Lisa and Rosie have been friends since their teenage years.
Both are married and have children and both families go on holiday together.
Then Nick Rosie's husband leaves her as he has been having an affair with Lisa and wants to live with her.
The story traces the effect it has on each of the family members each told from their perspective.
It would appear that in each family dimension there is betrayal hence the title of the book.

I’ve procrastinated writing my review of this book. Why? Because in one sense I absolutely loved it and I found it all-consuming (which I love when I’m reading a book). On the other hand it was utterly frustrating. Yet even though I finished this book over a week ago now, I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Hmmm, maybe that’s a sign of a good novel…

One thing’s for sure, I’m desperate for all of you to read The Betrayals and let me know what you think. So please do!

The Betrayals focuses on divorced couple Rosie and Nick and their two grown-up children Daisy and Max. When the book opens Nick is now in a relationship with Lisa who was once Rosie’s best friend. This in a sense is the ultimate betrayal that the book pivots on as it is Nick and Lisa’s affair that broke up his marriage. However as the themes of memory and guilt run throughout the novel, other acts of betrayal or perceived betrayal dramatically impact on all the lives of the characters. Daisy has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Lisa has cancer, Rosie uses Tinder for sex and Max is infatuated by women who treat him badly.

Narrated through Daisy, Max, Rosie and Nick in turn, we hear first hand their very different points of view on the family events that have shaped them all. This gives each of the central characters their own distinctive voice. From Daisy, we see how her OCD controls her; from Max we find out about the guilt he has been carrying around since childhood; from Nick we discover how he uses life to justify his weaknesses; and from Rosie we see that she is unable to make new romantic attachments following being betrayed by the two people she trusted most.

I particularly loved the sibling interaction between Daisy and Max in this book, and how both try to cope with her OCD. Also how the author Fiona Neill portrays the OCD throughout the book is sensitive and insightful; so much so I genuinely did wonder if she had close hand experience of the disorder.

This is the first time I have ever read a novel written by Fiona Neill and essentially I loved her writing style; I found it so real and absorbing. She presents a thought-provoking and raw portrayal of modern life through characters that you can really empathise with. It is not a happy read (so I wouldn’t recommend this if you are looking for something lighthearted); but it has true depth. It also has snapshots of humour, mainly portrayed through Nick’s view of Lisa’s ‘healer’ Gregorio, which I often found myself laughing out loud at. As well as being funny, this further gives the novel a sense of realness as I think many people will relate to Nick’s view of Gregorio.

So why was The Betrayals a frustrating read for me? Well in parts I found it a tad disjointed with things left unclear. For me it was ambiguous in parts, especially the ending which really frustrated me. However on reflection I suppose this adds to the ‘realness’ of this novel as modern life is often disjointed and ambiguous.

It is a hard-hitting read also covering topics of alcoholism and bullying. It is a book that drew me in and captivated me. Yet I suppose I felt let down by its ambiguity, especially at the end. However as I mention above, since finishing the book over a week ago I have thought and thought about it, especially the ending. Hence why I’m desperate for you to read The Betrayals too to see if we come to the same conclusion…

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for sending me an advanced review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I did find it rather hard to initially get in to the novel and found the different voices rather confusing. Daisy's voice was the most interesting and compelling. A story of families and friendship.

A complicated tale of a marriage breakdown. This is told from the points of view of various characters involved. All of them seem to avoid telling the truth to each other, or even to themselves, with the exception of Daisy,whose OCD threatens to overwhelm her.
Unfortunately, although the characters are well drawn, I didn't really care for any of them as they are all so self absorbed, and so didn't have much interest in what happened to them or what problems they made for each other.

I found this book hard to read at the times the author went on too long about OCD., it detracted from the story for me. I enjoyed the entwined storyline throughout and the twists it revealed.

Two families, best friends, shared holidays, all seems perfect. But of course it never is. One marriage is close to collapse, there are tensions between the teenage children, nothing seems quite the same as previous fun, shared idyllic summers together. Seen from a point eight years on, and looking back, memories can play tricks. If you like a great story of family and friends and interactions and relationships, you will enjoy this book. The betrayals, yes, there's certainly quite a few of those!

Excellently written story and really showed how different perspectives can be told around the same story and did a great job telling this story. I really enjoyed this book--five stars!

