjoying it so perhaps give it a try if it sounds good to you.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I have no words.

That's the first thing that comes to mind when I think of how to begin a review of this book. I stayed up till 1.30am finishing it and all I was left with was a bad taste. That's how to best describe it. HER CLOSEST FRIEND was not the story I thought it would be and, having read LITTLE LIAR (which I really enjoyed), I was disappointed to say the least with this one.

The story is about Naomi and Sophie and their toxic friendship. They met in university some 20 odd years before and Naomi was immediately drawn to the ethereal Sophie. Why? I have no idea. She would have been someone I'd have avoided. However, the two are inseparable.

Then when something tragic happens Sophie covers it up to save her best friend. But Naomi has no recollection of that night. She had been terribly drunk, celebrating the end of university and her upcoming holiday to Thailand, throwing up in the backseat of Sophie's beloved Alfa Romeo Guilia. When snippets of the night begin to stab at Naomi's consciousness, she starts to wonder what was real and what was imagined.

But Sophie has never forgotten. And now the time has come to let Naomi know just how much she has sacrificed for her in the name of friendship. She has hidden the truth from Naomi for 20 years. But what truth is that? The one Sophie has concocted in her seriously unstable mind? Or the one what actually happened?

What follows is a story of these two seemingly inseparable friends and their unbreakable bond based on lies, deception, jealousy, selfishness that has been toxic from the start. Sadly, Naomi never sees the real Sophie until it is almost too late. And what does she do? She forgives her time and time again. I could have gladly smacked both women - Naomi for being so stupid and Sophie for being so selfish!

Then when Naomi does begin to see Sophie for what she is and tries to pull away, the toxicity comes to the surface as Sophie shows her true unstable colours revealing secrets from long ago and causing the downward spiral of them both. Why Naomi didn't just walk away before it got to the point it did is beyond me! Did she really need Sophie as much as Sophie needed her? Or did she really feel that she owed her? Honestly, you cannot spend 20 years owing someone THAT much! She may have been there when Naomi needed her, but boy, she never let her forget it either.

The climax leading up to the end was something I didn't see coming. It was depressing but appropriate. I was saddened that Naomi felt it had come to this (was there really any other way?) but Sophie's discovery in the Alfa's boot, I admit, was heartwrenching. And that's where it should have ended. The Epilogue titled "Many Years Later" was unnecessary and far too depressing. Given where Naomi was headed throughout the book, pushed to her limits, the epilogue was appropriate and relevant in a way, but I really think the book would have been far better without it. In fact I think I would have felt much better about the book and not as though I had wasted so much time reading it had it ended after the "newspaper article". That would have been a fitting ending. What it was made the whole sorry tale just a bit pointless.

HER CLOSEST FRIEND really did have potential to be an awesome story but, aside from the horrible toxic tale of these two women, the story was slow, there was endless repetition (the constant reference to Sophie and Dylan's eczema as if it were a terminal condition was nauseating), too many unlikeable characters and then the horrifying and cruel death of a beloved pet (which I do not appreciate and I always down-vote books that include such a horrific thing) made the whole thing unbearably long and unlikeable. Sadly, I saw that last part coming long before the book even got there. Really, Naomi was stupid to put up with selfish Sophie for so long.

I cannot say much more without giving the entire plot away because it really left me shaking my head in disbelief. Maybe I just don't get the whole concept behind this book but then again I don't know that I want to. It is just toxic. It's poisonous. It was creepy. The book was so toxic it left a bad taste and had me feeling somewhat disturbed...and not in a good way.

Despite my unfavourable review, I would like thank #ClareBoyd, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #HerClosestFriend in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start by saying I totally loved this cover. It is sooo beautiful. A big compliment to the designer. It really invites you to pick up the book and dive into the story.

You can keep the truth from your best friend because you want to protect her, right? But maybe you did it for a different reason? And who is fooling who in fact? One thing is for sure : when you are up on your high horse, there is a long way to fall…

This book is about the long-standing friendship between two women. Well, they must have a different dictionary than the one I have LOL, because the way they interpret it is worlds apart from the way I see it…

That difference of course is what turns a nice story into a thriller. People being normal on the outside but having a loose wire which makes them wicked and drive other people up the wall. And what if the mouse suddenly starts hunting the cat??

