'Us Three' is a delight to read. It chronicles the lives of three young women and how their friendship affects and is affected by the passage of time, different personalities and various life events. We meet the women just as they have completed their A levels and are about to embark on a holiday together and we accompany them on their respective journeys to middle age. We share their low points but also enjoy the fun and humour.

There are a number of supporting characters but the one who is portrayed with most depth is Patricia, the mother of one of the women. She, along with the three protagonists, is fully developed and most readers will be able to recognise some of her traits in people they have encountered themselves.

The story addresses issues with family and friends and although it touches on a number of sad events, the overall tone of the book is one of positivity. Having previously read 'Never Greener', another excellent book, I knew that I was going to like Ruth's style and wasn't disappointed. My only criticism was the prologue which I found to be slightly misleading. I reread it once I'd finished the book as I had a sense of déjà vu and realised that it had come from the latter section.

Thank-you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

I absolutely loved this book!!!!
The story is set around the life and times of 3 girls/women from the 70's to the present day. The characters are brilliant, so easy to conjure up in my head and to hear their voices. One of the best books I have read in the last year, and I couldn't wait to get home from work and read it. Devoured in a few days, what a joy! I'm a similar age so their life and times were very familiar.
The book is well written, set out and well edited.
Basically I cannot recommend highly enough. Have already been telling all my friends and colleagues how great it is.......must get a copy of Ruth's previous book now!

When I read Ruth’s first book I was so surprised. It was so well written and I couldn’t put it down. So when I saw she had written another book- I couldn’t wait to read it. Both books are so well written, they whisk you off to another place, they tell tales so vivid you feel like you’re in the book and the characters are your friends. I think this book shows Ruth will be able to entertain us for years to come- she’s such a talented story teller. You won’t want to put this book down.

Having read Never Greener, Ruth Jones's first novel, I was really looking forward to this new book and it didn't disappoint.
The tale of Lana, Catrin and Judith (three best friends from South Wales who swore their eternal friendship on a curly wurly wrapper in the playground at primary school) takes you through the decades and twists and turns of life. At times it had me laughing, at others crying but I feel like I've come to know these three women as if they were my friends.
It's more akin to Ms Jones's writing style from her Stella television series than Gavin and Stacey but her affection for her characters is obvious and you cannot help but warm to them all. I would recommend this to anybody who simply wants some escapism from the disaster ridden news of the moment.
This is a book that celebrates female friendship as the true love that bonds for life and I feel that is something we should all remember.

A charming, witty novel which spans decades, this is a tale of friendship and love. The characters are deep, well constructed and meaningful and the quality of the writing is as you’d expect from Ruth Jones.

Very highly recommended.

Not my normal type of read but I really enjoyed it. and I found it difficult to put down looking forward for further books from this writer

Because the author is Ruth Jones I was excited to read this book. It is well written and tells the story of three girls growing up in Wales. They are Larn, Judith and Catrin, all with very different backgrounds but with a very close bond forged in childhood. The story really starts as the girls finish their A-levels and are about to undertake a trip to Greece that they have been planning for ages. Judith almost doesn’t make the trip as her manipulative mother puts obstacles in her way. The holiday is voyage of discovery, particularly for Catrin, who meets her future husband, Sol, and also for Judith, who meets her beloved stepfather’s family and learns about his past.
The story spans a number of years until the women are in their fifties and tells the ups and downs of their relationships but all three are very much the central characters with husbands, parents and children in the background. They are larger than life characters and all very different. Catrin ends up being a GP and is generally quite conventional, Larn is on the stage and leads a slightly unconventional life while Judith is the one who has moved away from her home town and works as a civil servant. Judith’s big problem is still her mother and the two of them remain at loggerheads throughout the book.
I did enjoy the book and the characters and my only criticism is that I sometimes felt it lacked a cohesive story line and was made up of a series of events over the years. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me this ARC.

Not my normal style of book but thoroughly enjoyed it. The 3 girls all had their own personalities but were stronger together. Great story telling and as I know the Newport area of Wales well it all made sense to me and the "welshisms" shone out. The way their lives developed away from each other but came back together in times of need and sorrow were excellently portrayed. Will be more than happy to read more books by Ruth Jones.
Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

I started reading but found it wasn't holding my attention, thought my wife may enjoy it more passed it to her, her review is as follows - This was a well written, easy read. It was about the friendship of three girls from school to their early 50’s. Although I enjoyed it, it wasn’t dynamic, it didn’t go any where, there was no turns or twists, no substance or real wow moments. It was the life of three different everyday women, and being a 50 year old women I could relate to part of all their life’s but I need a bit more excitement and drama in my reads.

Three and a half stars.

Lana, Judith and Catrin have been best friends since infants school. With all their lives ahead of them they spend the summer of their A levels travelling the Greek Islands and yet some decisions they make on this fateful holiday will shape their lives for years to come.

Spanning decades we see how these three women negotiate life, love, divorce, betrayal and the changing face of friendship. As a fifty-something woman myself I could relate to Lana, Judith and Catrin, their hopes and dreams, their dream holiday and the minutiae of everyday life. None of them has a perfect life, none of them has the life they envisaged for themselves and their friendship is stretched mighty thin at times.

Filled with a multitude of believable characters this novel effortlessly spans the decades, filled with tragedy and humour, love and loss. I couldn't put it down and had to read the last bit with my Kindle plugged into my laptop because I'd drained the battery.

I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The first chapter of the book is before a funeral - so you know this isn't going to be all laughs - but it then goes back in time to see what happens to get to that point.

At the start of the book I was a bit confused - you were introduced to the 3 girls and their family and friends and there was just a lot of people all at once.  I liked the style of the book - and the 'Welshness' of it - you could 'hear' their voices and Welsh accents very well.

