Amy and Mel have been good friends for a very long time. Amy was shy and in the background while Mel was confident and fancied herself as an actress. Amy lives with her boyfriend Jack, but has been working in America for the last few months. She comes home unexpectedly and discovers that Mel and Jack are having an affair. She doesn't confront them, but slowly Amy start to make a like on her own.

Does true friendship exist? Is our best friend all she appears to be? Amy and Mel have been friends for years and Amy is everything Mel aspires to be. Amy is an actress in an American series whilst Mel never made it to the big time and has just divorced her husband. Amy unexpectedly comes home to England for Mel's birthday and on going to the flat she shares with her fiancee it becomes apparent he is having an affair but with whom? Amy soon finds out it is Mel and so begins revenge. But who will be the biggest loser and who will realise the meaning of true friendship?

From as long as Amy can remember Mel has always exaggerated her life but as her best friend she was used to it.
Amy decides to surprise Jack and Mel with a visit from New York (where she's been working as an actress), but it will be Amy who has the biggest surprise. Her fiance Jack and best friend Mel have been having an affair.
Rather than confronting them immediately Amy decides to keep up with the pretence.
This book is built upon friendships, relationships, love and revenge. Who will be the winners and losers in this friendship circle?
At times I found this book very choppy as I felt it wasn't always clear which character was doing the talking.
I think this will be a popular book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I expect most of us at some time in our lives have had a friend who wants our relationship to be exclusive, and tries to put down anyone or anything that comes between us. This story is about such a relationship, taken to extremes. The story is well written, and flows well. You run the gamut of emotions, there is a lot of pathos, humour, and tongue-in-cheek irony.

Amy comes across as a well-rounded person, so secure in her relationship with her fiancé so that when she has the opportunity to act in an American television show, albeit in a small part, she is thrilled to have the opportunity. She and Jack speak and FaceTime regularly, and she never has any suspicion that there is anything wrong in their relationship. Her best friend Melissa is also a regular contact, and Amy has no reason to suspect her either. Then her part in the show is killed off, so she comes home, wanting it to be a surprise. It is she who gets the surprise, there is clearly another woman living in her home. All too soon she discovers the truth.

Melissa comes across as a woman who has never really grown up. She always wants to be seen as the one who has made a great success of her life, when her reality is far from that. Amy is a much stronger character, and she is determined to have her revenge, especially when she discovers that Melissa is not only cheating her with Jack - she is also cheating Jack by having an affair with her married boss.

Amy's revenge on the pair of them is great! Nothing too terrible, although she does feel guilty. Initially neither of them are aware she is back in London, but eventually Melissa realises and sets out to punish her 'best friend'. Her revenge is much more unpleasant really, but it is a bad move, Amy' response is awesome!

By the end of the book Amy has reconnected with old friends from University, who she had long since lost touch with because of Melissa's machinations. Her life has taken an upturn, and the book ends with pleasing optimism. It is well worth reading, from an author who I will look out for in future.

Best friend, soulmate, confidante . . . backstabber.
Amy thought she knew everything there was to know about her best friend Melissa. Then again, Amy also thought she was on the verge of the wedding of her dreams to her long-distance fiancé. Until she pays a surprise trip home to London. Jack is out, but it's clear another woman has been making herself at home in their flat. There's something about her stuff that feels oddly familiar . . . and then it hits Amy. The Other Woman is Melissa. Amy has lost her home, her fiancé and her best friend in one disastrous weekend - but instead of falling apart, she's determined to get her own back. Piecing her life back together won't be half as fun as dismantling theirs, after all.

When I read the synopsis for Faking Friends by Jane Fallon I was under the impression it fell under the crime mystery genre. I felt increasingly disappointed when I started reading it as it was significantly more chick-lit based than any other genre. I am not a fan of chick-lit in the most part and the only time I would usually read a book from the genre is if it had a darker side. Which it did. Luckily.

I considered giving this up about halfway through but am pleased I didn't - I actually quite enjoyed it in the end. Even I am quite surprised at that. I don't enjoy romantic lovey-dovey narratives but this had a little more to it for me to get my teeth into. I have heard the term chick-noir bandied about as a suggested genre and feel that it suits the book well.

I'm sure if you are a chick-lit enthusiast with a penchant for a little darkness beneath the surface you would absolutely love this and even for a chick-noir novice I enjoyed it more than I originally thought I was going to.

Thanks to Jane Fallon, Penguin UK and NetGalley for the opportunity of an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The main characters in this novel are Amy and Melissa, two best friends who become worst enemies. This book was a real emotional roller coaster for me: I was laughing, getting angry, feeling pity and upset throughout this book. And all that was caused by the characters which were chosen for this book. I really liked Amy as a character, I think she was charming, very believable and relatable in some way. I absolutely could not stand Melissa though, I think she is an absolute lowlife who is a disgrace to womankind. Everything about her pissed me off, EVERYTHING! Jack and Simon in this book were not better as well, they were just plain stupid. But that was what made this book so indulging. The variety of characters and their unbelievably silly actions somehow made it really entertaining.

