I’ve been trying to work on my older NetGalley books that I didn’t get to the year they were published.

I was actually hoping this one would be a winner for me, but I just couldn’t get over the pettiness and immaturity of the two main characters at odds and didn’t want to waste any more time on a book that wasn’t working for me.

DNF @ 15%

I found myself laughing out loud sometimes and it brought so much joy to the time that I was able to read it. Other times I found myself tearing up while reading the story. I was so enthralled, entertained, and moved by this story and its wonderful characters, that I didn’t want it to end....ever. If I could, I’d still be with Samantha, Holly, Katie, and the new friends they met along the way on their oftentimes hilarious but always poignant journey.

There were adventures and worries and forgiveness and courage and discomfort and comedy and wisdom and always, above all else, love. Ann Garvin has given us a gift with a witty and warm, relatable and captivating novel that I want to wrap up and share with everyone I love. Right now, I want to get back in the van with those women and start all over again. I’m going to miss them all, but I have no doubt that I will never forget them. You really did find yourself traveling along with them and wishing you could pull up a chair and sit with them through their adventures. Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Not all ARCs I want a physical copy of on my shelf, but this one is a must. Unique and different to a traditional friendship plot line, I was invested in the MC’s plans from start to finish. Great writing and will highly recommend to my followers. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my review

I wish I could have kept track of the number of times I literally, LOL, when reading this book. This was a fun, yet saddening book to read and I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a different/original.

"Widowed Samantha Arias hasn’t spoken to Holly Dunfee in forever. It’s for the best. Samantha prefers to avoid conflict. The blisteringly honest Holly craves it. What they still have in common puts them both back on speed dial: a mutual love for Katie, their best friend of twenty-five years, now hospitalized with cancer and needing one little errand from her old college roomies.

It’s simple: travel cross-country together, steal her loathsome ex-husband’s VW camper, find Katie’s diabetic Great Pyrenees at a Utah rescue, and drive him back home to Wisconsin. If it’ll make Katie happy, no favor is too big (one hundred pounds), too daunting (two thousand miles), or too illegal (ish), even when a boho D-list celebrity hitches a ride and drives the road trip in fresh directions."

The premise of the book lured me in, and when I saw the rating on Goodreads, I thought I would enjoy it, but unfortunately it simply wasn't for me.

Thanks to publisher and Netgalley for sending me an e-arc of this book!!

A fun romp of a book about friendship and all the changes life throws at you and how you handle it. A fun read!

Anne Garvin has this way of writing that weaves the characters into your heart while adding a nice chuckle here and there. I Thought You Said This Would Work is definitely one of her best.

Is all the feels still a thing? This novel of friendship, too long held misunderstandings and cancer has it all. When Katie's remission is in unsure territory, she enlists her best friends Holly and Samantha to retrieve her dog Peanut from her ex. Trouble is, he is in California and Peanut is a Great Pyrenees that will have to be driven back to Wisconsin. A road trip involving two estranged college friends, a VW camper and D list celebrity ensues. This was a much more emotionally packed book than I thought it would be and the characters were so well written, it was as if you were a part of the group. Don't nitpick too much about a couple little things and enjoy the trip.

Thanks to the publishers, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. It's about three friends, Sam, Holly and Katie, who are the best of friends in college. Inexplicably, Holly stops speaking to Sam and they do not speak for years. But their friendship with Katie remains strong, so when Katie is hospitalised, Holly and Sam have to join forces to help her. They will both do anything for Katie, even if it means travelling across the country together.

During the trip the acquire new friends, uncover long buried secrets and discover a lot about themselves. It's funny and heart-wrenching and beautifully written. I read it in one sitting and loved every page.

Through the years, friends come and go. There are falling outs and some who just slip away. In I Thought You Said This Would Work by Ann Garvin, two old friends who have fallen out for reasons only known to one of them are forced to get back together for an unexpected cross-country road trip...

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery

This is fun, easy-going beach read with about a life-changing and sassy journey, which also contains some food for thought. If you want some easy read (but not a harebrained fluff), this might work for your summer read somewhere near the water! Yet, be prepared to suspend your unbelief about the course of Holly and Sam's friendship - the reason for a conflict is clear from the start (so no big secret) and the lack of any real maturity in never reaching out from both sides for at about 20 years is both unbelievable and sad.

An enjoyable read about friendship, love, and loss, as well as road trips, dogs, and a cat.

More profound than this description sounds.

This book made me laugh and cry but mostly laugh.

