Just when you thought women couldn’t be any more unkind to each other, they do. This is a fantastic read about love, friendship, family and revenge. The main character is a likeable woman with traits familiar to most mothers who suffers the worst betrayal imaginable by those closest to her

I found this a little slow to begin with and needed a bit more drama. I persevered and the drama came. The plot twists / surprises weren't really surprising and I knew where the story would go within a few chapters. This did not stop me from enjoying this book immensely and it made think what would I do, how would I deal with this situation

When Mel invites her long lost university friend Abi to stay at her family home, she doesn’t realise the devastating consequences it will have.

Vivacious carefree Abi shows Mel what it would be like to be single and carefree again instead of a working family woman. Mel falls under Abi’s spell and starts to drift from her husband and children until she unleashes Abi’s devastating secret.

A good book that will keep you wanting more.

This is the third book by Adele Parks I have read and I was really looking forward to it, but it left me disappointed. I guessed all of the plot ‘twists’, making it quite a boring read. I liked it enough to finish it, but I did think about consigning it to the DNF pile several times. I wouldn’t recommend this.

Oooooo fabulous read from Adele once more!!!! Had me gripped from the start and didn’t let go, didn’t get much sleep as just one more chapter syndrome kicked in....

Great book and I’d highly recommend it to my friends, loved the characters (maybe not Abi) and the storyline was a great one with a few twists in there to keep you going, excited about her next book already!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Mel and Abi were friends at university before Mel became pregnant and dropped out. Now Mel is happily married with 3 children. One day, out of the blue, she gets a message from Abi to say that she is divorcing her husband and coming back to the UK from the States. The problem is she has nowhere to stay. Mel invites her to stay with them. Before long, Mel's family is turned upside down. I don't want to spoil the story, so won't say anymore. This is a good old page turner, which I thoroughly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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OMG, I loved this! The story of Mel and Abi who were friends at Uni, lose touch after Mel has a baby at 19, and then reconnect when Abi sends Mel a message. The twists and turns in this book are amazing. I guessed part of the plot, but never saw it all coming. I read this book as quickly as I could to get to the end! Loved it.

A very well written book by Adele Parks.
This book tells the story of Mel and her family and her old friend Abi and how the past can affect the future and decisions made can affect a whole family.
I was totally absorbed in this book.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review early

Thank you for my review copy of this book. It is the first I have read by Adele Parks and I will search out her other books now.
I enjoyed the way this story developed. It seems a bit of a slow burner at first .I thought Mel was a bit weak and easily led by the strong Adele character .Before you know it, however,the seperate strands are all coming together and you really want to find out what happens. It was at this stage I was realy gripped until the end of the book. Cleverly plotted and written an enjoyable thriller.

Meet Mel, happily married mum of 3, settled in her comfortable life.
When Abi, an old university friend, contacts Mel out of the blue she is suddenly excited and desperate to impress. Why did they lose contact?
Mel is swept off her feet when she invites Abi to stay and hopes to recapture some of the life she lost when she became pregnant during her time at university.
Abi appears to be charming and slowly worms herself into Mel's family joining in activities and vying for their attention. Mel is so enraptured by Abi she misses any warning signs that all is not as it seems.

Adele keeps the reader fascinated by these relationships and slowly plants seeds that allow you to see the strands unravelling.
What did Mel do that upset Abi? This fabulously crafted tale will keep you guessing. Great characters each with their own story to tell.
Adele does it again by creating another fabulous tale that literally grips the reader from start to finish

This is a compelling read and I found it ideal for my holiday. Mel, a happily-married mother of three, is contacted by her best friend from university and invites her to stay. This proves to be a huge mistake and what follows is a gripping story of secrets and revenge. At times the plot is almost unbelievable but I kept turning the pages and although I guessed some of the twists, I didn’t guess all of them and often characters didn’t react the way I expected. Mel is a likeable character in an increasingly desperate situation and I just couldn’t stop reading as I wanted to know whether everything came right for her. A really good read!

The book is told in a conversational style, mainly by Mel and Abi, two old University friends. Out of the blue, Abi asks Mel can she come and stay with her family for a while, due to breaking up with her husband. Although Abi has everything – looks, glamorous job and lifestyle, she envies Mel’s busy life and family, and is reluctant to leave.
The two women’s long lost friendship resumes, as Mel becomes caught up in the special friendship they once shared at university, and Abi’s glossy, glamorous lifestyle, thinking of all she has missed. But all isn’t as it seems! Abi is deviously delving into the family’s life and their relationships while they are out at work, and children at school. She is calculating and manipulative, seemingly intent on hurting Mel and damaging her relationship with her family. The plot turns sinister as Abi seems to be seeking revenge for some unknown reason. Mel doesn’t understand her husband Ben’s concerns, and although he wants Abi to leave, she insists that she stays.
Although the storyline is a little slow at first, the pace dramatically increases, becoming a book that you can’t put down! As each character in the book gives their own version of events, it gives insight into their reasons for acting as they did, and gives depth to the story. Very well written by the author, the book becomes a real page turner as the story explores how strong, steady relationships can dramatically change, tension increases, and the plot builds to a dramatic climax with a clever twist at the end.
I would definitely recommend this book, and look forward to reading other books by this author.

