If you’re looking for your next binge worthy thriller look no further because good lord you guys was this one good! It’s highly emotional, dark and disturbing and also incredibly sad and there are several instances where it was even a little hard for me to read, but damn was it great.

You hear from all three women who are best friends and have sons that are also best friends and I’ll admit, at the beginning I had a hard time settling in and keeping everyone straight. They seemed so similar on a surface level that they seemed interchangeable but that feeling soon left as I read more and learned more about the women as individuals. This was a complicated story of grief, loss and so much more but I don’t want to ruin it for anyone by saying any more. I read it fast because it’s one of those books that just grips you tightly and as awful as some of the situations were, I just couldn’t stop reading it. I’m such a fan of this author and think this may be her best book yet, definitely give it a try when you’re in the mood for an addictive read.

My best friends and I always say that our babies will be friends too. For Lindsey, Kendra, and Dani, it actually happened! Until one night, when there is a tragic accident - leaving one dead, another in a coma, and a third too traumatized to speak. This story is told through the three women's perspectives as they try to piece that night - and their lives - back together. Each family has more secrets than they let on and I was absolutely hooked from the beginning. I had to know what happened that night and I did not see it coming.

Three women, The Best of Friends, face an unimaginable tragedy which involves their children, secrets, status and how perfect they thought their lives were. Heartbreaking in its authenticity with enough twists and turns to engage throughout. Read this in one sitting - it was that good!

Three childhood friends living every mother’s worst nightmare. Their lives torn apart when unimaginable tragedy hits their families. What appeared to be perfect lives quickly turns into a turmoil of secrets, self-doubt, and animosity for loved ones.

The Best of Friends is a heart-wrenching and emotional story of love, loss, friendship, and difficult decisions. This book digs deeply into what we really are made of as human beings, when all the pretenses and smoke screens are ripped off and our true and less than perfect lives take center stage.

This book gave me chills and my heart was torn apart from the start to the final pages. As a mother this story was really hard to read not because of the writing style, which was great, or the plot, which kept me glued to the pages, but because what happens in this book is just unimaginable to me. I can’t even envision how I could get through such a tragedy and keep living my life.

I recommend this book to all the readers that enjoy family dramas with a mix of mystery, and to those who are not afraid to have their heart broken, multiple times.

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The storyline is gut wrenching and the author does an amazing job of getting the feelings through to the reader. Each family is suffering from one night and a horrible tragedy while dealing with other issues in their life.

No spoilers but I did not expect the ending and I really enjoyed that. Thought it was a nice spin. Definitely a book I would recommend. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Lucinda Berry for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my review.

3.5 stars! Loved the premise of the book. Ended a bit abruptly but was riveted to the pages all the way through the conclusion.

Three mothers that are best friends are forced to deal with the aftermath of a tragic accident involving their three sons. Unfortunately, secrets come to light and the women realize they don't know each other as well as they thought they did, if at all. This is an emotional read that I read in one sitting because the writing was so powerful.

The story revolves around what appears three perfect families which revolves around the three wives and mothers who have literally been friends since elementary school. It all seems perfect especially when it appears that the families have sons that are best friends who were basically born around the same time and have grown up and did everything together. It all changes the night of a sleep over when one son ends up dead, one son ends being on life support and one son is closed up into himself and cannot or will not talk. As all involve start to look for answers it becomes apparent that all is not perfect and each family has secrets to hide. This is a fast paced story a definite page turner. You cannot wait to see what happens. This well worth your time to read this it may even bring a tear to your eye. I received an ARC from Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for a fair and honest review.

The Best of Friends by Lucinda Berry

The Best of Friends by Lucinda Berry starts with an intense prologue that made me think I would be up all night reading. Really tense! Kendra and Paul Mitchell have the night to themselves. Snuggled in bed they hear a loud noise, then another from the street behind them. Then, endless sirens. Their oldest son, Sawyer, and one of his best friends, Jacob, are spending the night at their other best friend Caleb’s house. Kendra takes off running across yards being stopped by police and not allowed to go into Caleb’s house. This book has my rapt attention at this point.

This is the story of three best friends since childhood Kendra, Dani (Caleb’s mom), and Lindsey (Jacob’s mom). Something horrible happened at Dani’s house. The story is told through the eyes of Kendra, Dani, and Lindsey in alternating chapters. I had a hard time keeping track of the narrators and frequently had to look back. I finally started keeping a chart of all of the characters. Soon the story started to drag.

