was looking for a good book about friendships what I found is an amazing book about friendships and second chances. Both Rachel and Claire grew up as circumstances of their youth. Rachel due to her father leaving the family and her having to return to take care of her sisters, mother, and nephew. Claire due to the fact of health issues in her childhood that put her under the protection of her parents and brother.

Rachel and Claire were childhood best friends that grew apart due to family status and are now coming back together. Becoming friends again pushed both women to see their past in a different light, come to terms with where they were now, and reach for the future with open arms. I believe that the future was the hardest for both women. They had lived in the past for so long, held on to what had happen to them that it was a huge struggle for them to be able to imagine a different life. It was refreshing to see characters have to work to change their attitudes instead of it being so easy.

The rest of the town of Hartley-by-the-Sea was an important part of the story. Everyone from the bartender, who went to school with the women, to Dan, Claire’s boss, and of course Andrew, Claire’s brother, made a difference to the story. The friends, family, and acquaintances made a difference to the outcome of the women’s lives. They pushed, pulled, told it how it was, and sometimes coddled the women to make them be themselves and come together to make a life that both Rachel and Claire could succeed and be happy with.

Now and Then Friends is a wonderful book. It is a perfect summer read with the beach settings, the small towns, and the fantastic characters. I recommend checking out your own copy soon.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer jerjen

This is the story of two friends, Claire and Rachel, who were as close as friends can be when they were younger. They could not have been more different but they got along well and really cared for each other. They did all the things that young friends do together and they shared their dreams with each other, like all young girls do. But then one day, that all changed when Claire started hanging out with the popular girls and left Rachel behind. Rachel never really got over the hurt and betrayal she felt when that happened. When they meet again years later, Rachel is still bitter over the way Claire treated her. As they spend time together and each reflect on their past relationship, they realize that they both have differing opinions on what happened in their past. Can they work past the feelings of hurt and betrayal to become friends again?

The characters were well rounded, well developed and three dimensional. Both Claire and Rachel have had difficult pasts and both continue to carry that baggage. Their broken friendship may be a hurdle that they cannot get over, even if either of them are so inclined to try. Both characters seemed very realistic to me and caused me to have many emotional reactions to them both. The secondary characters were also well developed and I had reactions to them as well, not all of them favorable. I think it takes a great author to bring these reactions and feeling out of the reader.

The writing style flows smoothly for the most part. For me, the use of British words kept it from having the smooth flow that I like. I had to stop at times and try to figure out what was being talked about. This may not have bothered other readers but I found it slightly annoying.

I did like how each chapter was titled either Claire or Rachel. I like this technique, I think it helps the reader to learn more about each character. You can concentrate on their background and feelings better, in my opinion. I feel like it makes the characters seem more realistic.

For the most part, I felt that this was a sad book. There were some happier parts, but the overall feeling that overcame me was sadness. Rachel is just such an unhappy person with so much responsibility that I felt very sorry for her. For me, her chapters were rather depressing. I think the author did a great job relaying the feeling of hopelessness of Rachel.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well written women’s contemporary. You might want to have a tissue nearby because it is an emotional read. Although it is the second book in the series, I did not have any trouble following what was going on.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

The second in a series, but don't let that put you off - this would read just as well as a stand alone. I hadn't read the first book and I fared perfectly with this one.

This is a book that will keep you hooked right to the end. You start craving answers – what is Dan’s story, and why is he so standoff ish with Claire? Why did Claire and Rachel fall out in the first place?

I loved how Claire developed throughout the book, growing from a timid and meek woman who was at her parent’s constant beck and call, to someone who was more than capable of standing on her own feet and making a life for herself.

Most of my issues with this book were to do with the language and editing. There was some clunky editing words not spaced out, punctuation missing, etc. As this was an advance copy, it can be argued they should be eliminated by the time it goes to sale.

There was some quite weird hyphenation, with some words that didn’t need hypens now separated, like Port-ugal or forgo-tten. It may have bee just the formatting but didn’t help with how the book flowed.

This book was set in the UK but written in American English, which I felt didn’t fit in with the setting of the story.

I didn’t like Rachel as a character. While she was very caring for her family, she was also incredibly overbearing, and I really sympathised with Lily’s fear she wouldn’t be allowed do whatever she wanted in uni.