This book definitely was not for me. The writing style just didn’t work and I didn’t find it to be suspenseful at all. The narrator did a good job reading, I just couldn’t get into the storyline or plot

Bella and Kate became friends when they were young children. Then Kate moves away suddenly when they're 17 and Bella doesn't hear from her until they run into each other years later and rekindle their friendship. It can't possibly still be as toxic when they're adults as it was decades ago, can it? These two really shouldn't be friends, but they seem to keep their friendship going off and on and on and off until their dying day.

What a ride this was. Neither character is particularly likable or relatable in my opinion. It was a little difficult to follow along at times, but most chapters were pretty short, and it was only took about 2 1/2 hours of my time, so that kept me going. I'm seeing others say there are no quotation marks and it reads like a play in the print form, so I guess that's why it's confusing in the audio version.

Overall, I thought I was getting a thriller, but it was not even close to one, and I'm not really sure what it was about other than following their toxicity for like 80 years. This author's unique writing style just isn't for me.

This intriguing novel kept me entertained from start to finish. I listened to the audiobook and thought it was very well done. The story follows two friends over their lifetimes and it is a toxic friendship. The twists and turns just kept coming and I loved the ending. A very interesting read!

THE GOOD:
A look at friendship from childhood through to old age. Bella and Kate go through lots of ups and downs with each other, but always seem to eventually find their way back to each other.
Bella seems a bit obsessed with Kate, in that way where you think she'd rather be Kate, so that is a good lesson-learned from the book - to avoid those types of relationships.
The audiobook used two different narrators for Bella and Kate, which was helpful.

THE BAD:
Kate is not a good person. This relationship between them seems toxic and creepy.
Quasi-spoiler: Are we supposed to believe they're actually lesbians who just don't want to admit it until they're in their 70's? Weird. Don't feel that was really built into the plot, except for a couple of brief references that didn't built on tension or go anywhere.
The big reveal, solving a mystery, was not that interesting.
Kate's voice sounded a little old lady-ish, which was kind of off-putting.

CONCLUSION:
The book was interesting enough to keep listening, but by the end I was ultimately disappointed. And Kate was very unappealing of a person. She treated Bella horribly, which was not that fun to read about.

This is a book about toxic friendships and how they shape and alter our lives. Kate and Bella. Their toxicity spans decades. The audiobook made this for me. All of the elements to avoid in relationships are highlighted in this unhealthy bond. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my audiobook.

Ummm what??? Thank God I also had the audiobook because at least that helped figure out what was going on. This was definitely not a thriller, more a friendship fiction. There are no quotations or indicators of who is speaking so you don't know who is who. Not for me at all!!

*Thank you @macmillanaudio for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

It is good but predictable. The narrator is okay just didn't really resonate with me. The story is good.

I liked how quick of a read it was, however, I felt a little lost. It almost seemed intentional on the author's part to have the reader put the pieces together without true cut and dry conformation. If that's the case, she succeeded. I'm still a little confused on a couple of parts but for the most part I enjoyed it.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was a pretty good read, one of those books you don't want to put down but also not super original

this one was eerie to me. something about the best friend aspect I didn't really like. it felt too real. but all in all it was a great novel and I do recommend if it sounds like something you would enjoy. the twist was amazing and I loved the ending.

Following the intense, toxic friendship of two kindred spirits across their lifetimes, THE BEST FRIEND is a dark, suspenseful novel and standalone from author Jessica Followes.

I loved the pacing, as I tried piecing the story together and what would happen next. I listened to the audiobook, and it definitely helped to keep me engaged with the story.

*many thanks to Minotaur and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was terrible. There is no other way to put it. I ended up dnfing about halfway through and I don't know why I even went that far. The audio was very confusing as there were no, "he said" or "she said". I've heard that the physical book doesn't contain quotation marks and this translates into the reading of the audiobook. The narrators are great, but the book itself was confusing. It jumps around too much and is NOT a thriller/mystery at all. It's marketed poorly. This was more of a domestic drama. I would skip this book all together. I feel terrible about such a negative review, but this book was just not good. A hot mess is how I would refer to it.

Sadly, I could not get into this book. I tried multiple times and it just did not hold my interest. I was not a fan of the writing.

A totally unputdownable thriller, this book will have you gripped from the very first page until the jaw-dropping final twist. Flawlessly plotted, the story unfolds in layers, each one more shocking than the last. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.

This was one of my least favorite summer listens, mostly because it was rather dark and one of the women was too self-centered for me to focus on any possible good qualities. I think I would not have gotten through the whole book if I were reading it. The audio made it tolerable.

The story for me was overshadowed by the terrible narration. Granted, there may be a cultural piece to this, but I found the narrator very hard to understand. The voice was not enjoyable to listen to.

this book was a miss for me. it wasn't really a thirller. wasn't really catching my attention. It was more confusing than gripping.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Jessica Fellowes for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was definitely not what I was expecting but I'm not mad about it! I enjoyed the setup of the book going from when the two friends were very young until they were old in age. I loved the different conflicts that came up and how the author described them. I wouldn't classify this as too much of a suspenseful book, though there are some dark things that happen. But there wasn't too much suspense in my opinion. I did like how Jessica chose to end the story, and I felt there was a sense of closure.

I have read other reviews that said they were disappointed with the style of writing or confused while reading it because of the way it was written. However, I listened to the audiobook and had no trouble keeping up with who was talking or what was going on. The narrators, Antonia Beamish and Lucy Scott, did a wonderful job and the way they handled the conversations between the two main characters was done really well, making it feel like a true conversation between characters.

This story encompasses decades of friendship. There are happy times as well as sad times during the friendship. There are also some unforgivable incidents during the friendship. I did not see the ending coming. Thank you NetGalley for the audio eARC.