The New Girl was a pleasant read with a touch of intrigue and thrill. A new mum, paranoid that she's being replaced in all aspects of her old life, has to deal with old and new friendships and an age-old horror she's never properly reconciled. Margot and Maggie are both immediately likeable in different ways, and I found myself rooting for them both at various points throughout the story. It was a quick read - blown through on a sunny bank holiday morning - and the story wasn't bogged down by loads of extraneous detail. Some of the sentences were clunky and required re-reading, but it was generally a good read. Though not what I'd ordinarily read, I did enjoy the book and would be intrigued to read another Harriet Walker soon.

Margot Jones is looking forward to welcoming her first child, even though it means leaving her role as fashion editor at a glossy magazine. She’s clearly got it all: happy marriage, great job that many would kill for, friends and now, a replacement who is very keen to keep up Margot’s good work. But when freelancer Maggie gets the maternity cover job, not everyone is as thrilled at her appointment. Maggie is good, great even, and different from Margot. But what will happen when Margot is ready to come back to work… and Maggie isn’t? If you watched The Replacement on television, you’ll love this. It’s been described as The Devil Meets Prada meets Gone Girl and that’s pretty accurate.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thought provoking and gripping thriller that had me reading way too late at night, Margot seems to have it all. A prestigious, high-profile career at a fashion magazine, a lovely thoughtful husband, incredible style and a loyal best friend that she has known since school. She has to hire maternity cover for the impending birth of her first child. She champions Maggie, a freelancer. But now she has had the baby and everything is crashing. She feels threatened by Maggie who has blossomed into the role and appears to be intruding into her private life as well. Her best friend whose baby was still born is now ghosting her and finally, she is struggling with her own identity as she loses herself to motherhood.

The characters are flawed and believable. Everyone has potential for good and bad. And I loved how the author explored the impact of motherhood on professional women and the confused identity that accompanies this, The story unfolds at the perfect pace, and the glamorous world of fashion is magnetising. Mostly I love the complicated relationships that exist between women, the balance of support and competition. Couldn't put it down.

Imagine mixing The Devil Wears Prada and Gossip Girl, just with a bit more maturity. This what this book reminds me of, on the surface.

But this book is so much more. MUCH MORE.

The author has done a brilliant job portraying emotions; grief, joy, jealousy and despair. All so well written, making you feel everything as you read the words.

I must say, I was expecting a completely different ending and was positively surprised when I read the last few pages. So simple, yet very satisfying ending.

In overall, definitely one of the best reads this year.

Margot is a fashion editor and is about to go on maternity leave. She helps her own editor find a replacement for her while she's away. Margot knows of another freelance journalist who she thinks would be perfect for it, while not presenting a threat. How will she cope with knowing that Maggie is working in her ofice, with her colleagues - possibly doing a better job than her?
Maggie is ecstatic to be offered the maternity position - she has been living article to article and this will give her some much needed stability. She's really excited to get stuck in and work hard - who knows where this will lead. The thing is - will she be able to give the job back so happily at the end?
I was expecting more of a thriller in this book, and although I enjoyed the story, it isn't the one I thought I was going to read.

I was unable to read this book so can not give an opinion. It did sound good, but I will never know

Margot Jones has a dream job as a writer for fashion magazine Haute. She’s expecting her first child as is her friend from school Winnie Clough though tragically her baby boy dies shortly after birth with terrible repercussions on their friendship. Maggie Beeches is Margot’s maternity cover and the story is told from the perspective of the three women.

The book is divided into three parts, the first is definitely a slow burner but by part 2 the pace ramps up and by the third it builds and builds and then socks you a great big wallop between the eyes. This is a very well written novel and conveys the rawness of the stultifying grief of the loss of a much wanted child and shows how this overshadows lives which contrasts well with Margot’s overwhelming love and joy when her baby Lila is born. The first half is tantalising as it’s clear that there’s something dark in Winnie and Margot’s past friendship and it also shows Margot’s deepening anxiety and insecurity which is fuelled by Maggie’s success in her cover role and by some unsavoury cyber bullying directed at her. Margot’s fears as a first time mother, all the stress due to lack of sleep which contrasts vividly with the high old time that Maggie is having at Haute which stokes jealousy and anger. In the second part which features Winnie, you come to understand Margot better and appreciate where her deep seated insecurity lies following new girl starting at their school. Helen becomes a manipulative cuckoo in their friendship nest and what unfolds between them is cruel and humiliating for Margot. This section is very pacy and quite dark. The finale is fantastic as everything that you can see escalating comes to a very surprising head and oh boy, is there ever tension, you can almost touch it! The conclusion is good as tragedy leads to reconciliation and a moving forward and I like that positivity.

Overall, I enjoyed this one, it’s definitely slow at the start but as you get deeper into the storyline that all makes sense and you understand the reasons why and it provides a good counterpoint to later plot development.
Ps. I really like the fashion elements. Who wouldn’t love some designer goodies? I’ll have a Chanel jacket (UK 8), a Prada handbag and some Manolos size 5 please. Thanks. 😁

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the ARC.

