Four close friends since university. It’s the day of Nicki’s baby shower, all arranged and immaculately organised by Charlotte, whose own fertility journey has been filled with disappointments and acute longing. It’s also the weekend Steffi, who had just launched her own publishing agency had pitched a book she hoped would kickstart her name and who was having early eager offers flooding into her emails even over the weekend. And Lauren who had given birth nine months previously and who was suffering from post natal depression with a baby who rarely slept, screamed constantly and had drained her individuality and independence from her. As for Nicki herself, she was dreading the day, knowing Charlotte had gone over the top, a day made worse when the young woman she’d had an affair with had informed her she’d been invited and would see her later.
The country is in the grip of the hottest heatwave for years, the venue a glass house which retains that heat and heated emotions get the better of everyone. What could possibly go wrong?

I absolutely loved this book!! The 4 main characters (The Little Women) basically encompass all aspects of motherhood and you can find something relatable in them all. I loved the way it was written and the little police transcripts throughout the book. The twist at the end was brilliant and brought the book to a satisfying close.

Whilst enjoyable and relatable, there are many aspects of this book that are hard to read and I really liked how Holly Bourne touched upon these in such a realistic and relatable way. Definitely one I will recommend to all!!

A well written story about the intricacies of friendship and how it can all go so wrong yet so right.

Worth a read!

‘So Thrilled For You’ by Holly Bourne is a sharply observed, heartbreaking, life affirming and electrifying novel about a group of four women in their early thirties celebrating the baby shower of eight-months-pregnant Nicki in the midst of a record-breaking heatwave…

Childfree-by-choice Steffi, struggling new mother Lauren and desperate IVF warrior Charlotte complete the foursome, who met at university and reunite less often than they once did now that they are at different life phases. The unbearable temperature ratchets up further due to flames tearing down the uber-instagrammable party, and the police need to find out who is responsible. The reader is transported to the beginning of the day, where suspicion sets ablaze a sequence of flashbacks.

I was totally gripped by this novel, which felt stylistically similar to ‘Big Little Lies’ - with its interview transcripts and shifting perspectives building tension - but so much more relatable (perhaps because of the UK setting and the characters being a similar age to me, but also because the glossy veneer of perfection was ripped apart so swiftly among the pages.

Each character was flawed but understandable, and I saw elements of myself and my friendship group in all of them. Charlotte’s faith in manifestation against the odds and Steffi’s dedication to her career resonated with me the most, but Lauren’s story was the most emotional and raw for me (though perhaps the point of this novel is NOT to compare the women!) The theme of friendship prevailing was strong, and the book culminates with a clever a-ha moment as the truth dawns and more than just the baby’s sex is revealed.

Every woman should read this… five stars!

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

first of all, i would like to thank netgalley for the opportunity to read this as an arc
i really enjoyed the writting style and could get lost inside the story. the premise was really interesting and i think that if you are the target public, you will resonate with a lot of things described in the book. since the author is a new mom herself and it all felt very real
with that being said, i think i was expecting a different ending or something even bigger
either way, i think this will be a very nice read

So Thrilled For You was definitely thought provoking. The story centres around the trials and tribulations of four women in their 30s who have been best friends since university. The storyline is a baby shower which is held for one of the friends but which ends in a fire at the house, but this almost feels like a secondary storyline to deep-dive into the dynamics of the friendship group. It focuses on so many issues in friendship relationships, as well as lifestyle choices and personal opinions. I thought this book was very clever and I can imagine that most people would relate in some way to one of the characters. If you’re one for overanalysing friendship dynamics I’d suggest this one might be for you!

Incredibly readable and compelling, a book about the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" society we live in when it comes to motherhood, the judgement, the silencing, and the lack of support.

Fans of Holly Bourne's previous work will enjoy this, I had a really good time following these characters and the overarching plots. I will say it's made me even more child-free than I already was lol.

I don't think I was too taken with the "police interview interludes" and I think that entire aspect could have been removed for me; furthermore one of the main characters was not redeemable enough for me to have gotten the ending they did.

I've previously read Holly Bourne's YA story, 'Am I Normal Yet?' which I loved, so was intrigued to see how she would fare with an adult novel as she obviously writes well.

