* Disclaimer I was approved to read this book in exchange for an honest view through the NetGalley’s service *

I really enjoyed this book and laughed out loud at a lot of the book.

It left me thinking it reminded me very much of a British sex in the city. At the heart of the story is the strong friendship between 3 women, at different stages of there lives both professionally and personally. They each decide to join a dating app but can only go on dates picked by the other women.

Leading to some hysterical and emotional consequences. 

I would definitely read a book by this author again. 

****

I found this book a little difficult to get into but glad that I persevered as I really enjoyed the dynamics of the three women. They have all experienced hurt and heartbreak, so come up with the idea of finding dates for each other. Full of surprises. A good read.

This was such a lovely book to read, it was light-hearted and funny and I was really rooting for Similar. I found this book very refreshing in the way it was written and as this was a debut novel I’m really hoping that this author writes more like this in the future. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Three friends, all at different stages in their lives and all stuggling with dating for their own reasons. They decide to help each other out by picking dates for each other, selecting from the men in the bar they are in so they can meet in real life and not online. Will they realie who or what they wanted all along?

I liked how it was told from all of their points of view.

A great read and looking forward to more from this author.

Aawww I loved it. This book made me miss my friends and absolutely not miss dating. 

I LOVE Andi's writing style and I found myself smiling through most of the book. I loved the dialogue and how it felt so real in places. I loved that its a sort of typical three girl friends on a mission book, but its diverse and the women characters arent just plucked from the usual stereotypes. 

Its not my usual genre really but I read the entire thing in two days, its very engaging and easy to read. I really enjoyed myself.

I will be posting my full review of this book on 21 January 2021. You can find it on https://jenrosewrites.blog/

What I will say is this book is a great portrayal of female friendships, dating and life as a twenty/thirty/forty something woman.

Three friends, a decade apart, play a game where each has to find another a date. No vetos allowed. One is an author, one an aspiring actor, and one an agent - mainly for comedians.

This is a sweet, lovely, amusing beach read. I didn't find the characters or situations believable but that was probably just me.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3738553201

Asking for a Friend by Andi Osho

Friends Jemima, Meagan and Simi met at a comedy workshop years ago and have been there for each other ever since. The book follows them as they deal with various work and relationship troubles which threaten their friendship. I loved the characters and their friendship, refreshingly different storylines, and the mix of comedy and poignant scenes. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

This debut novel tells the story of 3 friends Simi, Jemima and Meagan who all decide their love lives need some serious help. As they're all single they form a pact to find a date for each other and not themselves. Although I expected this to be a story of  romance and dating it was actually more about the ladies friendship. I especially enjoyed the way it was written as it moved between the 3 main characters point of view. An enjoyable story of friendship, career struggles and a sprinkling of love!

A lovely romance novel which is perfect for a beachy read! 

I like the diverse set of characters who are on a quest to find the One but are not having a lot of success on their own. I thought the idea of your friends picking your next date was an intriguing idea and also that Jemima, Meagan and Simi were focused on their careers as well as wanting boyfriends. 

It was a quite funny but not always my type of humour. I would recommend to those that love rom-com novels. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

A typical romcom of friends whom haven’t found the one yet. It took me a while to finish he book. I do like the friendship between them I think that’s what I was reading more off.

I was keen to read this book as the synopsis appealed to me. However, I simply couldn’t identify with the characters or the world which they inhabited. I am afraid that I couldn’t force myself to carry on reading it and abandoned it after reading about a quarter of the novel. Not my kind of book at all.

3 friends different stages in life but all disappointed by love. To stop themselves making the same mistake again they decide to let one of the other two set them up on dates.
The idea of your close friends sending you on dates is brilliant. Unfortunately I was not invested in the three women. They are very diverse and I couldn't relate to any of them. 
Not my cup of tea but i am sure will appeal to a younger audience.

Jemima, Meagan and Simi are three friends who meet  through their attendance at a comedy workshop. Their friendship has outlived the unanimous decision that stand up isn’t for them, with Jemima an accomplished author, Meagan an agent for comedians and Simi an aspiring actress whose agent also happens to be Meagan. Whilst in their professional lives they are experiencing varying levels of success, it’s fair to say what unites these three women are their disastrous love lives. The novel opens with Jemima flying back from LA where she has escaped to in the wake of her break up with boyfriend Miles, cutting short her vacation to support Simi since boyfriend Oscar has unceremoniously dumped her. Jemima is well known for her flight response in the face of  any tough situation but loyalty to her friends pulls her back to London,  obeying Meagan’s summons so they can both provide a shoulder for Simi to cry on. Whilst Simi most definitely wears her heart on her sleeve, Meagan prefers to keep her romantic liaisons at arms length, opting for the more casual kind of hook ups  as evidenced by her friends with benefits relationship with Todd. Fed up with their dismal love lives and mistrustful of their own choices and judgment, this trio embark on a ingenious plan to rectify the problem. This novel is billed as “the perfect feel good and funniest romcom of 2021”. Here’s what I thought, having read this debut novel by an author who is also a comedian. 

Asking For a Friend is the usual mix of friendship dynamics and failures at sustaining meaningful romantic relationships set against a backdrop of Jemima’s struggles to write her third ‘Beverley Blake’ novel to the satisfaction of her editor Eve. Meagan is trying to prove her worth as agent to the stars whilst Simi is failing to land a plum acting role. The Dating Game is Jemima, Meagan and Simi’s solution to finding true love, choosing potential dates for each other since their own choices up until now have proved disastrous. If mining her friends past dating histories also allows Jemima’s creative juices to flow and enable her to complete book number three then surely that’s a bonus? Will this trio’s friendship survive the dating game and Jemima’s barely concealed attempt at disguising reality as fiction? For answers to these questions and any more this storyline may conjure up then you need to pick up this book! Only then you will discover how successful this game will be or whether it’s simply another distraction from truths that are staring  all three of these women in the face.

