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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
I don't know how they do it but every time Steinke and Fenton write a book, they knock it out of the park. Reading this story I felt like I was able to get personally involved (in my head) because I don't feel like I'm being told what's going on. I feel like I'm reading it for myself. This is a special skill so many are lacking but these authors have it ten fold. The characters were well developed, and there was enough mystery to keep me guessing but not so much I got lost and lost interest. It was a page turner! Thank you to netgalley and lake union publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I seem to be on a roll with books at the moment so I was a little apprehensive that my standards incredibly higher than usual but Girls Night Out was another absolutely amazing read that I practically inhaled in two sittings.
When Ashley, Natalie and Lauren embark on a girls trip to Tulum, beyond the beaches and margaritas there is a real reason they are there beyond having fun - to repair their friendship that has been under strain. Ashley and Natalie own a successful hair tool comparing, BloMe, and with Revlon swooping in to offer to buy the company, one wants to sell while the other doesn’t. It has caused some friction between their relationship and they hope by the end of the trip, they can reconsider each other’s feelings and it can all be resolved. Lauren, who often feels like the third wheel in their friendship, hasn’t spoken to Ashley and Natalie for over a year but wants to also get back on track after tragically losing her husband a year prior. But when a girls night out goes terribly wrong, Ashley goes missing. With Natalie not being able to recall the night - they are determined to find their friend.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book. It was a proper girly, beach read and I secretly wished I was in Tulum sipping on some cocktails with this read to accompany me. I don’t want to give tooooo much of the plot away but it’s definitely engrossing and I managed to fly through it pretty quickly. Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke are fantastic writers. The plot flowed at a nice pace and although you were keen to find out what happened to Natalie, it was nice to read a mystery book without having tons of characters to suspect or be pulled in all different directions. It was just so enjoyable and well written.
Thank you to the publisher and @netgally for giving me the opportunity to read this. If your headed on a beach holiday this summer, this would be the perfect by the sea or pool read. I’ll definitely be recommending it to my friends.
When Ashley, Natalie and Lauren embark on a girls trip to Tulum, beyond the beaches and margaritas there is a real reason they are there beyond having fun - to repair their friendship that has been under strain. Ashley and Natalie own a successful hair tool comparing, BloMe, and with Revlon swooping in to offer to buy the company, one wants to sell while the other doesn’t. It has caused some friction between their relationship and they hope by the end of the trip, they can reconsider each other’s feelings and it can all be resolved. Lauren, who often feels like the third wheel in their friendship, hasn’t spoken to Ashley and Natalie for over a year but wants to also get back on track after tragically losing her husband a year prior. But when a girls night out goes terribly wrong, Ashley goes missing. With Natalie not being able to recall the night - they are determined to find their friend.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book. It was a proper girly, beach read and I secretly wished I was in Tulum sipping on some cocktails with this read to accompany me. I don’t want to give tooooo much of the plot away but it’s definitely engrossing and I managed to fly through it pretty quickly. Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke are fantastic writers. The plot flowed at a nice pace and although you were keen to find out what happened to Natalie, it was nice to read a mystery book without having tons of characters to suspect or be pulled in all different directions. It was just so enjoyable and well written.
Thank you to the publisher and @netgally for giving me the opportunity to read this. If your headed on a beach holiday this summer, this would be the perfect by the sea or pool read. I’ll definitely be recommending it to my friends.
حبكه تافه
شخصيات سخيفه سطحيه بمشاكل صغيره جدا ودراما كبيره !
مراهقات في عمر الاربعيين
كما ان هناك شيطنه واحتقار كبير للمكسيكيين وردت عباره نحن في المكسيك بهدف ايصال مستوى الخطوره والفساد والفشل في اداء ابسط المهام على لسان جميع شخصيات الروايه بمافيها المحققين المكسيكيين !!
المضحك المبكي ان يصدر هذا الكتاب من كاتبتين من دوله حكومتها اختطفت اطفالا مكسيكيين قبل سنتين في معتقلات المهاجريين غير الشرعيين وفشلت في ايصالهم لذويهم ! وتسببت بمصائب لازال الى الان يعاني منها اسر كثير من المهاجرين
شخصيات سخيفه سطحيه بمشاكل صغيره جدا ودراما كبيره !
