Friends and Rivals

by Tilly Bagshawe

Old friends can become the worst of enemies...Kat fears she is past her prime. Her philandering husband, Ivan, who she still loves passionately after twenty years of marriage, leaves her for a younger woman. Devastated, there is only one person left who Kat trusts.Kendall is sure she has it all. But underneath her tough exterior she hides a vulnerability – she is helplessly struggling with an unrequited love. But when Kendall’s need for success consumes her, she won’t let anyone stand in her way.Ava is an innocent, plucked from obscurity and thrown into the deep-end of the glamorous world of fame. When she is pitted against Kendall, the world watches closely, wondering who will survive.As these three women try to navigate a backstabbing world of infamy, desire and fortune, will they be tempted to betray the people they hold dearest?"

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction, Womens Fiction, Ebooks

464 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

Matilda Emily N. Bagshawe was born on 12 June 1973 in England, UK. She attended local all-girls Catholic schools near her family home in Surrey. She was a single mother at 17, but she won a place at Cambridge University and took Persephone, her ten-month-old baby daughter with her. As a journalist, she went on to enjoy a successful career in London, and contributed regularly to The Sunday Times, Daily Mail and Evening Standard, before turning her hand to novels. Her first book, Adored as Tilly Bagshawe, was a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 2005, and she hasn't looked back since.

Tilly is married Robin Nydes, a US businessman, and the couple have two sons together, Zac and Theo. The family divide their time between their homes in London and Los Angeles. Tilly is also the sister of the writer and politician Louise Bagshawe.

Reviews

[Siany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not my favourite book from Tilly Bagshawe but it was enjoyable for what it was.

I didn't particularly love or even like the majority of the characters in this book. In fact apart from Kat who was likeable at times I think thats the best thing I could say about the characters.

Normally I would hate this if I hadn't liked any of them but there was something about this one that kept me reading on.

I did like the story, normally in these type of books its the movie biz rather than music so I found the change interesting and some of the details etc interesting. There was a lot of name dropping in this book, but for me I still found the story itself enjoyable.

I found the story of the feud between Jack and Ivan, pretty typical of books in this genre but overall it seemed pointless. Obviously Jack must have had a thing for Kat beforehand, I couldn't help but think, especially as they didn't particularly spend any time together to realise they "suddenly" had a thing for each other. Ivan again was typical of the idiot guy who is ultimately NOT a good guy, but in the end he was good again and had landed on his feet. I didn't like this, don't make me dislike a character then have good things happen to him.

Ava was pretty non existent to the book until the end part, not sure why her character was even included in the blurb because she was hardly in it and in the end we didn't even find out what happened with her.

When reading this I felt like I was supposed to like Kendall, but throughout the whole book I didn't think she had any redeeming qualities and was quite frankly a horrible person, again at the end her ending up with Lex...i mean really? Again no lead up to this, suddenly she had feelings for him and was in love with him? completely unbelieveable and to be honest after being invested into his character, she was who he ended up with? Just EUGH!

Anyway am veering offcourse with this review :-)

This book was enjoyable for what it was. If you are expecting literacy masterpiece type work, then you will be sorely disappointed. But if you are looking for a lighthearted easy read that isn't taxing on your brain this I think you will enjoy this. I do not mean this as an insult to the author either. One of the reasons I love Tilly and Louise Bagshawe books is because of how lighthearted they are. I make sure I always read their new books because overall I do enjoy them. If you are looking for a better Tilly Bagshawe one though, I recommend Showdown and again Louise's earlier books are also really good reads.

And to the publisher, the hardback uncorrected proof copy is a beautiful book and it shall be remaining on my shelf, definately the nicest proof copy I have had.

[Pooja Jeevagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phew...to think of, this was one big novel...specially with the limited characters it had...and the way they kept on moving from one's arm to another's...

And I am torn between giving it a 2 or a 3...it's a fast read (specially when you just want to finish it hoping that what you fear would be true...you know it's like a ending you know is inevitable...and you still hope for it not to be...) It's a purely escapist chick-lit..and it did make me wonder why the length wasn't reduced by like 50-100 odd pages...

I like the author, I really do...in fact I like her for the way she took up the challenging task to continue with the 'Sidney' lineage...it was a big bet...it's a daunting challenge...but this novel just didn't work as well for me...I somehow wanted which probably very few could want...it's ending is probably a happy ending for most of the public, but I wanted an ending so very different...

Give it a read...if you want to take a break from the serious brainer reads...but miss it, and you won't lose a thing :)

[Rea Cobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friends and Rivals is my first book by Tilly Bagshawe and I fell in love with the cover of this hardback book although very simplistic it is beautiful I was just hoping I would love the story inside just as much.

