4 stars!

I had already read most of Alex Dahl's books and really enjoyed them, so I jumped at the chance of reading her latest one.
'Girl Friends' follows the point of view of 3 characters: Charlotte, Bianka, and Bianka's step-son Storm. In the first half of the novel we are exploring Charlotte and Bianka's friendship as they grow closer, first in Wimbledon Village, and then on a girls holiday in Ibiza. Meanwhile, Storm is back in Norway trying to uncover dark secrets relating to his past and his suspicious step-mother.

I found the first half rather slow as there is a lot of depth to the characters and immersion into the plot, but I was really pulled in through the second half after a murder that the girls have to hide. Dahl deals brilliantly with twisty thrillers that have you gripped till the end.

Read via Netgalley, and thank you to Head of Zeus for providing an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

This book was a mixed bag. A bit too melodramatic for me, combined with some really inconsistent characters. We meet Bianka first, moving to London with her husband, relieved her stepson is heading off to boarding school. She seems nice enough (despite some antipathy towards the stepson). We're then introduced to Charlotte whose husband works for Bianka's husband but we learn they're well off and she has a reputation as an influencer (Keto Queen). I couldn't quite tell who was more enamoured with who. Charlotte's enchanted by the very different and exotic Bianka but Bianka can't get enough of Charlotte... who apparently reminds her of someone else.

Fast forward to the ladies weekend away. We know from the prologue that things go badly, ending in a death, but it still takes a long time to get there. I'm fairly sure I was grimacing as I read much of this part of the book, and through some of what comes after. It's not poorly written, rather the way it plays out felt a little juvenile or soap-opera-like. Bianka in particular is a master manipulator and it was almost painful to watch Charlotte being so gullible.

We've learned (by now) a bit about their backstories so there's some context for their actions (and reactions) but it's a bit like watching the proverbial train wreck. Things go from bad to worse for Charlotte in particular and suddenly Bianka is all contrite again, after so flagrantly and purposefully pre-empting everything.

In the background we learn a little more about Bianka's husband's first wife and the fact Bianka was also quite enamoured by her also... before her untimely death.

Kudos to Dahl however as just when we think we know how this is ending, she mixes things up yet again - and in a way that seems very infeasible... but it plays out nonetheless. And 'some' of them anyway, live happily ever after.

An uncomfortable read for me.

Charlotte has a very successful life; a good career, great friends and a settled home life. Each year, she has a girls' week with her two closest friends as they head to Ibiza to open up her holiday home for the season. With the arrival of a new senior colleague at her husband's firm, she is introduced to both him and his wife, Bianka, who quickly worms her way into Charlotte's friendship group and the annual girls' trip. However, there is more to Bianka than meets the eye . . .

I settled into this one quickly but soon felt very much out of my comfort zone. I originally chose to read and review this one due to the author's name but I really didn't expect it to be so hedonistic and I had issues with the resulting crime. I got through it but it's not one I enjoyed at all. I'm sure plenty of other readers will love it, but it's not for me. 3*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Main characters Charlotte and Bianka help provide a real roller coaster of a novel with their loose adventures in Ibiza. First time I have read an Alex Dahl book and so gripping was it I completed it in a day. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

I found this book quite hard to get into as I felt that both of the main characters were very dislikable. Charlotte Vinge is an influencer with the perfect life and a mass following of her Keto lifestyle However all is not as it seems and when she meets the charismatic Bianka she starts to question everything and finds herself acting completely out of character. A girls trip to Ibiza results in murder and Charlotte does not know how much she is involved.

All in all there was a lot of pent up suspense especially in the run up to Charlotte and Bianka’s relationship but I simply could not warm to either of them. I was far more interested in Bianka’s stepson Storm and dad Emil’s story.

It is twisty but very slow.