This is the story of three friends from college and while they were dear friends then, something happened that caused a rift between two of them. The funny thing is that only one of them really knows why and the other can only guess. One of the three has a reoccurrence with cancer which leads to a road trip for the other two to get a dog she lost in a divorce. What ensues is hilarity especially with the addition of an unexpected addition to the crew, a B (or maybe D) list celebrity that sat next to Samantha on the plane ride to CA. However, Summer proves to be worth bringing along with her spiritual beliefs and uncanny ability to see through to the heart of the matter.

Holly and Samantha, while pushed into making this road trip together, are able to work through their differences. It takes a lot of time to get to the bottom of the situation, but when they do they realize that communication would have resolved these issues years before now. It is also a testament to us to not let a misunderstanding end a friendship and to push the issue if necessary. I do think that the miscommunication created the hardened personality that Holly had towards life.

I laughed through most of this book from the situations, the texts between Samantha and Drew, and Summer's ditzy demeanor which I think was really a front. I will say that the ending was a gut punch even though we kinda knew it was coming. Some have said this could be like Thelma and Louise and I can see that in a way but no cliff.

I also appreciated the spotlight on Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. I didn't know this place existed and I am in awe of what they do for the animals of the planet. If I am ever in Utah, I will be visiting their facility.

We give this book 5 paws and it was the right book at the right time when I needed a laugh but a good cry as well.

Such a fun story! I actually laughed out loud at a few parts in this one. It was an easy read because you get lost in the story. Great job on this one.

I Thought You Said This Would Work is a fun road trip book with a friendship at the center of the story that will make you laugh and cry. Samantha and Holly are Katie's best friends. When bed-ridden with cancer Katie asks them to drive cross-country to save her dog that her ex-husband put in the pound because his new wife is allergic, they have to do it. Even though Samantha and Holly haven't spoken in years and Samantha doesn't even know why. The two are joined by a D-list celebrity adding another layer to things. There is some light romance, but the true star of this novel is the friendship. If you're looking for a great novel about friendship that will make you feel things, this is the one for you!

Samantha and Holly seem to have nothing in common besides a short-lived shared history and a mutual best-friend. When Katie seems to be facing another battle with cancer, the two ex-friends put their differences aside (sort of) for the greater good and embark on a ridiculous mission across America.

I found the premise for this book much better than the actual execution. For me, the characters were either unlikable or just beige; either way, not enough information to actually build them in to anything worth caring about. At no point did I feel invested, but instead like I was just kind of gazing at a mediocre scenery as I kept on driving, clocking up the pages.

I can see how this would appeal to many – there are some interesting themes and issues dealt with; however, the writing felt very clunky at times, and often sentences would go off on a tangent and I completely lost what was going on.

Not a bad read, but one I will very easily forget.

This novel is told from the perspective of single mother and about to be empty nester Sam. She, Katie, and Holly were college best friends, but 25 years later, Sam and Holly basically haven’t spoken since graduation. But when Katie has a cancer relapse, she asks them to go retrieve her ailing Great Pyrenees dog from her ex-husband across the country. With the help of a D list celebrity they meet on the trip, they embark on quite a journey, and maybe they’ll also finally clear the air between them. This definitely was not the most realistic book, and I definitely had times I wanted to shake passive Sam and hostile Holly and tell them to just get over themselves and talk. Yet that being said, it was a quick and fun read, I laughed and even teared up a bit, enjoyed the characters and would definitely read a sequel if there was one. 3.75 stars.

Samantha and Holly were the closest of friends, until Holly ghosted Samantha after they graduated from college. Not that Sam had too much time to worry about it--she was busy being a single mom to Maddie. But when their mutual BFF, Katie, goes out of cancer remission, Sam and Holly are forced to see each other again. And embark on a journey. Not just an emotional journey, but an actual 2000 mile roadtrip to recover Katie's beloved dog, Peanut, from her evil ex-husband. They're unexpectedly joined by Summer, a quasi-celebrity with surprising insight, and a small menagerie of other animals, as they race against time to get back to Wisconsin.

This novel is an emotional read. Occasionally I found it (and Sam) a bit too angsty, even if the characters are facing life and death situations. Summer, as her name suggests, adds a breath of fresh air to the story and keeps Sam and Holly in line. A refreshing reminder of the importance of valued friends during difficult times. #IThoughtYouSaidThisWouldWork #NetGalley

This is a story about lost friendships and trying to work together for a greater goal. Whilst the premise is good I found the characters unbelievable and the storyline a little irrelevant. Given the context of the journey the extreme feelings and situations the characters found themselves in jarred and didn't seem compatible with the gentler context. I didn't really enjoy this book but I like a read with quite a lot of substance, for those who like an easy going light read it may be more suited.