Unfortunately I didn't particularly connect with the characters in this book. However, I do think this was a roller coaster of emotions and tissues may be needed by some!

This book was very interesting and fast-paced, the author held my attention and the plot was very appealing. I would recommend this book to friends.

A poignant story of friendship, forgiveness, and love. Lauren and Cass have been best friends since young until Lauren's husband and Cass betray her. For years they do not talk until Cass writes to her to say she is dying. Lauren with Cass and her daughter go on a trip of a lifetime. The story shows we can forgive and we can move on. I loved it

When the team at One More Chapter reached out to read this book, I read the blurb and I was in. The rock solid relationship between two university BFFs is rocked to the core and we catch up with them on the eve of their 30s, and one is terminally ill.

I love my the idea of two besties mapping out their future lives - how they would love and what they would do. And as every adult knows, your childhood dreams hardly ever come true (I was going to be either a solicitor or a teacher - and now I have a law degree but work in public health 🤷🏼‍♀️) And as reader, we learn that those plans have gone awry by something big - but we’re spoon-fed information leading up to the reason.

Whilst I enjoyed the exploration of friendship and the breakdown of a friendship (especially how it’s never one sided) I was expected to be pulled through the emotional wringer and that didn’t happen for me (but that could just be my response to the story). I did love the character Vee - she was a delight and I’ll admit the reasons behind her name did bring a tear to my eye (along with additions to the Book).

Thanks to NetGalley, the team at One More Chapter and the author for the opportunity to read this review copy.

A story of friendship, betrayal, forgiveness, life, and death. Lauren and Cass were two halves of a whole, complete opposites who complemented each other. Lauren was a soothing presence for Cass, while Cass encouraged Lauren to live her best life. But their friendship couldn’t survive the ultimate betrayal, and ultimately they parted ways. Years later, they’re brought back together by an impeding tragedy. Can they rediscover the best parts of their friendship? This is not my typical genre, not a book that I’d normally choose. But it was so very, very good.

Really nice relaxing read, great for the summer holidays.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thanks to Netgalley again for the pleasure in reviewing this book. I felt this one had the opportunity to be so much more than it was. The characters lacked depth and I found this made the story difficult to get into.

Cass and Loll were the best of friends in college, until one night of betrayal caused them to split for good. Now, 7 years later, Cass has been diagnosed with cancer and wants to rekindle her friendship with Loll and share the book of dreams they once wrote in during college. What follows is a journey of forgiveness, love and bonding that will have you reaching for the tissues and hugging your friends close!
Thanks to Andrea Michael, Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC.

Best Friends plan to stay best friends. They don’t count on life, boys, distance, or disagreements coming between them, but with Loll and Cass, that’s what happened. One spectacular betrayal ended the friendship and The Big Book of Us, the blueprint for how life together would unfold for the duo, collected dust.
As the landmark birthday of 30 approaches though, Cass reaches out to Loll, hoping for a chance to heal the wounds that divided them. But there are more secrets to uncover, and time is running out for Cass.
This story of the ups and downs of friendship is sweet, slightly predictable, but pleasant to read. Forgiveness is a primary theme, as well as a reminder that each day is a gift we can’t count on to be endless.

I enjoyed this story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this copy available for review.

This is an incredibly beautiful book. It’s hard to even find the words to describe how much I loved it.

Lauren has her issues, and Cass can be pretty full-on, but they complement each other so well, and I liked them both as characters. I particularly adored Vee, I won’t spoil the story by saying who she is, but she’s a completely loveable character.

Right from the start I was pulled into this story. Everything about it is captivating and compelling. There are tears and laughter in this book. There are stunning settings, and there are adventures. The relationship between Cass and Loll isn’t straightforward, they’ve been through a lot, and things are complicated, but at the end of the day, their love for each other shines through.

A stunning book about the complexities of friendship, but ultimately about the power of love. This emotional read will stay with me for a long time. I was really sorry to finish it. Absolutely gorgeous.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Lauren or Loll as she’s mainly called and Cass were once best friends until they fell out over a man. Several years later they are in touch again but for a limited time only as one of them is terminally ill and they try to fit all their dreams into a few short weeks. Loved the story, the pathos, the way it was written but didn’t like the three main characters at all. One was selfish, one was a limp doormat and the third was too precocious to be likeable and spoke more like an adult than the adults did! One or two tissues might be needed but not the whole box! Fabulous descriptions of the places they visited.

Liked parts of this book but was a bit confused and bemused by some of the relationships and the previous history. Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it.

