Sadly, I found the writing to be not cohesive, and I just did not like the flow of this book. The synopsis of this book held so much promise for me but I had a hard time connecting to the characters and the dynamic was so odd between Bella and Kate.

DNF. Which I NEVER do! Could not follow along to the story at all since there are no quotation marks. Way too boring to be marked a thriller.

An exploration of toxic friendship, but it was very vague and was lacking in emotion. It was hard to follow conversations due to the lack of quotation marks.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with a copy of this book for my honest review.

Oh wow what an exciting thriller.! The who dun it was not involved as much as I predicted and this prose and atmospheric affects were spot on.

Jessica Fellowes is most well-known for writing several companion books for her uncle’s television smash, Downton Abbey, and for her own series of historical mysteries featuring the Mitford sisters. Today marks the release of her first stand-alone domestic suspense work, The Best Friend.

The Best Friend is sure to be a polarizing book, with people either loving it or hating it. Either way, they are going to have strong opinions on this work which takes many risks and dares to shatter some expected tropes. But in reality, that just may be the point of the novel.

Kate and Bella have been friends since they first met at six years old. Jessica Fellowes gives glimpses of their youth by documenting occurrences that happen at six, nine, fourteen, and seventeen. These are times of intense emotion, and these girls forge a bond that proves hard to break. Playdates, school dances, first crushes, and the like abound. The trouble is they are too young to recognize how co-dependent this relationship is and fail to acknowledge how often it falls onto the toxic side.

An incident at seventeen shatters any illusions and the former friends go through a period of separation, only to once again meet at thirty-one. It is here when Jessica Fellowes begins to explore the long-term ramifications of a difficult friendship. Readers will watch as their connection shifts and changes right up until both Kate and Bella are eighty-two years old.

So, why is this so controversial? It honestly has more to do with the way the story is told than the story itself – although that too contains some incidents that may be triggering and problematic for some. In the early sections of the book, Jessica Fellowes uses only dialogue, without any exposition. And that dialogue is presented more in the format of a play rather than traditional fiction format, meaning that at times it can be hard to distinguish which of the two girls is talking. This will discombobulate some readers and does require some effort on the part of those consuming the book, but it will be rewarded with some subtle, unexpected moments of wonder and delight.

Jessica Fellowes has purposefully left most details vague. In many ways, these girls are representative of the “everygirl” and thus readers are not privy to what they look like or much of the defining characteristics we have become accustomed to when reading fiction. What this does do is allow everyone to bring their own idea of who these girls are, or may be, to the dance between author and reader. The same applies for time period and setting. For the story to work, these facts are not necessary, so leaving them out – albeit unusual – really adds to the feeling of unease that ripples just below the surface.

More traditional exposition does enter the storytelling process about mid-way through. The novel works best as a character study and an examination of a toxic friendship. There is some suspense, but that is not the focal point, so readers who need more of that may find themselves disappointed. But for readers who enjoy a deep dive into the psychological aspects of relationships, The Best Friend will satisfy.

The Best Friend is an extremely fast read, but it is also a complex work that seems deceptively simply on the surface. This makes the reader think deeper about the actions taking place and ensures they linger in the memory long after the final page is turned. There is still one more Mitford sisters mystery to arrive in the coming months, but The Best Friend hints at maybe the type of novels we will get from Jessica Fellowes in the future. Whatever she decides to do next, it’s sure to be fascinating and entertaining.

A thrilling tale of a toxic female friendship, spanning across many years, and showing exactly how brittle those ties can be. Exciting and beautifully written!

This book was not for me. The story of a toxic girlfriend relationship between Kate and Bella.

What I liked: the beginning of the novel. It started at a good pace and I actually cared about where their friendship might go.

What I didn’t like: I’m one of those people that needs to know which character is saying what I’m a book. The use of no quotation marks had me rereading dialogue when, in fact, it didn’t matter who was talking. It shows that both Bella and Kate are so much alike that their trivial conversations didn’t matter who was speaking. Honestly, I felt like not much happened through most of the book and it kind of dragged for me.

The first thing I noticed was the creative chapter titles! Then the unique writing style captured my attention. However, I failed to bond with a single character and, sadly, in the end, didn’t care what happened to them! I also didn't feel that the plot had enough pull to keep me interested. This is definitely a unique book and I know it will find its way into the hands of those who love it; unfortunately, it isn’t for me.

