Review: GIRLS NIGHT OUT, by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

GIRLS NIGHT OUT, by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

Lake Union Publishing - Available 24 July, 2018
Advance Reader Copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 











My Rating (out of 5)
⭐⭐⭐


A good book set against the beautiful backdrop of Mexico.

Ashley, Lauren, and Natalie were best friends once.  Tensions have developed between them in recent times, so Ashley organizes a tropical vacation for the three of them to reconnect and put things behind them. Once in the beautiful area of Tulum Mexico though, Ashley starts spending time with a local man, and tensions increase rather than decrease.  The night before their return flight home, Ashley disappears. 

Did she leave willingly? Did someone harm her; and if so, who?

The timeline for this book is constantly changing from "x" days before to "x" days after Ashley's disappearance.  I do not always care for time lines that change that much, but in this case it seemed to work well in developing the story.

I was not really a fan of some of the dynamics between the women.  The petty jealousy between Natalie and Lauren over who Ashley is favoring at any time was particularly off key to me. It was just a little too much drawn-out drama over nothing, and came off as a little sophomoric for my tastes.  I feel that women of that age are likely to be more matter of fact about those types of issues, and either "get over it", or get on with their life in spite of it.

There were some themes that the authors dealt with more effectively though.  Honesty with not only each other, but with oneself.  Forgiveness. The need to address problems in a timely manner before time and pride make it even more difficult. The importance of working to maintain friendship.

It was a good book, but it was more emotional and less gripping than I had expected. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a chance to read and review this book. 

Happy Reading, 
Christine