While at times this was incredibly sad and painful to read, I found there was something about this book that lacked the depth I would have liked. I’m positive though that this had more to do with my current state of mind than the book itself!!

This is a story of friendship, loss and discovery. Lauren and Cass were inseparable as teenagers but couldn’t have been more different personality wise. Lauren, or Loll, as her friend affectionately named her, was always the quiet, anxious one, whereas Cass was the one in control, the daredevil, the life and soul of the party.

Their friendship has been on hold for seven years and there are plenty of skeletons lurking in both of their closets. When they are reunited, they both have to face up to their past, knowing that Cass does not have much of a future.

The dynamic between the characters is fascinating. Lauren is bitter and holds the hurt of the past, whereas Cass seems desperate to heal wounds but at the same time cannot help but slip back into her old ways, instantly reducing Lauren to a timid teenager with her sharp words.

Cass’ young daughter Veronica, or Vee, is the glue that holds them together, even though her very existence could easily drive a further wedge between them.

The Book of Us forces the reader to question their own relationships and motives as they inevitably soul search alongside the characters. While the ‘book’ in question is a series of planned adventures Cass and Lauren wrote at the end of university, the real story is the discoveries they make about themselves on their journey.

An emotional, thought-provoking read.

Heartfelt, emotional, friendships, secrets, and the ultimate betrayal. The Book of Us has it all. Lauren (Loll) and Cassidy (Cass) are university best friends. Loll is the quieter one, always in the shadow, whereas Cass is the boho wild one. While at uni they put together a bucket list book with everything they want to do.

Something happens and they drift apart. Seven years later, Lauren is going through a divorce, and Cass gets back in touch. She wants her and Loll to do everything in their dream book, along with Cass’s 6 year old daughter, because she is battling cancer. It’s a lot for Loll to take in. But she puts this aside and off they go chasing the dreams.

I found the book, very emotional. It’s heavily character-driven, and explores the friendship of Cass and Loll to a very deep level. I love the way it was written and how the author has interpreted the characters.

I was totally captivated by this storyline between main characters Cass and Loll. The two were best friends and totally inseparable, until one pretty big moment ended their friendship. That is until seven years later when Loll receives a very unexpected letter from Cass. We see the first tentative steps of the friends getting to know each other again.

As the story develops we get to find out much more about Cass and Loll and what really happened all those years ago. The storyline takes us on twists and turns that I certainly didn’t expect. I was completely gripped to the story and couldn’t put the book down – I just had to find out what happened! The two girls, accompanied by the adorable Veronica, live out the adventures they dreamt about when they were younger, and we see the beautiful friendship bond again between both Cass and Loll.

The Book of Us is a beautiful story of friendship, reconnecting, life, love and ultimately forgiveness. The characters are beautifully written (you can’t help but to fall in love with the adorably sweet Veronica) and I was completely absorbed by the story and the messages within the story surrounding forgiveness and friendship.

Lauren (Loll) and Cassidy were best friends at university but have since drifted – well, actually ‘life’ got in the way, and there’s a big rift between them. But now Lauren’s husband has left her – at Christmas-time, no less – and suddenly Cass has reappeared, wanting to repair their relationship. So Lauren takes the plunge and goes to spend New Year with Cass – much to everyone’s surprise (including her own).

She’s shocked to discover that not only does Cass have a daughter, but that this child is the product of a one night stand between Cass and Loll’s soon-to-be-ex-husband, Darren! Once she puts her initial trauma aside though, she can’t help falling in love with Vee who has inherited all the charms of her mother. And these are traits that she will need to get her through a difficult time, as Cass has ulterior motives in summoning Loll back to her side: she is dying and wants Loll to accompany her and Vee on one last wild adventure. She has asked Loll to bring with her ‘The Big Book’ … basically a scrapbook of ‘bucket-list’ ideas that they’d put together in their heady younger days when they thought that nothing could come between them, and that together they could conquer the world!

Loll and Cass had their ‘roles’ in their previous friendship, and it’s going to take some getting used to, to find their place in this new reality that they find themselves in. They’re not carefree university students any more. Back then, Loll was passive (although she still is that in many ways) and very much in Cass’s shadow … Cass was the one in the spotlight, the one that everyone noticed and who’s limelight they all wanted to be part of. But now, Cass’s place in the sun is waning and although she’s still got strong ideas and emotions, she knows that she needs to stand aside and allow Loll to step up and be seen … something neither of them is used to. And then, there is little Vee to consider, something that is painful for both of them, yet something that needs to eclipse both their needs.

