Sophie Ranald closes out her fantastic 'Girlfriends’ Club' series with 'The Fall Out'. This time it's Naomi's turn.

Married to Patch with children, Naomi's life blows up with the return of the group's estranged friend Zara at Andy's funeral (whose addiction has been a series side plot).

Interspersed with flashbacks, we learn Patch was once Zara's on-off boyfriend originally before he hooked up with Naomi in very messy and murky circumstances. In the present day their marriage is not all as rosy as Naomi likes to believe, with Patch working long stints in Scotland while her career and life is on-hold to be a stay at home parent, essentially following Patch's desires.

I appreciated the journey Naomi goes on to make deecisions about her marriage and finally face up to her role in the messiness of her and Patch. I was surprised by Patch, and I appreciate how Ranald sublty shaded his character, though I do wish at the end we saw less of the hints we saw at the end. He did not deserve it! Zara is an agent of chaos and while she's an antagonist I appreciated that her presence becomes a catalyst for Naomi. I found myself skipping some of the Zara bits as I found it excruciating waiting for the final bomb you just knew she was going to drop on Naomi.

Sophie Ranald's writing is at its best with her ability to create characters who undertake growth. Farewell, Girlfriend's Club, I will miss you.

Thank you to Storm and NetGalley for the ARC.

An easy and quick read and to be honest i kept reading to find out what the ‘big secret’ was - overall not a bad read but found some of the characters awful and very childish.

I didn't like this book very much. It just didn't resonate with me. I didn't think the characters were very believable and the subject matter made me feel uncomfortable. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

DNF at 44%.

Naomi is married to Patch (Patrick) with two small children. She and three friends meet every month and chat on WhatsApp most days. They met while watching their respective other halves play football and while some of the other halves have been and gone, the Girlfriends Club remains constant.

The story opens with the friends preparing for the funeral of a close friend, as the group struggle to come to terms with their grief they are dealt another bombshell when a former friend, Zara, turns up at the funeral.

Zara has always been effortlessly glamorous, sophisticated, jet-setting around the world for work. Oh, and she was the one who was dating Patrick originally.

Zara's returns seems to fracture their tight-knit group, suddenly she's meeting up for drinks with individual members of the group, popping round to see Patch's mother, etc and Nami begins to feel increasingly isolated as the once busy WhatsApp group falls suspiciously quiet. Is Zara trying to ostracise Naomi? Is she trying to win Patch back?

This had [author:Shari Low|687740] vibes, complete with flashbacks to when the five women were all still friends. Unfortunately I have fallen out of love with the way Shari Low keeps the reader n tenterhooks the entire book only for the 'reveal' to be a let down and I could see this going the same way. Also, TBH I didn't find Naomi a very likable character (or Zara) so I was rooting for Patch to go off with someone else LOL.

Anyway, I'm nearly halfway through and its just Naomi's insecurities swirling around and around so I'm giving up.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was a good read for some summer free time. A story about long time friendship and its history and family.

The Fall-Out is about a group of of women who met while attending a sporting match being played by their boyfriends. They have since become a tight knit group. We are introduced to the characters through a then and now aspect. I was interested to find out exactly what had happened to cause a rift between two of the members of the group.

As the story unfolded, I was more intrigued to find out what happened.

A story of loyalty, friendship, love and lies.

At times funny, sad and in between.

A nice fun beach read.

Thanks to netgalley and Storm Publishing for the arc.

Full of dynamic and complex characters, this book is the story of a group of friends navigating a secret from the past. Naomi is the FMC that is abandoned by her close knit group of friends when an old acquaintance shows up to reveal a secret from her past. Naomi must look internally to face her secrets and fix the many issues in her life while hoping she can mend her broken friendships.

really great quick summer read!!! i haven't read anything from sophie before, but i really enjoyed her writing style. highly recommend!!!

