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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
[Disclaimer: e-ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
I absolutely adore a book, particularly a thriller, that deals with friendship themes. Even better if it's a toxic friendship, which the relationship between Anna and Vicky definitely was.
While this was an easy and quick read, I found it to be quite predictable and too much left open to interpretation.
If you're looking for an easy to read thriller with toxic friendship themes, then check this one out.
Check out my BookTube Channel for more bookish content.
I absolutely adore a book, particularly a thriller, that deals with friendship themes. Even better if it's a toxic friendship, which the relationship between Anna and Vicky definitely was.
While this was an easy and quick read, I found it to be quite predictable and too much left open to interpretation.
Spoiler
I found the build up to David's mistrust of Vicky to be far too rushed, he kind of went from 0 to 100 with that which I found hard to buy. On top of that, I really didn't buy him murdering her, particularly that he was just totally fine afterwards.If you're looking for an easy to read thriller with toxic friendship themes, then check this one out.
Check out my BookTube Channel for more bookish content.
BFF's is the story of two toxic women in a lifelong toxic friendship. Dawn Goodwin takes us back and forth between Anna and Vicky as they grow from children into women in their early thirties. Neither are necessarily likable, one a lot less than the other, but still watching their train-wreck of a co-dependent relationship was a bit unnerving and entertaining at the same time.
Anna and Vicky are the epitome of polar opposites. They come from the other side of the tracks from each other with Anna growing up privileged and “entitled” ( a trait I loathe). Vicky has little to no opportunity with most of her joy coming from her friendship with Anna. As the young girls develop into young women Anna suggests a sinister plan to help Vicky escape from the abuse she endures at home. With that, Vicky is bound to Anna in a wholly new way and Anna never misses the chance to hold it over her.
The story is told in past and present with the reader witnessing the transformation of their relationship. At one point my heart broke for Vicky ( and broke, and broke, time and again) and it was easy to empathize with her and understand how she comes to love and resent Anna in the same breath. I had little feeling for Anna. Not true – she would be fine one moment, then a complete witch in the next. So my feelings 95% negative.
But this is not just about them. There is a triangle with Anna’s husband David and as Vicky takes over Anna’s life (in her absence), you can see she’s learned a lot about deceit and manipulation from her friendship with Anna. This all plays out in a stunning way as Vicky gets too close, too obsessed, and takes things too far. She makes made choices that left her secrets open for discovery. Long after Anna’s death, she’s still being influenced by Anna’s misdeeds.
This is a well written and well-executed thriller story with characters that are easy to feel. The stress oozes off the page with an ending I never saw coming. 4 Stars and recommendation.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
Anna and Vicky are the epitome of polar opposites. They come from the other side of the tracks from each other with Anna growing up privileged and “entitled” ( a trait I loathe). Vicky has little to no opportunity with most of her joy coming from her friendship with Anna. As the young girls develop into young women Anna suggests a sinister plan to help Vicky escape from the abuse she endures at home. With that, Vicky is bound to Anna in a wholly new way and Anna never misses the chance to hold it over her.
The story is told in past and present with the reader witnessing the transformation of their relationship. At one point my heart broke for Vicky ( and broke, and broke, time and again) and it was easy to empathize with her and understand how she comes to love and resent Anna in the same breath. I had little feeling for Anna. Not true – she would be fine one moment, then a complete witch in the next. So my feelings 95% negative.
But this is not just about them. There is a triangle with Anna’s husband David and as Vicky takes over Anna’s life (in her absence), you can see she’s learned a lot about deceit and manipulation from her friendship with Anna. This all plays out in a stunning way as Vicky gets too close, too obsessed, and takes things too far. She makes made choices that left her secrets open for discovery. Long after Anna’s death, she’s still being influenced by Anna’s misdeeds.
This is a well written and well-executed thriller story with characters that are easy to feel. The stress oozes off the page with an ending I never saw coming. 4 Stars and recommendation.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Synopsis:
Vicky and Anna are two peas in a pod or say they claim. Their inseparable friendship, since their schooldays, survived through everything. From silly pranks to some serious misdemeanours, they’re still as thick as thieves after all those years. Sometimes their friendship even led David to believe that in his marriage with Anna, he was the third wheel. Still, David was leading a happy and comfortable family life with his wife and two kids, Harper and Lewis. But, it all starts to unravel with Anna’s death in what seemed to be a simple road accident. Was it only that? Or was somebody else responsible for her death?
Review:
The story starts on 13 May 2012, when Vicky Dean receives a call from David Price in her hungover state. That Anna was dead and that it was an accident. Vicky’s first thought was: What had they done?
