A wonderful story of the bonds between women. This book took me back to my own enduring friendships, and what I would and wouldn't do to keep them.
Fun and crazy funny.

I love this story because even though I've read many stories about friendships, this structure was unique and set it apart from other books based on friendship. I love the world news in the chapters and how those events effected the lives of the women in the story. It held my attention to the very last page.

Sophie, Melissa, Amy and Emma met at university and became best friends. This book follows their journey throughout the years after their graduation.

I really enjoyed this book. I initially thought I would give it 4 stars, but the plot twist at about 80% shook me!!

I highly recommend this book if you love stories about women and friendships.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for providing a free copy of this book.

Title...The Story Of Our Lives

Author...Helen Warner

My " in a nutshell" summary...

Four women...who met as young women in college...try to spend at least one weekend a year at a “weekend getaway”. Sophie, Melissa, Emily and Amy each have their own secrets and heartaches. Their time together helps them to see their lives more clearly in a sort of unfiltered way. They each also have various strengths and weaknesses as they live out their very different lives. Their getaway is special but they do live in close proximity to each other so it’s easy for them to stay in touch and be there for each other when needed.

My thoughts after reading this book...

I really enjoyed this book. There was enough drama to really hold my interest. Amy had husband issues, Sophie had husband issues, Emily and Melissa had lack of husband issues.

What I loved about this book...

I really did love the way the writer told this story. It was very readable. The issues seemed viable. Some things were a bit predictable but that didn’t really bother me. I didn’t really want to put this book away. We just happened to have a huge wind storm and power outage while I was reading this book. This book made the hours in the outage fly!

Final thoughts...
Would this be a good choice for you...potential reader?

Readers who love books with lots of issues and a ton of dysfunction should enjoy this book...I did!

I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley and Amazon. It was my choice to read it and review it.

One of my favourite genres of fiction is one that is focused on friendship groups. I love the love of romantic fiction but there is something special about the friendship between women. It can be both a curse and a cause for celebration and that is exactly what Helen Warner examines in her novel The Story of Our Lives.

The Story of Our Lives focuses on the friendship group Sophie, Emily, Amy and Melissa and how their friendship group grows, alters, falls apart and falls back together again over the course of a few decades. Warner throws massive curve balls at her readers throughout the novel and pulls the rug from under your feet far too many times. With several ‘shocked face’ moments and me screaming at the book several times I can honestly say that The Story of Our Lives put me through the emotional ringer.

The Story of Our Lives by Helen Warner is available now.

So you have four girlfriends whomeet up every year on August 31, which happens to be the anniversary of Princess Diana's death. Each has some sort of secret, and each has to learn some lessons.

This is about change and how you adapt to it, both individually and as friends. It's about what keeps friendships going, twenty years on. Not all of these women are good friends to each other, at least not all of the time. Mistakes are made. reckoning is demanded. Can you stay friends with someone you think betrayed you?

This is a pleasant read, if not entirely memorable. I can't quite see the comparisons to Big Little Lies, though. There really isn't a big fat mystery in this book, aside from the parentage of the child of one of the women. I'm also not quite sure I would compare this to One Day. In format, yes. In style and substance, no.

If you want to lose yourself in some chick lit for a few hours, you might want to think about this one.

Sophie, Amy, Emily and Melissa have shared everything since childhood. Their marriages, their hopes and dreams, their disappointments. But things start spiralling out of control in each of their lives. When they meet for their annual vacation get-together, things come to a head. Could a long-buried secret rip their friendship apart? Or make them stronger? A wonderful read.

The description made me look forward to complicated, multidimensional, interesting characters but I was disappointed to feel nothing for these characters. There was a wall between this reader and any depth the author may have intended

Friendship through thick and thin, promises and betrayals, as this story portrays the growth of Emily, Sophie, Amy and Melissa through the years. Four different women, the friends enjoy an annual trip where they renew their friendship, as well as share the joys and pain in their lives. Each chapter begins in a new year, then flashes back to a particular event or time. I loved it, and recommend for readers of women's fiction.

I absolutely loved this book, it had me hooked from the beginning - a tale of 4 friends, spanning their younger, carefree, child-free, single days, right up to their forties. I loved how the friends always meet up, albeit sometimes a year (or more) has passed, reminded me so much of some of my groups of friends - no matter how much time has gone by, you share so much that it feels like no time at all since you last seen each other. The author captured this perfectly with these characters, each one totally different, yet they are all intrinsically linked in many ways. This is my first Helen Warner book, but it certainly won't be my last. She dictated each chapter beginning with a historic moment in time, which was a lovely touch as you can think back to where you were around that time and really get a sense of how things were in the world at that time, and understand how much time had passed between the girls catching up. The relationship between the girls was lovely. They have a real true friendship, despite this being tested by many hiccups along the way.... I liked every character, mainly centered around Sophie, who is completely relatable and has her own demons, however, to everyone on the outside she seems to have it all.... Melissa, ever-so-messed up but likable all the same and her heart is in the right place, she just needs her friends to pull her through. Then there's Amy, a tender, vulnerable character who certainly has the hardest time of all of the friends, but boy do they stand by her. And Emily, with her precious son, the quietest of the group, not giving much away at all, but always being there when she is needed. This book is not just any chick lit story though - don't be fooled, there were a few twists along the way and one huge twist I for one did not see coming (and I like to think I usually do!) I really did say "wow!" out loud at one point..... a beautiful story, full of laughter, tears, sadness, and happiness. One of those books where the characters stay with you for a long time. Look forward to the next book by Helen Warner and thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Review will be published on Goodreads
Run date: 9/5/2017

The Story of Our Lives is a raw, emotional, and unputdownable book! I have not had the pleasure of reading anything by Helen Warner but this book was truly such a gem.

Emily, Amy, Melissa, and Sophie have been best friends since they were little girls. They have been there for one another through thick and thin. Like the dirtiest of the gunk... lol. I was truly inspired by the friendship that these women have and it made me miss having friends like this of my own!

What I truly enjoyed most about this book is how well the author develops her characters. Each of the women are presented with different struggles pertaining to their lives and how this may affect their friendship. Melissa, Emily, Sophie, and Amy each have their own demons and skeletons in their closet (like everyone does)... but there is one secret that may threaten the 20 year friendship and tear them apart.....

Helen does an amazing job of showing how life can take a turn at any moment and there are SOOO many ups and downs to life. Helen had me all over with this emotional roller coaster (but in a good way). I was laughing, angry, happy, and even a little teary eyed at the end. I devoured this book in two days. Definitely one that you need to put on your radar :). I was truly inspired by this book. Loved it!

4.5 beautiful inspiring stars!