Right Here Waiting for You by new to me author Rebecca Pugh was an amazing story about friendship, betrayal, forgiveness and acceptance. I found both Sophia and Magda easy to relate to and though I tried really hard to not like Magda, I couldn’t. I admired her determination, spirit, and courage to go home knowing she will likely be met with a hostile welcome. I also admired her willingness to show remorse and apologize without peppering it with a lot of excuses. She takes complete responsibility for the relationships she damaged, not with just her best friend, Sophia, but also with her father.

I also liked Sophia. I understood her anger at Magda, as I certainly felt the same way about her myself. I also liked that she wasn’t hateful and bitter and was willing to take a chance on forgiveness not just to Magda, but also to Tom, her daughter’s father, without being a pushover.

The blossoming romance between Sophia and Michael was a treat to witness too. I was happy to see that there wasn’t a lot of wasted time and big misunderstanding drama to slog through before these two confessed their feelings for one another.

My only disappointment with this story was not having enough closure for Magda. I was happy that she had the courage to address her nightmare of a marriage to Greg, but I was left wondering what would happen down the road.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this story took me through all the emotions and I will be looking for more of this author’s work. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy stories about imperfect people trying to correct their mistakes of the past and not dwell in negativity and bitterness.

Thank you to the publisher, Harper Collins UK / HQ Digital, who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

I had high expectations based upon the blurb and other reviews of this novel but was sadly disappointed. A laugh out loud funny, feel good romance this was not. However, if you fancy a predictable romance redemption story this is right up your street.

From reading the description, I thought that this was going to be a different romance with real life problems. A failed marriage, lost friendships and a broken family. Huge problems in real life, seemingly easily fixable in this novel.

Magda and Sophia, are childhood best friends. and during their school years but their friendship breaks down. When they have the opportunity to see each other again at a school reunion, tensions are high but neither thinks that the other will show up.

The main positive from this is that it's easy to read. I think I would have given up much sooner had it not been. Sofia's character and Magda's father were the only likeable characters with real depth that I could find somewhat believable. I had absolutely no empathy towards the main characters (Madga, Tom or Greg) and felt like there was little substantial character development.

All this story needed was build up, less constant description and better character development. It could have been a winner.

It's a story about two women who used to be best friends, but life led them to live two different lives. Magda left the town, got married and lived a great life, whereas Sophia never left and raised her daughter as a single mother. Magda and Sophia haven't met since they were best friends, but now that the school reunion is happening soon, they are about to meet after such a long time.
It's the first book by Rebecca Pugh that I've read and I quite enjoyed it. The book has humor, heart and friendship in it. I liked the present storyline, but the glimpses into their younger years was also interesting to read more about. All in all it was a pleasant book.

I enjoyed what I read but it just couldn’t get involved in the story. I may try to read this again at a later time but I am struggling to do so currently. This book is certainly going to be someone’s cup of tea but it doesn’t seem to be mine.

Thank you once again for approving my request- much appreciated.

I'm ever so sorry but I was unable to connect with this book so unfortunately won't be reviewing as couldn't finish

This book was light hearted and refreshing! The characters were loveable and engaging and the storyline had me gripped from start to finish.

Sophia was so kind, gentle and noble. Even through the heartbreak she experienced at the hands of her best friend, Margo and her daughter's father, all those years ago, she still managed to maintain her composure and integrity.

​Margo was living proof that the grass isn't always greener on the other side! She thought she had the perfect husband, house and lifestyle but knew that it wasn't enough. Righting the wrongs from her old life as well as getting back on track with her oldest friend, is all she wanted but did she have the guts to go and get it?

​Michael was the dashing, considerate and handsome man who pulled the heart strings of Sophia and made her realise what she had missed out on after all these years.

​This was my first book from Rebecca and I was not disappointed. It was a funny and at times heart twitching read but another beautiful read for 2017!

What a delightful story. The angst of teenage years carried on into adulthood , then eventually resolved. Some really good characters that jumped off the page and a storyline that was interesting and continued at a good pace. Enjoyable, quick read.

