This was an interesting book. I thought it was clever to be written in the three characters points of view, recounting some of the same events, but it was hard to follow everything chronologically and directly tie everything together with how often each section jumped around from present day to previous events.

It was also hard to understand all the character's motivation and what the overall resolution once reading the entire book.

Very thankful to have received an eARC from Putnam Group.

The Three of Us does a forensics of the relationship a wife has with both her husband and best friend. It is smartly written, never dull, interesting characters, but overall the book just did not work for me, which is par for the course because I don't like short stories, they always feel incomplete. Still, i do think the book is well crafted, and would make an excellent book club selection. 4 stars.

I expected so much more from this.

The writing is immersive and enticing, and the story seems to be building and building toward a climactic moment, but...it never gets there.

I appreciate the ending in theory, but not in actuality. Overall, I wasn't a fan, but I do think there are readers who will love this book!

I didn't end up finishing this book. It was too much explanation and not enough action. It had potential in the idea but the execution was too tell and not enough show.

This book was crazy, told from 3 POV’s, the wife, husband and wife’s best friend, and their relationships with each other. Overall it was a good book with craziness throughout the entire book.

What an odd little book...The ending was so open-ended and anti-climactic. Almost as if the last few chapters were missing...I felt like it was all leading up to something and then it just...wasn't.

This sounded like it would be an intriguing read. To some, it probably is. To me, I couldn't connect with the story or the characters. I found myself annoyed with all three of them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, wow, WOW! This book was everything I needed and nothing like I expected. The synopsis for this story pails in comparison to the phenomenal story that is inside. This psychological, domestic drama had me feverishly flipping the pages to watch this car-wreck of a story unfold. With such surprisingly sparse prose, the author provides such a remarkably DEEP understanding of the psyche of these three characters. I a h of the characters is the main narrator of one section of the book. I loved seeing this situation for their unique perspectives. I think this may also be the first 5-star book I’ve ever read where I disliked every character but just salivated over their juicy drama. I feel like, reading this is what viewers of the Real Housewives must experience. The DRAMA!! Such an amazing book that I read pups happily read again and will encourage everyone to pick up. My own suggestion would’ve been to reduce the number of times the word “whilst” was used. That word got super annoying (33 times in this tiny book is just about 30 too many). But even that couldn’t damped my experience.

Interesting premise. Getting three different perspectives spanning over the same day really works for me. I read a thriller in 2022 that used a similar trope, but that one felt complete. And while I’m not comparing the stories as this is a domestic conversation, using a type of style the way the author did is something I like looking at.

I would definitely read more from this author, but this book was just lacking. I didn’t mind disliking all the characters. I think that’s the point.

I found the story an interesting one with a different kind of choice - a friend or a husband?

The ending abruptly just when I was starting to want more is an interesting choice.

I look forward to seeing what this author comes out with next.

I think my biggest issue with this novel was that the novel ended so abruptly. I was getting somewhat invested into the story, even though it was truly just the same story told three different times, but then it got to the end. Also, I did not really like Temi or the unnamed husband and so overall not the most enjoyable time for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a very interesting character study but it felt somewhat repetitive. I liked how the story was told from the POV of all three characters but felt like. a lot of the same information got rehashed over and over again with no real resolution in the end. When the book ended I felt confused and let down. It felt like another few pages at least were needed to wrap things up? I wanted to like this but something was just lacking for me.

An average day in the life of 3 people. Told from the perspective of a husband, his wife and her best friend.

This book had no substance and just ended abruptly with absolutely no closure to the "story".

Thank You NetGalley for the free e-galley.

What I read: The Three of Us by Ore Agbaje-Williams

Why I picked it up: I was very intrigued by the premise of this book: a woman, her husband, and her best friend. I live this dynamic, so I was wondering what this writer would present about it. I received this free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

How I read it: On eGalley in a couple of sittings, it’s not that long and told in three chapters, each from one of their perspectives.

