This is such a feel good fun read, I always enjoying reading books by Sophie Ranald- I always end up laughing out loud and getting real funny looks from people.
This book has been no different. I have devoured this delicious chick lit read in a matter of hours and I’m relieved that I have finished it before having to step back into reality.
I adore main character Sloane, she reminds me of one of my good friends and for that reason has been instantly likeable. Unfortunately for the female race, men like Myles do exist- another factor which has made this book realistic and likeable in many ways.
A four star rating from me for another of Sophie’s books, I am excited to see what the future holds for this author and what other gems will come our way.

I received an free E-Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are all my own.
This book is about a common woman friend that everyone can relate to named Sloane, who was always going out on dates, but never found the one to remain in a steady relationship with. But that all changes when she meets Myles. In Myles, she believed she found her "The One." And that is how Sloane found herself in a "Happily-Ever-After" that looked nothing like the life she had imagined for herself when she first married Myles. After five years of marriage, Sloane's life consists of laundry, birthday cards, and major home renovations with hopes of a baby in the near future. All is well until Sloane finds out that Myles has a secret and when the secret is finally brought to light all of Sloane's hopes and dreams for their future is shattered. Can Sloane find the strength to build a life without the love of her life?
First, I would like to say I did enjoy this book. The story line was wonderfully written and had great plot lines, which were somewhat predictable, and complex characters. The women in this book were very strong and, mostly, supportive of each other. I enjoyed the backstory of both the courtship of Myles and Sloane as well as Sloane's mother and father's relationship. I did not like Sloane's friend, Bianca. I believe, while I understand she had her own relationship problems with her husband, she did not act in the best interest of Sloane. I liked the relationship Sloane had with her co-workers as well as her clients. Sloane was a very warm and likable person to those she cared most about in her life. She really took the time to help those in need. This was especially true in regards to Megan and Vivienne. I really, really did not like Myles! I felt he was so self absorbed and did not put that much towards the marriage, but expected a lot from Sloane.
Overall, I liked the ending of the story and believed the author wrapped it up nicely. I would recommend this book to those readers, who enjoy seeing characters who must rediscover who they are even if that journey must be taken alone. I would love to read other books by this author!

Sophie Ranald's previous book was mostly chic-lit and vlong-centric, something which I knew nothing about. I hoped this would be more than that. And boy, was I left on my arse. This was SIMPLY BRILLIANT.

Sloane was married to Myles. She not only looked after her home but also was a partner in her company. One day she saw something which got her wife-y antennae go all tingly. And secrets were revealed. Then came her realizations and decisions.

My third book by this author, and I found this one to be the best. The author's writing showed me depths, which were damn perfect. They dipped and flowed with the story. This was completely Sloane's story. And she was so real. Though at times, I did want to scream at her face - Don't trust anyone.

Sloane's journey was so well depicted from a giddy girl in love to a woman who loved herself, put herself first. I loved her, I could see shades of myself in her. Sophie Ranald had imbibed this story with a lot of emotions, the characters were varied and so lovable, barring some.

Friendships new and old were explored. Decisions made were not perfect, but I could understand the situation so well. I have been on some of them. This was one of my best books in this genre.

I finished the book at 3 40 am and I was so happy that I lost my hours of sleep over this book. One of my great midnight reads.

While I didn't find this novel laugh-out-loud as some of the adverts proclaimed, I did find it humorous and funny as well as relatable. Sloane is very charming and it's hard not to see yourself in her at times - every woman has been her a time or two.

I found this book very hard to put down and read it in a couple days. It was a delightful way to spend New Year's Day! I would happily read a second novel just about her work - that was the most fascinating part to me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

2.5/5 stars (rounded up)

No, We Can't Be Friends was an ok read, albeit not what I expected. Sloane is a 30 something married woman with a successful professional career who is ready to take the next step in life and start her family. Right off the bat though, suspicion is cast over her husband Myles regarding possible infidelity. Most of what follows is a story of Sloane coming to terms with the truth about her husband and her marriage, and ultimately choosing to walk away from it. The last little bit of the book follows Sloane as she learns to live her life for herself after years of making decisions based on keeping her husband happy. While Myles is a bit of a cliche, Sloane is portrayed as a real person, which I ultimately appreciate. She has moments of strength and competence, but also has moments where she is whiny and annoying and delusional. I know there are plenty of readers who won't like that she is not a perfect unflawed character, but in real life, even the best people have their moments where they are totally unlikable and do stupid things. There were a lot of secondary characters, a couple who were decently developed and interesting, but then the author didn't even skim the surface on the one character we DID need to get to know (Edward).