The Best Friend by Jessica Fellows is a twist, exciting ride of a story. Kate and Bella's relationship explores the toxicity that can happen in some relationships. The darker this story gets, the more I couldn't put this down. What added an extra layer to this story was getting to listen to the author speak. These are not characters you want to turn your back on!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Minotaur Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this one sounded promising, but unfortunately, it fell short for me. I had a hard time getting used to the chapters that were all dialogue because the author didn’t use any quotation marks or indicate who was speaking. (Swipe to the second pic to see what I mean.) The relationship between Bella and Kate was just…strange. It’s hard to explain, but it felt like nothing ever happened and when something actually did, it was vague and unsatisfying. I’d recommend passing on this one.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I had a lot of trouble getting into this one. i confused the 2 main characters more than once and this did not feel like a thriller even though it is listed as one.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗 by Jessica Fellowes was a quick read, and in many ways a fun read, but it was not without flaws. It’s the story of two female friends from age 6 to 82. Kate seems to have more family and monetary advantages than Bella, but Bella has more success in her career. Their friendship is both loving and toxic. They sometimes go for decades without contact, yet they always return to one another. In all that, the story had a lot going for it, though still was lacking in some ways. I liked this story of life long friendship more than most, but the problems can’t be easily dismissed. So here goes:⁣⁣
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∙ I could never really pinpoint the story’s place in time and that’s a pet peeve of mine. Never did cell phones or even computers come up, but the story didn’t feel like it could have started in the 1920’s. It felt purposeful that the author wasn’t giving the time frame up, but why?⁣⁣
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∙ There were NO quotation marks and LOTS of dialogue. Now normally this doesn’t bother me, but here there were also never any identifiers of a character talking. (...said Kate, ...Bella replied, etc.) It may have only been a factor in the electronic ARC, but there were also no line breaks between speakers, making it even more difficult to tell when the speaker switched. I had to go back far too often to keep the dialogue straight.⁣⁣
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∙ The many conversations between the two women often felt insipid and more of a space holder than anything else.⁣⁣
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∙ The book is clearly marketed as dark and suspenseful, neither of which it was.⁣⁣
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∙ The “big reveal” was barely an afterthought.⁣⁣
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Because 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 was a quick read and it held my interest I’m giving it ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️💫, but with a few tweaks, it could have been so much better. ⁣⁣
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Thanks to @minotaur_books for an electronic ARC of #TheBestFriend.

Such a different read, Two completely different personalities that are best friends from early childhood until their late 70.s. This is a well written, fast paced book that covers so many different situations spanning the entire years of this friendship. The character development is well written and I felt as if I knew the characters personally.

This was an Intriguing storyline. It was thoughtfully written. Many descriptions were so well written that I felt as if I was a part of it

I am looking forward to reading anything else from this author. I will be recommending this book to several of my reader friends and to my book clubs that I belong to.

Thank you to MacMillan for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

“The Best Friend” follows the relationship of Kate and Bella, who met as children, lost touch as teens, and reconnected as adults. It’s marketed as a thriller, with twists and turns, as well as an intense and toxic friendship between the two women.

Except…nothing really happens in the book.

Well, things happen - a husband goes missing! Friends meet again after years of no contact! A possible affair! And yet…the weight of all of these things is not considered at all, and they are blankly stated as happening and then…nothing. Sure the plot trucks along and the pages turn but all in all, the book is boring. Things that should be a big deal are not.

The characters aren’t fleshed out either, causing another layer on top of the boring-almost-nothing-plot line. We know NOTHING about these characters that give them any personality, or depth, or connection to anyone or anything. It’s hard to care about characters that are so one-dimensional, and don’t really seem to have any personality or connection.

The writing is weird. First there’s no quotations, and that really bothers me, but wouldn’t deter me from reading a book. IF that book was good…which this was not. It was written in a way that was supposed to invoke suspense, but instead, seemed odd, and left a lot to be desired in terms of details (aka…there were none). It reminded me of a puzzle, but instead of the puzzle coming together at the end, there were a bunch of pieces missing so it felt entirely unfinished.

All in all, “The Best Friend” was supposed to be a thriller full of suspense, with characters that were supposed to keep you on the edge of your seat. Instead, the book fell flat, with a boring plot, characters with no connection, and stilted writing that was strange to read.

While the storyline was interesting, I found myself not connecting with any of the characters. This being said I found it quite difficult to stay focused on the actual book. The jumping around was confusing and you barely scratch the surface on who these people are because they don't stay the same age long enough to get a grasp. Also... wasn't this supposed to be a thriller? i didn't really get that. Overall this just wasn't the book for me.

I actually don't know what to say about this book. The writing style was weird. The other reviews I read said you couldn't tell who was talking at some points to which I agree. Until I stopped caring. I usually like her books but this just wasn't for me. I was intrigued at first but For me this was a nothing book where nothing happened and I don't care. I'm not a fan but it was readable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur books for this ARC

I couldn't connect with any of the characters. The friendship was quite toxic and the story wasn't as thrilling as I prefer. I think I was the wrong audience for this book.

Thank you to @netgalley and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmilliam.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

The Best Friend intermittently follows the lives of Bella and Kate, covering their lives as they come and go from one anothers. Pretty basic, so I kept turning the page waiting for something drastic to happen. This book left me wanting so much more. I just don’t understand the point.

The narrator of the audiobook was helped keep the story going for me.

2 stars

Thank you to netgalley, SMP Minotaur for the copy to review.

I'm going to be honest here, I almost didn't want to to leave feedback for this one as I'm struggling with the review and what to write. I'm going to start with my Pros.

Pros: Unique storyline and writing. The story is laid out very intricately, and isn't wrapped up until the end, and is put together well. The Best Friend almost reads as if it was a play which I really liked and was very unique.

Cons: Story jumped around a lot, and I was really confused.
Really hard to follow at times, which slowed me down.
Slow pace
Unlikeable Characters.

Again, I appreciate the opportunity, but this one wasn't for me!

I was really excited about this book and I tried to give benefit of the doubt to the publishers, hoping they knew they'd released a book to reviewers without any quotation marks and that we'd get an updated copy soon. They didn't, leaving us with a book that is interesting, but wholly impossible to follow properly without any clarity on just who is actually speaking. I often read lines thinking they were one person, before realizing many lines down that they were another. It left me confused, unable to enjoy the chapters that were written in a typical fashion. Fascinating concept, terrible execution. The stars are purely for how interested I was in finding out just what happened. This book needs a complete re-edit and release.