This really made me think of the friendships and relationships that we hold close to our hearts and the roles that we play in them. It’s rare that the balance is completely equal … often one feels that they have more to gain than the other, that one loves more than the other, or gives more than the other. This was really well portrayed here.

Although this is a somewhat predictable story, the telling is still beautiful and poignant in its own way. Loll hasn’t had the opportunity to really find herself in life. She’s always been outshone by others, told that she’s not good enough, not outspoken enough, or not strong enough to achieve what she wanted to, and so she’s never really managed to ‘step up’ and take her place where she’s wanted to be in her own life. I wanted to scream at the people she surrounded herself with – including her own mother, who seemed to see so much value in others, but not in her own daughter … tantamount to abuse really! But it’s a sad fact of life, that this is what people do.

Loll isn’t particularly sure of herself. Character-wise, I found her to be quite confusing (and confused!) as I wasn’t really sure of her at all. For someone who’s qualified in law, been married and reached her late twenties, she lacks any backbone whatsoever and seems ready to be guided by whatever decisions are made for her. Cass on the other hand, having drifted through life on her wits, has reached a point where she’s literally been forced into a direction that she obviously was nowhere near ready to take, and which her personality and character have huge difficulty adjusting to, yet, here she is, having to make massive gut-wrenching decisions that she won’t be around to see the outcome of! Although she isn’t the most likable individual, one can see the character development and understand her motivation.

While at times this was incredibly sad and painful to read, I found there was something about this book that lacked the depth I would have liked. I’m positive though that this had more to do with my current state of mind than the book itself!!

*dabs eyes*

*hiccups*

*blows out breath*

I’m sure we’ve all had a good chuckle at some of the book memes that do the rounds. Let’s face it, they’re funny because they’re true *shrugs*. You know the one that captures the moment you finish a book then look around to see that life is still carrying on as normal (whatever passes for normal these days) as if you haven’t just experienced emotional trauma at the hands of a story? Well that is so me right now *sniffs*.

Everything hurts. In fact, a hug wouldn’t go amiss *harrumphs*. I’m simultaneously sad and happy. *snorts* Yes, I know I have issues...

Cass and Loll’s story is a complicated one. It’s a story of love, friendship, betrayal, hope, and pain. Now call me twisted, but there is beauty in that pain. It’s the kind that hurts so good.

Don’t look at me like that! Read their story then we can talk.

“The way things begin doesn’t mean that’s the way they end up.”

This book is full of ‘sharp intake of breath’ moments. I was starting to doubt which end was up with each new revelation. With hurt on both sides, can forgiveness ever be found before it’s too late?

I lost my heart in this story. When you read it (because you have to!), you’ll know exactly which character I’m talking about when you meet them.

I’ll admit to having the need to having a good old ugly cry during this book. Which may or may not have included sitting with tears streaming down my face with a hot cup of tea and a spoon in a jar of crunchy peanut butter. Now there’s an image for you! *blushes*

Beautifully written, The Book of Us will take you on a gut-wrenching and life affirming journey that makes you think. Life can be fleeting, but those we love always leave their mark. The author certainly left hers on the pages of this story.

Andrea Michael is a new-to-me-author who I’d happily recommend to my book friends who enjoy having their hearts eviscerated with a red-hot poker in their reads. Metaphorically speaking of course *snorts*.

This book has touched me deeply, at the end of this month it will be 3 years since my mum passed away with cancer, I’ll admit that this had not been an easy read but it made me remember how precious are the memories I have of her. And I hope that it will make remember any reader how precious is life and the memories we have with our loved ones.
This is a story of friendship, Cass and Loll met at the university and since the first moment they were friends, but after one night everything changed… Now, 7 years later, this “friendship” will end, Cass has cancer. But she is not yet ready to leave, she wants to fulfill all the dreams she and Loll had planned on their “Big Book”. They both have to solve their past problems, but Cass is not ready to leave without leaving some precious memories to her daughter, and will ask Loll to help her make every minute special and precious for her. Will they be able to heal their wounds and make new happy memories?
This is a bittersweet story, full of love, life and friendship, not always easy to read but so easy to feel part of the story and want to change the fate for them; because dreaming is free, don’t you think? I know that a sad story is not always what we look in a book, but sadness is part of our life, making it more precious and remember that everything has an end.
This book will take you to the sadness of the world but always in a happy way, because this is the only way I think anyone can beat pain, to never forget the beautiful moments and people in our life.
Ready to discover “The Book of Us”?