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Pretty Things
Two wildly different women--one a grifter, the other an heiress--are brought together by the scam of a lifetime in a page-turner from the New York Times bestselling author of Watch Me Disappear.
Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.
Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead she becomes an Instagram influencer--traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family's sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven: A mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa's past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina.
Nina, Vanessa, and Lachlan's paths collide here, on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity and revenge.
This dazzling, twisty, mesmerizing novel showcases acclaimed author Janelle Brown at her best, as two brilliant, damaged women try to survive the greatest game of deceit and destruction they will ever play.
Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.
Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead she becomes an Instagram influencer--traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family's sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven: A mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa's past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina.
Nina, Vanessa, and Lachlan's paths collide here, on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity and revenge.
This dazzling, twisty, mesmerizing novel showcases acclaimed author Janelle Brown at her best, as two brilliant, damaged women try to survive the greatest game of deceit and destruction they will ever play.
496 pages, ebook
First published April 21, 2020
7203 people are currently reading
107508 people want to read
About the author
Janelle Brown
12 books3,203 followersWelcome to my home on Goodreads.
A little about me: I'm the New York Times bestselling author of the novels PRETTY THINGS, WATCH ME DISAPPEAR, ALL WE EVER WANTED WAS EVERYTHING, THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE, I'LL BE YOU and the upcoming WHAT KIND OF PARADISE. My books have been New York Times bestsellers and published in a dozen countries around the world. My books tend to be page-turners with dysfunctional family relationships at their hearts; domestic dramas crossed with literary suspense. I'm also very much a California writer, and my books are set across the state.
I'm always happy to answer questions here, but you can also find me on Instagram and Twitter -- and if you visit http://www.janellebrown.com you can also sign up for my newsletter.
I've known I wanted to be a novelist ever since I was in first grade, when my teacher looked at the whimsical little books I liked to make (and the pile of books I checked out of the school library every week) and said that I could be an author when I grew up. I took her suggestion to heart.
It took me several decades to get to novel-writing, though. I first started off as an essayist and journalist, writing for Wired and Salon in San Francisco, during the dotcom boom years. In the 1990’s, I was also the editor and co-founder of Maxi, an irreverent (and now, long-gone) women's pop culture magazine. My writing has also appeared in Vogue, The New York Times, Elle, Wired, Self, The Los Angeles Times, and numerous other publications.
I've spent the fifteen years working on my novels, writing the occasional essay, and living in Los Angeles with my husband and two children.
A little about me: I'm the New York Times bestselling author of the novels PRETTY THINGS, WATCH ME DISAPPEAR, ALL WE EVER WANTED WAS EVERYTHING, THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE, I'LL BE YOU and the upcoming WHAT KIND OF PARADISE. My books have been New York Times bestsellers and published in a dozen countries around the world. My books tend to be page-turners with dysfunctional family relationships at their hearts; domestic dramas crossed with literary suspense. I'm also very much a California writer, and my books are set across the state.
I'm always happy to answer questions here, but you can also find me on Instagram and Twitter -- and if you visit http://www.janellebrown.com you can also sign up for my newsletter.
I've known I wanted to be a novelist ever since I was in first grade, when my teacher looked at the whimsical little books I liked to make (and the pile of books I checked out of the school library every week) and said that I could be an author when I grew up. I took her suggestion to heart.
It took me several decades to get to novel-writing, though. I first started off as an essayist and journalist, writing for Wired and Salon in San Francisco, during the dotcom boom years. In the 1990’s, I was also the editor and co-founder of Maxi, an irreverent (and now, long-gone) women's pop culture magazine. My writing has also appeared in Vogue, The New York Times, Elle, Wired, Self, The Los Angeles Times, and numerous other publications.
I've spent the fifteen years working on my novels, writing the occasional essay, and living in Los Angeles with my husband and two children.
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November 17, 2021
Good news! Nicole Kidman sets to star and produce this book’s adaptation into streaming Amazon series!
Another conning story with full of secret and lies, delicious twists and shocking revelations! Okay! Count me in and reserve my place for this crazy, heart throbbing ride! This is my kind of enjoyable, dark, smart thriller!
We have a drifter, Nina Ross, having a chance for con of her lifetime, avenging the Liebling family who treated her mean and unfair and told her she would never be good enough for their precious son in the past. Not only for revenge, but also affording her mother’s big C treatment bills, she needs money and her target is family’s shiny social media star Vanessa.
We have an Instagram Influencer with admirers, followers swimming around her but she still surprisingly suffers from loneliness and abandonment. She needs real friends. Could it be her con woman also her friend?
And don’t forget, we have Irish boyfriend a.k.a partners in crime of Nina, named Lachlan. Can Nina truly trust him for helping her to stick to the plan? Wait for it… He can surprise you!
Let the games begin. But be prepared to be fooled and be careful because somebody can pull the rug from under your feet. This book is layered with some many turnarounds and twists. Sometimes you think who is the real con man? The drifters we know or the victim? Sometimes the hunter can turn into a prey and prey can take his place.
I mostly engaged with the subjective perceptions and multiple narration parts. The same event was told by Nina and Vanessa from different angles so your mind spins after reading them and it was sometimes really hard to decide who was telling the truth.
But when I came to the last quarter maybe because of moving back and forth too many times to catch the back stories, the pacing got a little slower and I didn’t get the surprising, mouth widening, stunning ending. It was a little forced, haphazard. It was not unsatisfying but it was okay not good. So after reading so long and connected with those characters even they have too much flaws, irritating attributes, suffering from their past failures, I was expecting something smarter, moving and shaking me to the core.
I still loved the writing style, the way of smart, sarcastic, moving story-telling, partly empathized with the characters.
Overall: it can be five stared book but the last parts broke my enthusiasm and I gave 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Not the best book choice for me but it still pretty good reading and I wanted to read more works of the author.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group to share this fast pacing page turner with me in exchange my honest review.
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Another conning story with full of secret and lies, delicious twists and shocking revelations! Okay! Count me in and reserve my place for this crazy, heart throbbing ride! This is my kind of enjoyable, dark, smart thriller!
We have a drifter, Nina Ross, having a chance for con of her lifetime, avenging the Liebling family who treated her mean and unfair and told her she would never be good enough for their precious son in the past. Not only for revenge, but also affording her mother’s big C treatment bills, she needs money and her target is family’s shiny social media star Vanessa.
We have an Instagram Influencer with admirers, followers swimming around her but she still surprisingly suffers from loneliness and abandonment. She needs real friends. Could it be her con woman also her friend?
And don’t forget, we have Irish boyfriend a.k.a partners in crime of Nina, named Lachlan. Can Nina truly trust him for helping her to stick to the plan? Wait for it… He can surprise you!
Let the games begin. But be prepared to be fooled and be careful because somebody can pull the rug from under your feet. This book is layered with some many turnarounds and twists. Sometimes you think who is the real con man? The drifters we know or the victim? Sometimes the hunter can turn into a prey and prey can take his place.
I mostly engaged with the subjective perceptions and multiple narration parts. The same event was told by Nina and Vanessa from different angles so your mind spins after reading them and it was sometimes really hard to decide who was telling the truth.
But when I came to the last quarter maybe because of moving back and forth too many times to catch the back stories, the pacing got a little slower and I didn’t get the surprising, mouth widening, stunning ending. It was a little forced, haphazard. It was not unsatisfying but it was okay not good. So after reading so long and connected with those characters even they have too much flaws, irritating attributes, suffering from their past failures, I was expecting something smarter, moving and shaking me to the core.
I still loved the writing style, the way of smart, sarcastic, moving story-telling, partly empathized with the characters.
Overall: it can be five stared book but the last parts broke my enthusiasm and I gave 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Not the best book choice for me but it still pretty good reading and I wanted to read more works of the author.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group to share this fast pacing page turner with me in exchange my honest review.
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May 17, 2020
DNF.
The opening character has great depth. The conflict is firmly set in the first forty pages. There is backstory done in flashback that stops the forward motion of the story, but the author motivates it so well I wanted to find out what happened and didn’t mind the detour (in this first section).
Then about page two hundred the author dumped me out of the story. Probably sooner but I held on hoping it would get better. I loved the opening point of view character and the set up to the story--so well done. There is a shift to a second point of view character whom I could not stand. She is narcissistic, and self-serving and always looking down her nose at everyone. This section is also backstory that is told instead of shown, it completely stopped the forward motion of the story. And if you can excise a section of the book and the story can still stand on its own then that section shouldn’t be in the book. This is a little more critical review than I normally write but I had such high hopes for this story.
The opening character has great depth. The conflict is firmly set in the first forty pages. There is backstory done in flashback that stops the forward motion of the story, but the author motivates it so well I wanted to find out what happened and didn’t mind the detour (in this first section).
Then about page two hundred the author dumped me out of the story. Probably sooner but I held on hoping it would get better. I loved the opening point of view character and the set up to the story--so well done. There is a shift to a second point of view character whom I could not stand. She is narcissistic, and self-serving and always looking down her nose at everyone. This section is also backstory that is told instead of shown, it completely stopped the forward motion of the story. And if you can excise a section of the book and the story can still stand on its own then that section shouldn’t be in the book. This is a little more critical review than I normally write but I had such high hopes for this story.
