I was expecting a thriller with twists and turns, what I got was a mild family drama.

Two couples, Mark & Harriet and Gary & Yvette have been friends for many years, I struggled to remember who was who in the beginning… They each have things going on in their individual lives and the book is written from the perspective of all 4… If I’m honest I struggled to really follow what this was fundamentally about. I’m really underwhelmed…

I thought it was going to pick up when they all moved in together & was hoping for some momentum (based on the prologue) but sadly it wasn’t to be.

Thank you to netgalley and HQ for the opportunity read & review the digital ARC of this book.

I struggled with this one slightly as the description didn’t really tally with the story. The events described don’t happen until over half way through the book, so it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting BUT I did still enjoy it.

Two couples make an unlikely friendship. Mark and Harriet live in a posh area, in a gorgeous home and have twin boys. Their boys couldn’t be more different and Mark struggles to get on with Owen, which makes life difficult when the boys return from their respective Universities. Yvette and Gary live in a slightly more run down area and have two daughters. One daughter is settled but currently going through IVF treatment and the other was planning on going to Uni until the boyfriend came along.

Gary struggles with his teaching career and yearns to reunite his band and rekindle their music career, but that would involve travelling to Manchester. Meanwhile, Mark is struggling with his company after a few dodgy decisions and Harriet is on the verge of losing her latest project. The couples decide that maybe the answer to all their problems is to move to Manchester and start a fresh in a home all together. But will it work ?

This is a good domestic type book but the description doesn’t really give a great insight into the storyline. All in all there are some great characters with a good storyline, just not what I was expecting.

Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

A thoroughly enjoyable read about two couples living in London with completely different lifestyles but are the best of friends. Both are going through a difficult patch in their relationships and way of living and come up with the idea of moving north to live together in an eco style house planning to become more self sufficient but doesn't work out as planned. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down and would highly recommend reading this.

Initially I found it quite tricky to follow who was who and what the various relationships were but once I got the characters straight in my head this was a very enjoyable read.
With lots of entangled story lines the characters set off on an adventure to set up a commune- albeit a very fancy one in a posh apartment!
As can be easily imagined cracks appear very quickly and relationships falter and fail as the situation becomes ever more twisted and complex.
The characters are easy to distrust and dislike and the tension is palpable throughout.
.

This was an OK read, I did enjoy it but not as much as I thought I would. I was expecting a thriller from the synopsis but this was more of a family drama. The characters were well rounded but not very likeable in my opinion. It was quite slow paced at the start, depicting the background to the story, and then picked up but teetered off at the end. I would recommend it as a read but be prepared for not a thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers HQ for an Arc in exchange for an honest opinion

Old Friends is about 2 couples and their families, their friendship over time and the dynamics. Yvette is one of the main characters and most likeable, married to old rockstar Gaz. Harriet is a little colder and married to stereotypical city man Mark. I got through the book quite quickly but found it was lacking and real storyline. Apart from a fling between couples that when outed didn’t create any grabbing storyline, there wasn’t much too it. It was more like a narrative of lives than a book with events happening to draw you in. Wouldn’t recommend it sadly.

This is the story of two couples and their grown up children. They are best friends despite having very different lifestyles. Both couples are facing tensions in their relationships and their work. and issues with their children. They eventually decide to relocate and share a house together. Then things really start to unravel. I liked the characters, the plot was well constructed and provided a satisfactory conclusion. I would not have described this as a thriller, though.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This book is about two couples, Yvette and Gary, and Mark and Hattie. Both couples live in London. Gary is a teacher after once being a famous rock star, Yvette is a teaching assistant, Mark owns his own PR company, and Harriet is an architect. Both couples have children, and go through bad times in life like everyone. They decide to up and leave London and move to Gary and Yvette’s home roots in Manchester. Their kids are all grown now, so they decide that communal living is worth a go. But things turn not so good as they hoped.

I loved this book, I read it in less than 24 hours. The characters were all relatable in their own way, I especially loved Yvette. The writing flowed really well and was a complete page turner. The book also tackled real world issues, such as addiction, depression, struggles to conceive, and money issues. The only slight downside was that I felt the ending was rushed, albeit tied up neatly.
Overall, an excellent read that I would recommend!!

Read through netgalley
This is the story about 4 friends and as other have said, the events in the description don’t really happen until about half way through. The characters were mostly horrible and self absorbed and the ending was vaguely satisfying.

For me though, it is very much not a thriller or mystery as I thought it was, but the story about 4 people who were incredibly dull, middle class and privileged: messing up their lives (which builds to the vaguely satisfying ending).
I am really grateful for the opportunity to read it but I don’t think it was for me.

It wasn’t badly written though and some of the characters were nicely hate-able!