مراهقات في عمر الاربعيين
كما ان هناك شيطنه واحتقار كبير للمكسيكيين وردت عباره نحن في المكسيك بهدف ايصال مستوى الخطوره والفساد والفشل في اداء ابسط المهام على لسان جميع شخصيات الروايه بمافيها المحققين المكسيكيين !!
المضحك المبكي ان يصدر هذا الكتاب من كاتبتين من دوله حكومتها اختطفت اطفالا مكسيكيين قبل سنتين في معتقلات المهاجريين غير الشرعيين وفشلت في ايصالهم لذويهم ! وتسببت بمصائب لازال الى الان يعاني منها اسر كثير من المهاجرين
While the book is over 300 pages, this story
is very thin. Super thin in fact with very
lousy repetitive writing. Three whiny
women complaining to each other over
and over.
Oh and you'll get whiplash from trying to
keep straight the various timelines and
whose point of view each chapter is.
Yes, one of them disappears and the
whole point should be that there is some
worthwhile conclusion to that issue, but
while it does get explained it is so damned
THIN and worthless that you'll maybe
hate this book. I certainly did.
is very thin. Super thin in fact with very
lousy repetitive writing. Three whiny
women complaining to each other over
and over.
Oh and you'll get whiplash from trying to
keep straight the various timelines and
whose point of view each chapter is.
Yes, one of them disappears and the
whole point should be that there is some
worthwhile conclusion to that issue, but
while it does get explained it is so damned
THIN and worthless that you'll maybe
hate this book. I certainly did.
Girls Night Out: A story about three friends away for a girls weekend in Mexico trying to resolve some issue from the past and rebuild their friendship. Some are ready to forgive and move on and others are afraid to let go of their past as if they do their whole life will change until something goes terrible wrong.
I enjoyed this story although a times thought it dragged a bit and could have been edited to remove some of the unnecessary detail. The ending was definitely a twist that I was not expecting and the writing flowed effortless while talking during present time and then flashing back to previous parts of their lives. I highly recommend reading this and it does remind you that forgiveness is the kindest gift a person can give.
I enjoyed this story although a times thought it dragged a bit and could have been edited to remove some of the unnecessary detail. The ending was definitely a twist that I was not expecting and the writing flowed effortless while talking during present time and then flashing back to previous parts of their lives. I highly recommend reading this and it does remind you that forgiveness is the kindest gift a person can give.
Really disappointing. The premise of this book sounded perfect and right up my alley but it did not work for me:
1. This book was SO repetitive and did not need to be as long. The 3 women argue nonstop about the same things for 330ish pages. I know friendships, especially 20 year friendships, can have a lot of baggage and deep rooted issues but this was too much. Everyone is ridiculous and selfish.
2. The things the women argue about are mostly revealed extremely early on. There are more details and nuance added to the issues as the book goes on but there’s nothing surprising that comes out. You could read the first 20ish pages and the last 10 and would not be confused.
3. The structure of this book used too many gimmicks and they did not work together. We have 3 narrators, 2 different time frames and one obviously unreliable narrator. I’m a big fan of all those narrative structures but when you put them together, it’s a mess. Any sense of suspense is gone because we clearly know who is telling the truth, who doesn’t remember and the entire sequence of events. We basically just don’t know 2% of the story upfront. Doesn’t not leave room for many twists and turns.
3.5 Due to the structure of the novel, there’s really only 2 possibilities for Ashley’s disappearance. One of which is so relentlessly pushed down our throats the entire book, it’s fairly clear that one is a red herring. For a book that’s billed as “heart stopping” “rippling with suspense” and “chilling page turner” this seemed like an odd way to set up the narrative. I would honestly call this a character driven dive into longterm female friendship than a thriller. There is not one twist, turn or plot twist to be found.
1. This book was SO repetitive and did not need to be as long. The 3 women argue nonstop about the same things for 330ish pages. I know friendships, especially 20 year friendships, can have a lot of baggage and deep rooted issues but this was too much. Everyone is ridiculous and selfish.