May 21, 2020
Audiobook... narrated by Julia
Whelan, Lauren Fortgang, and Hillary Huber
I ended up LOVING IT!!!!!
I know there are low review; the biggest beef of being too long!! I didn’t mind!! I enjoyed many/most of the ‘life descriptions’.....
It turned into a perfect meditative walking companion & pool soaking intrigue book-buddy!!!
Nina Ross, didn’t always want to be a con artist. She learned her thievery skills - through osmosis and mostly from observing her mother, Lily; a con artist entrepreneur.
I LIKED THIS CRIMINAL...
I loved her back story - her character development and interactions with others.
I can’t wait to see who plays her character when this book comes to screen!
Nina never wanted to be a ‘grifter’ or social media ‘follower’, but life threw her a curveball- ( her mother’s cancer returned and the medical bills were astronomical) ....
....so Nina forms an alliance with Lachlan (a slimy, shallow, & pathetic Irish immigrant), to pull off one last big job to outwit heiress Vanessa Liebling.
But before she does — she has rendezvous connection with BENNY.... (another character favorite).... but it ends BAD...
Benny’s dad called Nina - a nobody....disposable nobody!
The slime ball daddy kicked Nina out of Benny’s bed - pulled her out by the arm - naked- and says ...”get out and never return”!
I didn’t think Nina was a nobody .... but..., I did wonder if things would change when I got to the end ....
This book was just enough thriller…without being ‘thriller-driven’....instead... I was organically curious without having my attention on the ending too much. I enjoyed the entire process of unfolding.
And.... I enjoyed the ending!!! ( shhhhh).... we cant spill the beans, now can we?/!😊
Vanessa Liebling, was the heir to Stonehaven —(an old, creepy, large mansion in Lake Tahoe).
Vanessa was a college dropout, but a popular social media internet influencer. She was a complex interesting unlikable character... but *interesting*!
She herself felt hollow and shallow inside... but her PRETTY THINGS - and SOCIAL MEDIA facade worked well for her. She got to fool herself... and liked fooling herself.
From being a rich daddy’s girl... with lots of pretty clothes, stilettos, and accessories—-she faces the loss of her father, a broken relationship, and financial capital losses around the same time.
This makes her more interesting.... and I give her a little bonus point: although she was self-centered and snobby she sincerely loved her younger brother Benny!
....Paths are crossed — between Nina and Vanessa.
....Background stories give us a greater understanding from the different worlds they grew up in.
.... my favorite backstory was between Nina and her first boyfriend name Benny: Vanessa‘s sister. The connections are complex entanglements.
....I also enjoyed the relationship between Nina and her mother, Lily. Their love was solid-regardless of their crimes and dysfunction.
Another book that screams to be seen on screen— and its coming!!! Nicole Kidman will be producing.
....Social media, partners-in-crime, greed, family, legacy,
backstabbing, lies, deceitfulness, unreliable flawed characters, a creepy old mansion/ Stonehaven
in Lake Tahoe, Pacific Heights in San Francisco, antiques, twists—and surprises.....
make up this psychological suspenseful, character driven, atmospheric dramatic thriller-light novel!
Great walking audiobook- companion.....
...scheming-entertaining!
Should make for a great Netflix series.
I liked it!!! I really really liked it!!!!
Loved it as an Audiobook!!!
Whelan, Lauren Fortgang, and Hillary Huber
I ended up LOVING IT!!!!!
I know there are low review; the biggest beef of being too long!! I didn’t mind!! I enjoyed many/most of the ‘life descriptions’.....
It turned into a perfect meditative walking companion & pool soaking intrigue book-buddy!!!
Nina Ross, didn’t always want to be a con artist. She learned her thievery skills - through osmosis and mostly from observing her mother, Lily; a con artist entrepreneur.
I LIKED THIS CRIMINAL...
I loved her back story - her character development and interactions with others.
I can’t wait to see who plays her character when this book comes to screen!
Nina never wanted to be a ‘grifter’ or social media ‘follower’, but life threw her a curveball- ( her mother’s cancer returned and the medical bills were astronomical) ....
....so Nina forms an alliance with Lachlan (a slimy, shallow, & pathetic Irish immigrant), to pull off one last big job to outwit heiress Vanessa Liebling.
But before she does — she has rendezvous connection with BENNY.... (another character favorite).... but it ends BAD...
Benny’s dad called Nina - a nobody....disposable nobody!
The slime ball daddy kicked Nina out of Benny’s bed - pulled her out by the arm - naked- and says ...”get out and never return”!
I didn’t think Nina was a nobody .... but..., I did wonder if things would change when I got to the end ....
This book was just enough thriller…without being ‘thriller-driven’....instead... I was organically curious without having my attention on the ending too much. I enjoyed the entire process of unfolding.
And.... I enjoyed the ending!!! ( shhhhh).... we cant spill the beans, now can we?/!😊
Vanessa Liebling, was the heir to Stonehaven —(an old, creepy, large mansion in Lake Tahoe).
Vanessa was a college dropout, but a popular social media internet influencer. She was a complex interesting unlikable character... but *interesting*!
She herself felt hollow and shallow inside... but her PRETTY THINGS - and SOCIAL MEDIA facade worked well for her. She got to fool herself... and liked fooling herself.
From being a rich daddy’s girl... with lots of pretty clothes, stilettos, and accessories—-she faces the loss of her father, a broken relationship, and financial capital losses around the same time.
This makes her more interesting.... and I give her a little bonus point: although she was self-centered and snobby she sincerely loved her younger brother Benny!
....Paths are crossed — between Nina and Vanessa.
....Background stories give us a greater understanding from the different worlds they grew up in.
.... my favorite backstory was between Nina and her first boyfriend name Benny: Vanessa‘s sister. The connections are complex entanglements.
....I also enjoyed the relationship between Nina and her mother, Lily. Their love was solid-regardless of their crimes and dysfunction.
Another book that screams to be seen on screen— and its coming!!! Nicole Kidman will be producing.
....Social media, partners-in-crime, greed, family, legacy,
backstabbing, lies, deceitfulness, unreliable flawed characters, a creepy old mansion/ Stonehaven
in Lake Tahoe, Pacific Heights in San Francisco, antiques, twists—and surprises.....
make up this psychological suspenseful, character driven, atmospheric dramatic thriller-light novel!
Great walking audiobook- companion.....
...scheming-entertaining!
Should make for a great Netflix series.
I liked it!!! I really really liked it!!!!
Loved it as an Audiobook!!!
April 12, 2020
3.5 stars
"New money, suit and tie
I can read you like a magazine
Ain't it funny? Rumors fly
And I know you heard about me
So hey, let's be friends
I'm dyin' to see how this one ends
Grab your passport and my hand
I can make the bad guys good for a weekend"-Taylor Swift
Nina and her boyfriend Lachlan are grifters, Vanessa is an heiress and their worlds collide in Lake Tahoe. Nina grew up moving constantly as her Mother followed Marks and did whatever she could to support them. Nina tried to have a 9 to 5 job using her Liberal Arts degree but when her Mother's mounting medical bills begin to pile up, Nina teamed up with Lachlan, an acquaintance of her Mother’s, for a few cons before deciding con a mark in Lake Tahoe that they both believe will provide a HUGE payoff. Vanessa is an heiress who is also an Instagram Influencer. She travels the globe, wears pretty clothes and has a glamorous life that is posted for the world to see and comment on.
"...there are only so many hours in the day that one can read before one starts to feel like one's mind is literally melting inside one's skull"
I'm going to have to disagree with the above quote and add that maybe if the characters in this book spent more time, say reading, then they would not be dealing with the stuff they are dealing with....but I digress...
The first half of this book was a slow burn for me. Lately I have been reading books that don't really grab me until the 50% mark which is exactly what this book did. Slow burn then *BAM* things began to get interesting - very interesting. There are a nice amount of twists and turns thrown in at the end. This is a long book and I might have enjoyed it more had it been a little quicker to grab me and not quite so long. But overall, I found this to be an enjoyable ride as the Con and the Mark both prove to be worthy adversaries.
Slow burn which turned the tables fast, became quite intriguing and had me turning those pages lightening fast at the end to see how this book would wrap up!
I received a copy of this book from Random House Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
*Traveling Sisters Group read
"New money, suit and tie
I can read you like a magazine
Ain't it funny? Rumors fly
And I know you heard about me
So hey, let's be friends
I'm dyin' to see how this one ends
Grab your passport and my hand
I can make the bad guys good for a weekend"-Taylor Swift
Nina and her boyfriend Lachlan are grifters, Vanessa is an heiress and their worlds collide in Lake Tahoe. Nina grew up moving constantly as her Mother followed Marks and did whatever she could to support them. Nina tried to have a 9 to 5 job using her Liberal Arts degree but when her Mother's mounting medical bills begin to pile up, Nina teamed up with Lachlan, an acquaintance of her Mother’s, for a few cons before deciding con a mark in Lake Tahoe that they both believe will provide a HUGE payoff. Vanessa is an heiress who is also an Instagram Influencer. She travels the globe, wears pretty clothes and has a glamorous life that is posted for the world to see and comment on.
"...there are only so many hours in the day that one can read before one starts to feel like one's mind is literally melting inside one's skull"
I'm going to have to disagree with the above quote and add that maybe if the characters in this book spent more time, say reading, then they would not be dealing with the stuff they are dealing with....but I digress...