What it’s about: The plot (if you can call it that) takes places over the course of one day. The first chapter is told from the perspective of the wife she her best friend comes over to drink and catch up from being away for over a month. The second is from the POV of the husband when the wife stops by in the middle of the day to bring him some lunch. The third begins when the best friend gets back to the house after going out for some wine and snacks. The goal of the best friend is to see the end of this marriage so she can get her friend back.

What I liked: I appreciated the different perspectives throughout the book and how their history becomes part of their present. It’s an interesting dynamic to have a best friend duo where only one of them marries – this is definitely a life situation I understand.

What I disliked: There’s not a lot of plot, aside from drinking – it’s mostly character development and sowing the seeds of doubt. Truthfully, it ends right when it’s starting to get good.

Genre: Marriage, friendship.

Rating & Recommendation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and I think it’s worth a read! It came out on May 16th.

The Three of Us is a sharp, witty, and insightful novel that explores the complexities of love, friendship, and betrayal. The novel is told from the alternating perspectives of three characters: Korede, a wife and mother; Temi, her best friend; and Tosin, Korede's husband. The three characters are all caught up in a web of love, betrayal, and deception, and the novel explores the ways in which their relationships are both complicated and rewarding.

The novel is well-written and engaging, and the characters are well-developed and relatable. The novel is also thought-provoking, and raises some interesting questions about the nature of love, friendship, and betrayal. Overall, it's is a well-written and enjoyable novel that is sure to stay with you long after you finish reading it.

Here are some of the things that I liked about the book:

The writing is sharp, witty, and insightful.
The characters are well-developed and relatable.
The novel explores the complexities of love, friendship, and betrayal in a thought-provoking way.

If you are looking for a well-written and enjoyable novel that will make you think, then I highly recommend this one!

Overall, I liked the story and the writing, but I just wish the ending was explained a bit better. The characters need a lot of growth!

The Three of Us had potential but did not get there for me. Three unlikable people rehashing their issues with each other was mostly annoying. I mostly skimmed when I realized nothing new was happening.

This could be viewed as just the musings and snark of three socioecomically privileged young people who are insecure, jealous, and hypercritical of each other. But there’s also some insightful stuff around gender, culture, identity, and more. I recommend the audio version - a quick and thought-provoking listen that features three excellent audio performances!

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I could never connect with the characters. I loved the idea of the same story from different POVs but it didn’t work for me here. I would still recommend this book to readers because my inability to connect with the characters is no reflection of authors work.

4 stars!

"The Three of Us" by Ore Agbaje-Williams is a wild ride. With friends like that, who needs enemies!? My jaw was on the floor for a lot of this book. I was captivated, entertained, and just waiting for what was going to happen next. It's one hell of a book.

The story is told from three points of view: a Wife caught in the middle between obligation and comfort, her wealthy, traditional Husband, and her free-spirited and brash best friend Temi (the only character named in the book). All of the characters in this story are from Nigeria. The Husband and Temi do not get along very well and seemingly hate each other. This causes tension and resentment between the Husband and Wife. There are grudges, there are disagreements, there are accusations, there are squabbles, there are secrets, there is passive-aggressive behavior, and then there is all-out aggressive behavior. As tempers flare and wits come to an end, things escalate to new levels.

As previously mentioned, I read this book with my jaw on the floor at times. My eyes were wide the entire time, too. This is a sharp and cunning character-driven domestic drama that's short enough to finish in one sitting. As Temi and Husband share passive-aggressive jabs at one another, Wife just sits there and actively rags on her Husband to, what, exactly? To placate her best friend? To get a rise out of her Husband? To find out where loyalties truly lie? None of the people in this short story are likable, so many readers will be displeased that there's no one to root for, but I have to say, I dug it. It's nice to read a story like this every once in a while, provided that it's written well. I wouldn't say I loved *reading* this book because everyone here is so conniving, but I did enjoy this story overall. It's tense, compelling, and intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ore Agbaje-Williams, and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

I really wanted to like this book more, but I feel that it was too long for what it ultimately delivered. At the end, it felt like a very long bickering session.