Jane Fallon's whip-smart new novel explores the murky truths behind the versions of ourselves we project online, the lengths we go to when we feel we've been wronged, and the often unlikely places we find true friendship. Als Joni ontdekt dat Ant tijdens hun relatie nog steeds zeer actief op de app is, begint het spel... Vanaf dan probeert ze, samen met twee andere vrouwen, wraak op hem te nemen.

Iris, in her early 40s, grieves for the life she should have had with husband Tom and a few kids. Instead she is childless, divorced, and having to share her house with an irritating flatmate. Her elder sister is a flake, forever going to wellness retreats funded by their mother. And Iris is worried about how her mother is increasingly lonely in a village with no amenities. Just going to put it out there straight away that I didn't really like this book much. I have read a previous novel from this author and quite enjoyed it, but I wasn't a fan of this one. I found it a bit hard to swallow that Joni was on her high horse about Ant lying when she herself had used pictures of her sister on her online profile, then followed (stalked...) Ant to force a meeting in person, at which point she used a fake name and had to change her phone number so Ant didn't put two and two together. I mean... really? Ant was 100% not a good person, but Joni wasn't exactly honest herself. I kept reading because I was mildly interested to see how it would all turn out, but I can't honestly say I enjoyed it. There were some parts I appreciated, like when Joni forms a connection with the other women that Ant is seeing. Fallon is always so adept at honing in on what matters to women, in this case in their 40s and 70s. Once, Iris was happy. She had the home, the husband, the promise of a family. Now she's divorced and renting out her spare room to make ends meet. Life could be worse. But could have been better - if it hadn't been for Maddy: the woman who ruined her life . . . The three main characters are so different but equally likeable, and I think lots of readers will relate to them in many ways.I hated Joni at first. Firstly because of the need to catfish, and then when the catfish becomes the conned, the need to keep sleeping with him to mine for more information. I couldn’t help but wonder if the genders were reversed, how sleazy a read it would be. Full of charm, excitement and the humour splashed throughout adds this certain charisma that makes it so relatable. She then concocts a plan, to accidentally meet Ant in real life without revealing who she really is. Jealously, betrayal, envy and revenge are the ideal elements to escalate this funny, clever and thoroughly addictive tale. This sounded so familiar to me: "Mum is in uber people-pleasing mode, something she does when she's over compensating for feeling a little anxious."

The plot is fresh, fun and timely with so many people turning to online dating apps and watching programmes like The Tinder Swindler on Netflix. Jane Fallon's razor-sharp wit runs through this novel...another laugh-out-loud funny read' SUNDAY EXPRESS The husband left her, she is bored at work and is now renting out her spare room because she’s broke.I also loved how different our three female leads were - in age, appearance and personality, each bringing something wonderful to the dynamic though. Joni is the real central character, and very easy to warm to (and relate to in many ways, apart from the gym 🤣), but I also fell for sweet widow Mary, and gobby Saffy with a heart of gold. Fallon definitely knows how to write women! Ik word altijd blij als er een nieuwe roman van Jane Fallon verschijnt, want haar verhalen zijn altijd zo sterk, maar ik zal dan maar meteen eerlijk zeggen dat ik dat bij dit verhaal niet had. Some of the behaviour of the characters was so cruel, so unnecessary, and there wasn’t a happy ending really for any of them. It was just a “and then life carried on, the end”. Oh but she got a cat… of course, because no sad, childless troll could ever be complete without a cat..! Jane Fallon's razor-sharp wit runs through this novel. With sparky lead characters and sharp insights into the world of influencers, Fallon has delivered another laugh-out-loud funny read Charlotte Heathcote, SUNDAY EXPRESS Fallon is infallible in her handling of revenge. On the surface, a mummy influencer gets her just desserts when a woman whose husband she stole, Iris, decides to troll her online. Isn't that the normal spin, that successful influencers are leading a life of lies? Not in Fallon's hands. Her believable characters, and deftly revealed twists along the way make us re-evaluate our perceptions.

This book is another winner from Jane Fallon, filled with close friendship, betrayal, intrigue and suspicion but this all written in a light, chatty way – this all makes this book so readable and not so easy to put down, you simply want to read and read to see what’s going to happen. I am genuinely really struggling to rate this one. I had good feelings about it. I had bad feelings. I enjoyed it overall but downright disliked it at first. I found myself pleasantly surprised by the last half of the book which was entertaining. To me, this read like a crossover between Desperate Housewives and The Tinder Swindler.Overall, I was entertained, but not fully invested. However, I would definitely read more books by Jane Fallon. A delightfully dark read. Thoughtful and clever. Simply a damn good and gripping read' RED MAGAZINE Just Got Real is described as a ‘revenge rom com’, and that truly is an apt description. It has more revenge than romance but plenty of humour throughout. There are two main themes that Fallon explores which are middle aged dating, which for some reason, at my ripe 28 years, I’ve always loved reading about, and she also explores friendship through the dynamics of Joni, Saffy and Mary. Joni had nooit gedacht dat online daten iets voor haar zou zijn, maar haar dochter haalt haar over het te proberen. Dus ze maakt een profiel aan, maar gebruikt daarin de foto’s van haar zus. Als Ant haar mee uitvraagt, durft ze hem niet te bekennen wat ze gedaan heeft, dus doet ze alsof ze hem laat zitten om hem vervolgens ‘als zichzelf’ te ontmoeten. Ze krijgen een relatie en het leven lijkt haar toe te lachten – tot ze via haar account ontdekt dat Ant nog steeds heel actief is op de app. I’ve read a few Jane Fallon books and enjoyed them, but I don’t know what it was with this story, but It did take me a little while to get into it, but once I did I couldn’t put the book down. The story is told from multiple POV. I liked the plot, it felt very current, with strong themes of online bullying, stalking and harassment, I did find it very thought provoking.

Which brings me to the other big flaw in the book: the ages of the protagonists. They act and think like people in their mid-twenties. I have no idea why they’re the age they are, except I guess it lets Fallon off the hook of describing Georgia’s day-to-day life with small kids, instead of her frankly unlikely existence of faffing about in sweatpants doing one drawing a week. I really, really enjoyed this novel. Jane Fallon pretty much specialises in fiction about toxic friendships and, I'll be honest, no author does it better than she does. I've read close to all of her books (bar the odd one or two that I still have on my shelf to read) although it has been a while since I've read one of her novels. Even at its best (i.e. passable), the prose in the book is never more than workmanlike. The dialogue is best left unsaid. But it’s when it comes to explication of character that the book really falls flat.I didn’t love this book, which I’m actually gutted about because I was really looking forward to reading it and had high hopes - maybe that was the problem. Het idee van dit verhaal is natuurlijk superleuk, maar voor mij kwam er eigenlijk geen enkele verrassing. Normaal gesproken komt Jane altijd met een heel sterk plot, maar dat ontbrak deze keer voor mijn gevoel. Ook de laatste hoofdstukken vond ik een beetje overbodig. I also thought that this story could have benefited from being more fast paced. And having more Lucas in it. I loved the way the friendship blossomed between him and Joni but I understood the focus was on the friendship between the three wronged women. Just Got Real is possibly my favourite Jane Fallon offering to date. If you love a feel-good story with female friendship at the heart, with a hint of revenge and a plot that gets you completely invested; Just Got Real is definitely one for you. Refreshing, authentic and viciously fun, it’s a hooking narrative as you watch the story and cast evolve over time while laughing along the way.