The Ophelia Girls explores two summers over 20 years apart and the secrets left behind. This story explores family dynamics between mothers and daughter and female friendships. But something is going on that you just can't figure out until it's revealed It will keep you guessing until the end

Very dark but compelling book.

I am drawn to the darker books and this reminded me a lot of VC Andrews’s but with a better and more solid plot

This story is written from dual perspectives. A mother and her oldest daughter. It starts in the heart of it with the moms early years and the memories that are triggered when she comes back home. She has 3 kids. Her oldest daughter, who shares the storyline, and a set of twins. One of which gives his marrow for the oldest to survive. (You’d think it would be a bigger thing, but alas it isn’t.)

The daughters part, or secondary/central story, had so many triggers. There is the grooming that comes from the moms friend, which was put onto her daughter, and then the grooming that also co-happened to the mother.

There are triggers of minor/adult relationship, grooming, drowning, and what felt like a forced relationship.

Be warned - this book deals with the grooming of a minor, and it might be upsetting for some. Book was well written and a very difficult subject was dealt with in a sensitive manner. Another killer read by this author.

My interest with this novel really waxed and waned. I was very intrigued by Maeve's storyline of her being very sick and wanted more of that. I also liked the parallels with Stuart from the past story and the present.

This novel was excellently written. The language was beautiful and almost lyrical at parts. I loved how it focused so much on an artform (photography) too, as that felt fitting.

However, the gorgeous writing and the setting also made me keep forgetting that the newer storyline was taking place in the early 2000s (it read much more historical than that to me). This wasn't a major flaw, but it was a bit jarring at times when things like cell phones were mentioned and it just didn't feel like it fit.

There was some very sexy parts of this novel - the swimming, the forbidden desires and affairs, the photographs. Some of it was a bit racy and potentially triggering with underage girls but all in all I thought Healy handled those more illicit parts pretty well and without crossing the line too far.

It took me a bit to get into this (hence the waxing and waning), but once I did, I really enjoyed it.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. An interesting read, perfect for the weekend.

Two generations of women, two coming of age stories. This was a bit of a slow burn, picking up by the end. There is a mystery element, but it doesn’t add much to the plot.

This was a slow book. A dual timeline, one where Ruth and her girlfriends spend their summer days posing as immobile tableau's of drowning Ophelia in river with flowers adorning them and taking pictures of each other, other where Ruth now a mother of a teenage girl ailing from cancer is revisiting this town and revisiting the memories of that summer.
Writing was good but the plot moved slowly and was predictable. I didn't particularly enjoy the relationship that a man shares with both the women. I was hoping for strong female characters who take charge but they were meek and sorrowful easily disposable by a man.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving the eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

DNF'd at 33%. I was very intrigued by the premise of this book and the lyrical style of the writing initially gave me all the melancholy vibes that I like, but I soon realised that this was trying to be like a lot of books I read before but without the interesting characters or plot to push it on. I got too bored to finish and life is too short for boring books.

'The Ophelia Girls' by Jane Healey. Why, oh why did I wait so long to read and review this book? 'The Ophelia Girls' is a phenomenonal book that completely absorbed and consumed me. Split between memory retellings from Ruth, a mother of three and the present as Maeve lives her life post cancer. Five friends spend a summer consumed by the river taking photographs of one another as they cling desperately to their youth. Taking on the powerful character of Ophelia, each of the girls photographs themselves as tragic heroines. Fast forward to the teenage years of Maeve and history repeats itself with Ruth's friend, Stuart.
'The Ophelia Girls' was quite disturbing at times, and, often uncomfortable. I loved the rhythm in which this book was written. I read this over a couple of days and, quite honestly, had to tear myself away from the book to return to the real world. I was consumed by the Ophelia girls of the river and it was clear that there was a sinister threat running through. I forgot to breathe sometimes when I was reading this book. Daring, uncomfortable and absorbing.

Let me start off by saying the writing in this book was amazing! I enjoyed reading it so much! Not only that but the character arcs were absolutely fantastic. The story of Ruth and Maeve was so intriguing in the sense that desire and conscience were constantly warring against each other which you could definitely see in the characters’ behavior and actions.
The influence of family and friends plays such an important role in the Ophelia Girls’ lives ultimately making you feel more interested in the story they wanna tell.

I wish I could have read this as a teenager so I could see if I had different feelings about one of the relationships in the book. Because reading it as an adult, I was 100% opposed to it. That being said, I loved the writing style and I wish I could have a whole book just focusing on the mother's teen years, because the flashbacks weren't enough for me.

Thank you to Mariner Books, Jane Healey, and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I almost DNFed this book more times than I can count. This book was underwhelming from the start for me. Despite the pleasant lyrical writing style, the pace was slow and excursive. I love novels that are unsettling, weird, and creepy, but not this kind of creepy. It was just all too too much.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

Parts of this book made me uncomfortable, and I wish there has been a warning given. The grooming was too much for me. I do think the writing was very strong, I felt like I was experiencing the story while reading, but I had a hard time getting over the grooming.

This book was underwhelming from the start for me. What kind of teenage girls are going around pretending to be Ophelia and lying around in the river? Maybe the 70s were really different, but God, these girls were boring. Their conversations were boring and the descriptions just dragged on and on.

Summer 1973
Ruth and her four friends are obsessed with pre-Raphaelite paintings, particularly the drowning Ophelia. They spend their summer in the river by Ruth's grand family home, recreating the famous painting. But by the end of the summer, real tragedy has struck. Twenty-four years later, Ruth moves back into the now crumbling family home with her husband, teenage daughter Maeve and toddler twins. Maeve is in remission and her and her parents are looking forward to her having a "normal" summer. Everything is fine until Stuart, a handsome photographer and old friend of her parents, comes to stay...

There were elements of this book that I really enjoyed: the descriptions of the scorching summer days and the heady scent of the flowers, the fractured relationships in Ruth's family, the concept of history repeating itself. The writing itself was beautiful and lyrical and it was easy to get swept away in the narrative.

There are some troubling scenes that made for quite uncomfortable reading and it did get a bit repetitive seeing the girls pretending to drown on and off throughout the novel - although I do understand this was a deliberate move on the author's part to demonstrate the state of mind of the characters. Luckily the writing was beautiful enough and the characters interesting enough to keep these scenes relevant.

All in all, I'd say this is an intriguing character study of fragile characters who are all damaged in several ways. Ruth is struggling to come to terms with the summer of 1973 whilst raising a family, Maeve is struggling with the usual teenage dilemmas whilst in remission, and Stuart himself has his own demons. Whilst this does mean that the characters make questionable choices at times, it also gives the characters depth and makes them feel very real. It explores themes of female friendship, illicit desire, sexual attraction, mental health, sexuality, art and family dynamics.

Thank you to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and Jane Healey for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I started reading this book and did not finish. It was not to my taste.

Thank you for the advanced reader copy.

I love stories that read in the present tense and then take you back to memories and story of the past. In this case, the past of mother and daughter collide. It’s a story of suspense and one I could not stop reading.

Thank you to Netgalley, Jane Healey, and Mariner Books for an E-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this wonderfully written book that was told over two different points of view and two different summers. I thought the plot moved at a good pace and kept me engaged while reading. I loved how the characters relationships were depicted and this was truly a beautifully written book- its hard to believe its only the authors second book.