The book was a little slow and tedious, especially in the beginning. I will admit to kind of skimming through bits of it, hoping to reach the point where the story would start getting somewhere. Ultimately, I wish this book had spent half as much time on everything leading up to the breakup, and at least twice as much time on everything that came after. The tag-line on the book even says "The best revenge is moving on", but we see SO very little of that part of Sloane's story.

My other complaint regarding this book is not in the story itself or the writing, but rather with the marketing department. This book is said to be a "laugh out loud romantic comedy". The problem is that it is neither romantic nor comedy. For examples of actual laugh-out-loud romantic comedies, please reference Christina Lauren's The Unhoneymooners, Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, and Roomies; or Penny Reid's Knitting in the City series and The Winston Brothers series; or pretty much anything from Katherine Center (I wouldn't consider her books to be romantic in nature, but they are moreso than this one, and they're definitely funnier). Most of the book was dedicated to Sloane coming to terms with the state of her marriage and figuring out how to move on. There were very small glimpses of a new relationship, but there was not nearly enough time or focus devoted to that piece of the storyline to consider this a romantic story.

No, We Can't Be Friends was an ok story in its own right, it just wasn't what I thought I was going to read when I picked it up. Without the tag lines on the cover about moving on and the book being a laugh out loud rom com, I would have read the book with no preconceived expectations and probably would have enjoyed it more. But since I did go in with certain expectations, I feel like I only read part of a book and am missing the key storyline. To the publisher - call this book what it is (Women's Fiction) and put a less quirky/more appropriate cover on it to better reflect what the book really is, and you'll actually attract the right audience for the story that was written.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Sloane had me snorting with laughter over and over again. What a hilarious character! Her biological clock is ticking and when she discovers that her husband is cheating on her, she has some serious decisions to make. Forgive and move on, or just move on?

Sloane gets some of the best advice from Vivienne that I've ever heard for this type of dilemma: "Don't waste the best years of your life on a man who'll only ever love himself."

I have to say that by the time Sloane finally chucked Myles, I was more than ready to stop reading about him. I felt that that party of the story lagged on a bit too long. The trade up - Edward - needed a bit more time spent on him. But otherwise, this was a fun read.

Sloane's trying times: living through the grief was worth it!😍

👍👍😌 What a delightful story! Not a laugh a minute, but warm and fun because, ultimately, Sloane finds herself (and contented happiness). Her trying times with perfect friend Bianca and demanding husband Myles provide the angst and tension, the hurt and feelings of betrayal, that make the joyous holiday ending that much more deserved for a career woman with a business and partner she loves, a compassionate way with her clients, but a sinking suspicion that her home life is NOT going well at all!

The secondary characters are well-drawn and not too intrusive; after all, this is Sloane's story and told completely from her perspective. I especially liked Vivienne, the faded actress with her own troubled marital history and the sad, touching story of Sloane's relationship with her mother Linda.

I can't think of a single element in this story that did not work for me. I will be reading more by this author for sure!😊😍😊

Thanks to publisher Bookouture and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

No, We Can't Be Friends is a stand alone romance novel set in UK. The author is Sophie Ranald, publisher is Bookouture.
Sloane is a 34 year old, happily married woman with a great job. And she catched baby fever. Only her husband, Myles, seems he is in no hurry. Their relationship becomes weird then weirder, til Sloane loses trust. She's in for the surprise of her life. She goes through all the motions, denial, devastation, and then accteptance and healing.
No, We Can't Be Friends is a great read, witty and fun with unexpected twists and turns. I liked the storyline, the writing is great and I loved how easily I could connect with the characters.
No, We Can't Be Friends is a beautiful 4,5 Stars read.

Have you ever been cheated in a relationship, of any kind... have you ever been taken for granted, have you ever been hurt by people that should love you the most???

This book deals with all that and more...

We follow Sloane, a Canadian living in London. Married to British guy named Myles. They are in the middle of renovating their home and trying for a baby. But soon, things start to unravel which shows us that not all is perfect as it seems.

