Thank you Ntegalley, Alex Dahl and Head of Zeus, Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book for the eArc of Girl friends.

This is one of the first books Ive read of Alex Dahl and I wasn't disappointed. A wonderful, creepy, obsessive friendship blossoms between Charlotte and Bianka. In which things really kick off when Charlotte invites Bianka on a girlie holiday with her friends. The plot unwinds as the 2 of them become very close and Charlotte realises that Bianka has a darker, more disturbing side. The dymantic between not only the friends, but each of the families crescendo in the last 3/4 of the book. This pushes the reader to keep turning the pages for the last few and very effective twists!

The narrative of the POV, mainly Charlotte and Bianka, but does include other family members, all have very individual voices and personas. A great, page turning read from beginning to end.

Moving from Oslo to London for her husbands work is a big change. Meeting the group of expat wife's and disrupting long standing friendships.
Having it all but still not happy, secrets start to come out.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy of this book. An entertaining read to be sure, with lots of reveals and twists. I enjoyed the pace, it was odd that Bianka and Storm were third person narrative and Charlotte first. The ending threw me off, I don't really get the add in of a lot of the information in the last chapter. But as a whole, a fun summer thriller read.

I had been looking forward to reading this, and at points I was certainly intrigued by it all. But I found it incredibly slow to get going, wasn't that keen on either of the main characters. Storm to me was the most interesting character but I felt as though his sections weren't as in depth as I would have preferred.

Whereas Bianka and Charlotte are really unlikeable and unrelatable to, which I believe was the author's intent, in which case they came across well, but I just found it incredibly hard to care about them. Much less about which one would ultimately be victorious.

There are good bits, but ultimately I felt it just fell a bit flat for me, And the finale didn't really invoke any reaction from me at all., which is unusual in this genre.

Girlfriends was a drag in the first half and pacey in the second half. If you like lots of sex and hedonistic dislikable people, mixed with murder this may be for you.

I almost abandoned it half way through, although did finally complete it.
However it was too flaky and had far too many holes and errors for me to recommend it.

Thank you for the ARC in a change for my honest opinion, and sorry it wasn’t for me….

I really enjoyed reading this book. Loved the storyline as well as the writing style, very realistic. The book follows Charlotte and Bianka in Ibiza. They meet after relocating to London for their husbands jobs in a Nordic Bank. When Charlotte invites Bianka to join them on their annual girls Ibiza summer trip initially Annette and Lynne aren't happy and become jealous of the close new relationship However things take a turn when alcohol sun and sex become involved. There is obsession, murder, lies, secrets and friends not being who they seem and I was here for it. I will be recommending and looking for more from this author

I wasn’t overly enamoured with this at first. I thought it was overdramatic and “chick-litty” but about halfway through it really got into its groove and became a fabulously twisty, complex thriller. I can see that this will be a popular beach read this summer!

I enjoyed this and could t put it down.
Without giving too much away, new friend joins an Ibiza holiday with dramatic consequences….indulgent and racy and fun to read, a perfect beach book!

Absolutely loved this book - yes there's a lot of description in the first half but this was effective to create a sense of build-up for me. I absolutely loved the fact that the characters had a Nordic background, and the Ibiza setting rather than London - added to the escapism of it all.

Plot is simultaneously unbelievable and quite believe at times, and there was just a sense of menace through the whole thing, and the veneer of a glamourous lifestyle - just very enjoyable and addictive to read!

It was well written however I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I thought I would. Liked the characters and the settings of the story.

I really enjoyed this a great storyline didn't take me long at all to read as struggled to put it down, some interesting characters that I wasn't sure I liked but overall a good read

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel early. What more can one want than an excellent summer read. The plot centers around two married women who are drawn together at their first meeting. Charlotte who appears to have it all at first glance: while her career is on the up her marriage isn't. She is part of the Norwegian expat society in Wimbledon. At her party she meets the extravagant, carefree Bianka who has just moved with to London with her husband and step son who is equally captivated by her.

Their meeting takes them on a holiday to Charlottes second home in Ibiza joined by two other friends, Anette and Linda who serve as typical boring but worthy companions. Once there Charlotte gives in to her inhibitions and quickly enters into a physical relationship with Bianka who seeks to separate them from the rest of the group. Their late night partying and drinking leads to the murder of the son of Charlottes neighbour. What happens in Ibiza stays in Ibiza only in this case it doesn't

Storm, Bianka's step son enters the plot and we see from his perspective the relationship he has with his step mother and his quest to find out why his real mother is never mentioned and how she died. There is lovely description of the mountains and Oslo as the plot follows him there and any traveller will enjoy the atmosphere created.
Overall I really enjoyed this twisty thriller and as I said it will make an excellent read on holiday. solid 5* from me.

An exciting thriller from Alex Dahl. Although totally unbelievable this well written novel was great escapism and what’s not to like in a case of overpowering ‘friendship’, trauma, murder with a touch of sex thrown in for good measure?? A few nice little twists too.

From the cover and description of this book it looked like a perfect match for me, unfortunately I really struggled to get into it.

The first half of the book seems to focus on introducing the characters and the world, while this was well done it could have been shortened by a significant amount.

The characters were interesting and each were unique. I enjoyed reading their interactions and seeing how their relationship progressed throughout the book.

I enjoyed the ending however I felt some of the important moments were skipped over and could have been more fleshed out.

I would read more from this author as there were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, I think this book just wasn't for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with this arc.

This was a really fun read! I really enjoy Alex Dahl's books and this one did not disappoint either. I would have loved the plot to have delved further into Storm and Charlotte's mothers throughout the story to give a bit of backstory to the twists, but all in all it was an interesting story with characters you love to hate!

Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the advanced electronic copy of this novel prior to publication - due out in April 2024.
I’m a big fan of Alex Dahl’s dark, gritty stories but unfortunately, this one didn’t have the same vibe.
I enjoyed the Ibiza background to the story, with scenes also in London and Norway, but the characters were all so unrelatable and unreliable that I didn’t really care what happened to any of them. The outcome was predictable and fairly anti climatic in its delivery. There’s a lot happening in this book and at times, it feels very chaotic and unnecessary.

Charlotte meets Bianka by chance or does she really? So deliciously disturbing and dark.
The plot had me shaking with nerves and I absolutely love it.

Charlotte and her family are part of the Scandinavian ex-pat community in Wimbledon . Emil and Bianka have just arrived. Emil is Charlotte's husband's boss. Charlotte develops a bit of a crush on Bianka and invites her to her regular summer Ibiza holiday with a couple of other friends. Everything goes a bit crazy there, and the story takes an ugly turn, with lots of scheming and revelations from the past.
A good beach read.

Such an addictive read….a new friend joins an Ibiza holiday with dramatic consequences….indulgent and racy and fun to read!

I found this to be an utterly gripping book that just refused to let me put it down!

I love books with a mix of tension, thrills, and a dash of unease which is exactly what I found in this book.

Charlotte and Bianka become friends, sparked by their husbands' work ties. Charlotte is eager to find fun in her mundane life and is drawn to the confident and attractive Bianka. She invites her on her annual Ibiza retreat, hoping for a dose of excitement. Except Charlotte quickly finds there is more to Bianka than what meets the eye.

The story unfolds with excitement, making it a true page-turner that keeps you hooked till the very end. If you're looking for a thrilling and unputdownable read, this book is your perfect companion!