One of my favorite authors was reading an ARC and recommended this book so I was excited to get my own eARC. Based on the cover I expected it to be lighter, but it was kind of dark. The FMC was whiny at times but whole these are the things that came to mind, I couldn't put this book down, I was completely intrigued the entire time, And I was totally rooting for FMC at the end.
A group of friends gather to mourn the loss of one of their closest friends and one former member of the friend group shows up at the funeral. From there the group unravels around lies, half truths, manipulation and secrets the second friend brings back with her.

Told in current looks and flashbacks to when they first met and pivotal moments along their friendship, this story had some underlying psychological thriller vibes, a little dark mystery, while disguised as a light entertainment book.

#arc
#netgalley
#thefallout

The members of The Girlfriends Club have been there for one another through many of lifes ups and downs. The friends gather to celebrate the life of a friend and it’s during this reunion that a former member, Zara, shows up stirring up drama from the past that Naomi thought was settled. Naomi has what many would say is the “perfect” life. Handsome husband, twin children, and friendships she cannot live without. Once Zara comes back into the picture, the revelations and secrets start to wedge apart the friend group leaving Naomi questioning her friendships, marriage, and the reality of the life she has made.

I enjoyed the “found family” that forms The Girlfriend Club—even after some of the relationships end. The friendships in this group provided support, laughter, and guidance to each of the members; however, once Zara is reintroduced to the group that foundation of friendship quickly falls apart. The lack of communication that occurs between the adults, who are supposed to be best friends, is disheartening. Nevertheless, when looking at Zara’s personality and her background, you can see why she behaves the way, why her strategy is successful in creating a wedge, and how she can find people’s insecurities and use them to her advantage. Yet, it left me questioning how “good” of friends could this group have been if they could be manipulated so easily without communicating to one another? Naomi’s perspective on the events is frustrating and sometimes feels a bit delusional. The ability to ask for forgiveness and take ownership for your wrongdoings is important. I did appreciate her confronting her husband on the secrets and examining what she truly wanted out of life. This felt like a good step towards healing.

The topic of addiction, guilt, and codependency is well written. I did struggle at times to stay invested in the characters. I’m not sure if it was the timeline switches or perhaps, I need to reread when I am in a different place. Additionally, I did not realize it was the 4th book in the series. Reading the previous books could have helped with my level of engagement and investment with the characters and perhaps a better understanding of the dynamics. Overall, I would recommend it as a quick read for those who enjoy a bit of drama in their lives.

I struggled with this book, as a gentleman of a certain age I normally like to relate to the male main character, but I had reservations around him (nothing to do with the fact that he had muscles where I don't, of course) . I obviously also don't relate to the type of friendship that a group of women can have, but was fascinated by the interactions between them over the years. It was interesting , though, seeing the truth in what had happened gradually coming to light by the means of flashbacks. So although this isn't necessarily the type of book that I enjoy most it is a worthwhile read.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

Okay so I’m a bit conflicted on how to rate this one… my two main genres are romance and thriller, and I just read The Love Hack and found it to be a sweet romance, so based off of the blurb, I assumed we’d be going the same route. Yet, this reminded me more of a crazy psycho ex-girlfriend thriller, and I kept expecting someone to be kidnapped or shot. Now, I did realize afterwards that this book is the end of a series, so maybe if I had read the other books first the tone would have made more initial sense to me. So if you’re picking up this book as a cutesy romance, you will probably be disappointed… HOWEVER, if you pick this up as general fiction, or enjoy waiting for the other shoe to drop, then this will be great for you!

fatphobia? jokes about eating disorders? in 2024? nah.

this was a fast read and it was quite entertaining, but all these women were terrible friends to each other, and for what? for a man? for a master manipulator?

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review

Addictive domestic drama - strong emotions, all the feels - love, loss, betrayal, jealosy, secrets - family found and the bonds of true friendship. Losing yourself and finding yourself again - finding what is important in the ruins.

Do you know your friends as well as you think you do? And can you really trust them? This is a story of friendship that implodes when one of the friends tells the others something. It mainly affects Naomi, so will she fight for her friendships, or just let them go? This would be a good summer holiday read. Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the second Sophie Ranald book I have read in recent months and I enjoyed this book more than the first. This book has all the feels from romantic love to friendship love. It contains much drama between the characters which kept my interest. I appreciated her style in that she introduces the current day situation but then goes back in time in short bursts to explain how it came to be that way. I will definitely continue to read Sophie Ranald.

Thank you Net Galley, Sofie Ranald and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to preview this title and the opinions expressed are my own. The book is now available.

The Fall-Out although a fiction resembles real life, perhaps not in its entirety, but who has not had a friend who is jealous of relationships you might have and tries to get involved causing confusion? Friendships have to be cultivated, trust must be earned, lies should not be told because they may destroy everything. This story is an easy and engaging read, it's well-written, and will make you laugh, feel sad, and think about life.
I thank Ms. Ranald, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

This is the 3rd book I’ve read by Sophie Ranald and it’s definitely my favourite! I liked how it tied back to Not In A Million Years but it didn’t matter if you had read it or not, the overall context given was enough but you got some extra nuggets of info if you have read it. I think there are 2 other books in this ‘series’ which I will definitely read!

