Review: The Friends We Keep by Jane Green

The Friends We Keep

by Jane Green

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 384

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Evvie, Maggie, and Topher have known each other since university. Their friendship was something they swore would last forever. Now years have passed, the friends have drifted apart, and none of them ever found the lives they wanted – the lives they dreamed of when they were young and everything seemed possible.
 
Evvie starved herself to become a supermodel but derailed her career by sleeping with a married man. 
 
Maggie married Ben, the boy she fell in love with at university, never imagining the heartbreak his drinking would cause. 
 
Topher became a successful actor but the shame of a childhood secret shut him off from real intimacy.
 
By their thirtieth reunion, these old friends have lost touch with each other and with the people they dreamed of becoming. Together again, they have a second chance at happiness… until a dark secret is revealed that changes everything.

Kritters Thoughts:  Let me start by saying, I am a Jane Green fan and even though I didn't completely love this one, I am still a Jane Green fan.  Three friends are at the center of this book and they meet in university and then travel in and out of each other's lives for the rest of their lives.  

This book was just ok for me.  There were moments where I felt like the story dragged and then moments where I wanted more.  I didn't get completely swept away by any of the characters.  Each had a bit of drama that they needed to work through and unlike my favorite stories they almost had to be apart to grow instead of be together, they were holding each other back.  

I wanted more from this book.  I love stories where friendship is the center, but for me the drama overshadowed the emphasis on how friendships matter and most of the drama was about romantic relationships.

I will always read Jane Green because I love almost all of her backlist.  I hope she has more up her sleeve with interesting characters that I can root for.


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley PRH.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.