Patience with this one! While it might move a tad slowly at first, think of it as building the story that will build the tension that turns this into a twisty thriller. Fran, our unreliable narrator, is also unlikable in many ways but I felt sympathy for her as she's faced bad things at every turn. No spoilers from me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

Nicola Rayner is a new writer for readers who love psychological thrillers. Her first novel, was "The Girl Before You. This second novel is just as good as her debut. The story in "You and Me" centers around Fran, or "Freaky Fran" as she was called when she was younger. Fran is obsessed with Charles, an old friend from school. She stalks him, and one day this leads to her witnessing a potential crime ...

"You and Me" is a dark thriller with Caroline Kepnes -wibes. If you loved "You", you may enjoy this. Rayner has a way of creating believable characters, and she surprises the reader until the very end. The ending felt satisfying and well planned. "You and Me" is a great thriller to read on the beach when you need a thrilling page turner. If you have not read anything by this author before, you should check her out,

Francesca Knight is obsessed with Charles, she follows him around everywhere – even to the spot where their friend Dickie dies, but Charles doesn’t know he is being followed and Francesca has witnessed their friend’s death!
Francesca has a sister Ellie, they have not spoken to each other since they had a fall out many years ago and she has not seen her niece Rose. Ellie posts pictures online in different countries and Francesca is keen on meeting her niece – but something is odd about the pics, the first clue should have been when Ellie posts Rose’s pic wearing a different jumper but Fran lets go of the mistake.
When Dickie’s wife Caroline starts digging into what happened in the past, the secrets are unraveled and someone is in deep trouble. There are things no one should know and there are things that one should be careful while posting online, internet is a very strange place to be and it’s easy to create all kinds of profiles and no one will know better!
– the story was good, it was well written though in some places there’s a good chance of better editing – but all in all this was a good read.

3.5 stars
#netgalley #youandme #nicolarayner

Unreliable narrator, obsession plot, stalking and a main character that is a little different. This book was great, it was slow to start but picks up and man oh man does it go fast. Great read. Loved it.

I would rate this book 3.75 out 5 stars.

On the surface this sounds like a thriller premise you may have read before. However, the author did such an amazing job of leaving the reader unsure of whether our main character, Fran, is an obsessive and dangerous 'weirdo' or whether she is just a little bit kooky and misunderstood.

The story and where it goes are also not overly predictable like so many thrillers these days.

Highly recommend checking this one out.

This is a claustrophobic and chilling psychological suspense with a complex and unreliable protagonist. Fran is alone, living in her memories, estranged from her only family member and obsessed. Fran's character, and experiences, are integral to the story's development and all that follows. The pacing reflects the plot reveals, which are more frequent and shocking as the story progresses.

An ethos of sadness pervades this story, reflected in the final impactful twists.

I received a copy of this book from Avon Books UK via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I don’t give many five star reviews but this one deserves it. With and unreliable narrator and a twist you won’t see coming it is just a win all the way around. Well written and entertaining to be sure. It does start a bit slow but hang in there because it gets so good!

A really good thriller. And a twist you’ll never see coming so don’t even try. Buy this, curl up, turn everything off, grab a brew and ENJOY! You won’t regret it.

DNF at 30%
As much as I tried I just couldn't get into this book. I foind it very hard to follow what was happening and it also was very slow getting started and I just couldn't stay interested in the book.

Not a badly written book just not the one for me.

Try as I may, I couldn't get into this book. The plot felt very repetitive & there was nothing new happening until the very end. When downloading this book I thought this was about a stalker and was excited to see what new devious way of stalking would be unleashed.

As a thriller, the story is compelling and an excellent one with many twists and turns that many people will appreciate, but unfortunately I wasn’t sold on it.

I enjoyed this creepy unreliable narrator story. I think fans of You would enjoy this gender role reversal. I ALWAYS enjoy books where the MC works in a bookstore. Probably because that's my dream job. I thought Fran's character was very well-written.

As the story progresses, the reader learns that Fran isn't the only one who is obsessed. There are many secrets between the various characters, and it was fun to uncover them.

I did find the beginning a bit slow, and therefore it took me a long time to read this book all the way through. The ending is worth the wait, though!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Despite her oddness, Fran was an interesting character. I was still able to like her, although I may be in the minority on that one. Raynor did a wonderful job of intertwining the two mysteries and I found both mysteries to be equally compelling. The pacing was perfect and the conclusion was satisfying and somewhat shocking.

Although this book starts off relatively slow, as the story progresses and the pace ramps up, it an absolute page turner.
I loved the authors writing style and the ways in which it brought the characters to life. You could feel the emotions that the characters were experiencing, and the suspense often had me on the edge of my seat.

A brilliant thriller, and a book I would highly recommend.

Great book! Couldn’t wait to read it, and it didn’t disappoint! Grabbed my attention within the first two chapters, and then I didn’t want to put it down. Excellent character development - I think that every reader will find a character to whom they relate. I enjoy books where there is character development, and then also a surprise, and this book provided both! Looking forward to reading more from this author!

This book sucked me in from the beginning! It was a little slow building up but I devoured it in less than 24 hours.

Stick with it the ending is worth the lagging start.

You and Me by Nicola Rayner
Rating 4.3/5
An evenly paced novel, picks up speed and hits with a wallop of an ending. Recommended.
Francesca Knight, is a solitary spinster who has settled to working in a bookshop, she has an obsession. His name is Charles.
Fran met Charles at boarding school. Not a happy period in her life, she was lonely and lived in the shadow of her younger, prettier sister, Elle.
There are a number of twists and turns; not everyone is who they appear to be and then the novel takes on a creepy, sinister pace. A page turner, be prepared to be shocked.
If You and Me ever makes it to the screen, there is a perfect English comedian and actress who would be superb in the lead role.
Thank you to Nicola Rayner, Avon and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. In return I have written an honest and unbiased review.

I enjoyed this book. I didn't relate to the characters, however that didn't stop me liking the story. It was wonderfully written and well thought out. Would recommend.

This is a solid thriller. A story following Fran and her inability to let go of certain aspects of her past and coming to terms with her current relationship with her sister. That is as much synopsis as I will give as I am a firm believer in going into any thriller completely blind.

This was fast-paced, intriguing, easy to read and became a little bonkers towards the end (in a good way). I definitely enjoyed this read and all the twists it delivered. It has been a while since I have read a good thriller such as this one.

The only reason I am knocking off a star is I felt that Juliet was a loose end that was never tied up. She played a prominent part in the story and then poof, we as the reader never hear from her again in the last bit of the story. I wish more detail had been delivered in terms of Fiona and Charles. I felt what the reader receives is quite abrupt. The huge plot twist happens and then the end. I would have liked to have delved into the psyche of Fiona and Charles a little more.

I quite enjoyed this audiobook, I found the premise interesting, but I found the protagonist quite hard to relate to and, therefore, sympathise with. To be honest, I didn't really like any of the characters in the book, which made it hard for me ti invest in the story. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't brilliant either and it would not be top of my books to recommend in this genre.

It took a while to get into this book, so I thought I wouldn't enjoy it. Thankfully I persevered with it, and I'm glad I did. The story unfolded gradually throughout, with lots of twists and turns to keep me guessing. The end was a huge surprise.