Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I quite enjoyed this but it wasn't as light a read as I was expecting. I liked the backstories, the exploration of the women's lives and friendship over the years and the stresses and issues of their current lives. All the women have their own problems in the present but despite their friendship they feel they cannot discuss their problems because of the effect this might have on the others in the group. This leads to resentment and niggles and finally enormous rows and an explosion!

All in all, not bad but boy, what an awful child that Woody is, perhaps he is acting out his despair at his dreadful name. I certainly did feel for Lauren most of all.

I was not expecting the raw description of motherhood, the way society (including other women) side-lines mothers, silences their voices and fails to understand and treat physical pain arising from birthing procedures.. I fear that there is a lot of truth in this but it does make uncomfortable and enraging reading.

The ending is probably mostly what we wanted to read.

It’s the baby shower whodunnit we didn’t know we needed in our lives. We’ve all been targeted with the American click bait articles of gender reveal disasters from hell and this is the English fictional narrative of such an event.

Set in sweltering Surrey on one of the hottest days of the year, disaster strikes when a fire breaks across the scorched landscape enveloping all that it encounters. Everyone is a suspect and it’s the work of the all intrusive detectives to find out who started the fire.

Is it Steffi, who doesn’t want kids and needs this party to end so she can get back to the most monumental day of her career?
Is it Lauren, who recently had a baby, is struggling and feels the joys of motherhood shouldn’t be celebrated?
Is it Nikki, who never wanted this baby shower to begin with?
Or is it Charlotte, the one who wants this baby shower so much for herself that she’s jealous it’s not hers?

The reader hears all the plausible motives, all the rationalisations and warning signs. I was hooked right to the end.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for sending this book for review consideration.

I didn’t really know what to expect from this book but my goodness it exceeded all expectations. One of my favourite books of the year. A thorough examination of womanhood in your 30s. Discusses the complexities of female friendships, relationships, motherhood and sexuality. I absolutely loved it.

If you enjoyed Olive by Emma Gannon (another one of my favourite books), you’re sure to love this.

Holly smashes it again! Every perspective was treated with love and empathy all the while keeping me utterly gripped.

I will literally read anything Holly Bourne writes - that is the power her writing has over me. This was another twisty turn mystery that really packed a punch.

This book was a lot of fun! I love books about imperfect female friendships and I love a flashback. The mystery of who started the fire was solved perfectly. The police interviews being peppered throughout and the different character perspectives was a good way for the story to unravel. It was an easy and light read.

Thanks to the publishers and net galley for an advanced ecopy in exchange for a review. This book follows Nikki, Lauren, Steffi and Charlotte on the day of Nikki’s baby shower, Based over one day the book flicks from past to present to build characters and the story of how the day ends in tragedy and to try and discover and how. The book covers lots of topics including motherhood, pregnancy and friendship. They have all been friends since uni but have relationships and motherhood or lack of it finally driven them all apart? I enjoyed this book especially since I am due to give birth this month and liked reading from different characters point of view. I will be recommending to others

I am grateful to Holly Bourne, Hodder & Stoughton, and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of this title. Keep reading for my review of the book.

I stumbled across this book as I was lamenting at the sorry state of my friendships. As I plan my wedding, everyone around me lacks the minimal enthusiasm I expect them to have. It gives off the vibe that on the surface they are ‘so thrilled for me,’ but inwardly it’s a different story, although we won’t dwell on this. The point is, the title called to me and as I read the blurb about this group of friends and an ‘accident’ that occurs at one of those said friend’s baby shower, it resonated with me and made me and called me to look at the destruction of someone else’s event instead of concentrating on the destruction of my own.

Nicki is having a baby shower, and her ‘best’ friends are due to attend. Excitable Charlotte threw together the shindig to be held at Nicki’s parents’ house, although secretly she wishes it could be her day. Lauren, already a mum, has a young baby of her own in tow, and a husband to boot. Childless Steffi has all the answers to everything, and an emerging publishing company that is putting her on the path to career success, even if she can’t hold down a man. And then there’s Phoebe, the frenemy whose friendship was mourned when the ‘Little Women’ parted ways. Whilst seemingly all happy to be in attendance, all is not as it seems when arguments and a fire breaks out. Piling on the negativity, an investigation deduces that arson is to blame. So, who is not as thrilled as they would have us believe?