So many different plot clues (were they real) were given. For example, something happened to the moms in school but we never find out what it is. The Detective also went to school with the moms and it is mentioned many times..We never find out why this is important. Jacob is brain dead and we are told that his father is a rheumatologist. However, he never is included in medical discussions about Caleb. There are so many plot lines that could be used for several novels.

For me, this book was a first draft and needed lots of revision for plot. This book started with lots of promise and ended with an epilogue that made me roll my eyes.
Thank you Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In The Best of Friends by Lucinda Barry, three families are torn apart by a tragedy after three of their sons spend the night together. One son is dead, one is in a coma and one refuses to speak. No one knows what actually happened! While dealing with their grief and their own hidden secrets, each couple must sort through what happened and figure out it if is possible for their friendships to survive this tragedy.

This was a compelling story. Immediately, I was pulled into the lives of these families who were all experiencing grief and loss in their own ways. I definitely wanted to know what happened and wanted to keep turning the pages to find out! There were moments of heartbreak that felt very real, and moments of motherhood that felt raw and authentic. I thought this was a thought-provoking and interesting story.

I had a few frustrations with the story though. My biggest frustration was that I could not keep track of which family was which! The story switches between the perspectives of the three wives/mothers: Kendra, Lindsey and Dani. For a large majority of the book (nearly the whole book), I could not remember which woman was married to which man and which children belonged to them. Which made for a very frustrating reading experience! I felt like I needed to make a family tree for each family to keep them all straight as I was reading. But then this didn't seem like it should be that complicated of a book that would require me to make a chart in order to follow it. I wonder if this would have worked better in third person instead of first person? It was hard to distinguish the voices of each women in first person as it switched between them.

There was also one little plot point about a character who appeared to have a drinking problem. But the problem only lasted for about one chapter, and then it really wasn't mentioned again. What happened with that? I was left wondering what the point was.

Overall, I would give this 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it despite some of the frustrations that I had while reading. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for sending me an advance copy in exchanged for my honest review.

Quick summer read! 4 out of 5 stars.

Three best friends (Dani, Kendra, & Lindsey) are living every parent's nightmare when an accident occurs with their high school sons, leaving one dead, one in a coma, and one too traumatized to speak. As they dig deeper, it becomes apparent that it might not have been an accident and that each of them is holding more secrets than they let on.

Told through the shifting perspectives of Dani, Kendra, & Lindsey, the book was very fast paced, but I did sometimes have trouble keeping up with who was narrating. Lucinda Berry was able to weave an engaging novel with a heartbreaking, beautiful story about love, loss and friendship.

Thank you Lucinda Berry, Thomas & Mercer, and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley

Oh my heart! You will definitely need the tissue box for this heartbreakingly beautiful story about love, loss and friendship. From the minute I read the synopsis through to the very last page I was absolutely hooked on this story! The book is fast paced (I loved the short chapters) and I loved that we got to see the story unfold from the three different mothers points of view. I really feel like Lucinda did a wonderful job in creating really relatable characters and I was completed invested in all three families and their storylines. The subject matter at times was very heavy but I think Lucinda did a beautiful job in portraying the raw emotions of the characters and really made me remember that we need to cherish the ones we love and never take them for granted. I can't wait to need more from Lucinda Berry!

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

What a heart-wrenching read!

It's the story about 3 boys. They are best friends like their mothers......or so it seems. Then 1 night tragic strikes and it leaves 1 boy dead, 1 in a coma and braindead and 1 boy not talking. What could have caused this tragic accident or was it an accident?

We see the story unfold through the eyes of the 3 mothers who've been best friends since school. They each have to come to terms with what happened but also have to deal with their own problems.

It's such a sad story and your heart aches for everyone involved. I found the characters well developed and they all struggle with everyday problems that made them feel more real. It's a story about friendship and family. About finding the truth no matter how much it will hurt. And in the end, it's a story about love.

A very well written book that I can highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for gifting me The Best of Friends in exchange for a honest review!
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This is an emotional story about three women - Lindsey, Kendra and Dani - who have been best friends all their lives living in the same suburban neighborhood and who happen to have their three sons - Sawyer, Jacob and Caleb - who are also thick friends.

One night, as the 3 boys are hanging out at Dani’s house, Kendra overhears a gun shot. We find out that Sawyer is dead, Jacob is in a vegetative state and Caleb is too traumatized to speak.