It opens then to a lonely David four weeks later, the truth of having lost his wife not yet sunk in. Louisa Price, his mother, is helping with his kids Harper and Lewis, aged seven and five. But when his mother has had enough and makes him understand that he has to pull himself together and look after his kids, Vicky comes to the rescue in the form of a text message. And then she’s physically there, slowly settling herself into the family life she always craved but didn’t have.
Best friends since the age of thirteen, Vicky and Anna had been separated only during the latter’s University years where she met David. Coming from a well-to-do family, Anna had all the material comforts of life while since her mother’s death Vicky has had to suffer at the hands of her abusive father.
It has a perfect domestic setting, which won’t indicate anything untoward had I not read the blurb before. But there are eerie hints throughout, especially the way Vicky drops some of her thoughts or feelings. Narrated in the third person, this story is all about damaged people and their twisted sense of love. Do not speak ill of the dead, but was Anna really the Saint that her husband David made her out to be? Then there’s Vicky, who seems to be the one always suffering because of other people’s actions. And finally, David. Is he the victim in all this manipulation or is he a conspirator too. In everything that happened.
The story goes back into the past to September 1986, the day when Vicky befriended the posh Anna Maxwell. Anna’s nature, and Vicky’s as well, is a revelation throughout the story. The narration moves between the past and the present, with Vicky’s letters to the now-dead Anna establishing a chink in their friendly armour. But, with the story being revealed from each of the three individual’s perspective, whom to believe and whom not to? What is true and what is false? Who is saintly and who’s evil incarnate?
In all of the ensuing drama, my heart went out to the little kids. Without a mother and a father who doesn’t seem to know a thing about them, their habits, or what they like or don’t like, I was glad that David’s family was there to pick up some of the pieces and put it all into perspective for him.
There’s animal abuse as well as physical abuse in the story. This is a chilling story of a toxic friendship with some of the other characters no less venomous. I couldn’t fathom who was the biggest psychopath, as not even the author’s acknowledgement could make me believe ‘that no one’s perfect’. Something obviously didn’t work for me, it all seemed a bit too farfetched is all. Also, the story stretched over for my liking during the build-up to the climax. And, there also, I felt cheated. Maybe because I wanted more explanations as to what exactly happened. The going back and forth in time that was intriguing in the beginning, surrounding the mystery around Anna’s death, was just confusing at the end.
Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for an e-ARC of the book.
Originally posted on:
Shaina's Musings
Vicky and Anna are two peas in a pod or say they claim. Their inseparable friendship, since their schooldays, survived through everything. From silly pranks to some serious misdemeanours, they’re still as thick as thieves after all those years. Sometimes their friendship even led David to believe that in his marriage with Anna, he was the third wheel. Still, David was leading a happy and comfortable family life with his wife and two kids, Harper and Lewis. But, it all starts to unravel with Anna’s death in what seemed to be a simple road accident. Was it only that? Or was somebody else responsible for her death?
Review:
The story starts on 13 May 2012, when Vicky Dean receives a call from David Price in her hungover state. That Anna was dead and that it was an accident. Vicky’s first thought was: What had they done?
It opens then to a lonely David four weeks later, the truth of having lost his wife not yet sunk in. Louisa Price, his mother, is helping with his kids Harper and Lewis, aged seven and five. But when his mother has had enough and makes him understand that he has to pull himself together and look after his kids, Vicky comes to the rescue in the form of a text message. And then she’s physically there, slowly settling herself into the family life she always craved but didn’t have.
Best friends since the age of thirteen, Vicky and Anna had been separated only during the latter’s University years where she met David. Coming from a well-to-do family, Anna had all the material comforts of life while since her mother’s death Vicky has had to suffer at the hands of her abusive father.
Everything was quiet now, the kind of silence that you only experience at night, dense, oppressive.
It has a perfect domestic setting, which won’t indicate anything untoward had I not read the blurb before. But there are eerie hints throughout, especially the way Vicky drops some of her thoughts or feelings. Narrated in the third person, this story is all about damaged people and their twisted sense of love. Do not speak ill of the dead, but was Anna really the Saint that her husband David made her out to be? Then there’s Vicky, who seems to be the one always suffering because of other people’s actions. And finally, David. Is he the victim in all this manipulation or is he a conspirator too. In everything that happened.
