Thats What Friends Are For by Marcie Steele

That's What Friends Are For by Marcie Steele

Published: 11th December 2015

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 342

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

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Blurb

Best friends tell each other everything… right?
Sam and Louise have been best friends since they hung their coats side by side on the first day of primary school. Now in their thirties, they’re just as close, but life is a little bit more complicated…

On the outside, thirty-something Sam seems to have it all; the gorgeous husband, the beautiful home and the flourishing business. But things are not quite as rosy as they seem. So when handsome stranger, Dan, walks into her life, Sam finds his attentions hard to resist.

Louise might seem like life and soul of the party, but her outgoing exterior hides her sadness about the heartbreak in her past. She just wants someone to love – but all Louise gets left with is a quick fumble with an ex at the end of the night.

When a glamorous face from the past returns to shake things up, things get even more complicated for Sam and Louise. And just when they need each other the most, they’ve reason to wonder whether they ever really knew each other at all.

An emotional and uplifting tale of love, secrets and the importance of having a best friend.

Review

That’s What Friends Are For is the second novel for Mel Sherratt writing as Marcie Steele. While I found her first novel good I really enjoyed this one. The story is focused on the relationship between best friends Sam and Louise but I enjoyed the addition of all the other characters which added more depth to the story and for me made it more realistic.

Sam and Louise have been best friends since their childhood. Working together on Sam’s market stall their lives might not have turned out exactly as they planned but they seem happy and share everything, well almost everything. Louise has a fifteen year old daughter Charley and has never told anyone who her father is, something which bugs Sam. Sam appears to be happy in her marriage to Reece but while he works away Sam begins to question how happy she really is and the appearance of handsome stranger Dan leads her to wonder exactly what her future holds.

The characters for me are what makes this novel so enjoyable, there’s such a mix but somehow they all fit together with their connections to the market. The community spirit among them is lovely, especially when they come together to give someone a special surprise.

My favourite had to Charley. I just loved her sassy attitude towards Louise as she tries to get her mother to notice her more. She comes across as such a sensible teenager despite having very little guidance from Louise and struggling at school because of Louise’s behaviour. I found Louise one of the characters I didn’t get on with at first, she comes across as very selfish and acts very childish going out and getting drunk every weekend instead of caring properly for Charley. I wished she’d take a proper look at lovely Matt who was always there for her and Charley and for some strange reason was clearly besotted with her. The other characters of Nicci, Jay and Jess all add extra drama to the story, some of which is comical and some of which is a little heart-breaking.

That’s What Friends Are For is packed full of drama and secrets and I loved it. It’s about family, friendships and trying to find your own happy ending.

Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for sending me a copy to review, I’d like to give That’s What Friends Are For five stars as I found myself immersed in life at the market. I’m looking forward to Marcie’s next novel The Second Chance Shoe Shop which is out later this week.