I actually enjoyed this book very much. I wasn’t expecting a light hearted read, and this definitely was not one. This is a book about a toxic friendship at its absolute worst. I think I enjoyed this so much because I was able to relate to it (although not as bad as this one). The only criticism I had was the ending… I felt like it needed more but I understood why it was the way it was.

I have tried to read this book and enjoy it for a long time now and have decided that it just wasn't for me. I found that every time I have attempted to pick it up, I kept finding a reason to put it back down. That is a shame because the premise is good and the book is not long. Theoretically a reader should be able to get through this in 1-2 sittings. But, there just wasn't enough to keep me going with it to really enjoy it.

#EveryoneKnowsHowMuchILoveYou #NetGalley.

Not the most satisfying novel I have ever read. Whatever point(s) the author was trying to make went completely over my head. My 3 stars is probably a little generous in terms of how much I truly enjoyed reading this book.

Thirty year old Rose has just moved to NYC. She is writing a novel but to pay the bills she is tutoring privileged kids of the city's hoity toity folk. Much to her delight, she has reunited with her childhood best friend, Lacie, after years of estrangement. You see Rose did something bad while they were in high school. Even though Lacie appears a bit apprehensive about rekindling their friendship, they become roommates. Aww, isn't it great when you get a second chance?

The author got to work early on giving the reader some pieces of the puzzle when it came to Rose. So I was getting a feel for her and that's what led me to start asking the question, where is the author taking me? Well, the answer is nowhere, at least in my view. Again, I feel like I didn't pick up on the author's intent when it came to the story and character.

There are some thriller and suspense elements to the story but I think the book best belongs in the fiction or literary fiction category. It's a character driven novel which normally I like, but Rose didn't do much for me. This might not make sense to anyone but myself, but I would describe Rose as being somewhat interesting but not fascinating. Might have to look and see if the author has given some interviews discussing the book because I would welcome more insight.

I would be open to trying another book by this author even though this wasn't a great read for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC.

I devoured this book in a day. I had no idea what it was about going into it, but I was immediately hooked. I'm mad at myself for leaving it in my kindle library for so long unread.

As a woman who had a best friend in my elementary years, who meant everything to me, this book really resonates. I felt so much nostalgia thinking about my younger self, and my best friend, while reading about Rose and Lacie.

I would definitely not say this was a happy coming of age story because of Rose's constant jealousy of Lacie, and the things she repeatedly did to hurt her, and to make herself feel better.

Though Rose is a complicated character who hurts others to make herself feel better, I found myself very attached to her and even understood her motives at times. She is a person who always felt invisible, not good enough, and unsure of whether or not she is a good person. However, through the book, she remains hopeful that one day things will change and people will actually see her and like her.

I loved this because it was full of drama, the writing was quite beautiful, and the ending was a surprise I did not see coming.

I would certainly recommend this book to friends. I'm sad it's over. It's one of those books that sucks you in and makes you feel like you're part of the plot. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

This was an odd tale of toxic (obsessed?) female friendship. I really could not relate to the plot or the characters, which is usually when I put the book down, but this was just enough of a trainwreck to keep me rubber-necking. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

Wow I hated the writing in this book. Where was the editor?? Two sentences taking up half a page? No thank you

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book even though I did not finish this book.

This was sadly a DNF for me. Not because it was a terrible book, but because I simply wasn't the right reader for the book. I truly think many others will enjoy.

If you like obsessive female friendships, toxic relationships, books set in publishing/the book world, complex female friendships, the tea, the drama, the thrill of it all, then this book is for you. This is certainly a character-driven novel, and it's written so beautifully. I love literary fiction, and while at times I didn't love the plot or connect with what was going on, the writing itself was top tier. I had a hard time figuring out how to rate this, but ultimately, I want to read more from this author. Even if McCarthy just writes instruction manuals, I'd read them all day.

