Cover Image: No, We Can't Be Friends

No, We Can't Be Friends

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Member Reviews

The biggest problem with this book is the expectation that the reader has when it is billed as hilarious and laugh out loud. There are a few funny moments, but the subject matter is very heavy. Alcoholism, miscarriage, cheating.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

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Too much baby talk at start for me to cope with. I couldn’t read any further unfortunately and couldn’t enjoy it.

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No, We Can’t Be Friends was a great, easy to read book to escape into for a few hours. Read in one sitting as I could not put it down. This is a great book if your looking for an escape from the real world for a few hours.

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The story is about Sloane who is always "The Single One" in all functions who one day meets Myles who is apparently "perfect" & she falls in love but Myles idea of happily ever after is Sloane doing all the work for him from his laundry, sending birthday cards to his family & to ironing his underpants as well. But all her dreams are over when she comes to know that Myles is cheating.
The story looked promising from the blurb & the cover says "The best revenge is moving on" so I was expecting a fierce heroine who bravely overcomes all this & teaches the guy a good lesson but unfortunately this was nothing like that. It was a disappointing read for me. It took me a long time to read & finish this book but I hate to DNF books so I still read on. I don't like it when characters like Sloane keep finding excuses for the opp. person's infidelity & take all the blame on themselves. I was still hoping halfway through that this will change & she will take a stand for herself but that happened only in the last 10/15% of the book & it was too little too late by then. There was very little to no character development. N where was the Revenge that was promised? Also this was supposed to be a Rom-com. Sorry but I couldn't find anything romantic or funny in it. 🤷‍♀

Disclaimer: Thanking Netgalley & the publishers for providing me with an eARC copy of the book in exchange of an honest review. The thoughts expressed in the review are therefore completely my own.✌

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Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

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Sophie Ranald is a new to me author. No longer! I will be reading all her previous novels. I loved that the main character, Sloane Cassidy (how cool is that name?) is in her mid-thirties, balances work & home life (even though she is mainly doing ALL the home life stuff), and now wants to have a baby. I loved that she was so relatable. I liked all the characters (except for Myles; he was a jerk!). I really liked that Sloane (like us) wasn't perfect; she had a lot of baggage that she was carrying around. And, I loved the ending. This novel made me laugh, made me mad (on Sloane's behalf), and made me tear up in spots. As others have said, if you are a fan of Sophie Kinsella, you will love this author. Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

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I received No, We Can't Be Friends by Sophie Ranald as an ARC from NetGalley. This was your typical British chick-lit book. It was entertaining and I'd like to read more by Sophie Ranald. Sloane thought she had a happy marriage with Myles and is ready to start a family. Then she discovers that Myles has been cheating on her. I liked that Sloane stood up for herself and told Myles that no they couldn't be friends! I'd like to read more about Sloane and the new man in her life.

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I received a free copy for an honest review.

It was an "okay" reading since I was expecting a story waaaay different than that. But I liked the writer's style and I think I'd luke to read her future books.

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No, We Can't Be Friends is a book that is more than readers might expect it to be in the best way possible.

Protagonist Sloane seems like she has it all, but her marriage to Myles isn't quite what she hoped it would be. It's a book about realizing her worth and what she deserves in her life and in a relationship.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

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No We Can’t Be Friends by Sophie Ranald

Brief Summary: Sophie is married to Myles. We all know someone like Sloane, who is in a relationship with someone who treats someone we love less than they deserve. For Sloane, its handle all the laundry and the greeting cards; but this is only the beginning. Then Sloane finds out that all is not what it seems with her marriage. This is the story of her personal journey. This is my first book by Sophie Ranald, but now I will likely go back and read her backlist.

Highlights: I love that Sloane came to the simple, huge, and incredibly difficult conclusion that she had been treated badly. I can not understate how hard this is for people to do; as I have seen both friends and therapy clients struggle with this. For many people, it seems to be easier to play into denial, make excuses, or subscribe to inaccurate cultural norms about marriage or commitment. Then not only does she realize this, she acts on it in a way that is positive for her. She deals with ambiguous loss and I didn’t expect her to get closure, as guys like Myles seldom apologize. I also wish that every wronged woman could experience her coffee shop scene.