This was my first read by this author and I can freely say I am pleasantly surprised.
This was a great woman fiction book. It is filled with real-life moments, struggles and mistakes. I loved the tone of it all. Sloane is a great protagonist. She is someone so relatable. Even with the emotional and hard tone of this book, this is at the end heartfelt and hopeful read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't care for it it just wasn't for me, other people may like it. I am going to have to try another one Iof this author book's maybe it just wasn't for me

I felt like this was one of those titles that you read a little, do something else, then come back to it to savor the story. Parts of this one was very funny and others were kind of just ok. I enjoyed that dynamics of the character's relationship and their ups and downs. And ultimately the ending is one that I was happy with. One quote that I can't put in here was a list of very interesting curse words. If you are looking for a slow story with a good amount of humor check this one out!

Sloane and Myles are married, both happy in their jobs and with their lives. They're currently renovating a house and trying for a baby. But then something happens, something that makes Sloane wonder if her husband is cheating on her and when it's confirmed her whole world flips upside down - she didn't sign for this. She still loves him, and hopes for the best but can she really trust him? Was the whole relationship based on lies? Did Myles love her at all? And what is now with her wish of becoming a mother?

Guys, help me here, pretty please. Is it just me or did I read a different book to everyone else? I feel cheated, to be honest, especially because of the huge promise on the cover that the book is "a totally laugh - out - loud romantic comedy" - erm, what? It is probably everything BUT a totally laugh - out - loud romantic comedy, I haven't laughed once to be honest. It turned out to be sad, pretty depressing and tedious and I was like, where is the humour? Where is the romance? Hello?????

I didn't warm to the characters. I hated Sloane and Myles's toxic relationship, and I absolutely, totally disliked Myles, which is obvious, I think. I couldn't believe my eyes how he reacted to Sloane's confronting him, and I couldn't believe that Sloane was still willing to be with him after everything he said and done. Yes, she wanted to be a mother desperately, and I could understand this, but not at any cost, not with such a character. I felt desperate and frustrated with Sloane at how long it took her to finally open her eyes.
I didn't feel invested in the characters' lives, to be honest. There was something in them that made me not care about them. Yes, I sympathized with Sloane but on the other hand I simply wanted to shake her and tell her to see things how they really are. I think I can say she really annoyed me half of the time. I couldn't get her completely, she was whiny and needy and on the next page she was able to get her act together, just like that. Also, because of the fact that the relationship with Myles wasn't described to us, I really didn't know where she was coming from and why she's having such a hard time to simply show him the door. To be honest I couldn't understand what Sloane has seen in him, this arrogant and egoistic piece of work. There was given really little info on their past and the relationship lacked in depth.
Fortunately, after she opened her eyes, she was determined to re - build her life, even though it took her a lot of time, but it made me glad.

I can imagine that for some it can be a realistic, relatable story, as it thoroughly describes all the ups and downs (are there ups at all?) of relationship falling apart, of divorce and how hard it can be. But it also may be uplifting and full of hope, showing that in the end there is always a way out, there are people that matter.

The pace was on the slow side, and nothing significant really happened. There was a tiny bit of romance towards the end but it felt too rushed and forced.

If the book was differently advertised I'd probably enjoy it more, knowing what I'm getting into. But I can't blame my feelings on the synopsis only, it simply didn't work for me, we didn't click with the story and the characters. It's a story of a relationship breaking apart and all the feelings and emotions that are connected to this fact, showing how hard it is to deal with them, when the world around you breaks in thousands little pieces, especially when you were not expecting it. It was telling us a realistic version of love and relationship, and it's not a bad book, it's well written, the writing style is chatty and sassy but it just didn't live up to my expectations. The story strongly focuses on the bad things in life, to be honest. It deals with miscarriages, betrayal, death, loss, grief and disappointment. Not this what I was expecting and not a book that's going to stay with me for a long time. Sadly.

I want to start this review off by saying that most of the summaries and blurbs you will read for this book will not really tell you what it is. The summaries make it sound like the only thing happening in the book is Sloane's relationship troubles and the blurbs call this a romance. Neither are accurate.

Sloane has a full life outside of her marriage. She has friends, a successful business, and a loving father, all of which we get to experience in this book. But her marriage, something Sloane counts on in her life, is not what she believes it to be. And unfortunately, the man she loves isn't who she thought he was.

No, We Can't Be Friends is a painfully accurate portrayal of the demise of a marriage due to infidelity. As someone who has been in Sloane's place I found it both difficult to read and extremely validating.

The author speaks through her characters to make sure the reader knows who exactly is in the wrong and why Sloane is in no way at fault for her husband's philandering. Sloane is better off without Myles and Ranald makes sure we know it without a doubt.

One particular part of this book that I have to praise is the portrayal of gaslighting manipulation. When Sloane confronts Myles he goes on the offense and leaves her feeling like everything is her fault and she can't trust her own knowledge and feelings.

