This book has a deja vu feel like the author first book A Simple Favor. It's about two women, one introvert the other an extreme extrovert. Some how they are drew to each other. The similarity doesn't stop there; however, if I did too many comparison it will ruin the story for those who have yet to read it. I don't think the characters are fully developed, especially Holly. Her involvement with Lorelei never go beyond their friendship nor did the author explain the reason for Holly involvement. Prof. Muller's experiments beyond their class was never explained, Surely it couldn't have been just that class. What were the other experiments? The story is extremely shallow for what I know Darcey Bell can produce. It was disappointing.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for letting me read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not twisty! I believe in my last review of Darcey Bell, which was "All I Want", I said that Darcey Bell must be stopped! That the twists! Were getting to be too much! Maybe she heard me? Anyway, this was a departure for the author and I really enjoyed it.

This may be one of the most mind-boggling books I’ve ever read, and I don’t mean that in a good way. Horribly unlikable characters and choppy sections/descriptions are abundant throughout the book. It took a long time to get into this story and while it did make me feel a sense of dread (I assume that was the intention), I was just disturbed by the fixation on animal abuse. I think the concept itself was actually quite clever (albeit as a cat mom, horrifying) but there’s no real resolution/confrontation that would make the motives of the action satisfying or justified. This main plot point completely turns Lorelei’s life upside down and she waits years to get revenge and after all that, it’s truly a half-assed attempt. The premise the book is setup on doesn’t make enough sense. I especially hated Holly’s revised letter at the end as it still is riddled with “lies,” but we never get to even hear her POV. I think this is my last Bell novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy books by this author, and I thought the main characters love (obsession?) for cats was a unique character trait. I thought the book was well written and timely, touching on themes of female friendship, betrayal, and the me too movement. I’d recommend this book for anyone that loves thrillers and animal lovers, especially those that love cats.

I honestly have no idea what I just read. I really enjoyed A Simple Favor and thought this would be just as good, if not better. It had a lot of potential - I liked the psychological elements - but overall it was just weird, there was next to no interaction between Holly and Lorelei, even in flashbacks, and the animal abuse components didn’t help. The best thing I can say is that it was a quick read and I did make it to the end with the continuous hope that the plot and my connection to the characters would improve. They didn’t.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I looked forward to reading this after "A Simple Favor" and it is definitely an entertaining book with a toxic female friendship, a cat lover, and psychological thrills, There is some animal abuse which may be a deal-breaker for some. Recommended if you enjoy Darcey Bell and sarcastic and twisty thrillers. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

As a fan of A Simple Favor I was expecting to love this just as much. In the end, it didn't come close. It was entertaining but it was also frankly just plain odd. As an animal lover I understood the character's hurt and resentment towards the people from her past. But the way this was written, I never felt pulled into this story along with the characters. I didn't feel any emotion really because they all felt just one dimensional and the dialogue was just as odd as the story. I hate giving negative reviews, I can't say it enough and I hate even more that I just didn't like this. I also never give trigger warnings but I will say, if you are triggered by any animal cruelty whatsoever, avoid this. It wasn't horrendous but it was there. Two Stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

Wow, I read this one in a day! It’s fast paced and really keeps you engaged. The characters were well developed and while mostly unlikable, I didn’t hate the main character and wanted to see her life redeemed. It keeps you guessing till the end, which isn’t easy these days.

Woman of the Year weaves a twisted, dark route to the final chapter. I found the storyline/content (gaslighting, #MeToo) disturbing. I persevered until the very end, hoping that it would improve but, for me, it didn’t. Although I am a fan of other books by Darcy Bell, this one was not for me.
Thank You to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC.

Woman of the Year. Holly Serpenta. Lorelei Green’s best friend in college until…it happened. And just what happened will keep you turning the pages of this impossible to put down thriller. Lorelei is the narrator, moving from her time as a Psychology major at Woodward College to the present where she sits in a Gala audience waiting to poison Woman of the Year Holly Serpenta with a drop of walnut oil. What happened to Lorelei Green? Was she damaged by her uncaring, cold parents? Did she have an affair or was that a delusional response to mental illness? And was Holly Serpenta really her friend?

So many questions. And to avoid spoilers, I’m not going to answer them. I’ll let you wonder and guess until the final creepy, compelling pages. Woman of the Year is a dark, disturbing masterpiece. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Darcey Bell for this ARC.

Let’s start by saying I loved A Simple Favor. It was an amazing book. I was excited to read this new one by the author.
I’m very confused about what this was about.. It felt like a stream of consciousness and the writing was very odd. I do not have triggers but I’m not reading about animal abuse. I read the synopsis before requesting it and I don’t think it was accurate. I like most books and never do not finish. I did not finish this.