This was not what i expected at all when i first decided to read this book. Im a silly little "choose a book by its cover" girly, and for some reason, i was expecting a cute romance, nothing more (i do love a romance). But in all of the best ways, this book surprised me. It's a beautiful story about friendship, finding yourself, and choosing to fight for yourself. There is so much depth in this book, with loads of character development and character background, which was well thought out too. I loved the friendship group described, and i really felt for the characters. 5/5 would recommend.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was an engaging and enjoyable exploration of female friendships. Although I haven't read the previous books in this series, I found The Fall Out worked well as a standalone book. Naomi was well written, as were the supporting characters, and I was sympathetic and invested in Naomi's story.

Following suit with the 3 previous books in the series, Ranald delivers another easy read that builds on the story of Girlfriends' club member, Naomi. The daily grind of motherhood and wife life has taken over for Naomi and she is wondering what else is out there for her. This novel deals with the ups and downs of friendships, romance, and motherhood. With a dash of humour, a touch of loss, and a sprinkle of unbreakable bonds, this is definitely the recipe for a good summer read! Thanks #netgalley and #stormpublishing for the ARC

After previously reading the love hack I was excited to read this. This is a book about female friendship also the struggles of growing up. This book is funny and sad at times. It also follows a dual timeline of past and present. It was an enjoyable read. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

The Girlfriend’s Club consists of a group of women brought together by their significant others soccer games - they don’t have as much interest in watching them play when they can get together in a pub and gossip. Over time this turns into deep friendships held together by a monthly meet up. The plot line is quite rom-com with a youthful feel and some borderline high school behavior. There’’s backstabbing, gossip, cold shoulders and conniving. It was a quick and easy read, ideal for a holiday poolside.

Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Sophie Ronald for the eARC.

This book was a little slow to start but after the first few chapters it had a great pace and kept my interest. I loved that this book really showcased friendship and all the growing pains that come along with it. It was a great representation of what real friendships mean and what it takes to keep them going.

I’ve never read a book by this author before but I absolutely loved it! Thank you so much for the ARC! I loved this story, it was extremely well written. Will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm publishing for the eARC of The Fall Out.

I absolutely adored The Love Hack, but it took me a few chapters to get into The Fall Out but once I did I couldn't put it down! I got hooked on the storyline with the girlfriends group and what actually happened to cause the 'fall out.'

I will say though I was worried I wouldn't be able to get past the author using the term 'Semen Gutters' to refer to a part of the male body. Personally I don't think it fit the vibe of the book.

I'll rate this 3.5 stars.

Sophie Ranald’s writing is now a firm favourite of mine. This novel feels a lot more “grown up” writing-wise - she has settled into her style and writes brilliant, rounded characters with real depth. This novel is great for those who really love a character exploration and feels very like modern Marian Keyes.

A quick read, this will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the end. Highly recommended.

Thank you to netgalley and Storm publishing for an advanced copy of The Fall out. To start with, I'm not sure what genre I would say this book was, it certainly keeps you guessing. In my opinion this book was a bit of a slow burner but that soon alters and you become hooked. A story of five girlfriends and how their friendships have evolved over time. Truth,trust,trauma,love,lies,life and loss just some of the words to express the emotional journey within this story. 3.5* from me.

I had a bit of trouble getting into this book, but after the first 3 chapters I got hooked.
It's a mix between a light adult romance and a thriller. It tells the story of a group of friends who mourn the loss of one of their friends, a lost friend comes back for the funeral and brings alot of drama.
There is some back and forward between the past and the present and this was very well written, I didn't get lost and it added to the story. I also love that the writer brings a lot of relatable subjects and situations, which made me connect more with the characters. Didn't love the FMC, too whiney for me.

I hadn’t come across this author before so was quite intrigued and unsure what to expect.

This book focuses on friendship throughout and all the trials and tribulations that come with it.

It had humour and drama throughout and the story was inoffensive, but also a bit bland for me. It was written well though and I would give the authors other books a go.