Terrific story written with a leisurely and heart warming style full of ordinary but wholly believable characters. A wonderful read.

Magda and Sophia used to be best friends, until Magda made one big mistake she couldn’t take back. Years later, both women receive invitations to a school reunion, bringing them back into each other’s lives. Back home and faced with her past mistakes, Magda is forced to re-evaluate her life and make some big decisions, while Sophia has to make some tough choices of her own.

This is a sweet and quite short story about friendship and love. I’m not sure why it’s being marketed as “a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy”, but there you have it. Romantic: yes. Comedy: No.

The writing is very simple. It’s a little underdeveloped and easy to skim over, which made it a nice, quick read but not particularly engaging. The plot itself isn’t bad, if a little annoying in places because of how obvious and predictable it is. For some reason the author insists on trying to act like what’s happening isn’t totally obvious (e.g. the way each woman’s POV refers to the other as “her” instead of giving the name even though we clearly know who they mean). It isn’t a brilliant or especially original story but it’s entertaining nonetheless. I breezed through it very quickly and it didn’t drag at any point, despite its flaws.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

5☆ A captivating story of Friendships & Love

Right here waiting for you is a captivating story of broken friendships, betrayal, secrets, Family, love and New Beginnings.

Right from the very first page I was hooked. Rebecca managed pull me into the world of Magda and Sophia and their teenage angst.

But don't let that put you off... fast forward several years and the best friends are now enemies with one hell of a break up. Which keeps the reader hooked.

Magda who was once confident and everyone wanted to be her is now in a loveless marriage and her husband is  controlling, and also sleeping with lots of women behind her back!
Magda is desperate for some kind of emotional connection so she uses drink as her crutch and sleeping with random men to help try fill her void.
When Magda's Mum passed away she couldn't  cope so at the first opportunity she Ran!

Sophia is single still living in the same area. She has a young child called Esther who is adorable.
Sophia's new best friend is the recently single dad Michael. They both have been badly hurt and have come together to help each other. Plus their children are the best of friends!

Michael is gorgeous, a fantastic Dad, a great listener, kind, caring and is the perfect match for Sophia.

So why can't they both see it!!
I loved watching their friendship blossom. The protective side of Michael when he fears he may lose them both.
When they both decide to try out dating neither one is impressed but still the feelings just ripple to the surface.

So when Magda and Sophia both get an invitation to a school reunion what could possibly go wrong!
I mean surely neither will be expecting the other to attend!
Will attending rip off the plaster that has covered those raw wounds all these years?
What secrets might just be uncovered!

For me the reunion is when the story gets juicy! Secrets and emotions get unearthed. It's here we meet Tom!!!

I really can't say anymore as I will give the story away.
But it is one exciting roller coaster ride of emotions.
I mean secrets and grudges can't stay buried for ever.... can they??

Will Sophia ever find Love?
Will Magda ever be happy again?

Rebecca has made me fall in love with Magda and Sophia. We all have friends/ friendship or can 100% relate to the characters in the book.

The reconnection with Magda and her Dad made my heart swell. It was beautiful to watch them 're kindle their relationship and to watch Magda's father start to live he's life again. So touching and heart warming.

I thoroughly loved every single minute of this exciting story.
It really is very believable and the characters are so engaging and real.
A real quick and easy read.

One thing I do want to point out is every so often we get a memory from Magda or Sophia's teenage years. This creates the build up to why they have fallen out in such a dramatic way!
It is vital to the story... my only slight critiscm is that I would of liked more definition that the story was going back in time. As the memories are just slotted into the chapters. Which some readers could find confusing.

I just wanted to point out there is some sexual references and scenes some may find uncomfortable.

Would I recommend this book.... most definitely.... YES!!

Plenty of Laugh out loud moments, some sexual content, fun, heart warming, true story of friendship, Love and reconnecting, new beginnings, emotional, a fantastic read.

