Us Three: The heart-warming and uplifting Sunday Times bestseller

Ruth Jones

Sep 2020 · Random House

About this ebook

***THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***

'A touching celebration of the beauty and endurance of female friendship. There is nothing mightier. Fact.' DAWN FRENCH

The new novel from Ruth Jones, co-creator of Gavin & Stacey and author of the smash-hit, number one bestselling debut, Never Greener.

Friends forever is a difficult promise to keep...

Meet Lana, Judith and Catrin. Best friends since primary school when they swore an oath on a Curly Wurly wrapper that they would always be there for each other, come what may.

After the trip of a lifetime, the three girls are closer than ever. But an unexpected turn of events shakes the foundation of their friendship to its core, leaving their future in doubt - there's simply too much to forgive, let alone forget. An innocent childhood promise they once made now seems impossible to keep . . .

Packed with all the heart and empathy that made Ruth's name as a screenwriter and now author, Us Three is a funny, moving and uplifting novel about life's complications, the power of friendship and how it defines us all.

Prepare to meet characters you'll feel you've known all your life - prepare to meet Us Three.

*****

Praise for Us Three:

'A warm, smart, uplifting tale of true friendship.' BETH O'LEARY

'This novel oozes warmth and honesty. A big-hearted book that provides a cast of characters you'll lose your heart to.' ADELE PARKS

'I loved this brilliantly gripping depiction of the complexities of female friendship over the years. Love, betrayal, comedy and loss - Us Three has it all.' FIONA NEILL

*****

Readers love Us Three:

'I love the way Ruth Jones writes. The relationship between the 3 friends is perfect and a wonderful book to read about friendship'

'I absolutely loved this so much. There were moments that made me cry and other moments that made me laugh.'

'Best book of the year so far. To sum it up I'd say "it was bloody lush"'

****RUTH'S BRILLIANT NEW NOVEL LOVE UNTOLD IS OUT NOW****

Ratings and reviews

Three and a half stars. Lana, Judith and Catrin have been best friends since infants school. With all their lives ahead of them they spend the summer of their A levels travelling the Greek Islands and yet some decisions they make on this fateful holiday will shape their lives for years to come. Spanning decades we see how these three women negotiate life, love, divorce, betrayal and the changing face of friendship. As a fifty-something woman myself I could relate to Lana, Judith and Catrin, their hopes and dreams, their dream holiday and the minutiae of everyday life. None of them has a perfect life, none of them has the life they envisaged for themselves and their friendship is stretched mighty thin at times. Filled with a multitude of believable characters this novel effortlessly spans the decades, filled with tragedy and humour, love and loss. I couldn't put it down and had to read the last bit with my Kindle plugged into my laptop because I'd drained the battery. I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

My favourite style of novel; three women whom we follow through the years with all their ups and downs. A fabulous treat! Lana, Judith and Catrin became friends at five years old and at the end of their school days they plan to head off to travel around the Greek islands before heading their own separate ways to university. This is their story. I feel as if I opened this book and it just swallowed me up! I adore books about multiple friendships and this is absolutely one of the best I've read with a pinch of sadness, family life, and so much fun along the way (Father O'Leary, take a bow). I have drawn in sharp breaths, giggled and reached for tissues whilst engrossed in this story; in fact, I've just added the author's first novel to my list. I already knew that Ruth Jones could write awesome scripts for tv and, take it from me, she is every bit as gifted at producing a very readable novel. This is beautifully written, smoothly flowing all the way through and shows a real understanding of the characters. Completely unpredictable and so thoroughly satisfying. Completely worth a full house of five twinkling stars and a hearty recommendation.

My second read by Ruth Jones and I loved it, as i did the first time round. Her characters are wonderful, I can relate with them and want to get to know them all. Highly recommended this book and really look forward to reading more by Ruth Jones.

About the author

Ruth Jones is best known for her outstanding and award-winning television writing, most notably BBC One's Gavin and Stacey, which she co-wrote with James Corden and in which she played the incorrigible Nessa Jenkins. The 2019 Christmas Day special of Gavin and Stacey gained national critical acclaim, drawing an audience of over 18 million, winning a BAFTA for TV moment of the year and a National Television Award for Impact. Ruth also created and co-wrote Sky One's Stella, which ran for six series. Ruth has starred in several other television comedies and dramas.

Her debut novel Never Greener was chosen as WHSmith Fiction Book of the Year 2018, was nominated for Debut of the Year at the British Book Awards, was a Zoe Ball Book Club pick, and was a Sunday Times bestseller for fifteen weeks, three weeks at number one. Ruth's second novel, Us Three, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller in hardback and paperback and has sold almost a quarter of a million copies. Ruth was awarded a Comedy Women in Print Prize in 2020. Love Untold is her third novel.