Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

A fabulous book, I loved Bella’s last book The Library as well.

Living in the South of France, Zara is now no longer a wanted actress as she is ageing. So at a recent function where she meets her friends from years back - Jackie, Val and Pauline, she invites them to come and live with her.

All three ladies have things happening in their lives and feel that this would make things right for them. But, there is a reason why Zara wants her friends to join her, she doesn’t inform her friends of this, they realise what the reason is after they’ve moved in.

This book has sorrow, friendship, love and sadness, which makes for an unputdownable read.

I highly recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this.
The 4 main characters have an interesting dynamic and I'm sure different readers are going to have different favourite characters. For me personally I loved Pauline and Val.

To be honest I wasn’t sure about this book from the way it started but I kept reading to see where it would go. Four mature aged women who used to flat together back in the 70’s move back in together.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

🌅🚤A villa full of mature women reconnecting; but who dunnit?🙊🙉🙊

I never suspected that this story would morph from a gal pal reunion into a murder mystery. I enjoyed it thanks to the characters with very distinct and different personalities; the setting on the sunny French Riviera; and the way each of actress Zara's three friends handle the drama Zara has orchestrated for them all both before and after they arrive at her Cap Ferrat villa.

I loved the short chapter format, the multiple point of view storytelling and the easy flow of the story. And the conclusion was hopeful and celebratory: a good way to end after the troubles they'd weathered. Although I found Jackie annoying, she's a great foil for friends Val and Pauline, both of whose backstories I found very touching.

Though I preferred Osborne's The Library, which focused more on community than a small group of friends, this was a good read that I definitely recommend.

Thanks to Head of Zeus/Aria and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion..

I imagined this being fluffy, fun, slightly “Golden girls” in novel form. It is anything but, but massively enjoyable.
The characters bounce off each other in an amazing way and are so full and richly written.
A book that is light but at the same time really leaves you thinking and can very easily have you in tears.

What a fabulous brilliant book!! Absolutely loved it!!
Four girls are brought together in a flat share in London in the 1970s. They are all studying different things at college and are very different personalities yet The Girls struck a bond together. Many years later they are brought together again for a surprise birthday party.
The characters are beautifully drawn, and emerge with their secrets as the book unfolds. Bella Osborne deals with some pivotal, controversial issues and subjects, with realistic wise sensitivity.
Thoroughly enjoyable, interesting and refreshing to read about sixty plus ladies who are still The Girls!
Brilliant!!!
Thank you NetGalley for the early read, hugely recommended!

Zara, Jackie, Val, Pauline lived together when they were all single and just starting their careers. Now, decades later, Zara is a celebrated actress in the twilight of her years and she just wants them all to be together again—that is, living together. Imagine Golden Girls with less sex, more money, and even stronger personalities that just don’t gel. All three of the others have their reasons for embarking on this crazy adventure but they really have no idea what Zara has in store for them and the difficult choice she wants them each to make.

When I started this book, I really did get a Golden Girls vibe from it. Who wouldn’t want to live in the lap of luxury with your best friends and ensure you would never die alone? While on the surface this may seem like a fluff (and I mean that in a good way), easy breezy read, it really does tackle some difficult issues. That said, it got a little too mired in the mystery and wrapped up a bit too neatly in the end. Without spoiling anything, I wanted more of Val and her situation and more of Pauline and her new-found strength (and could have taken a bit less of Jackie). Thank you to Netgalley and Head Of Zeus for the eARC. Available 4/14/2022.

A refreshing change for me to read about women in their advancing years. A story of four women who had all lived together 50 years ago, brought back together by a invitation to a party. There are definitely a couple of twists and turns along the way to keep you drawn into the story.

What a story! I loved the last book by Bella Osborne and this one had me hooked!

I loved meeting the Girls, in a book that will make you laugh and cringe throughout. As Zara pulls back together the girls she house shared with before she was famous, we get a glimpse into all of their lives and what has led them to be at the point in their lives where they all uproot to go and live with Zara.

A story that had me hooked from the moment I picked it up, I loved reading about the funny anecdotes and the wonderfully varied personalities of the girls and how they manage to slot together to muddle along.

Grab a copy of this wonderful book as you won't be disappointed!

Four, let's call them mature women, get together for a surprise 80th birthday party and decide that fifty years apart has been long enough so why not move in together in an effort to not be so alone in the world.

Zara: The starlet, drama queen, flamboyantly wealthy, and most of all a loving friend.

Val: The smart one, responsible, calm demeanor, with a successful career anyone would be envious of.

Jackie: The wild child, drunk on life and cocktails, and still trying to flirt her way into the heart of a wealthy man.

Pauline: Kind to a fault, heart of gold, introvert, and sufferer of anxiety.

