Cover Image: Little Nothings

Little Nothings

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Member Reviews

I really loved the writing style of the author, there are some gorgeous turns of phrase that conjure up exactly the scene unfolding (I just loved ''guiding melon skins and chunks of apple between their rippling lips'' for feeding a horse).
This thriller is light and funny but dark and sinister too, the toxicity of the ''friendships'' is mildly terrifying and the ending pretty perfect. I was desperate to get back to reading it when life intruded and dragged me away.

*SPOILER FOLLOWS*

I did want to shake Liv about the holiday though, if you are in the situation she and Pete are in, would you really even consider going on an 8k trip?! maybe I'm overthinking it but it was a bit of a 'huh??' moment, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this very well written book, I will read more from this author

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Many thanks to the author publisher and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
Never before have I read a book strewn with so many dispicable characters; not a saving grace amongst them and I LOVED it! The story bounces between home in the UK and and an ' idyllic' holiday in Corfu. It explores being the outsider in social groups, motherhood, belonging and the toxification of friendships when a other woman joins the group. I thought it was such a clever story, so many little touches that are perfect., ange's name is not capitalised, the snake symbolism , even the protagonist Liv's daughter's name Ivy, perhaps suggesting poisoning. Whilst the characters are larger than life surely people aren't ever really like this....are they???!!!???
I keep going back and reading bits of it again, and I'll read it in its entireity again when I'm on holiday. I'll definitely want read more of this authors work. 5 stars

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Wanting friendship and needing to be accepted, Liv finally meets Beth and Binnie who can give her these things. A perfect trio, until Ange enters the group and everything changes. It happens so slowly, Liv wonders if it is just her, is she imagining it?

Then the four families take a holiday together and all changes.

I really enjoyed this book except for the ending. It left me feeling cold. There was such a big build up and I felt it was an anti-climax.

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Little Nothings is a must read! You fall into the bitchy, toxic world from a few pages in, and you just cannot stop indulging. It's like a Jane Fallon novel and a Louise Candlish thriller had a baby! It's honestly fantastic, and I will be recommending this to friends! Five stars .

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4⭐️

Liv has always struggled to make friends, but suddenly finds her tribe, becoming firm friends with Binnie and Beth. Only the group dynamic suddenly changes with the addition of a new member Ange. It becomes a case of trying to keep up with the others even though Liv can’t afford it, snide bitchy comments start flowing. The nastiness doesn’t stop there!

I don’t like any of the characters, I don’t think any of them have any redeeming qualities. There are plenty of character flaws. The friendship between Liv and Clara was really strange.

It has themes of jealousy, envy, loneliness and friendships turning nasty. In places it feels weird when it talks about other universes, an unreliable edge is built in. The characters also come across in places as unreliable.

It feels voyeuristic watching the scenarios unfold, but it’s one of those situations where you can’t stop watching, can’t stop reading.

I felt the ending was abrupt, disjointed. An anti climax, overall I enjoyed it, but the ending spoils it for me.

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The book starts with Lily and her friends on holiday… but is all that it seems…..

The deep dark secrets come out, and this book goes from the present (the holidays day) to the lead up to the holiday

The book grips you from the beginning, and full of twists and turns! That has you questioning if you ever knew your friends at all!

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Liv has never found it easy to make friends, and is thrilled when she finally makes two new friends and becomes part of a close circle. The dynamics change entirely when a new friend, Ange, is introduced. Is it Liv’s imagination or is Ange trying to ostracise her? The book is set during a three week holiday on the Greek islands, with some flashbacks to events leading up to the holiday. The holiday itself then builds to a dark climax. Easy to read and quite gripping, despite entirely unlikeable characters, this is an engrossing read.

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I must say I did not really enjoy this book. Liv is the main character and I found her a little bit of a pain. As she was growing up she found friendships difficult to forge. Married with a little girl she met two girls, Beth and Binnie and found that she now belonged in the world. Eventually Ange joins the group and it all becomes a nightmare especially for Liv. The friends and children go to Corfu on holiday and the friendship becomes more and more fraught. Liv and Pete have financial difficulties but try to keep up with the others and this causes terrible financial worries. The book also flitted from being at home and being in Corfu and I found this annoying. I did finish the book but I am not sure I can recommend it – the story was not for me

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An excellent psychological thriller about relationships and how secrets eat away at them as well as those who keep them. Set in Greece with gorgeous descriptions of the scenery that made me long to get away. 5 stars!

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This was an interesting read by an author I had not read before. Would recommend to those who haven’t tried a novel by this author!

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Liv, a woman who has never fitted in, never been part of a group, never had any friends moves to a small village where she suddenly becomes fast friends with Beth and Binnie, two parents in the kids' playgroup. They meet regularly, for coffee, for lunch, for dinner, for gossip, and all is well. Liv finally feels she Belongs. She's been accepted, and she loves it. Then along comes Ange, wealthy, brash, opinionated and the group of three becomes four. Ange is a manipulator, an organiser, a fixer. She takes over the group and organises just about everything and the other three love it. She suggests a holiday on the island of Corfu for all of them, husbands and kids as well, and off they go, into the heady atmosphere of the Mediterranean for three weeks of fun and frolics....or is it?

