Three girls share a room at a fancy boarding school in England. Camilla is the perfect schoolgirl, obedient and friendly. Loulou is the popular girl while Roz, the newcomer, is a rebel through and through. Fast forward ten years and things haven't changed much. Camilla is married and two children and a husband who cheats on her. Loulou has been married a couple of times and is still madly in love with Mac, her second husband, while running an exclusive restaurant. Roz is a television presenter, top of her game but with no attachments. She has tons of men but none she wants exclusively. That includes Camilla's husband with whom she is having a fling.

When Camilla finds out about the affair, she moves out and starts a divorce. Living with Loulou, she needs to find a job and becomes a housekeeper for Nico, a rock star who is one of Loulou's oldest friends. Over the years, the three women fall in and out of love, marriages happen and end, and they all search for happiness. Will they find it?

Jill Mansell is the perfect romance writer. Her characters are fun and people one would love to get to know. The men are handsome and attentive and everyone has tons of money and friends. The characters jump through tons of hoops to finally find happiness and half the fun is seeing how Mansell gets them from point A to point B. This book is recommended for women's fiction readers.

I loved the characters and the storyline development of this book. It was absolutely one of my favorites so far and I can't wait to delve in to the next one that this author writes. The storyline was simple, enjoyable, and entertaining.

Quick and fun read. Enjoyed watching these 3 female characters as they deal with their problems. If you want a light-hearted read this is it.

I am not sure sections of this book aged that well (originally published in the 1990s). In some cases, it was funny and nostalgic (them trying to contact each other without all of them having cell phones). In other cases, it didn't work that well (Roz's job being in jeopardy). It also felt a little long. That being said,, I enjoyed the voyage that these friends had together and how they found themselves back together after a period of time. Loulou could have been a totally flat character but she was so warm and such a good friend, it really helped you root for her. The transformation of Camilla did not seem overdone or unrealistic either. It felt like you knew where each of the three women would end up but it was an enjoyable to get there.

When I first received this book I realized I had already read it as it was a rerelease. I ended up not reading it until recently. It seemed a bit dated but was a fun read. I enjoyed it .
I received this as a ARC from Netgalley and this is my honest review.

Thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to read this book! I appreciate the kindness. <3

In “Fast Friends” by Jill Mansell we meet three friends, Roz, Loulou and Camilla. On the surface they could not be any different but deep down all any of them wants is to be happy. But getting there is going to be tricky and a whole lot of fun.

Another great read by Jill Mansell.

I received a copy of this book through Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Camilla, Roz and Loulou were all at boarding school together with Camilla constantly the peacemaker between the two much bigger personalities. Years later Roz is a big TV personality, Loulou has a trendy bar and Camilla is a dowdy mum married to Jack who constantly puts her down and is having an affair. Having met up with her glamorous friends again Camilla decides to invite then to a dinner party where she discovers that Roz is the woman that Jack is having the affair with! Can Loulou get the devastated Camilla to pull herself together, get her confidence and life back and move on!

A great book by one of my favourite authors, you know with a Jill Mansell book it is always going to be fast paced and slightly mad and this one doesn't disappoint

Great book with a great storyline. Not what I was expecting at all so was a nice surprise. Easy to read and good characters in there too.

Loved it! Finished it a while ago and still think about the characters. The characters were well-developed and the ending was satisfying.

I had not read this book when first released, I found it with this amazing new cover. This was a hilarious adventure of old friends who reconnect and decide to take life by storm. I laughed so much while reading this story.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read and provide a review for this book.

Honestly for starters it took me forever to read this book. It was so slow to me, and because it was so slow I almost DNF this book several times. The characters were ok, but not relatable, or honestly very likable. I felt at times it was hard to follow who the narrator was because it switched often and usually in the middle of a chapter and it didn’t say who it was. I found myself reading a whole paragraph before I would figure it out whose POV the story was now from.
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Basically the book is about three friends who meet in boarding school and go their different ways. Some 10+ years later their paths cross again. One is now a housewife (whose husband cheats on her), one a bar owner (who has been married three times) and the other a TV personality (lonely but never seems to be alone). The story was too over the top. Every seemingly bad thing that could happen, happened. It was like reading a long soap opera. A lot of drama, most of which was not believable, and just throwing in any scenario you would think of. So I ended up finishing the book because I wanted to know what happened but even the ending was just ehh for me.

Camilla, Roz, and Loulou met at boarding school. The peacemaker of the group, Camilla, worked hard to get Roz and Loulou to get along. Both of them possess strong Type-A personalities which led to frequent disagreements.

Fifteen years later, Camilla is a stay-at-home mum to two children and married to Jack. The man constantly treats Camilla with disdain which lowers her self-esteem. Now, Camilla suspects that Jack is having an affair.