The story is rather slow paced but sometimes it shifts into high gear, then slows down again to take a turn and speeds up once more. It feels like you are in car with ‘go and stop’ traffic conditions. Suddenly the road is clear and you can put your foot down untill you cross the finish line. 4 stars.

Thank you, Clare Boyd, Bookouture and Netgalley.

Book received courtesy of publisher/author.

I had never read a book by the author before and when I read the synopsis, it grabbed my attention. I had high expectations for this one but it somewhat ended up being a slow burn. Now, this doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book, because I did. It's just I personally prefer action packed novels and I thought Her Closest Friend didn't have much twists and turns except for the ending. After reading the ending, my whole perspective of the book changed. Wow! It left me in tears and I had to re-read the epilogue a few times because of the abundance of emotions and rawness.

This book takes on the subject of toxic friendship. We've all been there. Everyone has THAT friend that isn't really the best match for them. Who won't miss a chance to bring them down and make them feel bad. Thankfully, not to the extreme of Naomi and Sophie's relationship.

It doesn't take long to realize Sophie is unstable. From getting angry when her friend doesn't answer her texts quickly enough to stalking Naomi. Her jealousy over Naomi's perfect life and feeling like she owes her something is disturbing.

The story goes back and forth netween both women. I liked that we got to see both Naomi's and Sophie's perspctives as the chapter alternated between their point of view.

Overall, even though it felt like the story was dragging at times, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

** My review is posted on Goodreads but will be posted on my blog only on March 6th for my stop on the blog tour. **

This is the second book I have read by Clare Boyd and have to admit that I did not enjoy this one quite as much as Three Secrets.

This is the story of two friends who were at University together and are still friends now, many years later. But not everything. Is as it seems. They are secrets in their past that only they know and one big secret which only one of them knows !!

I really enjoyed the start of the book but then I felt the storyline seemed to slow down until the pace was upped again towards the end. It is a story about loyalty, lies, secrets, toxic friendships and relationships plus much much more.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Clare Boyd and Bookture for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the dynamic between Naomi and Sophie, and I liked the ending, even though it was sad.

Very entertaining, and I will be reading more Clare Boyd novels as soon as I can get my hands on them.

Her Closest Friend explores a close female friendship, riddled with jealousy, resentment, and dysfunction. The plot of this book was much more on the changing dynamic between the two women, than the secret that they were keeping for years. The middle of the book dragged a bit, but ended with quite the shocker!

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC.

Oh my! Well done Claire Boyd! Female friendships can be a peculiar thing. Sadly, jealousy and competition occurs. We all have that one friend. But no one as dysfunctional as Naomi and Sophie. Friends since day 1 of university, Naomi is the bubbly one who tries to cheer on Sophie. Sophie is the protector. And when something goes down in university, Sophie shields Naomi from the truth for over 20 years. Until she’s had enough of holding onto that secret and sees Naomi living the life that Sophie wanted. Both complicit, both at fault. Watch your back because is your best friend for you or against you? And if you do have a friendship like this duo, run! A great read!

I enjoyed this book and raced through it to find out if Sophie and Naomi would remain friends.
Sophie knows something about the accident 20 years ago that is eating away at her, and doesn’t think it’s fair that Naomi lives her life oblivious to this.
They were both in the car but Naomi can’t remember much of what happened, until Sophie tells her.
We learn that Sophie is a manipulator and wants things her way so she puts a plan in place to get what she wants.
Children are part of their families but Sophie thinks nothing of bringing them into her games too.
I didn’t warm to either character and felt frustrated by both of them at times, however, the book has an addictive element which makes you want to know what happens.
This is a twisted story of friendship and shows how not to be as a friend!
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book surprised me in a very good way. I really enjoyed the beginning , then some of my excitement fizzled out towards the middle as I felt it got somewhat stagnant and I wasn't sure where it was heading. I thought I had it figured out BUT, that changed within several pages. Cheers to Clare Boyd for taking it to level 10 with the last part of the book. I never saw that coming and my heart was pounding and I was yelling along with Sophie.
I enjoyed the friendship between Sophie and Naomi in the beginning and as the book progressed, my heart was hurting as we saw the REAL friendship and the dysfunctional need and pull between both women.
THAT ending had me in tears. I reread the epilogue five times because it had so much feeling, emotions, rawness, and just unadulterated sadness. Real human sadness. This was some powerful writing and it brought the entire story full circle. Every time I re-read the epilogue, I found another symbolic meaning from the beginning of the book. As I put the book down a final time to go to bed, I couldn't stop thinking about it and that ending. It made me feel. Clare Boyd earned 4 stars for the epilogue alone and how much it told its own story.
Yes, there were people to love and people to hate and what the what moments and a few twists. But there was a story about friendship and how far would you go for a friend, what line would you cross and you will find yourself asking...how far would I go?