The story goes back into the past to September 1986, the day when Vicky befriended the posh Anna Maxwell. Anna’s nature, and Vicky’s as well, is a revelation throughout the story. The narration moves between the past and the present, with Vicky’s letters to the now-dead Anna establishing a chink in their friendly armour. But, with the story being revealed from each of the three individual’s perspective, whom to believe and whom not to? What is true and what is false? Who is saintly and who’s evil incarnate?
In all of the ensuing drama, my heart went out to the little kids. Without a mother and a father who doesn’t seem to know a thing about them, their habits, or what they like or don’t like, I was glad that David’s family was there to pick up some of the pieces and put it all into perspective for him.
…he could feel some of the broken pieces rattling around inside him start to fit together again, the edges knitting together like a healing wound.
There’s animal abuse as well as physical abuse in the story. This is a chilling story of a toxic friendship with some of the other characters no less venomous. I couldn’t fathom who was the biggest psychopath, as not even the author’s acknowledgement could make me believe ‘that no one’s perfect’. Something obviously didn’t work for me, it all seemed a bit too farfetched is all. Also, the story stretched over for my liking during the build-up to the climax. And, there also, I felt cheated. Maybe because I wanted more explanations as to what exactly happened. The going back and forth in time that was intriguing in the beginning, surrounding the mystery around Anna’s death, was just confusing at the end.
Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for an e-ARC of the book.
Originally posted on:
Shaina's Musings
Best Friends Forever by Dawn Goodwin is a book about flawed characters and an extremely flawed friendship. This is one of those books where you just don't like the characters, and it's like reading an especially scandalous Lifetime movie. This the story of Anna and Vicky who have been, well, best friends forever. Anna has been tragically killed, and Vicky shows up at her house to help David, her husband, and two young children. However, David senses something is just not right with Vicky's insertion into their lives. The book goes back in time to show the evolution of Anna and Vicky's friendship, and there are heaping helpings of problematic dynamics and situations in that y'all. In real time, it is David trying to make sense of what happened to his wife, why Vicky has taken the role she has, and how the two might be related. I really like a plot that uses the past and the present to weave a story together, and this was very much that. This is also used to build more complete pictures of the characters, and that does mean lots of secrets and lies are revealed. I would also offer strong content warnings as there are instances of sexual assault, abuse, and very unhealthy relationships. Thanks to NetGalley for access to this read in exchange for my review.
Rating:
I am undecided between 3 or 4 so 3.5 maybe.
Trigger:
Rape
Child molestation
Infidelity
Short review:
See, I am just like you after all.
I'll look after them, Anna. I promise. It'll be like you never left.
Vix xx
I like my psychological thrillers simple. Too complex and complicated plots make my head hurt and interest lost. So, this one was perfect, right up my alley...
She loved Anna like a sister, couldn't imagine not being her best friend, but some days that friendship was tested, pushed, poked and prodded.
She wondered what it would take for it to finally break.
And whether they would both survive the fall-out.
Review in image/gif:
Recommended:
Yes
Aftermath: (possible spoilers)
This is my first book by Dawn Goodwin but I am pretty sure it would not be the last one. Eager to read more of hers.
I am undecided between 3 or 4 so 3.5 maybe.
Trigger:
Rape
Child molestation
Infidelity
Short review:
See, I am just like you after all.
I'll look after them, Anna. I promise. It'll be like you never left.
Vix xx
I like my psychological thrillers simple. Too complex and complicated plots make my head hurt and interest lost. So, this one was perfect, right up my alley...
She loved Anna like a sister, couldn't imagine not being her best friend, but some days that friendship was tested, pushed, poked and prodded.
She wondered what it would take for it to finally break.
And whether they would both survive the fall-out.
Review in image/gif:
Recommended:
Yes
Aftermath: (possible spoilers)
This is my first book by Dawn Goodwin but I am pretty sure it would not be the last one. Eager to read more of hers.
2.5 Stars
A secret is only a secret until someone tells.
While this book had an interesting premise, it failed in the execution. I found this to be an overly melodramatic story that required the reader to get on board with its odd plot choices without providing the necessary character or plot development to back it up. I actually had a hard time keeping track of the peripheral characters and found the ending to be a bit implausible.
The cast of characters were a decidedly lackluster bunch whom are kept at an arm's length from the reader and desperately needed an injection of personality. When the big twist finally happens, it felt forced and was ridiculous to the point of being implausible. The best I can say is that I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either, hence the 2.5 stars.
Thank you NetGalley, Dawn Goodwin and Aria for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.
#BestFriendsForever #NetGalley
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unpredictable plot so I enjoyed trying to guess what was going to happen and still being surprised every time
So many things lurking beneath the surface, I didn't know where this was going - great.