I really liked Naomi, she felt so real and everything she experiences and goes through really made me think. I thought how she navigates trying rediscover who she is was really well done. My heart bled for her at times as she has some rude awakenings with regards to her marriage and fulfilment as a mother and I think Ranald addressed this really well. I loved the chemistry between her and the others and you could so clearly picture them having their monthly The Girlfriend Club catch ups.

I think what really became clear to me when reading this was the playground antics unfortunately never end. The lies, secrets, whispers etc are constant in our lives and it all comes down to how we, and those around us, address them.

So yes definitely a book to add to the list, especially for summer reading. I flew through it and felt that it ended in a way that gave the reader a lot of closure, not just for Naomi but for the other characters as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my copy of The Fall-Out by Sophie Ranald.
The 5 girlfriends have all grown up with families, carriers and all the baggage that is accumulated over 20 years. Four have kept in close touch but one reappears now. Will this upset the harmony? A great Sunday afternoon read.
Sometimes it's better to leave the past behind.

An engaging read about love, friendships and loyalty. I enjoyed the depth of the characters and the time jumps to build the readers knowledge.

4🌟
Whilst I may not be the same age as those involved in the book, it felt like a very relatable write with the main character questioning her ability to be a mother, a wife and to find some purpose again. It also touches a lot on the theme of friendship, considering how some friendships can be toxic and manipulative and the difference that friends can make in our lives. I took a bit to get into it but once I did I found it was an easy read I wanted to get through, plus I liked the element of flashbacks every other chapter.

The second book I have read by Sophie Ranald and like the first 'The Love Hack' a real feel good book. It makes you want to cry and laugh alternately and in the end demonstrates that relationships don't necessarily work for ever. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

A pretty accurate book to represent aging friendships. The WhatsApp conversations are relatable although I have never heard the term semen gutters. It has stuck with me and will likely stay with me until my funeral.

I started the book reluctantly because I usually only ready romance or fantasy, but I was drown to story.

As you read, some chapters return to the past, and others are in current times. I will try my best not to give any spoilers.

At the beginning I feel sorry for the main character for the life she was living and the anguish she was feeling.

When she starts from the old group of friends, one of the characters stands out and everyone has had a friend like that, who seems to have their life together and everything is fine that you wonder if you're feeling jealous or if it's normal. compare so much

As the chapters passed, the writer put a flea behind her ear as to why this specific friend disappeared from the group in the chapters that deal with the present day.

And when she reappears, you wonder how nice that main character really is, but it becomes clear that this friend is annoying.

It's agonizing to read because the character has some very real insecurities and we end up identifying ourselves too much.

The book ends up exploring friendship and how some things can strain bonds that we think are unshakable

I think the book portrays the story of older women and the way they dealt with the situation was extremely immature and shows how they didn't have such a strong bond.

With 79% of the book I was happy that the main character finally took matters into her own hands and denied several situations, finally, she was fighting back, To be honest, I still had my doubts about the main character's husband but the author hasn't addressed this yet and I just want to see if this question will remain open

Those who use Kindle know that if you are at more than 80% and stop and everything is resolved, more drama comes and I couldn't let go of the feeling that the husband has bad fingers just yet. And as expected but really well written we go through what happened and I am extremely pleased with the development of the main character and how she dealt with the situations and in a very real way as well.

This book is really good! Well written and the ending is one that you identify with and that you have been rooting for since the beginning.

This was my second Sophie Ranald book and I must say I quite enjoyed it.

The Fall-Out is part of The Girlfriend's Club series but can also be read as a standalone. I finished the book and ran to Goodreads to add the other books from the series to my TBR.
The Fall-Out was quite different from the book I had previously read by Sophie Ranald (The Love Hack) - this one was very mysterious but still so fun to read!

The story is centred around Naomi and her close friend group.
They met many years ago when they were all watching their respective boyfriends play football. After agreeing that they were better off at the pub having a drink, a friendship was formed.
Years later, after the death of one of the friend group members, their friendship is not quite as solid as it used to be. Something or someone had caused damage along the way.

The story jumps from the present to the past while we get our detective hat on to find out what happened in this friend group to make it fall apart.

Thank you to Storm Publishing for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 3 of the Grirl's Friends series. I haven´t read the previous two books. I enjoyed reading this book, which is about friendship, marriage, raising children, and entering adulthood. There are some ups and downs in life, and some decisions made earlier in life may prove to be less glamorous than they appear at first sight.

Thank you netgalley and Storm for this arc.

I'm not sure how to feel about this one. It absolutely is not a rom com. Some reviews feel it's more a thriller but it isn't that either.. I'd say it falls in the womens fiction category.

This is the 4th in a series, which I wasn't aware of. The other 3 maybe provided some more background and depth to the womens friendships.

For 4 grown women who have been friends for years to just believe the stories that an estranged friend told them is ridiculous. There should have been grown up conversations and all would have been sorted. The marriage was a disaster from the beginning, who didn't see that one coming. Just surprised he willingly took the kids so often.

I'll round to 3 stars but would go with 2.5, this one just doesn't do it for me.

There are so many emotions in this book that twist your heart. It will make you feel. I could relate to the MC on so many levels. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a book hangover and be stuck in my head after this one.