The first half of this book was a slow burn for me. Lately I have been reading books that don't really grab me until the 50% mark which is exactly what this book did. Slow burn then *BAM* things began to get interesting - very interesting. There are a nice amount of twists and turns thrown in at the end. This is a long book and I might have enjoyed it more had it been a little quicker to grab me and not quite so long. But overall, I found this to be an enjoyable ride as the Con and the Mark both prove to be worthy adversaries.
Slow burn which turned the tables fast, became quite intriguing and had me turning those pages lightening fast at the end to see how this book would wrap up!
I received a copy of this book from Random House Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
*Traveling Sisters Group read
August 1, 2020
3.5 stars round up to 4
This cover is gorgeous!! I must admit that is what initially drew me to this book. This book started out really strong the first couple of chapters. I defiantly was drawn right in as Nina seemed to be a hardcore player in this game she was playing- stealing from the wealthy.
Then we seem to hit a speed bump and stay in low gear until about the 65% point in the book. I actually considered setting this book aside right before it picked up. Then we flew into high gear again and I was thinking well this is what I wanted from page one!
A great deal of the book is spent highly developing the two main characters- Nina and Vanessa. Vanessa is a wealthy, Instagram "it" girl who is famous for ...well nothing...you know the type.
Then we have Nina...Nina is a con artist. She learned from the best...dear old mom. When her mom no longer can hustle people due to her cancer diagnosis, Nina steps in. Like mother, like daughter right?
We get a full look at Nina's background and we see that if Nina had not made one little mistake, her life might have turned out quite differently...or would it? That is the million dollar question. What we do know is that after 12 years, Nina wants to settle the score.
This book was just a tad too long and too slow of a burn for me. However I did enjoy it, I was just glad that it picked up speed towards the ending. There were several twists towards the end- some I saw coming and some I did not. Overall I enjoyed this book but it didn't have me floored or speechless at the end. I think someone that doesn't read as many thrillers as I do may rate this quite a bit higher. I was just looking for a bit more action.
Thank you so much to Random House for this ARC.
This cover is gorgeous!! I must admit that is what initially drew me to this book. This book started out really strong the first couple of chapters. I defiantly was drawn right in as Nina seemed to be a hardcore player in this game she was playing- stealing from the wealthy.
Then we seem to hit a speed bump and stay in low gear until about the 65% point in the book. I actually considered setting this book aside right before it picked up. Then we flew into high gear again and I was thinking well this is what I wanted from page one!
A great deal of the book is spent highly developing the two main characters- Nina and Vanessa. Vanessa is a wealthy, Instagram "it" girl who is famous for ...well nothing...you know the type.
Then we have Nina...Nina is a con artist. She learned from the best...dear old mom. When her mom no longer can hustle people due to her cancer diagnosis, Nina steps in. Like mother, like daughter right?
We get a full look at Nina's background and we see that if Nina had not made one little mistake, her life might have turned out quite differently...or would it? That is the million dollar question. What we do know is that after 12 years, Nina wants to settle the score.
This book was just a tad too long and too slow of a burn for me. However I did enjoy it, I was just glad that it picked up speed towards the ending. There were several twists towards the end- some I saw coming and some I did not. Overall I enjoyed this book but it didn't have me floored or speechless at the end. I think someone that doesn't read as many thrillers as I do may rate this quite a bit higher. I was just looking for a bit more action.
Thank you so much to Random House for this ARC.
May 8, 2020
Janelle Brown joined us for a spoiler-free Q & A in our Behind the Pages Goodreads group and shared some insight to her writing process and the characters in this story.
You can find the thread here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Nina is working her most dangerous scam here and Vanessa, an heiress, is her mark. They are two very different women who have something in common and things are not so pretty here for them. They are not very likable at all, but each had an interesting back story to them, that had me feeling a bit of sympathy for them both.
The pace was slow for me in parts and then fast in other parts. At times some parts of the story felt like those packing peanuts that are used for filler and surround that anticipated package you are waiting for. You have to weed through some filler to get to the good stuff and that weighted down the story for me. I think that is where Norma and I went in different directions with not sure what was a clue or important to the story or not, or maybe were red herrings to throw us off.
The thing I loved about the story the most was Vanessa's connection to her brother Benny, and I would have liked him to have filled up some of that filler space instead of what felt like packing peanuts to me.
There are some surprising twists here, some interesting ones and some that I figured out along the way. Overall I was entertained by them all, and in the end, it's all about the good stuff, and I like the way the story wrapped up, and it all worked for me.
I received a copy from the publisher on NetGalley.
You can find the thread here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Nina is working her most dangerous scam here and Vanessa, an heiress, is her mark. They are two very different women who have something in common and things are not so pretty here for them. They are not very likable at all, but each had an interesting back story to them, that had me feeling a bit of sympathy for them both.
The pace was slow for me in parts and then fast in other parts. At times some parts of the story felt like those packing peanuts that are used for filler and surround that anticipated package you are waiting for. You have to weed through some filler to get to the good stuff and that weighted down the story for me. I think that is where Norma and I went in different directions with not sure what was a clue or important to the story or not, or maybe were red herrings to throw us off.
The thing I loved about the story the most was Vanessa's connection to her brother Benny, and I would have liked him to have filled up some of that filler space instead of what felt like packing peanuts to me.
There are some surprising twists here, some interesting ones and some that I figured out along the way. Overall I was entertained by them all, and in the end, it's all about the good stuff, and I like the way the story wrapped up, and it all worked for me.
I received a copy from the publisher on NetGalley.
September 10, 2020
In Pretty Things a grifter sets into action her biggest scam yet, against an heiress turned social media influencer with ties to her past.
”This is what the internet has given my generation: the ability to play God.”
At 28, Nina Ross’s life hasn’t turned out how she imagined and she faces mounting pressure resulting from debt and treatment for her mother’s illness. Following the death of her father, Vanessa Leibling retreats to Stonehaven, her family’s Lake Tahoe estate, where she will take some time to thinks about what’s next for her and her public image. Nina and her boyfriend Lachlan arrive at Stonehaven under the guise of temporary cottage renters, and there, three paths collide and deception ensues.
Pretty Things is a slow burn suspense story with a few small twists along the way. I listened to the audiobook — My favorite, Julia Whelan, narrates Nina and Lauren Fortgang did a great job with Vanessa’s voice as well. The POV shifts between the two women throughout the book. I enjoyed this one and while I didn’t love either character, I felt for both Nina and Vanessa at different times in the story.
”This is what the internet has given my generation: the ability to play God.”
At 28, Nina Ross’s life hasn’t turned out how she imagined and she faces mounting pressure resulting from debt and treatment for her mother’s illness. Following the death of her father, Vanessa Leibling retreats to Stonehaven, her family’s Lake Tahoe estate, where she will take some time to thinks about what’s next for her and her public image. Nina and her boyfriend Lachlan arrive at Stonehaven under the guise of temporary cottage renters, and there, three paths collide and deception ensues.
Pretty Things is a slow burn suspense story with a few small twists along the way. I listened to the audiobook — My favorite, Julia Whelan, narrates Nina and Lauren Fortgang did a great job with Vanessa’s voice as well. The POV shifts between the two women throughout the book. I enjoyed this one and while I didn’t love either character, I felt for both Nina and Vanessa at different times in the story.
dnf
May 18, 2020Just under 25% in and this isn't grabbing me at all. I might have stuck it out with a shorter book, but at almost 500 pages, I have so many other things I could be using that time for...
May 20, 2021
Told in alternating points of view, this is a fun tale of revenge, with the expected twists and surprises.
Two women: Nina, a con woman who learned the art at her mother’s knee, and Vanessa, an heiress and Instagram influencer with a complicated family that has seen its share of tragedy. The two women have a past but Vanessa is unaware of their shared history. This added an extra layer of fun to the story.
Nina, along with her boyfriend and fellow con man, Lachlan, plans her biggest scam yet with a plan to outwit Vanessa and walk away with a fortune, part of which will be used to pay for cancer treatment for her mother Lily.
All of this takes place at Stonehaven, the mansion on Lake Tahoe that Vanessa inherited. It’s creepy and atmospheric, which adds to the fun of this story.
At 496 pages this is a longer book, and it's not a propulsive thriller from the start. A lot of time is spent on background information. It was past the 50% mark before the thriller part of the story took off. By "slow" I do not mean boring. I was never tempted to dnf.
It has been pointed out to me that the information given in the first half was absolutely necessary to set up the twists and shocking revelations in the second half. I agree with that assessment, but still think it could have been tightened up a bit. I do love a character study and find it fascinating to delve into people's psyches, which kept me listening. Still, 4 stars from me instead of the full 5.
This is not a thriller in the strictest sense of the word, it’s more of a character study and psychological cat and mouse game, but you never quite know who is the cat and who is the mouse. Great fun!
The narrators of the audiobook, Julia Whelan (my favorite!), Hillary Huber, and Lauren Fortgang were excellent!
Two women: Nina, a con woman who learned the art at her mother’s knee, and Vanessa, an heiress and Instagram influencer with a complicated family that has seen its share of tragedy. The two women have a past but Vanessa is unaware of their shared history. This added an extra layer of fun to the story.
