Meet Nicki, Lauren, Steffi and Charlotte affectionately known as The Little Women, four best friends since they met in university. Now in their 30s oh how life has changed babies, pregnancies, infertility, voluntary childlessness. They meet on a scorching summer day to celebrate Nicki's pending arrival however all is not as it seems, the baby shower ends in a fire possibly deliberate. So we go back through the events through the day and the last 10 plus years to see what has led to this. Some really serious issues are dealt with in this book so definitely take a look at trigger warnings. However Holly Bourne has dealt with them amazingly and even made me laugh throughout. Cool Mum being the most relateable character I've ever read 🤣 First book from this authour but won't be my last. Thank you to netgalley & hodder books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5 stars
Having read a few of Holly Bourne's YA books, I was really intrigued by how she would handle women's fiction and this feels so apt for where I am (and I can imagine so many other women will be) in my life right now.
It feels really honest and definitely has an introspective feel to it, which I liked. But it was also funny, while being more nuanced at times, giving it a good mix of the two and keeping me reading along.
This is the kind of story that I'll be recommending to everyone else at the same point in life as me and the characters.
And I definitely can't wait to see what Holly does next, after reading this.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read all of Holly Bournes books and always enjoy them.

I loved this cover and thought it was different from her previous books.

This is about 4 university friends reuniting for a baby shower.

this is about friendships and how things change.

Was a good read

A harrowing and hard-hitting novel that details some extremes of motherhood that need to be written about!

I am so glad that this book has been written. The different types of mothers that the author portrays are so important for a woman to recognise and normalise. Obviously this plot is fiction and an extreme case, but it's important nonetheless.

This book was such a page turner. i was so invested in the story of the 4 friends that i couldn’t put it down!
so many twists and though it jumped from character to character the way it was written was genius and i loved it!
definitely recommend

This is really women’s fiction, but it’s quite funny. There’s a hilarious monologue about breastfeeding which anyone who’s tried to breastfeed will empathise with
The trauma of birth is laid bare as is there typical difficulties of early days with a small baby?
IVF, miscarriage post depression There’s lots of weighty stuff in this novel but it’s all dealt with with subtlety poise and sense of humour that ultimately makes the book a fantastic read. as the author herself puts it the share audacious every day relentless effort of motherhood.

There’s something in here about millennial generation and social media making us all feel that our friends are having such beautiful glorified lives when we see their posts but can’t see what’s going on behind them
I always love it in a novel when there is discussion about novelists writing their first novels and publishers because obviously all of this has happened to the author of the book quite recently too
I originally copy of the novel on NetGalley UK and return for an honest review. The book was published in the UK on the 16th of January 2025 by Hodder and Stoughton.
This review will appear on NetGalley UK, Goodreads, StoryGraph, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com. It will also appear on Amazon Uk

As a new mum, this book made me feel more seen than anything else has in the last five months. I highlighted so many quotes that resonated with me and felt less alone as a result as the girls kept me company during naps.

At times the plot dragged a little, hence the reduction to four stars, but ultimately this was a hugely insightful read, and one I will recommend to all of my friends having children.

I have seen a lot of good reviews for this book online so thought I would give it a read but it did take me a while to get into it.

This is the story of four friends from university and how their lives have gone in different directions since leaving university and going into their thirties. This is a story of friendship, motherhood and different decisions that women make during their lives.

The main focus of the story is on the baby shower which ends in disaster and you are kept guessing who the culprit is.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the advanced reader copy.

Incredible book about the very real truth to friendships - especially as a woman i find - as you grow up. Some truly messy characters that just fit right into the image in your head and honestly relatable either to yourself or someone you know/have run into before.

I didn't know exactly what to expect from 'So Thrilled For You' - the synopsis made me think it would be a tense thriller, but I actually felt it was a (still very tense) drama focused on a group of female friends who have stayed in touch, but whose lives have changed a lot since they all became close at university many years ago. We meet Lauren, struggling hugely as a new mother; Nicki, who is pregnant; Charlotte, who is desperate for a baby but has never been able to conceive; and Steffi, who has never wanted children but feels her friends treat her differently because of this. They are all invited to Nicki's baby shower, organised by Charlotte and shaping up to be a very 'extra' shower - and tensions rise as the friends' relationships get put to the test in different ways - with some secrets peppered amongst the drama.

