REVIEW: My Hot Friend by Sophie White

Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Womens Fiction 

Release Date: Expected 4th May 2023

Publisher: Hachette Books Ireland

Lexi is shooting into stardom — her Podcast Your Hot Friends with her bestie is a hit, and her life is champagne and cocaine. But now she’s not sure if people actually like her, or who she presents as.

Claire is struggling with life since the incident last year left her in a psychiatric ward — and even more so now that she’s realised her messages to her friends group chat are going unanswered.

Joanne didn’t want everything to change once she’d had a baby, but they have. She doesn’t want to be the party girl she was, but now she’s just a mum and girlfriend and completely alone.

Three women, three very different lives, three people who just want friendship and love — but when they come together they’ll find that maybe they’ve got more in common than they think.

"Why are all the sad songs and sad movies about couples breaking up? Friendship breakups were far more painful and complex."

Funny, fierce and feisty — this unputdownable adventure is a whip-smart and brutally authentic look into the complexity of female friendships, and the pressures of growing into a woman in a world that never considers them good enough for their double standards.

Every character has something deeply relatable and charming about them; all of them are dazzling but far from perfect in the best of ways. They’re flawed, troubled, insecure, hurt, angry — I felt so much of my own rage and frustration at the world reflected back at me through them. Each of them have distinct voices, personalities that grow and evolve over the pages, and their own growth is what drives the story forward as we spend time getting into their lives and the little moments that the outside world doesn’t see. It’s slow moving, but leisurely and never loses its entertaining pace — watching relationships grow and break in real time, and of course some increasingly absurd adventures and antics that made my face ache from smiling.

Every relationship is complex and dynamic, showing the confusing and frustrating sides of friendships that can happen when people change or get lost. It shows how natural and crucial some friendships can be — but also how toxic. As someone who’s had to break up with friends before and whose had them just fizzle away — this hit me right in the gut.

Oh, and of course the star of the show was really Scout, the adorable teacup puppy turned honorary member of a slipknot tribute band.

It was authentically real and heartbreakingly heavy at times, but so full of light and love — a witty, relevant story that feels like a cathartic late night talk with your hot friend.