Three women, Hannah, Cate and Lissa, discover life doesn’t always provide what you expect.

Having adored The Ballroom by Anna Hope I was expecting fabulous writing and an emotional read, but this time the author has exceeded everything I wanted to produce a soaring, searing, portrait of love, loss, betrayal and friendship in Expectation. Reading Expectation has felt like a physical process. My heart feels bruised and my chest tight because every word and every moment in this superb book is imbued with depth and intensity. It is, quite simply, wonderful. The way Anna Hope writes, with such exquisite attention to detail, is an absolute joy to read. So often I was reminded of Thomas Hardy’s ability to create nature in her descriptions.

It’s going to be almost impossible to convey the way I feel about Expectation. I thought the plot was fabulous. I loved the peeling back of layers of time and personality so that I felt I was part of the narrative, coming to an understanding about life at much the same time as the characters. That said, the more I reflect on the book after finishing it, the more it seems to offer. I will be thinking about Expectation for a very long time.

I loved and hated each of the three women in turn, vascillating between the two, much as they do themselves. Hannah, Cate and Lissa are vibrant, alive and flawed. Their relationships with one another, their parents and their lovers are beautifully presented by Anna Hope, but more important is the way in which she explores their relationships with themselves. Expectation is a superb observation of how we often know ourselves even less than we know others so that it gave me so much more than perfect entertainment as I read. Expectation made me examine who I am, what I want and how others might be affected by me. It sounds like hyperbole, but I truly think reading Expectation is a life altering experience. Somehow I feel fractured by reading Expectation, but then repaired to be greater than I was before. It has been an almost physical experience because of the profound emotions so skilfully conveyed. The potency of Anna Hope’s portrayal of humanity is astounding.

In case you hadn’t realised, I absolutely adored Expectation. It is, without doubt, one of my books of the year. Anna Hope has an outstanding talent to carry the reader along with her narrative and characters until they are completely entranced. I was mesmerised.

I loved this book! It's so beautifully written and every word of it rings true. The characters are flawed but lovable and I believed so much in their lives and issues. I'm off to buy everything else Anna Hope has written.

This book really blew me away- it's a deep dive into the often fraught and tumultuous nature of female friendships and the dynamics between women in times of loss, grief and happiness.

The book follows around a decade of the lives of long term friends Lissa, Hannah and Cate. Having lived together in their twenties, they are all now living apart and struggling with a variety of different issues in their lives. I felt the sketching out of these characters was so tangible and realistic, and the flawed nature of the women made the story something really special. It did have an air of Dolly Alderton's Everything I Know About Love, (which I assume inspired Hannah's trip to Orkney), but as it was from the point of view of all three women, it was easier to understand the motivations that drove them to do things or say things that often harmed their friendships.

The book left me with a real sense of peace- I thought the portrayal of death, grief and mourning in the book was so delicately handled, (I won't elaborate, as obvious spoilers) and gave this title a depth that I haven't felt before in some of the other similar titles about female friends. I feel as if it may be a book I'll come back to in ten years and will give me a totally different read.

I really enjoyed this book. My sympathies shifted seamlessly between the characters as their stories unfolded and overlapped and the time shifts were used to great effect. Anna Hope brings people and places to life beautifully.

I devoured this book in one glorious all-consuming sitting – and when it finished, I allowed myself to cry. The emotional impact of this book is immense, the way you become enmeshed and immersed in the story unusual in its intensity – and the writing is absolutely exquisite. It looks at friendship, at life’s twists and turns and the way they often disappoint and fail to live up to their promise, at betrayal and its impacts – and explores the emotional responses of its characters with a depth and absolute truth that’s enthralling to experience.

The book’s construction is unusual. I was on the verge of saying “challenging”, but it really isn’t – despite the fact that the story is told from the perspectives of its three main characters and dips, in a way that seems almost random, into other events in earlier timeframes that shaped them and provide insight into their relationships with each other. And it’s wrong of me to call the three women at the heart of this story “characters”, because they’re so much more than that – these are women you know, presenting you with truths that are familiar, evoking feelings and memories half forgotten and too often ignored. I’ve always wondered about “luminous prose”, not sure of its meaning – but for this book, I can’t think of a better description.