Perfect for readers who love Chick Lit, Rom coms, friendship, betrayal, Romance.

The blurb seems interesting and the cover is cute. The conflict between the characters is curious, too. It will make you wonder what can possibly happen between two friends for one to hate the other so much. It is also well-written. So, why does this disappoint me? Let me just say that it is not a bad book. I just find it so hard to get into it. It's a short book and yet it took me a few days to finished it. I can’t seem to connect to both characters no matter how hard I tried. The mystery of what happened between them is rather predictable, as well. The reunion doesn’t feel like a reunion, instead, it’s a date between Sophia and Michael.

Despite all that, I like how Magda deals with her troublesome marriage. And I don’t mean the cheating. I like that it is a story about friendship and forgiveness more than romance. Like I’ve said it is far from being a bad book. It is actually a decent one. Maybe it just caught me in a bad time. Either way, I know there are readers out there who will appreciate the story of Right Here Waiting For You more. It is my first Rebecca Pugh book, but it will not stop me from reading some of her works.

Magda returns to her hometown for her school reunion and to see her widowed father. Her former best friend Sophia has never left, and is now a single mum to a little girl. This is a rather bland story about two former friends coming into contact with one another again, with a bit more baggage between them. I spent much of the second half waiting for something unexpected to happen or a shock reveal from the past but it never eventuated. There was also too much explaining of people’s thoughts and feelings for my taste.

Have you ever had a friend who betrayed your friendship and broke your heart? If so, you can relate to Sophia, a single mother who, years before as a teenager, suffered through her best friend Magda deceive her in the worst way.

Rebecca Pugh shows you both sides of this story, although I firmly sided with Sophia. Could I see why Magda did what she did? Sure. But I found her rationale even weaker and more self-serving than she is.

Sophia has remained in her hometown, raising her five-year-old daughter. Magda moved away but has returned home to attend a high school reunion and, she hopes, reconnect with Sophia. I dearly wanted to shout at Sophia to not give in, to not forgive, but that isn't the point here. As Pugh shows, sometimes holding a grudge does nothing but cause anxiety and pain for you. Sometimes it's best to let it go.

In returning home, Magda also has to reconnect with her father, whom she abandoned when she left. There is the matter of her marriage, as well. Will she stay? She's shown that she will flee when it gets tough. But is staying the right thing?

At the same time, Pugh weaves a romance that is sweet and gentle. She shows you that hot and passionate may not last and it may not even be good for you, whereas the slow burn proves lasting. In fact, she does this with not just romance, but with friendships and family as well. We hurt the ones we love, Pugh says, and then we need to ask forgiveness. That's all we can do. Whether forgiveness is granted or not is out of our control.

Magda left her home town to marry Greg and start the “perfect” life. Trouble is things are not so perfect. Sophia has a daughter whose father left once she was pregnant, the man of her dreams was not to be. She had a childhood friend who did the dirty on her and left her when she needed her most. Their paths cross at a school reunion and what happened in the past comes to light. I liked the characters of both Sophia and Magda. They and others came to life as I progressed through the book. Although a lighthearted read this is one of those books that makes you think about your own past and whether things could have been different ~”if”..... A well written enjoyable book.I voluntarily chose to read this ARC and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

This is a very moving read, focussing on two women who were best friends as teenagers, until betrayal drove them apart. Now a school reunion has thrown both of them into turmoil. Dare they return to school, possibly to face again the person who used to be their best friend and all the anger, deceit and angst that will ensue? Would it be easier just to give the event a big miss? Could it be an opportunity for reconciliation and atonement?

Magda was the star of the year group, the girl all the others strived to emulate. Then her life took a severe downturn because of her own decisions and behaviour . . . before she met and married her handsome, successful husband and left her father and the village behind her. Should she return to face reality? Dare she?

Sophia is a single Mum to the delightful but stroppy Esther. Things didn’t work out as she’s hoped but she’s glad to have Esther (most of the time) and has support from her parents and Michael, the father of Harry, Esther’s best friend. Life’s looking good, if only love could find a way!

