Member Reviews
Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
FABULOUS heart warming story of 4 friends the trials and tribulations of life and as true friends were there for each other even after 20 years this is a must read can highly recommend this book it deserves 5 stars.
What if you have a secret? What if you know a secret? What if that secrete could hurt someone? What if that secret could change lives? What if that secret could alter relationships? Would you tell the truth? What would YOU do?
It has been twenty years since Emily, Jess, Lolly and Amanda sat on a beach and promised to be best friends forever. Time, circumstance, moving, careers, happened as they often do when people grow up and the four friends drifted apart. But after a chance meeting between Lolly and Emily, Lolly decides it's time to get their group together once again. All the women have changed. Their lives have taken them in different directions and some of them have secrets.
At their reunion, they all realize that their bond is still there and even though some have deep buried secrets that worry them, it is not until it is disclosed who one of them is married to that their tight knit bonds could be tested.
Friendship, marriage, heartache, heartbreak, lies, deception, betrayal, support, understanding, acceptance, and moving on are all here in this book. Ah, the friendships forged in youth - is there any sweeter kind? Someone who has known you and experienced all the growing pains with you. They loved and accepted you through the gawky phase, the acne phase, the bad clothes, the bad hairstyle (spiral perm, anyone?), dating woes, etc. They studied with you, they broke rules with you, they shared secrets with you, they got in trouble with you and they loved you through it all. Still have your friends you grew up with? I do, making this book relate able. Ever wonder why we can meet someone in the present day and don't get those butterflies in your stomach like you do before that high school reunion? Caring what people, you have not seen in twenty years will think of you, how you look, if you gained weight, if you achieved your dreams, etc. These women had similar thoughts. Not having seen each other in so long, wondering if they will be judged for a career choice, for carrying a torch for someone, for coming home, etc.
This book is about friendship, betrayal, marriage, friendship and second chances. I found this book to be a fast read. I enjoyed most of the characters and although, I figured out one thing very early in the book, it did not affect my enjoyment of the book at all. This book was pure escapism reading for me. Getting together with friends one hasn't seen in a long time should be a happy time but growing up comes with adult issues. It's how we navigate those issues that matters.
Entertaining and thought provoking, this book had a few twists and turns along the way.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
I'm so glad I requested to read this book! The story line really hits home, having friends that I very rarely see, however when we get together it's like we haven't spent any time apart.
This story really captures friendship, in a way I really love reading about. It isn't just a happy story of girls getting back together after years apart, it has all the issues that being an adult comes with.
Pregnancy, Marriage issues and Controlling partners. This book covers a wide range of issues that people all around the world deal with on a daily basis.
Really well written, and a pleasure to read.
Can't wait for the next one Anna Mansell!
This was the story of four friends who hadn’t seen each other for 20 years but got together again after two of them bumped into each other. They all had secrets or problems but all pulled together to help each other. Makes you want to be friends with them!
Four teenage friends all go their separate ways in life. Twenty years later two of them bump into each other and decide to contact the others for a reunion. All four of them have misgivings about meeting up, will it still be the same? Have they all changed too much?
When they do meet up we learn that there are a few secrets floating around that the women don't know whether to keep to themselves or share.
I really enjoyed this story of friendship and how even after twenty years apart it can still be revived. I liked how strong the women became when the had the support of each other.
I’m often drawn to a book focused on friendship and this one did not disappoint. Her Best Friend’s Secret gives us four friends that reunite after 20 years, written alternating between each of their points of view. Emily, Jess, Lolly and Amanda are four fiercely independent, likable and relatable characters. I really enjoyed this book and loved getting to explore the dynamic of their friendship. Each of their stories were intriguing and I was eager to keep reading to uncover the “secret”. Some unexpected twists, some heartache, some joy and a perfect
capture of what it means to have the kind of best friends that you can not see for 20 years and pick right back up where you left off = a perfect friendship book.
I loved this book. I even woke up in the middle of the night and had to finish it before I went back to sleep. Loved the characters and all their individual back stories. Should you meet up with old friends? The jury is still out on that one, the outcomes can affect your life as you know it.
Thanks to Anna Mansell and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book. Friendship is the theme of this book and how its power can stand the test of rime. Four women reunite after 16 years. Utterly enjoyable. Another great read from Mansell
I really enjoyed this book. It goes to show you the power of friendship. After all these years four women are brought back together to face past regrets and define their future. It goes to show you the power of friendship
When four once inseparable school friends arrange to reunite after over twenty years of absence, they all nervously prepare themselves for their reunion. They had once been the very best of friends, but how would they react to each other after so long was the question that concerned them most. They needn’t have been concerned at all. Hashtag Friends Forever – that was what each of the women hoped would be their destiny.
Emily is newly back home living in the childhood seaside village of Gorran Haven in Cornwall after living in the States for what seemed a lifetime of living the celebrity lifestyle. She has decided it is a false life for her and her agent/partner, and wants to live a completely new life surrounded by peace and tranquillity instead of hustle and bustle of a large, loud city. But she arrives alone and is stunned about the latest turn of events in once her busy life.