My favorite line in the book:
"She was the drink you reach for when you know you've already had too much"
Cover: Beautifully haunting.

I found this book rather slow and repetitive. I disliked the main characters, although I think that is the intention. An average read about a toxic friendship.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Summary: Sophie and Naomi have been best friends since college, even though they are opposites. Sophie is an eccentric free spirit, while Naomi is more sophisticated and seems to have the perfect life. But Sophie has a secret she’s been keeping for 20 years. A secret that could bring down Naomi’s whole world. Will Sophie tell and risk her friendship, or keep it to herself?

Review: I’ve seen mixed reviews on this book, some good, some bad. However, I liked it. This book is about a toxic friendship unlike any other. We’ve all had friends we secretly hated for their seemingly perfect lives, but Sophie takes her jealously to a whole new level. I couldn’t stand the character of Sophie, who refused to take responsibility for her actions and decided to ruin, and capitalize on, her supposed best friend’s downfall. One thing I didn’t understand was Naomi putting up with Sophie’s behavior, but to Naomi, Sophie had always been there for her, especially in her darkest hours. The ending was unexpected, which I loved as a lover of thrillers. I highly recommended this book, especially if you love a good tale about a friendship gone wrong.

Enjoyable story. I thought the complicated friendship between the two main characters was described well. Whilst there were no real twists this did not detract from the enjoyment of reading the book. I also enjoyed the ending and thought it fit the storyline well.

Her Closest Friend by Clare Boyd was not the book that I was hoping it would be. I have read both of this authors other books and enjoyed one immensely and really didn't like the other. ThIs one I really am not sure about. It was a bit slow and repetitive and I really didn't like the main characters at all. I wanted to grab Naomi and shake her!! I do love the cover, so pretty.

This is the story of 2 school friends, still friends years later. And they did something bad years ago, only they remember the even differently. Their relationship is definitely toxic and annoying to be honest. I started to lose interest a few times reading this and wanted to scream at them both. I was disappointed .

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

This is a chilling read about the relationship between two women which has lasted a long time .. but is it always friendly?

Naomi and Sophie live fairly close to each other; both married, Sophie with a son and Naomi with two daughters they tend to socialise often, but it turns out it's not always a healthy relationship. As we get more involved in the family lives of both these women, it becomes clear that there are long term issues between the two which cast a long shadow over both lives.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this novel as it is the first Clare Boyd book I've read, but I really hope it won't be the last. I very quickly found myself embroiled in the relationship between these two women and, to begin with, my sympathies wavered from one to the other. 'Be sure you're sins will find you out' crossed my mind more than once, as the story bounced from one viewpoint to the other. There is no way I could have seen the end coming, and I doubt you will either.

What a read! Firmly entrenched in realism, this is all too believable and, as such, left me with a bit of a creepy feeling. After all, most of us would assume we could trust out best friend ... but can we? Well-written with a fine plot, this is a riveting read and one which kept my attention all way through. I was slightly shocked at the ending, but when I considered the alternatives realised it was absolutely perfect. With a doubt, a five star read!

My thanks to publisher Bookouture for my copy via NetGalley. As always, this is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Her Closest Friend by Clare Boyd opens with the Naomi and her family walking to a birthday party for 8 year old Dylon. Dylon's parents are Adam and Sophie who have been married for 12 years. Sophie is a hot mess! She is flighty, forgetful, and very disorganized. While Naomi appears to be holding herself together it takes Sophie revealing what really happened one evening back in college for her to fall apart. Both Sophie and Naomi are their own worst enemies. Parts of the book dragged out and the characters seemed flat. However I did like how the ending of the book took a look at Naomi decades down the road.

This is the story of Sophie and Naomi, who have been friends since they were 18. Married now, in their 40s, they remain fast friends.

Sophie’s marriage to Adam is on the rocks. She has a 8-year old son and an ailing grandfather. Naomi, on the other hand, is happily married with two daughters and a pet dog, Harley. She is a wine connoisseur, who maintains a successful blog on the same.