Told through multiple sources including present tense (at various points), police interviews, journalistic interviews, and general observations from a range of characters, the novel is a slow burn, building rich characters with distinct personalities and backstories that weave themselves into the current day scenarios.

I enjoyed how the book was relatable. Watching long-term friends exert their familiarity and range of loveable and not so loveable traits was interesting, comical, and highly believable. The inner thoughts and bitchy comments were funny, and at times understandable on this hot sweltering, highly charged day that was heading for a catastrophe one or another. Nicki’s parents, particularly her mother, added an additional dose of humor with how out of touch they are.

The book is an insightful look at women today battling their inner selves and each other as they try to live up to societal ideals, be it via motherhood, or in the business world. Through the wit, satire and sadness, there are grains of truth that many women will find resonates with them. Aside from the pace at the beginning, there is nothing that I would fault with this novel. It stirred judgement and a healthy range of emotions within me that kept my attention, made me want to get involved in the whodunnit, and most certainly hooked me enough to drive me to the conclusion, which was always going to come as a surprise to me because of the way the story was set up. The storytelling was absolutely brilliant with so little given away that my choice of culprit changed several times throughout based on who was recapping at the time.

This book is for all the women out there, whatever your take on family life is as there is a friend, or elements of a couple of friends that you are sure to recognize in yourself. It’s an easy read to chill out to be it on the beach, wrapped up in your snug, curled up in bed, or unwinding in your VDU break from work. It could have been a little shorter, but at the same time, the length gave you more of these hilarious characters. I have already identified a few friends that are going to be receiving a copy of this book on launch day.

I grew up reading Holly Bourne’s books - I loved them as a teenager and love them now as an adult. I can honestly say that I cannot relate to a book more. Being a new mum myself I understood exactly where Lauren was coming from and it was a sigh of relief to finally read something that actually goes into the hard parts of being a mum, rather than just the ‘nice’ parts or making jokes about being sleep deprived. This book is so REAL, and I’m going to be recommending it to my family so they can finally understand what I experienced with my first child.

Four Little Women, friends from university but now grown up and with their own problems. All culminates in the chaos of a Baby Shower/Gender Reveal with a fiery finish.
I felt for these women. No one had the perfect life, but could not see how everyone else was suffering too.
A deeply engaging book, full of suspense.

excellent. a brilliant exploration of female friendships and motherhood and the culture and performance that comes with living in this generation.
definitely recommend if you want to read a book that makes you forget you’re reading.

Four young woman became friends at university, they have remained friends as their lives evolve and take different directions.
Lauren is a mum, Steffi has been concentrating on her career, Charlotte has been struggling with fertility problem and Nicki is almost at her due date.
Charlotte has planned an elaborate baby shower for Nicki and the girls will be reunited. It’s a stifling hot day, which adds to the tension among the group
I did not like any of these four young woman, they are supposed to be friends but each of them are wrapped up in their own lives and problems.
The book does voice the struggles a new mum can have, the heartache and stresses of IVF, and the tensions that can brew in a female friendship group.
The fire and the police investigation seemed like an add on to the story but perhaps it encouraged the four woman to set aside their issues and remember their friendship.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

A baby shower, what can go wrong? A group of friends, their struggles and different approaches to motherhood in a fun and though provoking story.

From the first few pages, I was struck by how deeply human and real the narrative is. I read this in two days and couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Each of the four friends gathered for Nicki’s baby shower are having troubles. Nicki’s having a dream baby shower, but her marriage is struggling. Charlotte is throwing the baby shower of her dreams, for someone else’s baby. Lauren is caring for a 9 month old whilst suffering post-partum depression from a traumatic birth, but no one seems to be paying attention to mother over baby and Steffi is having an amazing break through at work but as a happily childfree woman by choice, isn’t given the acknowledgment of her achievements because they don’t involved marriage or children. The narrative seamlessly weaves back and forth from present day, the day of the baby shower and their past. It brings to the forefront the inescapable problem of being a woman, whatever path you choose in life, you will be judged for it.

