When I randomly picked up The Other’s Gold by Elizabeth Ames on the library shelf, the synopsis gave off the same type of vibe as THIS BOOK which I absolutely loved.  I couldn’t wait to read it and write a review!  I hadn’t heard of this book or this author but obviously the subject of 4 best friends who met in college sucked me right in.

Goodreads Synopsis of The Other’s Gold {Elizabeth Ames}:

Assigned to the same suite during their freshman year at Quincy-Hawthorne College, Lainey, Ji Sun, Alice, and Margaret quickly become inseparable. But they soon find their bonds–forged in joy, and fused by fear–must weather threats that come at them from institutions, from one another, and ultimately, from within themselves.

The Other’s Gold follows the four friends as each makes a terrible mistake, moving from their wild college days to their more feral days as new parents. With one part devoted to each mistake–the Accident, the Accusation, the Kiss, and the Bite–this complex yet compulsively readable debut interrogates the way that growing up forces our friendships to evolve as the women discover what they and their loved ones are capable of, and capable of forgiving.

My Book Review:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

4 Stars

The beginning of this book was written on a path aimed directly into my heart.  4 best friends who met freshman year of college and INSTANTLY became soulmates???  Their instant connection?  Their immediate bond?  The fact that 4 strangers could immediately become FAMILY? It was insane. It was US. I texted my 3 best friends and told them that I was currently reading a book that written about US.

**You can read about my relationship with my amazing besties HERE and HERE**

And then as the characters began to unfold and their stories came to light, it was ABUNDANTLY clear that this book was NOT in fact written about us.  Nope, not at all.  Not even a little bit.  How could I ever even think to compare the 4 of us to these 4 awful women?!

The girls in this book turned into 4 of the most unlikable characters I’ve ever read about.  I couldn’t connect to ANY of them, their life decisions, or the way that they ultimately treated each other and at times treated their friendship.

I am ALWAYS thankful for my 3 beautiful best friends but after reading this book I am even MORE thankful that we have each other and that we are NOTHING like these awful women.  Yikes.

Warning: Parts of this book are hard to read.  The subjects (especially in the 2nd half of the book) are extremely uncomfortable.

The writing was…interesting.  Extremely descriptive, sometimes TOO descriptive.

So why am I giving this book about these horrible women 4 stars??? I COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN.  This was the kind of book where I would sneak in a little bit of reading time anytime that I could because I HAD to know what was going to happen next.  I felt my mouth physically DROP OPEN reading about some of these decisions that these 4 were making and I found myself physically covering sections with my hand so I wouldn’t mistakenly read ahead.  I loved the tiny cliffhangers at the end of certain chapters!  Why can’t more authors master this?!  Awesome!!

My review of this book is so all over the place.  Things I loved?  YES!  Things I hated?  YES!  Able to put it down and stop reading until I finished?  NO!

Bottom Line:

I’m not sure how I can like AND recommend a book where I hate the characters and subjects…but….I do?!?

Xo,

Jenny

Did you read this book?  What did you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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The ultimate list of my top book suggestions can be found HERE