Its established very early on that Sophie has deep-rooted issues. She seems to stalk Naomi and is jealous of her perfect life. There is a hint throughout that Sophie feels Naomi owes her – for what, is eventually revealed towards the later half of the book.

Told alternatively between Sophie and Naomi, this is twisted tale of a toxic friendship. Sophie’s self-deprecation was genuine self-loathing. She was incapable of over-riding her insecurities, and in her warped mind, her actions were based on the fact that she believed she was only taking what she deserved. Naomi continued to tolerate Sophie’s atrocities, so much so that you felt like shaking some sense into her. It was always all about Sophie, but Naomi refused to see it.

This book is an eye-opener to women out there who are in a toxic friendship. That one person who cannot help putting you down or says something nasty when something good happens to you; who will ensure that in a full gathering she will mention some embarrassing anecdote of the past; who, despite wanting to be happy for you, always ends up putting you through some misery and tries to emulate your life to the T.

The ending was a twist that you perhaps could envision, considering how desperate the situation had become; but it was shocking nonetheless.

No matter how “great” a friend is to you, please remember to draw a line somewhere.
You don’t know who is going to use what against you.

Her Closest Friend is a thriller with a killer ending, I just wish the rest had been so good.
Naomi and Sophie are best friends since university but are they really? Their relationship is built on lies, manipulation and what else can I say but smothering! Sophie has kept Naomi from the truth to protect her, when they were at university something happened and only Sophie knew the full extent and because of this it has bitten away at her life leaving her obsessed with how she has shielded Naomi from the truth. This story shows how the truth makes one half of this relationship grow stronger whilst the other grows weaker with the whole knowledge.
This was a good thriller that I enjoyed, it was at times a little far fetched but the ending more than made up for this.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Her Closest Friend by Clare Boyd.

Two women, Sophie and Naomi, are friends from college. They are now married and living their lives. But Sophie's life changes and her husband is leaving her. and she needs Naomi's friendship to support her. And Sophie knows that Naomi doesn't have a choice because Sophie has saved Naomi too - she hold some secrets and so she better.....

I don't know about this book, it is not different than others like this. Nothing to set i apart from others. The plot is ok, but I feel like I have read this plot before.

Just ok for me.
2 stars - disappoiinted.

This is the story of a decades old friendship. A friendship which is deeply ingrained with secrets and denials. A friendship steeped in alcohol, which only seems to bring out the bad for those involved. Sophie is a needy soul, the product of a broken marriage which her mum could not cope with, leaving her alcoholic grandfather as her sole carer. Naomi has a settled childhood, but meets Sophie at uni and feels sorry for her background in a way, wanting to show her that life isn't all bad.
Events during their final weeks at uni mark a significant turning point in the girls friendship, cementing a lifelong bond which the girls each deal with in different ways. Both girls get married, only Sophie once again is unlucky and faces an uncertain future when husband Adam announces he is leaving her for another woman. Naomi fares better in the marriage stakes, finding a reliable husband with a steady job to provide a rosy homelife for them. Alcohol plays a huge part in the lives of the girls, with Naomi running a blog page based on wine tasting and recommendations of what is good to be presenting to guests in different social settings. Sophie can't help but be jealous at Naomi's charmed life, the envy sitting sourly in her gut and eating away at her and making her very bitter.
As the story unfolds we find out more about their time at uni and how this affects how the two women interact. Sophie gets more and more unpredictable however with her revelations of what really happened at the end of their time in Exeter, the power in the relationship starts to shift and it's Naomi's turn to start facing facts. My sympathies switched between the two of them on several occasions but at the end of the day I couldn't forgive Sophie for her actions both then and now. Her inability to take responsibility for anything in her life frustrated me and made me angry so much I cannot put into words. Naomi tries so hard to let her head take control in their friendship but she is so entangled in trying to make life better for Sophie she constantly gives in to her heart. It's not until she feels her own family is under threat from Sophie that she finds the strength to face the truth of all that has gone before.
This is a superb book dealing with toxic friendship, heart wrenching tragedies and misplaced loyalties. It will make you angry, it will make you sad but I guarantee it will keep you turning the pages and you won't ever fathom where the story ends.
This review will feature on my blog page as part of the Bookouture blog tour on 8th March.