Monday 20 June 2022

Review: The Girls by Bella Osborne

 Four old friends. Thrown back together after forty years apart. What could possibly go wrong?

In the 1970s, The Girls were best friends sharing a house and good times: Zara the famous diva actor, Val the uptight solicitor, Jackie the wild child and Pauline the quirky introvert. Now they're in their twilight years, and Zara suggests that they live with her to support each other through old age.

Initially, being housemates again is just as much fun as in their heyday. But then Zara reveals the real reason she asked them to move in with her, and suddenly things take a sinister turn.

As the women confront their demons they come under the spotlight of the press, the police and an angry parrot. With their lives spiralling out of control can they save their friendships and each other?


Review: Another great read where we get to read about people who are over 30 and have seen some life, I am so here for it! This new side of a Bella Osborne novel is just wonderful. I love the way she explores some of the darker elements of life, those moments that we go through but not everyone talks about, and weaves them into her novels in an uplifting way!

The Girls is a group of four women who have known each other for forever but have fallen out of touch in recent years. When they come together for Zara’s big birthday party, against their better judgement, they reconnect and this is the jumping off point of the book. Zara is a classic diva, I can just imagine her as one of these old hollywood stars that they’ve made an E True Hollywood Story about. Jackie annoyed me to begin with, she really grated on me but she definitely grew on me over time. I think I related most to Val, trying to be the voice of reason and get everyone organised. I felt for her throughout the book since she seemed to be the only person to truly be able to look at things logically, despite her own struggles, And then we have Pauline who is the voice of anxiety and panic to Val’s voice of reason.

I loved the premise of the book, the fact that these four women will be once again sharing a house together just like they did in their wild and free days. I loved the location of the house and even the reasons behind Zara asking them to all come together for her. I really enjoyed the way they bumped up against each other and the way their personalities clashed and yet got along at the same time. This aspect of the book I found really interesting. When we started going down the road of a murder mystery type of genre and a bit of a ‘who said that?’ and “where were they when this happened?’ type of affair I didn’t find myself enjoying it quite as much.

I really loved the way that Bella Osborne explored this side of adult friendship, the way she showed this kind of reconnecting that doesn’t always go smoothly. I also loved the way the women in this book all have fully formed lives and personalities just like they would in real life. Often in fiction, just because someone is progressing in years, they have their personality taken away from them. This is certainly not the case here. These women have thoughts and feelings and can totally handle themselves as well as being able to support each other. There are 2 animals in the book for some added comedy too so you’ve got that to look forward to. I listened to this book and it was well-narrated. I definitely recommend giving Bella Osborne a try!

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

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