Jill Mansell's books are comfortable blankets that come with warm cups of tea - they just are cozy and welcoming. While this was not my favorite of her ouvre, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone looking for an engrossing story to get lost in.

I liked this book, but found it a bit formulaic and had a sense of deja vu, like I've read it-or something very similar- before. A cute, light read; something to curl up with on a cold winter day with a cup of hot chocolate.

“Fast Friends” by Jill Mansell is about three women, Camilla, Loulou and Roz who become close friends in school, and their angst of their current lives. Camilla is the clichéd housewife/mom who discovers that her husband Jack is cheating on her. Loulou is the successful business owner who is perpetually single. Roz, TV presenter, is determined to move her career to the next level. If you feel as if you have read this story before, you probably have in many different (and somewhat better) forms. I do not mind a reused plot if the characters and narrative are fresh, but this story felt extremely stereotypical. From the start, how each character is going to end up is abundantly clear. Had the journey to get those characters to that final place been enjoyable, I might have liked the novel more. The novel was extremely long, but not in the “page turning,” “do not want this story to end” type of way. I was able to skim over large portions of the book without missing any important plot points.

This is the first novel I have read by Jill Mansell and understand it is a reissue of one of her early books. I wish the writing itself had been revised (and not just modernizing points in the plot). If you do enjoy Jill Mansell’s later novels, you might want to stay away from this one.

I so badly wanted to like this book but struggled to even finish it. I didn’t enjoy the plot or the characters.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started out really enjoying Fast Friends. I love a book that intertwines several characters and then brings them all together. The books begins with the main characters meeting in college. Roz, Camilla, and Loulou are quite different and yet come together in the face of adultery, pregnancy and perhaps friendship. However, the book was very long and what started off as an engaging story, dragged on too long. The women and their decisions become hard to liked and to relate to, and overall I was just trying to finish!

Fast Friends was first published in Britain in 2006. It is now being published in America by Sourcebooks, a company that is releasing many novels by this excellent writer of women's fiction.

The Fast Friends are Camilla, Loulou and Roz who first met when they were in school. Now older, but not necessarily wiser, their lives intersect in this almost 500 page novel. This is a story of three women who want to find lasting relationships but experience missteps, tragedy and heartache along the way.

At the beginning of the novel, Camilla lacks confidence and is too eager to please her husband. When she discovers that he has been involved in an affair with one of her friends, her world falls apart. Camilla's struggles and joys are one narrative thread.

Another story line is that of Loulou and Mac. Loulou is the owner of a wildly successful bar/restaurant. She makes a critical decision about her business and her beliefs as the story unfolds. Loulou's relationship with Mac has been complicated for many years. She wants to be with him but becomes involved with others and not so happily. Will their relationship work out?

Third is Roz who is a successful TV host. She, too, has many romantic calamities and has let the one she most cared for get away. That would be Nico, a rock star. Their story together may not end happily.

Overall, while I enjoyed this novel, it was my favorite by this author. At times, I felt that the book was a bit too long. Also, it seemed to me that there were too many unplanned pregnancies. However, if you like Jill Mansell, you will certainly want to give this one a look.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read Ms. Mansell book in over a decade and have always love her books. However, as much as I want to love this book, it was a long a quite boring story. The characters fall flat. As a TV presenter, Roz was boring and has no flare to her. Even her affairs were not exactly exciting. She seems so ordinary compared to LouLou or even Camilla, a housewife. At no point in this book where it actually captivate me. I have to say, I do like Camilla. She overcame her disastrous life with her head held high.

Many thanks to Jill Mansell and Landmark for the opportunity to read and review this book. What a lovely feel good book to read. Following three women as they deal with the trials of their love lives. Jill has an amazing talent of telling realistic stories that also allow you to escape the mundane of life. Definitely recommend a read.

One star is for books I didn't finish.

