Faking friends is a great read. When Amy, an actress at present working on a TV show in New York decides to come home for the weekend to surprise her fiancé and her best friend Melissa whose birthday it is, she is shocked on entering the flat she shares with her fiancé to find woman's toiletries in the bathroom, clothes in the wardrobe that are not hers and other obvious signs that another woman is sharing the flat with her man. She then discovers Melissa is the other woman. Instead of letting them know she is on to them, she acts oblivious whist plotting her revenge with the help of some friends.
Using social media, emails and FaceTime she intends to completely turn the tables on them.
You run through a gamete of emotions reading this book, at times I was shocked and upset, other times I was cheering her on laughing out loud at her antics and sometimes the uncomfortable feeling is she going to far and worrying she's going to end up regretting her actions. Does she? Well read this book and discover how you certainly know who your best friends are when you really need them in times of trouble and heartache. Is revenge a dish best served cold....hell yes!!!!

As the blurb suggests Amy appears to have everything – a career of her choice, a fiancé, and a home. She's filming in New York her big break well almost. It's not that straight forward for an actress but Amy has persevered and it seems to have paid off. This is a surprise visit home. The surprise was meant for her boyfriend Jack and best friend Melissa soul mate and confidante rolled into one. However, Amy has an unpleasant surprise. It turns out that Jack’s cheating on her. Wait the other woman is her best friend Melissa who appears to have everything. She's shattered by this realisation, utterly gutted. The bf is downgraded to backstabber. No spoilers here as it's in the blurb. Amy has lost almost everything dear to her. she could unravel or fight back. However dismantling their comfortable life first appears a very appealing proposition. She has quite a few scruples, who says actors are without morals. However, Faking Friends is more than merely a tale of sweet revenge. It is also one gal (Amy) experientially learning life's lessons, a mature woman's coming of age story, an awakening of sorts to reality. The scales fall from her eyes. She realises who her true friends are, that her naiveté and preconceived notions blinded her to the truth. It's not all doom and gloom though. Not quite the typical romance this trope has doubtless been explored before. Yet Fallon's acuity will rip ones heart as she captures her protagonist's pathos, the brevity of an actor's life and the agonising demands of her profession. Her genius lies in perceptively portraying her characters persona, defining and shaping them with words and actions. They are elaborate and real with real problems, more than mere words on a page. There are laugh out loud moments, vexatious tears as one lives with Amy's experiences throughout the book almost forgetting that this is fiction or is it? There is energy, an air of mystery, a controlled intensity as Fallon ups the ante. Fallon's wordsmithery does a fabilicious job of intertwining the poignant, the angst, the sheer grit demanded by the profession generating a dazzling read. True there was scope for acidic humour that Fallon unfortunately does not fully exploit. This is my first book by this author, (how did I miss her books before?) so I cannot compare it with her previous books. A worthy read that will grab ones heart and squeeze every ounce of emotion.

This book is a bit of light relief and is easy to read for the most part, although there are some very long sentences in there that need reading a few times to decipher the meaning! I did find the revenge thing was getting a little old towards the end, but I liked the way it ended. I don't think either Amy or Mel came out of this looking like nice people, to be honest but it was a quick, fun read.

After reading many dark and twisty thrillers recently, this was the perfect girly book to take a break with.
The characters were relatable, and I was hooked on the revenge playing out! Some parts were a little predictable but overall it was a great book that I managed to get through within 24 hours.
I would definitely recommend to friends!

I originally knew Jane Fallon as Ricky Gervais' other half, now I know her as Jane Fallon - brilliant author!

An entertaining, funny read about best friends. The dual point of view was unexpected but welcome and really added something to the book. It's fun and lighthearted but is a real page turner and I finished it in two sittings. I really struggle to find fun books like this and will be picking up more by Fallon.

Thanks to NetGalley, Jane Fallon and Penguin for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved it! Funny, absorbing and slightly unnerving. Not my normal read, in fact my first Jane Fallon, but it will not be the last. It made me laugh, cringe, shout no, don't do it. It had Bridget Jones moments and more.
How sweet is revenge?
What if your boyfriend and best friend are cheating on you?
What would you do?
Is all fair in love and revenge?

There’s nothing cutting edge or wildly original about Faking Friends but it’s a well-written and funny page-turner. Fallon always writes well about strong women taking control of their lives. In this case it’s not just about being let down by a man but also by a friend, a theme that will resonate with many readers. I’m sure many people will read this and consider the true value of their friendships and loyalties.

This book is a great blend of entertaining writing, a page-turning plot and a feel good ending.
Yes, there are those who would claim it's superficial and a little bit silly, but so what? When it's written as well as this, in that spike, edgy style that I have come to associate with Jane Fallon, how can anyone complain?
The story focusses on Amy and the betrayal she suffers at the hands of her fiancé and her former best friend, Melissa. Rather than confront the pair, she enlists the help of another friend and sets about getting her revenge. The book is so much more than this though. Amy really starts to grow as she realises Melissa has never really been that good a friend to her, and starts to stand on her own two feet. There's a bit of a love interest thrown in, reconnecting with old friends and the job market for an out of work actress. My opinions about Amy and Melissa changed as I read the book, and it made me look at my own friends in a new light and really appreciate them.
Thanks go to the publishers and netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Fabulous book. Definitely related to the story, so many of us have a toxic friendship at some point in our lives. Great characters both bad and good!! Really enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me review this book via Netgalley.

Wickedly funny. This is Jane Fallon at her absolute best

What would you do to get revenge on a cheating ex? Amy is newly returned to London after time spent working in New York when she discovers her fiance has been unfaithful. Rather than confront him, she sets out to sabotage him and the woman who has taken over her old life.

