This was a decent enough story, played out by decent enough characters, but it did get a bit messy along the way.
We start with low-carb Queen Charlotte Vinge and lady-who-lunches Bianka Langeland who meet at a party, their husbands having just started working together. They appear to hit it off straight away and Bianka's fast and loose personality starts to have an effect on Charlotte's usually more staid one. Fast forward a wee bit and Charlotte invites Bianka to her usual "girls only" weekend in Ibiza, much to the chagrin of the two friends she usually goes with... And so begins a bit of an implausible, but fun, and much darker tale when things start to get out of hand...
But... as they say, what happens in Ibiza, stays in Ibiza... or can it ?
As I said, this was a decent enough story that mostly held my attention, although I did find myself rolling my eyes quite a bit throughout. I enjoyed the way that the chance meeting became a friendship became toxic and then developed into a rather raunchy relationship. And then all went completely south. But it all did take a wee while to really get going and then, after the middle part action, it all went a bit low again after the fact. Culminating in an ending that blew my mind for all the wrong reasons and left me somewhat lacking in satisfaction.
All that said, I am not about to write the author off for what was for me just the one miss, especially as I have read and enjoyed 5 of her other books. I'll still be looking out for what she serves up for next time. My thanks got to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Thank you net galley for this opportunity and providing me with an arc of girl friends. If I’m honest I have rated this book 3.5 stars however that should not dissuade you because it truly was a good read just was not for me. I found the first half of the book, which is world building, quite boring. I guess that’s because for me if I want a lot of world building I’d go into perhaps a fantasy not this. I just felt like the world was super fleshed out but then the characters weren’t as fleshed out? But I’ve seen people really enjoy this so perhaps it’s a me thing!

I found the characters funny at times and also engaging to read I just wish we had a little more from them!

Regardless I am excited to read the authors other works as I have heard nothing but fantastic reviews, I would also like to add girl friends would be a fantastic read by the pool in the summer! So may have to give it another go in the summer

Sorry this one just didn't do it for me, slow moving, disjointed and just a bit far fetched in places (don't even get me started on the ending).

Mt thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

3.5 ⭐️

This is one of those rare thrillers where I genuinely expected the story to go in a completely different direction to what actually happened, and I enjoyed the ending. The storyline was intriguing; it wasn’t what I was expecting it to be but I really liked it!

I did think that the book was too long and got a bit boring in the middle; the scenes in Ibiza especially dragged on and I lost interest there for a little while. However, this was still a very decent thriller ☺️

As soon as I read the premise for Girl Friends I was super keen to read it and it didn't disappoint. It has everything you could want in a thriller: it's tightly plotted and has multiple POVs which both help gallop the plot along, characters you absolutely do not route for, but intrigue you to keep turning the pages all the same, and twists you will not see coming. I also loved the chapters set in Oslo which were so beautifully descriptive that I felt I was right there with them. An addictive must-read. 4.5 stars rounded to 5.

The initial prequel scene in this book had me hooked, it made me want to dive straight in! Overall, I felt that this story was good but I did feel that it was slightly slow going with some moments of suspense but I would have loved more!

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

I had a lot higher expectations of this book. The idea and the story were interesting and quite impressive. However, it was hard to get into the story, however, the end was unexpected of course but I feel it was just ended to be ended, if it makes sense.

I would've loved to learn "the end" from the other characters' perspective, especially Storm since some chapters were from his perspective, but overall I feel like this book didn't give me what I needed.

Oooh this was so good! It was so gripping and full of twists and turns, can't wait to read more by the author!

I enjoyed this book very much, it was about obsessive friendship, that between Charlotte and Bianka.
When Charlotte invites Bianka on a girls trip with her friends, the plot unwinds with Charlotte realising that Bianka has a darker side to her personality.
This is an engaging page turner which i thoroughly enjoyed

Twists and turns aplenty in this gripping thriller. Just when you think you have it figured out, the author throws another Twist in the mix! A must read!!!

