Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of A Likeable Woman by May Cobb!

2.5 rounded to 3. My favorite thing about this was my friend, @Mandy Stripling narrates it and does a wonderful job. After her mother's strange death, Kira ran away from her wealthy family and the community she grew up in in Texas. Kira is invited to the vow renewal ceremony of an old enemy many years later. In spite of her grandmother's insistence, Kira will not come back to see what it is that she wants to show her. Kira's grandma greets her with a memoir her mom was writing. There are many shocking revelations throughout the memoir. Kira only has one person she can truly rely on in town, so she stays close to her attractive childhood friend Jack. Someone obviously doesn't want Kira investigating the events surrounding the disappearance of her mother. A steamy new May Cobb novel is the quintessential summertime read. Like a good Netflix series, you won't know what's going to happen next as you read A Likeable Woman. The narrative switches between the present-day perspective of Kira and her mother Sadie's (Kira's grandmother) recollections of the past. The juicy little town secrets were my favorite part of reading each of their points of view. I continued trying to figure out whodunit and even thought I had it figured out, but I was completely taken aback when the killer was revealed. It was a bit lackluster on the steam for a May Cobb novel.

May Cobb's A Likeable Woman was released on July 11, so you can get your hands on a copy right now! The gift copy was generously provided by Berkley Pub via #netgalley.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the summer because May Cobb’s last two books were a wild ride and I was ready for more!

S𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀::

Kira has kept her distance from her small hometown in Texas every since her mother took her own life. She always believed there was more to the story than a suicide.. When she gets an invitation to a vow renewal weekend from one her childhood friends she considers returning because her grandmother has information about her mother’s death that Kira is depsperate to learn.

During her visit only her grandmother and her friend Jackson that she has secretly been in love with since they were kids, are glad to see her. Her older sister Katie is essentially a mean girl that resents Kirea for leaving. To make matters worse, Kira is receiving cryptic text messages that tell her to mind her own business and leave if she knows what's good for her. During the weekend’s festivities Kira learns a lot about her mother Sadie and the circumstances that surrounded her death thanks to her grandmother’s information. She starts to suspect the people closest to her are responsible for her mother’s early demise. The real culprit is a very surprising twist at the end.

𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
One of my favorite lines from the book is Sadie’s advice to Kira, “ Don’t be a Likeable woman.” This very much reminds me of “the cool girl” in 𝑮𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍
Although this was a good suspense it lacked the crazy I have grown accustomed to with her books. I’m not even a person who needs steam in a book, but scenes from her last two novels have lived rent free in my mind!!

Have you ever been to a vow renewal?

I never have but the weekend filled with fun activities with friends and family described in A Likeable Woman sounded fun. It is a thriller about a woman who returns to her affluent hometown in a Texas for a friend’s vow renewal and to also discover the truth about her mother’s death. These people were bonkers and no one could be trusted. Everyone in this book was unlikeable, everyone was in everyone else’s business and there were so many secrets and deceptions. The book also featured her mother’s memoir which threw out clues about what happened and also emphasized the life of misogyny and abuse she was living in - not able to pursue her dreams and forced to give up her chance at an education and career to be a “perfect and complacent wife”. This was twisted and creepy and kept me on my toes.

Thank you Netgalley & Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC of A Likeable Woman by May Cobb! I love Cobb's books and this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year.

This one follows Kira - She's back in her Texas hometown for a vow renewal for the first time in years, driven away by her mother's mysterious death, but she always suspected foul play. It helps that her old friend (and childhood crush) Jack will be there. It also helps that her grandmother says she has something for her - Something that will tell them more about her mother's death.

Kira's mother was working on a memoir right before she died. What secrets will unravel?

I always love the stories in which you unravel the past via a diary/memoir and the present through alternating chapters. We learned a lot about Kira's mother as well as Kira's upbringing from the "past" chapters, which is key to this novel. This one had lots of juicy he-said-she-said drama, which I always enjoy. A perfect summer read.

I did guess the ending but enjoyed it nonetheless!

I enjoyed A Likeable Woman. May Cobb steps out of the reader's comfort zone for a phenomenal ending.
After her mother's death, Kira flees Texas for the West Coast and never looks back. People called her crazy for thinking her mother's death was murder and not suicide so she has no desire to go home. But when her grandmother calls to say she has a memoir her mother had been writing that explains much, Kira heads home. But she doesn't realize that there are still secrets people will kill to keep.
The story itself pulls you in. You want to believe Kira (been if you don't agree with some of her choices) and you buy into the mystery. About 80 percent into the book, I was reading and came up with a twist that would have been amazing; I didn't think the author would do it as it wouldn't be a "safe" ending and might turn off the reader. And then she did! I loved that she went out on a ledge and made a dramatic reveal!