So Thrilled For You is about a baby shower/gender reveal that goes horribly wrong. It is told from the perspective of four people who have had the Little Women friendship group from university days.
I couldn't connect with any of the characters who ranged from unlikeable and irritating to detestable. The whole vibe of the story felt negative and unpleasant and at times I didn't know whether to give up with it.
There was some softening towards the final chapters of the book as ends were tied up, but on the whole it didn't leave me feeling satisfied.
Sorry. I think I prefer the YA stuff.

"So Thrilled For You" tells the story of a baby shower gone awry. It was supposed to be the perfect day: Nicki, Lauren, Charlotte, and Steffi – collectively known as the Little Women – are finally reunited. Between Nicki's pregnancy, Lauren's newborn, Charlotte's infertility struggles and Steffi's agency launch, they've all had a lot on their plates. But now, in the middle of a heatwave, they finally get a chance to catch up. Only, as it turns out, they've all been harbouring secrets – and, more importantly, resentments. As the day grows hotter and hotter, those resentments come to the surface, threatening to, quite literally, go up in flames …

I've read all of Holly Bourne's adult novels, and most of her YA, so I can safely say she really outdid herself with "So Thrilled For You". Books about motherhood are no rarity, but this one navigates the topic with a complexity I've rarely seen. This is in part due to the fact that Bourne chooses to tell the story from a first-person POV while still giving each character a distinct voice. As the novel progresses, it dawns on the reader that there's much more than meets the eye: Steffi grapples with fears of being seen as selfish for choosing a child-free life and prioritizing her career; Nicki holds a grudge against Steffi due to a dark secret of her past; Lauren struggles with PTSD from the birth of her son, made worse by a healthcare system that fails to help; and, finally, Charlotte desperately tries to manage her infertility issues so much with positive thinking that she almost burns herself out in the process. All of them are filled with jealousy, rage, insecurity, and sadness. Except from Nicki, all of the characters are portrayed as complex beings, and you can't help but empathize with them even in their darkest moments.

Bourne is careful to show that's it not just the women who've failed each other – it's society that perpetuates myths like the "Cool Mum", traps men in their weaponized incompetence or fails to provide the care and support new mothers desperately need. The sharp critique, the messiness of the characters, the pacing – all of it is beautifully executed in "So Thrilled For You". I only wish the novel had been longer; the ending fell a bit flat to me. After everything that had happened, I found it hard to believe that things could've been resolved so easily, and would've loved to see the characters confront their issues head-on. Nonetheless, this is a thought-provoking read I cannot recommend enough. You don't have to have children yourself to care for the people who carry them – and I think we should all make sure we provide them with all the support they need.

An enraging, heartbreaking read which while on the surface is a whodunnit, explores the challenges, difficulties and ultimately the "set to fail" expectations of motherhood: "The sheer, audacious, everyday relentless effort of motherhood - such an exhaust- ing, all-encompassing 'gift'." While it focuses on motherhood in the social media age and the expectations that come with that, the feelings described (isolation, conflict of emotions etc) are universal to all mothers.
Brilliant

I didn't really enjoy this book. I liked the premise but I just couldn't get into it. There were too many characters and I was getting confused about who was who a lot of the time.

Wow, I'm exhausted after reading this one. So many emotions from each of the main characters, almost felt draining to read them haha. Best 0f friends one minute and enemies the next. I definitely felt for each of the girls.

On the surface, So Thrilled For You is a tense thriller about four friends navigating their 30s — marriage, sexuality, friendships, and everything else in between — but underneath, it's an unflinching, visceral take on motherhood and womanhood. At times, a true horror story. Out in January.

4 University found ‘life long friends’

4 very different takes in Motherhood

Lauren, Mum of Woody, in despair

Steffi, non Mum and not quite as sympathetic to Mum’s as the other 3 feel she should be

Charlotte, desperate to be a Mum but finds party organising as near she can get to ot and

Nicki, heavily pregnant and whose parents house all 4 are re meeting after a longish time for her ‘baby shower’

I can’t stress how different all 4 are but how honest each is re their thoughts at the various stages of their lives they are at, ‘brutally’ honest doesn’t come close and after reading some of the thoughts and actions from each of them it gave me a whole new perspective of pregnancy, giving birth and being a Mum, fron the horrific to the sublime, it was enlightening and empowering for the characters and I daresay the author and withoit doubt the reader

EVERY emotion is on show, this is not a book that holds back on any aspect of the subject and will shock as well as entertain

It is a whodunit wrapped round sisterhood and betrayal but ultimately unity and the strong ties of friendship with a bit of the publishing world thrown in

I have never read a book like this and would say it will change minds and leave you evaluating many things

It was uncomfortable at times but in a good way that made you stop and take time to process what you had read

An excellent book to be remembered for sure

I loved So Thrilled For You. Four friends with different lives and experiences. It can be hard to be honest and explain how you really feel, even to close friends and this shows how complicated relationships can be and how easy misunderstandings can happen.

