The Three of Us by Ore Agbaje-Williams is about the relationship between a married couple and the wife's best friend with a section of the book told from each person's perspective. The wife's section was first, it started off slow, and I wasn't super invested in the story, but I was getting Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie vibes from the writing style, so I stuck with it. Once it moved on to the husband and the best friend though, I was hooked. Then the end? I didn't want it to be over.

On the surface, this was some petty fighting that progressed when it reached a breaking point. At deeper level this really showed how everyone in a relationship can see it differently and how that can impact the relationship.

Agbaje-Williams did an absolutely amazing job at capturing the unique perspectives of each character. There were small nuances in their speech and way of thinking that weren't said outright that definitely came through in the writing. It made me feel like I was watching a reality show because it felt so real.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a quick and interesting read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Ore Agbaje-Williams for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a big fat waste of time. Seriously I was waiting for something to happen, anything really.

Instead the book is about 3 awful, selfish people drinking wine, believing they are better than they are and blaming their shortcomings on others. And with one of those non-endings no less. Boring.

It's a seemingly normal day. The wife has it all. But her best friend and husband do not get along, and she's not a mother yet. Meanwhile, her husband is happy to be the primary provider and appreciates his wife's demeanor but resents the best friend. And he has old-fashioned or conservative views of decent behavior - he renovates the upstairs of their home for years to remove any bad vibes from his wife's best friend who might have had intercourse in one of the rooms. The best friend Temi (the only named character) has decided to live life on her own terms. She wants to ignite the same fire in her friend and live this life together.
This story takes place in one day. It's told in three parts from three perspectives. That storytelling tactic was interesting and is one reason I give the story three stars instead of two.
I never connected emotionally with any of the characters, though. None of them are likable. Also, I found all the drinking to be off-putting.
And the ending is predictable. The tension was decent, but I kept waiting for a big reveal that was a letdown.
I did like the theme of how we can behave differently depending on who we're with. And integrity can change based on circumstances. While reading this book, I wondered if I act like this.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I enjoyed the story and the different POV. I thought the book was written fairly well. There were times I felt bad for the husband having to deal with his wife's best friend and a seemingly different personality of his wife. I don't understand why anyone would allow the friend to disrespect their spouse in their home. There were times I wondered if Temi's behavior was due to jealousy that her friend was married but she wasn't.

Overall, enjoyed the book.

An unexpected win! I would absolutely recommend this book for your next book club discussion. And yes, drink some wine while you're at it ;).

Painfully average.

The premise was promising, but this did not measure up. The writing is boring, and coupled with a lack of dialogue, it makes the conflict seem uninteresting. I was expecting a character driven novel, this was not that, and it also wasn't conflict driven, so really what is the reader left with? Boring prose and the hope that the premise would've been done justice?

I really thought the overall premise of this novel was compelling and was excited to see how this played out. The first section of the book really did a good job of getting the story in place, however the other sections really did not do anything to propel the story. The wife was extremely passive in both her relationships and does nothing to correct the situation between her spouse and best friend. The husband has expectations, but does not nothing to enforce them and the best friend is the catalyst they need to resolve their underlying issues and to communicate with each other, yet this will not work because the spouse cannot tolerate the best friend. I found this book to ultimately be a stalemate that really goes nowhere and I would have liked to see more character development so that perhaps I could find a horse I liked in the race. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

The Three of Us is a story that takes place in one day and is told from the perspective of three different characters. The comedic premise attracted me immediately and I was excited to dive into this short novel about woman who's husband and best friend can't stand one another. Unfortunately, despite the excellent writing, the characters were obnoxious at best and I found it impossible to care about their relationships and struggles.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A short, but interesting and insightful debut novel. Told with a fresh voice and a propelling plot, this was a fun read.

A compact and tense read that puts different dynamic relationships under a microscope, The Three of Us proves that sometimes three is a crowd! The book felt a little repetitive, though it was unique that we could see the same moments through different character perspectives. Overall, this was a thought-provoking, character-driven book that I enjoyed.

I wish this was a little bit longer. I feel it finished just when everything was getting interesting.
Also, the reason of this rating it's that I couldn't stand any of the characters. They made the book unbearable.

This was a fast paced novel that can easily be finished in a couple of hours. Told in three parts made the story especially interesting. There’s always three sides to a story. This was one where I couldn’t side with any character and found them all terrible but that made the story interesting.

This book was talk, talk, talk, and more talk. Nothing much actually happens in this book--wine is drunk, food is eaten, and so much talking occurs. None of the characters are particularly likeable, but we get three different points of view of what is happening (or not happening). Infertility is sort of explored as is friendship (or not friendship). I usually like conversation in books, but this one just seemed to be too much--everything was discussed to death--the friend doesn't like the husband, the husband doesn't like the friend and the wife is caught in the middle, I think this might have worked better as a novella-it was interesting for a while, but then just got tiresome.

One day in the life of a married couple in London and the wife’s best friend who always seems to be there annoying the husband. Told from three point of views, the wife, the husband, and the friend, Temi. Temi and Wife are long standing friends; Temi thought Wife would never desert her by marrying, especially someone like Husband. The negative feelings are mutual between Husband and Temi. And there is a lot of wine.

This is a quick, short read. I enjoyed Temi’s POV the most. Although irritating, she was quite humorous. There was good insight into the cultural expectations of women and, in particular, Nigerian descended women. The ending was quite abrupt and left me saying, “what?” This is yet another book in which I am seeing an increasing trend of not employing quotation marks.

Thanks to #netgalley and #Penguingroup #putnambooks for the ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Three of Us by Ore Agbaje-Williams

I was so excited for this book to come out, only for it to fall short of my expectations :( I honestly just expected.... more, I suppose. I found it to be severely lacking on multiple fronts, some being that: the narrators (yes, all 3 of them) were all equally at times unlikeable, frustrating, and immature - thus making it hard to really root for any of them; the pacing also felt off and, while it did pick up toward the end, it ultimately finishes quite abruptly and in a way that (imo) definitely left more to be desired. Also, while I normally don't mind books/authors that choose to not use quotations & the like for stylistic purposes/dramatic effect, I don't think it fully worked here - the writing was clunky and, at worst, confusing. Overall this book was just "OK" to me.

A fun, quick and intriguing read. The Three of Us unfolds over the course of one day and details the relationship between a wife and her husband, as well as the wife and her best friend. As the drama thickens and the tension builds the reader is left wondering which relationships will crash and burn and which will prevail.

I wanted to l0ve this, but I just didn’t. I did appreciate how the narrative contrasts each character’s understanding of the relationships, but the whole thing just felt very unfinished to me, unfortunately. Would definitely be willing to try reading more from this author in the future though!
Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC, received in exchange for my honest review.

This was such an interesting read and it felt like I was reading something akin to a Nancy Meyers movie. Everything was well paced and I can’t wait to read more from Agbaje- Williams.

The Three of Us ~ Ore Agbaje-Williams

What happens when your husband hates your best friend? A girl’s day is interrupted by the husband - and a slew of confessions follow, leaving the husband and best friend feeling territorial.

This one takes the term “love triangle” to a whole new level. Told in three parts, switching points of view between the three main characters, the writing is sharp and clever. Ending was a bit abrupt but I appreciated the writing style and overall premise.