Kat fears she is past her prime. Her philandering husband, Ivan, who she still loves passionately after twenty years of marriage, leaves her for a younger woman. Devastated, there is only one person left who Kat trusts.

Kendall is sure she has it all. But underneath her tough exterior she hides a vulnerability – she is helplessly struggling with an unrequited love. But when Kendall’s need for success consumes her, she won’t let anyone stand in her way.

Ava is an innocent, plucked from obscurity and thrown into the deep-end of the glamorous world of fame. When she is pitted against Kendall, the world watches closely, wondering who will survive.

As these three women try to navigate a backstabbing world of infamy, desire and fortune, will they be tempted to betray the people they hold dearest?

Friends and Rivals was not what I was expecting at all but it was a great surprise I really enjoyed this book. What I loved the most is how different each of the characters were and how well they were developed considering how big a part each character played in the book. Usually when there is a big cast of characters in a book there always seems to be one or two characters who outshines everyone else but this isn’t the case in this book I really felt as though I got to know each and every character in this book. There is a different character for everyone but combined together they complement the book by bringing you a little of each personality to this action packed, tense storyline.

The storyline is very much based around fame and fortune and the music industry but with the added bonus of many relationships and friendships with spanners in the works. All the way through this book I was never quite sure what was going to happen on the next chapter and there was no way of predicting who would end up with who as there is so much betrayal and rivalry between numerous amount of characters.

My favourite two characters had to be Jack and Catriona they had a more gentler and down to earth feel to them and I was hoping all the way through that they would finally get together to nurse each other’s broken hearts but in fiction books you never know how the relationships will end up!

The author is a little gem and gives us a perfect ending to the book by tying up all the loose ends to the storyline rather than leaving us on a cliff hanger but you just have to read this book to see if the outcomes are what you were expecting!

Looking for an intense read full of rivalry and betrayal, glamour and romance then look no further!

[Edel Waugh Salisbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this !!! I had read previous books by Tilly before and I really enjoyed them so I was thrilled when I got this one to review. Ivan and Jack are two buisness partners who run a music management company together. Jack is the most responsible member of their team as women and the good life are too much at the forefront of Ivan's interests dispite having a family and wife that he seems to often forget about.
When Jack sends Kendall, a new and upcoming music artist to the UK for work ,and to get better known over there little does Jack know that Ivan will of course muck it up. It does not take long for contracts to be broken and Kendall to be in bed with Ivan.
Ivan's long suffering wife Catriona has had the brunt of his bad behaviour for years but her marriage and her two children mean the world to her, and she put up with it for this long, but when her husbands picture is splashed all over the papers with this newest young singer, and they are not exactly pictured doing crosswords it all brings things to an end.
Jack and Ivan's buisness relationship ends immediately, and they become strong rivals against each other as they each try to out do the other.
Relationships, friendships and the rich indulgent lives of the rich all come together wonderfully here for the perfect escapist indulgent read.
If you want an excerpt about the book you can get it here.
www.lovereading.co.uk

[Glenys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three people met at University and their lives became entwined around their friendship, the two men set up a company with offices in UK and America. They managed a variety of musicians and artists from classical to modern pop backgrounds. Enter a highly dependent singer Kendall, she is a recover ing alcoholic from the states and about to embark on a tour of the UK, the UK manager needs to supervise her if she is going to make a success of the tour. He supervises her a little too well and their lives are turned upside down. A real page turner which I enjoyed from page 1.

[Laura Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a lot of Louise bagshawes and I love her books they me Jackie Collins vibes which I’m here for!
So this is her sister doing similar books all about beautiful people and glamour! This one involving a race to Xmas number one which as a child of the 90s I miss !
If you like that sort of book I would highly recommend maybe not the most realistic books you will ever read but if you want pure fun escapism this is for you especially if are like me and read a lot of thrillers sometimes you need a fun break which book gave me!

[Adeline Kam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, another lengthy book. Too many unnecessary chapters. The beginning and ending was good but the middle part was too boring, lengthy. Could have been cut short and it will make a nice steamy story. I wonder if the celebrities lives described in this book is real? If it is, then i really pity them.... No freedom. But overall this is an interesting book to read.... A Happy ever after ending

[Jinie Beans · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a light read if you're looking at filling your time before jumping into something more serious. The character developments were wonderful but apart from the excitement of the music business industry in the beginning, I must say that personal vendettas took over largely and that's when it started becoming a bit boring. The ending was horrible in my POV.

[Liliana]

A good book, but at the end it seems that the whole story then was wrapped up in a single paragraph.

[Sami Munslow · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an easy, entertaining read! I absolutely absorbed this book in a matter of days. The ending is pretty average though.

[Hanka]

"Pokušeni"

[Kathryn Entwistle · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ok read while I was sick and had limited attention span. Scored lower for poor editing: ‘mothers’ (page 166) as a plural does NOT require an apostrophe. So bad.

