With thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for the advanced copy.

I don’t have kids, but the premise of this book drew me in, and even as someone without children I found it to be relatable.

Lauren’s perspective completely captured my own fears about becoming a parent and losing who I am, and I thought each of the characters were developed brilliantly. As someone with endometriosis, I really related to Charlotte and her feelings.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I thought it had a unique premise, mixing the portrait of motherhood with toxic friendships, unconditional love and mystery.

To be honest when I started reading this novel I was very doubtful that I would enjoy it, as it felt as if it was targeted at a younger readership than for a septinarian! It appeared more suited for a generation experiencing motherhood . However I persevered and was eventually drawn into the story of four ex university girl friends taking different paths through life; Lauren the mother with a young baby, Charlotte desperately trying to conceive, and Nicki on the verge of giving birth, and finally Steffi the career lady., leading up to the baby shower for Nicki.

It’s a fun and entertaining read with insights to their earlier lives, but what shines through, despite the ups and downs, is their loyalty and commitment to care.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Hodder for the opportunity to review this ARC.

A rather hectic exploration of life for four university friends as they grow up and move on from living together to taking different paths post uni. It's a book that reveals some truths about modern womanhood, but I felt that it tried too hard to cover too many topics that they all had a light touch rather than fewer topics more sensitively dealt with. The women collide at a baby shower and the recollections and consequences are wide-ranging, with a bit of a trite epilogue that sees the women's lives changed further a few years later on.

I love Hooly Bournes books. she seems to have an inside look at all our lives.

This tale about motherhood and freindship has humour and heartfelt moments and times when you just want to scream ..That's me' or 'Yes! I have done that'

This is brilliant.. a read that lifts you up and one that you tell your friends about just so you can rejoice together..

fabulous..

Oof, you could tell that Holly Bourne was truly living this book as she wrote it. A visceral study on motherhood and female friendship which made me feel like I was in some sort of horrific car crash throughout, and yet, I gobbled it right up.

GOD this was good. Currently on maternity leave with a five-month-old, I positively inhaled this ARC. I've enjoyed Holly's books before but this is definitely my favourite so far. Not only does it have a cracking beginning but such a strong, distinct cast of characters who the author made me managed to dislike at times yet feel empathy for (ok the jury's still out on Nikki...). I really liked the setting of a baby shower on a very very hot day and sitting back and watching (or rather reading!) as the jenga pieces of the Little Women's friendship being pulled out one by one was so entertaining. There were so many parts that had me nodding along furiously, especially Lauren's chapters and I related to many of her feelings (thankfully not the darker ones), which I imagine a lot of other mothers would too. I did find some parts of Lauren's story quite raw and difficult to read because of my own experiences but I think this just highlights how relatable this book is and what an accurate portray of motherhood it is. I also appreciated the may modern references like Seraphine, Etta Loves etc. I actually found the 'main event' wasn't even the thing that hooked me into the book, I just really enjoyed diving into each of the main characters back stories and dilemmas, even as heartbreaking as they could be at times. I feel like I could bang on about this forever but TLDR, read this book - especially if you're a woman in your 30s and most definitely if you're not.

I’ve really enjoyed previous Holly Bourne books so I was looking forward to this and it really didn’t disappoint. Felt very relatable for where I am in life. The characters felt very real. You could feel the atmosphere and the tension. So well written!

A gripping book that makes you second guess your views of life. The book touches on a lot of common struggles that women - specifically mothers, those who want to be mothers, those who don't, those who are struggling to conceive... The list goes on. A list that is very rarely touched on and presented realistically in modern literacy.

The author had an amazing way of going about the different views held by women of different opinions. The storyline and the way of telling the story through different women's POVs/focus was extremely well thoughts out and sucks you in that you won't wan tot put down the book.

I quite liked how it started off with the end event and drawn back to the start so you have to try and figure it out yourself. tHe ending was more than perfect and I like how it all tied with what we have been reading.

A book that I will recommend to anyone.

I’m a huge fan of Holly’s work, her characters are always relatable, and somehow in this one she’s managed to represent pretty much every aspect of motherhood (the fears, objections, worries about fertility and career) with the four main characters. It blew my mind how clever and on point it was (as well as validating my own fears and perspectives). It really highlighted how, when it comes to parenting, everyone has an opinion and a judgement, but the love between the four women was so beautifully done.
It felt like an older, more mature voice than Holly’s previous works, fairly akin to Liane Moriarty and some of her earlier works.
I really loved it.

Loved this! I’ve always been a fan of the way Holly portrays female friendships in her books and thought the four different perspectives was great way to tell the story. However, Nicki’s victim complex became quite irritating and the labelling of Phoebe as a ‘predator’ felt dated. With that being said, I liked how the fire brought the girls together again in the epilogue and we got to see them each get somewhat of a happy ending.