2. The things the women argue about are mostly revealed extremely early on. There are more details and nuance added to the issues as the book goes on but there’s nothing surprising that comes out. You could read the first 20ish pages and the last 10 and would not be confused.
3. The structure of this book used too many gimmicks and they did not work together. We have 3 narrators, 2 different time frames and one obviously unreliable narrator. I’m a big fan of all those narrative structures but when you put them together, it’s a mess. Any sense of suspense is gone because we clearly know who is telling the truth, who doesn’t remember and the entire sequence of events. We basically just don’t know 2% of the story upfront. Doesn’t not leave room for many twists and turns.
3.5 Due to the structure of the novel, there’s really only 2 possibilities for Ashley’s disappearance. One of which is so relentlessly pushed down our throats the entire book, it’s fairly clear that one is a red herring. For a book that’s billed as “heart stopping” “rippling with suspense” and “chilling page turner” this seemed like an odd way to set up the narrative. I would honestly call this a character driven dive into longterm female friendship than a thriller. There is not one twist, turn or plot twist to be found.
Authors Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke relate that writing a follow-up to their best-selling The Good Widow wasn't just challenging. Penning Girls' Night Out "broke us open, hard and wide, before putting us back together again. Our friendship and our partnership were put to the test in a way we'd never experienced before. . . . We argued. We cried." Even though they have been friends for thirty years, during the year they worked on Girls' Night Out, they wondered if the book would ever be completed and published. The premise mirrors their own relationship: Two longtime best friends find their relationship disintegrating when the business they founded together becomes wildly successful. For the authors, life was imitating art but, eventually, as Girls' Night Out came together, so did their friendship. As a result of their experience, they dedicated the book to friendship.
Friendship is the theme of Girls' Night Out, the story of three women who have stood by each other for two decades, but find themselves unable to continue doing so. When Natalie invented the BloBrush, a combination blow dryer and hair brush, she and Ashley founded BloMe. Eight years later, and after their appearance on Shark Tank (they didn't make a deal with a shark because Ashley refused the offer from Lori Greiner), they have a pending buy-out offer from Revlon about which they cannot agree. While Natalie is desperate to convince Ashley to agree to sell in order to solve her family's financial crisis created by her husband, Ben, Ashley cannot bring herself to give up the company they have worked so hard to establish. Ashley has her own marital troubles and confesses on their first night in Mexico that she is considering leaving her husband, Jason. Natalie and Ashley each have two young daughters. Lauren was suddenly widowed a year ago, and Fenton and Steinke reveal early on that the breakdown of her relationship with Ashley was related to that event. In the year since her husband's death, Lauren has established a close friendship with another widow that she met in a support group, but drinking too much and engaging in other reckless behavior.
Their friendship has always revolved around Ashley, the undisputed leader and spark of the trio. Female friendships are complicated, often difficult, and frequently steeped in competition. In female friendships, three is a particularly difficult number. Lauren and Natalie have spent their lives vying for Ashley's attention, competing for her attention, wanting her to like each of them better. As Lauren puts it, "[l]ike two puppies wanting to be adopted by the same person." Despite the problems in their relationships, during a trip designed by Ashley to help them find redemption, forgiveness, and renewal, nothing has changed. Natalie and Lauren are so self-involved that they continue competing for Ashley's favor, not recognizing that Ashley is lost and confused, and seeking peace and clarity.
After a night of drinking, Natalie wakes up on the beach alone, rather than in the hotel room she shares with Ashley . . . and with no memory of how she got there. Worse, when she goes to their room, Ashley is not there and is not answering her cell phone or responding to text messages. Together with Lauren, Natalie commences a frantic search to find Ashley -- and regain her memory of exactly what happened the prior night.