I also really loved the "women supporting women" aspect of this story.

The only thing I didn't like was the pacing. I felt like the part of the story where Sloane is trying to make her marriage work took up too much of the novel, and the part where she is on her own again not enough. All the scenes before she confronts Myles seem to drag, possibly because we already know from the beginning what is coming and are not blindsided the way Sloane is.

If you are a fan of women's fiction or just someone who has been through what Sloane has and wants to see their experience laid out in a novel, this book is for you.

The description of this book touted it as hilarious, but I found very little to laugh about throughout the book. Sloane is so busy trying to be everything to everyone. The perfect wife, the perfect business partner, the perfect friend. But she's falling short. She finds out her husband has a secret that threatens to destroy, not only her marriage, but her self-image. I wanted Sloane to be as strong and kick butt in standing up for herself in her relationship as she was in her business. To be honest, Vivianne, the classy, retired actress trying to come out of retirement, was the best part of the book! She kept me tuned in the entire time through the parts when I was frustrated with Sloane and her decisions.

Official rating 3.5 stars. A super quick read, this is the story of Sloane, a successful young woman’s few years into a seemingly happy marriage. Until she figures out that everything may not be as it seems.

As Sloan figures out her marriage, she also figures out herself and works out some traumas from her own childhood.

CW: alcoholism, gaslighting

So here’s the only issue: the book is described as a “laugh out loud” romantic comedy but honestly with the weight of some of the content, I didn’t laugh (let alone out loud) even once.

Good story and I was interested in it but it’s definitely not laugh out loud book.

Something was off with this book. I didn't find myself BELIEVING, ya know? Couldn't invest in Sloane's perspective . . .The characters made decisions that seemed all over the place. It is easy to get caught up in the glam moments, so it would make a good beach/vacation read.

I thought this book had an interesting plot when I read the description but I felt that the important bits took a little to long to get to. I was immediately bored and waiting on any action and I had to ultimately DNF it. I liked Sophie Ranald's writing style but the story itself just went too slow.

<I>*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review *</i>

<b> 2.5 Stars - rounded up !</b>

No we can’t be friends centers on Sloane, who is married and wants to start trying for a baby, but then her life gets turned around when she suspects her husband of cheating.

While the characters were somewhat entertaining, this book was incredibly slow at first, describing everyday actions in painstaking detail. Honestly, the plot was rather lacking, wherein the blurb covers about 60% of the book, and any really interesting action is in the last 30% or so.

Also, this book, while marketed as a rom-com, felt more like a drama to me.

I started excitedly reading this when I got a copy of this book. It looks like it has the qualities of a light and funny book. Slone is married to Myles. She discovers Myles has a secret that shatters her world. She has to learn how to survive and get past this news. The problem with this book is that it takes so very long for Slone to discover what the reader figures out by the second chapter. There really isn’t a character I could get behind. Slone comes off as whiney, Myles is a jerk, and none of the other characters are much better. Of all the characters, Vivienne, an older actress Slone works to promote had the most interesting story.


The first two-thirds for this novel builds up to the discovery which, at times, can be tedious. The last part did pick up as Slone found herself but it was still flat. I did not find the book as “laugh out loud” as other reviewers. What appears to be a lighthearted book was filled with death, alcoholism, losses, and cheating. It did not capture my attention or interested.


I received an advance copy of No, We Can’t Be Friends by Sophie Ranald from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

No, We Can’t Be Friends by Sophie Ranald was a lighthearted, romantic comedy about Sloane and Myles, and how Sloane finds her way into a relationship that isn’t exactly what she hoped it would be. It was a fun book to read and the plot was well written and moved at an excellent pace. The story felt real and true, and Sloane felt like an old friend right from the start.

However, I didn’t really like most of the other characters in the book, and Myles seemed like a loser from the very start. Much of the key twist was obvious from the first time we met Myles and overall it was hard to care about him, or root for him and Sloane to work it out. Bianca, Sloane’s frenemy, was made out to be the bad guy with an abrupt “let’s not hate her anymore” turn at the end - and it seemed as though Ranald was just trying to wrap up the book’s loose ends before the last page. Ultimately, I wanted to see more of the last quarter of the book and I wish Ranald had explored more of what happens next, and less of the drama between Sloane and Myles in the first three-quarters of the story. The book’s tagline is “the best revenge is moving on” and I wish we had seen more of how sweet that revenge can be.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.