I really enjoyed this book. Charlotte is a Norwegian ex pat living in London, unhappy in her marriage. When Bianka joins their group, Charlotte feels energised and excited by this new friendship. Bianka is invited to join Charlotte and 2 other friends on their annual trip to Charlotte's house in Ibiza. Here, their friendship develops in to a torrid affair, things get out of hand, and someone ends up dead. This is a really fast paced story with some great characters and twists you won't see coming!
Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

@currentlyreading__
Book 24 of 2024

Thank you to @NetGalley, @headofzeus and @alexdahlauthor for the e-arc of the fabulous ‘Girl Friends’ ahead of publication in a few days (11th April). I was sent a copy of this in November and I am in equal measure annoyed that I didn’t start it earlier and overjoyed that I left it for my holiday. I am also really happy that I’ve found a new author as this book blew me away. Evoking the hedonism of Ibiza and the scents of the foliage of the island has been quite similar to my experience of reading this book poolside with the smell of jasmine wafting in the air. No hedonism for me although I lived vicariously through the crazy women in ‘Girl Friends’.

Scandinavian Charlotte Vinge is the wife of a wealthy banker living in affluent Wimbledon. She has a buzzing social life, a lifestyle blog as the original Keto Queen, a new programme about the wonders of a ketogenic lifestyle being streamed on StreamStar and two adoring children. Secretly, she also has a raging eating disorder and her marriage is far from the idyllic one she professes it to be.

Once a year, Charlotte and her fellow Scandi tribe of women descend on her Ibizan property for journaling, yoga and general indulgence. This year she invites the enigmatic fellow Scandinavian Bianka, the wife of her husband’s new CEO. Bianka is everything Charlotte admires - brave, bold and brimming with confidence. From the first time Charlotte lays eyes on Bianka, her platinum curls coiffed and proudly wearing a vermillion silk pantsuit, she knows that Bianka will provide some fun in Ibiza. Charlotte, and we the readers, are completely unprepared for just how much Bianka’s presence will shake up their Ibizan retreat.

I know I read a lot and hence recommend a lot but THIS IS EPIC! I am, at this early stage in the year, going to say that this will most probably be my favourite read of the year. I have loved every page. The plot is superb, the writing is so evocative of the setting and characterisation will live with me for some time. A definite five stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


#bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #book #booknerd #bookstagrammer #kindle #netgalley #alexdahl #alexdahlbooks #girlfriends #ibiza #headofzeus

Charlotte and her two female friends go to Ibiza every year, to get away from the every day stresses of work, family and running a home. When the effervescent Bianka, the wife of the head of the bank, is introduced to Charlotte at a party arranged by her nice but dull husband, there is a spark between them, which leads to Bianka being invited to the annual trip, with devastating and tragic results. All of this ties in with the story of Storm, the top young sportsman, who is trying to find out about his past.
I loved this book. As Charlotte got more and more out of her comfort zone, and completely out of her depth, the more engrossing the book became. A highly recommended read.

This was a decent enough story, played out by decent enough characters, but it did get a bit messy along the way.
We start with low-carb Queen Charlotte Vinge and lady-who-lunches Bianka Langeland who meet at a party, their husbands having just started working together. They appear to hit it off straight away and Bianka's fast and loose personality starts to have an effect on Charlotte's usually more staid one. Fast forward a wee bit and Charlotte invites Bianka to her usual "girls only" weekend in Ibiza, much to the chagrin of the two friends she usually goes with... And so begins a bit of an implausible, but fun, and much darker tale when things start to get out of hand...
But... as they say, what happens in Ibiza, stays in Ibiza... or can it ?
As I said, this was a decent enough story that mostly held my attention, although I did find myself rolling my eyes quite a bit throughout. I enjoyed the way that the chance meeting became a friendship became toxic and then developed into a rather raunchy relationship. And then all went completely south. But it all did take a wee while to really get going and then, after the middle part action, it all went a bit low again after the fact. Culminating in an ending that blew my mind for all the wrong reasons and left me somewhat lacking in satisfaction.
All that said, I am not about to write the author off for what was for me just the one miss, especially as I have read and enjoyed 5 of her other books. I'll still be looking out for what she serves up for next time. My thanks got to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Thank you net galley for this opportunity and providing me with an arc of girl friends. If I’m honest I have rated this book 3.5 stars however that should not dissuade you because it truly was a good read just was not for me. I found the first half of the book, which is world building, quite boring. I guess that’s because for me if I want a lot of world building I’d go into perhaps a fantasy not this. I just felt like the world was super fleshed out but then the characters weren’t as fleshed out? But I’ve seen people really enjoy this so perhaps it’s a me thing!