Point blank: Sloane is an awesome protagonist, who struggles and triumphs.

Explanation of Rating: 4/5, The pace waxes and wanes, but overall I loved this story and the lessons it offers.

This is the book to give the loved one dating someone you don’t like or who is treated badly and refuses to see it like that.

Thank you to Net Galley and Bookouture for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

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It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

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Sophie Ranald is quickly becoming a "go-to" author for me, She reminds me a lot of Sophie Kinsella; her characters are quick witted and self sabotaging but hilariously well written. Sophie's characters are characters that you want to root for and can easily find something in common with regardless of what is happening to them.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

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Although this book is a good and fairly fast read, it tackles a lot of real emotional life situations including cheating spouses, “those” kind of friends and demanding jobs. I was very impressed how the book has a lot happening yet the author did a great job with the characters and plot development. At first, the story dragged a bit and I wanted to get on with it but I think all the background information was mostly necessary to build the storylines. I loved all the characters even the secondary ones and I’d be keen to read more from the author.

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In No, We Can't be friends there was too much Sloane and Myles and their marriage and not enough of a new romance with Edward. I am not too keen on reading about a philandering husband, unless he is chucked at the beginning.

I liked the writing style, I'd definitely check out a different book from this author. This plot just didn't allow for much comedy.

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Ranald’s new novel is a fun and satisfying read that shows a strong woman who is not afraid to take a real look at herself and beating life against all odds. This is a fun novel that ticks all the boxes.

The book starts out with what appears to be the perfect couple with the perfect life. We have Sloane, an American in the UK and Myles – what appears to be the perfect husband until Sloane wises up to what is really going on. The book outlines Sloanes life and the flashes back to the perfect whirlwind romance between Myles and Sloane which help truly flush out the story. Of course, things are not what they seem and we have a woman on the brink who will take the world by storm as she comes into her own.

The characters are very strong and even the secondary characters are well written. The main character is a testament on how to write a strong woman who can own her own life without qualifying who she is by her relationship. This is refreshing as we do not often get a strong female character that is able to own her mistakes and take back what is hers. I also like that we have a woman who never once lowers her standards when dealing with the fall from grace her life takes. This is very refreshing. Myles character changes are very well done and when reflecting back on those, it does make sense though at first it is not apparent. This was very cleverly done and an ode to the writer in charge of their fates.

The plot moves at a jaunty pace and once one starts reading, the book is hard to put down and races you to the end. It is funny, dramatic, emotional and rewarding and not in that order. Ranald is a very accomplished author and her characters are lifelike and strong and you are fully invested with them as they go from one challenge to another.

Overall this is a great read and a lot of fun with strong characters, great plotting and feel good element that makes you want to dive into Sloane’s world. This has piqued my interest in reading more from this author and I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good yarn without the flimsy characterisations. Strong independent woman gets knocked down and gets the world on her own terms. A sure fire winner.

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This was such a good book. I loved the story and truly felt for Sloane through all her issues. It had me laughing in parts and mad in others. a really great read.

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I loved this romantic comedy set in London so much that I had to go an buy all of her back list. Sharp, funny, and both a fast and compelling read.

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Sloane and Myles have been married for a few years. She finally feels ready to have a baby. Life couldn't be better. But then she starts to suspect Myles is cheating on her. Sloane's picture-perfect life might not be so great after all.

This was an honest, entertaining story about a modern thirtysomething woman navigating a busy professional life and a turbulent personal life. I absolutely despised Myles, and could easily see myself encouraging Sloane to leave him every time she seemed to hesitate. I didn't very much like the ending, although I suppose it does fit into the whole theme of life being messy and unpredictable. It just felt a little bit too cookie-cutter perfect in the grand scheme of things.

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I enjoyed this book. the main character is actually quite funny and has real struggles that we can relate to. This would have been the perfect summer read.

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I really wanted to like this novel. I wanted to laugh out loud. I wantes to cheer the main character on as she fought her way back from heartbreak; wiser, stronger, better. I did none of those things. I was just basically bored trying to figure out why I was reading this and hadn't laughed once. So I quit the book. I'm sorry. I just could not continue.

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