There isn't one likeable character, not one. Personally I couldn't stand Liv, with her whingey-whiny neediness, but that aside there's a flatness to the characters. Many of them are superfluous, adding nothing to the story– Beth and Binnie's husbands and kids don't provide anything but padding, likewise members of the extraordinarily rich family, guests at the same hotel. There's a great deal of irritating hopping back and forth, with flashbacks about how the women became friends, the financial strains, the emotional ups and downs etc. Most of it is confusing, not helped by the strange Kindle format which has no visible breaks, or font change, to indicate these flashbacks. Add to this the confusion when some names are not Capitalised, and many sentences don't begin with a capital, which makes reading this quite tricky at times.

This is all a bit silly – enjoyable to a certain extent, but nonetheless, silly.

This is light froth, suitable for the deckchair if we ever get a sunny day, and instantly forgettable.

My thanks to Netgalley for a free download in exchange for a review.

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Liv & Pete Thomas are on holiday with their daughter Ivy and a group of friends on a Greek Island. Liv, Beth, Binnie & Ange are a fairly tight-knit group, but over the course of the three week holiday they soon realise that all may not be as it seems.

Liv has always found friendships difficult and can sometimes worry that the others are concealing things from her, so when she meets a glamorous holidaymaker and becomes friendly with her she starts to think that maybe she isn't paranoid after all, and the others, especially Ange, are really are out to get her. Liv wonders if her new friend Cara will help her with her toxic friends - but has she underestimated how far Cara is willing to go?

I really, really enjoyed this. I tore through it one evening and loved the dynamic between the group - one of them was a MASSIVE shit stirrer, and I really felt for Liv when she was trying her best to make friends and join in with things. I loved that this wasn't a "And Then There Were None" type thriller (which has been done, if you'll pardon the pun, to death recently), instead it was a smart domestic drama with great characters. I enjoyed this a lot.
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Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my free e-copy

The book follows Liv and her partner Pete when they travel to Corfu with Liv's friends, their partners and kids.

This is a good thriller, with most the action taking place verbally and with 'little nothings' building up between the group. The first part of the book takes us back to how they all met and how close the 4 women are - although Ange is a relatively new comer and it becomes apparent that her and Liv don't really get on.

This is a story about friendship, loyalty, trying to fit in and keeping up appearances that spiral out of control.

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Liv made good friends Beth and Binnie when they were all new mums. When Ange joins the group, the dynamics change. I liked the idea of Liv and Pete coveting the life their friends have with fancy houses and private schooling. Ange convinces the couple to join them on a luxury holiday to Corfu. I found the ending quite satisfying but it transpired it wasn't actually the ending.

The writing kept me engaged and I was keen to find out how it all played out but I did have a few thoughts.

It didn't seem plausible that Liv would abandon her husband and daughter to spend time with Clara. Having read about her encounter with Gabi in Berlin, I wasn't clear whether her friendship with Clara was going to become romantic.

Why doesn't ange have a capital letter?

There were a few places where the narrative jumped back in time and I feel it needed something to signify this change.

The last two are small points which could be addressed before publication.

Thanks indeed to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

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Loved this book. The central character perfectly describes her feelings of loneliness and isolation even when her mum is pushing her to join in with her peers. Her feelings of discomfort and not fitting in continue into adulthood but everything changes when she meets two girls who become her soul mates. Everything seems great until Ange is introduced into the trio and steadily works to undermine our main characters friendship and standing in the group with disastrous consequences. Great read.

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This is a very good summer read. Set on the island of Corfu a gaggle of girlfriends with their husbands and kids. A clever suspenseful thriller. The psychology of the characters is marvellous. I read it in one sitting. Marvellous.

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Overall I enjoyed this book. It focuses around Liv and her relationships with her friends and husband. I found the beginning to be a bit slow but once I got to around halfway I was captivated. This book does a good job at setting the scene and building a good view of the main characters and their personalities. I was a little bit let down my the ending as I felt it was a little unrealistic. However overall a gripping and interesting read, looking forward to reading other books by this author.

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I was drawn to this by the comparisons to Lianne Moriarty and Louise Candlish but I wouldn't really describe it as a thriller. There weren't any major twists, turns, or reveals; it was more of a drama focusing on the toxic and competitive dynamic between four 'best' friends. It was weirdly compelling though in a bit of a car crash kind of way where you can't help be drawn in - to the characters even though they really are very unlikeable. It did all get a bit ridiculous towards the end though and I really didn't get the actual ending.

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I just love how realistic and relatable the characters are and that even the interactions between characters and dialogue and comments, are also all incredibly realistic and bitchy. There really are no punches pulled when youre amongst frienimies. A great read about tension between friends.

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Enjoyable story that was well paced and interesting. At some points you just wanted to get the friends to shake themselves and realise how toxic their relationship is. The pace was good that you wanted to get to end to see how it finished

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an Arc in exchange for an honest opinion

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