The 3 women and their husbands scramble to puzzle the pieces of this unforeseen tragedy in their respective ways testing boundaries of family and friendship to the extreme.

Until about the first quarter of the book, I was irritated with having to keep up with the names and associations because too many characters were introduced at the same time. But fortunately, as you read along, you form a connection with each of the three households and everything starts to make sense.

While I was expecting this book to be a thriller, it turned out to be family drama/women’s fiction. The themes of loyalty to family vs. loyalty to friendship and how to navigate when the lines get blurry between the two, were palpable throughout the book. I also enjoyed reading how men and women react to their child’s crisis differently while holding one’s own unique personality.

The ending had me bawling like a baby and reminded me to cherish the ones we love and never take them for granted because they could be stripped away from us with the blink of an eye. I strongly recommend this book if you love reading about women, mothers, parenting and marriage.
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Posted on Instagram as and Goodreads on August 16, 2020
Will also be posted on Amazon on Pub Date, August 18

Lindsey, Kendra, and Dani have been best friends since they were young. Their dream of getting married and having husbands who were friends with each other, and living near each other, and having kids together all came true. Then one night, there was a shooting at a sleepover at one of their houses which left one of their boys dead, one in a coma and the other too traumatized to speak. As the investigation into what happens begins to unfold, secrets from all three families come spilling out, and Lindsey, Kendra and Dani aren't sure if they will be able to hold onto the bonds of friendship after all of this is over.
This was so good. I could not put it down. It was told in alternating chapters in each of the women's voices so you got to see the story from all sides. I really got invested in all of their stories. It covered a wide range of hot topics: underage drinking, drug use, emotional cheating, spouse and child abuse, and verbal abuse. This is perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult's books. This book will grab your attention from the first page and not let go until the surprise twist at the very end.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Thomas&Mercer for an advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

The Best Of Friends by Lucinda Berry was an enjoyable read. It was well written and kept me glued to each page. It was first and foremost about family, but also betrayal, death, and grief.

I really liked the premise of the book. I found the characters interesting and the plot believable. The fact that it was told from multiple POV's only enriched the story. The whodunit and more importantly why, kept me turning page after page. I really liked the lifelong friendships between the mother's of the boys, as well as the boy's themselves friendships. The suspense was nail-biting good.

Overall, I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a fast paced, engrossing family drama/mystery. This was my first book by the author, and I look forward to reading more.

Thank you so much to #Netgalley for the ARC.

This was such a heartbreaking story. We have three best friends who grew up together. When they were younger they dreamed about never being apart. Lindsey, Kendra and Dani want to share their lives together. Live near each other, raise children and share their lives as friends can. It reminded me of my three best friends. We grew up together, live near each other and our kids are like family.
The three women all have sons who are as close as their moms, until one night tradegy strikes.
Its a story about the bonds of friendship and suspicion.

Thank you so much for the read!

Kendra, Dani and Lindsey have been best friends since childhood. All three of them are married. They have kids about the same age, including three teenage boys, Sawyer, Jacob, and Caleb who are also very good friends like their mothers. The book begins with a life-altering tragedy when a tragic accident befalls their teenage boys, leaving one dead, another in a coma, and a third too traumatized to speak. No one knows what happen that night. The details of what really happened that night are unknown to all but the three boys that were there. What really happened?

It is all about family, friends and secrets. The book is told from the perspective of all three women's. I liked the book and the story but I had a hard time distinguishing between the characters and this made me go back and forth to see to check to see who was actually speaking because of the similarities. Overall all it is a good read and I found it more of a women’s fiction than a thriller.

For me it is 3.5🌟/5🌟

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

Well now I am on a hunt for all of Lucinda Berrys books because this was absolutely awesome!!!!!

Three woman have been friends since High School. They grow up and each have children that grow up together as well. Since they're all so close, the believe they know everything about their boys. Yes, they've snuck to parties and stole some booze, the normal things. When a tragic accident happens, the women are forced to learn a lot more about the boys relationship then they ever expected.

Relationships are pressured, truths are revealed. Is their friendship strong enough to pull through what really happened that night?

Told from all three women's POV, The Best Of Friends is a great read !

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this in exchange for my honest review.

A quick, engaging read. This book follows the death of the teenage son of one of three best friends, presumably by a son of one of the other two friends.