Thank you NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Sophie Ranald for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story focuses on a group of friends - switching between how they found each other and their early friendship and then present life.

I loved the friendship aspect of the book and the drama was interesting but overall it just felt slow to me and surface level. I expected more emotion in a few different parts.

I liked this book, the plot was good and hooked me. It’s a story about friendship, relationships and betrayal.

Five friends that all have different, but similar lives, it’s kids and marriages, while one friend is living it up in Paris. All is not true though, the friendship is made up of lies, but who’s lying?

I liked the way the chapters was the present and past. You get hooked into the woman’s life and how everything happened. It’s a fun, quick 4 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advance reader copy.

This book was quite slow paced, so it was hard to get into at the beginning.

The book starts with a death of a close friend Adam and then another friend from their past shows up at the funeral. With Zara’s arrival, the FMC starts questioning everything. Especially her marriage and how loyal her husband is.

I was expecting a lot more anger and frustration, but even though we didn’t get that, it was still an emotional read.

It was definitely giving “Happy Place” vibes, just more adult version of it.

Overall it was a good read.

This book was really enjoyable to read! It was my first Sophie Ronald book and I really liked the character development and the deeper darker tone of the book! It definitely was a meaningful read about a friend group and resilience!

This was an emotional rollercoaster to read! I will need some time to recover from this.

It took some chapters for me to be really involved with the characters and the story, but all of the sudden I found myself very emotional and totally invested in this! I actually cried during some parts of the book, which is rare. Sophie really nailed this one! I found myself getting really worried about the Naomi several times during the book. The characters were well developed and the story almost too realistic. This was both a hard read (because I really FELT Naomi’s emotions as my own here. They were THAT well described) and a fantastic read all at once.

Thank you so much to Storm Publishing, NetGalley and Sophie Ranald for letting me have this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy

In this read, we follow Naomi, a married mother of twins with a core group of girlfriends who she admires greatly. When an unfortunate event occurs, it brings together the group of friends and people from the past. Naomi is forced to relive her past including how she met her husband. So many secrets all stemming from one person. I really enjoyed this read, could not put it down!

Love some good girl drama that is not mine :) Love the characters and the depth that Sophie developed for each of them.

This title was perfect for this book. It was a great story about the fall out when truths are revealed.

Naomi is married with twins. When her friend Andy passes away, she is shocked when her old friend Zara shows up at the funeral. Immediately things start to change, as Zara starts turning up everywhere.

Naomi starts to question everything about her life including her marriage.

The author did a great job of blending past and present. As you were getting pieces of the present you would get relevant pieces of the past. This abled the reader to see two separate "fall outs", one in the past that broke up their friend group and one in the present that again tests their friendship.

I judge an author by the way their characters make me feel. This author did a great job making me have strong feelings for all of the characters in this book. Some I liked and some I disliked. I think that is a mark of a great author. When you can make me hate a character but still enjoy the book you must be doing something right.

I did end up really liking the book. There was one thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars but if I put it here it would spoil the whole book! I thought the ending was great and really did a nice job of wrapping up the whole story.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this title. This is my very honest review.

The Fall-Out by Sophie Ranald
Rating: 4/5
Release Date: 19 July 2024

"The Fall-Out" revolves around Naomi and her tightly-knit group of friends who call themselves the Girlfriends' Club. Their bond is disrupted when Zara, a long-lost member, returns with a life-changing secret. This revelation sends shockwaves through the group, causing rifts and challenging loyalties among the friends.

As Naomi faces her marital issues head-on, she finds herself unraveling a web of secrets and buried emotions from her past. Her journey through this turmoil is not just about repairing her relationship with her husband but also about rediscovering herself and reevaluating her friendships. The return of Zara, with her bombshell secret, acts as a catalyst that forces Naomi and her friends to confront long-held grievances and doubts about each other.

The novel delves deep into themes of betrayal, as Naomi questions whom she can trust and how well she truly knows her friends. It explores forgiveness as characters grapple with past mistakes and hurtful revelations, trying to find a way forward without letting bitterness consume their relationships. Throughout these challenges, the story celebrates the enduring strength of female friendships, portraying how these bonds can withstand even the toughest of trials when nurtured with honesty and empathy.

Amidst the emotional rollercoaster, "The Fall-Out" also weaves in moments of humour and warmth. These lighter moments provide relief, highlighting the resilience and camaraderie that emerge when friends come together to support each other through life's messy and unpredictable moments.

Overall, “The Fall-Out” is a novel that will resonate with readers who value the depth and complexity of friendships, offering a poignant reminder of how friends can become pillars of strength, offering solace, laughter, and unconditional support during life's most challenging times.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and the author, Sophie Ranald, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

This book explores how a toxic friend can ruin a friendship group with a few well chosen words here and there. For the main character, Naomi, it is fairly easy to see that she is being played. However, the clever part of this book is how the friends work out their own problems and confront their own insecurities. This would make a great holiday read. Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for a copy to freely review.

