This is the first book by Dorothy Koomson that I’ve read, maybe it’ll be the last as well, many reviews I’ve read mean that this is her best book, by far. (Someone refered to My Best Friend’s Girl as a waste of paper)

It tackles the age old question; can men and women be friends without sex and love getting in the way? Mal and Nova have known each other forever and are each other’s support, trustees and, in many ways, family.

For Nova it is almost natural to agree to be the surrogate mother of Mal and his wife Stephanie’s child. All three are happy with the agreement until the Mal and Stephanie change their mind, leaving Nova pregnant, alone and without explanations.

Eight years later; Mal and Stephanie’s marriage is rocky, Nova has married Keith who has taken over the Dad role for her son Leo, who is in a coma with an uncertain outcome. Mal and Nova, once best friends, have not spoken since Mal told her they didn’t want the baby.

Despite being about friendship between a man and a woman, it is not the question “will they or won’t they” that the author has decided to focus on. She has in stead decided to focus on what choices they have made to end up where they ended up, the question being “Why?” Stephanie and Nova take turn narrating the book and we are given insights into both women’s thoughts and reasoning behind their actions. It also gives more depth to the story and not just making it one-sided. It probably would have been harder, but it would have been nice with Mal’s point of view as well, not just the women.

Even without Mal, the story was interesting and had many depths. I enjoyed reading this book, by the end I couldn’t put it down. It’s a typical relationship book, with the focus on friendship in stead of romance, and I must say the ending is beautiful.