This book was really good. Although I frequently read romance books, this book hooked me. I found this book so intriguing and honestly could not have predicted the ending. This book was such a good read. It took a bit to get into it, but then I was so into it.
Spice: The main plot of the book is based around a woman finding the father of her son that she had as a teen, so there definitely is a mention to sex in it. But it isn't the main topic of the story and the story more focuses on friends and their journey. There is no explicit and not even really any closed door. It happened but it isn't described at all.
I would highly recommend this book. It has so many plot twists and turns. This would be such a good movie. Its different than a lot of books I read, but really good. One thing that was kind of confusing was all of the different point of views.

3.5 rounded up

Four school friends, Morgan, Emily, Tiff and Paige are the members of the “Secret Gift Society “. At their prom they vow never to lose that valued friendship. This was 19 years ago and they haven’t spoken since. What happened that night to sever their strong bonds? In the present day, Morgan is having issues with her teenage son Olly who wants to know who his father is which she has never revealed. Morgan decides it’s time to let bygones be bygones and gets in touch with her three former friends as she needs their help.

This has more elements to it than the usual women’s fiction genre as it contains elements of mystery with deeply held secrets that have seriously impacted lives. The premise of the novel is good as it explores betrayal, amending past mistakes via reconnection and forgiveness. This is done well as you witness how each character has changed or not since that pivotal night.

The characters feel authentic and I especially like Morgan who is the central protagonist here, although all are well portrayed so you get a sense of their differing personalities. It captures them as teens as well, they are perhaps somewhat naive but mostly good hearted and it conveys their adult wariness and resistance to each other as 35 year olds.

It does become a bit convoluted when the plot gets a bit busy although this does mean there is rarely a dull moment. However, there is some needless repetition which slows the pace. There’s one aspect of the storyline that makes little sense to me as the characters unnecessarily head first to France and then to Cornwall????

Overall though it’s a good enjoyable read with many positive aspects and I would happily read this author again.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Boldwood Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I would like to thank the publishers and NetGallery for allowing me to review this book. This was a great story about friendship and life, which pulls at your heart making you want to read on and on.

Really enjoyed this book! Would definitely recommend.

This book just pulled me in. The story pulled at my heart as I read on and on and on. I couldn’t stop reading as I had to know what the ending was going to be!
Teenage friendships gone awry in a horrible situation at their Prom. What happened that night, severed their friendships. Now, they are adults and they have so many secrets they never revealed to each other as teenagers. These secrets played a big role with them as adults.
I’m still thinking about this story. It made me think back to my teenage years and things that had happened.
A beautiful story about friendship that I highly recommend.
Thank you @rachelsrandomresources and @samanthatonge @boldwoodbooks for the ARC of this wonderful book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Samantha Tonge’s “When We Were Friends” left a lasting impression on me. The story follows four childhood friends, Morgan, Paige, Emily, and Tiff, who reunite after many years apart. The reader is led on an emotional trip as they navigate their past and present lives, highlighting the strength of friendship and the intricacies of life.

Samantha does an excellent job of conveying the ups and downs of friendship and the obstacles it can bring. I appreciated the well-developed characters and fascinating narrative; the writing was excellent.

Anyone who appreciates a decent story about friendship and life should read this book. It’s a story that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading it.

Thank you to Boldwood Books for the invitation to read and review this ARC.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It was a great story bout friendship and I will be recommending it.

A fantastic read.I really enjoyed this story about four best friends who hadn't had any contact with each other since a big falling out on the night of their school prom and hadn't seen one another for years . When Morgan reaches out to them by sending a message in a newsletter from the old school and suggests they meet up as she needs their help, she is surprised when they all turn up and hear her news which sets them on a journey together where they each discover things that could possibly tear them apart forever. I loved the way the secrets they were all keeping were revealed throughout the story and made you want to keep reading and thought there were some interesting characters apart from the main ones. Highly recommend this book

When We Were Friends follows the story of Morgan, Emily, Tiff and Paige. The 4 girls were very close friends at school, until Prom night where it all fell apart. 18 years later and Morgan needs their help, can they forgive the past? A great book.

The big question that kept swirling through my mind while I was reading was whether it was possible to renew a friendship after nineteen years of being apart? Morgan, Emily, Paige and Tiff were inseparable as teenagers, sharing their dreams, listening to music and fawning over all the cute boys, until one night, when everything fell apart. They all shared a secret from each other that came to light the night of their prom. After that, it was impossible for them to trust each other and they went on with their lives until Morgan sent her friends a cryptic message because she needed their help. All of them had issues they were dealing with and I was surprised they decided to help Morgan in her quest to find her son’s father. Most of the women only agreed to help her because they felt sorry for her son Olly, who was just an innocent bystander in their long-standing drama.