Girl Friends is a book that makes you want to read more. It's my first by Alex Dahl, but I will certainly look out for others by this author.

Charlotte is a Scandinavian keto queen, she has made herself a very successful woman promoting keto, along with her cookery books and cookware. Living in Wimbledon, she is surrounded by her Norwegian friends and lives a blissful life, cherished and adored by all around her. With the exception of her unfulfilled intimate life - her husband is just not interested in her. Bianka is a Norwegian beauty, new to Wimbledon (both husbands are employed by the same bank) and when she meets Charlotte, she wants her to be hers. She becomes obsessed with her and when they take a trip to Ibiza, there will be no going back.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a great storyline, intriguing and a real psychological thread running through, though I would have preferred an ending that felt a bit more credible and not so rushed. I would certainly recommend it.

What a great novel! The Spanish setting is wonderfully evoked as is the inner turmoil of the characters. The tension ramps up, slowly at first, then like a steam train. I'd not heard of Alex Dahl before but I sure have now!

Thank you Ntegalley, Alex Dahl and Head of Zeus, Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book for the eArc of Girl friends.

This is one of the first books Ive read of Alex Dahl and I wasn't disappointed. A wonderful, creepy, obsessive friendship blossoms between Charlotte and Bianka. In which things really kick off when Charlotte invites Bianka on a girlie holiday with her friends. The plot unwinds as the 2 of them become very close and Charlotte realises that Bianka has a darker, more disturbing side. The dymantic between not only the friends, but each of the families crescendo in the last 3/4 of the book. This pushes the reader to keep turning the pages for the last few and very effective twists!

The narrative of the POV, mainly Charlotte and Bianka, but does include other family members, all have very individual voices and personas. A great, page turning read from beginning to end.

Moving from Oslo to London for her husbands work is a big change. Meeting the group of expat wife's and disrupting long standing friendships.
Having it all but still not happy, secrets start to come out.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy of this book. An entertaining read to be sure, with lots of reveals and twists. I enjoyed the pace, it was odd that Bianka and Storm were third person narrative and Charlotte first. The ending threw me off, I don't really get the add in of a lot of the information in the last chapter. But as a whole, a fun summer thriller read.

I had been looking forward to reading this, and at points I was certainly intrigued by it all. But I found it incredibly slow to get going, wasn't that keen on either of the main characters. Storm to me was the most interesting character but I felt as though his sections weren't as in depth as I would have preferred.

Whereas Bianka and Charlotte are really unlikeable and unrelatable to, which I believe was the author's intent, in which case they came across well, but I just found it incredibly hard to care about them. Much less about which one would ultimately be victorious.

There are good bits, but ultimately I felt it just fell a bit flat for me, And the finale didn't really invoke any reaction from me at all., which is unusual in this genre.

Girlfriends was a drag in the first half and pacey in the second half. If you like lots of sex and hedonistic dislikable people, mixed with murder this may be for you.

I almost abandoned it half way through, although did finally complete it.
However it was too flaky and had far too many holes and errors for me to recommend it.

Thank you for the ARC in a change for my honest opinion, and sorry it wasn’t for me….

I really enjoyed reading this book. Loved the storyline as well as the writing style, very realistic. The book follows Charlotte and Bianka in Ibiza. They meet after relocating to London for their husbands jobs in a Nordic Bank. When Charlotte invites Bianka to join them on their annual girls Ibiza summer trip initially Annette and Lynne aren't happy and become jealous of the close new relationship However things take a turn when alcohol sun and sex become involved. There is obsession, murder, lies, secrets and friends not being who they seem and I was here for it. I will be recommending and looking for more from this author

I wasn’t overly enamoured with this at first. I thought it was overdramatic and “chick-litty” but about halfway through it really got into its groove and became a fabulously twisty, complex thriller. I can see that this will be a popular beach read this summer!

I enjoyed this and could t put it down.
Without giving too much away, new friend joins an Ibiza holiday with dramatic consequences….indulgent and racy and fun to read, a perfect beach book!