I found the characters funny at times and also engaging to read I just wish we had a little more from them!

Regardless I am excited to read the authors other works as I have heard nothing but fantastic reviews, I would also like to add girl friends would be a fantastic read by the pool in the summer! So may have to give it another go in the summer

Sorry this one just didn't do it for me, slow moving, disjointed and just a bit far fetched in places (don't even get me started on the ending).

Mt thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

3.5 ⭐️

This is one of those rare thrillers where I genuinely expected the story to go in a completely different direction to what actually happened, and I enjoyed the ending. The storyline was intriguing; it wasn’t what I was expecting it to be but I really liked it!

I did think that the book was too long and got a bit boring in the middle; the scenes in Ibiza especially dragged on and I lost interest there for a little while. However, this was still a very decent thriller ☺️

As soon as I read the premise for Girl Friends I was super keen to read it and it didn't disappoint. It has everything you could want in a thriller: it's tightly plotted and has multiple POVs which both help gallop the plot along, characters you absolutely do not route for, but intrigue you to keep turning the pages all the same, and twists you will not see coming. I also loved the chapters set in Oslo which were so beautifully descriptive that I felt I was right there with them. An addictive must-read. 4.5 stars rounded to 5.

The initial prequel scene in this book had me hooked, it made me want to dive straight in! Overall, I felt that this story was good but I did feel that it was slightly slow going with some moments of suspense but I would have loved more!

Thanks, NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had a lot higher expectations of this book. The idea and the story were interesting and quite impressive. However, it was hard to get into the story, however, the end was unexpected of course but I feel it was just ended to be ended, if it makes sense.

I would've loved to learn "the end" from the other characters' perspective, especially Storm since some chapters were from his perspective, but overall I feel like this book didn't give me what I needed.

Oooh this was so good! It was so gripping and full of twists and turns, can't wait to read more by the author!

I enjoyed this book very much, it was about obsessive friendship, that between Charlotte and Bianka.
When Charlotte invites Bianka on a girls trip with her friends, the plot unwinds with Charlotte realising that Bianka has a darker side to her personality.
This is an engaging page turner which i thoroughly enjoyed

Twists and turns aplenty in this gripping thriller. Just when you think you have it figured out, the author throws another Twist in the mix! A must read!!!

Girl Friends is a book that makes you want to read more. It's my first by Alex Dahl, but I will certainly look out for others by this author.

Charlotte is a Scandinavian keto queen, she has made herself a very successful woman promoting keto, along with her cookery books and cookware. Living in Wimbledon, she is surrounded by her Norwegian friends and lives a blissful life, cherished and adored by all around her. With the exception of her unfulfilled intimate life - her husband is just not interested in her. Bianka is a Norwegian beauty, new to Wimbledon (both husbands are employed by the same bank) and when she meets Charlotte, she wants her to be hers. She becomes obsessed with her and when they take a trip to Ibiza, there will be no going back.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a great storyline, intriguing and a real psychological thread running through, though I would have preferred an ending that felt a bit more credible and not so rushed. I would certainly recommend it.

What a great novel! The Spanish setting is wonderfully evoked as is the inner turmoil of the characters. The tension ramps up, slowly at first, then like a steam train. I'd not heard of Alex Dahl before but I sure have now!