Absolutely loved this book!

The writing style was really good and I look forward to reading any other books from this author in the future :)

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Copy provided by the publishers via NetGalley.

Simply beautiful.

This took me a good fifty pages to get into but I am so glad I kept reading because this has left it’s mark on me.

We follow the lives of several different characters and it is interesting to see how they all link through various ‘mutual friends’. They are complex, multifaceted characters who experience the highs and lows of life in such an honest, realistic way it is difficult not to feel touched by them. Bays writes emotions and experiences in a raw style which, at times, can be heartbreaking, heartwarming and left me breathless. The ending is perfect for me, I love endings like this (I will continue to be vague because of spoilers) and found that it brought a smile to my face.
This book challenges how modern society relies on media for it’s updates and interactions, revealing the brutal side of trolling and how damaging it can be to the target victim in a sensitive and thought-provoking way.

Alice, Roxy, Bob, Pitterpat, Bill and Felix are a true delight to have got to know! Certainly a must-read for this year!

You will love this book…..I was immediately swept up. Dazzling and sweeping tale of love… ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars

Being written by the producer of How I Met Your Mother, I was immediately drawn to this book and its beautiful front cover. I was absolutely wowed by the superb writing and the intricacies of this book – it was exciting, fabulous and unique. I laughed out loud whilst reading this an outrageous amount - I found Roxy hilarious! The first half of the book was better in my opinion, with characters being introduced and their lives cleverly intertwining. As someone considering medical school, I was interested to see why Alice was delaying becoming a doctor and this idea was explored in the background of the book perfectly, helping to reveal inner turmoil and past sufferings. The characters’ actions and thoughts were random and unexpected yet went perfectly with how the author wanted to portray living in New York in 2015. I lost interest slightly in the second half of the book, and think it should have been a bit shorter with the humour and clear storyline continuing as strongly as at the start of the book. However, this book is a must read this summer, I would recommend it to anybody and everybody!!!

Thank you to the publishers for early access to this book.

Great for reading during the summer time. A slice of life. Character driven story.

I loved Alice and Roxy's relationship. It was so fun and sweet and was honestly the best part of the book. But I found the writing to be very choppy - going back and forth between characters (including a bird at one point) so quickly you don't even know who's perspective you're reading.

Overall I found this book to be a hot mess! The storyline was kind of there but was poorly executed. This book however would make an excellent TV show as it honestly reads like a screenplay.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

The Mutual Friend
By Carter Bays

Hands down my favourite book of the year so far! If only I could give it 6 stars. This book is completely unique. Bays has got a writing style all of his own. It might seem off-putting to begin with, but give it a minute, because I promise, it will soon make sense and feel right.

This book is about interconnectedness, be it family or friendship, real life or virtual. It highlights the changes in social media from it's clunky college based forums to the can't-tear-your-eyes-away platforms of today. How technology and connectivity has inserted itself into every thought and action, the falsehood of anonymity, a new ethics and distraction, distraction, distraction. Also how it has enriched our lives beyond what our early selves could ever have imagined.

There is quite a large cast of characters, and I love them all. Every one plays an important part in the beautiful lacework of a web that is this fabulously compelling story. What seems like a side plot will morph into a main thread, there are o throw away comments, everything matters. I was struck time and again by the ingenuity of the author with the plot.

This is a long read, but it is one of those that will take you away completely. Prepare for wordiness e.g. a character looking at something may turn into an essay on the biological, physical and chemical response to light on the brain. Don't worry, it is all worth it. My smile grew wider and wider as I neared the end, as everything came together in the most satisfying end I have read in a long time, and now I don't know what to do with the major book hangover I'm suffering.

This book publishes on 7th August 2022. Run, don't walk to your nearest book shop.

Thanks to #netgalley and #hodderbooks, #hoddenpublicity for the egalley.

I’m afraid this was a DNF for me. The book started with one set of characters then transferred to a complete different set with no Segway or explanation, and I found it hard to follow and lost the flow of the book with the switch