I'll admit that I found this book slightly bizarre, although it was a page turner - i wanted to see how it would all end, and there were a good few twists before we got there. I think it was odd because there were so many grey areas - although the 'other woman' figure was clearly the villain of the piece, Amy herself wasn't perfect and did some pretty awful things.

Overall, this is a highly readable book about love, revenge and the power of friendship. Recommended for anyone who likes a good plot with a fair few surprises along the way.

In lots of ways this is a re-run of Fallon's 'My Sweet Revenge': here a love-rat boyfriend, and toxic best friend are the objects of Amy's plots.

To be honest, it goes off the rails as these kinds of books often do (ruining someone's career because of infidelity?) but is a fun switch-off read, all the same. Fallon is still my go-to author for contemporary chick-lit with a bit of edge. Good for when you need to let your inner Mean Girl out!

Faking friends was a lovely change to all the crime fiction I have read in the last few months. Well written plot about betrayal and revenge.
How far would you go to payback your best friend for betraying you, Amy’s best friend Mellisa does the worse thing possible to her best friend and Amy decided to fight back and show Mellisa just what it means to cross a scorned women.
Amy is a character that I found a little to harsh at times, nobody should hold that must hate.
I love the even pace of the book and how both Amy and Mellisa each narrate their sides of the story.
This is a brilliant easy read for those who want an even paced with plot with a lot of drama.

I enjoyed this light hearted romp of a book which held my attention right from the beginning.
Amy is an actress working on a tv series in New York. On a whim she decides to fly back to London to visit her fiancé and attend her best friend Mel’s birthday party. Having decided to surprise everyone she lets herself into her flat only to discover her fiancé Jack has moved another woman in whilst she has been away and there are toiletries and clothes in their bedroom which certainly do not belong to her!
Amy sets out to find out who this new woman is and resolves to exact revenge on the two of them with the help of her friends Kat and Greg.
This is an enjoyable read which looks at the meaning of friendship as well the hurt that is caused when friends betray each other.
Occasionally I felt that Amy’s behaviour became slightly unbelievable, particularly when she starts to punish Jack and his new girlfriend by wrecking their lives, hacking social media accounts and emails to get ammunition.
However the novel was generally amusing and it did hold my attention as I was keen to find out what else Amy had up her sleeve. There were a few twists as the story progressed and the reader gets to see the situation from the new girlfriend’s point of view.
Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes and Sophie Kinsella.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
This is a well written story about friendship, revenge and hate. The characters are developed and interesting. But for me, I didn’t like the depth of hate Amy had for her former friend and ex, nor the extremes she was prepared to go in order to get her revenge. I also felt the storyline was a bit far fetched in places.
Overall three stars - slightly disappointed as I really liked Strictly Between Us.

Funny and light-hearted the twists and turns of this story make it a quick and easy read

Best friend...soul-mate...back stabber. Amy finds out that the life she thought she was living was a lie and her relationships, friendships and even her job are pulled from under her. This book follows her climb back up to the top and along the way, a few healthy doses of revenge to the so-called best friend. It's a good read, a little predictable in places but it kept me gripped until the end to find out exactly what happens. I think that the style was what threw me the most, over half of the book is told from Amy's narrative and then all of a sudden the other main character, Mel, starts up with her own narrative in what appears to be chapters alternating between the two. i get why, in some respects, but it was an odd style to have. Nevertheless I love the genre which Fallon describes as 'Chick noir' - I completely get why. This is a great 'Summer' or 'beach' read until you start to get a few chapters in, then it's something you can't put down and will have you gripped until the end.

Huge thank you to Netgalley UK, Penguin and the amazing Jane Fallon for the ARC of this fantastic book. My attention was immediately grabbed by the opening scene where our main character Amy unexpectedly loses her New York-based acting job and decides to make a surprise visit to the London home she shares with fiancé Jack only to find evidence of another woman in their home. It transpires that the other woman is none other than Amy's longest-standing, best friend since childhood Melissa - who could be more accurately described as the best/worst "frenemy" ever! Not only has she betrayed her best friend in the worst possible way, she also seems entirely devoid of conscience or guilt.
We then follow Amy as she devises a plan of ultimate revenge whilst not alerting Jack or Melissa to the fact that she knows all about their betrayal. Or even that she is in London and not New York.
I really enjoyed the characterisation and even though Amy herself seemed to have either poor judgement or bad luck with men, she was an extremely likeable and feisty character unlike Melissa who was wonderfully awful at times.
I particularly enjoyed the dual point of view in this book allowing the reader in on both characters scheming and felt this gave an interesting slant.
5 stars from me and looking forward to Ms Fallon's next book already!

Fabulous read, one I would highly recommend to fans of contemporary women's fiction. It has humour, drama, tension and a healthy dose of revenge. Fans of Jane Fallon will love 'Faking Friends' although, for me, I would love to read something of hers that didn't follow the themes of lies and revenge.
That aside, as usual, her skill at writing dialogue and characterisation is on point and you will find yourself completely immersed in the life of the Amy Forrester. Great supporting cast and believable scenarios that will draw you even further into a lively plot. Watch out for a cute twist in the narrative voice.
I would have given this five stars had it not been for the section of the novel in which I was plodding through and not racing because the page turning factor dropped for a short while and I found the flashbacks at the start of the book a bit thrown together and not as neatly plotted as the present day events. Later I understood the point to the flashbacks and found them a lot more polished as an idea later on in the book.
That said, I still recommend that you rush out and get this one - you won't regret it!

A tale of love, revenge and friendships - lots of twists in the story. A great read.