SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!!!
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So here’s the deal- I have a newborn and two other midgies to handle.... I need my sleep... like- I’ll put bottles in the cabinets instead of the fridge, be crabby even after two jumbo cups of coffee, have to function tomorrow and keep little people alive- need my sleep..... 😳
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You see how serious this is... Y’all I could not put this book down!!!! Once I hit the last half- I had to keep going. I can see how this tested their friendship- damn near killed me! .
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You MUST, MUST, MUST get your hands on Girl’s Night Out by @lisaandliz when it comes out next month! Mark it on your calendar and settle in for the long haul- you won’t be sorry!!! Thank you Liz and Lisa and @netgalley for the early copy!!!
#omgending #mustbuy #july2018release #mwladiesrecommend #girlsnightout #lisasteinke #lizfenton #dynamicduo #friendshipgoals #lakeunionpublishing #sotired #willregretthisinthemorning #justkidding #worthit

In this book, three women nearing 40 who have been friends since college go on a girls trip to Mexico, each with their own issues with themselves and each other. After a night out, one of them goes missing. The book alternates perspectives and time periods from the start of their trip to the morning and days after the disappearance. The characters were all a little annoying, but I couldn't stop reading - definitely a page turner. I read a lot of disappointing psychological thrillers in 2018, so it was nice to end the year - and start the new one - with one that was good to read! This was the first book I've read by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke but I will definitely be checking out their others.

Girl' Night Out by Liz Fenton and Lisa Stenke is about friendship, sisterhood and the ravages of time. It is also a testament to that old saying, with friends like these, who needs enemies.

Three estranged friends take a trip to Mexico to mend fences and heal past troubles. Ashley, Natalie, and Lauren were the best of friends, but when Lauren's husband commits suicide, the friendship and trust between the three comes apart. Now, with time having past, they take a trip in hopes of saving their lost relationship. But somethings are beyond repair.

"...Their fight at Geoff's funeral was ugly, the three of them shoved into the coat check, Lauren broken and desperate to place blame. Standing just inches from Ashley's face.
You killed him. You are the reason he's dead.
Ashley exploding with tears as she defended herself. He was hurting you. I was trying to help you. Save you from a monster.
Natalie coming to Ashley's defense. Calm down. You can't really believe she's responsible. I would have tried to help you too, if I'd known.
Neither of them understood how you could both love and fear someone, how you could wish to be free but then lament your freedom.
I'll never forgive you..."

In the beautiful paradise of Tulum, Mexico, the girls hope to repair their broken friendship. But the secrets of the past keep them fighting with one another as much as healing. Then there are the pressures of their own lives ever present and burdensome. Soon the getaway vacation turns into a drudge that they all hope to put behind them. Until the final day, when Ashley comes up missing. They had been partying the night before at a club and Natalie and Ashley left with a man they had met just earlier that week. Lauren stayed behind and returned to their resort while Natalie and Ashley left with the man they only knew as Marco. In the morning Natalie awakes on the beach and Ashley is gone.

"....We were at La Cantina. We were dancing,' Natalie said. She closed her eyes and saw Ashley's arms swaying high above her head, her eyes shining from the alcohol. Natalie had felt so good in that moment, the drinks she'd consumed loosening her limbs, making her wonder why she didn't imbibe more often. 'To Brown Eyed Girl,' she added and the officers nodded, as if they'd heard the popular American song before.
'That was the last you saw her? She disappeared off the dance floor?' Officer Lopez leaned forward.
'No, that's just the last thing I can remember..."

What happened on their final girls' night out? Why can't Natalie remember what happened when she and Ashley left the club to when woke up wet and soak on the beach? Did Lauren really go back to her room? What of Marco, a man no one can find. Did he really exist? Or did Ashley, sensing an opportunity, leave her troubling life behind and run away?

Okay we are going to do the what I liked and what I didn't like about this book and what you will see is that there is so much to like about this novel. Fenton and Stenke, lifelong friends write about the friendship in this book as if they have lived it and perhaps they have. They hold no punches and the picture they paint is not one of a tight bond but of a fractured trust. Their is anger and betrayal and secrets and the venom that these girls can spit at one another is maddening. Their's is a passion that is as dark as it is true. There is a touch of Mean Girls reunion going on here.