On one hand, I can see cat lovers enjoying this book, but (without giving away any spoilers) there was one thing that really bothered me that I'm trying to forget. Also, for some reason I was expecting more from this book (maybe some sort of twist?) but it didn't quite deliver.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I always enjoy a Darcy Bell novel though never as much as her first, A Simple Favor. This one is centered around a college friendship from the past between Lorelei & Holly. There’s some suspense woven in b/c it’s told in alternating timelines & you know SOMETHING is going to happen. It also involves a couple felines, Pyewacket & Catzilla. I enjoyed the book & story for the most part but felt it was a bit one dimensional. Kind of wish there’d been more characters to add more to the story but it was still an enjoyable read. A Simple Favor & certainly the movie has just set the bar so high. Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review😁

While the premise of Woman of the Year sounded exactly like the type of thrillers I love, this was wasn't a great match for me. The pacing felt a little slow and overall, the narrative was super heavy. I put this book down about 30% of the way through because it was getting too dark for me, and I suspect it would have kept getting darker. Not for me, but maybe will be a better fit for someone else.

this was a beautifully done thriller novel, it did such a great job in showing the creepiness of the dark side of female friendship and revenge. I was glad I was able to read this and go through what the author wanted to tell. The characters were interesting and were scary, I'm glad I was able to get to know them.

"Dell said, “The family has a house on the Cape. They often go away on weekends. They gave me the key so I could look in on the place when they’re gone. It’s the least I could do, considering how much the professor has done for me.”

Story started out a little slow but picked up about 25% into it and was a very enjoyable read.! Loved the ending. Thank you to NetGalley, Darcey Bell and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this ARC. I would recommend this book to my friends.

Definitely refreshing and promising, twisty Darcy Bell thriller hooks you up with women’s cat fight theme by emphasizing the power of crazy cat lover ladies:)

In this book,there are some sensitively triggering chapters about animal abuse can disturb the many of the readers including me. But those parts also made me detest the gaslighting villains so much more! A person who can hurt an animal might be the worst kind of psychopath!
And the humans in this story also get their share of psychological torture!

I thought I would read about two college friends who were estranged after betrayal, now one of them sharpened her nails enough to scratch the other one’s eyes out. I was expecting to read a pure revenge story but instead of that I read a story about #metoomovement , human/ animal abuse, gaslighting, mind games. Did I enjoy it? Well, the big twist was good! The big surprise at the end was already mentioned in the beginning of the book ( the real hero who saves the damsel in distress) ! Honestly I wish the author didn’t give the clue about that epic ending so I could give my ovation and enjoy fully the karmic turnout of the story.

Well, it was still entertaining amount of batshit crazy, sarcastic, dark, alluringly gripping reading!

Let’s meet with our heroine or anti heroine Lorelei ( her original name was Laura Lee but she changed after meeting with charming and 20 years younger version of Brad Pitt meets Kevin Costner college professor in cowboy boots, blond, long haired, flirting) who was once upon a time a beautiful and aspiring psychology student with self destructive relationship issues, looking like Belle de Joure’s Catherine Deneuve ( in my opinion she’s French Kim Novak) but something has gone wrong during the classes she has taken.

The classroom which resembled the interrogation rooms where the mysterious senior students watching them as if they were scrutinizing the lab rats.

Professor James Dell Randall changed everything about her perspective and her best friend/ confidante Holly did something unforgivable.

Now 20 years later, Lorelei living with her dearest Catzilla, harboring resentment, getting sacked from jobs that requires to sack people ( she’s not resourceful enough to work in HR).

When she reads on the newspaper her arch enemy made an interview, telling people she’s been abused at the college, she gets pissed off because Holly intentionally excluded the things she’s done to her and in addition to that, she will be given the woman of the year award for the accomplishments she’s achieved to save so many young and miserable girls’ lives.

She decides to attend to the ceremony to take her revenge. She’s seeing red. She wants everything Holly has. They are two girls from same college. Holly is rich, famous, well respected as Lorelei is broke, jobless, friendless, alone, abandoned.

Somebody has to pay! But unfortunately another person takes action quicker than her. Somebody already punishes Holly!

Lorelei keeps telling herself that she never wanted to kill her. She just wanted to make her taste her own poison by humiliation but somebody has gone too far. And it seems like that person not only comes after Holly but also is threatening Lorelei’s life. What will she do? How can she save herself!

Well, this is my favorite Darcy Bell novel. I hope you enjoy it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Book: Woman Of The Year
Author: Darcey Bell
Publisher: Atria Books
Pub Date: March 21, 2023

Twisted! Twisted in every sense of the word. I had lots of “wait, what” moments. I loved the psychological aspect of this book as well as the revenge aspect. It just all worked so well into this crazy story! I devoured this book and it’s one that I could read again just to see what I missed. Well done Darcey Bell!

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is March 21, 2023.

There is some good stuff here, but it's absolutely overwhelmed by a nasty pet abuse current. I have limits. Don't put me in the mind of someone witnessing a beloved companion being tortured. Just don't.

Man I flew through this book! I really like the psychological aspects of it and how the author incorporated it into the story. The main character Lorelei has an incredible bond and love for her pet cats. I can relate to that as I feel the same about my dog. You think you know where this book is gonna go and it ended up heading somewhere completely different.

Lorelei and Holly became friends in college while attending the same psychology class. Their professor whom they called Dell, specialized in control and human behavior. Lorelei and eventually Holly became very close with Dell. Holly and Lorelei’s friendship ended after a tragic event and Lorelei never really recovered.

Twenty years later Holly is the “Woman of the Year”. She has everything that Lorelei every wanted and never got. The “Woman of the Year” gala is the perfect place for her to get her revenge. However, Lorelei isn’t the only person who’s seeking revenge against Holly and before long Lorelei realizes that she’s in danger too.

Woman of the Year is available March 21,2023.

Thank you to netgalley and atriabooks for this arc in exchange for my honest review.