In order to enjoy Girls' Night Out, readers must suspend their disbelief to accept that educated, successful women are capable of making very bad choices. And in Ashley's case, her first bad choice is taking up with Marco, a charming and handsome local she meets in a yoga class, who claims to own a smoothie stand. He talks about spirituality, capitalizing on Ashley's evident vulnerability, convincing her to engage in outrageously risky behaviors designed to help her let go and find peace, clarity, and contentment. Concerned that Marco is a skilled conman, Natalie and Lauren end up going along in order to protect Ashley, as well as gain her favor, but not without rancor. After all, the three of them came to Mexico to spend time together in an attempt to heal their relationship and Ashley seems to them to be more interested in wasting time with Marco.
Additionally, readers must establish an emotional connection to three deeply flawed characters. Ashley, Natalie, and Lauren are all women who, at forty years of age, don't yet understand the depth of their own resilience and power, much less how to wield that power. They have all experienced great successes and failures -- the latter in their marriages and other personal relationships -- but are teetering on the edge of survival. And for the past year, instead of leaning on each other and their shared histories, they have all been turning inward for answers. The status of their relationships demonstrate that they are much poorer for having done so. The dramatic tension in the story is focused upon whether they can re-establish their bond while there is still time to do so.
Fenton and Steinke explore the friendships of Ashley, Natalie, and Lauren in a surprisingly satisfying manner, despite the patently ridiculous backdrop for the tale. The story is told from the perspective of each woman, detailing her struggle over the course of the previous year that has led her to the Mexican reunion and examining her feelings about reconciliation -- her anger, resentment, and grief about the various aspects of her life that have proven disappointing and heartbreaking. As the search for Ashley continues and Natalie's memories come flooding back, horrible, unchangeable truths are revealed. Readers will likely question the manner in which Fenton and Steinke opt to resolve the mystery of Ashley's disappearance and the story's conclusion long after they read the last page. And perhaps that's their intent because despite its imperfections, Girls' Night Out delivers an emotional impact and the characters' relationships and journeys provide plenty of material for vigorous discussion.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Readers' Copy of the book.
Friendship is the theme of Girls' Night Out, the story of three women who have stood by each other for two decades, but find themselves unable to continue doing so. When Natalie invented the BloBrush, a combination blow dryer and hair brush, she and Ashley founded BloMe. Eight years later, and after their appearance on Shark Tank (they didn't make a deal with a shark because Ashley refused the offer from Lori Greiner), they have a pending buy-out offer from Revlon about which they cannot agree. While Natalie is desperate to convince Ashley to agree to sell in order to solve her family's financial crisis created by her husband, Ben, Ashley cannot bring herself to give up the company they have worked so hard to establish. Ashley has her own marital troubles and confesses on their first night in Mexico that she is considering leaving her husband, Jason. Natalie and Ashley each have two young daughters. Lauren was suddenly widowed a year ago, and Fenton and Steinke reveal early on that the breakdown of her relationship with Ashley was related to that event. In the year since her husband's death, Lauren has established a close friendship with another widow that she met in a support group, but drinking too much and engaging in other reckless behavior.
Their friendship has always revolved around Ashley, the undisputed leader and spark of the trio. Female friendships are complicated, often difficult, and frequently steeped in competition. In female friendships, three is a particularly difficult number. Lauren and Natalie have spent their lives vying for Ashley's attention, competing for her attention, wanting her to like each of them better. As Lauren puts it, "[l]ike two puppies wanting to be adopted by the same person." Despite the problems in their relationships, during a trip designed by Ashley to help them find redemption, forgiveness, and renewal, nothing has changed. Natalie and Lauren are so self-involved that they continue competing for Ashley's favor, not recognizing that Ashley is lost and confused, and seeking peace and clarity.
After a night of drinking, Natalie wakes up on the beach alone, rather than in the hotel room she shares with Ashley . . . and with no memory of how she got there. Worse, when she goes to their room, Ashley is not there and is not answering her cell phone or responding to text messages. Together with Lauren, Natalie commences a frantic search to find Ashley -- and regain her memory of exactly what happened the prior night.