What we do know, however, is that somehow, a fire is started at the venue - but who started it? And why?

I definitely found I was enjoying the journey to get to the 'whodunnit' as much, if not more, than the mystery element, and I'm someone who LOVES a mystery in books usually. The main character's relationships, backstories, and interactions are dramatic and incredibly entertaining. I didn't necessarily like them all but I loved reading about them.

I don't have any experience with pregnancy, children or anything else to do with this topic, but I was entirely absorbed by this story. I didn't want to put this book down and I found it completely gripping. I would highly recommend whether you have children or no interest!

This is funny in many places and therefore fun to read. The challenges and tropes of being a women in today's world will resonate with many.
It's not my usual genre and I didn't get on well with the plot (I basically didn't care) but it's a good comedy, fun, and emotional.

This is not a genre I would normally go for but something stood out for me here. I really enjoyed the relationship of the four women and thought each of them had a convincing story.. Between them, they represent so many young women’s lives today. At times the narrative was funny but mostly I found it quite thought-provoking. I didn’t always love the style of the writing, which is sometimes quite informal, however, I can see what the author was achieving by doing this. I enjoyed the police interviews interspersed throughout.

Maybe motherhood books aren't really for me. I have enjoyed pretty much all of Holly's books and this one was well written like the others but I couldn't really relate to any character even the childfree by choice one. I feel like so many childfree characters are written in the same way.

I am sure so many others will relate to one of the women though as we see motherhood through 4 completely different lenses.

Absolutely brilliant! I loved this book and have now ordered 2 others by this author - it was very well written, engaging, realistic and I could not put it down.
I enjoyed the dynamics of all 4 friends and felt this is just how they may behave. Although it’s been some years since I had. Baby these things do not change and you are in a slight fog for a while amd this was portrayed accurately.

I would thoroughly recommend this book.

Firstly, the cover on this is absolutely beautiful and I am absolutely obsessed with it !

The story was a whole vibe from start to finish and I loved it!!

I would recommend this book to everyone and anyone who loves to read !!

This months Bookclub choice was So Thrilled For You by the fabulous Holly Bourne and it was another great choice!
I’d say it was a sort of contemporary soft thriller of ‘whodunnit’ (fyi you’ll never guess 🤪) with police interview extracts which nicely break up the text. It’s very character led, focusing on motherhood and all its (often gory) glory! At times it was laugh out loud funny and other times really quite sad and relatable for many new, expectant or hoping to be, mums.
I did get a little confused with the characters to begin with but soon got the hang of who’s who!
Thank you @netgalley for sending.

Four women in their thirties - friends since Uni - all get together for a baby shower
They have grown apart recently and this could be the opportunity to rekindle their friendship
But things go horribly wrong and as events unfold and secrets come to light - this could be the end of the friendship altogether
New mums in particular will love this story !!!
Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

I did struggle with this book at first - particularly the profane language used. However as I progressed I wanted to know how the fire started and what the real relationships were between the ‘Little Women’. I certainly did not expect the outcome!

A baby shower, a heatwave, tensions rising, relationships unravelling, a fire and a police investigation.

A dissection of the difficulties of motherhood, the heartache of infertility and the pressures on those choosing to not have children are all explored in a hard hitting and raw way.

Not for the faint hearted!

I am yet to find a Holly Bourne book I did not enjoy (YA or adult). Holly’s third adult book, this one looks at the complexities of motherhood in a very real way, and the impact it has on friendships and ourselves. Set over tjthe course of one day at a baby shower, a lot of different perspectives are represented through this lens, including pregnancy and child free individuals. I also really enjoyed the “twist” aspect about who began the focal point of the book (if you read it, you'll know what I mean). Somehow very hard hitting and laugh out loud funny at the same time.

An interest premise on what happens when friends have children but some of it felt exaggerated and slightly unrealistic.