Nina, along with her boyfriend and fellow con man, Lachlan, plans her biggest scam yet with a plan to outwit Vanessa and walk away with a fortune, part of which will be used to pay for cancer treatment for her mother Lily.
All of this takes place at Stonehaven, the mansion on Lake Tahoe that Vanessa inherited. It’s creepy and atmospheric, which adds to the fun of this story.
At 496 pages this is a longer book, and it's not a propulsive thriller from the start. A lot of time is spent on background information. It was past the 50% mark before the thriller part of the story took off. By "slow" I do not mean boring. I was never tempted to dnf.
It has been pointed out to me that the information given in the first half was absolutely necessary to set up the twists and shocking revelations in the second half. I agree with that assessment, but still think it could have been tightened up a bit. I do love a character study and find it fascinating to delve into people's psyches, which kept me listening. Still, 4 stars from me instead of the full 5.
This is not a thriller in the strictest sense of the word, it’s more of a character study and psychological cat and mouse game, but you never quite know who is the cat and who is the mouse. Great fun!
The narrators of the audiobook, Julia Whelan (my favorite!), Hillary Huber, and Lauren Fortgang were excellent!
January 2, 2020
I rarely award commercial fiction with five stars. This is a notable exception.
Pretty clothes, shoes, jewelry, hair, make-up, and glamourous photo shoot locations epitomize the life of a young heiress. But, living your life online is not very pretty particularly when you need to be validated by virtual strangers. The vapid superficiality of being an internet influencer becomes apparent after a broken engagement which sends the heiress scuttling back to her family’s antique-stuffed Lake Tahoe pile. Enter another young woman (and her sketchy boyfriend) whose life hasn’t panned out as she had hoped and the scene is set for a con job promising a big payout. This is a thriller containing commentary about social media, mental illness, and the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. Unexpected and unexpectedly believable.
Pretty clothes, shoes, jewelry, hair, make-up, and glamourous photo shoot locations epitomize the life of a young heiress. But, living your life online is not very pretty particularly when you need to be validated by virtual strangers. The vapid superficiality of being an internet influencer becomes apparent after a broken engagement which sends the heiress scuttling back to her family’s antique-stuffed Lake Tahoe pile. Enter another young woman (and her sketchy boyfriend) whose life hasn’t panned out as she had hoped and the scene is set for a con job promising a big payout. This is a thriller containing commentary about social media, mental illness, and the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. Unexpected and unexpectedly believable.
May 5, 2020
“Pretty Things” by Janelle Brown is a great suspenseful read to take your mind off the Covid 19 virus. It’s such a fabulous story, that Nicole Kidman is producing and starring in an Amazon production of the novel. I cannot wait to see it.
Stories involving grifters are delightful to read because as a reader, you try to be alert to all the cons. Grifting keeps the reader alert and involved. In this story, Nina begins by explaining that she is an Instagram follower and identifies obscenely rich people and takes note of their Instagram accounts. She studies her “mark” and plans in detail what she intends to rob and how to do it. She’s slick as an expert pickpocket. It’s interesting, and author Brown makes the “marks” seem despicable enough that the reader isn’t bothered by the robbery.
Nina provides her backstory. She didn’t start like this. She went to University but came home after her con/grifter mother contracted cancer. After living with a gifted con artist, Nina has learned worthy skills. Her mother worked many cons with a man named Lachlan. He and Nina devise a con involving a wealthy family at Lake Tahoe with whom Nina has a tortured past.
Vanessa is the “mark” who was cruel to Nina when in high school. Nina has a grudge. Vanessa is a vacuous instagrammer, and the perfect victim. Vanessa is our other narrator, and she provides the reader with a great education on what it means to be an Instagram influencer.
Brown acknowledged that she studied the art of the con, and she used that information to write a fantastically clever read. There are cons, double-crosses, and very bad behavior. I highly recommend it!
Stories involving grifters are delightful to read because as a reader, you try to be alert to all the cons. Grifting keeps the reader alert and involved. In this story, Nina begins by explaining that she is an Instagram follower and identifies obscenely rich people and takes note of their Instagram accounts. She studies her “mark” and plans in detail what she intends to rob and how to do it. She’s slick as an expert pickpocket. It’s interesting, and author Brown makes the “marks” seem despicable enough that the reader isn’t bothered by the robbery.
Nina provides her backstory. She didn’t start like this. She went to University but came home after her con/grifter mother contracted cancer. After living with a gifted con artist, Nina has learned worthy skills. Her mother worked many cons with a man named Lachlan. He and Nina devise a con involving a wealthy family at Lake Tahoe with whom Nina has a tortured past.
Vanessa is the “mark” who was cruel to Nina when in high school. Nina has a grudge. Vanessa is a vacuous instagrammer, and the perfect victim. Vanessa is our other narrator, and she provides the reader with a great education on what it means to be an Instagram influencer.
Brown acknowledged that she studied the art of the con, and she used that information to write a fantastically clever read. There are cons, double-crosses, and very bad behavior. I highly recommend it!
April 24, 2020
Stunning cover, twisty, and clever!
The cover of PRETTY THINGS by JANELLE BROWN is initially what attracted me to read this book, isn’t it pretty?
JANELLE BROWN delivers a slow-burning, character-driven, compelling, and well-written read here that really intrigued, engaged, and entertained me. It was a little bit slow going at times but the author’s fabulous writing definitely captured my attention and drew me right in keeping me fully absorbed in this deceitful and cunning tale. Plus there were some pretty surprising and thrilling reveals that definitely got my adrenaline pumping moving this story forward for me.
The story is told in alternating perspectives between our two main sinister characters here, Nina our con artist and Vanessa an Instagram influencer. The connections and dynamics between these two women really surprised, intrigued & captivated me. I never really knew who to trust or believe. Each of these women brought their own unique and distinct voice to the narrative which I was equally invested in. I was really surprised with the direction this book took and had me questioning multiple plot points in the end.
I’m not sure if my perception of what was going on in the end with a certain character was all wrong or if my deliberations were correct. I can hardly believe that I am saying this because I am not a deep reader at all, I’m more surface but this one totally had me digging deep and discussing it in our Traveling Sisters group. Brenda thinks I was overthinking things! I’d love to have a conversation with the author!
Update: So I had a conversation with the author and while she said that I made an interesting case I was overthinking things a little bit. LOL
Expected Publication Date: April 21/20
This was a Traveling Sister read. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House, and Janelle Brown for an electronic ARC.
The cover of PRETTY THINGS by JANELLE BROWN is initially what attracted me to read this book, isn’t it pretty?
JANELLE BROWN delivers a slow-burning, character-driven, compelling, and well-written read here that really intrigued, engaged, and entertained me. It was a little bit slow going at times but the author’s fabulous writing definitely captured my attention and drew me right in keeping me fully absorbed in this deceitful and cunning tale. Plus there were some pretty surprising and thrilling reveals that definitely got my adrenaline pumping moving this story forward for me.
The story is told in alternating perspectives between our two main sinister characters here, Nina our con artist and Vanessa an Instagram influencer. The connections and dynamics between these two women really surprised, intrigued & captivated me. I never really knew who to trust or believe. Each of these women brought their own unique and distinct voice to the narrative which I was equally invested in. I was really surprised with the direction this book took and had me questioning multiple plot points in the end.
I’m not sure if my perception of what was going on in the end with a certain character was all wrong or if my deliberations were correct. I can hardly believe that I am saying this because I am not a deep reader at all, I’m more surface but this one totally had me digging deep and discussing it in our Traveling Sisters group. Brenda thinks I was overthinking things! I’d love to have a conversation with the author!
Update: So I had a conversation with the author and while she said that I made an interesting case I was overthinking things a little bit. LOL
Expected Publication Date: April 21/20
This was a Traveling Sister read. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House, and Janelle Brown for an electronic ARC.
March 14, 2021
3.5
Nina Ross is a grifter like her mother Lily before her. Her latest mark is successful Instagram influencer Vanessa Liebling with whose family Nina has history. She sets off to Lake Tahoe with her partner Lachlan, her eyes on the prize and a sweet dose of revenge. The story is told by Nina and Vanessa.
One of my favourite programmes several years ago was The Hustle which was so colourfully entertaining with multiple twists. Whilst this has some good plot turns especially later in the book it doesn’t have the same va va voom. I like the first twenty per cent or so as Nina sets the scene meeting Benny Liebling at school and this is very enjoyable. Benny is a lovely character and their growing friendship is a sweet one born out of both being misfits. The wealth of the Lieblings, their dysfunctional Stonehaven home in Lake Tahoe is very clearly depicted as is how their situation changes dramatically setting Nina on a destructive course years later. Vanessa’s story initially repeats a lot of what we know and this slows the pace down. I’ve read other books about Instagram influencers and so I don’t find her story resonates much but maybe that’s the cynic in me! I don’t think the length of the book helps either, it’s very long, some sections could have been much shorter and the storytelling would have then been crisper and sharper.
Then we get to the second half and that’s when things start to get a whole bunch more interesting and immersive. There are some jaw dropping revelations (one I definitely didn’t see coming), the pace is much faster thankfully and the plot twists and double twists are good. The cons and counter cons are clever, we have manipulation, betrayal, revenge, blackmail and lets chuck in some contempt and arrogance into the mix.
Overall, aside from the story dips this is entertaining and makes for escapist reading.
With thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for the arc in return for an honest review.
Nina Ross is a grifter like her mother Lily before her. Her latest mark is successful Instagram influencer Vanessa Liebling with whose family Nina has history. She sets off to Lake Tahoe with her partner Lachlan, her eyes on the prize and a sweet dose of revenge. The story is told by Nina and Vanessa.
One of my favourite programmes several years ago was The Hustle which was so colourfully entertaining with multiple twists. Whilst this has some good plot turns especially later in the book it doesn’t have the same va va voom. I like the first twenty per cent or so as Nina sets the scene meeting Benny Liebling at school and this is very enjoyable. Benny is a lovely character and their growing friendship is a sweet one born out of both being misfits. The wealth of the Lieblings, their dysfunctional Stonehaven home in Lake Tahoe is very clearly depicted as is how their situation changes dramatically setting Nina on a destructive course years later. Vanessa’s story initially repeats a lot of what we know and this slows the pace down. I’ve read other books about Instagram influencers and so I don’t find her story resonates much but maybe that’s the cynic in me! I don’t think the length of the book helps either, it’s very long, some sections could have been much shorter and the storytelling would have then been crisper and sharper.
Then we get to the second half and that’s when things start to get a whole bunch more interesting and immersive. There are some jaw dropping revelations (one I definitely didn’t see coming), the pace is much faster thankfully and the plot twists and double twists are good. The cons and counter cons are clever, we have manipulation, betrayal, revenge, blackmail and lets chuck in some contempt and arrogance into the mix.
Overall, aside from the story dips this is entertaining and makes for escapist reading.
With thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for the arc in return for an honest review.
May 30, 2022
Review for the Audiobook:
Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Lauren Fortgang, Hillary Huber Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins Release date: 04-21-20
Clever tale with some complex flawed characters.
Although it was a bit lengthy, I never felt bored while listening. It was my go-to for running errands, a short road trip and lounging by the bay!
More character driven than just a thrill ride, with a side of revenge served cold! Expect some talented grifters, complex relationships, selfish greediness and indulgence. Everyone is scheming and I was changing sides on who I was rooting for and who was playing who.
Fun, light, entertaining and a great setting in a crumbling mansion named Stonehaven. Boy, if those walls could talk!!
Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Lauren Fortgang, Hillary Huber Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins Release date: 04-21-20
Clever tale with some complex flawed characters.
Although it was a bit lengthy, I never felt bored while listening. It was my go-to for running errands, a short road trip and lounging by the bay!
More character driven than just a thrill ride, with a side of revenge served cold! Expect some talented grifters, complex relationships, selfish greediness and indulgence. Everyone is scheming and I was changing sides on who I was rooting for and who was playing who.
Fun, light, entertaining and a great setting in a crumbling mansion named Stonehaven. Boy, if those walls could talk!!
November 8, 2020
This book was a surprise hit for me. I picked it up thinking it was one thing, then started it and thought, oh, this isn't what I was prepared for and had to adjust, but within pages was quickly absorbed to the end in this well written character driven book.
Nina and Lachlan are high level scammers, stealing from the rich and famous with their slick cons. Their new mark is the heiress of a rich family from Nina's past. Vanessa, the heiress, is an Instagram influencer who, after moving to her family's country estate, will cross paths with Nina and Lachlan as they put their plan in place. What happens next at the estate follows twists and turns and character realization and development that I loved. The women of the stories are the focus and we feel their vulnerabilities as well as their strengths. Past reflections and relationships are brought into the present as the story winds through twists and turns. It is told through alternating narratives of Nina and Vanessa and I loved how true to their character Janelle Brown stayed, you don't have to like these girls, but they are believable and fully flushed out.
This isn't a roller coaster ride, or an edge of your seat thriller and it's not a short book so it may not be for everyone, but I loved reading it, the atmosphere and the character driven story was so beautifully written.
I ++ recommend that enjoy the pretty things this year✨
Nina and Lachlan are high level scammers, stealing from the rich and famous with their slick cons. Their new mark is the heiress of a rich family from Nina's past. Vanessa, the heiress, is an Instagram influencer who, after moving to her family's country estate, will cross paths with Nina and Lachlan as they put their plan in place. What happens next at the estate follows twists and turns and character realization and development that I loved. The women of the stories are the focus and we feel their vulnerabilities as well as their strengths. Past reflections and relationships are brought into the present as the story winds through twists and turns. It is told through alternating narratives of Nina and Vanessa and I loved how true to their character Janelle Brown stayed, you don't have to like these girls, but they are believable and fully flushed out.
This isn't a roller coaster ride, or an edge of your seat thriller and it's not a short book so it may not be for everyone, but I loved reading it, the atmosphere and the character driven story was so beautifully written.
I ++ recommend that enjoy the pretty things this year✨
April 30, 2020
I received an advance copy of this book from net galley and the publisher in return for an honest review. Release date for this book was 21 Apr 20
This book is definitely a thriller based in our current social media era. The two main heroines, if you want to call them that, come from vastly different worlds and social economic statuses. The author does a wonderful job of showing us the point of you of each character and how you really can’t understand another person’s journey unless you’ve been on that journey with them. The book was pretty fast paced but took time to lay the groundwork for the thrilling finale. The author really showed us an insight into what social media can do for and often times against a person.
This book is definitely a thriller based in our current social media era. The two main heroines, if you want to call them that, come from vastly different worlds and social economic statuses. The author does a wonderful job of showing us the point of you of each character and how you really can’t understand another person’s journey unless you’ve been on that journey with them. The book was pretty fast paced but took time to lay the groundwork for the thrilling finale. The author really showed us an insight into what social media can do for and often times against a person.
June 17, 2020
Nothing is ever as pure as it seems at first glance; there is always something more complicated to be found if you peel back the unmarred surface of pretty things.
After reading such mixed reviews from my fellow reviewers, I honestly wasn't sure what to think prior to diving into Pretty Things. Some of my friends loved it, others weren't fans. To begin with, I wasn't a fan either. This book was a slow-burner and it took me awhile to warm up to everything--the characters, the plot, the setting...so much so, I seriously thought about temporarily shelving it and starting another novel.
...but then the magic started...
The writing was beautiful, and I quite loved how the book was blocked into multiple-chapter sections of Nina's narratives, followed by those of Vanessa. I relished the way the story slowly unfolded, but from two very different perspectives. While, at times, the chapters seemed a bit repetitive and the long-winded flashback sequences were often too much, I was, nevertheless, hooked.
This was my first Janelle Brown novel, and I was impressed by her tightly woven and well-placed themes--poverty, privilege, and mental illness. They seamlessly tied everything together and upped the amperage on the mystery at the heart of the story.
The conclusion, while fairly predictable, was immensely satisfying.
Overall, a fiendishly clever novel. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Brown's work.
After reading such mixed reviews from my fellow reviewers, I honestly wasn't sure what to think prior to diving into Pretty Things. Some of my friends loved it, others weren't fans. To begin with, I wasn't a fan either. This book was a slow-burner and it took me awhile to warm up to everything--the characters, the plot, the setting...so much so, I seriously thought about temporarily shelving it and starting another novel.
...but then the magic started...
The writing was beautiful, and I quite loved how the book was blocked into multiple-chapter sections of Nina's narratives, followed by those of Vanessa. I relished the way the story slowly unfolded, but from two very different perspectives. While, at times, the chapters seemed a bit repetitive and the long-winded flashback sequences were often too much, I was, nevertheless, hooked.
This was my first Janelle Brown novel, and I was impressed by her tightly woven and well-placed themes--poverty, privilege, and mental illness. They seamlessly tied everything together and upped the amperage on the mystery at the heart of the story.
The conclusion, while fairly predictable, was immensely satisfying.
Overall, a fiendishly clever novel. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Brown's work.
May 26, 2020
What do you get when you combine a grifter, an heiress, A con job, and revenge? You get an entertaining fast-paced story with well drawn characters and a gripping storyline. This is a 496 page book, 16 hours on audio, and it flew by! I was completely invested with these characters and their shenanigans. Nina knows the con, she was taught by the best, her mother. Nina has tried to avoid the life, but now that her mother’s cancer has reemerged it is time for one last BIG con. Vanessa appears to have it all, but things aren’t always as they seem. She has live a glamorous life filled with money and glitz. Now a popular Instagram influencer Vanessa travels around in gorgeous clothes with the beautiful people. But behind all this is a lot of grief and after her engagement is called off things really start to fall apart. The two women’s lives collide on the shores of Lake Tahoe and what follows is a captivating and compelling tale.
Janellel Brown has crafted a unique and refreshing story of misdirection, betrayal, revenge, blackmail, and contempt. Julia Walen and Lauren Fortgang did a wonderful job with the audiobook narration bringing the perfect voices to these characters. I loved how this story unfolded. So many WTF moments and a perfect ending. This is the perfect poolside escapist read.
This book in emojis 🏔 🎨 🤳🏼 🗝 💅🏻
*** Big thank you to Random House for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
Janellel Brown has crafted a unique and refreshing story of misdirection, betrayal, revenge, blackmail, and contempt. Julia Walen and Lauren Fortgang did a wonderful job with the audiobook narration bringing the perfect voices to these characters. I loved how this story unfolded. So many WTF moments and a perfect ending. This is the perfect poolside escapist read.