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy!

Textbook Bourne. Hard-hitting at times and realistic in many ways. I found Lauren's sections particularly difficult to read and had a lot of empathy for her. I didn't like all of the characters, and perhaps that was the point.

I found the ending a little rushed but overall another excellent offering from Holly Bourne.

I found this book absolutely gripping and ripped through it in a couple of days. I very much appreciated the stark exploration of the realities of motherhood, as well as the presentation of a complicated and messy intersection of female friendships. I did however slightly struggle with the characters, who all struck me as so selfish that there were points where they lost me and I wasn't rooting for them through the finale as much as I might have. The exception to this was Charlotte, who I felt was wonderfully drawn throughout. I would highly recommend this book for people interested in the issues around the misrepresentation and instagramification of motherhood.

Emotional, enraging, unflinchingly honest: The new pageturner from Holly Bourne.

The very first sentence already plunges us facedown into the action: “The flames take the vulva piñata immediately.” Hence, from the very beginning, we know that this story of a baby shower gone bad is going to end in a devastating fire. But we don’t know who is responsible for the arson. What follows is structured like a thriller and just as gripping: Holly Bourne takes us back in time to the morning of the same day and we get to know the four main suspects: Steffi, Charlotte, Lauren and Nicki, best friends since uni and superficially inseparable. But beneath the facade, things are crumbling.

But what really makes this book a pageturner is not even the thriller-like plot. (Although that helps, of course.) No, it's the brutally honest, painful, infuriating, unflinching portrayal of what it means to be a woman in her thirties today. The big theme of the novel is motherhood, how it changes our lives and how it changes our friendships.

Just as I've come to expect from Holly Bourne, she has once again written a gripping novel that makes you want to shout "Thank you!" so many times when you read it. Because Holly Bourne is so good at creating situations and expressing thoughts in which you see yourself represented and that no one else (that I know of) can capture on paper quite as well as her.

One criticism I've had with Holly Bourne's novels is, that she seems to have a clear agenda with each book - there are always one or more points, messages that she wants to get across. This can sometimes seem a bit over the top or on the nose. Nonetheless, the feedback from her readers shows that she is opening people's eyes and/or that her books resonate with readers (including me). So, I am happy to forgive this small weakness because her books are so brilliantly told, so clever, so brave and so captivating.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the review copy!

This is actually the first book that I’ve read by this author, however I’ll definitely read more in future. The writing style is raw and unfiltered, yet the plot is relatable. I really enjoyed this book and would certainly recommend,

If I have to be nitpicky, I would have preferred the book without the 'whodunit' element, as for me the reveal was underwhelming

Ever since I heard Holly Bourne is coming out with a new book based on female friendships in their 30s and motherhood I knew I had to preorder it asap. Then I was SOOOO happy when I got accepted for review. This book opened my eyes - it's unflinching, honest and raw. While I didn't enjoy this as much as her other recent books (Girlfriends, You could be so pretty), she remains such an autobuy author for me. 3.5 stars

This new novel from Holly Bourne is about the relationships of a group of women who have been friends for a long time and their relationships with motherhood. One of the women is having a baby shower, another has recently given birth, one is child-free and one is desperately trying to conceive. The narrative switches between the women and their opinions on each others choices and gives an insight into how nobody really knows what is going on with other women. This is really relatable book no matter where you're at with fertility and the choice to have children. Would definitely recommend!

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for this advance reader copy!

From the very first page of this book, I was gripped. Holly Bourne is entirely unflinching and immediately sets the tone, no cushioning needed. She has perfectly distilled the modern woman’s voice. She uses it to weave a story that is a perfect balance of relatable mundanity with a really honest outlook on how complex it is to grow older around the people you love.

Firstly a massive thank you for my access to review , I own all of hollys books and love her work .
This was no exception!
With the focus and themes being on an older group of friends and the struggles life is throwing at them .
I raced through this only stopping due to that thing called sleep and life.
As a mum and a woman in her 40s this hit different in contrast to her other books .i had pnd with both of my children but in different ways and it was refreshing to read about the thought processes in her mind.
It’s a genre bending ,addictive , thought provoking and moral questioning story .
It highlights how even those who look to have it all have struggles .
Absolutely loved it and know this is going to be huge maybe even attract a new audience .
It fully emerges you into the pages and there’s some tense moments where you can’t quite believe what is happening !
I wish holly every success with this book .
Easy 5 stars all round !!

The focus is on four university friends and their different stages of motherhood (childless by choice/struggling to conceive/heavily pregnant/baby under one).

It's a sharp and witty account of a baby shower told from the POV of the four women. There's a blistering heatwave and we know from the start rhat the party is going to end in a catastrophic fire.

Part satire of motherhood and part blistering account of the agonies and ecstasies f having children. It's a fun read and well written account.