I won't go in depth into each of these characters as to me, the characters drive this novel more than anything. But I will say that they are absolutely not two dimensional. They are as well created as any I have run across in many a book. All of them. No one character controls this story, it blends all of them into a tale of heartache and loss.

And there is the mystery as well. Just what happened to Ashley on that final night. As a reader, you will think you have figured it out on multiple occasions only to realize that the glasses you are peering through are fogged at best. Neither Natalie nor Lauren has a real alibi. Marco has disappeared and Ashley, where she is impulsive enough to run off just to get the attention.

Now for what I didn't like.

All the male characters are assholes and losers. The Mexican male policemen are corrupt. Natalie's husband destroyed their finances, putting Natalie in a position of needing to save their family. Ashley's husband is mentally abusive and controlling. Lauren's deceased husband beat her. Marco is a scam artist.

There is not a single male character that is written in a positive light.

No I am not looking for a man to ride in and save the day. But this need to make men less, is not how to make woman strong. Women are strong characters because they are strong. Making all the men weak or evil only makes the women in their live victims of their men.

Other than that, this is a really good book about the facade of "besties".

I found this story to be interesting, not cliche and suspenseful. It was nice to read a book where the characters seemed well developed - like I joined them for this moment in their life. Also, the friendships between the main characters were realistic and seemed genuine.

Kept me guessing, wondering and trying to figure it out . . .quick entertaining read, though not my favorite from Liz and Lisa.

"There was something both eerie and beautiful about this place--as if it could save you or break you depending on what you wanted from it."
The whole time I read this book, I thought of all my girlfriends, the ones I've known for decades as the girls in the book, the ones I hope to know for decades to comes, and the ones I'd go on a vacation just like this one with....except let's hope our vacation would go much, much better. In a weird way, even among all the drama and problems, the trip still had the potential for a fun trip. A trip I would want to go on.
And I want to tell all of my girlfriends to read this book. Not because it reminds me of us....because well, yikes, but because its the kind of book you want to read with a group of girlfriends. I love that it was even written by best friends who have been friends for decades. It makes Lauren, Natalie and Ashley feel so real.
The book had me going back and forth, suspecting everyone the way books with unreliable characters do so well. And I hoped so much for each of them that it wasn't them. Even the slimy Marco, I hoped wasn't slimy. I even suspected people who weren't on the vacation!
Some of the middle began feeling repetitive while Natalie and Lauren were reiterating all of what had happened to all the different people. And even when they were rethinking all of what had happened, questioning what they thought they knew and believed. I'm sure it was supposed to add to the suspense, but it drug on a bit.
But once we hit the climax, I could NOT turn the pages fast enough.

Three old friends go on a girls' trip to Mexico, what could go wrong?! This was a solid blend of chick lit and thriller, as it turns out Mexico may be more dangerous than they would want to admit. The story was alright, I didn't connect very well to the characters.

A waste of my precious time. Nothing more, nothing less.

I liked this book…in the beginning. It had a really interesting depiction of female dynamics I was interested in seeing. That is, before it slowly but surely lost it’s potential, until the end of the book where I feel like a drained, tired mess. Which is probably how I’m going to feel at the end of this review, if I’m honest.

Now, allow me to rip this book to shreds.

The characters are either used as plot devices or archetypes. You have Natalie, a Type A kind of person, Ashley, a Type B, and then you have Lauren, who’s just a bundle of grief and interpersonal issues that she magically decides to get over by the end of the book.

Can you tell how much I disliked this novel? Because I don’t think you do. It was like reading about these three middle school girls who all had the dumbest drama with one another because they were all ridiculously selfish and uncaring of the other’s issues.

Let’s just say I didn’t sign up for reading about petty girls who can’t decide to compromise or even acknowledge being in the wrong.

Then there was the “plot”, which was really one of the worst mystery plots I’ve ever read. It was not only stupid, but by the end it was outright pointless to even call it a damn mystery, because spoiler alert: there wasn’t anything mysterious about it. You couldn’t guess anything, because bits of information were given to you, piece by piece, and half-way you already know what happened but have to wait for every other character to catch on.