In order to enjoy Girls' Night Out, readers must suspend their disbelief to accept that educated, successful women are capable of making very bad choices. And in Ashley's case, her first bad choice is taking up with Marco, a charming and handsome local she meets in a yoga class, who claims to own a smoothie stand. He talks about spirituality, capitalizing on Ashley's evident vulnerability, convincing her to engage in outrageously risky behaviors designed to help her let go and find peace, clarity, and contentment. Concerned that Marco is a skilled conman, Natalie and Lauren end up going along in order to protect Ashley, as well as gain her favor, but not without rancor. After all, the three of them came to Mexico to spend time together in an attempt to heal their relationship and Ashley seems to them to be more interested in wasting time with Marco.
Additionally, readers must establish an emotional connection to three deeply flawed characters. Ashley, Natalie, and Lauren are all women who, at forty years of age, don't yet understand the depth of their own resilience and power, much less how to wield that power. They have all experienced great successes and failures -- the latter in their marriages and other personal relationships -- but are teetering on the edge of survival. And for the past year, instead of leaning on each other and their shared histories, they have all been turning inward for answers. The status of their relationships demonstrate that they are much poorer for having done so. The dramatic tension in the story is focused upon whether they can re-establish their bond while there is still time to do so.
Fenton and Steinke explore the friendships of Ashley, Natalie, and Lauren in a surprisingly satisfying manner, despite the patently ridiculous backdrop for the tale. The story is told from the perspective of each woman, detailing her struggle over the course of the previous year that has led her to the Mexican reunion and examining her feelings about reconciliation -- her anger, resentment, and grief about the various aspects of her life that have proven disappointing and heartbreaking. As the search for Ashley continues and Natalie's memories come flooding back, horrible, unchangeable truths are revealed. Readers will likely question the manner in which Fenton and Steinke opt to resolve the mystery of Ashley's disappearance and the story's conclusion long after they read the last page. And perhaps that's their intent because despite its imperfections, Girls' Night Out delivers an emotional impact and the characters' relationships and journeys provide plenty of material for vigorous discussion.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Readers' Copy of the book.
Great mystery, and study of women's friendships. Ashley, Natalie and Lauren have been friends for two decades, but as with any long friendship, there are wounds, and wrongs, power struggles, and petty jealousies. Both Natalie and Lauren are in their own ways overshadowed and over-awed by the beautiful and vivacious Ashley, and the love they have for her is laced with resentment. Lauren is nursing an old grudge, and Natalie a new frustration with Ashley when all three of them agree to vacation together in Mexico to help clear the air and mend the fissures in their friendship.
But things go horribly awry when Ashley goes missing.
The book follows all three women's retrospective before Ashley's disappearance, and the regrets that come after. And through it all, the details of the night she disappeared are gradually revealed. This was a great read (and listen) because both the mystery and the intricacies of the women's friendship were independently fascinating. If one of those elements of the plot had been eliminated altogether, I would have still enjoyed this book. And I especially loved that the author did justice to how complicated it can be when THREE women are good friends. There is always a "favored one" with constantly shifting loyalties, and balances of power.
This book has made me curious about other work by Liz Fenton. Recommended.
But things go horribly awry when Ashley goes missing.
The book follows all three women's retrospective before Ashley's disappearance, and the regrets that come after. And through it all, the details of the night she disappeared are gradually revealed. This was a great read (and listen) because both the mystery and the intricacies of the women's friendship were independently fascinating. If one of those elements of the plot had been eliminated altogether, I would have still enjoyed this book. And I especially loved that the author did justice to how complicated it can be when THREE women are good friends. There is always a "favored one" with constantly shifting loyalties, and balances of power.
This book has made me curious about other work by Liz Fenton. Recommended.
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Wow this was so poorly written. I lost count of how many times the authors used “not unkindly” to describe how someone said something.
Also the acknowledgments section is super cringy…”To the lovely and generous people of Tulum, Quintana Roo, in Mexico, your smiles and pleasant attitudes are infectious…We hope we channeled all of your wonderful qualities into our fictitious characters, Maria and Ishmael.”
Also the acknowledgments section is super cringy…”To the lovely and generous people of Tulum, Quintana Roo, in Mexico, your smiles and pleasant attitudes are infectious…We hope we channeled all of your wonderful qualities into our fictitious characters, Maria and Ishmael.”