On the face of it you'd never guess these four diverse woman would have anything in common, much less a friendship, but sometimes it's those we yin and yang with that bring us all the comfort we need. Such a heartwarming story of what it means to be friends and how those friends are ultimately your family. More importantly, a strong emphasis is placed on women supporting women.

This charming story will have you reaching for a glass of wine while toasting your closest friend(s). The locale of the French Riviera had me swooning and lusting for a place I'll likely only ever dream of. I'll admit one of the ladies irritated me so much in the beginning but by the end she had grown to be one of my favorite characters. Go figure! There is also Brian the cat and Toby the foul-mouthed parrot to round out this unusual cast of characters. What starts as a light-hearted, farcical story turns into a murder mystery and has each of the friends questioning whether one of them has the motive to kill. This book was the perfect break in between heavier stories and I had fun getting to know these characters and while it may have been over the top it was surely entertaining. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for my complimentary copy.

This book is absolutely fabulous. Her last book The Library was brilliant and this one is just as good.
Zara is an ageing film star who lives in the South of France and asks her long time friends Jackie, Val and Pauline to come over and live with her. Each of them are in a crisis in their own lives and think this idea would be a game changer. Zara has an ulterior motive behind her offer which they will not find out until they have moved in.
This story is full of love, friendships, sorrow, humour and sadness and when put together makes for a great read. I could not put this book down and thoroughly recommend it.
Bella Osborne, I love your books.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. It was an absolute pleasure.

This was a totally different read to what I've come to expect from Bella Osborne, but I enjoyed it just as much as her fun romances. Four former flatmates reunite at the 80th birthday party of Zara, who has achieved her ambition of becoming an internationally acclaimed actress. With her health failing she suggests the others comes to live with her in a mutally beneficial arrangement. With nothing to lose, the others agree but as they settle into Zara's palatial French villa in Nice, they realise that Zara's offer came with strings attached. Is she expecting too much of them? Will they regret giving up their previous lives? As the action moves towards denouement, it seems that Zara's final solution won't suit everyone!
A fabulously fun exploration of female friendship that isn't always sweetness and light, this is a laugh-out-loud read that nevertheless addresses the serious issues of ageing, loneliness, coming to terms with who you are and what life throws at you. It gets a little farcical at times, but the bright breezy prose and the characters of the four women, who prove that (physical ailments aside) age is just a number help to carry it through.
I hope I'm as feisty and fun when I get to their age!

It took me a while to get through this, but about halfway through I was hooked! The characters were very well developed and easy to follow through their lives and heartache. There were likable and very unlikeable characters. It was an easy, light (for the most part) read that I would recommend to my friends and Instagram followers!

Thank you for allowing me to review this book!

This was a pretty cute read. Nice once again to have older ladies as the main characters. Some plot points were murky or didn’t add up fully but I forgive them for a fast paced entertaining story. Not a feel good read.

This was absolutely joyous to read. I really liked the characters in this and found them so varied and interesting. Definitely a book I’d recommend.

I love this author and read most of her books… I would highly recommend this book to… anyone with a pulse. Is that you?… This book will stay with you long after you've finished it, and in the most delicious way! fabulous storytelling!

"The Girls" is a delightful chick-lit novel about women’s friendships. It is also a mystery when one of the characters ends up dead.

Four friends from the ’70s gather together to attend their movie-star friend Zara’s 80th birthday. It’s a big celebrity bash and a chance for the four women to reminisce about old times. After the party, Zara woos them to come live with her for free, and they end up in her French villa. The catch—each woman must help in their own way. Jackie provides medical care. Val offers legal and financial assistance, and Pauline is chosen to edit Zara’s memoir. The story takes a turn when Zara asks each friend a huge favor. Each woman has her own secret and feels compromised. But when Zara turns up dead one morning, the friends become prime suspects.

The Girls is an excellent character-driven book. I enjoyed the setting, premise, and tone of this novel. The novel is humorous and a page-turner with a surprise ending. I thank Net Galley for allowing me to read and review it. #NetGalley #The Girls #chicklit

This book was an absolute stunner! The way it was told from each character's point of view was inspired and the twists and turns made it impossible to put down

This book was a nice change from my recent reads. It centered around a group of friends reunited for one of their 80th birthdays. Here they hash out old hurts, rifts in the friendship, and rebuild their bonds.
It was nice to read about an older group, and how issues fester and grow. My only draw back to this book were some of the characters themselves. I had a hard time liking or relating to two, especially Jackie. While I understand who her character is, I still think she came of rude and annoying more than anything else.
Overall a great book about forgiveness, friendship, and mending wrongs.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

From the moment I read the description of this book, the characters reminded me of the Golden Girls! And after I started reading, the similarities just continued. This story was like if all the golden girls had super crazy and dramatic lives. This book was a crazy adventure with a ton of plot twists and character development. I recommend this book if you’re looking for something that’s a fast read and keeps you wanting more the whole time! I couldn’t put this one down.