This book in emojis 🏔 🎨 🤳🏼 🗝 💅🏻
*** Big thank you to Random House for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
January 1, 2021
Nina isn’t living the life she envisioned. A college degree in art history landed her with lots of student loans, but no meaningful job. So, she’s now following in her mother’s footsteps as a grifter. When she and her boyfriend are forced to leave LA quickly, they head for Lake Tahoe. Nina spent the sophomore year of high school there and has an axe to grind with one of the town’s rich families.
Meanwhile, Vanessa, the daughter of the family, is now an Instagram influencer. She’s returned to Lake Tahoe after a broken engagement. She’s got that poor little rich girl vibe going. The beauty of Brown’s characters is you bounce back and forth between empathathizing and disliking each of them in turn. There were even times I liked or disliked both at the same time.
The story alternates between the two women. You even get to see the same scene from both perspectives. Brown does a great job of showing how each woman’s misconceptions lead them to make the decisions they do.
I do think the story would have benefitted from a better editing job. At times, the story drags, especially in the beginning. About the halfway point, the twists start coming fast and furious. Some were obvious, but others caught me totally off guard.
This is a fun read. Definitely not deep literature, but a good choice when you just want to be entertained. I could easily see it being turned into a miniseries. It works well as an audiobook because of those easy to envision scenes.
Meanwhile, Vanessa, the daughter of the family, is now an Instagram influencer. She’s returned to Lake Tahoe after a broken engagement. She’s got that poor little rich girl vibe going. The beauty of Brown’s characters is you bounce back and forth between empathathizing and disliking each of them in turn. There were even times I liked or disliked both at the same time.
The story alternates between the two women. You even get to see the same scene from both perspectives. Brown does a great job of showing how each woman’s misconceptions lead them to make the decisions they do.
I do think the story would have benefitted from a better editing job. At times, the story drags, especially in the beginning. About the halfway point, the twists start coming fast and furious. Some were obvious, but others caught me totally off guard.
This is a fun read. Definitely not deep literature, but a good choice when you just want to be entertained. I could easily see it being turned into a miniseries. It works well as an audiobook because of those easy to envision scenes.
May 14, 2020
This cover is gorgeous!! I must admit that is what initially drew me to this book. This book started out really strong the first couple of chapters. I defiantly was drawn right in as Nina seemed to be a hardcore player in this game she was playing- stealing from the wealthy.
Then we seem to hit a speed bump and stay in low gear until about the 65% point in the book. I actually considered setting this book aside right before it picked up. Then we flew into high gear again and I was thinking well this is what I wanted from page one!
A great deal of the book is spent highly developing the two main characters- Nina and Vanessa. Vanessa is a wealthy, Instagram "it" girl who is famous for ...well nothing...you know the type.
Then we have Nina...Nina is a con artist. She learned from the best...dear old mom. When her mom no longer can hustle people due to her cancer diagnosis, Nina steps in. Like mother, like daughter right?
We get a full look at Nina's background and we see that if Nina had not made one little mistake, her life might have turned out quite differently...or would it? That is the million dollar question. What we do know is that after 12 years, Nina wants to settle the score.
This book was just a tad too long and too slow of a burn for me. However I did enjoy it, I was just glad that it picked up speed towards the ending. There were several twists towards the end- some I saw coming and some I did not. Overall I enjoyed this book but it didn't have me floored or speechless at the end. I think someone that doesn't read as many thrillers as I do may rate this quite a bit higher. I was just looking for a bit more action.
Thank you so much to Random House for this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Then we seem to hit a speed bump and stay in low gear until about the 65% point in the book. I actually considered setting this book aside right before it picked up. Then we flew into high gear again and I was thinking well this is what I wanted from page one!
A great deal of the book is spent highly developing the two main characters- Nina and Vanessa. Vanessa is a wealthy, Instagram "it" girl who is famous for ...well nothing...you know the type.
Then we have Nina...Nina is a con artist. She learned from the best...dear old mom. When her mom no longer can hustle people due to her cancer diagnosis, Nina steps in. Like mother, like daughter right?
We get a full look at Nina's background and we see that if Nina had not made one little mistake, her life might have turned out quite differently...or would it? That is the million dollar question. What we do know is that after 12 years, Nina wants to settle the score.
This book was just a tad too long and too slow of a burn for me. However I did enjoy it, I was just glad that it picked up speed towards the ending. There were several twists towards the end- some I saw coming and some I did not. Overall I enjoyed this book but it didn't have me floored or speechless at the end. I think someone that doesn't read as many thrillers as I do may rate this quite a bit higher. I was just looking for a bit more action.
Thank you so much to Random House for this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 13, 2020
The story is told from the points of view of Nina Ross, who followed in her mother Lily’s footsteps as a con artist after discovering that being an art history major didn’t lead to a lucrative career, and Vanessa Liebling, an heiress who dropped out of college and makes her own money as an influencer who frolics for the camera while wearing expensive stuff. Nina robs rich people in partnership with the handsome Irish immigrant Lachlan and they zero in on Nina.
This book is full of long cons, secret relationships and valuable objects. While I enjoyed the twisty nature of this book, I thought it took too long to get to the con. The first 40% or so of the book was comprised of Nina and Vanessa telling their life stories and rehashing their grievances. The book could easily have lost 75 pages. The two women were the blandest in the group of four. Lily and Lachlan were much more intriguing and I’m sorry that their points of view were not included. Nevertheless, I liked the plot and would be willing to read more by this author.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This book is full of long cons, secret relationships and valuable objects. While I enjoyed the twisty nature of this book, I thought it took too long to get to the con. The first 40% or so of the book was comprised of Nina and Vanessa telling their life stories and rehashing their grievances. The book could easily have lost 75 pages. The two women were the blandest in the group of four. Lily and Lachlan were much more intriguing and I’m sorry that their points of view were not included. Nevertheless, I liked the plot and would be willing to read more by this author.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
August 16, 2021
I soaked this book up and loved every twist and turn. Great characters, incredible setting, a plot like a Swiss watch. I loved it.
June 4, 2022
Updated rating 6/2/22: 4.5/5
Pretty Things was my first time reading a Janelle Brown novel, and somehow, I ended up deciding to do a reread almost 1 year to the day of when I listened to it the first time. This is a book I have never been able to stop thinking about, and the second time around I loved it even more! I love Nina as a character, and I love the fact that Julia Whelan narrates her in the audiobook even more. The prologue is read by Hillary Huber who is a new favorite of mine thanks to her narration in The Violence, and I totally had an ah-ha moment when I heard her in the opening of this book. She stood out to me the first time, but even more so the second time, and I loved that she started things out because her narration is perfection.
Pretty Things is like a heist movie but with more depth, and after the prologue the story is told from both Nina and Vanessa's viewpoints, although Vanessa's comes a bit later. I couldn't remember how this book ended, so I found myself practically on the edge of my seat waiting to find out how things would all go down. Some parts I remembered, but most I did not, and even though this is a longer book and audiobook (a little over 16 hours), it doesn't feel like it. Lauren Fortgang narrates Vanessa, and I thought she was perfect for that character. The audiobook is very well cast, and I highly recommend listening to Pretty Things if you enjoy them. I always love reading anything that includes heists, revenge, or con artists, and this book just happens to have all 3 of them. If you want something where you really get to know the characters and will find yourself rooting for the unexpected, this is the book for you.
Pretty Things was my first time reading a Janelle Brown novel, and somehow, I ended up deciding to do a reread almost 1 year to the day of when I listened to it the first time. This is a book I have never been able to stop thinking about, and the second time around I loved it even more! I love Nina as a character, and I love the fact that Julia Whelan narrates her in the audiobook even more. The prologue is read by Hillary Huber who is a new favorite of mine thanks to her narration in The Violence, and I totally had an ah-ha moment when I heard her in the opening of this book. She stood out to me the first time, but even more so the second time, and I loved that she started things out because her narration is perfection.
Pretty Things is like a heist movie but with more depth, and after the prologue the story is told from both Nina and Vanessa's viewpoints, although Vanessa's comes a bit later. I couldn't remember how this book ended, so I found myself practically on the edge of my seat waiting to find out how things would all go down. Some parts I remembered, but most I did not, and even though this is a longer book and audiobook (a little over 16 hours), it doesn't feel like it. Lauren Fortgang narrates Vanessa, and I thought she was perfect for that character. The audiobook is very well cast, and I highly recommend listening to Pretty Things if you enjoy them. I always love reading anything that includes heists, revenge, or con artists, and this book just happens to have all 3 of them. If you want something where you really get to know the characters and will find yourself rooting for the unexpected, this is the book for you.
March 13, 2020
"Wealth is a Band-Aid, not an inoculation; and if the disease runs deep enough, it will cure nothing at all."
Two very different women ... one is a con artist and the other an heiress and Instagram Influencer. Both women are on a course of destruction and soon to collide when they meet.
The story alternates back and forth between Nina and Vanessa. The characters are flawed but believable and keeps you engaged. Nina is always looking for the next big con by tricking billionaires out of their money. Vanessa is a trying to be a socialite and her family money is dwindling fast soon after she inherits the family estate in Lake Tahoe.