I really loved this book and the way all of the characters are so beautifully written. Each of their stories made me really feel for them, but I could also absolutely understand the resentment from the others, which would have been really difficult to write I imagine. It perfectly portrays the various stages of motherhood and also the thoughts of those who are surrounded by babies but choose not to have them. I enjoyed the suspense element and the police transcripts too. A really good book!

This is reality in a book, how a group of women can be best friends one minute and worst enemies the next. How motherhood isn't all cute and loving and fantastic - this here contains the real stuff like how hard motherhood actually can be. Its very emotional and raw and I bet there'll be many women out there that can relate to the characters in this book.

I loved the complexities of the characters and their relationships with each other. The characters are really well developed and I found it easy to not only sympathise with them individually but also see how they come across to each other.

The fact that this story was told through a police interview was very clever especially with the multiple POV's.

My only critique was the ending, I just felt like it was a bit OTT. Like I know we all enjoy a happy ending but let's face it no matter the relationship somethings just cannot be forgotten and I felt the characters were all far too friendly with each other considering their actions towards each other.

Overall still a really good read that I found I could relate too.

In the aftermath, the police put together the facts - but the truth will shock everyone. Even you.
BIG LITTLE LIES meets EXPECTATION in the incredible new novel from Holly Bourne - it's the book you'll want to read three times, then give to every woman in your life.I had the pleasure to arc read this book, it will have you hooked from the start and the characters feel like you know them,
I could imagine every character whilst I read the book
so good

Nicki, Lauren, Charlotte and Steffi have been friends since university. Now in their thirties, life is pulling them in different directions - but when Charlotte organises the baby shower of hell for pregnant Nicki, the girls are reunited.
Under a sweltering hot summer day, tensions rise - and by the end of the evening, nothing will ever be the same. Someone started a fire at the house - and everyone's a suspect...


Okay wow I loved this book! I loved that it highlighted everyone has their own lives and their own struggles that they might not make clear. I also loved that this book brought in the different types of women - those who are unhappy, those who are desperate to be a mother, those who chose not to have children and those who are starting their journey as a parent! I feel like anyone reading this will relate to at least one of the main characters in how they themselves feel about their lives. It would actually be so interesting to reread this at different points in your life to see if your view changes! 🤔

I read Girl Friends last year by Holly and loved it too so I’m so glad that this is just as good! I feel like STFY brings up the female friendship like Girl Friends did and it’s great. I also felt like nothing was predictable for me which is always a plus!

I’d definitely say this is a book heavy on being a mother so maybe wouldn’t recommend to those who aren’t up for that but I loved it (even though I don’t normally reach for “mum” books). I’d definitely recommend this!

*Thank you so much to @netgalley and @hodderbooks for this arc!

Sex and the City. The Golden Girls. Little Women. Books and shows have a good track record of showing us four different women as they navigate the world around them. Nicki, Steffi, Lauren and Charlotte know this so well, they even call themselves the Little Women, as they met studying literature in university.

Twelve years on, the cracks in their relationship are beginning to show and it takes Nicki’s baby shower, taking place in an excessively Grand(ly) Design(ed) greenhouse of a home on one of the hottest days of a blazing heatwave to find out if their friendship will break into a thousand pieces like a glass platter or hold fast like a Pyrex dish.

We find out immediately that the baby shower was interrupted by the house burning down and only then, narrated in turn by each character, do we find out how they got there. Interspersed with hilarious extracts from the police interviews with each of our heroines, this book may seem like the usual career woman versus earth mother, earth mother versus IVF potential-mother, but it is so much more. Each pacy chapter brings you so close to each character, you side with her completely . . . until you find out another side of that story in the next chapter.

I’ve never read another book that showed me, in such knowledgeable detail, what it is to birth not only a human baby, but also a burgeoning literary career or even a meticulously planned baby shower. Well worth your reading time.