I have to be honest here and say that I had to read at least a third of this book before I started to really engage with the storyline. A bout of insomnia prompted me to persevere but did I find Asking For Friend funny? Hardly at all. Either my sense of humour has completely deserted me or I simply wasn’t on this author’s wavelength; I suspect it’s the latter. Some parts are vaguely amusing, mostly Simi’s casting auditions, but I struggled to relate to these women, despite the fact the problems they encounter in their friendships and the life choices they deliberate over are all very normal and part of the rich tapestry of life. The age of Meagan just doesn’t ring true;I had the impression from her behaviour and attitudes that her character is at least ten years older than the author would have the reader believe. Plus I found the style of writing, at least initially, off putting with phrasing that maybe only a younger reader would understand. However as time progressed I did warm more to both the characters and the individual struggles they face in their professional and personal lives so that I finished the novel, ultimately viewing it in a more favourable light than I originally expected to. This is the kind of storyline in which the characters are on their own  journeys of self discovery with their search for love forcing them to face up to some difficult home truths. Unsurprisingly it’s also a storyline that favours the positive aspects of close female friendships  and the loyalties these relationships engender. You can never underestimate the value of this type of friendship with the author leaving the reader in no doubt of the depth of love that exists between Jemima, Meagan and Simi, even if they experience a few wobbles along the way. Thanks to the inclusion of these elements this novel inevitably earns the feel good, uplifting tag so I had to ask myself why I wasn’t left feeling that way. Despite recognising the efforts of the author to imbue this storyline with warmth and humour I unfortunately feel this is a mediocre novel at best, with the promise of laugh out loud moments never really materialising. I’m afraid on this occasion the comedy element just wasn’t there for me, hence my rating of 3 stars. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

Effervescent, unputdownable and great fun to read. This novel about three close friends, their dating games and attempts to get their lives on track sparkled with spirit and wit and was very enjoyable from the outset. It's told from the perspective of the three women, each with a different outlook on life, but who nonetheless form a close bond after meeting at a comedy workshop. The characterisation is very good, it is very funny in places, moving in others and an entertaining page-turner throughout. An excellent debut novel!

This is a great debut novel from Andi, funny, warm, and giddy, there is also depth when it comes to friendship, life and  dating. The storyline was novel and characters felt real (Maybe Meagan was a bit over the top on occasion), but overall a very enjoyable read

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Andi Osho is primarily known as a comedian but with this book she's proven she can write, and not just for laughs. Asking For A Friend is a novel about female friendships and how sometimes you need a push from someone else to realise what it is you actually want. Jemima, Meagan and Simi are all thoroughly identifiable characters, and the plot, whilst a little predictable, is very realistic and enjoyable, with flashes of Osho's trademark humour. It's also great to see an increased representation of black women in the genre.

It's a crazy time right now, and any excuse to fall into a world that takes you away from the horrors we are living through, right now, right?
I got approval for this book yesterday, and read and finished it today.
That is how invested I ended up, in the story!
Three friends, all with backstories of their won, that mould the women they've become.
One an aspiring actor, one an agent and one an author.
Love and relationships are both things that all three find hard to come by.
Then the chance to help each other out by playing a dating game, brings some relief, some giggles, but brings other issues to the surface.
I really enjoyed this, and one takeaway lesson... remember, if you're talking to a writer, you never know how much of what you're saying may just end up in a future book...!
Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Date reviewed/posted: December 22, 2020
Publication date: January 21, 2021

When life for the entire universe and planet has turned on its end, you are continuing to #maskup to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #secondwave is upon us, AND the worst sciatica attack in your life means you MIGHT sleep 3 hours a night,  superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour, so yes, I have read the book … and many more today.

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.  

From the publisher, as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸.

No woman gets left behind ----- Three best friends are going to solve their relationship woes once and for all

*Forty-something Jemima’s life is on track – well, sort of. All she has to do is muster the courage to bat her niggly ex away for good.
*Twenty-something Meagan is in the midst of her five-phase plan and is nearly ready for phase three – a relationship.
*While thirty-something Simi has had more it’s not yous than any I dos.

Deciding it’s time to play the dating game by their own rules, they’re going to ditch the dating apps and ask people out in real life. The catch? They’re playing matchmaker and can only ask out potential dates for each other because the most important rule is that no woman gets left behind.

Comedian Andi Osho’s hilarious and uplifting debut novel features her trademark wit and is perfect for fans of Candice Carty-Williams, Lucy Diamond and Mhairi McFarlane.

Was this funny? I guess but it was not HILARIOUS, but then again, this is being written by someone who does not understand why Benny Hill and "On the Buses" are considered funny, either. Promises of giggles aside, this wasn't bad bok but it wasn't a great book: it was a middle of the road chick-lit novel with interesting characters and maybe worth a read to you depending upon your sense of humour. Grab a cuppa and check it out.

As always, I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I simply adore emojis (outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube  Millionaires/snowflakes / literally-like-overusers etc. " on Instagram and Twitter... Get a real job, people!) so let's give it ☕☕☕

This is such a good book about friendship. I just love the characters. And this book is written beautifully.
Just enjoyed it.

3.5 stars.