Best Friends by Andrew Meehan is rather like life in that it is both sad and sweet. A perfect read for anyone who has enjoyed books by Elizabeth Strout, David Nicholls or Virginia Evans.

June and Ray live in the same small town but have never met. Both are single and set in their ways but a chance encounter leads to a growing friendship and then relationship. All of which sounds like a lovely story but doesn’t come close to describing this book.

Often in these kind of stories the couple would be a fairly idealised version of older people, kindly, charming, comfortable, but that’s not true of June and Ray. They’re both good people but they’re by no means perfect and they represent a group more often overlooked, not well off, no family, lonely. Both of them just jump off the page from the very start and it’s impossible not to become completely invested in their story. Neither are entirely sure they want to make the effort or change their lives and habits so much but it’s lovely to see their relationship grow and you pull for them through the good times and worry for them as harder times come.

Andrew Meehan has a wonderful writing style, full of empathy and almost conversational, so it feels as though you could visit the town and find them there. It’s a lovely book, not what you’d traditionally think of as a page turner but I couldn’t put it down. Beautiful.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Best Friends' by Andrew Meehan

Wow!!!! Just flipping wow!!!! What an absolutely epic page turner!!! Well done Andrew!!! How on Earth have I never read any of your books before? Absolutely smashed it!!!!!!! I have absolutely no idea how this is the first time I have read one of this incredible author's books but I am so glad I have rectified that problem and I cannot wait to get hooked into more books by the extremely talented Andrew. I cannot wait to get stuck into the rest of his books as I can guarantee they are all amazing even if they are just half as good as this book they are guaranteed to be epic which means I will fly through them like I did with this book!!

WOW!!!! What can I say?!?! What an absolutely beautiful book that I fell in love with front the first chapter!!! I cannot wait to read more books by this extremely talented author! This book is beautifully written with vivid descriptions setting the picture perfectly in the readers mind. The title, description and cover works perfectly with the storyline.

This book is an absolutely gorgeous, compelling and emotive page turner!!! Before you pick this beauty up make sure you have a free day as you will not be able to put it down. In this immersive and addictive page turner Andrew transports his readers to the small town of Sandycove in Dublin where they will meet June Wylie and Ray Draper who are both in their 70's. June cleans houses, looks similar to Chrissie Hynde and is not really friend material. Ray works as a janitor at the public tennis courts in Dun Laoghaire, looks like Willie Nelson and is not romance material. Neither are looking for friendship let alone romance yet when they meet they form a friendship which begins to grow into something more. They like to rub each other up the wrong way, laugh, end up going on disastrous dates but most importantly they are normal older people whose story brings this beautiful book to life!!! I wont say anymore than that as you really need to meet June and Ray for yourselves to find out more!! With an absolutely fantastic, memorable and brilliant storyline ram packed with humour, friendship, wit, romance, life and so much more what are you waiting for? Grab your copy of 'Best Friends' and fall in love today!! I was completely swept in the storyline and I absolutely loved the realism of it. I absolutely love the fact that our protagonists are older people as there does not seem to be many books around that focus on the older generation and I absolutely adored June and Ray from the moment I met them!! I was utterly glued to the pages and I could not bring myself to put it down. I was carrying my book around and reading it every chance that I got. I adored the ending and would love to see this book turned into a movie. I don't want to say anything else about the storyline as I don't want to give to much away but I do want to mention two more things. Considering this book is quite short at just 189 pages Andrew has managed to pack so much humour, friendship, adventure, laughter and much more in to what is not hugely bigger than a novella and I just genuinely absolutely adored it!! Just make sure you clear your schedules as you won't be able to put this stunning and compelling book down!!! Andrew's evocative writing skills will take you straight to Dublin and into the lives of June and Ray at the turn of a page. A gorgeous page-turner filled with a beautiful story that really will warm your hearts . I am off to add the rest of Andrew's books to my Amazon wish list as soon as I've finished this review!!

Clear your schedules as this is one gorgeous and unputdownable stunner

The characters are strong, realistic and I became completely invested in each and every one of them. They all had their own problems, secrets, feelings and all had unique personalities and I just absolutely loved getting to know them all. I felt each of their love, friendship, pain, heartbreak, happiness, worry, happiness, fear, sorrow and so much more. I loved getting to know Ray and June and was absolutely devastated when I came to the end and had to say Goodbye to them both. The only bad thing about this beautiful book was the fact that I had to say Goodbye to them as, unfortunately, no matter how realistic Andrew has made these fantastic characters and how he made them come to life while reading they are sadly just fictional. I loved seeing their personalities, friendships and lives change throughout the book and their story really did put a smile on my face! Andrew really does do an absolutely incredible job of bringing the story to life and the characters leap out of the pages as your turning them thanks to his evocative writing skills!! It is so hard to say what I feel about the characters without giving anything away so I won't say anymore about them as I don't want to go into too much detail at the risk of spoiling it for other readers but Nick really has done an amazing job at bringing each of the characters to life and I am missing them already. Well done Andrew!!!

Congratulations Andrew on an absolutely gorgeous, stunning and unique realistic read filled with everything you could ask for in a page turner!!! I am looking forward to reading more of your books and I would absolutely love to see this book turned into a movie!!! This is why I would like to welcome you to my favourite author list and here's to your next success

Overall a compelling, addictive, unique, beautiful and fantastic page turner!!


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What a gorgeous book and such a pleasure to read. It is gentle and meanders slowly through the burgeoning relationship of Ray and June, two solitary people who find each other almost by accident and gradually fall for each other.

They are engaging and riddled with complexes but you are cheering them on and hoping that all will end well.

Written in beautiful luscious prose interspersed with some subtle jokes this book is a gem and should be savoured

Sweet and sour friendship between two people in their 70s and their getting together. Nice story, a lot of lists.

This is a really beautiful story, with such beautiful and, at times lyrical, prose that reminds us that it is never too late for love. The writing style wasn’t quite for me, but I was still able to appreciate the beauty of the story and the message that it was portraying. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys lyrical prose and deeper messaging about love.