A little something different for you today. I am delighted to be writing a book review for a blog tour for Chick Lit Plus website! Below you will find some information about the author and book that I was kindly given to review, as well as my honest opinion. I hope you enjoy it!
'A Questionable Friendship' by Samantha March
Samantha March is an author, editor, publisher, blogger, and all around book lover. She runs the popular book/women’s lifestyle blog ChickLitPlus, which keeps her bookshelf stocked with the latest reads and up to date on all things health, fitness, fashion, and celebrity related. In 2011 she launched her independent publishing company Marching Ink and has three published novels – Destined to Fail, The Green Ticket and A Questionable Friendship. When she isn’t reading, writing, or blogging, you can find her cheering for the Green Bay Packers. Samantha lives in Iowa with her husband and Vizsla puppy.
Connect with Samantha!
Brynne Ropert and Portland Dolish have been best friends since being paired as roommates in college. Seven years later they are now twenty-five, married, and living in Maine–– but the two women couldn’t be more different. Brynne finds fulfillment in her life as a wife, mother and owner of a small café and bookshop, but is struggling to expand her family. Portland is still coping with her mother’s death during her childhood, and her marriage is unraveling before her eyes. Portland envies her friend’s seemingly stable and easy life while Brynne doesn’t understand the growing distance between them and cannot begin to guess what secret Portland is hiding about her husband and crumbling marriage. While one woman feels shut out, the other enters into a web of lies to protect herself.
A Questionable Friendship explores what really makes someone a true friend, a support system, a sister. How much trust goes into a friendship and when is being a friend not enough? Brynne and Portland’s story will attempt to answer those questions, and show that happily ever after isn’t in the cards for everyone.
My Review:
What is a true friendship? Do we ever really know someone? As a good friend, should we be able to read what is going on behind closed doors? 'A Questionable Friendship' makes us consider all of these dilemmas. March takes us on a journey of two women's long standing friendship, and how it changes and develops over a short space of time. Both Brynne and Portland are likeable characters and it is clear to the reader that they are really good friends. The dual narrative allows us to experience how both women feel about each other and how they deal with issues that arise in their daily lives. The two women both experience tough times but struggle to talk to each other about it...perhaps until it is too late. A mixture of pride, jealousy and fear stops them from really confiding in each other when it really matters. Many women will relate to this in their own lives and with their own friendships. There is always that one thing that you want to keep from your friends, there is always a feeling at one time or another that your friend is keeping something from you and how we deal with this is discussed in this novel.
'A Questionable Friendship' is a 'can't put me down' read. Once you start you have to keep going to find out whether Brynne and Portland will confide in each other. March was clever in her creation of the two best friends, you really feel like you know them and go along on this journey with them. The other more minor characters are also created well to emphasise the different lives that they lead-Brynne's husband and daughter are adorable, with Portland's husband constantly shown with a side of mystery. Despite this truly being about a friendship between two women, the ending was not what I expected at all. Even though a clue is given to us at the beginning, March keeps the reader in suspense and hits them with the ending that was unpredictable but extremely moving.
'A Questionable Friendship' is a 'can't put me down' read. Once you start you have to keep going to find out whether Brynne and Portland will confide in each other. March was clever in her creation of the two best friends, you really feel like you know them and go along on this journey with them. The other more minor characters are also created well to emphasise the different lives that they lead-Brynne's husband and daughter are adorable, with Portland's husband constantly shown with a side of mystery. Despite this truly being about a friendship between two women, the ending was not what I expected at all. Even though a clue is given to us at the beginning, March keeps the reader in suspense and hits them with the ending that was unpredictable but extremely moving.
The characters, storyline, dual narrative and surprise ending all make this book one to read. March invites you into the world of Brynne and Portland to experience what you would think to be a 'true friendship.' Even more insight into the key dilemmas would make this novel even better but the reluctance to give too many details away allows March to add a mystery to what the women face and allow the reader the chance to come to their own conclusions after finishing reading. A truly wonderful and moving story of two friends which makes us question our own friendships, definitely worth a look.
*****
Do you fancy a read? Then you have the opportunity to win a gift card for Amazon, perhaps one of your purchases could be 'A Questionable Friendship!' Just enter using the rafflecopter link below:
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Hope you enjoyed reading my review! I hope to join in with a few more book blog tours if possible as reading is a true passion of mine. Thanks to Chick Lit Plus for allowing me to be a part of it and check Samantha's book out, you won't be disappointed!
Hope you enjoyed reading my review! I hope to join in with a few more book blog tours if possible as reading is a true passion of mine. Thanks to Chick Lit Plus for allowing me to be a part of it and check Samantha's book out, you won't be disappointed!
Thanks for popping by!
Hugs
Arline
xx
thank you so much for this beautiful review!
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