I LOVE this author and adore her writing. And this book, wow! Beautiful and heartwarming, a wonderful celebration of friendship and resilience, love and loss, forgiveness and acceptance, moving forward despite setbacks - a stunning and poignant story about what it is to be human. LOVED this absolutely beautiful book - it reduced me to tears and uplifted me. Amazing. Very highly recommended to everyone.

Her best friends secret is a book about 4 women Amanda, Emily, Jess and Lolly they were best friends at school and lost touch they meet up again 20 years later.
All of the women are very different and life has dealt them different cards. They all have their issues and problems though may not always let them show.
Can a meet up after so long mean they can pick up where they left off? Will they all still get on? How different will they be?
The book is easy to get into, each short chapter is a different character. I like books written in this style it keeps you wanting to read just one more chapter I find it gripping and wanting to know what happens next.
This book is about relationships, friendship, life, love, work, families and women. How friends can stick together and help each other through thick and thin regardless of what they really may think.
I loved this book. Easy to read, likeable characters and a great story.

This is a story about 4 women who grew up together and are friends as adults. This was a quick read about friendships and loyalty.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Her Best Friends Secret was a delightful gentle read. Four childhood friends who reconnect after 20 years rediscover their friendship even though their lives have taken them in different directions.

Emily has returned to Cornwall turning her back on her acting career in America. She has spent many years playing second fiddle to her partner but now has made the decision to change her life but will it include being a mother? And will her partner be part of her new life?

Jess is a high flying advertising executive who had put her heart and soul into her job. She left behind the love of her life when she went travelling years earlier but with his appointment at her firm she struggles with feelings she thought had disappeared. But will she act on her feelings especially as the one who got away is now married ?

Lolly is married with two sons but is yearning for a daughter. Her husband doesn’t share her wish and her obsession with getting pregnant seems to be putting a strain their relationship. She feels something is not quite right. What could it be? Could it tear them apart?

Finally Amanda is a single mother who raised her daughter herself but with her errant husbands reappearance she finds her daughter leaving to live with him Amanda is hiding a secret from everyone, one which has the potential to cause havoc.

I personally know secrets and lies always come out and this book explores this fact perfectly. The way you deal with problems is paramount and I felt the characters grew together through the honesty and consequences of their behaviours.

Love , friendships, secrets and strong woman are beautifully portrayed in this novel.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this beautifully written book.

Her Best Friends Secret is my favourite book now by Anna mansell, I loved the storyline and the writing style, everything flowed well and as the chapters are split into the views of one friend it made me want to read just a page more....just a page more😂
Emily, Lolly, Amanda and Jess have been friends since school and made a pact to carry on this way forever, this was all well and good until Emily’s father uprooted the family to America for work reasons and due to the others going travelling and getting on with their own lives they haven’t seen each other for twenty years until Emily comes back to Cornwall, unexpectedly meets Lolly and the wheels are set in motion to all meet up.
This is a story of friendship, marriage, trust and secrets but so, so many secrets. Some secrets are big but most impact one other member of the group and could lead to ripping their lives apart. All characters were easily identifiable, believable and likeable, my favourite was Jess but yours may be different.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

There is a saying that claims that women are the weaker gender. Well, I admit there are some things (not a lot obviously being a woman myself lol) that are more difficult for them but it goes without a doubt that there are certain things that men can't do either. This story is a testimony to prove that this saying is total rubbish.

This book is about 4 girls who used to be great friends, but lost contact over the years and now, out of the blue, they meet again and start reconnecting. It's not an easy path they have to travel. They all have secrets and can they still trust each other?

The author created a beautiful tale about friendship that can remain strong or even become stronger still, about finding out what it is what you want in life and going for it even if it's not easy.

Revealing secrets is not simple, especially if it means having to hurt someone's feelings, but if you can save her from further heartbreak, it's the right thing to do.

Friendship, love, family, secrets and dreams are some of the ingredients this story is based on. It made me smile and certain disclosures ... I did not see them coming.

The short chapters spur you on. You want to keep on reading and honestly that's the only thing you want to do once you have started. No need to add after all this that I loved it , but I am going to anyway : I loved it! 5 stars.

Thank you, Anna Mansell, Bookouture and Netgalley.

Jess, Emily, Lolly, and Amanda were the best of friends as teens but then, as so often happens, they drifted apart. While this does focus on the secrets we all keep, it's more about renewing friendships. These women have had different life experiences and yet they are able to come back together and support each other. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. All four women feel very real and it's a good read.