It's been only a few months since I read my first book by Jill Mansell which I thoroughly enjoyed.But this one is not half as much fun. I think I made it up to 60%, but by then I couldn't bear all that hatred, manipulation and misery of the characters any more.

However, I am hoping that this is just the one book by Mansell that was this dreadful and might try again....

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

If you are a soap fan and a Jill Mansell fan. I recommend. This is a perfect beach or, on the flip side, a good rainy day read. I have always loved Jill Mansell and this didn't disappoint!

A wonderful, fun, funny story as usual :c) Full of uh oh and eye-covering moments :c)

My review has been posted to my blog & Goodreads.

Review has also been tweeted as usual.

Thank you! :c)

The first half of the book was great. The character were fun and interesting. However, as I continued to read I felt the story just drug on. As I made it through the second half I began to hate every main character because none of them would say what they meant, they were all liars, they all whined like teenagers, and almost all were cheaters.

I have read a number of Jill mansell books & always thoroughly enjoy them. This one did not disappoint. Fast paced & a bit like watching a soap at times in a good way. A fabulous read thanks for the preview.

Jill Mansell always delivers on the best Women's fiction. Her storied are always fun, and captivating. FAST FRIENDS is another example of this. I enjoyed this novel immensely.

I am a big Jill Mansell fan so I was excited to preview this book.. This could have been a great read. Instead, I felt like I was watching a soap opera where characters run from one relationship to another with hardly any thought. At the beginning of the novel, we meet the three female lead characters in a short scene taking place at a boarding school. I definitely feel the novel needed more development of the girls during their school years. The first chapter did not give enough depth to the women they would become. Pretty early in the novel, the reader gets a strong hint of who each of the female characters' "true loves" are. Yet every time the characters get closer, stupid miss communications as well as misplaced pride (and bad decisions) lead to disaster in the romance department. Honestly, a slow romantic burn would have been much more pleasurable. When reading this book- I felt like I was watching a game of pinball as each of the women bounced and rebounded from relationship to relationship with very little real personal growth.

This was a pleasant read but slightly too unbelievable for me and the plot seemed to skip too quickly through marriages, deaths, relationships. Very soap-style sense of realism. Still enjoyable though.

We start at school with Camilla being the new girl who meets Lou lou, then later on Roz.

Skip forward a few years and of the 3 of them, Camilla is the only one married to (Jack) with 3 children, downtrodden, fed up and suspecting him of having an affair.

Lou lou, now owns the wine bar Vampires, who is famous for insulting her guests and them loving it.

Roz although stunning has turned into a nasty piece of work who has her own tv chat show.

Quite by chance, they all get together at a dinner party held by Camilla who thought it would be a good idea to invite her old friends. When Roz walks in all hell lets loose as Camilla realises that Jacks affair is with Roz.

The upshot being that Camilla leaves Jack and their 3 children, Lou lou takes her under her wing, and reinvents her. The result is stunning. Camilla is very beautiful inside & out.

The story continues with men in & out of the 3 women's lives, affairs, love, bitchiness, heartaches and laugh out loud pages.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters all worked well together, the story had me turning pages quickly and becoming completely absorbed, Over 600 pages are brilliant as you feel you get plenty for your money
. I highly recommend this as a good read.
Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity.

Another lovely book by Jill Mansell about the families who, live at Sandcastle Bay. This time we meet Isla who has given up her job in London and moved to Sandcastle Bay to be mum to Elliott when her brother is killed in an accident. Leo is Elliott's godfather and although he went off the rails as a youngster he is now determined to be a good role model to the boy as well as helping Isla adjust to her new life. Isla desperately wants to adopt Elliott but will this still be possible when his biological mother Sadie turns up again? Can Leo become more than a friend to Isla given his turbulent past? Jill Mansell is a brilliant storyteller who helps The reader to imagine Sandcastle Bay with her descriptive writing and also names like Hot Chocolate Cottage and Maple Cottage.