I really didn’t enjoy this. The first half of the book was so long and drawn out it was so tough to read. The second half had more excitement but I can’t help but think this was rushed. The story, whilst quite far fetched, was utterly predictable. The characters were wholly unlikeable and this made it impossible to have any sympathy towards any of them.

Thank you for providing me with a copy of this book to read. I really enjoyed it- dark, dramatic and full of twists. I would be intrigued to see a follow up to this story to see where it went next

This is the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed the style or writing. With loveable characters with a great description you felt like you knew them. The book was addictive from the start and I wanted to find out what happened next. I really felt for Mel and wanted to give her a shake halfway through the book! But I can understand she was trying to do the best for her family.

The ending was written well, with lots of drama. A great read.

This was my first book by this author and I was pleasantly surprised as it was not what I was expecting at all. I did not anticipate such an uncomfortable, chilling story.

Although it’s another book about a female friendship that has gone bad it has a more original plot than others I’ve read. It’s full of twists and turns, many of which I saw coming, a few I didn’t, but nonetheless a riveting read. The characters are credible, although the main characters are not very likeable. The chapters, which are each written from a different person’s viewpoint, work well and give you a window into each person’s perspective and on their behaviour.

All in all, an absorbing read for fans of psychological thrillers. I will definitely be looking to read more Adele Parks books in the future.

I can't remember the last time a book captured me so entirely. I was reading it until the early hours, then first thing in the morning, then on a bench when I took the kids out, then in the kitchen waiting for things to cook. I've finished it now but I can't stop seeing it in my head.

Adele Parks writes so vividly, and so addictively, that I feel more like I have seen a film in my head than read a book. Her descriptions are perfect: from the slight claustrophobia of six people in a three bed house, to the snatches of glamour in hotel bars, from domestic bliss to dissatisfaction, from Abi's innate glamour that seems to infect those around her, to the chaos as it all unravels with a fiendish plot I didn't see coming and twists that made me gasp.

I would recommend this to everyone. It's like the most salacious gossip I've ever heard, and I lived through each emotion, especially Mel's impotence at the actions that spiral beyond her control and her struggles with Liam. This book made me despise one character and love the others. I even ended up with a bit of a crush on Ben!

Superb. This is everything I seek in a book and ten times more.

And by the way, don't ever, EVER, let an old university friend stay "as long as she needs"

This chilling read tells the story of University friends Abi and Mel who reunite after many years apart living very different lives. Mel has her son, who she fell pregnant with whilst at University with Abi, and her two daughters and husband. Abi has just left the USA after finding her own husband in bed with another woman and she needs a place to stay. Mel is more than happy to oblige but as the book unravels, so do the secrets between these two women…

I read this pretty quickly, probably across two days dipping in and out of the book, as I was desperate to get towards the end and see how exactly this would pan out. The storyline is gripping and it is quite the emotional rollercoaster. Adele Parks as always invests so much in her characters and storyline that you are basically immersed in the drama of it all, head snapping back and forwards between the tennis match that is the main protagonists lives.

So Adele Parks a fantastic author has written this book which I have just noticed is classed in the woman's fiction section, but as a man I still loved it. There is a dark edge to it to make it a thriller that grips you and I love the way that even at times I think surely it is to obvious where this is going the way it is but the unexpected twist and turns make it a breath taking read and I think that was ??? How did she turn the obvious into a unexpected. The answer is because she is a gifted author who knows how to write how to grab you and keep you
The story is based around a friendship from university between Mel and Abigail. Abigail finished her course and has moved to the States having having married Josh a fellow student and tutor from uni. She has been a success, Mel on the other hand had to drop it out of uni when she discovered she was pregnant. The story picks up 18 years later where Abi has caught her husband in their bed with a much younger lady and she has come back to England where Mel is now happily married to Ben and has two young girls plus Liam who is just about to turn 18 he also has a wonderful girlfriend called Tanya. Ben has taken on Liam as his own and they are happy as a family. After reading about Abi and the sudden turn of events from a email she sent to Mel, Mel invites her to stay with her family and all feels good for Mel but when the weekend turns into a week and has no sign of ending the roles become large waves that threaten to engulf this once happy and contented family and the waves block out the light to turn this novel from might to dark.
I hope you enjoy this book I think you will it's hard not to, and I thank the publishers and NetGalley for my copy.

An interesting plot idea with many a twist - but sorry to say that I guessed the crux of the plot very early on in the book - though I kept reading to see it through (and check if I was right - as a reader of many books in this genre I suppose you develop a "feel" for these things).

I will give nothing of the plot away here, but it's a good read!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for my honest review.