How close are you to your friends?

A former Rock Hero now a teacher (music) his Rock Chick Wife now a T.A. both great professions. There 2 friends a self made man and his architect wife and a platera of kids all very different. The wives meet first hit it off and they didn't look back various life situations draw them together but I will let you read about it as that's more fun.

But as with all good novels there is more beneath the surface that just adds clout to this wonderful and edgy tale. Each chapter belongs to character by including the others. I enjoyed the way it was done seeing the novel progress from each angle. The twists are well worked and the biggest is totally unexpected.

For me this is a 5 star without any questions and I'm sure you will feel the same, sit back relax and escape life this is your book.

I enjoyed this book but I didn't find it compelling. The characters are well drawn, but the drama is rather sudden, and it almost felt as if the author had given up after that. The book seemed to promise more than it delivered, which is a shame as I enjoyed finding out about the characters.

First up I do think it needs pointing out before readers go into this thinking it's a Thriller. A thriller it is not, but more a mild family drama, of which (and I'm being totally honest here) not a great deal happens either.

OK maybe I've read too many books now, and maybe that means I need more now from them but in my opinion yes Old Friends was lacking in plot.

The characters however were developed extremely well, infact we spent the entire first half on character developments which did quite a good job of distracting away from the fact not a lot was happening in the way of action.

The four main characters themselves were all very unrelatable and not my kinda peeps at all which isn't necessarily a bad thing usually, I don't have to like them in order to enjoy the book but in this case, someone to root for would have maybe helped me here.

The ending is always a big factor for me and normally the make or break. The ending here unfortunately didn't work for me personally. So, something happened that had the opportunity to be huge and a real shock factor but it was so rushed and almost brushed away like it was nothing I was just like 'WTH!??' then the end!🤷‍♀️
I felt this book had the potential to be something great and it just failed to deliver.

I did like the way the story flowed, it was easy and uncomplicated, but because of my complaints above, easy and uncomplicated just didn't cut it I'm sorry.

Massive thank you to #Netgalley and #HQStories for allowing me to read early

I really enjoyed this. It’s more of a family domestic drama than a thriller but that said I read it over two evenings and really did want to put it down. Two families, old friends, and mid life crises.
I liked the characters, all believably flawed. A be carful what you wish for tale

Had I known this wasn't actually the thriller it is being marketed is as, I wouldn't have read it. It was a good book but not what I was expecting at all. More a family drama. I did find it interesting enough to keep reading though.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Good complex characters, but a rather slow set up. I still enjoyed it but it was a book I had to force myself to pick up again. Worth it in the end, but would've liked a faster start.

The description of this book led me to believe it was dark and dramatic. Unfortunately it was neither of those things. In my opinion this should be marketed as a family/friends domestic saga. There was nothing at all thriller about it.

The cohabiting of the characters did not happen until well into the story, the first half was scene setting and character introduction. When the couples did move in together the story became rushed, with one or two sub plots that were not entirely useful to the story, and some totally unnecessary (the visit to Oxford is one such).

If the reader goes into this book as a domestic style story, then it would be a good plot, with well developed characters, a nice, easy read, ideal for a holiday book.

Thank you NetGalley.

This is a decent family drama with a few twists throughout that kept me guessing.
The blurb on the front page doesn’t really represent what the story is about though. The friends didn’t actually move in together until mid way through the book and there are many sub plots that feature more within this book.
Overall, it’s probably at 3.5 star read for me.

Having read this author before I was looking forward to this one and it certainly lived up to expectations.

Two couples, best of friends. One wealthy, the other not so much. When a chance to move up north from London and share an old renovated warehouse is mooted, it could be the fresh start they all are looking for. But what starts as a dream move will soon become a nightmare as their friendship begins to fracture.

An excellent family drama which I recommend.

This wasn't awful, but it is being marketed badly. The events in the blurb don't happen until over halfway through the book, and never has a book been less 'dark and twisty.' It's a domestic drama, not a thriller in any way.

If I had known those things going in, I probably wouldn't have chosen to read it as that isn't my kind of book. However, the book was well-written and the characters all felt real and were quite interesting to read about. Not an awful lot happened but I was interested enough to see how everything would unfold so I did read until the end.

This one didn't take long to get through but it did have me intrigued the whole way through!! It wasn't really a thriller so not quite what I was expecting but I still really enjoyed it. The characters were all quite human which I liked but some parts seemed a bit unrealistic. Then again, it is fiction so that's allowed! I did end up really invested to see how it was all going to play out and I have to say, I did not expect that ending so it does have a nice little twist or 2 involved. A lighthearted read that doesn't require too much brain power and a nice way to fill an afternoon or two