The reunion is the trigger for memories to be brought back to the surface, for a reality check for the participants and their families. The story is told from the alternating points of view of Magda and Sophia, with flashbacks to events in their teens which slowly reveal how close they had been, how they were torn apart and what their lives are like now. The two main characters are very different to each other and initially it is easier to sympathise and empathise with Sophia than Magda, however this does change as the reader learns more about her, her past and her present. The writing is engaging with many laugh out loud incidents related as well as emotive encounters. It is a story of relationships, grief and betrayal leading to love and opportunities, a real page turner that I enjoyed escaping into.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion after choosing to read it.

Magda and Sophia were inseparable for years, sharing dreams, secrets and making a pact to always be friends. But, times change, dreams realign, and often those people who once were as necessary to your life as breathing are no longer near. Over the years, Magda moved on to marry with all of the ‘I made it” moments (money, vacations, stunning house) after school while Sophia never left: now a single mum and still in the same place, she’d not really given her what-ifs a thought until the invitation.

School reunion time will place both women in the same place for the first time in years – a chance to explore their rift and rekindle their friendship – or time spent ignoring and avoiding one another, putting on the best face, and forgetting the encounter as soon as possible after. These are choices that both face….

Most surprising to this story was Pugh’s ability to give us two characters who were equally sympathetic, fairly open, and reasonably aware of the steps they each took in the dissolution of the once-close friendship. Both share their backstory and memories of their younger selves, dreams, spats, trials and tribulations, and dig to find the reason for their split, in the hopes that some resolution and perhaps a new friendship can be brought from the lessons learned. With plenty of twists in the revelations, the correlations to moments we all have experienced in some way or another is striking, bringing the story a poignancy and familiarity to many readers. Full of self-discovery, reflection and second chances, the story is a wonderful getaway that is deceptive in its simplicity, leaving readers with a full story and plenty to remember from their own lives.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=”http://wp.me/p3OmRo-92G /”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Rebecca Pugh is known for writing feel-good, romance novels (you only need to read her previous novels to confirm that!) and because I wanted something über light-hearted to curl up with, I couldn't wait to get stuck into her latest book after reading a heavy storyline beforehand.

'Right Here Waiting For You' has a storyline which is pretty much centred around a 'best friend' style relationship. Magda and Sophia were, once upon a time, sisters from another mister, but due to growing up and making wrong choices, their friendship went from 100-0 in a flash.

Sophia is a single mother with her whole life dedicated to her daughter; some might say that she hasn't lived her life as she didn't move away like the others did, or make comments about her dreams having drastically changed. But then there's Magda; married with a lifestyle to envy. However, are the lives of the two women as they seem? Or is there more to it that meets the eye?

Sophia and Magda's friendship broke apart due to miscommunication and a sense of feeling betrayed. Sophia had her reasons as to why she felt hurt about the situation, yet Magda seems to see things differently.

I am going to sound like a right youknowwhat here, BUT, most of the novel was spent describing the rawness of the betrayal, Sophia's emotions, and her black and white outlook at the situation; yet when the situation arose for the two women to come face to face, those emotions remained for all of five minutes and it was as though Sophia turned into a 'yes person'. Before you start thinking I am a judgemental person who holds grudges (cough), let me explain; Sophia had her views and seemed to chisel them in stone, yet when she was able to have a conversation with Magda, Sophia's views remained with such urgency I thought she was going to be all Peggy Mitchell-esque. What surprised me was the drastic change oh so suddenly. Don't get me wrong, I know that its unhealthy to harbour grudges and moving forward is the mature thing to do, but bosom buddies two seconds after being at loggerheads?

For me, Sophia went from bulshy and black and white, to sickly nice and a yes person in such a short space of time. It was TOO nice. Like I said above, I don't mean to come across like a youknowwhat myself, but I really wanted to tell her to woman up and grab a pair of balls! I didn't like the fact that Sophia lost her edge and her individuality towards the end. I would love to see her come back in another storyline with some fight, but that is just my opinion on the character, not on the author's style of writing.

