I tried to read her first book but didn’t get stuck in and never completed it. I was really determined to give this one a try and whilst I was worried it would be too fluffy, the character traits and echoes of people you know, this book feels familiar as it maps out the day to day realities of three young woman now grown up.

This is the story of 3 friends, Lana, Catrin and Judith, who met aged 5, went on a celebratory backpacking trip round the Greek islands aged 18, following the different paths each woman took after that.

This is a well written and researched book, I particularly enjoyed the chapters set in Cyprus. The characters were well rounded, although at times I wanted to shake one or other of them. And as a fan of Gavin and Stacey, there were a few bits of dialogue where I could almost hear Nessa’s voice saying them. That said it was a nice easy ready, ideal for holidays. I would certainly read any further books by this author

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A gorgeous novel of what it really means to be a grown up.

In those glory days of childhood where you imagine friendships are forever and life is all mapped out with your besties, a pledge is made by three girls; Catrin, Lana and Judith, on the wrapper of a curly wurly, to be together always.

If only life were that easy! A trip to Greece before starting university leads to love, lust and unimagined revelations. Once at university the three different personalities clash in ways they never could have imagined and life is forever changed.

As we join these three women on their journeys we follow them through depression, motherhood, the trials of ageing parents and bereavement. Told with honesty and humour and a little bit of Gavin & Stacey! I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend! Did it all turn out all right in the end??? Read it and see!

I throughly enjoyed this book. I could relate with the characters, I laughed with them, I cried with them and at times I was frustrated, just like real life friends.
This is the story of Lana, Catrin and Judith who have been inseparable since they were 5 years old. We follow the trials and tribulations of their lives throughout their teens and into adulthood.
A light easy book that left me realising that yes, we do need our friends and some bonds never break.

"Us Three" is thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing from start to finish. Being familiar with Ruth Jones' work as an actor and TV writer, I was curious to see if she was just as talented a novelist - and she is. Reading this novel, it is clear which parts of Gavin and Stacey were "hers" so to speak, but in "Us Three" she has created some very different characters, lives and situations, but still with her trademark wit and ability to capture all the ups and downs of life and being human.

Catrin, Judith and Lana have been friends since primary school and at the age of 18, they embark on a fun trip to Greece before going their separate ways to university. They all return from that trip greatly altered, and the events and discoveries of that trip set a whole chain of events in motion that change everything in their lives. After vowing at age eight to be "friends forever", these three young women find that an almost impossible prospect as the twists and turns of life invariably intervene.

The strength of the book is undoubtedly in the characters - even the minor characters are three-dimensional and well-drawn, from the bumbling Father O'Leary who can't get names right to Judith's hideous narcissistic mother. Jones clearly cares deeply for her characters and so as a reader you end up warming to them all, even the more horrendous ones!

There's a lot going on in this book - as indeed there is over the course of life - and one of the biggest themes I pondered on while reading it is our capacity to forgive, and whether or not is it is possible to ever move on after heartbreak, tragedy, loss or betrayal.

Overall, it's delightful, absorbing and, despite being extremely sad in places, a lot of fun.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

Three primary friends, three very different family backgrounds. All on a girls holiday before going to different universities. Adventure awaits but not as they expected at University. A wedding ends in chaos and the girls are split. One in the middle trying to fix the friendship for the next thirty years.
Life's up and downs wil they ever become the loyal and inseparable three best mates they were growing up?
A Well written tale, believable characters that you can understand and root for. It made me laugh, wince and cry.

A story that follows 3 friends from meeting at junior school to when they are grandparents. The way they lives intertwine through the years is very believable. The trip of a lifetime when they are 18 and the twists and turns that life throws in their way made me laugh at times buy also want to cry. I really enjoyed the book and felt involved with the characters,

With thanks to Net Gallery and Random House UK for the opportunity to read this arc in return for an honest review.

I am a massive fan of Ruth Jones' TV work and am ashamed to say that Never Greener has been on my TBR pile for far too long (this will change very soon!)

This is a story of friendship and how lives and events can shape and change the nature of it. Catrin, Judith and Lana met at primary school and have been best friends ever since. Shortly after their A Levels they go travelling around Greece and their lives begin to change.

I adored this book, the writing is so captivating. This passage really struck a chord with me "Let's celebrate what we have got, is it? Not mourn what we haven't. 'Cos that's the hand that life dealt us, Cat. And it's a good hand"

I'm feeling a bit lost now. I need to know what happens next!!!

Having never watched Gavin and Stacey and, I guess rather naively, not realising who Ruth Jones is until I had completed the book (my apologies) I can certainly say that I didn't have any prior expectations when I read Us Three.

I read the book on holiday and it was a perfect easy read to help me to wind down. The story follows the friendship of Judith, Lana and Catrin. At age 5 they are already best friends at age 8 they swear an oath of loyalty on a Curly Wurly wrapper. We first get to know the girls when they are 18 and are off on a Greek island-hopping adventure to celebrate the end of their school exams. Although the girls are as 'different as chalk and cheese and chocolate' they can laugh at each other's foibles and the bond between them is very strong. But they are all aware that after this trip they are all going to very different places to follow different careers. As we follow the girls through their lives we discover whether their friendships can stand the test of time.

For me, the best thing about this book were the different characters. Even the more minor characters were brought so clearly to life; from Judith's horrendous self-absorbed mother to Father O'Leary who could never quite get Catrin's name right. The tensions which arise between the 3 friends are handled sensitively and they all come across as very human, with their strengths as well as their weaknesses.