[Cornel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely light love story.

[Best Crime Books & More · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge Tilly Bagshawe fan and loved her last two books so was looking forward to the newest release. Friends and Rival does exactly what it says on the tin. It's a totally self-indulgent, glamorous and escapist read (which is right up my street). I'm not looking for anything high on the morality scale right now so this suited me down to the ground. I was also lucky enough to receive an early edition which has a beautiful cover, which made me want to get started even more. I settled down on my commute home and before I knew it was 4 or 5 chapters in and irritated that I had made it home in record time!

Catriona (Kat) has been married to Ivan for more than twenty years. On the surface with their two kids and Ivan's successful career in the music industry things look great, however Ivan is a pathological liar and cheat. When he leaves her for a younger woman her life feels like it has come to a complete halt. On the other side of the fence there is Kendall who is a superstar singer that is used to getting what she wants. Ivan's partner who heads up the US business Jack is the person who looks after Kendall and he certainly has his hands full. From the minute I got involved with this book there was no stopping me.

It took me straight into the worlds of the main characters which appeared to be Ivan and Kat and Kendall and Jack. All four of them had intriguing personalities. I despised Ivan from the word go and to be honest I love it when characters get my back up, it makes the book that little bit more enjoyable. This sort of book is exactly why I love reading. The music business was brought to me with characters that wouldn't seem out of place on Dynasty! There was a lot of threads to the story and other characters introduced which although not as central as the others, were just as readable. I literally couldn't put this down and was disappointed once I had finished. This book is escapism at its best and one that I would highly recommend!

[Mekerei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Friends and Rivals by Tilly Bagshawe is a story about

"Old friends can become the worst of enemies…
Perfect escapism for fans of Penny Vincenzi and Jilly Cooper.

Cat fears she is past her prime. Her philandering husband, Ivan, who she still loves passionately after twenty years of marriage, leaves her for a younger woman. Devastated, there is only one person left who Cat trusts.

Kendall is sure she has it all. But underneath her tough exterior she hides a vulnerability – she is helplessly struggling with an unrequited love. But when Kendall’s need for success consumes her, she won’t let anyone stand in her way.

Ava is an innocent, plucked from obscurity and thrown into the deep-end of the glamorous world of fame. When she is pitted against Kendall, the world watches closely, wondering who will survive.

As these three women try to navigate a backstabbing world of infamy, desire and fortune, will they be tempted to betray the people they hold dearest?"

This is a chic lit novel that I finished in a couple of days (having trouble reading anything more substantial at the moment). It is typical of the genre, I may read more of author:Tilly Bagshawe|299381], but at present she isn't top of my list for chic lit.

Three stars for chic lit.

[Vanessa Wild · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chicklit set in the music business world, this is a glitzy, glamorous and fast paced, sexy romp about betrayal and revenge. It is full of people you love to hate, most of whom are perfectly beautiful and successful! However, I could sympathise with a couple of the characters - Catriona Charles and Lex Abrahams - who seemed a lot nicer than the rest and their lives were a little rockier.


There is quite a lot of name dropping as there are several references to well known music organisations and products. The author seems to have done her research well. There is good inside information into the various places where the action takes place, some of which I know well. It was great to be able to picture it all in my mind!


Although, on the whole, I did find this book quite shallow and superficial, I also found it an entertaining and compelling read. I was certainly racing through the pages to see what happened. It's nicely written and keeps your attention. This is the first novel I have read by Tilly Bagshawe and in spite of the fact I am not a big chicklit fan, I did enjoy it. I think it would be a great book to relax on the beach with, whilst sipping a cocktail! Now that is something else I can definitely picture in my mind.

[Lou Grimm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this novel thinking it was a love story, where the characters encounter a hurdle to their love but all ends the way it should, with the journey being what mattered. Instead, I got two for the price of one - it was also an epic (of shorter length than most epics), with a well-chosen time-span.

Bagshawe made great use of a rotating point of view: when we first see Ivan, we learn first-hand how selfish he is, and what a cheat he is; then we experience Cat's point of view, and feel how much she loves him precisely because he doesn't cheat and because he cares so much for her and others. We see their points of view again later, showing Ivan being a bad father, who's never there, and then switch to Cat, where she appreciates how good a father he is, and how hard he tries to be there, unlike her own father when she was growing up. Bagshawe keeps the views well separated so we can empathise (or just understand, in Ivan's case) with each character without any confusion.

And as a standout, there was a line somewhere about Cat having her hair tied up in knickers. I thought this was a great euphemism--until she hid the knickers under the couch and tried to tidy her hair.

A great read, with the ending I wanted.

[weaverannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deze wereld staat zo ver van mij af, dat ik dit verhaal mar nauwelijks uit kon lezen. Wat een ijdeltuiterigheid, wat een oppervlakkigheid.
Het boek is niet slecht geschreven, maar ik vond bijna alle personages vervelend en oninteressant. Teveel aangezet, teveel typetjes.
Het echtpaar Cat en Ivan is al jaren getrouwd. Cat heeft niet in de gaten, dat Ivan, manager in de muziekindustrie, haar voortdurend bedriegt.
Dan komt de Amerikaanse Kendall naar Engeland. Zij is de protege van Jack, de leider van hetzelfde managementbureau als Ivan, maar dan van de Amerikaanse tak. Bovendien is hij meer gespecialiseerd in popmuziek dan Ivan.
Dan is er nog het Engelse meisje Ava, die aan een talentenjacht meedoet, waarbij Ivan in de jury zit.
Hoewel het tegen haar contract ingaat, lijft Ivan haar in bij zijn bureau. Van een beetje bedrog schrikt hij ook niet terug.
Iedereen is jaloers op iedereen, iedereen is buitengewoon knap en getalenteerd, niemand kan omgaan met tegenslagen en de drank en drugs worden gretig gebruikt.
Volgende boek maar.

[The Basic Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friends and Rivals is a contemporary fiction novel with hints of romance and drama. I enjoyed reading this book more than the previous time. There was so much to love!
Firstly, the plot was unique. I have never read a book that focuses on the pressure of being in the music business. Mixing romance and drama into the plot adds intrigue, making the novel a whole lot more appealing.

The use of figurative language was really good! Bagshawe added a lot of metaphors, similes and imagery to enhance the meaning behind the character’s thoughts.

I didn’t like how often the perspectives of characters changed in a paragraph or chapter. I found it too confusing at times. It would have been better if there were two perspectives per chapter, at most.

For the full review, please follow the link: http://thebasicbookworm.blogspot.com/...

[Louise Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first Tilly Bagshawe book that I have read, when I saw that Lovereading.com were offering an advanced copy I really liked the sound of it so I thought I’d give it a go.

This book is very much for the fans of all books where the rich and famous can’t keep their trousers on, money in the bank and stay in the same country for more than ten minutes! Packed full of backstabbing and bitching this is a fabulous read!

Brilliantly written and extremely easy to follow with a great stories that interweaves into each other with a very satisfying ended. I will definitely be reading more of this Author.

[Fazira Ridzuan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hate doesn't last forever.
Actually, I hate the story for the first three chapters. I can't stand with Ivan hypocrisy being a fully dastard behind his loyal wife,Catriona.And play like a good husband and a father to his family. Catriona is too nice, 'too' forgiving. I'm in love with Jack's concerns towards Cat & Hector. This is my first book by Tilly Bagshawe. Haha conflict and drama every chapter..with interesting story line. and I kinda enjoy it till the end of the story

[Nessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this author, as I always know that when a read one of Tilly's books, i know that I'm in for a treat. Pure indulgence on so many levels, it's got everything.

I loved getting to know all of the different characters and there own individual stories which you get to discover as you progress through the book.

If you haven't read a her books before, then I highly recommend that you do.

[J.B (Debbie) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book by Tilly Bagshawe and I was not disappointed. The story delves into the murky and often ruthless world of music managment. If you love Jackie Collins then you won't be disappointed in this. The characters are ruthless and wage a war to get to the top and it doesn't matter who gets hurt along the way. A great read with a mixture of sex, lust and rock and roll!

[Nicola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure whether the author name dropped to cover up the lack of any other 'ooh' factors. I found the book took too long to get to the rather predictable ending and whilst it was a reasonable read if you like a bit of titillation, it was a bit shallow and wasn't really what I'd call a good romp - more of a meander.

[Danielle Dent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was no different to other glam books and I knew what was going to happen from the outset so no surprises but it was well written and kept me engrossed so if you like that kind of thing which I do you will enjoy this.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 3rd Tilly Bagshawe book I have read. I knew what to expect, a big gossipy,sexy book filled with loud brash people. And I was right!. I did not expect a literary masterpiece, so I enjoyed it, although I did like her 1st book, ADORED much more.

[Candys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bacchanal. This book was all about the ups and downs within the music industry, and how people can really screw each other and themselves while running down fame, fortune and revenge. A quick read, that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read & enjoyed a few of Tilly's books and this was just as good as the rest. Set in the music world, its a fast paced story full of the usual glitz, glamour, betrayal & rivalry that I enjoy reading about.

[Christina Rochester · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't particularly enjoy this one. The characters were rather flat and predictable and I was bored by the storyline.
The only thing that kept me going was how the music industry wasn't glamourised for once.

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok but I did never really get into it.