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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
A good book about college friends, Topher, Maggie and Evvie. Topher and Eevie are American but come to England to study. Maggie has a moment with a bit named Ben but nothing comes if it. After graduation Evvie sleeps with him and then flies off to new York and begins a successful modeling career. She learns she is pregnant and has an abortion. She tells Ben. She goes on to be very famous and rich but struggles with her weight and self image. Topher gets a job on a soap opera and falls in love with a man who turns out to have AIDS. He does and Topher is devastated. Maggie sees Ben again and the two date and decide to get married. Evvie and Topher attend the wedding and Evvie and Ben pretend there is nothing between them. Later Ben comes to new York and has a one night stand with Evvie. Maggie struggles to become pregnant and they eventually give up. Topher meets a man who he lives with. Eevie becomes pregnant but doesn't tell Ben. She leaves her career to take care of Jake. Eventually her money runs out so she gets small jobs. She meets a very wealthy man and Marries him. Lance is verbally abusive because he wants a thin pretty wife. Evvie starts indulging to ward him off. They eventually divorce after Jake is in college. Maggie struggles with Ben's alcoholism and eventually they split but then he dies. She is embarrassed and tells everyone it was a heart attack when it was hepatitis from drinking. A few years pass and the 3 friends get together at a reunion and Decide to live together at Maggie's house. Then Jake turns up and the secret is out. Eventually they all live each other again and Evvie and Maggie open a restaurant together.
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infertility, Dementia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Full review can be seen on my June Reading List & Reviews post
You can see more book reviews at Life with Emily
Evvie, Maggie, and Topher have known each other since university. Their friendship was something they swore would last forever. Now years have passed, the friends have drifted apart, and none of them ever found the lives they wanted – the lives they dreamed of when they were young and everything seemed possible. Evvie’s supermodel career that started off promising has been derailed, Maggie’s seemingly perfect marriage is anything but, and Topher is a successful actor living with a secret that is making his chance at love harder than he imagined. By their thirtieth reunion, these old friends have lost touch with each other and with the people they dreamed of becoming. Together again, they have a second chance at happiness… until a dark secret is revealed that changes everything.
review: Jane Green has always had a way with words and her newest book reminds me just how well she brings her readers into the story. From the very beginning I felt like all three were my friends and I was sharing in their triumphs and disappointments. I really appreciated that each character was flawed and were each battling their own demons. It felt very real to me as everyone is always dealing with something and sometimes it’s hard to come to terms with those things. This book is a testament to how strong love, family, and friendship is – even when the going gets rough. A great read and incredibly engaging – you’ll definitely want to pick up this one for summer! rating: 4.5 out of 5 ⭐️
You can see more book reviews at Life with Emily
Evvie, Maggie, and Topher have known each other since university. Their friendship was something they swore would last forever. Now years have passed, the friends have drifted apart, and none of them ever found the lives they wanted – the lives they dreamed of when they were young and everything seemed possible. Evvie’s supermodel career that started off promising has been derailed, Maggie’s seemingly perfect marriage is anything but, and Topher is a successful actor living with a secret that is making his chance at love harder than he imagined. By their thirtieth reunion, these old friends have lost touch with each other and with the people they dreamed of becoming. Together again, they have a second chance at happiness… until a dark secret is revealed that changes everything.
review: Jane Green has always had a way with words and her newest book reminds me just how well she brings her readers into the story. From the very beginning I felt like all three were my friends and I was sharing in their triumphs and disappointments. I really appreciated that each character was flawed and were each battling their own demons. It felt very real to me as everyone is always dealing with something and sometimes it’s hard to come to terms with those things. This book is a testament to how strong love, family, and friendship is – even when the going gets rough. A great read and incredibly engaging – you’ll definitely want to pick up this one for summer! rating: 4.5 out of 5 ⭐️
3.5 stars. Silly little book. Quick, easy read, and heartwarming enough. Glossed over some big issues but did a good job capturing the complexity of life and friendship I suppose
Maggie, Evvie, and Topher meet at the beginning of college in England. Maggie and Evvie are roommates and they all end up living together in a house. When they graduate, Evvie goes on to become a supermodel, Topher becomes a soap opera star, and Maggie works in PR until she runs into Evil Ben-the bartender at a bar Evvie worked at and the man of Maggie's dreams. As it turns out none of their lives are idyllic. They the drift apart only to drift together again. One finds out about the betrayal of another, and things go south.
This is the basic plot of The Friends We Keep by Jane Green. This was my first Jane Green book and it won't be my last. While the story was somewhat slow moving in places, I found it be to be a good story about friendship, aging, and love. The characters are fully developed and well-written. The story starts in 1992 and end up in the present day. One thing I truly loved about this book is the time jump was straight forward. There's no fooling with the timeline like so many books. It's not a gimmick. I appreciated that. The characters are all about my age so I identified with the trials they have - live aging parents, mid-life weight-gain, losing someone close.
I'm not sure how to classify this book, but I think it falls into contemporary fiction. It would be a good pick for a book club because I think there are several things that would make a good discussion. I recommend this book.
I won this book from Goodreads and received no compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
This is the basic plot of The Friends We Keep by Jane Green. This was my first Jane Green book and it won't be my last. While the story was somewhat slow moving in places, I found it be to be a good story about friendship, aging, and love. The characters are fully developed and well-written. The story starts in 1992 and end up in the present day. One thing I truly loved about this book is the time jump was straight forward. There's no fooling with the timeline like so many books. It's not a gimmick. I appreciated that. The characters are all about my age so I identified with the trials they have - live aging parents, mid-life weight-gain, losing someone close.
I'm not sure how to classify this book, but I think it falls into contemporary fiction. It would be a good pick for a book club because I think there are several things that would make a good discussion. I recommend this book.
I won this book from Goodreads and received no compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book was written from a 3rd person perspective from each of the characters, switching in various chapters. While I think this is an interesting writing style, I would have preferred hearing the perspectives from a first person point of view to understand the characters’ emotions towards one another.
The author took a lot of time to explain the details of each scene and the emotions of each character in multiple paragraphs. For me, this felt unnecessary because while it was helpful to understand the background, there was a lot of extraneous information.
I think there was a lack of a true climax and closure as well which made the book hard to follow.
The author took a lot of time to explain the details of each scene and the emotions of each character in multiple paragraphs. For me, this felt unnecessary because while it was helpful to understand the background, there was a lot of extraneous information.
I think there was a lack of a true climax and closure as well which made the book hard to follow.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol
Moderate: Eating disorder, Infertility, Grief
Minor: Abortion
I am a sucker for Jane Green...she is one of my all-time favorites. I loved the timeline and progression. She does such an amazing job of detailing the smallest things about England, making it sound so picturesque and beautiful.
I loved the dynamic of the 3 characters. There was never any sort of favoritism or seemingly more closeness between two particular characters. It was easy to love, feel for, and be happy for all of them. I only hope to one day have the same result with my friends!
I loved the dynamic of the 3 characters. There was never any sort of favoritism or seemingly more closeness between two particular characters. It was easy to love, feel for, and be happy for all of them. I only hope to one day have the same result with my friends!