I thought the concept of this book was really unique! I love multi-POV stories and I enjoyed that you got to hear from all three characters. Even though the husband was right sometimes about the friend, I found his section to be unbearable! The friend’s section at the end was a welcomed reprieve.

One thing I didn’t love about this book was that it almost felt like reading stream of consciousness. I’m not sure if that was intentional or just the writing style of this author. I noticed I have a harder time following books without quotation marks or italics to designate speech. I think if this book had quotations, I would have enjoyed it more. Also, there were some parts where the characters seemed to ramble on about things that weren’t necessary to the plot/their character development. The husband’s section was particularly repetitive.

Other than my issues with the writing style, I thought this book was interesting and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick read to devour in one sitting!

I really enjoy books with multiple perspectives, and I was intrigued by the concept of this book taking place over the course of one night. That said, I'm not sure what to make of this book. I thought the writing was good--tense, taut, compelling. I wanted to keep turning pages, which is the mark of a good story. There was a sense of suspense... which is why the ending fell so flat. I thought this was building up to something big. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters. None of them is particularly likeable. Is this book supposed to be about how marriage changes people? How disappointing it can be to lose a friend to a relationship? Is the "friend" character a sociopath? So many questions! It was a fun read, so I can't complain too much. I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to take away from this one.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my review.

The Three of Us is a sparse novel with three chapters narrated by the three characters, a woman, her husband, and her best friend. All of the action takes place over a single day.

The two girls have been best friends for decades, going back to their school years through to life after college. As teenagers, they had discussed eschewing their parents’ wishes for them, agreeing never to settle down, get married, or have children. However, things change as the central character matures, enough that she and her husband have started trying to have a baby. The best friend either fears that she’s being left behind or fears that her friend is losing herself (both?) and does all she can to reinforce the bonds of their friendship.

The three perspectives are expertly woven together and presented with a light touch. Readers are left to judge the various agendas and intentions of the characters to determine whether there are victims or villains, or just grey areas. This is a book that will leave you thinking long after the story has ended.

Maybe not a great wedding gift, but I recommend reading The Three of Us.

I wanted to like this so much it was honestly just all over the place. I thought the switched point of views would be interesting but that just fell flat and the writing style/format was also a bit disorientating— it jumped between present and the past in such a way that it was hard to grasp where some scenes were coming from, Also, I thought the book felt like it was completely lacking in substance— you’d think that after reading two hundred pages about only three characters I would have some feelings about them but I felt so disconnected from them throughout the book that all I feel towards the ending is indifference.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story takes place over the span of one day from the perspective of the wife, the husband and the friend. The husband and the wife’s best friend hate each other; they each think that the wife belongs to them and the hatred is purely stemmed from jealousy.
This book was hard to read. Not because of the story line, but because of the lack of punctuation. It was difficult to determine when someone was talking versus thinking due to absence of quotation marks, capitalization and periods. The only characters name we knew was the friend, Temi. The husband and wife are referred to as “my wife” “my husband” or “my friend”. That itself was annoying and bizarre. I did not enjoy this book and would not recommend it to a friend.

Unexpected ending to this engaging psychological novel about three people in a manipulative triangular relationship. Entertaining nd a fun read.

The Three of Us is a glimpse into the life of a well off Nigerian housewife, her husband, and her best friend. The complicated power struggle between the husband and the best friend, Temi. Temi, being the only character who's name you learn.
I can't decide if the lack of names of 2 of the 3 main characters is interesting or strange.
Although the situation is relatable, something almost everyone has experienced to a degree. A time when you're almost forced to decide between a best friend or your mate. I found the characters unrelatable. Well except for the drinking, I get that.
Over all nothing really happens in this book, At the very end it feels like something is about to happen, but then the book ends.
I also didn't like the lack of quotation marks in dialogue.
Thank you, Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC.

“The Three of Us” is one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read! The format is interesting, as it is told in three parts, by the wife, a husband, and Temi, the best friend of the wife. The characters are kind of blah and other than the BFF they are nameless. It is a quick read once you get the hang of the syntax.
The premise of the story is basically about the wife’s best friend Temi, who is portrayed by the husband as always intruding in their lives. The wife doesn’t consider it encroaching because they have been inseparable for many years, in fact, she really enjoys Temi being around. The husband has a different opinion, as it becomes very apparent that he really can’t stand Temi in their lives.
I liked this story as it does portray three different personalities; all from the same culture, but each with a different perspective of life and how their relationships should be. Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC.

This is an intriguing book following three characters – a wife, her husband and her best friend. Chapters alternate in point of view through the three. The gist is that the wife is being pulled two ways by her husband and best friend. The husband hates the best friend and vice versa. Which will the wife ultimately choose? Or can she make it work for all three of them?

I thought the writing flowed well and the characters were well-drawn. The different points of view didn’t really tell anything new, however, which was what I had hoped for. Basically, the same story was told three different times. This could have been very interesting if it revealed secrets from the different characters. I also can’t help but note that the ending was abrupt and disappointing. Just when we see the wife start to make her choice, the book ends. If we assume she chose a specific way, we are not shown how it plays out. I don’t usually have a problem with cliffhanger endings, but this one rubbed me the wrong way. I wanted more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for my opinion.

Heart pounding book that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Fantastic read!!!!!

The premise sounded interesting, but I struggled to finish this book. Although I don't have a problem with unlikable characters, this trio pushed me over the edge. By the time I made it through the first section, my patience was thin. I found the characters impossible to relate to on any level, which killed the book for me.

