The Toxic Friend by J A Bakerextremely is an extremely descriptive read! All those readers who love to get the story in the smallest details will enjoy this book so much! It was a little too much for me but who I am to judge? If you love strong suspense with detailed and descriptive writing this book will be right for you because the author is a good storyteller!
This story is told from three different points of view - Eva, Garrett (ex-boyfriend), and Celia (Eva's friend of many years). Eva and Celia both grow up in foster care. Both are damaged. Eva is desperate to find her birth parents! She needs that closure! So Eva decides to walk out on everything that she had stable in her life and decided to head to her hometown Whitby, the place her parents come from, and both Garrett and Celia are following. Both have different goals.
It is very slow moving and the chapters are so long! I am a busy person with a full-time job, kids, life, and books around me, I love spread, and action and I love to wake up an hour early to do the reading... If I wake up and instead of reading decide to sleep more, the book definitely didn't grab me!
At the same time, I can't say it was a bad book just took me a while to get into the story.
Thanks, NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and the author for an advance copy!
p.S. Love the cover!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for allowing me the read/review of #TheToxicFriend by #JABaker. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Without giving a spoiler I like the the battles of one of the girls. And the ending kicked butt.

The Toxic Friend by J A Baker was a thoroughly enjoyable read!

This quick thriller is one that will keep readers on the edge of their seat just screaming to figure out what was going to happen in the end.
I didn’t want this book to end so soon.
An engaging read. And I thoroughly enjoyed this compelling and entertaining book.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Boldwood Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This was alright. A few scenes stuck in my mind. Those parts were amazing! I just never got attached to our girls.

A very good book from the first page, it had it all and the detail was also very good, I can’t wait to see what’s next in the future

After spending her childhood in care, Eva is desperate to find her birth parents and to get some closure on her difficult past. And so she finishes her relationship with boyfriend Gareth, leaves her home in London, and heads to Whitby in search of the family she has never known.

But Eva’s close friend, Celia is worried. Eva has stopped answering her calls and when Celia travels to London to speak to her she realises Eva has moved without telling anyone. Both women have been badly damaged by their childhoods, and Celia makes the decision to follow Eva to Whitby, concerned that Eva is unravelling....

Gareth, furious that Eva ended things the way she did also decides to go in search of his missing girlfriend. But it is the start of a lethal situation.

But who exactly is Eva and why is Celia so concerned about her friend?

I was intrigued by the cover, and the blurb. Just my sort of thriller. A 5 star read, and I couldn't put down until I knew how it was all going to unravel. Another great book by Baker.

Sorry not for me too graphic and disturbing. Its a Dnf for me Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

I found “The Toxic Friend” by JA Baker a disappointing read that fails to live up to its promising premise. I am so glad it is not the first book I have read by this author or it might have been my last. A complex relationship and a troubled past promised more entertainment and I never felt at any stage a compulsion to read on.

Eva is a young woman with a difficult childhood who wants to uncover her birth parents and find closure. The novel focuses on the friendship between Eva and Celia but I didn’t feel that the author fully developed the characters enough to pull me in.

For me the story dragged a little and it was as much as I could do to keep reading. Hopefully this is just a one off disappointment because I have read other books by this author and really enjoyed them. I didn’t enjoy the writing style and felt that there was not enough suspense to make me want to read more.

I would have to say that this novel was disappointing after expecting so much following previous reads by this author.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Boldwood Books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book. I really enjoyed the writing style a lot and the ending had me shook!! I’m excited for this to come out and others to read it too!

Thank you NetGalley , J A Baker and Boldwood books for an ARC of this book, for honest opinion.

The Toxic Friend is a fast-paced, climactical, keeps you on the edge of your seat thriller. I couldn’t put the book down I was hooked right from the beginning. I recommend you read this book.

This book was a decent read, it had the usual light suspense, intrigue, action murder, drama, revenge, a decent who done it and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was interesting and flowed nicely! At times it was a little hard for me to follow my mind wandered a lot so I guess this book was just ok for me! It worth reading but just ok! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Eva was given up for adoption when she was a toddler and put into care.
She was in the same foster home as Celia, and they became firm friends. So much so, that Celia emulates Eva in every way.

Eva has gone to find her birth mother to get some answers. Why was she given up and not the child that was born after that?

Celia has to try and stop Eva from contacting her mother and ruining her life.

I have read several of J A Baker's books and enjoyed them thoroughly. To me, this book only seemed to pick up close to the end. It did not grab me from the first chapter.

Something felt 'off', I am not sure if it was the story or the writing.
There was, however quite a twist at the end.
Triggers are child abuse and mental health issues.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't finish. This just wasn't for me. Waaaay too many really shady topics and it all felt a but forced for shock value

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood books for an ARC of The toxic friend by J A Baker.

Super talented author who writes realistic characters and plots. Another one that you won’t see coming.

The story was well-paced overall, but some of the themes make it a really difficult read. I had a hard time connecting with or liking the characters. I like the concept of the estranged best friend but everyone seems a little too crazy.

I struggled with this book. Overall it was written well, but some of the subject matter was difficult to read. The story itself was well paced and I did fiinish it in the end,

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood books for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my opinion.

I was initially drawn in after reading the story description. After years in foster care, and now an adult Eva decides it’s time to meet her birth parents. She knows where they are, and who they are and begins her journey to Whitby to confront them; “why didn’t they want me?”. What she didn’t account for was her estranged best friend, and recent ex boyfriend to both follow her to Whitby, from London. When ensues is an intense game of cat and mouse as the clock ticks on who will find Eva’s parents first; Eva? Gareth? Or Celia?

The story did keep me interested, and was a fast read. However, I found some of the underlying topics of the book (incestuous relationships), and all the violence/gore to be a bit graphic. I enjoy reading thrillers, but overall this one was just too disturbing for me to like.

While the premise of "The Toxic Friend" initially caught my attention, I struggled with the writing style and failed to connect with the plotline or any of the characters making it hard to empathize with their journey.
The frequent use of profanity, which I don't typically mind in smaller amounts felt excessive and became a distraction for me personally.

While this book may not have been for me, I do want to state that this was just my personal experience and opinion. I do think others may find this book appealing depending on their personal preferences.

Thank you J.A. Baker , Net Galley and Boldwood Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.