Thank you Net Galley and Storm Publishing for approving me for this eARC as I have enjoyed other books by Sophie Ranald before. Overall this book did seem to drag on though and not exactly have much of a plot. I loved that it was about friendship and that when secrets and lies filtered into a friendship group it can end up hurting not just the friends but the liar themselves. I for some reason couldn’t get over that the author never explained who Andy was, how he actually fit into the group, especially since his funeral is what brought Zara back and all the drama. Even when they mentioned Andy again in different points, you never really were given his story and how he really became friends with the rest of the girls.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
I had high hopes for "The Fall Out" by Sophie Ranald, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. From the start, I struggled to understand what the book was supposed to be. The plot felt aimless, and it seemed like absolutely nothing happened. It was so boring that I found myself constantly waiting for something—anything—to occur and hold my interest.

The main female character, who also served as the narrator, was insufferable. Her constant complaints and lack of growth made it difficult to connect with her or care about her journey. This was supposed to be a romance or a book about friendship, but all the characters were just crappy to each other, which made it hard to root for any of them.

In terms of the romance aspect, there was a lack of genuine connection and chemistry between the characters. The friendships also felt shallow and toxic rather than supportive and meaningful.

While reading, I couldn't help but think that this story would have been better suited as a thriller. Introducing some thrilling aspects could have added much-needed excitement and intrigue. Unfortunately, as it stands, "The Fall Out" failed to engage me, and I did not enjoy it.

Liked this book. Found it a bit slow to start but I persevered and really enjoyed it! Thanks Net Galley

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

Such a fantastic plot! I could not put the book down once I began reading it. I cannot wait for it to be released this month. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

This book revolves around Naomi and her tightly-knit group of friends who call themselves the Girlfriends' Club who have bonded over the years and have a meet up the 2nd Wednesday of every month.
Naomi is 'happily' married to Patch with twins, and when their friend Andy dies, Zara turns up at the funeral with secrets that need to be told which creates lots of questions within the group. This makes Naomi question her life with Patch and also the girlfriends Club.
The book shows how a toxic friend can ruin a group with secrets and lies.
This would be a good beach read book.
Thanks to Sophie Ranald, NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an advanced copy of this book.

This book was my first by Sophie Ranald. I liked the idea of the book a lot and you can really see how this is a life-story and how amazing and at the same time exhausting friendships can be. You have to put in a lot of work and won’t be safe of betrayal.
The only thing that kept me a bit stressed is that there was so much happening at once from time to time that it was hard to keep track of everything.

this book by Sophie Ranald is based around the stories of 5 friends who are a close knit group. this group is rocked by the relevation of one of the group and it's shaken and rocked by the revelations confessed.
a good read

I'm in two minds about this book.
On the one hand, I loved the friendship group and I loved the flashback scenes and how Naomi and Patch's relationship evolved to where it is now.

What this book's downfall was, it seemed as if this story did not know what it wanted to be about? Was it about the friendship group, was it about the failing marriage between Naomi and Patch or was it about Zara and her antics? I felt this story tried to do too much. If it had focused on one of these avenues, it would have had a stronger and more concise message than trying to squeeze all three of these big storylines into one story.

This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed. I didn’t realise until looking at other reviews that this book is apparently part of a series which focuses on all the female characters but it can still be read as a standalone.
I enjoyed the pace of the book and felt it was really relatable with the friendship WhatsApp group. I liked the fact it focused on middle age women and the stresses and strains that come with life such as parenting, marriage etc
I would recommend this book and am definitely going to read the other books in this series .
Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Sophie Ranald for an advance copy in exchange of an honest and unbiased review.

This is my first book by this author. The writing style is lovely. The plot is interesting and well thought out. It's about friendship, relationships, betrayal, lies, secrets, and finding one's self.


Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, & the author for this eARC.
*All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Making Assumptions
Making Excuses
Keeping Secrets

None of these things ever turn out well…

When Zara, who was once the fifth member of the inseparable “Girlfriends’ Club” resurfaces at a friend’s Funeral and drops a “bombshell”, Naomi’s life implodes.

Zara’s revelation shocks the group and immediately, their daily “WhatsApp” group chat falls silent.

All of a sudden, Naomi finds herself sitting at home instead of sipping Strawberry Mojitos with the girls who she has met up with on every second Wednesday for years.

Old wounds have been opened and loyalties have been questioned- and Naomi will be forced to confront the truth about her past.

Can the Girlfriends’ Club survive “the Fall-out” or will Naomi, Rowan, Kate and Abbie all go their separate ways for good?

