Summary: This book will make you realize one thing. Never easily trust someone who uses a sweet smile to hide a bitter heart.
Title: The Toxic Friend
Author: Nicole Trope
Page Count: 286
MY RATINGS:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Psychological Thriller, Domestic Thriller / Domestic Suspense, Murder Mystery, Women's Psychological Fiction, Toxic Friendship Relationship
Keep your enemies close… and your best friends closer.
I watch Victoria and Reese leaving their favourite coffee shop arm-in-arm. They like to go there to catch up, brag about their perfect husbands and their perfect children.
But I know the truth. Behind those big smiles, Reese and Victoria have kept each other close so they can watch each other. Their friendship is toxic. And their lives are built on one big lie.
I carefully snap another photograph to add to my collection. Neither of them knows I see everything they do. They’ll find out soon enough, when I bring their lies out into the open. Then it will be just the three of us, together again after all these years.
Because the past is coming back to bite these two women…
It’s me. I’m the past. Here I come.
A totally addictive psychological thriller by million-copy bestseller Nicole Trope that will have you racing through the pages late into the night! Fans of Andrea Mara, Shari Lapena and Freida McFadden won’t be able to put this down.
The last 20 chapters gave me a sleepless night. The psychological tension is suffocating because it captures the exact, agonizing moment you realize a friend never actually cared about you at all. It exposes the sickening grief of realizing you were FIERCELY LOYAL to a friend who only ever viewed you as competition. And the person you trusted most was actually the one poisoning your life.
"Keep your enemies close… and your best friends closer" isn't just a catchy phrase but a terrifying truth because it genuinely happens in REAL life. This is a creepy thriller that proves your worst enemy might be sitting right next to you.
The Story and the Characters
So, this story is all about three women who seem to have a "not-so-nice" friendship because it's mixed with poisonous envy and quiet malice. It is full of secrets, lies, and calculated betrayals! All just for their own SELFISH survival.
Reese is the type of friend who is a desperate people-pleaser. She will do absolutely anything to make everyone comfortable at her own expense, completely terrified to create chaos even when standing up for the truth. To be honest, I completely underestimated Reese. Thinking she was just weak! But Ma'am her twisted, spineless secrets disgusted me! OMG!
Victoria is the type of friend who teaches you how to be brave, how to FIGHT DIRTY and how to just be yourself as long as you believe you're right. "People-pleaser" is definitely not in her vocabulary, and she’s willing to destroy anyone who gets in her way just to prove a point. She reminds me of someone I used to trust in an online community and it hurts to read. Victoria is the type of person who will completely destroy someone’s mental health just because she's angry. I absolutely despise her character. Sorry, not sorry.
Camilla is the type of friend you just can’t save. She is someone who genuinely LOVES DROWNING in her own toxicity. She’s the kind of friend who will "happily drag you down" with her so she doesn't have to drown alone. You will despise her throughout the book, but you'll feel sick with pity for her once you learn her REAL BACKSTORY. You will learn that not all villains are born monsters. Some are made by the very people they trusted.
Lines from this book made me a little sick and sad at the same time because imagine having a friend who thinks of you like this... with pure, hidden resentment. It brings out this uncomfortable truth that no matter how GENUINE you are with someone, they’ll still secretly hate on your happiness and low-key wish for your downfall.
"But when I try to figure out how I'm feeling about what she's said, I realise I'm feeling jealous."
"They don't deserve what they have."
"Every time I hear about something good happening in their lives, I feel a dark-green snake of envy slither through my body."
"Probably were only ever best friends in my imagination, if I think about it."
"...throwing in a few lies for good measure, quite a lot of lies."
Overall, this book will make you realize that you have to learn to WALK ALONE, stay brave, and never easily trust someone who uses a sweet smile to hide a bitter heart. Who only loves you when you're struggling. Don't trap yourself in a loyalty that will eventually destroy you. Don't get yourself stuck in a fake friendship relationship that drains your peace just to keep them happy.
But honestly, the most powerful lesson the author (Nicole Trope) leaves you with is this... surviving a toxic friendship teaches you how to grow a spine. It forces you to realize that cutting out people who secretly resent your success isn't a loss. It's the ultimate win for your own sanity and happiness.
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NOTE: Anyway, I’m so incredibly grateful I got to read an ARC of this. I literally prayed to be chosen as a reader because so much of this story hits home and reminds me of an old friendship I had to deal with in real life. This is my personal opinion about the book. My goal is to share my experience, not to change anyone's perspective. Thank you to Nicole Trope and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this early.