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ambularf's review
5.0
I am a sucker for Jane Green...she is one of my all-time favorites. I loved the timeline and progression. She does such an amazing job of detailing the smallest things about England, making it sound so picturesque and beautiful.
I loved the dynamic of the 3 characters. There was never any sort of favoritism or seemingly more closeness between two particular characters. It was easy to love, feel for, and be happy for all of them. I only hope to one day have the same result with my friends!
I loved the dynamic of the 3 characters. There was never any sort of favoritism or seemingly more closeness between two particular characters. It was easy to love, feel for, and be happy for all of them. I only hope to one day have the same result with my friends!
thephdivabooks's review
5.0
Friendship, forgiveness, and finding your way in life.
The Friends We Keep follows three best friends across several decades, as they drift apart and come back together. The power of true friendships is that they can survive anything, even when they lose their way. This book made its way into my heart, and I won’t soon forget.
The way Jane Green writes makes you feel like the characters are your friends and loved ones. My heart broke with theirs when they lost their way. My heart swelled when their friendships lasted through all of the ups and downs. What a credit to the way Green writes—she makes readers feel that this story is special for them.
And the things the characters go through—I’ll say that I think most of us will have experienced at least one theme themselves. I did this as a buddy read with Berit and we discussed how we connected personally with these characters. How would we react in their spot? It was such a great friendship-building moment for Berit and I, and I think this is perfect to read with a book buddy or book club!
The story spans decades, and that is also one of the things that makes this unputdownable. Beginning at university the three friends meet. Evvie is lonely—a famous, beautiful actress but without friends. Her cat-loving, uptight roommate just isn’t a fit for her. When she meets vibrant and fun-loving Maggie the same day, they quickly swap rooms and find themselves to be instant best friends. Soon after, they meet Topher, a seemingly asexual male who shies away from physical touch, but is a truly outstanding friend.
As the friends grow up through university, I connected with them so much. Their whole lives are ahead of them, and it's hard for them to imagine life ever not being them living with their best friends. And then they transition to adulthood. Each on their own path, we see their lives unfold. They find love. They get their hearts broken. They lose touch. And eventually, they find each other again.
And when they come together, they struggle to tell one another the truth. Everything was not perfect.. Sometimes I do think we have the hardest time being honest with those we love the most., and Jane Green really plays with that theme here. `
My heart is so connected to these characters. I miss them, but I also felt that their stories are so satisfying. I want more but I also don’t feel like I missed anything. Truly a beautiful book, and I’m excited to share it!
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.
The Friends We Keep follows three best friends across several decades, as they drift apart and come back together. The power of true friendships is that they can survive anything, even when they lose their way. This book made its way into my heart, and I won’t soon forget.
The way Jane Green writes makes you feel like the characters are your friends and loved ones. My heart broke with theirs when they lost their way. My heart swelled when their friendships lasted through all of the ups and downs. What a credit to the way Green writes—she makes readers feel that this story is special for them.
And the things the characters go through—I’ll say that I think most of us will have experienced at least one theme themselves. I did this as a buddy read with Berit and we discussed how we connected personally with these characters. How would we react in their spot? It was such a great friendship-building moment for Berit and I, and I think this is perfect to read with a book buddy or book club!
The story spans decades, and that is also one of the things that makes this unputdownable. Beginning at university the three friends meet. Evvie is lonely—a famous, beautiful actress but without friends. Her cat-loving, uptight roommate just isn’t a fit for her. When she meets vibrant and fun-loving Maggie the same day, they quickly swap rooms and find themselves to be instant best friends. Soon after, they meet Topher, a seemingly asexual male who shies away from physical touch, but is a truly outstanding friend.
As the friends grow up through university, I connected with them so much. Their whole lives are ahead of them, and it's hard for them to imagine life ever not being them living with their best friends. And then they transition to adulthood. Each on their own path, we see their lives unfold. They find love. They get their hearts broken. They lose touch. And eventually, they find each other again.
And when they come together, they struggle to tell one another the truth. Everything was not perfect.. Sometimes I do think we have the hardest time being honest with those we love the most., and Jane Green really plays with that theme here. `
My heart is so connected to these characters. I miss them, but I also felt that their stories are so satisfying. I want more but I also don’t feel like I missed anything. Truly a beautiful book, and I’m excited to share it!
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.
mbkarapcik's review
4.0
Evvie, Maggie, and Topher meet up at their 30th college reunion and catch up with each other’s lives even though they vowed to stay in touch.
I have read most of Jane Green’s catalog of books. Some I loved, some I merely liked. I enjoyed this one a lot because it seems like she went back to her roots with an ensemble cast of characters. I like the diversity of the characters and their storylines, some of which took some slight turns. Some predictability here and there, but it didn’t detract from the plot. If you treasure your college friendships as much as I do and want to witness the life-changing moments and surprising secrets that arise among good friends, you will enjoy her latest.
It’s not taxing on the brain and works as an entertaining novel to pop in your beach bag or tote bag while sunning yourself during breaks at your child’s summer swim meet or lacrosse, soccer, or baseball tournament. Or while sitting at basketball, wrestling, and dance practice.