The New Girl follows the story of Margot Jones and Maggie Beecher. Margot is the fashion editor of Haute & is due to have a baby. She throws a lifeline to Maggie - a freelancer - for her to be the maternity cover. Once Margot is gone & baby has arrived, she starts to wondering if Maggie is wanting to keep the glamorous new life she has.

It really saddens me to say this, but I wasn't a big fan of this book. I thought it was ok, but I just felt like I was pushing myself through it just to finish. My biggest issue is that I struggled to like either main character. Both Margot & Maggie seemed very childish about a lot of things & I just struggled to see them as anything other than slightly spoilt teenagers.

The story does focus on many different topics - from teenage friendships, to jealously & loss - and I do think that the author did really well with writing about them - especially the concept of loss.

The writing style itself was pretty good, but I did feel that it seemed to drag on a little, but that was probably more my ambition to finish rather than the actual story - though it definitely seemed to slowly build then everything happened in the last few pages.

Overall, I think the book is a solid ok & I would definitely suggest if you're interested, then give it a read!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Release Date: 09/07/2020

I really enjoyed this book and it's a high four stars from me. Some of the many positives:

– The writing is excellent.

– The book is described as 'keenly observed', and it's true. The world of fashion, and fashion magazines, is brought vividly to life. It also captures the complicated relationships between women, their loyalty and insecurity, and how social media can amplify those things. And it describes perfectly the terrible grief of losing a baby.

– I liked all the main female characters, and sympathised with them all, which made a change from some of the books I've read recently. It kept me turning the pages, wanting the best for all of them but fearing the worst.

My main negative was that although I loved maybe 80% of the book, the ending was weak. It felt like the author wasn't really sure how to end it, so in the end the resolution made the more 'psychological thriller' aspects of the book feel a bit tacked on. Maybe it would have been better without them.

Overall, though, a good read and I will look out for more from this author.

I enjoyed the concept of this book and found it well written. Harriet is a journalist and knows her subject. It was a page turning read and I really enjoyed it until the end. The ending is a bit of a let down and doesn’t build on the tension built through the rest of the book. The last few pages are really rather trite, shame as it had lots of promise. Looking forward to her next book, she will be one to watch.

I wasn’t sure where the New Girl was going. It’s silly but at times the names being similar Margot & Maggie meant I had to really concentrate on who was who and it took the fun out of the story for me. Once I got over this, I was a little more enamoured with the story but I have to admit I didnt care enough about the characters by then. It’s a shame as when the story got to the climax I began then to care but by then it was too late.

Hmmm... Liked this book at first. The writing is decent and I liked the fashion details but I have some issues with it.

Namely, it's TOTALLY unrealistic that a freelancer described as getting a few commissions a month for 'pennies' would be placed in an editor's role for maternity cover. I get that as a reader, you suspend belief a bit, but this was just too unrealistic and frustrated me.

Also, the privilege of the author was palpable in the book - it was SOOOOOO obvious she went to a private school - the typical concerns of private school girls (status, competitiveness, weight, catty friendships, etc) scream off every page of the book. I'm tired of reading pseudo-edgy lame wannabe thrillers by people who have led unbelievable privileged and sheltered lives. They shoehorn a scandal into the book but it's always tinny and fake as these people have no direct experience of struggle, crime or trauma.

And don't even get me started on the MASSIVE info dump in the middle of the book.

Widen the doors of access to publishing and maybe we'll start to get some genuinely interesting stories.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book. I have been sent a copy of this book for review purposes. This has not influenced or affected my opinions in this review.

The New Girl is an absolutely amazing novel. I was hooked from beginning to end. Walker’s writing style is completely and utterly beautiful. There were moments throughout this book when I held my breath; the tension and suspense was at an incredible level. There is so much unspoken tension too. If you’re a fan of thrillers and crime, you will enjoy this book!

*4 stars*

I was slightly unsure about reading this to be honest, I LOVE ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, which this has been favourably compared with but the whole fashion scene isn’t really my thing any more…must be getting old!

This wasn’t quite what I was expecting though, and in my opinion wasn’t at all like Devil wears Prada either. This was a psychological thriller about two main protagonists, Margo and Maggie, at first their similar names were annoying, but I soon forgot all about that. Their inner thoughts were great to read and very real to life for a lot of people, anxieties about how others perceive us and what people really mean, did they mean what they said or is there an ulterior motive, are they better at my own job than I am etc.

Margot is good at her job, beautiful, slim and successful but Maggie no doubt needs a hand up and Margot is there to help but it doesn’t all quite work out as she had expected. Then there is Winnie, Margot’s best friend until her son, Jack, is very sadly stillborn and the relationship takes a dive. This looks at the friendships, motherhood and loss and how these things change people but more compellingly it really draws you in to feel anxious with the characters and you feel yourself changing sides and asking yourself questions, which one is in the wrong or are none of them and they just have different opinions or have made different choices.