The media glamourises female friendships through franchises like Sex and the City . It shows the highlight reel of best friends who spend every day together for years and years with very little change. The reality is so different and this book really encapsulates that. The miscommunication and misunderstanding is heartbreaking to read. Each of the four women believe the grass is greener, each one being painfully self-absorbed whilst ignoring the reality of their friend’s difficulties. The lack of empathy for each others situations was startling and at times unsettling. Each women’s story is so poignant, particularly Lauren’s, my heart broke for her. There’s a visceral pain that oozes through every page of this book. The prose flows so well, with a small mystery running through to keep the audience guessing until the conclusion.

This book was truly beautiful and heartbreaking. I can’t wait for it to be released so I can recommend it to people.

✨4.5 stars✨

I really enjoyed this book!

I have read and enjoyed Holly Bourne’s YA novels so I was really excited to receive an ARC for this book as the premise sounded really interesting.

This book focused on the realities of pregnancy and motherhood with a brutally honest exploration of infertility and the struggles that go along with this, post-natal depression, but also the on the flip-side looking at the women who decide not to have kids. Bourne’s honest storytelling highlights all of this and more whilst making you feel for all of the characters as you come to understand their actions and feelings, along with a sprinkle of mystery as the reader tries to unravel what really occurred at the ill-fated baby shower.

I would 100% recommend this book!

I received an ARC via NetGalley from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I dont think I can put into words how much I enjoyed this book!

I read it over 2 days, and sacrificed a lot of sleep because I could not put it down.

Centred around a group of female friends that met at university, and are now in their 30s. They are having a baby shower for one of the four, which ends terribly and results in a police investigation and a "whodunnit" element to the story.

The story is told from all four points of view, which I absolutely loved. It also jumped between past and present, which was a perfect way to find out more about each persons back story. The author did such a good job with the characters, I found myself hating, and relating to each one at different points. The complexity of female friendships is captured well, and motherhood/pregnancy and the issues that come alongside it were also well represented in my opinion.

I would recommend this book to anyone, while it was a tough read in places due to dealing with some different topics, it was humorous and entertaining and ultimately a quick, enjoyable read.

College friends Nicki, Lauren, Charlotte and Steffi gather at Nicki's parents country house for Nicki's baby shower organised by Charlotte.
This story explores new motherhood and society's expectations around wanting and having children.
But this baby shower goes off with a bang, literally with a misfired firework causing a big fire. Told from all the girls' view.

A well-crafted story with plenty to appreciate. The pacing, characters, and plot twists kept me interested throughout. I'm looking forward to seeing how readers respond once it's released!

As someone who is still battling with the will I /wont I / can I / can’t I have children, I found this book challenging to read at times. That said I really appreciated the different perspectives on motherhood and how women are judged regardless of their choices. By both men and other women alike. I found it incredibly thought provoking. I think I would have actually enjoyed it more if I wasn’t going through it myself, however I wouldn’t have related to it so much.

I read this in one sitting over the weekend and am OBSESSED - I don't think I've ever read anything like it on motherhood and it was weirdly cathartic to be so immersed in the topic under the guise of reading a gripping, wildly entertaining novel. The whodunnit element is a neat framework - I loved the snippets of the police investigation and social media fallout interspersed between chapters, and can honestly say I didn't see the grand reveal of the culprit coming - but what really stood out to me was the balance between the author's sharp eye for satirical detail (more tips for the world's most OTT baby shower than you can shake a stork-shaped cake topper at; a *literal tinderbox* of a setting) and the compassion of her writing. The Little Women's views and experiences of pregnancy and motherhood are set in stark relief without ever feeling like one has more merit over another, and I found myself empathizing with Lauren, Charlotte, Steffi, and even Nicki in almost equal measure as their unspoken hopes and struggles came to light. Clever and knowing, and by turns horrifying and hilarious, this is one for everyone who's ever looked at a baby and thought . . . well, anything really.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the ARC.