Throughout their journey, they all came to realize that being together again helped them with the struggles they were having. I was shocked at the big secret that was revealed during their search for Olly’s father, and I was certain that this information would forever tear them apart, but I was wrong. The bond they had from long ago was still there, and I was pleasantly surprised by the positive and meaningful ending. Friendships come and go but for Morgan, Emily, Paige and Tiff, reuniting was what they needed to go on with their lives.

Morgan is struggling as a single parent. She really misses her close friends from high school-Paige, Tiff, and Lizzie. They haven’t spoken since the night of high school prom when Hugo Black embarrassed them all.

Now. Nineteen years later Morgan is hoping she can bring back “Secret gift society” so they can help her find Olly’s father. It is time she shared her secret and hope that her friends will help her.

I didn’t like Paige not revealing Hugo’s real identity right away as it could have sped the story along if shared earlier.

This is a story about 4 friends who become estranged in their late teens after a huge argument involving a male classmate who manipulates and betrays them all. They meet up later in life to help solve a problem that one of them has in their lives that involves the same male ex classmate. I found this novel rather long winded and silly in parts. The characterisation was pretty thin and the premise wasn’t very strong. It was an average read. Thanks to Boldwood books and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

Four friends with a secret, Morgan, Paige, Emily and Tiff all grew up together and form the secret gift society , on their prom night Hugo Black reveals all that causes the biggest rift imaginable, and it is many years later when they meet up again.
Morgan pregnant and sixteen, her son is her life then at eighteen years old wants to know his father. this is when she needs her three friends the most, then the email for the alumi news comes through and leaving a message TSGS meet at the usual place 10AM 25th February at Dailswood high would they all turn up? there is a whole full of secrets ready to come out from everyone of them not just Morgan but can the friendship stay strong enough?
WOW this is one book that will keep reading flicking page after page, I loved the story as it untangles a lot of cobwebs along the way. The author once again captures real life dramas and more that takes you on a journey into any place.
A fabulous read once again.

This book embarks on a journey of our main character Morgan and her teenage son's desire to know more abut his father. The only way to find out about it is for Morgan to reach out to her school friends.
The book revolves around teenage friendships , secrets and forgiveness with a background of emotional turmoil.
Overall, I liked this book!
Thank you to Netgalley, Samantha Tonge and the publisher for giving me the opportunity for reviewing the ARC!
3.5 stars

I have liked other books by Tonge, but this story of four high school friends torn apart by one vindictive and bullying boy was a struggle for me to get through. When I'm reading an ARC, I work very hard to ignore sloppy editing, as I know I don't have a final, ready-for-publication manuscript in my hands. And my rating on this book has nothing to do with the poor editing, but this ARC is in the worst shape of any I've read to date. From the very beginning, there were inconsistencies and issues that had me turning back regularly to check what I had actually read. That aside, these four girls, all outcasts in their own way, were supposedly the very best friends ever in high school, and they had a sweet little club that solved small school crimes and wrongdoings. Loved that part! Maybe a whole book about that would be a great YA spin-off? However, with all that eventually happened, I just couldn't buy that these four were truly friends of any depth in the first place. The quantity of secrets and betrayals amongst them was mind-boggling. There was also a lot of "I have a secret but I won't share it with you, the reader," which is not my favorite device, and one that is best used sparingly. The characters' behavior and motivations and even their dialogue just didn't seem consistent with who they were on the page. Most of the book occurs in the present day, when the women, wary and distrustful, agree to reunite to help one of them track down that aforementioned vindictive bully - who is the father of that woman's son. Yes, that sentence is ridiculously convoluted, but so is this plot. There are some lessons to take away about grace, forgiveness, and the ability to change, as well as the impact that bad home situations can have on every other aspect of life. In the end, though, this book was not a good fit for me. And I really hope the editing team steps up/has stepped up to the plate before the October release! Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a digital review copy.

I am a sucker for books about friends, and have a real soft spot for plots with multiple friends. In that regard, When we were Friends touched my happy place.

When a horrific-to-high-schoolers truth is revealed in front of everyone at prom, the friendship and their “Secret Gift Society” (a made-up friendship club) of Morgan, Paige, Tiff, and Emily explodes. The four have never spoken since.

