This was a did not finish book for me I’m a afraid. Didn’t like the writing style of this book and I loathed the characters

The Fallout by Rebecca Thornton is relatable if you have ever joined a Parents Teacher Association at your child/ren's school. The book is interesting if you can keep up with the various Whatsapp conversations. While this is the current preferred method of communication, it can seem tedious to keep up with who said what and to whom. The story itself is engaging and the main characters all have secrets which they keep from each other. These secrets lead to unfounded assumptions and unhealthy gossips. Warning, once you start reading you will not want to put the book down until you get to the end.

Sadly I cant review the whole book as I only reached 57%.

I just could not connect with it at all, the characters are unlikeable, it's really slow going and I just found it a complete struggle.

The story lacked depth and the premise in my opinion was rather flimsy.

Sorry 🙄 1.5* from me

Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

Friendship put to the test when Sarah makes a mistake, causing life changing consequences for her friend Liza. The playground politics and the saying you never really know what goes on in a marriage are both portrayed in this book. The only downside for me was that there was an underlying theme indicating something sinister would be revealed but everything turns out fine in the end.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I hate leaving negative reviews but His was this first book I have read by this author, not sure if I would read another one. Carried on reading as don’t like to leave books unfinished.
Felt it dragged I a lot longer than needed and all the things you needed to know to understand the characters and there reactions you found out close to the end. Didn’t particularly enjoy the WhatsApp message groups throughout the book.

I think this will touch a never with a lot of new mums. The relationships that are forged at the school gates, the pressure you feel to keep up with everyone etc. Having said that, it was a little drawn out in places, and did waffle on a little bit. It was still an enjoyable read, but perhaps not really enough of a story line to keep it going as long as it did.

I really enjoyed this book. I found it a lot more dark and gritty than the draft cover suggests. Really intriguing, loved the complicated and delicate relationships between the characters. Great ending too!

I was really looking forward to this but unfortunately I really struggled to keep interested. I persevered and kept going, and the characters did have some substance to them, but it felt like it went in for a bit longer than it needed to

I struggled to get into this book, the female characters were not ones you'd like or care about and they also seemed to lack any depth. I also found it difficult following their wattsapp conversations, a bit confusing. It didn't draw you in from the start and wasn't the most original story line. Sorry I just didn't enjoy it.

I absolutely HATE leaving negative reviews but I just could not get on board with this book at all. I skim read the last 30% as I don’t like not finishing a book but it was a struggle. I found it really slow and hard to get into and I couldn’t stand any of the characters. I also felt the premise was a little flimsy and that Sarah went on ridiculous. I normally like this genre of book and was really looking forward to this but it just didn’t live up to expectations I’m afraid, sorry :-( Thanks to Netgalley, the author and HarperCollins for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hmm...I can’t say I didn’t enjoy this book, because it did keep me interested. However I can’t help but feel like it went on longer than it needed to. The characters I wanted to grab and shake some sense into them. It is well written and the playground politics aspect is spot on. I just felt it didn’t really go anywhere.
Thank you to Harper Collins & Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I seem to have read a lot of books lately about children people disappearing. I did not think that this was one of the better ones.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I loved the sound of The Fallout so was excited to read this. This follows Sarah who’s in the gym cafe with her stressed friend Liza. Sarah goes to fetch coffees and agrees to keep an eye on Jack, Liza’s son. Sarah notices Jack is perilously close to the edge of a climbing frame and she should warn him to come down but then she sees Ella, this stunning mummy who Sarah has always admired and desired to befriend and starts talking to her. The pair of them return to Liza when there’s a commotion...Jack has had an accident...Sarah was supposed to be keeping an eye on him. Should she tell her friend the truth or lie and risk their friendship?...
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I loved the Whatsapp messages sprinkled throughout the book and extracts from a newspaper where various witnesses are interviewed and reveal the strain and tension in this privileged parents gym. These made the book pacy and juicy. The rest of the book alternatives from Sarah’s and Liza’s POVS and their narratives had too much detail that could’ve been cut. I found their stories lacked suspense and I figured what secrets Liza was keeping. I personally felt their chapters could’ve been shorter and overall this could’ve been a tighter read. However I will keep my eyes out for the author’s future work. I did really like the toxic playground politics aspect of the novel. It’s 3/5 from me.

This book could have been a bit shorter. I found it quite waffly in places. I’m a mother myself but I’m very glad to report I’ve never been on a WhatsApp group like the ones in this book! I found them very exaggerated and didn’t feel they added a great deal to the story.

I liked Liza more than Sarah. She seemed a more rounded and well developed character. I enjoyed the premise- one small action can change a life. But overall I think it wasn’t well executed and it needs hefty editing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

I did enjoy but it did go on a little bit. Very stretched out. Relevant about playground mums and their WhatsApp groups. Worth a read.

I wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t put my finger on why I didn’t enjoy it. I’ve read the author’s other books but this one just wasn’t for me.

Couldn't get on with this book. Liked the first chapter but then quickly lost the thread of who was who and I found myself skipping through it, which I hate doing, especially so early on.

Having read the other reviews for The Fallout I’m a little concerned that I’ve somehow managed to download the wrong book. I wasn’t entertained at all reading this, I found the whatsapp chats annoying and I hated the mummy culture of the story. Maybe it’s because I’m young and childless? The Fallout wasn’t my cup of tea. I’d give this 2 out of 5.

** spoiler alert ** Whilst I think this booked stretched credibility a bit too much,and went on about what happened after Jack's birth (or rather didn't go on,as it was near the end before the full story came out), I thought it was a decent story of how we get trapped in small lies,and judge those around us.
I was particularly entertained by the group what's app messages,because we've all been added to one of them before.
Happy to recommend to others,if only so we can moan about the awful characters... via what's app of course.

Nobody is perfect...right, we all make mistakes. The important thing is that we admit we have made them,learn from our mistakes and try not to repeat them. The Fallout is a tale of human error,misconceptions,secrets,friendships,obsession,relationships,
guilt and loss. It's the story of Sarah's desperate attempts to stop her best friend Liza from.finding out the truth about an accident involving Lisa's four year old son Jack.

Best friends Sarah and Liza had been at the local community centre having a coffee and catching up on the gossip. When Sarah said that she was going to the cafe to get more drinks,Liza asked if she would check on Jack who was outside playing on the play equipment. Sarah agreed that she would but she got distracted by another parent who they hadn't seen for a long time and didn't check on Jack properly. When Jack has a serious accident,Sarah was scared that if she told Liza the truth,she would lose her best friend so when the other mother said that Sarah had checked on Jack,Sarah just went along with the lie.

One mistake,one accident and one lie that results in repercussions,speculation,gossip and rumours. And the predictable judgements by the cyber trolls who hide behind their screens and pass comment without knowing what they are talking about or caring how much upset their comments cause. The characters were all well rounded and realistic,the sort of people that we have all encountered at some point in our lives. The dreaded cliques of so called yummy mummies going on about their perfect little darlings who never did anything wrong. There was characters who were not who they appeared to be,characters I liked and characters I didn't like. I can't say that I liked Sarah very much for various reasons,I did like and empathise with Liza and felt so much sympathy for Sarah's husband Tom. Throughout the story,the author cleverly manipulates the reader into believing that a couple of characters are something that they are not.

The Fallout was one of those books that I really enjoyed reading but I can't honestly explain why. It just had something that kept pulling me back into the complex web that made up the characters lives. I wanted to know all their secrets and how it was going to end. A very enjoyable read and highly recommended to any readers who enjoy reading an excellent human drama.