Roz is a successful TV presenter and Loulou owns a classy wine bar. Camilla wants so much to see her two friends again so she invites them to a dinner party along with a few neighbors. The meal is delicious and the neighbors are impressed that she is friends with these two well-known women. But when Camilla realizes that Roz is the woman with whom Jack is having an affair, she blows her top.

Loulou takes Camilla home with her for a couple of weeks where she lets her cry out her anger, hurt, and frustration. Then, she sets about doing a makeover for Camilla. First, she loses some excess baby weight, gets a new hairstyle, makeup, and new clothes. Next step is to work on building up her self-esteem. Loulou is angry with Roz for having an affair with Jack but she says she didn’t know he was Camilla’s Jack. She also thinks that Roz owes Camilla an apology.

The story continues with the lives of Camilla, Roz, Loulou and the wealthy and famous people they know. There are marriages, divorces, more marriages, babies, jealousy, death, grief, and happiness.

I was impressed with how the author managed to maintain each character’s personality while allowing them to grow and mature. I did not realize that this is a reprint from the original book published in 1991, but it’s certainly worth sharing the story again. I wanted to spank some of the characters while cheering others on. For a book that’s nearly 500 pages, it certainly draws you in and you don’t want to miss a thing. Well done, Jill Mansell.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I received and ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Fast Friends by Jill Mansell was originally published in 1991 but I think this rerelease has been updated as it was not until I was doing my review writing research that I found this out and the story did not feel dated at all. Camilla Stewart, Roz Vallender and LouLou Marks were roommates in school and in the present day have mostly lost touch. Camilla unexpectedly runs into Roz while shopping and they visit LouLou at her restaurant/bar. This leads to Camilla inviting them to a dinner party she is hosting which turns out to be an unmitigated disaster as at the party it’s revealed that Roz has been having an affair with Camilla’s husband. Their 3 stories continue to interact over the course of several years and no one tortures her heroines better than Jill Mansell before giving them a HEA. A very enjoyable read, quite steamy. Publishing Date January 1, 2019 #FastFriends #JillMansell #NetGalley #Sourcebooks

I love Jill Mansell and have been a fan for a long time. This book was a flash from the past. It was originally written in the early 90s, so some references would be lost on a certain number of young readers, though I doubt 20 years old's would be picking up this book.

I didn't hate it, but it certainly wasn't my favorite book by this author. It was far too dramatic for my tastes. One thing that I took from this novel, is just how much Jill has grown as an author over the years. I can't even see her writing style in this book. She has evolved gracefully.

2/5 stars.

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review**

I love Jill Mansell but this book felt outdated to me... Then I realized why, it was a re-release from 1991! Although I found the book entertaining for a quick read, it definitely was not one of my favorites that I have read by her.

I’ve read most of the more recent Jill Mansell books and I truest love her sense of humor and sweet wit that she imparts in her characters. Unfortunately, this was not one of my favorites. It seemed to be dated and in need of a bit more reboot in order for it to catch up to 2018.

I usually like Jill Mansell's books so I was really interested in this one. Plus, it has such an attractive cover which is not easy to resist. So I started it with great expectations. However, I did not like it after all. It is very important for me in a story to be able to relate to the main characters. In this book I was not able to like any of the three friends. So I was watching their story unfold from a distance.
Having told that there might be readers who feel differently as we are talking about a very good author.

I like the cover of the book, it's very inviting and attractive, I was interested in the synopsis of this book: two friends whose lives intersect in ways even they couldn't have predicted. However, when I delved into the story, it just did not keep my attention. I just could not connect to any of the characters. I'll have to pass on this one.

***I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Jill Mansell.***

Fast Friends, by Jill Mansell, was not a book for me. I’ve read 3 others by her and absolutely loved them. This one was a chore to get through. The story follows 3 “friends” and their lives over the course of several years. While the trio do eventually become the closest of friends, at times they were absolutely horrendous to one another. They all have recurring love interests that leave and return too many times to count, along with countless tragedies: miscarriage, death, physical abuse, cheating, lies and deceit. For me there was so much back and forth that I found my interest in any of the couples deflated to the point of irritation. I didn’t care for Roz for much of the book, and while I liked Camille and Loulou very much, they along with Nico and Mac could never admit how they truly felt. In fact, many of the characters behaved like impetuous teens instead of thirty somethings. This book is a reissue of a 2002 book, so the references are dated and out of place. There was a lot more description in the writing that Mansell normally includes. Short and sweet, the story felt like it went on interminably, sad event after sad event, punctuated by tiny bits of happiness that never lasted more than a few pages. This one was truly a disappointment to me.