I would also love to mention how literally every single character’s decisions had to do with their husbands, whether directly or indirectly. Lauren made many decisions because of her late husband, Ashley had made decisions because of her relationship with her own husband, and Natalie made decisions based on her husband and her family’s situation.

You know, if this were done with one character I probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to it. But it was done with three main characters, which is pretty concerning.

Overall, really disappointed, wouldn’t recommend.

First off, special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The writing was well done and I was able to finish it quickly but I wanted to like this SO much more.... it seemed forced to me. I’m at a point in my life that I am able to look at 20 year friendships and realize that so many years do not necessarily equal a healthy friendship. It was painful to see these 40 year old ladies, who didn’t talk for practically a year?!?, and their love/hate relationships for one another. They seemed to resent and loathe and yet need the approval of one another. And then we add booze. It was a tough read for me but the actual writing was strong.

Look forward to checking out what Liz and Lisa put out in the future!

Told in alternating POVs, Girls' Night Out focuses on the estranged friendship of three women who go on a trip together to try and salvage what they can of their relationship. One of them goes missing and the other two do not know what happened. Putting together the pieces weaves a story that felt lacking in completion and somewhat lazy towards the end. It was a wild ride but it wasn't anything new to this genre.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.
This was an enjoyable read to while away anwet weekend. I will look out for other titles by this author.

Not many people can get a psychological thriller right, sometimes they mess up in the end and sometimes itshard to simply dive into it. But Cristina did a pretty good job at easing the reader into the story and slayeddd the ending! i would recommend it during a short trip or something

A nice little mystery, but unfortunately would have enjoyed it more if the three friends hadn't all been such complete jerks. I honestly can't figure out why anyone would want to be Ashley's friend in the first place. I'm any case, though, this is a quick fun read. I have been to a lot of the places in the book so that made it more interesting as well.

This book started off really strong. There was a lot of intrigue, which made this a complete page turner. I just couldn’t put it down! I needed to know what happened to Ashley.

Then the ending came and I was a bit disappointed. It wasn’t as big of a reveal as I thought it was going to be. I was expecting a huge twist that usually comes with thrillers, but instead it was more subdued. That being said I still enjoyed the book overall.

I really liked how the authors combined chick lit elements with thriller/suspense elements. The book was a strong blend of the two genres. The setting really helped with that. Mexico was perfect for this story to take place in.

As for the characters, I wasn’t a big fan of any of them. All three of the main characters annoyed me at some point. I just couldn’t get over some of their reasonings for the things they did and the attitudes they held. They were all a little too self absorbed and it was hard to feel any sympathy towards them.

Overall, if you’re looking to unwind and want to read a fast paced and thrilling beach read for the summer, be sure to check out this book!

Beautiful story of friendship and what happens when they are put to the test . Girls night out is a must read for women of all ages . This book was graciously provided in exchange for an honest review.

I waited for SO long to get this book in my hands and I was a little let down, because it wasn’t really what I would classify as a thriller. It was more drama than anything. Women who can’t behave maturely and can’t get along despite the vacation they took to do so. I hated Ashley’s character throughout and didn’t much care for Lauren, either. Both selfish women. I enjoyed Natalie for the most part and felt her character was better developed.

All that being said, I did stay up very late to finish it, I did NOT predict the ending (I usually do) and I did cry a little on the last page.

Thank you to netgalley I received this as an ARC. I enjoyed it was good solid read. Flew through it. Solid 3 Stars for me!

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. My reviews can be found on my GoodReads page at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly.

Amazing book. Loved it from beginning to end.
Well written which kept me captivated throughout.
I will definitely be reading other books by this author

This book sits solidly in the three star range. The story and writing are good, but I had a hard time with the characters. I really disliked them all. There was enough of a mystery to keep your interest peaked, but I really found myself not caring. It took me awhile to get through this book.

Now with that being said, I would still recommend this book to people who enjoy mysteries. Like I said the writing and the overall story is pretty good. I just never really connected or got drawn in fully.

Thanks #netgalley for the chance to read and review this book.