A good read. Four friends reunite after many years. All have gone their very different ways and wonder if they can possibly find any connection again. All with great back and current stories. Lots of very moving events all coming together to a great ending. Beautifully written.

Thank you NetGalley and Anna Mansell for being able to read this book before it's published.

My first thought--Spectacular. The way the author brought everything together, and kept my emotions spinning, is truly remarkable, and the mark of a great author. The characters jumped off the page, and in doing so, I could really relate to each of them. This novel is very heartwarming, and I can't wait to read more from Anna Mansell.

5 stars!! Don't miss this one.

Her Best Friend’s Secret by Anna Mansell is a joyous read. Featuring relationships, friendships and secrets it will draw you in and keep you entertained to the end. The four main characters: Lolly, Emily, Jess and Amanda are all likeable and gel well together. A great read that I can highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Nope, nope, nope. Self-focused white women with painful secrets hidden inside that they can't share with anyone but their very best friends from childhood they've recently reunited with. Sorry, but this soggy plot is overdone. Anna Mansell is a good writer, she can rise above this.
Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read.

I had a hard time with this one, it just didn't grab me. for about 40% of the book I couldn't figure out who was who, then they finally met up, and it got interesting, then the last 30% of the book I couldn't figure out who was who again, and I kept losing interest and starting other books.

One of the characters, the one that worked a lot, her story never really got wrapped up, did she ever tell her secret? did she go back to work? how did her story end? Not just her but all of them, I never felt like there was a satisfying ending.

I think some people would really enjoy this book, I just wasn't one of them, I felt like it was decent but felt like it was missing a lot.

A really lovely book that followed as we meet 4 women who were best friends but have drifted apart and now meet up again. This book explores the secrets that they keep and what split them apart in the first place. A lovely book and a great read

Her Best Friend's Secret is about four childhood friends who reconnect after twenty years. Their lives have all gone off in different directions and throughout the years and when they meet up, they all have secrets that they are keeping from each other that they wonder if they should share.

I thought all of the characters in the book were fleshed out well and some were relatable. I have to say I was pleased with the conclusion of the book. My favorite character out of all was Jess and though her secret was easy to figure out in my opinion before it was revealed to the reader, I would happily read a book that continued her storyline.

This is a good book on friendship and showing that through it all, no matter how long it's been, the people who know you the best will always be there to protect and help you.

Thank you Netgallery and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Are childhood friends forever? Can you trust them to be truthful, or should you be wary that after two decades of not seeing them, that they could blow your life to kingdom come?

Her Best Friend's Secrets is about four secondary school friends, that come into each other's lives again after twenty years, after a chance meeting at a station between two of the friends, and a subsequent meetup changes everything. So rather than talk about the story as a whole, let's discuss the characters, starting with the one that got them all back together.

Lolly is a woman who wears many hats, Wife, Mother, physiotherapist! She is everything to so many, but she is missing the one thing that she really wants...another child. But is it all too good to be true?

Emily is home after many years, with a secret she is not will to share at the moment. Years of being in the spotlight and being used by the man who is supposed to love her and keep her business interests at heart, she finally breaks free and comes home, to just be.

Then there is smart, sassy and independent Amanda, who has had to raise her child by herself when her husband left, only to have him swan back into their lives, and bedazzle their daughter so she is now alone. But Amanda is hiding a secret from everyone, but is she willing to share it, if it saves someone else from deceit?

And finally there is Jess, who is back from her world travels, seemly successful, carefree and happy, but Jess has devastating secrets she never wants to burden anyone with.

What you find with this book is that secrets and lies have a way of coming out, but they can also make a person grow, take a second chance, be proud of what they become, and fall in love! And add that to the beautifully described backdrop of Cornwall, Her Best Friend's Secrets should be on your must-read list for the summer.

Anna Mansell is a new to me author, but not for long, as this book is heartbreaking and gripping! It is also thought-provoking and eye-opening, and you will find yourself having a favorite character as I did. And if you are also like me, you will get swept up in the beautiful writing and outstanding story.

Your best friend deserves the truth. But it will ruin her life. What would you do?

It’s been over twenty years since four very different teenage girls sat on the beach, and swore to be best friends forever. Their lives went different ways after Emily left. But each remembered that promise. And none truly found friendship like it again.