But no book can be a success on feelings alone – there’s a compelling narrative too. On the surface, it’s the story of three women – Hannah, Cate and Lisa – their friendship, their hopes and expectations, their relationships, the obstacles life throws (sometimes of their own making), their choices right and wrong, the futures they imagine and the realities they encounter. Beneath the surface, there’s so much more – the feminist themes, the desire for and reality of motherhood, the passion and the disappointment, the complexity of their feelings towards each other, the elusiveness of their dreams.

There are times when I doubt my ability to write a review that captures my feelings when I encounter a book this wonderful – I’ve done my best, but above all I’d urge everyone to read it. Totally unforgettable, absolutely stunning – and, without question, one of my books of the year.

On the premise of the book I requested Expectation. I started it with great ... expectation. However, apart from the start when the friends were young, I found the three were stereotypes and therefore held no surprises.With some many books competing for my attention, I'm afraid I abandoned the story in favour for one that kept my interest.

I really liked the premise of this book when I read the synopsis, but sadly it did not live up to its promise. The observational writing style makes it difficult to feel empathy for any of the characters, and I kept having to remind myself which was which, even halfway into the book. It wasn't clear what was motivating the behaviour of the characters. Unfortunately, not a satisfying read.

I knew this book would be amazing based solely on the blurb. Twenty-something females who aren't where they thought they'd be? Where they feel they should be? Now that's something I can relate to, and I think many others can too. Perhaps that's why this book struck a chord with me, and why I enjoyed it so much.

Out of the three narratives, each viewpoint character had good things in their lives, and also bad. They all had flaws, as we all do, (although I like to think that I am perhaps less self-centered and a better friend than all three…!), and as I was reading, I was trying to figure out whose life I'd rather have. Then I realised I'd fallen down the exact same trap that the narrators themselves had fallen down; comparing and contrasting one’s own life with that of others, based only on one’s perception of them, and not on the reality. We all know we shouldn't do it, yet we all do. It’s impossible not to, especially now, during the ‘social media age’. Even the title of this book weighs heavily. Expectations of how things should be are ever present, and they diminish what we do have, thus make us more unhappy.

The narrative style often read more as a ‘play by play’ which worked well, and I found myself engrossed in it, despite the lengthy descriptions. It’s strange that I felt so close to the point of view characters, as my past experience of similar narration styles has left me feeling detached from them. I found myself eager to read on, and finished it in a matter of days.

Completely different to any book I've read, and I will be recommending it to everyone!

The blurb for the book attracted me as its about three women who have known each other since they met in their 20's. Then fast forward to when they are in their early 40's. This is currently where I am in my life so thought it would resonate with me.

I'm sad to say that I just didn't enjoy the book as much as I had hoped. I didn't find any of the characters likeable, the subjects were quite hard hitting and dreary, not one of them had any positive experiences in their life. I just couldn't get into it at all and found it hard going to keep reading to the end.

This just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for a honest review

Thank you to Net Gallery for the opportunity to read this book.

I actually finished it a few days before writing this review as I needed time to digest the story.

The story focuses on 3 women, Lissa, Cate and Hannah and their journey from children to women with the main focus of the story being their circumstances in 2010. Lissa is a struggling actress with a trying relationship with her mum. Cate in a new wife and mum who is struggling with the adjustments that that brings. Hannah is married and going through IVF.

I'm not normally a fan of the flashback style of writing because I struggle to follow who's who etc but this was so well written and the 3 women have such different back stories that it was easy to keep up.

The writing is absolutely sublime (unlike mine here as I can't express how beautifully this book is written!) and reached right into my heart and have it a good squeeze. By the end I was a snotty blubbering mess and it's taken me a few days to recover. This has been my book of 2019 so far and I'll be honest I can't imagine anything beating it!.

My thanks to Netgalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Anna Hope has been an author to follow, for me, since I read 'Wake'. This is a very different novel in feel and in time frame but with a similar framework of the lives of three women. This time they are modern, professional women, friends since teen age or university times and living very different, modern, relate able lives. I don't want to spoil the plot, which has several unexpected twists of focus and event. I'll just say that I read it with great pleasure, although not quickly as it needs to be read carefully. An excellent, thoughtful writer with a lot to say about how women live their lives in the 21st Century.

