Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Full review to be found on Goodreads and on my website.

For me this novel is solidly entertaining rather than wildly exciting. I enjoyed the closely blended timelines, the past being revealed through the women's internal monologues as they travel into the landscape where it happened rather than the sometimes jarring and awkward and just plain boring method of alternating flashback chapters. The female characters are nicely done and the sense of foreboding builds slowly but steadily. The flora and fauna are described in a way that conveys an authentic feel of the Australian landscape, but it's as experienced by the characters which increases empathy with them. The ending is fine, but felt that some things were left unresolved and as such it wasn't quite as positive/uplifting as I'd have liked after the preceding emotional tension.

The premise is so good! Three young women went for a trip, where something happened - and this "something" has effectively ended their friendship. Until now, when the heroines Samantha, Lisa and Nicole, now in their forties, meet again to redo the trip and maybe to renew the friendship.

Like, what could go wrong?

In my opinion, this went wrong: first, the writing is unbalanced. The "secret" comes out very, very late in the novel and its revelation simply passes the tipping point of me caring. Too many space is dedicated to the complicated lives of the heroines and even more is filled with the male horrific presence. This male terror is faceless, so the threat feels universal and the tone is enormously influenced by this, so the novel simply feels like angry feminist romp. And I do not buy all the anger, scare and victimhood.

But I also need to recognize the sharp longing I felt when reading about the female friends on a trip, the power of memories both sweet and hurting and the strong need to pick either the phone of my boots (or both).

Unfortunately, there is less of these true moment and more of the angry, unbalanced ones.
Which is a pity, because this novel might be more. Maybe next time? As the writing skills are there and the good choice of the theme, too.

A story about three teenagers who went on a hike followed by a traumatic event which sent them in separate ways. Present day when they are 40 year olds, they're looking back at life and their regrets.

There were few things that I liked such as the description of nature and it's beauty was really well done. The friendship between the three protagonists was well written during their teenage time. The reason why this book didn't work out for me was the switching between timelines was getting really confusing for me to follow. It was just all over the place. And the slow pace of the book was also why I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Overall it was just okay. You can pick it up if you like slow paced books that have characters who reflect back on life and their decisions in life.

I couldn't finish this one. It was really jarring, the way multiple timelines blended into one another with no warning. Similar events happened in each timeline, which made it impossible to distinguish between them. the characters also seemed to blend together which just made this book so tedious to try and read.

I was given the opportunity via NetGalley to read an electronic copy of The Geography of Friendship. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

It had been 20 years since the three friends had seen each other, but Lisa called and asked Samantha and Nicole to meet her. As their last gathering involved a five day hike that went dangerously wrong, Samantha uneasily agreed. Can retracing their steps lead the three friends to a place of acceptance and peace in their own lives?

Decisions made in anger often lead to danger, which is what happens to Samantha, Lisa, and Nicole. The premise of the story is nothing new, so I was hoping that the characterization and writing would be enough to give this book a unique perspective. Unfortunately, there were a couple of missteps that held The Geography of Friendship back. The back and forth between the two timelines was not distinct, sometimes leading to confusion. The author also missed an opportunity to really explain how the three women were affected in the present by what happened. This did not help to convey the horror of what Samantha, Lisa, and Nicole went through and how much their lives were changed by their shared experience. For these reasons, I would be hesitant to recommend The Geography of Friendship to other readers.

A well-written novel about a friendship of three teenage girls, their hike in the Australian wilderness and a traumatic event that destroyed their relationship and influenced their future lives. The setting of the Geography of friendship is just beautiful, with nature descriptions being one of the best features of the book. If you like well-developed characters (it is difficult to create these without a fair amount of introspection) and the story of the evolution of their relationship, and don't mind a somewhat slow pace, this is a book for you. The plot alternates between the two hikes, the present one and the original trip. The three characters (Lisa, Nicole and Samantha) think and re-think the events and the direction their lives took. We do get to know what happened twenty years ago, but it comes after a long and masterful build of suspense and tension, which is characteristic of the best examples of the thriller genre. Yet, for me, the portrayal of psychology of these all too realistic women (and not the mystery of the first hike) is what the book is about.
Thank you to NetGalley and Legend Press for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book was more enticing in theory than the reading turned out to be in practice. I wanted to love it, and at a different point in life, I probably would. But currently I didn't feel like I had the patience for the slowness of the plot and character development in this novel.
I might try it again later and if you are a reader that likes a slow building read about relationships, this is for you.

#TheGeographyOfFriendship #NetGalley

Get to the point already! I felt like this dragged on and on. Without knowing the history it became frustrating as their relations were affected by whatever had occurred in the past but the reader was not privy to.

Thank you to Legend Press and NetGalley for a ARC of this title, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a well-written and gripping read, albeit introspective and with a slow pace, reflecting the outer circumstances of the plot (hiking in an isolated coastal national park in the southern hemisphere). For much of the book, the lurking presence of imminent danger keeps you turning the pages, wanting to know more, but also terrified to discover what happens.

