Wow this was twisty, at first I wasn't clear on the genre I was reading I thought it was just an everyday story of relationships, it was that and then some..... I almost felt sorry for Cherry at first but that didn't last long,what a nightmare having some one like that wheedle their way into your family .Laura was also not easy to take a shine to and I felt sorry for Daniel.This was a escalating tale of relationships unraveling and things getting well out of hand I can't say much more but this was a page turner alright and was a book that you will not want to put down.Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Actually 4.5 stars.
Well, this was a bit of a ride. Actually, when I say ride, it was, at times a bit like watching a car crash. You don't want to look, you feel a little uncomfortable but you just can't help yourself. I think this feeling is reflected in the characters too. Definitely the mother. She did a bad thing. Does that really make her a bad person? Were her reasons right? Who really knows unless you have been in her situation. A mother protecting her child. Who wouldn't!
Daniel brings his girlfriend, Cherry, home to meet his parents. She is not quite of their world. They are rich and well positioned in society, she is from the other side of the tracks and, at that initial meeting, certain assumptions are made. Rightly or wrongly, they are set now. Mother Laura is very protective over Daniel and thinks that Cherry is a bit of a gold digger. Cherry just wants a chance to have the life she thinks she should have got. Anyway, they tick along a bit, wary of each other, Laura suspicious, Cherry taking a bit of an advantage. Then comes the biggie. There's an accident. And from the fall out from that accident, Laura sees an out. All it takes is one little lie. Ok, so not quite so little. A pretty big one really. The consequences of which will affect each and every one of them...
I've been a daughter-in-law. Luckily I had a great mother-in-law (shame about my now ex-h but that's another story!) so I was able to relate to the fear of meeting the parents. The big extended family that made me feel somewhat awkward so I had some initial sympathies with Cherry. What happened next with her, notsomuch! Like with other books of this genre, we have a person in Laura who really believes in something being disbelieved by people who really should have had her back. I've never been in that situation myself so I can't say how true it would be but the way it was all written, the nature of the other characters made it feel credible and so I was happy to go along with it. Actions that happened can't be condoned on either side, Laura and Cherry, and when lies and truths were exposed, most of them could be justified. I guess what I am trying to say is that the characterisation was spot on. I changed my mind about the main characters quite a few times throughout the book as I got to know them better, which is exactly as I would expect.
The story itself went along at a fair lick. Action packed and suspenseful. The balance between the two were seamless and paced very well. At times it was a bit disturbing with what was happening but, as already mentioned, even though I could see it coming, I couldn't look away. The power of the writing and story held on to me. Right up until the rather explosive ending which left me breathless. A story about consequences and reap what you sow would pretty much sum it all up and I am not limiting that to just Laura and Daniel in that statement.
All in all, a gripping read that held my attention nicely throughout and gave me a little to think about. Just what I like in a book. Another cracking debut!

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances.
A girl. A boy. His mother. And the lie she'll wish she'd never told. Laura has it all. A successful career, a long marriage to a rich husband, and a twenty-three year-old son, Daniel, who is kind, handsome, and talented. Then Daniel meets Cherry. Cherry is young, beautiful and smart but she hasn't had the same opportunities as Daniel. And she wants Laura's life. Cherry comes to the family wide-eyed and wants to be welcomed with open arms, but Laura suspects she's not all that she seems. When tragedy strikes, an unforgiveable lie is told. It is an act of desperation, but the fall-out will change their lives forever.
OMG this was a gripping twisted psychological thriller. At first I didn’t like Laura and felt for Cherry. But then it twisted. Absolutely fantastic. This is a must read and I would highly recommend this book. Definitely worth more than 5*. Netgalley and pan macmillan.

What a brilliant book, I loved the characters! The pace of the book was good and I was drawn into it completely. The story unfolds almost like you are watching a television drama and I would enjoy watching it should it ever be made into one.
The Girlfiend is an excellent debut novel from a writer I'm keen to read more from, I found myself absorbed and on edge for what was to come next. Highly recommended.

5/5 and more!
Oh I so count myself lucky I got on with my Mother-in-law and that I am grounded.
This is a book you will start and be prepared you won't want to drag yourself away from. I stayed with it until I finished it the early hours of this morning.
Relationships
Yes, they are the hardest to keep, the hardest to keep steady but throw in an unsteady person, jealousy and then things crack.
Daniel and Cherry. The Girlfriend.
Daniel was raised in a well to do family his aim was to become a Doctor.
Cherry never had those kind of roots but she wants to become an Estate Agent.
They meet, they fall in love.
Things go well...
At the start.
Laura, the Mother-in-law likes Cherry......
Then believes that Cherry is only with her one and only son for his money.
So now the dynamics change.
Both become vindictive, controlling and darn right nasty women.
Here comes a train wreck.
But who is going to survive?
Things happen to both women. I took some glee from some consequences as both females were so unlikeable you just couldn't help yourself.
There are some really good, nail biting, on the edge of your seat mind blowing tummy churning moments in this read. I was absolutely hooked!
Hold on to your seat belt.
This is a debut.
Yes, the authors very first book.
If this is anything to go by, I cannot wait for future books from her.
What a journey!
Thank you Pan Macmillan via Netgalley for my copy

This is a gripping read that I couldn't put down. It centres on the power of maternal love and what a mother would do to protect their relationship with their child. It's full of twists and has a very satisfying ending. I'd really recommend this - it was a brilliant holiday read for me.

Enjoyable enough read with lots of things happening throughout the book but somehow it seemed like the old class divide theme was a bit tired.
That said I think it will be a popular holiday read as it is not too taxing and there are thrills enough to keep you reading.

This book was deeply compelling. I read it in less than a day, and probably would have finished it sooner had my bath water not gone called around me and forced me to put it down for a while.