I have read most of Jane Green’s catalog of books. Some I loved, some I merely liked. I enjoyed this one a lot because it seems like she went back to her roots with an ensemble cast of characters. I like the diversity of the characters and their storylines, some of which took some slight turns. Some predictability here and there, but it didn’t detract from the plot. If you treasure your college friendships as much as I do and want to witness the life-changing moments and surprising secrets that arise among good friends, you will enjoy her latest.
It’s not taxing on the brain and works as an entertaining novel to pop in your beach bag or tote bag while sunning yourself during breaks at your child’s summer swim meet or lacrosse, soccer, or baseball tournament. Or while sitting at basketball, wrestling, and dance practice.
pilesoflaundry113's review
1.0
If I could give it zero I would. Awful, slow, boring. Why on earth does Maggie marry Ben?? Why does anyone want Evil Ben and just utter garbage. Evvie is a jerk of a friend. I did not finish this.
shannonw19's review
4.0
Maggie, Evvie, and Topher meet at the beginning of college in England. Maggie and Evvie are roommates and they all end up living together in a house. When they graduate, Evvie goes on to become a supermodel, Topher becomes a soap opera star, and Maggie works in PR until she runs into Evil Ben-the bartender at a bar Evvie worked at and the man of Maggie's dreams. As it turns out none of their lives are idyllic. They the drift apart only to drift together again. One finds out about the betrayal of another, and things go south.
This is the basic plot of The Friends We Keep by Jane Green. This was my first Jane Green book and it won't be my last. While the story was somewhat slow moving in places, I found it be to be a good story about friendship, aging, and love. The characters are fully developed and well-written. The story starts in 1992 and end up in the present day. One thing I truly loved about this book is the time jump was straight forward. There's no fooling with the timeline like so many books. It's not a gimmick. I appreciated that. The characters are all about my age so I identified with the trials they have - live aging parents, mid-life weight-gain, losing someone close.
I'm not sure how to classify this book, but I think it falls into contemporary fiction. It would be a good pick for a book club because I think there are several things that would make a good discussion. I recommend this book.
I won this book from Goodreads and received no compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
This is the basic plot of The Friends We Keep by Jane Green. This was my first Jane Green book and it won't be my last. While the story was somewhat slow moving in places, I found it be to be a good story about friendship, aging, and love. The characters are fully developed and well-written. The story starts in 1992 and end up in the present day. One thing I truly loved about this book is the time jump was straight forward. There's no fooling with the timeline like so many books. It's not a gimmick. I appreciated that. The characters are all about my age so I identified with the trials they have - live aging parents, mid-life weight-gain, losing someone close.
I'm not sure how to classify this book, but I think it falls into contemporary fiction. It would be a good pick for a book club because I think there are several things that would make a good discussion. I recommend this book.
I won this book from Goodreads and received no compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
mschrock8's review against another edition
4.0
"It sounded like a rugby song, something about how they used to work in an old department store in Chicago." A family favorite.
bookgirlsolutions's review
3.0
Usually a bigger fan of Jane Green , but I find sometimes authors are now trying too hard to put "token" characters in. It also may be that I HATED the main character Evvie; however, I finished it in one weekend so there must have been something to it. Also, to elicit such a strong feeling about a character something must have hit.
lovesresqdogs's review
5.0
Loved it! Great story throughout the years. Jane Green is one of my favourite authors and she did not disappoint. Set in New York and the UK, I love books that have settings in the UK as it reminds me of my travels. Highly recommend this book!
beastreader's review against another edition
4.0
Out of the three friends, Evvie, Maggie, and Topher; my favorite was Topher with Evvie and Maggie coming in a close second together.
Topher's story kind of snuck up on me as to how sweet and sad it was at the same time. Therefore, I was really cheering for him to find his happy ending. Plus, I like how his character was portrayed in this book. He was not in my face. He is like the best guy friend that a woman would want to have around.
Of the three friends, Evvie and Maggie's stories were connected together. Evvie's secret is what drove a wedge between the two and also shaped their lives in the present. However, it was not all doom and gloom. There was a happy ending for both women as well.
Fans of Jane Green or other contemporary women's books will enjoy reading this book and getting to know Evvie, Topher, and Maggie as I did. So grab a blanket, your sunglasses, and find a perfect reading spot as you read The Friends We Keep.
Topher's story kind of snuck up on me as to how sweet and sad it was at the same time. Therefore, I was really cheering for him to find his happy ending. Plus, I like how his character was portrayed in this book. He was not in my face. He is like the best guy friend that a woman would want to have around.
Of the three friends, Evvie and Maggie's stories were connected together. Evvie's secret is what drove a wedge between the two and also shaped their lives in the present. However, it was not all doom and gloom. There was a happy ending for both women as well.
Fans of Jane Green or other contemporary women's books will enjoy reading this book and getting to know Evvie, Topher, and Maggie as I did. So grab a blanket, your sunglasses, and find a perfect reading spot as you read The Friends We Keep.