Ooh I loved this! A great cast of characters thrown together in exceptional circumstances. I hadn’t expected the plot to turn out the way it did. It’s about friendship, self belief and being true to yourself 😊

I read all Bella Osborne books.. Well I pick them up to read. This one I put down. Very disappointed. Even my being an old lady, I found it boring.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me advance access to this title. I really enjoyed reading this story and look forward to reading more from this author. As a reader, I am really motivated by character driven stories and I found myself quickly becoming immersed in these characters’ lives. Full review to come.

I'll be completely honest, I didn't think I would enjoy this as much as I did!

Such a cute, fun, light hearted read!

I recently read "The Girls" by Bella Osborne and was pleasantly surprised by how engaging and heartwarming the story was. The novel follows four women who were best friends in the 1970s and are now in their twilight years. Zara, the famous diva actor, suggests they all live together to support each other through old age.

Initially, being housemates again is just as much fun as it was in their heyday, but soon Zara reveals the real reason she asked them to move in with her, and suddenly things take a sinister turn. The women are forced to confront their demons and come under the spotlight of the press, the police, and an angry parrot. As their lives spiral out of control, they must work together to save their friendships and each other.

One of the things I loved about this novel was the strong female characters. Each of the women is unique and flawed in their own way, making them relatable and human. The author did an excellent job of weaving their backstories into the present-day narrative, providing a rich and layered reading experience.

I also appreciated how the story dealt with aging and friendship in a genuine and heartfelt way. It was refreshing to read a novel where the protagonists were not all young and perfect but instead were older women facing real-life challenges and supporting each other through them.

Overall, I highly recommend "The Girls" to anyone looking for a heartwarming story about the power of friendship. It is a perfect blend of humor, drama, and suspense that will keep you turning the pages until the very end. I found myself invested in each of the women's journeys and rooting for them until the very end. It is a novel that will stay with you long after you finish it.

This was a great book with a great twist and flashbacks. I really enjoyed reading this and look forward to more from Bella Osborne.

I received this book for free from netgalley for an honest review.

Really well thought-out book with amazing characters and excellent setting. Love the cover

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me, but thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read.

Well I wasn't expecting that.... ok I was expecting a fabulous book as I know that is what this author tends to write, and it was indeed a fabulous book. But what I wasn't expecting is the direction this story took, and just how it would all be resolved. It was fabulous.

It has deeper themes and darker topics throughout, in addition to plenty of light relief, and it does leave you feeling good.

Even the opening chapter was thought provoking, but was also attention grabbing and from then on I knew I had to keep reading, just to see what would happen to Pauline. And then we are introduced to Jackie and Val, and through them the filmstar Zara. They were all friends in the 70s but have since grown apart, and lost contact.

Until a surprise party invite for Zara's 80th drops through their letterboxes and brings The Girls back together again. And in the aftermath of the party, Zara makes a suggestion that they should relive their youth by living together again.

Zara and Jackie are both big personalities, one needs to be the centre of everything and is very concerned about the world perceives her. The other drinks like a fish, and is on the look out for a wealthy man and has a habit of being drunk or inappropriate.

I loved the dynamics between the four women, was drawn into the story to such an extent that I was ignoring the outside world while I devoured more of it. It's a very cleverly crafted story, and I didn't guess anything key (ok one smaller reveal I had an inkling towards but that is about it).

It's completely unpredictable, and I thoroughly enjoyed every single second I spent with these ladies. Getting to know all their strengths and fully understanding their back stories. And for light relief we had Toby, who had excellent comic timing.

It's another cracking read from Bella Osborne, and I think it would be an excellent book club sort of a book too.

Thank you to Aria and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This is a lovely women's fiction book about four older women who used to live together in their younger years. We have Pauline, Val, Jackie and Zara, and they come together in a reunion celebration, which leaves them with more than they could ever have imagined. The book is full of fun, and I really enjoyed reading about each woman, their life in the past, and what happened when they all got together again.

This is a lovely book, which I highly recommend.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

This book is very much about ‘The Girls’ and it’s such a refreshing change to read a book that isn’t all about boy meets girl. It had its ups and down, and twists and turns, which made it enjoyable from start to finish. I sometimes find Bella’s books a bit hit & miss, but this one is worth a read!

Absolutely loved reading this, heart warming, funny, compassionate and touching. Very well written, loved the details and storyline. Thr ladies all made me laugh although at times i could of slapped Jackie! Makes me think growing old aint all bad!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

Having absolutely loved ‘The Library’ I couldn’t get over how different this book was. I was at first a little disappointed but once I got into the book I really enjoyed it. 4 friends reunited after many years at a time when they really needed to be together and the support it brought. A great read.

This is definitely a 'don't judge a book by it's cover' book, where we get something of a mix of genres. The cover looks warm and cozy, but we start in the star studded glitz and glam of a film star's life. Said film star is now in her later years and organises for 'the girls' to come with her to the south of France. So now we have glitzy mets gorgeous French settings, with a range of characters in her friends. The dynamics of the friends were the same as any set of girls/ ladies, one is going to be more quiet, another more outspoken etc. We have the added interest of the movie star, Zara, somewhat leading absolutely everything, to a sometimes creepy level (almost thriller like!0 and then it goes all cozy mystery as there's a ... nope, not going to say it. This was what I needed when I needed ti! Soooooo sooooo soooo recommended. Thanks to Netgalley for the book in return for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5

EXCERPT: Looking back was always lovely when you had your rose-tinted spectacles on but some of her memories of that time were less than perfect. Four young women with different jobs and ambitions, varying moods and vastly different backgrounds had led to many shouting matches, slammed doors and hurtful words. Whilst she could see that they had all got older she was pretty sure the same women were lurking underneath the wrinkles and it wouldn't take too much for them to reappear.