Lolly leads a busy life as a hospital physiotherapist, working wife and mother of two young boys. Her life is almost complete except for the fact that she desperately wants another baby. She yearns for the mother/daughter relationship she missed out on when her mother died prematurely, but which her older sister remembers fondly. The trouble is her husband is not that keen and has only reluctantly agreed to a third child in the family.
Amanda is a single working parent after her husband left her and their young daughter never to be seen again…….until recently. She is estranged from her daughter who has left her to live with her father, leaving Amanda wondering if she will ever be able to build bridges with her cherished daughter and get back to being a solid loving twosome, a relationship she once enjoyed in abundance.
All of the girls remembered the fourth member of the group Jess as friendly and outgoing but she had changed so much and had become quiet and lacking in self-confidence for no apparent reason. It’s as though she has had all of the life squeezed out of her and is afraid to live the normal life of a woman. She lives to work and is not at all interested in socialising.
So, with the first meeting being a roaring success the women get to meet regularly and the reader is pulled into their lives, a wonderfully supportive group of four who help their friends through life’s ups and downs. This is an engaging and beautifully told story with four story threads and narrators that are each equally absorbing. The characters are well crafted and cleverly developed with interacting threads that lead to a warm and satisfying conclusion. The strong storylines involve relationships, betrayal, friendship, mutual support, love and loss, trust and forgiveness. I really enjoyed reading this novel and found the issues thought provoking and relatable.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Bookouture through my membership of NetGalley. These are my own honest and well considered opinions that are uninfluenced by any other reviews or publicity. This is a multi-layered and involving story filled with interesting and diverse characters and plenty of interest to keep you engrossed.
Totally loved it! The intrucate storyline, the beautiful settings and the fascinating yet flawed characters.
I could not stop reading. I hope the writer comes up with a sequel.
This was a truly amazing piece of escapism, dramatic and insightful.
I’ve loved Anna Mansell’s previous books, but this is my favourite so far. I'll be shouting from the rooftops how amazing it is.
So beautifully written.
Four women with very different lives. Shows the importance of friendship, the difficulties faced with forgiveness and dealing with judgement.
It made me happy, sad and totally overwhelmed at times….a few ‘oh my god’ moments.
I finished this book with a tear in my eye. Every book by this author affects me massively and I always see a bit of me in her characters, especially in this book. Reconnecting with old friends is brilliant, but can be tough. They know things about you that even though they may not be bad things, they can be things you want to keep in the past.
I don’t want to give anything away and waffle on for the sake of it, but please read this book. It is wonderful with great characters and written from the heart.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.
This a really good novel about relatable independent four women who arrange for a reunion after years of drifting apart since being teens.
There are lots of touching and emotional moments about the strength of friendship, the burden of secrets, and the support of those who truly love us and accept us no matter what.
There are also some twists and turns along the way adding another dimension to an already engaging and lyrical plot.
Thanks #Netgalley, #Bookouture, and the author for a chance to read this book, all opinions are my honest thoughts.
I was gripped by this story. Not that much to add - doesn't 5 stars say it all? Great characters, good plot, good pace, realistic ending ... I want to read more by this author. With thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The story of Lolly, Jess, Amanda and Emily four childhood friends who reconnect in the village that all apart from Emily still live in, when Emily returns home from the States. A really enjoyable story of friendship, which I wouldn’t say is ‘gripping’ but does have a couple of secrets lurking! Overall I think the focus is on friendship and support rather than being sold as ‘gripping’.
Great book! You can imagine this happening in anyone's life. Girlfriends.. got to love them!
Kept me interested all the way through. Would recommend.
Thanks to the publisher and net galley for an early release of this book.
Four friends last met when they were 16. They meet again after several years, having all grown up and gone their separate ways.
As they reunite and get to know each other again their lives are revealed and several secrets along the way.
I loved this book and the very different characters. I could see them all as they were so well drawn.
Really enjoyed this one - the characters are all so full of life, so rich and real that I feel like I know them! Mansell drip feeds the reader with accuracy, constantly tempting them to read just one more page.
And of course I absolutely loved the Cornish-isms, though it made me miss my adopted county even more than usual!
Very enjoyable & relatable book with a few twists & turns. First book I’ve read by this author but look forward to reading more liked the wfoting style. Would recommend this book.
Who says you can never go home?!?! Emily had moved from her hometown in England right after high school. After almost 20 years, Emily is back and upon arrival runs into one of her best friends from back in the day, Lolly. Lolly is ecstatic to see Emily and suggestion they get the crew back together for a reunion. Low and behold, Amanda and Jess along with Lolly and Emily have a long overdue get-together! The group has missed the camaraderie, but a lot has happened in the last 20(ish) years and the women have to get to know each other all over again.
I really enjoyed Anna Mansell’s writing style! The storyline had a ton of feels as well as some unexpected twists and turns. If Her Best Friend’s Secret had a theme song it would definitely be With a Little Help from My Friends by Joe Cocker! I loved seeing how the ladies lives had evolved since high school, but I loved even more how they could still come back together like no time had passed at all! This is my first Anna Mansell novel, but it absolutely won’t be the last!