3.5 🌟
I enjoyed The Fallout.
There was lots of drama centered around Naomi the fmc, and her friendship group.
Secrets came to light, loyalties were tested and relationships were pushed to breaking point.. all very relatable and real.

However, something that didnt work for me was this: I had a feeling about what transpired between 2 of the characters quite early on, and tbh, I was expecting more angst and hurt from the fmc. There wasn't enough emotional turmoil for me. It was kind of glossed over in some respects and I'm not a fan of that. I was shocked though because whilst I'd thought I'd guessed correctly, I was kinda hoping I wasn't! Naomi definitely deserved better and I'm glad she took steps to improve her own life, putting herself first for once!

For fans of women's fiction, this was a great read. It was easy to follow between the past and present chapters and Sophie has highlighted the highs and lows of friendships brilliantly (regardless of age!)

Thank you netgalley for letting me read an early release of this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of this book!

This was a fine book, with a lot of drama circling a friend group. It definitely gave me Happy Place by EH vibes. Unfortunately, for me, the pace was very slow and just not a whole lot happens by the 40-50% mark. It was very easy to read, and the dialogue and banter was well written.

This definitely feels like a women’s fiction piece with all of the internal monologues we get from our FMC.

Overall 3 star rating and would recommend if you like Emily Henry books!

The Fall Out is a story of friendship, forgiveness, and redemption. I found the first half of the novel frustrating, Naomi, the FMC, is not in a good place, with young twins, losing herself taking care of her kids, husband, and mother in law, and nobody around her notices!!! Thankfully, though the terms of the novels sh realizes she needs to find herself, and in the end there is a HEA but it’s not the one you think. This is a quick and enjoyable read, perfect for summer days..

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC!

Sophie writes great books, always thought provoking and with characters that it’s easy to take a dislike to, but they also have good parts and that keeps it interesting; basically like reading about real life!
This book is split in time between the past and present, and I enjoyed that.
At times Naomi’s character can be quite easy to dislike but it’s easy to understand the way her thoughts work. I never warmed to Zara, but that may be because of how her character was portrayed; she reminded me of somebody I used to know and I actively wanted her to be found out; thankfully she was in the end and everything came good with a few twists and turns along the way!
Overall I’d definitely recommend the book and will happily read more by this talented author

We see this friendship through Naomi’s eyes, both in present day and when they first met. Naomi comes across as being naive, falling for a guy who’s already involved with one of their group, and being pulled into what seems to be a very twisted relationship with one of the other women. This is nicely paced, well written although I didn’t find much humour in it. It makes you glad of your own circle of friends, with all their quirks but hopefully none of this groups machinations.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing this book, with my honest review below.

If you’re a fan of Sophie Ranald you’re likely to have picked up one of our novels about a character in The Girlfriends Club, though you may not realize it as they can be read as standalones and aren’t usually linked together on Goodreads or with any other label. I’m a big fan however and have been delighted in the past to realize I’ve read a book that shows me how these characters are doing. The Fall-Out was a little different than the previous books, which show us development of the characters. This one felt like more of a goodbye.

Naomi and her friends formed a tight knit group years ago when they would get together for cocktails while their boyfriends played football. Now we see them all very grown up but suffering a loss of one of their own, Andy, who has always had tumultuous appearances throughout the books. When he passes the elusive fifth girlfriend, Zara, finally makes an appearance. If you’ve read any other book in this universe you know Zara doesn’t stay in touch and causes some negative feelings amongst the friends. What follows is a book about grief and revenge but ultimately a hopeful look at friendships which are resilient, like the girlfriends.

This was fascinating and definitely a darker tone than some of her other books, but Sophie pulls it off well. Whether you are a fan of other books with these ladies or just want a more meaningful read, I’d recommend this.

thank you to storm publishing for pre-approving me for this arc. it in no way affected the honesty of this review.

naomi is a wife, mother of two, and proud member of the girlfriends club - a group of four of the bestest friends. when their estranged fifth member, zara, reappears in their lives, they find themselves confronted with unresolved tension and secrets hidden in their past.

this felt so incredibly authentic. sophie ranald did a brilliant job with juggling all the aspects of this in a way that none overshadow the rest. the characters are real and witty, and the moments heartfelt. grab a copy, pour a drink and join naomi when ‘the fall out’ releases on july 19!

Naomi and her friend group have been through a lot and aren't perfect. Turns out that Zara drops bombs to try to tear them apart. It didn't the way she thought, and the friend group rebuilt itself with the truth of Zara's deceptions. It did take a marriage down though. Real friendship can withstand quite a bit, as this story shows.

The Fall-Out is an uplifting novel by Sophie Ranald.
I really enjoyed this author's previous novel and The Fall-Out certainly didn't disappoint. It was such a good read. The story was easy to follow and had a good cast of characters. I would definitely read more by the author and recommend it to others.
💖 Thank you to storm publishing, netgalley and the author for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I cherished the ensemble of characters. Ranald has a knack for storytelling. I quickly became engrossed in the fate of the friend group. My gratitude to NetGalley for the advance reading copy.