ABOUT 'THE GIRLS': In the 1970s, The Girls were best friends sharing a flat and good times: Zara the famous diva actor, Val the uptight solicitor, Jackie the wild child and Pauline the quirky introvert. Now they're in their twilight years, and Zara suggests that they live with her to support each other through old age.

Initially, being housemates again is just as much fun as in their heyday. But then Zara reveals the real reason she asked them to move in with her, and suddenly things take a sinister turn.

As the women confront their demons they come under the spotlight of the press, the police and an angry parrot. With their lives spiralling out of control can they save their friendships and each other?

MY THOUGHTS: I enjoyed The Girls. It's a delightful romp involving the perils of ageing, friendship, a suspicious death and several secrets.

The Girls, who were in their twenties last time they all lived together, are now in their sixties and upwards. Zara has made a success of her life - she's a star, wealthy, entitled, manipulative. Now her health is failing and scared of being alone she can think of no one she wants to spend her last years with more than her three old friends, Val, Jackie and Pauline.

Val is independent and self-assured. A lawyer, she is going to be the hardest to convince to make the move. But Val has a secret from her past that just may make a difference.

Jackie is a struggling care-worker in a home for the aged and is the easiest to convince to make the move. She's alone and in debt, and also in denial about her age and prospects. The men who appeal to her are all much younger and wealthy. Is she going to recognise real love if it appears in a different form to what she expects?

Pauline - just what has happened to Pauline in the intervening years? This once vibrant woman is now bland, reclusive and prone to panic attacks. She really doesn't like change or conflict. She may just prove just as difficult to convince to move as Val, albeit for totally different reasons.

The Girls is a fun read that also covers some more serious topics including assisted dying and suicide. It is both intriguing and entertaining. I laughed out loud in places - once explosively - and had my heartstrings tugged and my eyes tearing up in others.

I liked how this focused mainly on the women as they are today with only a few references to their pasts together. This keeps the storyline relevant and interesting. Believe me there's enough going on in the present!

⭐⭐⭐⭐.3

#TheGirls #NetGalley

I: @bellaosborneauthor @headofzeus

T: @osborne_bella @HoZ_Books @aria_fiction

#ageing #comingofage #contemporaryfiction #domesticdrama #friendship #mystery

THE AUTHOR: Bella's stories are about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at you. She likes to find the humor in the darker moments of life and weaves these into her stories. Bella believes that writing your own story really is the best fun ever, closely followed by talking, eating chocolate, drinking fizz, and planning holidays. She lives in the Midlands, UK with her lovely husband and wonderful daughter, who thankfully, both accept her as she is (with mad morning hair and a penchant for skipping). (Amazon)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Aria & Aries via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Library by Bella Osborne for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

absolutely brill a must to read from page 1 to finish what friendship means and how far you will go amongst friends whom you have shared your early days with and gone seperate ways and then all to meet in later life and to finish off with a sad ending but also so peaceful

What a fabulous read! This story didn't go in the direction I expected at all, but it was just brilliant. I giggled a lot and raced through the book trying to keep up with all "The Girls" antics. If I'm half as interesting as them when I'm that age I will consider myself lucky. Highly recommend.

The Girls by Bella Osborne, a NetGalley read. This book is about 4 girls (women) who lived together in the 70’s, they were best friends but as they grew older they all went there separate ways. That was until they all attend a surprise party for Zara and everything changes from there. My first impressions of this book was very slow paced and unfortunately that doesn’t change, it just didn’t get any better. The characters do go through some tough times, which address tough subjects, suicide, loneliness and Alzheimers. However the book isn’t captivating or even though it tackled these tough subjects, it lacked substance that hooked me as the reader in. I hate disliking a book a, as I know the hard work that’s gone into writing it from the author, however when I say I found it tedious throughout I think I’m being polite because it was probably the worse book I’ve read this year, unusual for this author, as I’ve loved her previous books but this book was boring. Had I not wanted to give it a fair and accurate review I probably given up on this book and I don’t say that lightly. I found that when something major did happen (no spoilers) it just didn’t pack a punch, there was no power behind it, it felt incredibly weak and though significant and a turning point in the book, it felt strangely very insignificant and very anticlimactic. The chapters were split between the three main characters and were very short chapters, for me I felt this ruined the ability for me as the reader to connect to the character’s. I felt this book lacked flow and I believe this was also due to the short chapters, as I was just getting into the flow and there chapter would end. Bella Osborne is a great author there’s no doubt about that but this honestly wasn’t the worst book I’ve read of her’s. To put it bluntly it was a story that can be best described as having a dithery feel, the ending was ok but felt like, what happened at the end should have happened sooner in the book, it truly felt like pulling teeth getting to the end, the author without a doubt has written far better books. If you are new to the author don’t pick this one, if you are a fan then miss this one out. This hasn’t put me off, hopefully this is just a blip but sadly I can only give this ⭐️

I love books that focus more on female friendship than romance and this is definitely what's included in this book. However my age difference for these characters did mean I struggled to identify with them at times.