The plot of this book really hooked me, the constant drama, action, twists and turns didn’t let me sleep till 4 am in the morning. I just had to find out how it will end. I really appreciate that author used different perspectives in this book, it made it much more gripping and interesting, and it did allow to understand the characters way better. Another thing which I found really cool was the jumps between the past and present, it made the whole story richer and explained their friendship’s nuances to the reader. I really enjoyed all Fallon’s personal experience such as: movie industry and how it works, acting and it’s struggles, general knowledge of London (places, student life, renting options, shops etc.) It was really enlightening to me and I do feel sympathy for all the actors out there.

In this book Jane Fallon stayed true to her writing style, offering multiple perspectives, suspense, interesting topics and absolutely stunning writing itself. The language used was easy to understand, however, there were some swear words. The chapters were not very long, and it kept me going, as I really wanted to find out what will happen next. I really liked the ending of this book, I think it rounded up the story very nicely and left me satisfied. So to conclude, I absolutely loved this book, it gave me everything I need in good Chick – lit book, it has different types of characters, amusing and absorbing plot and interesting topics, and I do strongly recommend this novel. Enjoy :)

Such a great read. I loved the plot and the characters. Amy was just a joy to meet. I would have liked to join the group on the rooftop, to enjoy sun and drinks. I burned through the book, wanting to find out more.

“Revenge is a dish best served cold” is so true of this compelling read from Jane Fallon. Amy’s closest friend betrays her which leads to several amusing but painful moments. This book is a must read. I couldn’t put it down!

EXCELLENT! I found the blurb of this one to be interesting and stuff, but I didn't expect it to be so FUNNY! I felt like I knew the characters and was right there among them (and that I belonged!) I was sad when this one ended because I wanted it to keep going. Loved it!

Never underestimate the power of a woman scorned! A brilliantly funny and emotional read. I was hooked from start to finish. Would love to carry on reading about Amy in a book 2!

Everything you’d like to do to someone who took your boyfriend away but don’t have the courage to do! A brilliant piece of writing, once I started it, I had to finish it. It is lifelike, the characters are real, the the dialogue perfect. I loved it!

Thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for enabling me to read an advance copy of this book. My recommendation - buy a copy as I’m sure you will enjoy it. This book weaves together tales of love and friendship between the main character and her friends., The characters are all well described and the book is written in such a way as to make you almost feel part of the group. The story is well written and I was not able to put it down once started: just as well I’m on holiday this week.

This is a fun and frothy read which I devoured in the space of an afternoon while getting my roots done (always the perfect opportunity to dive into a good book!) Amy initially comes across as a bit of a pushover, but it's fun to see her develop a personality. While it's one which is initially forged out of revenge, it's enjoyable watching her get a better idea of who she is and what she wants out of life when she's not being domineered by her (really awful sounding) best friend, Melissa.

I'll admit that there were times in the book where I thought that everyone in it was bloody awful and that they all needed their heads knocking together. But I really enjoyed the twisty little turns in the plot which took it from a boilerplate revenge novel into something altogether more interesting - particularly as I genuinely did not see one of them coming! Granted, you might have to suspend your disbelief a bit at some elements of the plot (one bit in particularly involving a script made me raise my eyebrow a bit), but altogether, this is an enjoyable little book which is perfect when you fancy something silly, escapist and fun.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an advance copy in return for my honest review.

I’ve never read any books by Jane Fallon so thought I would save this to read on a post Christmas holiday. Thought I would just have a quick peek Christmas Day and by Boxing Day it was finished. Hooked from the first page. I loved Amy’s stoicism in the face of betrayal by her friend and her partner but it’s such a funny book I found I didn’t particularly feel sorry for her. A book full of strong characters making me want to read more from this author. Many thanks netgalley! Highly recommend

Overall loved the story, the characters were very believable and I could definitely identify with more than one of them quite often. Heads up on the editing (some of the units are wrong so it rings a bit odd) but otherwise a lovely, engaging book.

I have to admit that I have no idea what I would do in these circumstances, but probably nothing as bad as this! Highly entertaining with a very dark undertone that will make you question the true nature of your closest friends.
Written with definite warmth and understanding, this novel takes a look at the darker secrets that we keep and the pain they can cause.

Just loved this book. As a great fan of Marion Keyes I could see similarities in the style. Would be a great holiday read .

A cracking good read. Revenge and romance with a healthy dose of reality.

I flew through this book, finishing it in two sittings.

Amy is working as an actress in New York, when her character gets killed off she flies back to surprise her fiance and best friend. Only to find out that they are cheating on her. She loses her friend, her fiance and her job in the same weekend, bad weekend! Rather than confront them she starts to mess with them, along with some help from her friend Kat.

This will make a great beach read and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a darker “chick lit” novel.