This focuses on a lot of the emotional toil that is felt during pregnancy, motherhood, loss and friendships, with some complex issues thrown in as well, an entertaining and easy read that will have you hooked right til the end.

Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#TheNewGirl #NetGalley

I know this book has been favourably compared with 'The Devil Wears Prada', but really, it is far better than that! Sure, the backdrop of a glossy fashion magazine makes the comparison somewhat inevitable, but there are nuances in 'The New Girl' that is lacking from 'Prada;. Walker displays a more sophisticated understanding of gendered relationships, and the often tangled, contradictory relations between women that either play to the stereotypes of a sisterhood, or, ambitious women as implacable enemies. The internal monologues of Margot and Maggie - the main protagonists in this book, often speak of the unspoken tensions between these two ideals. A desire on behalf of some women to lift one another up, but which ultimately ends with betrayal. Walker's narrative very much plays into the theme of betrayal emerging from the best of intentions. It is why the glossy, beautiful Margot favoured the appointment of the distinctly unpolished Maggie as her maternity leave stand-in, after all. Though Maggie is talented, and undoubtedly deserves a leg-up in her career, she is no competition for the accomplished Margot. Or, is she? Well, the short answer is yes, and it is not long before this relationship, or, the imagined relationship, gleaned from an insecure psyche, spill into something approaching toxic. But there is far more to this multi-faceted, sophisticated thriller than the dynamics of the relationship between Margot and Maggie. There is Winnie, Margot's best friend, who cuts the ties of friendship in the most brutal fashion after her son, Jack, is stillborn. Then there is the fallout between the two women when they were schoolgirls, involving someone called Helen. But what? Well, to say anymore would be to spoil what is a stunning thriller. Indeed, Walker takes a cacophony of disparate narratorial threads and weaves them into something approaching literary magic. With its pitch-perfect pacing, that begins with the superficial levity of a glossy fashion magazine, and descends into impenetrable darkness, Harriet Walker has undoubtedly written one of the most memorable thrillers I have ever read. This novel is surely destined for the top of the bestseller charts and a smash-hit of 2020.

The book was as I expected entertaining and easy to read. It is about how no one's life is as perfect and that everyone has lots of insecurities. I liked the glamour and enjoyed the fashion references. The author takes a lot of creative licenses on how a magazine works, and the ending was too bizarre and the twist forced, but nonetheless highly amusing. I also find the main characters husband pretty useless when it comes to parental duties, but I guess there won't be a story if he would have been more efficient and present! If you are pregnant or a new mother maybe stay away from this book for a bit.

Many thanks to the publishers for this arc. The New Girl is a brilliant debut that mashes together The Devil Wears Prada and Single White Female in a taut, tense psychological thriller about the pressures on women to have it all and the hardship of being a new mother.
This follows two main narrators:-
- Margot is an editor at Haute magazine. She's going on maternity leave and selects a freelance writer she met on a trip called Maggie to be her replacement. But can she trust Maggie? And what if Maggie decides she doesn't want to leave?...Margot finds herself becoming consumed by jealousy, stalking Maggie's on-line movements and paranoia that someone is stalking her. Also why isn't her friend, Winnie, returning her calls?...Winnie's baby has been born stillborn, is it because she can't stand Margot's healthy baby or is there something else going?...A dark secret that goes back to their adolescence...
- Maggie is a freelance writer living in a cramped flat in Camden. She's been given an amazing job at Haute magazine covering for Margot. Now that Maggie has seen the glamour and the perks of working at Haute she doesn't want to leave, but how far is she willing to go to keep this job?...
This was a tense read. I could not put this down! I gulped this down in one day. My favourite thing about this book was the characters and how both Margot and Maggie envy each other, thinking the grass is greener on the other side, and all the office politics. The setting of this book is vividly drawn with amazing attention to detail. The ending was a revelation: I did NOT see it coming, and it ties everything together nicely. My only question was about the backstory regarding Margot, Winnie and Helen, which could've been stronger, as I didn't think the incident was Margot's fault and didn't understand why Winnie lorded it over Margot to make her feel guilty and felt that aspect of the story could've been better handled. However that aside, I raced through this toxic read about female rivalry in the workplace and new motherhood. I'm going to rate this book 4.5 out of 5.

'She's borrowed your life. What if she decides to keep it?'
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The New Girl has been described as Devil wears Prada meets Gone Girl and I think that's quite spot on. In parts it's giving you an insight into the world of working at a fashion magazine and the next it's got you tense and jaw dropping with shock. I couldn't put it down and finished it one lockdown day!
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Its available to pre-order now as published at the start of July.
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Thanks @hodderbooks for the early copy via @netgalley.

This was an excellent and thrilling novel that I simply could not put down. The characters were as badly behaved as expected, and was a big part of the charm of this book. Fun to read!

I absolutely loved this book! I was drawn in from the very beginning. I could not put it down!
So many twists and so many emotions!
Loved that it was in 3 parts and told from different points of view.
Really does deserve the 5 star rating! Can’t wait to see what the author writes next.