Review: A Time For Friends by Patricia Scanlan

When are the boundaries of friendship pushed too far, and when is it time to stop flying over oceans for someone who wouldn't jump over a puddle for you? There comes a time when Hilary Hammond has to make that call.

Hilary and Colette O'Mahony have been friends since childhood, but when irrepressible Jonathan Harpur breezes into Hilary's life and goes into business with her, Colette is not pleased.

After their first encounter, Colette thinks he's a pushy upstart, while he thinks she's a snobby little diva. And so the battle lines are drawn and Hilary is square in the middle.

But as the years roll by and each of them is faced with difficult times and tough decisions, one thing is clear: to have a friend you must be a friend.

Paperback, 480 pages
Expected publication: July 14th 2015 by Atria Books


Terri's Thoughts

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher Atria via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.  The expected publication date is July 14th 2015.

If you are looking for a story about friendship, then this is a good pick.  If you are looking for a story about one sided friendships, even more so.  Essentially this book tells the story of two friendship.  Hilary and Colette who grew up together and then Hilary and Jonathan who meet as adults.  One is a dysfunctional friendship while the other is the type of friendship that will never die.

Hilary - She was the type of person we all aspire to be however lets be honest are really too selfish to emulate.  The perfect friend, wife, mother and professional.  I am having a good day if I can get ready for work and my outfit fits on the first try meanwhile Hilary juggled everything.  Although throughout the story she showed signs of being human she was selfless for the most part.  The way she tolerate Colette was infuriating yet admirable and the way she was at Jonathan's side was heartwarming.

Colette - Could you find a more selfish person!  From the way the story starts you expect that Colette will redeem herself at some point in the story but in my opinion it never happened.  The way she took advantage of Hilary's friendship and used her to boost herself up was disgusting.  If a friend ignored me for years and then all of a sudden expected me to drop everything and fly to the other side of the world, I would tell them exactly where to go!  I could go on and on and ask the question why friendships are almost always one sided but I decided not too go too deep with this one.  I choose to dislike this character...strongly.

Jonathan - I'm not going to say much but he was a character that made me smile.  I really liked everything about him and would love a friend like him.

Ultimately this was a story where not too much happens however you see the lives of these characters over the span of many years.  Occasionally the writing would switch to the point of views of a secondary character which was a little odd however not a deal breaker.  If you enjoy a story that delves in to the topic of friendship then this just may be the one for you.

About the Author

Patricia Scanlan was born in Dublin, where she still lives. While working as a librarian she started to write, and now has a full-time career as a bestselling author.