The Girlfriend tells the story of two ruthless women, both determined to get their own way whatever the cost, and in a lot of ways very alike (although they would be loath to hear that!) I marvelled at some of Cherry's ingenious plots, and this all gives merit to the talent of the author. Fantastic read. Pick up this book and I promise you won't want to put it down!

WOW, AMAZING, BRILLIANT !!!
This book is described as a gripping psychological thriller. It was definitely gripping from the start but I wasn't sure that I could call it a thriller. But then it all changed. Compulsive reading which I couldn't put down, and I was holding my breath at the end. An excellent debut novel and I can't wait for the next book by this author. I wish I could award more than five stars

A well deserved 5 stars, one of the best psychological thriller books so far this year. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This is the story of Daniel, a well to do young man with a career ahead of him as a doctor and Cherry who has had a less fruitful upbringing and is striving to make it as an estate agent, the two meet and begin to fall for each other but all is not as it seems.

Daniel's mum Laura, who is obviously very protective of her only child, really takes to Cherry in the beginning but soon begins to notice cracks appearing in her persona and starts to think she is only after one thing, his money! As the story unfolds, things become more apparent that Cherry is trying to keep Daniel away from Laura.

This is a very dark and disturbing story that had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through and one event in particular turned my stomach. Cherry was definitely not on my favourite character list.

I was very surprised to see this is the authors debut novel, it's very well written and thought provoking and makes you wish that you could vet your children's partners beforehand and I really look forward to reading her next one. I will post my review on Goodreads now and on Amazon UK & US on publication day. Thank you to Pan McMillan for the approval.

Absolutely fabulous. I read this in almost one sitting as I genuinely couldn't put it down. This author has crafted a brilliantly written, tense domestic thriller - a situation that could happen to any of us (albeit with less money). I loved the insights into how the two women and the son were thinking. Sometimes my sympathies lay with one and then changed to another. A really brilliant read and one I'm sure will be a best seller - maybe even a film

After reading this book I considered forgiving my late mother in law for all the torment she had put me through. Daniel's mother was so much worse - but, no, not happening. I was no Cherry.

This book could have been written by one of my favourite, well seasoned, authors. The fact that it is the first book by Michelle Frances makes it all the better...I can look forward to her next book, and the next, and be fairly certain they will be just as good, if not better.

I don't know which character chewed me out most. Cherry is insidiously evil. Laura is still the helicopter mother who will do any sneaky, nasty thing to keep her son to herself. Howard is abusive by his absence; belittling Laura, ripping apart her sense of self.

And Daniel...poor Daniel...not aware of the battle going on around him...for him. I can't decide if he has been mollycoddled so much that he can't imagine the two women in his life being so jealous of each other or he believes he is entitled to their unconditional love.

Innocent? Naive? Stupid? Who knows? At least he is likeable. Very likeable.

Thank you Netgalley for the unproofed copy to read and thank you Michelle Frances for playing with my head and twisting my guts with worry.

The Girlfriend was highly addictive – a read in one sitting tale of the divide between a girl and her boyfriend’s mother – or in this case two rather unlikable manipulative women each trying to one up each other, a scenario that doesn’t end particularly well for anyone.

I loved the character dynamics in this – seriously twisted, I’m not sure if I’m talking about the Mother or the Girlfriend to be honest – it is also quite an intriguing little take on how money divides us. The haves and the have not’s, how just a little bit of jealousy can turn into an untenable situation. Especially if you are not exactly the steady grounded type to begin with.

I felt sorry for Daniel and for his Dad but as for the other two, the best thing about The Girlfriend was my distinct tendency to be really gleeful when horrible things happened to either of them. Cherry was strangely sympathetic at times, Laura was incredibly not so for much of it, but as they were both bringing it on themselves with their own actions, it was a strange kind of pleasure to watch them both get into hot water at various times during the telling.

Who wins in the end? In The Girlfriend it’s a bit like who might be the lesser of two evils and you’ll have to read it to find out but it is a genuine page turner so I don’t think you’ll find that to be much of a chore.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. It appealed to my wicked side.

Brilliant book. Excellent main characters and plot. I would recommend this book.

I really loved this book. It's a real page turner and keeps you on tenterhooks right to the end. The story is about Daniel, a very rich medical student who starts a relationship with Cherry, who comes from a much less affluent background, and who is determined to better herself. Daniel's mother, Laura, has a very close relationship with her son, and quickly decides Cherry is a gold digger. Things escalate after Daniel ends up in hospital after an accident, and Laura does something which starts off a disturbing chain of events. Who is the real villain of this story, Laura or Cherry? Or are they both as bad as each other? This is a great book and I thoroughly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.

Brilliant read, twist and turns along the way to a thrilling climax, a book about a Mothers love and what she does when her relationship with her only son is threatened,also a book about a girlfriend who wants to break the ties of that love

I had high hopes for this book as the synopsis held so much promise, unfortunately I really didn't enjoy this book.
I found the two female lead characters Laura and Cherry to be unpleasant and unlikable, there was a lot of mentions of brand names and it had a lot of snobbery, I'm afraid I didn't care enough about the characters to even finish the book as I was not interested in what happens at the end.

3 1/2 star review.
Ever wanted more than you have and want it the easiest way possible?
This book explores that in some depth. Cherry is a wannabe who is embarrassed by her past and wants to move on and in to better circles. She has had a taste with one rich man and that failed but Daniels appearance provides the perfect opportunity.
What transpires is a journey through right and wrong . Through misconceptions and how you have what you wished for how an ultimate inability to live with where you come from affects everything.
This is well written, has twists and turns and keeps you guessing.
I enjoyed reading this.

A chilling yet realistic story, very readable and i really felt for Laura