I was sorry that the story itself didn't particularly engage me. Even the big 'shock' moment wasn't really a surprise as the book opens at a funeral so it is obvious from the outset that someone will die. But I did enjoy the issues it raised about love and support within families, maintaining friendships, our capacity to forgive and whether we can forgive enough to move on. But that may make the book sound heavy-going which it certainly isn't and there are some hilarious moments.

If you are looking for a page-turner about friendship and families this is a book for you and I would certainly recommend it.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Lots of laughs, lots of tears, a story of three friends (and their families) from the girl’s childhood to middle age. Although some of the scenarios were a bit far fetched, (hence four stars instead of five) , I enjoyed it very much and would recommend that you read it

This is not my usual kind of book, but as it was written by Ruth Jones, I couldn't resist it and I am thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-book in exchange for a review.

The story tells the life of 3 friends, starting when they were teenagers (although they have been friends since they were very young) and going right through to middle age. Holidays, careers, children, partners are all navigated by the women and their friendship generally endures through misunderstandings, crises and the usual life experiences. The characters are mostly likeable, and even the ones who aren't get better with age and time.

The dialogue was excellent and there were many laugh-out-loud moments. There were also moments of shouting 'nooooo' at the book, crying and gasping with frustration at the characters' actions. It's an easy and quick read, because it all flows along so nicely and I wouldn't hesitate to read more of the author's work.

This story unfolds at high speed! It is helpful that each chapter is headed by the name of the character who is relating their part of the story. It was an enjoyable read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK for giving me the lovely opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved this book! It’s been a while since I’ve read a story with so many characters that have gripped me, all in their own individual way. So much happened in this novel, but you get such a good insight into all the characters lives, their feelings and their emotions. Not an easy task. I enjoyed how the story goes back and forth in time, filling in bits of each persons story. An easy read, and one that I think I’ll be thinking about for a while.

'Us Three' is a delight to read. It chronicles the lives of three young women and how their friendship affects and is affected by the passage of time, different personalities and various life events. We meet the women just as they have completed their A levels and are about to embark on a holiday together and we accompany them on their respective journeys to middle age. We share their low points but also enjoy the fun and humour.

There are a number of supporting characters but the one who is portrayed with most depth is Patricia, the mother of one of the women. She, along with the three protagonists, is fully developed and most readers will be able to recognise some of her traits in people they have encountered themselves.

The story addresses issues with family and friends and although it touches on a number of sad events, the overall tone of the book is one of positivity. Having previously read 'Never Greener', another excellent book, I knew that I was going to like Ruth's style and wasn't disappointed. My only criticism was the prologue which I found to be slightly misleading. I reread it once I'd finished the book as I had a sense of déjà vu and realised that it had come from the latter section.

Thank-you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

I absolutely loved this book!!!!
The story is set around the life and times of 3 girls/women from the 70's to the present day. The characters are brilliant, so easy to conjure up in my head and to hear their voices. One of the best books I have read in the last year, and I couldn't wait to get home from work and read it. Devoured in a few days, what a joy! I'm a similar age so their life and times were very familiar.
The book is well written, set out and well edited.
Basically I cannot recommend highly enough. Have already been telling all my friends and colleagues how great it is.......must get a copy of Ruth's previous book now!

When I read Ruth’s first book I was so surprised. It was so well written and I couldn’t put it down. So when I saw she had written another book- I couldn’t wait to read it. Both books are so well written, they whisk you off to another place, they tell tales so vivid you feel like you’re in the book and the characters are your friends. I think this book shows Ruth will be able to entertain us for years to come- she’s such a talented story teller. You won’t want to put this book down.

Having read Never Greener, Ruth Jones's first novel, I was really looking forward to this new book and it didn't disappoint.
The tale of Lana, Catrin and Judith (three best friends from South Wales who swore their eternal friendship on a curly wurly wrapper in the playground at primary school) takes you through the decades and twists and turns of life. At times it had me laughing, at others crying but I feel like I've come to know these three women as if they were my friends.
It's more akin to Ms Jones's writing style from her Stella television series than Gavin and Stacey but her affection for her characters is obvious and you cannot help but warm to them all. I would recommend this to anybody who simply wants some escapism from the disaster ridden news of the moment.
This is a book that celebrates female friendship as the true love that bonds for life and I feel that is something we should all remember.

A charming, witty novel which spans decades, this is a tale of friendship and love. The characters are deep, well constructed and meaningful and the quality of the writing is as you’d expect from Ruth Jones.

Very highly recommended.

Not my normal type of read but I really enjoyed it. and I found it difficult to put down looking forward for further books from this writer

Because the author is Ruth Jones I was excited to read this book. It is well written and tells the story of three girls growing up in Wales. They are Larn, Judith and Catrin, all with very different backgrounds but with a very close bond forged in childhood. The story really starts as the girls finish their A-levels and are about to undertake a trip to Greece that they have been planning for ages. Judith almost doesn’t make the trip as her manipulative mother puts obstacles in her way. The holiday is voyage of discovery, particularly for Catrin, who meets her future husband, Sol, and also for Judith, who meets her beloved stepfather’s family and learns about his past.
The story spans a number of years until the women are in their fifties and tells the ups and downs of their relationships but all three are very much the central characters with husbands, parents and children in the background. They are larger than life characters and all very different. Catrin ends up being a GP and is generally quite conventional, Larn is on the stage and leads a slightly unconventional life while Judith is the one who has moved away from her home town and works as a civil servant. Judith’s big problem is still her mother and the two of them remain at loggerheads throughout the book.
I did enjoy the book and the characters and my only criticism is that I sometimes felt it lacked a cohesive story line and was made up of a series of events over the years. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me this ARC.