This is a beautifully written story about the lives of three women: Hannah ,Cate and Lissa that starts off slowly but draws you in if you persevere. Set over a period of 10 years when the three friends have left university and are starting out on their adult lives ,this is a story of female friendship with all it’s ups and downs . Chapters set in the past help us to understand the present day complications of the women’s friendship .
Each of them has not lived up to their own expectations of life so far ,all are struggling with that and also with the expectation placed on them by others in their lives. Great characterisation ,lovely writing ,I read it fairly quickly.

What a lovely book. I had never heard of Anna Hope before I was sent this book for review but I will definitely be seeking out her books in the future. Expectation is a ride through the lives of Lissa, Cate and Hannah as they progress through school, university, family, love and children. Told from the perspective of each of the girls in turn, it shows how two people (or three!) can see the same situation differently, and how you can sometimes end up doing awful things to the people you love, when you are blinded by passion and jealousy.

Hannah is a shorty something desperate to start a family with her lovely husband Nathan, and they are stuck in the monthly cycle of programmed sex and failed IVF. Cate is living in Canterbury with Sam, a talented chef, after a whirlwind romance resulted in a pregnancy. She pines after a lost love..... Lissa is a flighty strong willed actress - desperate to 'make it' but not sure if she is good enough.

I didn't realise when I picked up this book that parts of it would be set in my home county and I recognised some of the descriptions of places like Whitstable and Canterbury Cathedral - the book made me want to go back and retrace my steps, and appreciate where I come from.

Unusually, I cried when I was finishing this book, and I'm still not sure whether it was because of the beautiful last chapter, or because I had come to the end and could never experience it for the first time again. A beautiful story!

5* adored this book! Full review to come.

I received an advanced copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

DNFed @ 40%

I’m sorry to say that this book was not at all what I expected… I'm giving it 2 stars because NetGalley requires a rating and I think 1 star is too harsh - I never rate books I don't finish because I don't think it is fair, but I’ve read enough to have an opinion about this story and it’s not a positive one.

This is not a bad book, just not a book for me. It’s like the author took the worst parts of being single, the worst of being married and the worst of being a mom and created these three women with whom I haven’t experienced the faintest of connections, making it impossible for me to empathise with their many woes, which is kind of fundamental when you’re reading an emotional book. Basically, reading this book is sucking the joy out of me and I hate it. Plus, I absolutely despise the direction Lissa’s story is taking. The writing sometimes follows a character’s train of thought rather than just telling the story and that was confusing at times, but other than that it was quite good.

Unfortunately, I cannot say I’d recommend this book, but this has been a particularly personal experience, so if anyone is interested in reading it, I’d say just ignore my review and give it a go.

A really engrossing and engaging read that I read in a few v enjoyable sittings over one weekend. Hope captures female friendships incredibly well, and the way they can ebb and flow over the years and deals with the myth of 'having it all' in a very smart and sensitive way. Would recommend.

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. Anna Hope is an author whose books I am always eager to read. They are the type of fiction that you are still thinking about days after finishing, there are scenes in her book Wake that I still think about a few years after reading it.

Hannah, Lissa and Cate have been friends for years. The reader sees their relationship develop throughout the novel through flashbacks. You see their dreams, first love, career, life choices and disappointments. You see the way they appear to others and the way they really feel. Most of the time they feel like failures, all for very different reasons.

Hannah was the character who appealed to me most, not only because I had a lot of sympathy for her, and the many women who go through similar situations but also because she was a lot warmer than the other two. Cate, I did struggle with occasionally but she dd grow on me and I appreciated her sense of humour and her putdowns. Lissa I struggled with more. I didn’t dislike her but she was more aloof. The reasons for this were explained in some degree towards the end.

The writing is stunning and the more I read about the three friends I was more reluctant to put the book down. I was totally engrossed in learning more about the three women and their families. None of it felt forced, there will be many people who see themselves, or their loved ones in any of these characters.

Highly recommended, one of my favourite books this year and I hope its not a long time to wait for book 4.

