Another cracker from Bella Osborne, she writes such different style books, (The Library was brilliant), Now she has given us "The Girls" ladies of a certain age rekindle their friendship but is everything as it seems. Brilliant book i didn't want to put down such a refreshing topic. Totally recommend

I typically love this type of book. However, this one just didn't work for me at all. There is probably an audience for this book but it is not me.

Four old friends. Thrown back together after forty years apart. What could possibly go wrong? In the 1970s, The Girls were best friends sharing a house 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?

Review: Bella Osborne has a talent for creating characters you can’t help falling in love with. “The Girls” approaches the topic of growing older with dignity and grace and although you will be taken on somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster, you’ll be left feeling uplifted when you put this book down.

I found this book incredibly heart-warming yet thought-provoking. It was a little bit of a slow burner initially, but I found once I got through the first few chapters, I was absolutely hooked and fell in love with the characters and all the twists! Having also read Osborne's book "The Library" I really feel her books would be the perfect book club reads and even include some handy book club discussion points at the end!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Girls is a story of four women in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. They all lived together in the 1970s and have been brought together again by Zara who suggests they would all benefit from living together again in their golden years.

All four women are very different in their personalities and background, but one thing they all show is that society shouldn’t write older women off. Just because the outer body is wearing out, the minds are still the same.

I really enjoyed this story. Without giving anything away, in true Bella Osborne style, you can expect to discover every emotion as this story has a bit of everything, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

I love this author's books so was immediately drawn to it. We get to meet Pauline, Jackie, Val and Zara, who all house-shared as younger women in the 1970's. They lost touch as they aged and now all have different lives. They're all in their senior years now - Pauline suffers badly with depression and anxiety, Jackie is a carer with a penchant for alcohol and men, Val is a retired solicitor and Zara is a famous actress. When the three women are invited to Zara's 80th birthday party, their lives are changed forever.

I have to admit, this wasn't what I expected, and was different to some of the other books written by this author, but I was hooked from the very first page and really enjoyed it. The characters are all really likeable in their own different ways and as you read, you quickly get to pick up on their individual personalities. Whilst it's not a romantic type, light-hearted read, it does have plenty of light hearted moments, and I found myself laughing and smiling at the ladies' antics! It is quite a serious book in parts with some hard hitting themes included, taking you on a rollercoaster journey of emotions amongst all the merriment. There were a lot of different elements included in this story and I loved how the book swung from serious to light-hearted and from the ladies' journeys to a little bit of murder-mystery!

The storyline flowed along well, keeping me on my toes as to where it was heading. I loved the celebrity name drops and the locations and extravagance was to die for! By the end, I found myself liking all the characters equally, with each one having a piece of the journey that warmed my heart. Full of friendships, life and laughter, this book is certainly one which is worth a read. Would definitely recommend.

Pauline, Jackie, Val, and Zara are the girls. They lived together as young women in the 70's, and Zara invites them all to move in with her again 50 year later. Pauline, Jackie, and Val are our narrators for this novel.

Each narrator has her own distinct voice and clearly developed personality. As the book proceeds, we learn more about each woman and their past, things that happened when they lived together and then after when they lost touch with each other. Each has her own struggles and worries but they come together for Zara.

Around the half way point of the book it transitions to being a bit of a mystery with each narrator under suspicion of wrongdoing. With out giving away any spoilers, I enjoyed seeing how they worked together on presenting a united front and didn't tear each other down. This is certainly not a thriller.

With the reveal of what happened to clear them of all suspicion, the book does wrap up rather quickly, but it is believable and well done. Overall this is a well written and fun story exploring how relationships change but also stay the same as we get older.

Thank you to Head of Zeus, Aria Books, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC copy of this novel for review.

4 friends who lived together in the 70s reunite in their twilight years - but everything isn’t quite what it seems!

Zara, Jackie, Val, and Pauline are all very different personalities who lived together in college and then drifted apart. When they see each other again at Zara’s 80th birthday party, she asks them all to join her at her mansion to live out the rest of their days. But things quickly aren’t what they seem.

The description of this book immediately drew me in, it gave me major Golden Girls vibes - but if it were a mystery! It is written in 3 POVs which was a little confusing at first but you quickly get to know each gal’s personality. I loved the story and never knew where it was heading so it definitely kept me on my toes!