I really liked the changing POV of the chapters, with insights into each of the three female characters and what shaped them from the past into the women they became, and how their friendship developed, changed, atrophied and was in parts restored.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2686484277?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

This novel is the poster child for "slow burn." If you like slow burn, then this will be a great read. However, if you're looking for a thriller/suspense novel that reads like a usual thriller with a lot of developments and discoveries on each page, then this isn't necessarily the book for you. Other reviewers have commented on how the novel is marketed as a psychological thriller but isn't exactly executed as one. It's much more contemporary lit with thriller-esque qualities. And that's fine if that's how it's presented, but it just isn't presented that way.

The reader actually doesn't find out what really happens until like, 88% of the way through the book, which is hugely frustrating. I was hoping for something a little earlier on, but it took absolutely forever to get the meat of the plot with just some very brief teasers beforehand. That being said, I think Sally Piper has written a nice examination of recovering from trauma. Her writing style is lovely and makes up for the drag in the plot, and she really gives a good look into Nicole's mindset toward the end of the novel. But the key word is the END. Up until that point, it's difficult to get to know Nicole, and it seems to be a disservice to the reader rather than to the characters since the characters are already aware of what Nicole has gone through.

Overall, it's an interesting book that's very gorgeously written. A thriller? No. Contemporary lit with some thriller elements? Yes. I'd recommend this for the slow burn lovers, but I don't think I'd reread it, only because I like a bit more movement in my thrillers!

An intriguing compelling book which I found hard to put down.
All in all it was a compelling book which also had some chilling moments

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I am not sure what to write as a review for this book as although it had a good story I could not take to the 3 ladies.

Sally Piper writes a novel that takes you on a 5 day hiking journey with friends. A trip you can only dream of taking with your best friends. Piper gives hints along the trail of potential happenings ahead that hook the reader to stay the course. However, as with most trips, unexpected events take place. I like the style of writing where we meet the friends at two different times in their lives and seeing the influence of past decisions. Packed with descriptions of the Australian scenery allowing the reader to immerse themselves to the pilgrimage with friends Lisa, Samantha, and Nicole. This book urges you to read it step-by-step, page by page - but good luck not skipping further into the book to see what they will find on the trail ahead.

I loved the idea of this plot and its exploration of female friendships. However, It ultimately did not hook me and I was unable to finish it.

Heart-warming ~ Women-strong ~ consistent
tl; dr: Three middle-aged women go on a hike they once enjoyed as younger women.

I am woefully under-informed about Australia. I've been picking up novels about the nation just to learn more. This is sort of a buddy story, really about how friends sometimes keep something of you even if they age and grow apart. The best part of the book is the settings. The characters weren't super appealing to me; they weren't unappealing either. I would say many women of a certain age would enjoy this, seeing themselves in the characters. For me, it was all about the places I might only visit in a book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a truthful review.

To be honest, I was sure what to expect from The Geography of Friendship. It seemed like an adventure/thriller mixed with chick lit, which is something totally different. Overall, it was an awesome idea, but it failed to deliver for me.

The story follows a group of estranged friends, Samantha, Lisa, and Nicole, who try to rekindle their friendship by revisiting a trail they hiked a century ago. During the first hike, something happened that completely changed each of them and eventually broke their friendship. Throughout the novel, my heart was pounding to find out what happen during that hike. The stories of the two hikes are told simultaneously and I found it really hard to keep straight which hike was being talked. There were paragraph breaks, but where wasn't an obvious symbol that indicated that the timeframe was switching. Overall, that was very confusing.

I knew there would be some chick lit element intertwined with the adventure, but I got really annoyed at how often the author talked about the girls' family lives. I was more interested in what happen to Samantha, Lisa, and Nicole twenty years ago and why it left their friendship so shaken. This was kind of glossed over at the end, even thought I felt like it should have been the biggest thing in the novel. However, I did like seeing the evolution of their friendship during the second hike. I was able to connect to why they may have been drawn to each other in the first place. Each girl was an outcast in their own way. I loved how they were able to rediscover themselves in nature. It draws on the romanticism idea that "nature heal all wounds". It was interesting to see how nature was portrayed differently across the two hikes. In the first hike, nature is made out to be mysterious with a great deal of uncertainty. The second hike, nature is portrayed in a less intimidating light and more as a guide to the girls.

I thought this was a perfect book to read with Galentine's Day coming up. It was all about friendship and hardships that happen in them as people get older. If you are looking for a genre-bending book, check this one out.

A story of female relationships. I must admit I found this difficult to read as the story just didn't grip me.
But was a good read.
Thanks to NetGalley for this title.

Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. Get ready for a wild adventure as you join these three women on a trip that will change their lives forever. Happy reading!

This story follows Nicole, Lisa and Samantha, three friends who were drawn apart by event that occurred 20 years earlier. They were great friends in high school and embarked on a camping/hiking adventure where something horrible happens. This horrible event has not only drawn them apart, but also shaped their future lives. Lisa gathers all three together, now in their late 30s, early 40s to go on this hike again.

I thought this was a good book, but at points it was little drawn out. As a woman in my 30s, I could relate very much to the separation of friendships from when you were young and then when you get back together, you copy the same roles you had in the past.

This is a good novel for people who love books about female friendship.