Nina wants to run another high-stake scheme in order to pay for her mother's expensive cancer treatments and Vanessa is now her target. With the help of Lachlan, a friend of her mother, they set out on a dangerous scam together. But will they succeed? Or do they get the short end of the con? The more you read the more you begin empathizing with all of them to the point that you cheer for each of them to succeed with their cons and revenge.
This is not a thriller, but it does offer enough twists to keep a you interested and going to the very end. At almost 500 pages, it's a long and very slow burn, but I didn't get bogged down by the length at all. Readers that like Gillian Flynn and Ruth Ware will devour this book. Definitely add this to your 2020 TBR list!
A special thanks to Janelle Brown, Random House and NetGalley for this ARC.
Two very different women ... one is a con artist and the other an heiress and Instagram Influencer. Both women are on a course of destruction and soon to collide when they meet.
The story alternates back and forth between Nina and Vanessa. The characters are flawed but believable and keeps you engaged. Nina is always looking for the next big con by tricking billionaires out of their money. Vanessa is a trying to be a socialite and her family money is dwindling fast soon after she inherits the family estate in Lake Tahoe.
Nina wants to run another high-stake scheme in order to pay for her mother's expensive cancer treatments and Vanessa is now her target. With the help of Lachlan, a friend of her mother, they set out on a dangerous scam together. But will they succeed? Or do they get the short end of the con? The more you read the more you begin empathizing with all of them to the point that you cheer for each of them to succeed with their cons and revenge.
This is not a thriller, but it does offer enough twists to keep a you interested and going to the very end. At almost 500 pages, it's a long and very slow burn, but I didn't get bogged down by the length at all. Readers that like Gillian Flynn and Ruth Ware will devour this book. Definitely add this to your 2020 TBR list!
A special thanks to Janelle Brown, Random House and NetGalley for this ARC.
August 17, 2020
4.5 Stars, rounding down. A stellar, riveting suspense about a con artist and her victim...or is it really? Who is actually the victim in this story? I kept going back and forth on this, siding with one protagonist for a chapter, only to change my mind the next chapter, and when i finally made up my mind, it was blown - go figure!
I purchased this book shortly after publication day, but quickly realized it was quite a chunker of a book, at over 470 pages long, so embarrassingly it sat on my bookshelf looking beautiful for several months before I finally took the plunge and decided to give it a shot. I was absolutely enthralled the first sentence on, no lie! This was such a detailed, carefully constructed, fast-paced read that I finished it in what felt like no time had passed! Brown made this (IMO) monstrously long book read like a 300 page book, without a single dull moment, and for someone like me who reads a ton of thriller/suspense novels, this is quite impressive! I am now a huge fan of hers! Shamefully, it was my very first Brown read, but definitely not my last!! I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an entertaining read!
I purchased this book shortly after publication day, but quickly realized it was quite a chunker of a book, at over 470 pages long, so embarrassingly it sat on my bookshelf looking beautiful for several months before I finally took the plunge and decided to give it a shot. I was absolutely enthralled the first sentence on, no lie! This was such a detailed, carefully constructed, fast-paced read that I finished it in what felt like no time had passed! Brown made this (IMO) monstrously long book read like a 300 page book, without a single dull moment, and for someone like me who reads a ton of thriller/suspense novels, this is quite impressive! I am now a huge fan of hers! Shamefully, it was my very first Brown read, but definitely not my last!! I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an entertaining read!
December 18, 2019
Mark my words - Pretty Things will be a hugely popular book in 2020 - it has all the trappings of a buzz book right now - social media influencers & backstabbing relationships - BUT, the key factor here is the writing. Janelle Brown has crafted a story that will hook readers from page one and entertain and engage them through the absolute final page.
Told in alternating perspectives and timelines, we meet Nina and Vanessa - a con artist and a rich influencer. But the connections these two have might surprise you and at a minimum, will intrigue & captivate you. Each woman is so finely written that they offer their own voices and becoming truly distinct individuals.
Upon finishing Pretty Things, I immediately ran to check out all of Brown's backlist and will be eager to see what she does next!
Thank you to Random House for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
Told in alternating perspectives and timelines, we meet Nina and Vanessa - a con artist and a rich influencer. But the connections these two have might surprise you and at a minimum, will intrigue & captivate you. Each woman is so finely written that they offer their own voices and becoming truly distinct individuals.
Upon finishing Pretty Things, I immediately ran to check out all of Brown's backlist and will be eager to see what she does next!
Thank you to Random House for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
July 6, 2020
4.5 Stars
I really loved this 4.5 Star thriller!! In the beginning I thought it would be a fun caper type of thriller, maybe along the lines of Oceans 11 or the true story of those people who hung out with the Hollywood starlets and robbed them, but as the characters were further developed, it became more than that.
SUMMARY
Nina and Lachlan are literally partners in crime. They have a well organized system which includes choosing a very specific mark, Nina is the bait and Lachlan picks up the inventory at a later date. Things were going along fine until the police begin poking around, forcing Nina and Lachlan to lay low. They decide to leave LA for a couple months until the police have lost interest and have moved on to the next case. When they are deciding where to lay low, Nina remembers a huge antique filled mansion on Lake Tahoe she had visited as a child. Should that be their next target? What could possibly go wrong???
I'm trying to be vague because this book is much more fun to read if you don't know a lot about the plot. Unfortunately, my vagueness is not doing the story justice but, trust me, this is a FUN book to read!!!
WHAT I LOVED
The twists were what made the book!!! So many times I thought I had an idea where the plot was headed and it would change. I always liked the change more than the story I was mapping out in my head. It was almost five hundred pages long but felt much shorter.
I LOVED the characters!! As soon as I would think I've figured out a character, a new side to them is revealed. Literally down to the very end. Although several of the characters were professional criminals, they were still likeable. Even the characters I thought I was going to not like at all had some redeeming qualities. Toward the end, some of the characters began to evolve into better people, at least better than I thought they were going to be, and some of them turned out much worse than I imagined.
I really loved the plot. It was never boring and not what I was expecting based on my impressions from the first chapter. There are several chapters which revisit Nina's past and explain her connection to the Tahoe mansion. Through these chapters we learn about Nina and her motivations.
The story is told from two points of view, Nina and the owner of the Lake Tahoe mansion, Vanessa. It was such a great way to tell the story because their points of view were so very different. I loved hearing their takes of the same events and their opinions of each other.
In addition to the plot, this book is a warning story about how impressions, even long held, firmly established impressions, of a person or situation can be wrong and harmful. It also talks about accepting blame for ones own mistakes and owning one's choices.
I loved the Lake Tahoe setting. I've visited Lake Tahoe once and always thought it was one of the most beautiful places in the US. Now, I want to go back again!!
WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE
There wasn't a lot to not love. Although I really cannot think of any specific things I didn't like, I cannot give it my rare 5 Star rating. To be a five star for me, a book has to be very special. It must be unique, make me see some aspect of the world or myself differently, it must have no plot holes and it must stand the test of time- to be as relevant in ten years, fifty years or one hundred years as it is today. I really love this book, but in my opinion, it does not quite meet that criteria.
OVERALL
If you're looking for a book that will keep you entertained, make you feel like you've been on a trip to Lake Tahoe and distract you from the annoyances in your life, I highly recommend reading this book! It's way better than suspenseful thriller needs to be!
I really loved this 4.5 Star thriller!! In the beginning I thought it would be a fun caper type of thriller, maybe along the lines of Oceans 11 or the true story of those people who hung out with the Hollywood starlets and robbed them, but as the characters were further developed, it became more than that.
SUMMARY
Nina and Lachlan are literally partners in crime. They have a well organized system which includes choosing a very specific mark, Nina is the bait and Lachlan picks up the inventory at a later date. Things were going along fine until the police begin poking around, forcing Nina and Lachlan to lay low. They decide to leave LA for a couple months until the police have lost interest and have moved on to the next case. When they are deciding where to lay low, Nina remembers a huge antique filled mansion on Lake Tahoe she had visited as a child. Should that be their next target? What could possibly go wrong???
I'm trying to be vague because this book is much more fun to read if you don't know a lot about the plot. Unfortunately, my vagueness is not doing the story justice but, trust me, this is a FUN book to read!!!
WHAT I LOVED
The twists were what made the book!!! So many times I thought I had an idea where the plot was headed and it would change. I always liked the change more than the story I was mapping out in my head. It was almost five hundred pages long but felt much shorter.
I LOVED the characters!! As soon as I would think I've figured out a character, a new side to them is revealed. Literally down to the very end. Although several of the characters were professional criminals, they were still likeable. Even the characters I thought I was going to not like at all had some redeeming qualities. Toward the end, some of the characters began to evolve into better people, at least better than I thought they were going to be, and some of them turned out much worse than I imagined.
I really loved the plot. It was never boring and not what I was expecting based on my impressions from the first chapter. There are several chapters which revisit Nina's past and explain her connection to the Tahoe mansion. Through these chapters we learn about Nina and her motivations.
The story is told from two points of view, Nina and the owner of the Lake Tahoe mansion, Vanessa. It was such a great way to tell the story because their points of view were so very different. I loved hearing their takes of the same events and their opinions of each other.
In addition to the plot, this book is a warning story about how impressions, even long held, firmly established impressions, of a person or situation can be wrong and harmful. It also talks about accepting blame for ones own mistakes and owning one's choices.