Sophie Ranald is a NEW author to me, so I had no idea when I downloaded this book that it was book FOUR in the “Girlfriend Club Series”-Naomi’s turn to star.

At first, I had trouble keeping the women straight but had I started at the beginning they would have been “old friends” by now! Still, after a few chapters, I got my bearings and I DO think the book works fine as a stand-alone, although by the end of it, I decided that I WANTED to go back to read the earlier books in this series.

P.S. I Hate You is Abbie’s story
Santa, Please Bring Me a Boyfriend is Rowan’s and
Not In a Million Years is Kate’s book

These are likable and relatable ladies living in London and Sophie Ranald writes stories to CELEBRATE FRIENDSHIP as well as to touch on the highs and lows of dating, marriage and parenting.

I don’t know if they all feature a “moral dilemma” but this one definitely does, adding substance to the story-and it’s the first book in awhile that I could not wait to get back to reading any chance that I got, because it felt so REAL.

I enjoyed my time spent with the “Girlfriend Club” and look forward to reconnecting with them, when I go back to read the earlier novels!

NAOMI’s story- “The Fall-Out”- will be published on July 19, 2024.

Thank You to Storm Publishing for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. These are my candid thoughts!

Friendship among women is something worth of an extended study. It’s funny how coincidental it’s for us to form groups of five friends, have all type of crises through time and finish with a group of four or absolutely dissolved.

No matter how many times we repeat the experience we never stop trying to rebuild our own community of friends. We have girls code that most of us respect, and our friends are the support system our families, no matter how lovely they are, sometimes lack.
Whenever we reach that blissful feeling of support you feel unstoppable and the strongest in your life.

Kate, Rowan, Abbie, Zara and Naomi met through their boyfriends and immediately created the Girlfriends’ club. At the beginning they all wanted companionship and support but as life goes on, and complications appeared they will have to work every step of the way if they want to keep their emotional support system alive.

This book reminded me of the bad, the not so good and the best moments of girl friendship. The insecurities and life experience in life and how you deal with them goes in line with how you build a strong relationship around you.
I enjoyed the book in spite of the betrayal between Patch, Zara and Naomi, honestly my least favorite characters in the story.

Friends by fate, supporting the boyfriends at a football match, the boyfriends are long gone but the girls friendship remains.
Zara the glamorous and elusive friend flits back to London for catch ups whilst the remaining 4 meet more regularly.
The death of Andy is a catalyst that brings them all back together.
Has time healed hurts or are they being pinched and prodded again?
Slights, hurts and betrayals are coming through to splinter the group but who is at the root of the issues?

Lots of drama in this one.

Friendships, relationships and lies. This book has everything. Some parts were a bit surface level and I was hoping characters and the plot digged deeper. I definitely liked some characters and their storylines more than others. I do think it would make a great book club choice as the discussion would be top tier.

Thank you NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Sophie Ranald for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story focuses on a group of friends - switching between how they found each other and their early friendship and then present life.

I loved the friendship aspect of the book and the drama was interesting but overall it just felt slow to me and surface level. I expected more emotion in a few different parts.

I liked this book, the plot was good and hooked me. It’s a story about friendship, relationships and betrayal.

Five friends that all have different, but similar lives, it’s kids and marriages, while one friend is living it up in Paris. All is not true though, the friendship is made up of lies, but who’s lying?

I liked the way the chapters was the present and past. You get hooked into the woman’s life and how everything happened. It’s a fun, quick 4 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advance reader copy.

This book was quite slow paced, so it was hard to get into at the beginning.

The book starts with a death of a close friend Adam and then another friend from their past shows up at the funeral. With Zara’s arrival, the FMC starts questioning everything. Especially her marriage and how loyal her husband is.

I was expecting a lot more anger and frustration, but even though we didn’t get that, it was still an emotional read.

It was definitely giving “Happy Place” vibes, just more adult version of it.

Overall it was a good read.

This book was really enjoyable to read! It was my first Sophie Ronald book and I really liked the character development and the deeper darker tone of the book! It definitely was a meaningful read about a friend group and resilience!

This was an emotional rollercoaster to read! I will need some time to recover from this.

It took some chapters for me to be really involved with the characters and the story, but all of the sudden I found myself very emotional and totally invested in this! I actually cried during some parts of the book, which is rare. Sophie really nailed this one! I found myself getting really worried about the Naomi several times during the book. The characters were well developed and the story almost too realistic. This was both a hard read (because I really FELT Naomi’s emotions as my own here. They were THAT well described) and a fantastic read all at once.

Thank you so much to Storm Publishing, NetGalley and Sophie Ranald for letting me have this ARC. All opinions are my own.