3.5 stars from me.

An enjoyable read but I felt that I was lacking in something, something I cant put my finger on. Usually a book written in 3 perspectives is carried through really well but this one seemed to dilute.

The characters are well written and their own personal stories were woven together really well but they just weren't strong enough for my liking.

Thank you to netgalley and Random House UK for the ARC

One of the promotional lines for Expectation by Anna Hope states, “For fans of Sally Rooney, Diana Evans, Dolly Alderton, Elizabeth Day and Fleabag” and yes, yes to all of this. This book is one of the most powerful I have read this year (and I say that in a year where I have read An American Marriage, Normal People and The Most Fun I Ever Had). It got firmly under my skin so much so that it made me cry at my desk during my lunch break.

Hannah, Lissa and Cate, three friends who live in London are presented to us via multi-person narrative with time slips and shifting perspectives of both their relationships with each other and with themselves. Three very different women, they share a flat and find their feet in London, building both careers and relationships. I’m making this sound like some 2019 FRIENDS which it isn’t at all. It is weighty, lyrical and gorgeous and packs an emotional punch.

As we slip back and forth between now and then we meet Hannah, Lissa and Cate as they grow from teens to adults and we watch as what they want and what they achieve differ wildly. We meet them in 2004 when they

"…live in the best house on the best park in the best part of the best city on the planet. Much of their lives is still before them. They have made mistakes but they are not fatal. They are no longer young but they do not feel old. They still have time, time to look backwards and look forwards."

This feeling of being on the precipice of something exciting is a feeling which I think many of us can recall and Anna Hope perfectly encapsulates both this and what happens next. Because often you realise those days are behind you and your life hasn’t worked out quite how you expected.

Life is messy, complicated and difficult and our protagonists are used to explore this most difficult of emotions; failure. Organised Hannah whose career is bright, has fallen in love in her early 20s, got married and has a lovely house. She has done everything ‘right’ yet she has discovered in the most brutal way that “bad things happen to good people all the time.” Cate is married with a baby son, but parenthood isn’t all its cracked up to be and her past freedoms are at the forefront of her mind. Lissa is an actress who at the beginning of the novel is on the cusp of greatness yet as time goes on she is struggling for parts and struggling to pay the rent. Through the spectrum of their friendship we watch as they deal with life and its obstacles.

As I was reading this, I thought, “oh, here’s a book for my generation! At last” In a world of books for twenty somethings and for women with children/teenagers and nuclear families imploding there was a book about three women who have the world at their feet and find that the reality doesn’t quite live up to their expectations. I ached at the 1990s references, of Tony Blair coming into power, going away to University, all of this promise of a future where women can do anything, be anything, go anywhere – more freedom than previous generations could imagine, and yet, failure. Failure to be a mother, to have a career, to enjoy being a mother (in a world of social media showing how hashtag blessed mothers are) and the crushing disappointment of that and the realisation that we’re letting down our potential.

I especially enjoyed the exploration of women’s friendships and how they alter and change. The relationship between Hannah, Cate and Lissa feels wholly authentic with marriage, pregnancy, career issues and loneliness all being addressed. I felt very affected by this book and its beautiful and lyrical prose and its wonderful and realistic characters. It is a tender and sensitive book which deals with a myriad of important themes in an eloquent and poetic way. A real gem of a book, Expectation is something I will think about for a long time to come.

I was given a free e-Arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review:

I though I was going to love this - a book about 3 women in their early 40s whose lives haven't gone quite to plan? yes please. The idea was great, unfortunately the execution was not well done. Here's a list of things that I did not appreciate about this book:

1) It moved around in time, with no apparent pattern
2) All parts of it were written in present tense
3) The characterisation was weak, and even at the end I had to remind myself who was who. Because they were so two dimensional, that part was easy.
4) I think it's meant to be about female friendship, if so its a very odd, and somewhat misogynistic view of women's relationships.
5) All the (very few) interesting things happened between the chapters, and we are left with lengthy descriptions of characters doing everyday activities...
6) ...except for the (three or four) sex scenes, which are deliberately crude and seem out of place and designed to shock.
7) The ending.

Oh well, can't win them all.