I loved the Lake Tahoe setting. I've visited Lake Tahoe once and always thought it was one of the most beautiful places in the US. Now, I want to go back again!!
WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE
There wasn't a lot to not love. Although I really cannot think of any specific things I didn't like, I cannot give it my rare 5 Star rating. To be a five star for me, a book has to be very special. It must be unique, make me see some aspect of the world or myself differently, it must have no plot holes and it must stand the test of time- to be as relevant in ten years, fifty years or one hundred years as it is today. I really love this book, but in my opinion, it does not quite meet that criteria.
OVERALL
If you're looking for a book that will keep you entertained, make you feel like you've been on a trip to Lake Tahoe and distract you from the annoyances in your life, I highly recommend reading this book! It's way better than suspenseful thriller needs to be!
January 21, 2020
I'm hearing amazing things about Janelle Brown's upcoming novel,
Pretty Things
, so of course I had to bump it up on my TBR. I'm so glad that I did because it was awesome!
Pretty Things
is my first venture into the world of Janelle Brown's writing, but now I think I may have to read her previous works. I've heard Watch Me Disappear was fabulous—consider me intrigued!
Pretty Things has all the makings of a great psychological thriller—unreliable narrators, deception and con-artistry, and all the juicy drama that follows flawed human interactions. The two point-of-views throughout the novel are Nina and Vanessa. Nina and her partner (both professionally and romantically) are con artists that make a fortune tricking arrogant billionaires out of their money. Nina takes care of her ailing mother, but is worried that police are out to get her. As her and her boyfriend Lachlan escape, they duo decides to go after someone that has wronged Nina back when she was a teenager—Vanessa Lieblings. Vanessa is an Instagram influencer and heiress to the financial company The Lieblings Group—her father is very successful and Vanessa has lived the life of privilege and opportunity. Nina is ready to take advantage of this opportunity and make her pay for everything. What did Vanessa do to Nina and will Nina succeed or has the Lieblings family been waiting for her all this time?
This book was great and I really enjoyed the art of conning that Nina and Lachlan provided in Pretty Things . It was so entertaining and made me want to read more about characters who do these horrendous things to innocent(ish) people. You may notice that I didn't give it 5-stars and that is solely because the book is almost 500 pages and maybe 150-175 pages too long. The book goes into full detail of items that could've been completed on one point-of-view and we didn't need a rehash by both of them. The pacing is the legitimate only reason why I didn't give this book a perfect score. That being said, Pretty Things is definitely a contender for one of the strongest releases in 2020. So I think we can say that I am very happy about picking up this novel. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Now, should I pick up Watch Me Disappear?
Pretty Things has all the makings of a great psychological thriller—unreliable narrators, deception and con-artistry, and all the juicy drama that follows flawed human interactions. The two point-of-views throughout the novel are Nina and Vanessa. Nina and her partner (both professionally and romantically) are con artists that make a fortune tricking arrogant billionaires out of their money. Nina takes care of her ailing mother, but is worried that police are out to get her. As her and her boyfriend Lachlan escape, they duo decides to go after someone that has wronged Nina back when she was a teenager—Vanessa Lieblings. Vanessa is an Instagram influencer and heiress to the financial company The Lieblings Group—her father is very successful and Vanessa has lived the life of privilege and opportunity. Nina is ready to take advantage of this opportunity and make her pay for everything. What did Vanessa do to Nina and will Nina succeed or has the Lieblings family been waiting for her all this time?
This book was great and I really enjoyed the art of conning that Nina and Lachlan provided in Pretty Things . It was so entertaining and made me want to read more about characters who do these horrendous things to innocent(ish) people. You may notice that I didn't give it 5-stars and that is solely because the book is almost 500 pages and maybe 150-175 pages too long. The book goes into full detail of items that could've been completed on one point-of-view and we didn't need a rehash by both of them. The pacing is the legitimate only reason why I didn't give this book a perfect score. That being said, Pretty Things is definitely a contender for one of the strongest releases in 2020. So I think we can say that I am very happy about picking up this novel. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Now, should I pick up Watch Me Disappear?
May 12, 2020
It was good! I was instantly engaged in the storyline. The synopsis tells us “Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.”
I especially enjoyed how this book has you wanting to almost root for the criminal/villain. There are a few main characters and the book focuses on points of view from two females, Nina and Vanessa. There is adequate backstory and explanation of family dynamics that I enjoyed equally for both characters and it seamlessly goes from one characters point of view to the next. The backstory is equally as interesting as the primary storyline in this book. You have insight into what makes them tick and why they are as they are in present day. I enjoyed how Nina finds comfort in the profession she ran from her whole young adult life that her mom held and then ended up running right back into it. I liked how the two different points of view were seeing entirely different things out of the same situation, it was done very well and was very convincing. In the second half Vanessa’s naivety is a little less believable but tolerable. It was very interesting from a social media standpoint and the study of all the information provided in just simple posts that we don’t do intentionally or realize we are even doing.
I did this book on audio and there were two different female narrators for each main character. I didn’t love the narrator for Vanessa, I don’t know exactly why but it wasn’t quite as convincing or authentic feeling as the one for Nina, I thought hers was great. This was a very solid 4 star book for me. I enjoyed it and I looked forward to it. I have not read anything else by this author but I will be on the lookout for the next release after this one.
I especially enjoyed how this book has you wanting to almost root for the criminal/villain. There are a few main characters and the book focuses on points of view from two females, Nina and Vanessa. There is adequate backstory and explanation of family dynamics that I enjoyed equally for both characters and it seamlessly goes from one characters point of view to the next. The backstory is equally as interesting as the primary storyline in this book. You have insight into what makes them tick and why they are as they are in present day. I enjoyed how Nina finds comfort in the profession she ran from her whole young adult life that her mom held and then ended up running right back into it. I liked how the two different points of view were seeing entirely different things out of the same situation, it was done very well and was very convincing. In the second half Vanessa’s naivety is a little less believable but tolerable. It was very interesting from a social media standpoint and the study of all the information provided in just simple posts that we don’t do intentionally or realize we are even doing.
I did this book on audio and there were two different female narrators for each main character. I didn’t love the narrator for Vanessa, I don’t know exactly why but it wasn’t quite as convincing or authentic feeling as the one for Nina, I thought hers was great. This was a very solid 4 star book for me. I enjoyed it and I looked forward to it. I have not read anything else by this author but I will be on the lookout for the next release after this one.
February 3, 2020
What a fiendishly clever book of double-crossing and revenge!
After my initial perusal of reviews of Pretty Things, I think I was expecting a raging thriller filled with crazy twists and turns, and while there are some twists, it was definitely not exactly what I was anticipating, as the book is a slow-burn, thick with shifty grifters (which, by the way, before reading this book, I had no idea what a grifter was!) and Instagram Influencers, neither of which generally make for a super compelling reading; however, it was one of those books that I when I read the last page, I felt a sense of sadness that I was saying good-bye to this group of sorry misfits.
The story mainly focuses on two women - Nina and Vanessa - both of which are running their own scams. Nina, an antiques buyer and seller, who has turned to running cons in order to pay for her mother's cancer treatment; and Vanessa, who, although her family money is dwindling, she is still trying to keep up appearances as a glamorous Instagram Influencer. Their lives are connected in ways that neither one thinks the other one will remember, and they both blame the other for their messed-up lives, and in turn, they go after one another with determined, calculating precision. I thought Brown did a superb job of entwining both storylines and characters. At first pass, both women seem beyond shallow, but the more the plot builds, the more you begin empathizing with them both, to the point that I found myself rooting for each of them to succeed with their revenge plots.
The ending, although somewhat predictable, still satisfied me in so many ways! I did think the storyline was a bit drawn out, but it was so well-written that I can forgive the length. I also really enjoyed the subtle nuances correlating unhappiness and and an obsession with social media. Overall, such a riveting, brilliant read. 4 grifter-happy stars for me!
After my initial perusal of reviews of Pretty Things, I think I was expecting a raging thriller filled with crazy twists and turns, and while there are some twists, it was definitely not exactly what I was anticipating, as the book is a slow-burn, thick with shifty grifters (which, by the way, before reading this book, I had no idea what a grifter was!) and Instagram Influencers, neither of which generally make for a super compelling reading; however, it was one of those books that I when I read the last page, I felt a sense of sadness that I was saying good-bye to this group of sorry misfits.
The story mainly focuses on two women - Nina and Vanessa - both of which are running their own scams. Nina, an antiques buyer and seller, who has turned to running cons in order to pay for her mother's cancer treatment; and Vanessa, who, although her family money is dwindling, she is still trying to keep up appearances as a glamorous Instagram Influencer. Their lives are connected in ways that neither one thinks the other one will remember, and they both blame the other for their messed-up lives, and in turn, they go after one another with determined, calculating precision. I thought Brown did a superb job of entwining both storylines and characters. At first pass, both women seem beyond shallow, but the more the plot builds, the more you begin empathizing with them both, to the point that I found myself rooting for each of them to succeed with their revenge plots.
The ending, although somewhat predictable, still satisfied me in so many ways! I did think the storyline was a bit drawn out, but it was so well-written that I can forgive the length. I also really enjoyed the subtle nuances correlating unhappiness and and an obsession with social media. Overall, such a riveting, brilliant read. 4 grifter-happy stars for me!
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