But, I have to confess I  was really disappointed at the start because I didn't immediately LOVE it - it was fine, but just felt a bit boring and samey and not the amazing book I'd expected from Ruth's TV series writing. 

However, I persevered - and I'm glad I did, because about 1/3 of the way through it really improved.  Certain things happened which totally changed the story line from the comfortable, predictable, slightly boring friendship triangle into a PROPER unique book.

It moved forwards from the 80s through to the present(ish) day at quite a pace - with the changes facing each of the girls and how their friendship is affected by the passing years. 

Some of it is really sad - and did make me cry - but there are equally lots of funny bits too.  Just like Ruth's TV writing, it's a really good character driven story - where the personalities of people are crucial. 

Overall it was a fun, easy read - and I would definitely read a  book by Ruth Jones in the future.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

This is the first book by Ruth Jones I have read, thinking she only did television.
I loved this novel - following the timelines of 3 best friends plus their significant others.
Wonderful characters and wonderful stories that made me want to laugh & cry & cringe along with them.

Us Three is by Ruth Jones is a cracking read and joyous nostalgia trip; it took me back on multiple levels all at once. Back to the eighties and the nineties; back to being eighteen again and leaving school, then to growing up and dealing with the shift of friendship as paths diverge. But also back to the books I read throughout those years, by authors like Marian Keyes; feel-good books that remind you of your own life whilst allowing you to escape it. Finally, Us Three brought me back to my middle-aged present and the harsh realities of actually growing up: making tough decisions, losing loved ones - keeping lifelong friendships going.

Catrin, Judtith and Lana are three best friends from a small town near Cardiff. They are the same in the way that five year old girls at the same school are all pretty similar, yet also as different as three grown women with different dreams and realities can be. Quirky and unique characters colour their lives: Judith's selfish, utterly awful mother and her Greek Cypriot step-father; Lana's sexy-yet-entirely-believable mechanic boyfriend; Catrin's hilarious Irish-Welsh family. The story of Us Three begins with a funeral - we don't know whose until much later in the novel and this intrigue propels a fast-moving plot driven by love, betrayal, loss and friendship.

Although there are some proper laugh-out-loud moments in Us Three, comedy isn't omnipresent in the way that some reviewers seem to have expected - to them I would say that this is a novel, not a sitcom. Life isn't always funny, but when it is you pee your pants, and this is reflected in Ruth Jones' prose fiction writing.

Living in Wales myself, I loved the mostly Welsh setting of Us Three - it makes such a refreshing change from bloody London for a female friendship book like this. Yet a Welsh cultural identity doesn't define Us Three - its themes are universal and the characters will feel familiar to anyone.

I adored Us Three; it took me away from my daily grindstone whilst making me feel somehow better connected to and even grateful for it. (For 'grindstone' read 'family', but don't tell them.) I haven't yet read Ruth Jones' first novel, Never Greener, but that's next on my list and I look forward to her future novels in the way I would a fun mini-break, but without having to leave the sofa. More please!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an easy to read, entertaining story about friendship which I sped through. It kind of reminded me of a Marian Keyes novel but set in Wales. It follows Catrin, Judith and Lana who became best friends in primary school over the course of thirty years, from 1986 when they go Greek island hopping university to life in their fifties. Something happens shortly after their holiday which has a massive effect on their friendship. Part two picks up with their lives in the 2000’s and the third in 2017. I felt the three main characters were realistic, relatable and you could understand why they did the thing they did. There were lots of little plot twists and turns along the way and I didn’t really want to leave these characters behind.

What a fabulous book. When I first started to read it all I could hear was ‘Ness’ voice but soon it drew me. I seemed to be laughing or crying the whole time. Her characters were a joy and the plot was brilliant. I really recommend this book, I couldn’t put it down and feel really sad that I’ve finished it.

This follows the lives of 3 friends all the way into their 50’s. The characters are relatable and lovable, all in their own way. I’d definitely recommend this and found myself really engrossed in the story and their lives, and read it in 2 days!

Yes! Another great book from Ruth. A real warm funny story of friendship and family. Very cleverly written. Flowed beautifully. Didn’t disappoint.

I have enjoyed Ruth Jones work on the television but this is my first venture into her books. I was a little put off by the comment 'Women's Fiction' but needn't of worried because this novel is all about what I love in a book, great characters. This book is all about great characters and their relationships while maturing as adults.
Three childhood friends, Lana, Judith and Catrin, best friends since primary school when they swore an oath on a Curly Wurly wrapper that they would always be there for each other, come what may. But their friendship is tested to the limits and their childhood promise seems likely to be broken.

The characters in this book really make it a success and I was totally absorbed in this novel and could have very easily given it a five star rating. I was so enthralled by the authors writing that I have already purchased her other novel 'Never Greener'
For all men who like great characters don't be put off by the phrase 'Women's Fiction' because it is well worth reading. Yes the main characters are women but why restrict the reading to women, a good book is worth reading whatever the gender.
I would like to thank both Net Galley and Random House for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Feel-good, funny, with some unexpected twists and turns, this is delightful. There are some great characters here, my favourites being Patricia, Judith's horrendous Mother, and Lana but the whole tale fairly belts along in the most enjoyable way. Sometimes things don't go the way we want them to but if we take a step back and look at the whole hand that life has dealt us, it is usually pretty good on the whole. This message is gently relayed to us through Us Three and I am not ashamed to say that I had a little tear in my eye at the end. Alrigh'?

It was such a heart warming book about long life friendships which everyone, I think, would love to have in their lives I really enjoyed it so easy to read the characters were great I felt for everyone of them definitely recommend.