I felt like this book was just ok. It was definitely based on a narcistic personality that felt that the world revolves around her and her needs. She is definitely socially backward and odd in her actions, however I felt that she was methodical in placing herself into the wavelength of her past best friend to repeat history just because she could. It was really hard to read this book as I really began to not care what happens to any of the characters and could not make any attachments with the unlikable characters.. I did not like the characters and felt the ending was flat for all of the plotting that went on in the book. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

I have to admit, when I received this through NetGalley I was fully expecting a light hearted chick lit book about friendship and love. But that's NOT what this book is. Yes, there's friendship but it's dark and raw and psychologically damaging. Rose, the main character, needs to seek some therapy ASAP. Her obsessive behavior towards everything and lack of empathy makes it very difficult to feel connected to her and even feel remorse for her actions. There is more sexual content than I expected. I will say, this is set in the 90s and man it took me back! That was a joy to experience again. I did figure out what was going to happen but the how completely took me off guard. And the ending, WHAT THE HECK!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a book about 2 friends- Rose and Lacie. They have a toxic relationship, with both being jealous of the other throughout the book. I personally wished there had been better character development for Lacie so we could understand her perspective better. Rose was very unlikable and it was unclear what her intentions were for her actions. The book is well written but I can’t say I liked it. It had a dark feeling to it and I find it challenging when you don’t like the characters in the book.

I’m not really sure how to feel about this one it was an odd read for me. It seemed to drag on but there were also times where I didn’t want to put it down. Really unsure here honestly it was just strange

EVERYONE KNOWS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU is a smart and in-depth look at how friendships can change the people we are by bringing out the best or the worst. Unfortunately for these two, they are the latter. McCarthy delivers a suspenseful read that can only be called addictive.

Tell me a book has friends that grew apart who come back together as adults, and I'm going to be interested. Throw in obsession... and I'm sold. I liked this and thought it was a good story. When Rose moves to NYC, she is unexpectedly swallowed up by her past when she reunites with the former best friend she betrayed in high school. This one is pretty dark, but I think I would have liked to know even more about what went down when they were girls. I was not expecting Rose to move in with Lacie, and although things unraveled in ways that were expected to me, I think it's likely because I read so many books in the "toxic female friendship" space.

DNF - did not finish. I decided not to keep reading this title. It was not for me. Thank you, publisher, and NetGalley for the early copy.

Great book about toxic rivalry but in my opinion, the main protagonist Rose was super unlikable. but overall I really enjoy it. If you like a very slow pace family plot-driven story you will like this book.
3 stars
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The writing is fantastic, and I'm a big fan of a "toxic friendship" story...but I couldn't get into this one, unfortunately. I admire the writing but I didn't love the book.

This is a book where I really want to give it two ratings: how the author did and how much I liked it.

For the first, the author gets 5 stars. McCarthy set out to write an uncomfortable novel about two long-time best friends, one of whom (Rose) is completely obsessed with the other (Lacie). She manages to wrangle her way into Lacie’s adult life after an estrangement that lasted over a decade. As the past is revealed and the present moves forward, readers realize that Rose has always been not quite right in her relationship with Lacie and that some things never change. I really think McCarthy told that exact story. I felt uncomfortable, shocked, and completely mind boggled at some of Rose’s actions.

That being said, the story itself only appealed to me on a level of about 3 stars. It was fine, but I wasn’t too keen on the gratuitous sex scenes, and Rose made me just that little too uncomfortable to feel like this was a really enjoyable read. I also felt dissatisfied by the ending and how Rose just kind of carries on with no real consequences to the person she has become.

I’m compromising and giving this 4 stars. I would definitely read more by this author based on her skill level, but this book in particular was not for me.

I was pretty excited to read this book and really can appreciate a "good" toxic friendship storyline...but oof with this one. I had to repeatedly put it down and then force myself to keep reading. I did finish it, but this book was just not for me unfortunately. Maybe someone else may like this story, but I just didn't.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC.