Favorite Quotes:Maureen Cuffe was a mouse of a woman, forever playing small to augment her husband’s supremacy… her mother talked of his impending retirement with a sense of doom worthy of an undertaker. ‘Not long now,’ she would say when he left the house.She actually nodded towards the dumpy little woman, with absurd copper rouge hair piled too high on her head. She stood transfixed, once she realised it was her own reflection. She studied the woman staring back at her with her expensive cloth...

I went blind into this book because it was written by author Faith Hogan. I don’t need to read the blurb to know the women in this novel would be strong and brave, they would face life and inspire me to find the girl I used to know too.The first half of the book was slow where the author laid down the foundations of both the main characters. 35 year old Amanda with her husband and kids had a great, well-settled life where the 66 year old Tess, her tenant at the basement, was the only thorn on he...

This review was originally posted on Between My LinesThe Girl I Used to Know by Faith Hogan is an entertaining, and lively read about second chances, taking control of your life, and the power of friendship.  Which is exactly the kind of inspiring and uplifting read that I love to snuggle up with. First Line of The Girl I Used to Know by Faith Hogan “The sun began to empty its rays across the bay earlier each morning now.” My Thoughts on The Girl I Used to Know by Faith Hogan This book f...

I first discovered Faith Hogan by reading “The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club” which I also highly recommend reading. Again, kudos to author Ms. Faith Hogan for this great read.Isn’t money the key to happiness? Amanda is rich so she’s happy??Then there’s Tess, the tenant. The man she loved married her sister. She’s bitter. She’s built a thick wall around herself and she’s not letting anyone in. Looks can be deceiving. Amanda and Tess despise each other. Bring in Amanda’s daughter and a cat and t...

5☆ Compelling, A journey of self discovery, friendships and Second Chances!The Girl I Used to Know is a beautiful story of two very different women living in virtually the same house as strangers but come together to form an unlikely  friendship.It's a beautifully Heartwarming and compelling read. It's about friendship, Family, Relationships and a second chance at happiness.Amanda seems to have it all. The gorgeous Four storey Georgian House, with 2 teenage children and a husband that gives her

This is based around a four storey Georgian house in a lovely Dublin square.The women I meet very soon become part of my “life” as the author makes them 3D almost immediately and you cannot help but feel connected to all of them.Amanda and Richard King purchase this house but it has a sitting tenant named Tess. They think they can eventually get her to move on. But it’s not the case.Amanda and Richard being owners occupy the top three storeys with they’re children. Amanda seems to have it all, i...

This is a highly original story of two women who live in the same house, Tess being the unwanted tenant of the ground floor flat and Amanda living with her husband, Richard, and their children in the other floors of the house. Initially the story fills in background information on how the two came to live there and their somewhat confrontational relationship. After very different triggers, these two lonely women start to re-evaluate their lives, making personal discoveries en route. Events from

Amanda and Tess don't like each other very much. They share the same house, but Amanda would love to get rid of Tess, who's an unwelcome tenant she and her husband Richard can't evict. Amanda and Tess have something in common though, they're both lonely. Tess's heart was broken a long time ago and she hasn't been able to let anyone come close ever since. Amanda's marriage is loveless and cold, her so called friends don't really care about her and her children aren't that nice to her either. Woul...

Told in two time-lines over forty years apart.Over forty years ago:This lovely story begins with two sisters from rural Ireland. On the cusp of adulthood, they travel together to Dublin where one sister will attend Trinity College's prestigious College of Music, and the other sister will attend secretarial school.  Tess Cuffe, the more passionate and vibrant of the two, is a singer. Nancy is more demure and wants the traditional life of husband and children, preferably back in Ballycove, the sma...

Tess and Amanda are at loggerheads and hate each other. However, they may have more in common than they thought.Never having read Faith Hogan before, I was amazed at how much reading The Girl I Used to Know felt like returning to a favourite author. The writing felt familiar, loved and welcome. Faith Hogan has a style that is smooth and effective, drawing in the reader to the story without them actually realising they are reading a work of fiction. I loved the way in which events from the past w...

The Girl I Used to Know is a wonderful story centered around the occupants of a particular house in Dublin, Ireland. This is the first book by Faith Hogan that I've read and I can happily say I plan on reading more by this author. Her characters are multidimensional, with rich lives that are entertaining to escape to even if at times they are mired in heartbreak.Tess Cuffe and Amanda King are living their lives under the same roof, but with very opposite circumstances (and separate front doors)....

https://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/...I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it was completing inspiring and really made me think about some of my current friendships! The plot was brilliant and the characters worked really well to bring the story to life - the writing style was superb and I flew through the pages not wanting to put it down. I was completely wrapped up in the stories of Tess and Amanda - both were such interesting characters and I loved how the plot moved around them.Five stars from...

The Girl I Used To KnowByFaith HoganWhat it's all about...This is a lovely book about two women who have been lost to themselves and are in great need of finding themselves. Tess and Amanda...neighbors by default... who have lived practically side by side without really knowing each other...for years. They have been unfriendly for so long that it seems as though they can never really be friendly. However...circumstances bring them together...or if not together at least on a path that might bring...

*I voluntarily reviewed this book from the PublisherTHE GIRL I USED TO KNOW by Faith Hogan is a compelling story that will grip you by your heart as you travel alongside these two very different women as they navigate their lives.Amanda has the perfect life with her husband, in her beautiful home, and has everything she desires at her fingertips. Except she doesn't. She discovers her husband is unfaithful, her house may look designer-perfect but it lacks love and that sense of home. And her rela...

Amanda thinks she has it all. Once upon a time she was an upcoming artist, but she turned her back on her talent when she married Richard. Richard works hard and brings in lots of money. This makes them able to live comfortably in a picture perfect house. Amanda is always busy keeping up appearances with her fake friends, because she doesn't want to be the main subject of their gossip. Her two teenage children know that something isn't right and their behavior is only making the already bad situ...