I read the book but skimmed a lot as found parts very lengthy and lost interest. Especially the chapters by Nick

The Betrayals was a great book which I enjoyed reading.
There are four sides to this story, Lisa, who stole Rosie's husband Nick , daughter Daisy, son Max and Nick himself. Whose story is the right version. I won't spoil it for everyone have a read for yourself.
My first book by Fiona Neill but certainly will not be my last.

This is the story of two families in turmoil. The story starts on the Norfolk coast and a holiday no-one will forget. Rosie and Lisa are lifelong friends sharing everything - and Lisa then has an affair with Rosie's husband Nick. Her own marriage to Barney is over mainly due to his drinking. The impact that this has on their children is catastrophic. Then Lisa is diagnosed with breast cancer and writes to Lisa. The story unfolds with detailed, tender and knowledgeable writing of all the illnesses involves and their impact on all. Betrayal comes in many forms and this book covers many of them. It has a completely unexpected ending which I hadn't seen coming.
This is a must read.

This is the first book by this author that I read, and I enjoyed it.

It is a story of two families, whose lives overlap, with each person's actions affecting the lives of the others. The story is written from the point of view of Rosie, her husband Nick (who leaves her for her best friend Lisa), and their two children Daisy and Max.
The characters, likeable or not, are very well written and even though some parts are quite dark and the issues tackled are serious (alcoholism, mental illness, cancer, infidelity), there is also humour. The parts written by Nick are quite funny and entertaining.
I found the end and a little anticlimactic, but overall I enjoyed the book very much and read over half of it in one setting. I would definitely recommend it.

I found this book quite addictive especially having known someone who is severely OCD the same as Daisy, one of the key characters the behaviour involved made sense. The story is told in the present but involving past memories and misconceptions of a fateful weekend in Norfolk. The book entails narrative from the point of view of one family involved and hinges on the perceptions of the four people within this group. The actions of a rather selfish, self centered father blows the family apart but each member already had the underlying problems which they only remember as starting from that time. There is a certain humour within the book mainly involving the father and a wonderful 'quack' health healer character who is so bizarre and colourful, but probably exists. The end, I liked as each person realised and came to terms with the past and were set to move on, except the apparently most balanced one to the rest of the family who then witnesses a conclusive finish. I certainly enjoyed reading this novel, it is well written and despite being from four viewpoints does not jump about and flows well. I shall be reading previous books by this author on the basis of this one as I like her style.

I found this book to just be 'okay' It wasn't one that had me hooked and for me it just left me feeling quite confused if I'm honest. That said, it was a relatively easy read, one suited for a poolside holiday maybe.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book as an arc.
I really enjoyed this book, it is a character driven examination of two dysfunctional families, whose lives overlap, with each person's actions and betrayals resonating down the years to affect the lives of the others. None of the characters are particularly likeable, but they are so well written, the reader feels as if they get to know them all well and can understand their motivations. The story is written from the point of view of Rosie, her husband Nick who leaves her for her friend Lisa, and their two children Daisy and Max. I found my perception of each character changing as the story progressed and the truth started to emerge. Some parts were quite dark, many issues are tackled here such as infidelity, alcoholism, cancer and mental illness. There is also humour in the book, the parts told from Nick's point of view I found quite funny at times.
I would certainly recommend this book.

As the title suggests this is about the betrayals, the emotional betrayals between 4 very close friends. We read it from each individual’s perspective, how they all viewed the same things and their parts in them. I also found that I didn’t really like many of the characters, they were too neurotic and self absorbed for my liking.
We meet two families who have been friends for what seems like forever, they shared holidays, high times and sad times till that fateful summer. We have Brendan married to Lisa with their children Ava and Rex and Nick married to Rosie with their children Daisy and Max.
The ultimate betrayal was of course Nick and Lisa’s affair that divides the two families, breaking fragile hearts, splintering friendships with long reaching consequences for them all. Lisa is now dying of cancer and has decided that traditional treatment is not for her, enter the hippy dippy Gregorio with his coffee enemas and green juices.
All four of the children now carry some burden or guilt from that summer, Daisy with OCD and rituals, Max blames himself for Daisy’s illness, Ava seems to be looking for a father figure and Rex and his almost Peter Pan attitude.
I’m afraid I haven’t enjoyed this as much as the other Fiona Neill books I’ve read.