Nineteen years later, Morgan’s truth is exposed and she calls an emergency meeting of the Secret Gift Society. The women are no longer the carefree, rose-colored glasses teenagers they once were, life and the prom experience having changed them all dramatically. However, through twists and turns and a bit of sleuthing as back in the day, the women come to terms with their past and forge a new path to adult friendship.

When We Were Friends has so many positives that it is worth the read, and anyone who ever went to high school, ever had a friend group, or ever needed their girls as adults will enjoy When We Were Friends.

Author Samantha Tonge doesn’t leave anything to the imagination, so don’t expect to need to turn the page to find an answer; it is spelled out to the nth degree. A bit overkill in this regard, but still a decent read.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC (advanced reader copy). All opinions are mine and this review was not compensated.

Morgan, Emily, Tiff and Paige were best friends at school; but an argument at prom blows their world apart when Hugo, the boy they all profess to hate shakes them to the core. They’ve never spoken since. However, Morgan has an 18 year old son, Olly. Olly wants to meet his dad, and only the other girls can help Morgan. The girls are unwilling to help at first, their argument and the lies they’ve told each other, still hurts too much. Morgan refuses to give up; she really needs their help, slowly they all agree and bridges begin to be rebuilt. But is Ollya dad closer than any of them realise? I really enjoyed this book

Samantha Tonge is fast becoming a favourite of mine. This is my sixth book by the author and she has never disappointed me. Her books are always realistic with relatable characters that find themselves in real-life situations. The plots are always engaging and the writing style always communicates information effectively.

When We Were Friends is a book about old high school friends who have fallen out and have been out of touch for close to twenty years. This book ticked a lot of boxes for me, it’s women’s friendship fiction with a bit of a mystery and a lot of secrets. Morgan is the main character and she gets her own chapters with her point of view. Her three friends Paige, Emily and Tiff share their chapters but also get their thoughts across. I loved the different points of view, every character added something to the plot and I felt like I got to know them very well. I also appreciated how the young man was portrayed. I won’t say too much as I don’t want to give anything away but we never know what someone is going through.

It’s very sad that three friends lost touch during all that time but it was such a happy feeling when they reconnected, even if it was rough going at first. What I took from this book is that it’s never too late to make amends or forgive the past, there is still time to grow up and learn about life when you’re in your thirties, and mistakes you make as a teen don’t have to carry on forever. I was shocked by the big reveal and loved being so surprised! Well done to Miss Tonge for that, you got me. This was a lovely, thought-provoking story about forgiveness. It broke my heart but eventually put it back together again.

Not my favourite book by Samantha Tonge. I didn't really warm to any of the main female characters, and thought them to be childish at times. I particularly disliked Morgan. I liked the discussion on what constitutes a friend. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow I couldn't get enough of this, from the incredibly intriguing opening chapter, to the fact that there seemed to be some many secrets to be revealed - including some that truly shocked me, this is one rather impressive book.

I absolutely loved it.

Morgan, Paige, Emily and Tiff were so close when they were at school, until Prom night when their friendship was ripped apart and they haven't spoken in years. But Morgan needs help tracking down her son Olly's father, and she knows the only people she trusts to help her are The Secret Gift Society.

AFter all they have a track record of solving mysteries, even if they haven't spoken. But whether they will agree to help, and whether they will reconnect and become close again, is hard to tell initially.

It took me a while to get the other three ladies separate in my mind, partially because while Morgan had her own chapters, initially at least the other 3 were given chapters between them, changing focus part way through the chapter, so was easy to get a bit lost briefly.

And wow besides what happened to split them up, there is so much more to be delved into. I was enchanted, gripped and addicted. There is so much going on, in this book and the whole time you are aware that there are almost certainly more revelations due, but I couldn't guess anything.

And some of the background was shocking too, but also made you understand some of the characters that bit better.

Another absolute gem of a book from Samantha Tonge, and long may it continue.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

What I absolutely loved about this story was the deep analysis over the intensity and enthusiasm of teenage friendships and how a part of us stays linked by a thread to our childhood friendships.
The different stories of each of the friends intertwines to reveal deep secrets, shocks and the real truth behind the night that those bonds were irrevocably broken and life changed forever for all of them.
This is written in a true mystery style, with hints and clues dotted along to form part of the picture whilst the characters set on a quest to find someone very important to one of the group. How this quest ends was very satisfying to read and I appreciated the quality of writing that reveals how everyone is a complex and multifaceted person and nothing is ever black and white.