I enjoyed the overall concept of the novel as it covered such modern, and relatable topics which, in my opinion, a lot of readers of different ages will most likely be able to associate with. Rebecca Pugh's light-hearted and unique sense of humour, gave the storyline the entertainment factor, making it a good book to sit and curl up with.

Even though the storyline didn't blow me away, it warmed my heart and made me extremely envious of anyone with a best friend. I could definitely see what Pugh had set out to do with this novel, especially as the world is full of such hate and divide, the authors storyline tried to fill the world with happiness and life. I can't really fault the author for writing a storyline with other people's happiness at the forefront of her mind.

An entertaining and heart-warming novel, ideal for putting the smile back on your face.
Never mind 'Right Here Waiting For You', Pugh has delivered a 'sunshine on a rainy day' style novel.

Thanks HQ!

Sometimes, you just want a really lighthearted, pretty short book in amidst all of the chaos going on in the world. This is one of those books: it transports you to a sunny world where you can just escape and read about someone else's life for a couple of hundred pages. Nothing major happens, there's nothing too tense or crazily dramatic; it's just a fun and easy read.

I liked having a quick glance into the lives of Magda and Sophia. The book doesn't follow them over a very long period of time - I've mentioned before, I like a snapshot into the character's lives, and they carry on with the rest outside the pages of the book. The characters were well-written and although they didn't have a great deal of depth, that didn't seem important. You had enough to form an opinion of them and want them to succeed, which I think is all you need in a book of this genre.

It had a couple of things I'm not a huge fan of in books. One was skipping big chunks to make it easier to move on to the next part of the story (e.g. "a week later, I..."). The other was dialogue that I don't find very realistic, such a huge dramatic monologues and constantly using the name of the person they're talking to. These are just little personal things though, and they didn't greatly affect the book as a whole.

Overall, I enjoyed it! It was lovely to have a nice easy read where everything works out for the best, and everyone ends up happy. As I said, you really need that in a book sometimes.

The beginning of the book is definitely going to get your attention it was a great way of introducing Magda and seeing how her life has turned out. There is also a great introduction to Sophia and her life now, I had to smile at Sophia as she tried to get her daughter ready in the morning. I have definitely been there with the dancing clothes trying to get my children ready!

The friendship between Magda and Sophia is well written and I really enjoyed the flashbacks to before they fell out. It was a great idea to have the story from both points of view I definitely felt more of a connection with the characters because of this. As I discovered the truth about what happened I assumed that Magda would be a horrible person but to be honest that isn't necessarily the case. Yes she isn't completely likeable and she did a terrible thing. However people make mistakes granted some bigger than others but she genuinely regrets the mistake. The question is can they ever be friends again after everything that happened? The saddest part for me is that the two friends had a beautiful friendship that suddenly ended and both characters lives changed because of this. I think it's safe to say that there are quite a few people myself included who had that one special friend who meant the world to them. Then something happens and you fall out or even just drift away. Can all be forgotten and forgiven and the past erased? Well I guess the honest answer for me is no, not entirely. I suppose it does depend on the situation, what the person did and how hurt you are. Forgiveness is a major point in this book not only forgiving other people but actually forgiving yourself and moving forward the best you can.

I loved how this book shows us a lost friendship and how it impacts on our lives in the future. I couldn't put this book down there was something about the story that grabbed hold of me. It's a book that is perfect to curl up with and just lose yourself in.

With themes of love, romance and friendship it's a hit with me!

Thank you to HQ Digital & Netgalley for my copy. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

This story follows Magda & Sophia - teenage best friends who are now estranged & the school reunion invitation that brings them back into each other's lives.

A quick easy read with great characters & real life situations that are completely relatable. Would definitely recommend to my friends & wouldn't hesitate to read more from this author