Read for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley and Penguin

This is the first book I have read by Fiona Neill and I was impressed. It tells the story of two couples, their long friendship and the aftermath of an affair which ends in divorce and the ensuing schism between the families.

Rosie and Lisa have been friends since childhood and they are married respectively to Nick and Barney. The affair between Nick and Lisa breaks the friendship. The story is told from the perspectives of Rosie, Nick, their daughter Daisy and their son Max. Daisy is particularly affected by the break-up of her parent’s marriage and her OCD becomes very serious. She draws Max into the rituals she has to perform constantly to try and keep her mother and Max safe. The description of what it is like to suffer from OCD is very moving. Daisy has also suffered from bullying by Ava, Lisa and Barney’s daughter, and the effect of the crush she has on their son, Rex.

Eight years later Lisa writes to Rosie begging her to come and see her has she has Stage 4 breast cancer. The letter is intercepted by Daisy but eventually finds its way to Rosie. The story continues with a series of flashbacks by the four narrators all of whom have a different recollection of the last summer the families spent together. Lisa has written that she has something she needs to tell Rosie before it is too late. Daisy, Nick and Max are all concerned that this has something to do with them and they have secrets they wish to keep.

The characters are well drawn and there is dark humour in some of the observations they make. Nick is portrayed very well as weak and unreliable but he gets some of the best lines. There are fine observations of modern life, alternative medicine, brief sexual relationships, and the concepts of forgiveness and reconciliation.

I can’t say that I warmed to any of the characters, apart from Daisy. They are self-centred and self-obsessed but that is the gist of the novel. The novel asks the question; could a perceived betrayal be based on a false or faulty memory?

I would recommend this book.

ARC received from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

This is a stunning book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Two families intertwined by a long-standing friendship and several betrayals. Shared family memories, children growing up together, an extra-marital affair, dealing with the end of a relationship, illness, alcoholism, friendship, a psychological disorder.

The intriguing story is told from four different perspectives, revealing characters and plot in an interesting way. The author deals with the subjects in this book very delicately and shows how what happened affected everyone differently. It felt really well researched and is about so much more than an affair that breaks two families apart. Each of the characters is very well and intricately written and I really warmed to them.

The story jumps in time with adds to keeping the tension high and wanting to find out how it all unravelled and how it affected the present. Even though a lot of extraordinary things happen, I enjoyed the way the author writes about them in an non-sensationalist way, making the characters realistic and come across as normal people who give into / deal with their flaws which makes it easy to connect with them.

It's definitely a page-turner that stays with you and I would recommend not to miss out on this book!

What happens when the lives of a closeknit group of friends and their children overlap again and again in almost unthinkable ways? The result is The Betrayals, the title of which should have warned me that this would not be a happy-go-lucky holiday read. I finished it slightly depressed by the plot, having found the layers of relationships hard to accept. I found its exploration of memory (including false) interesting, and it’s narration of OCD from the viewpoint of one of the children rather harrowing. Well written but not one to pick up if you want a light escape.

The book is a tangled web of people, their feelings of guilt and their relationships. The story is as old as time, husband leaves wife for her best friend. It's all about how this betrayal affects everyone, some a lot more profoundly than others. There is secret that's going to be revealed and I felt little underwhelmed with the reveal.

This is a stunning read. I've read many books labelled 'psychological' and 'thought-provoking' but any of them would be hard pushed to beat this one for pumping blood through your veins and putting your brain into overdrive.

Two couples, four children and a regular holiday on the Norfolk coast set up this novel. What happens next is all-absorbing. I'm not going to give anything away but this is a deeply moving book which will give you an understanding of certain situations and predicaments which you've glazed over through the years. This is the novel which will make you pause and really think about things.

I wasn't sure to begin with if this was my kind of read, but Fiona Neill's clever writing soon draws you in to the story and you need to know more. The characters, setting and situations are so believable - all of which contribute to this cracking read.

The blurb puts it out there as a tale with four points of view - but there are so many more! Who to believe? Well, in my case I think it's possible to believe all of them and none of them - at quite the same time. However, it has a satisfying ending and is a truly all-consuming read, and one I am so happy not to have missed!

I received an arc via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.