Bella Osbourne is one of my new favourite authors & this book certainly didn’t disappoint me. Loved it!

Well this was a fabulous read!

I adore Bella Osborne books, this one I'll admit I didn't think would be my cup of tea, when I read the first chapter I was like mmm I'm not sure as it was quite hard hitting but I continued reading until I was engrossed into the lives of the girls.

The girls each had their own pasts to deal with which none of the others knew about each other.

I had a real soft spot for Pauline as she bonded with Brian and gave her purpose in life.

A real gem of a read, I absolutely loved it.

This book is full of twists and turns, you think the story is heading in one direction and then it goes down a completely different road! Full of intriguing characters - Pauline who is riddled with anxiety following her abusive marriage; Jackie who has never settled down, is fond of alcohol and men; Val who is a recently retired solicitor with a secret and finally the larger than life Zara! The girls lived together in the 1970s but have lost touch over the years and while three of them have had relatively normal lives, Zara scaled the dizzy heights of fame, living a life that the others can dream of. So, after a surprise reunion, Zara invites her old friends to come and live with her in the South of France…….. and that’s when the chaos begins!! This book is full of fun, friendships, sunshine, old feuds, parrots, cats, yachts and, possibly, a murder……… fabulous!

*Little Spoiler Alert!*
You'd be forgiven for thinking this might just be a frivolous rom-com about a bunch of girlfriends, off on a sun-soaked holiday, looking at the cover, but that's where this old adage, "Never judge a book by its cover", is most suitable.
The Girls is about a group of friends, and there is an element of being abroad, but, that's where the frivolity ends.
These are four women, some may describe as, past their prime.
Pauline, Val, Jackie and Zara.
All in their later years, these four friends used to house share in the seventies, and now, somehow, fate, or rather, Zara, has brought them back together.
Pauline is in her own personal hell, alone after a long abusive marriage, with demons that won't back down, and she's on the brink of taking her life.
Val, alone, but strong. with a secret hidden so deep, that none of her girls knows about it.
Jackie, the most frivolous of the bunch, is still searching for her One, and even though she knows her options are lessening, due to her age, can't help herself.
So, when they are all invited to a party to celebrate their old, now famous, friend, Zara's 80th birthday, they meet with some trepidation, having not seen each other for many years.
Here's where things get more serious.
Zara wants them all to recreate their 70s living arrangement, but in her villa in France, knowing that all her friends have nothing holding them to England, and with a somewhat selfish motive of her own,
However, her sudden demise plunges them into even more problems.
Lots of different issues are raised in this extremely good book.
Sure, maybe it is a little far fetched to think that someone would go to so much trouble to have their friends around them, but the ensuing story had me gripped.
And, the best thing?
They all learn something important about themselves through the journey.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was great to read a book with more mature characters in it and in Val, Pauline and Jackie it was interesting to see how life had shaped them and in some ways changed them from the girls they were nearly fifty years ago when they lived together. The dynamics between the three women worked really well and each had a strong and defined voice and personality, my issue with this book was that I hated Zara, the fourth girl, whom I found vain and incredibly manipulative and even if she did intend to try to help the other three girls she was underhand and for me stopped this from being the lighthearted read it could have been. That said it’s not a heavygoing read and there was a lightness and humour to some parts which kept it going.

The story of four women who lived together in their 20svand are brought back together and decide to have a second go 50 years later. All four women are beautifully written and their varied relationships are realistic. A highly enjoyable book.

I adored this quick, easy, fun read, It was well written with well developed characters and an uplifting storyline. I loved the characters and I especially loved that they were older as this isnt something that happens very much in fiction, especially of this genre. I took these girls to my heart and they will remain there for a long time to come.
I loved it.

A fun, light, entertaining story.
I enjoyed the storyline, characters and writing style.
The story was full of friendship, love, happiness, sadness and so much more.
A real ‘feel-good’ story.
I enjoyed the The Library by Bella so knew this was going to be a good one.

Head of Zeus|Aria,
Thank you for this eARC!

Whilst it took me a couple of chapters to get into this book I ended up thoroughly enjoying it and it was such a refreshing change to read about women older than the usual chick lit even if I had to keep getting the Golden Girls out of my head!