Emily is an almost 40 year old actress who is realizing that it may be time for a career switch. Even though she always thought she would be a Mum one day she didn't expect it to happen now and her partner is 100% not on board. With an appointment at a clinic she's trying to decide what's best for her.

Jess is a highly successful advertising exec that is thrown for a loop when her ex-boyfriend is hired at her firm. She thought she was over him, but seeing him brings back feelings she thought were long gone.

Lolly has everything she has ever wanted except a daughter, but her husband doesn't want a third child. She thinks she should be happy, but is heartbroken every month the pregnancy test reads negative. Events transpire that make her question if she's really happy or she's just made herself think this is what happiness is.

Amanda was forced to scrimp and barely make ends meet when her husband left her with a young daughter years before. When he shows back up, her daughter decides to live with him and Amanda left trying to figure out what happened. She doesn't feel like she was the best Mum, but she definitely tried her best. Her daughter is embarrassed of her Mum's sexuality and has to decide if she can get past the embarrassment or cut her Mum off.

I think just about everyone can relate to having best friends in school that we ultimately drift apart from. Just because you drift apart doesn't mean you can't reconnect and it usually happens when you need it the most. I think the author did a great job of creating relatable characters and a story that just keeps you wanting a little more. Each of the four women are faced with a life changing decision and finding out the outcome keeps you reading on. This book covers a variety of everyday struggles the reader will be able relate to (marital problems, unexpected pregnancy, and rifts between mother/daughter). I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for strong female leads who aren't afraid to make midlife changes. I love that these women build each other up instead of tearing each other down.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 for great writing and characterization

I really enjoyed this story. The 4 main characters are each at a crossroads in life and reunite after 20 years. There is some strangeness and mystery as to how and why they suddenly fell out.

The friendships that were rekindled were lovey. The women start out quite guarded and eventually they let down their defenses. There are surprises, some you may see coming and some not so much.

This is a powerful story of women lifting each other up. That I did like. What I didn’t? The fact that almost every male character was deplorable. Ok, Mac was great, but that’s pretty much it. And the situation with Jess was handled somewhat strangely, really swept under the rug, after so much buildup.

I’m satisfied with the conclusion and would recommend this book. It’s not a thriller so if you’re looking for that be warned but it was a great story of woman and friendships.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Bookouture for a copy in exchange for a review.

I enjoyed this book very much with its four women characters and charming setting in the Cornish village of Gorran Haven. Emily, Jess. Lolly and Amanda were best friends in high school, but after Emily moved away at the age of 16 they drifted apart. After a couple of decades Emily decides to move back to the village she grew up in and the four friends have a reunion. Will they be able to rekindle their friendship and will that friendship survive secrets big and small?

Anna Mansell does an excellent job with the story and bringing the characters alive. It kept me interested and engrossed in the book.

This was a good read. I am drawn to books that are strong with female friendships and mother/daughter relationships. I liked the 4 main characters who reunite after 20 years but the story didn't have that extra piece that would give it a higher rating. I really enjoyed the setting of Cornwall and sometimes enjoyed some of the secondary characters more than the 4 women. I also found the secret a bit predictable but I think the author handled the outcome in a more a realistic way than what most books would have done. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Her Best Friend’s Secret by Anna Mansell is an emotional, pulling-at-the-heart-strings novel about friendship, love, secrets and the bonds that tie us together.

Four school friends – Emily, Lolly, Amanda and Jess – reunite after decades apart. Each has a secret they hide from each other, their friends and family but as their friendships rekindle and grow stronger these secrets come to the surface.

I really enjoyed this novel, and the themes it addresses. The central theme moves around how women are judged for everything – from what they do for a living, to what they wear, the choices they make regarding careers and children and how afraid they are to say and do what they want because society will stereotype them. It’s about how society defines women by the work they do, and never seems to see past that.

It’s also about reconnecting with friends who have drifted apart and led very different lives. Why would you? There’s a reason people drift apart. Can friendship overcome the distance? Or are those friendships forged during our formative years the ones that last forever? It made me think back to high school and the friendships I formed during those years, and the friendships I have now.

The characters were so well developed and relatable, and I could see aspects of myself in every one of these women. The story moved at a great pace and it was a comfortable read. While there were a few surprises, this is not a thriller. It’s a beautiful story about the love and friendship between women. Read it. It will inspire you to accept and love yourself and the women around you!