The Friends We Keep by Jane Green Publisher: Berkley Books
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Genres: Women's Fiction
Pages: 384
Add It:Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Goodreads Books Read 2019
Purchase: Amazon|Audible
Publication Date: June 4, 2019
The Friends We Keep is the heartwarming and unforgettable new novel from Jane Green, New York Times bestselling author of The Sunshine Sisters and The Beach House.
Evvie, Maggie, and Topher have known one another since college. Their friendship was something they swore would last forever. Now years have passed, the friends have drifted apart, and they never found the lives they wanted--the lives they dreamed of when they were young and everything seemed possible.
Evvie starved herself to become a supermodel but derailed her career by sleeping with a married man.
Maggie married Ben, the boy she fell in love with in college, never imagining the heartbreak his drinking would cause.
Topher became a successful actor, but the shame of a childhood secret shut him off from real intimacy.
By their thirtieth reunion, these old friends have lost touch with one another and with the people they dreamed of becoming. Together again, they have a second chance at happiness . . . until a dark secret is revealed that changes everything.
The Friends We Keep is about how despite disappointments we've had or mistakes we've made, it's never too late to find a place to call home.
My Review Of
The Friends We Keep
We meet Ben in the first chapter of this book, he is battling his demons when he receives a life changing text.
In the following chapters we go back in time to when Evvie, Maggie, and Topher became fast friends in college, forming a pact and a bond that they swore was never going to break.
Of course life happens, friends keep secrets form each other and Evvie, Maggie, and Topher do drift apart but manage to keep in touch over the years now and again.
These 3 characters were easy for me to relate to and I quickly immersed myself in their worlds. To me Evvie was the character that I bonded with the most. Evvie was a successful model until an unhappy marriage and weight gain
threw her modeling career off track. Having always struggling with that image of a perfect body/weight myself I could relate to Evvie’s feelings about her body and self worth that was tied into how thin she was and how that impacted her self esteem.
When the all decide to meet again at a college reunion they bond like never before.
This is when things get interesting and a shocking secret is revealed. Each of these characters have their own secrets and demons that they have had to battle with through the years. Jane Green does an awesome job of telling their stories separately then seamlessly weaving it all together.
This book is the perfect summer read.
About Jane Green
She is published in over 25 languages, and has over ten million books in print worldwide.
She has been part of the ABC News team, has had her own radio show on BBC Radio London, and has made regular appearances on TV and radio.
She contributes to a number of newspapers and magazines, and has a weekly column in The Lady magazine, England’s longest running weekly magazine.
A graduate of the International Culinary Institute in New York, Green is an avid cook, amateur decorator, and passionate gardener. She is also a regular storyteller for The Moth.
A resident of Westport, Connecticut, she lives there with her husband, a small menagerie of animals, and (too) many children.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
I’m kind of interested in those secrets they have hidden. I’m glad this was a good summer read for you 🙂
Genesis @ Whispering Chapters recently posted…Top Fave of 2019: Marriage for One by Ella Maise
I used to be a hard core Jane Green fan and inhaled everything she wrote (back in the early 2000’s). Then there were 3-4 books in a row that were just really disappointing and I pretty much gave up on her. I do like the sound of this one, though. Maybe it’s time to give her another try. I enjoyed your review!
Tanya @ Girl Plus Books recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books From My Favorite Genre (Contemporary Romance)
I have enjoyed some of Jane’s other books and now this one is on my list too thanks to you Cynthia 🙂
I love Jane’s books, and really enjoy how much you seemed to have bonded with the characters. I think I’d relate to Evvie too, as I have similar issues. Adding to by TBR immediately.
Trish @ Between My Lines recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday : Books From My Favourite Genres
Secrets seem to be a big theme in summer reading don’t they?? lol
This sounds like a great book.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
Karen E Alderman recently posted…Whatever Wednesday
This sounds like a good story. I’ve drifted apart from my high school and college friends too, which is easy to do. I’m intrigued by what secrets they’re hiding from one another, and how the reunion will go. A story is always so much better when you can relate and connect to one of the characters! Great Review Cynthia!