This short (less than 300 pages) book packs quite a punch. One narrator owns one-third of the long chapters. The characters are the wife in Chapter One, the husband in Chapter Two and finally, the wife's best friend (?) ibn Chapter 3.

All three characters are Black, of Nigerian descent and live in London. Other than Temi, the wife's friend, don't seem to have first names. The narratives build slowly, describing the origins and development of the trio's connection.

It's not until the third narrative that everything starts to fall apart, and you can see where the story is heading. I will include no spoilers here. Rather, I would encourage you to read this psychological portrait of female friendships, and marital relationships. And in between, get an interesting look at family dynamics with parents and siblings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks so much NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons.

This book follows 3 people over a course of a day - the husband, the wife, and the wife's best friend. Each chapter is told from a different POV and you learn a little bit about each character as the book goes on. There's a lot of psychological tension and an ending that made me go WTF! The whole book had me wondering what was going to happen as it is not your typical book setup. It was nice to read something different!

I struggled initially with the start of this book. The first character speaking, the wife, (there are three characters in the book, each claiming a third of the book explaining their view of the intertwining relationships and past experiences) seemed very self-absorbed and shallow, certainly not someone I would choose to hang out with. Her mother-in-law and even her husband are pressuring her to get pregnant. Her mother doesn't miss a chance to chide her choice of not working and putting her college education to use.
The second character, the husband, seems more intuitive than his wife and her childhood best friend, about the current interactions and how they make him feel. His thoughts/comments are often quite humorous.
The wife's best friend gives the largest context on their relationship, from their childhood up to the present.
She feels that her friend has totally abandoned her original committment (as youthful as it was!) of being her own person (for ever and ever) and never being under any man's thumb. She feels it is her duty to bring her friend to her senses, whatever the cost.
The one idea that permeates the entire novel and dictates the character's actions, is what they attribute to the Nigerian mindset of how children should behave, even as they move into adulthood. Nigerian children should all go to college, get professional degrees and well paying jobs/professions, (thereby giving their parents bragging rights) marry well and then produce many grandchildren for their parents. Oh, let us not forget that all the women should become proficient in catering to their husbands and keeping a perfect home. Whew! One might start thinking that the friend has the right idea!
I'm not sure I would have struggled to finish this book if I had not promised Netgalley a review. Normally I do not gravitate to books where characters have trouble figuring out what they want in life, but at least the last 2 characters were very clear on what their objectives were.
This is why I think the book ended on a stronger note than it started with and why I was eager to see who won in the end. But I could not tell who emerged victorious. Not sure what I missed, but it must have been something. I certainly don't have to worry about giving the ending away!! I'm hoping someone will clue me in. 🤔

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

This book is definitely not one of my favorites. The story is repetitive, uninteresting, and goes absolutely nowhere. None of the characters are particularly fleshed out or likeable, and, quite honestly, the wife is the villain. She has the power, and the responsibility to end the entire conflict yet she doesn't. The entire conflict is her fault and she refuses to have anything to do with it. Ugh

Just too slow for me, I’m afraid, is in my “Could not finish” pile. I understand the potential and appreciate the author’s attempt but it just fell flat for me.

I do thank the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, however.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
The way this is written is so terrible. There’s no quotation marks at all and paragraph spacing is so varied and makes no sense whatsoever. It doesn’t help that each sentence has the exact same structure and there’s no variation in tone at all. I can’t continue reading this book.

This book did not work for me at all. I really wanted to enjoy it based on some of the great reviews, but I could never get into it. The layout of the book was horrible, and the writing style was not my favorite. The story fell flat, and I didn’t care about any of the characters – they were all bad. I really wanted this one to work, but it didn’t.

I do want to extend my thanks to netgalley and the publisher, Penguin Group Putnam for my advanced copy. Due to how negatively I felt about this one I will only be posting my review on netgalley and goodreads and not my normal means of sharing. Thank you for understanding.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read the advanced copy of this book. I genuinely don’t like to leave negative reviews but this was one of the worst books I’ve read in quite some time. There is absolutely no plot, the ending is left without any resolution whatsoever. The book is told in 3 sections from the three individuals in the book. They say the name of one person yet never even mention the names of the others. They are the wife, husband and friend which is very strange. The friend is (I’m being nice) a rude, self-centered person who thinks her opinions, beliefs etc are how her friend’s life should be lived. She outright attempts to destroy a marriage and is pleased with herself by doing so. The wife loves both her husband and friend yet laughs in front of her husband while her friend blatantly insults him while she shows him affection…again what bizarre actions. There was nothing to be learned from the book, definitely was not a comedy in my opinion since all of the nameless characters were unlikable. Lastly, which may seem petty but the word “whilst” was used SO many times by all characters that I may scream if I ever hear it or see it in a book again. Would not recommend this book and actually let someone know who had the e-book too that I would suggest not to waste her time. She opted to delete it and not even bother reading it. I myself am sorry to have wasted my own time when I could have read an enjoyable book.

I enjoyed reading about the conflicts in the group, with the husband and the friend jockeying for best position to sway and influence the mind of the wife. The friend became very unsympathetic when she continued to take up time and space in the couple's house, always being around, taunting and teasing the husband. I was impatient with the wife for putting up with her friend's constant presence and harassment of her husband, until the end when I saw the point of view of the friend.

Her goal became clear. Her friend didn't want the wife to be a traditional, obedient wife, but an independent person as she was. I was surprised at the end and amazed at the wife, her motives and aims in the marriage unclear.

The book is a little unsettling, as the wife lost all credibility trying to fool both her husband and her friend, as I see it. I came away disliking all three characters. I wonder what the aims of the author were in this unusual book.