There were a few rough edges/ The pacing was not my favorite thing. I felt we needed a better balance and the past and present though I could see why the author chose the pattern they did. I also feel a few aspects of the story were pushed to fit the narrative even though it didn't make a lot of sense. But overall I really enjoyed this novel.

I don’t know about you but my favorite type of book to read in the summer is the soapiest of books with all the DRAMA and Cobb once again does not fail in delivering.
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Kira is an adult and still reeling from the loss of her mother. She escaped her affluent Texas hometown but returns home to secrets, frenemies and everything she ran away from.
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I don’t want to give too much away but I read this one a few months ago on vacation and it was the perfect juicy vacation read!

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I have loved all of this author’s books and this is no exception! The author is fanatastic with character development, you just feel like you actually know them. This book is one of my favorite tropes, so I was all about it! It’s about a woman that returns to her small town and tries to unearth secrets about her mother’s suicide. She never believed her mother would have killed herself and she begins to uncover shocking secrets, the closer she gets to the truth.

I think this author is finding her groove with these feminist's thrillers. This one thus far is the best of the bunch with more focus on plot than ridiculous romantic entanglements. Kira returns home only because she's been promised answers. She fled once her mother passed as no one believed her when she said she was murdered. Kira's return is prompted by a vow renewal ( if you watch the housewives, you know this is the kiss of death) and she's forced to see her old "friends". What ensues is a real nail biter of a trip back home with nefarious twists and turns. This book is multi layered with the exploration of gender roles, female friendships and why guys suck.

Oy. I had a really hard time with this one. Kira is invited back to her hometown for a vow renewal by a person she's not really friends with (which makes no sense and she doesn't pack a dress - WTF?). While she's there, she's determined to prove her mother's suicide was actually murder.

Half of the story is told from her mother's POV through a terribly written memoir she left behind that's more like a bizarre letter to Kira. I guessed the twist early on and after constantly putting herself into stupid positions, I kind of hoped Kira would end up dead by the end, too. Also, I hate a cover that has nothing to do with the book (Kira spends a lot of time talking about how cold she is, not in a pool!). This was one of my most anticipated books of the summer but left me really disappointed.

Thanks to Berkley for the copy to review.

An incredibly slow burn domestic thriller at best.

This one is a miss for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

May Cobb usually writes fun, slightly steamy thrillers - but this one was sad and slow. Even the cold winter setting! The first 90% was pretty dull but the ending was great so I'll round my rating up for that. The reveal/twist was a surprise! I feel bad for Sadie because everyone in her life sucked.

Kira left her hometown after her mothers suspicious suicide. She reluctantly returns to get some information her grandmother has held back pertaining to her mother and to attend a the vow renewal of a high school friend (enemy?).

Kira has never believed that her mom took her own life and her mourning is amplified by no one believing her but she's bound and determined to find out the truth. A Likeable Woman is told by Kira and Sadie (Kira's mother) in alternating points of view. Kira's life if further complicated when an old friend/crush also returns to their hometown stirring up old feelings she has for him. Her relationship with her sister is complicated, a bit ugly and not so nice which makes attending the vow renewal and being around the old crowd all that more difficult.

This is a fast read and that is engaging. I don't always like Kira or understand why she cut her grandmother off. I like Sadie's mother a lot more than Kira and can understand why Kira feels the way she does. There are a lot of pieces to this mystery puzzle and about 60% of the way I had a suspect and it turned out to be the person I thought it was however that did not take away from all the delicious details.


*** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I LOVE May Cobb's books! I love the Texas setting, old friends, old rivals, the slow-burn suspense, and of course, the drama!! Cobb's books are always so well-written and she nails the unlikeable characters. This story is told from dual POVs and dual timelines, which I also love. I enjoyed both Kira and Sadie. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down!

Highly recommend reading all of her books!

Shew! The DRAMA! The toxicity! This group of friends have some serious issues and I was definitely here for it! This book has a slow burn start but the secrets start piling up quickly. The ending definitely shocked me and although I pointed my finger at many people, I still didn’t have a clue whodunnit.

Kira Foster is a hot mess. Now in her late thirties, she’s never really gotten over the death of her mother Sadie over two decades earlier.

Sadie Foster was vibrant, artistic, and very much different from the Stepford Wives who populated her East Texas community. Most of her fellow housewives thought nothing of devoting their entire lives to domesticity, resorting to day drinking in order to numb any residual desire for pursuing other interests. But Sadie was a talented artist who found herself growing increasingly frustrated with the limitations of her life.

After she made the mistake of confiding in another housewife that she was thinking of going back to art school, her husband Richard quickly put his foot down:

QUOTE
“Darrell Matthews seems to have heard from his wife that that’s what you want. You know he’s in my Friday night poker group. Imagine how silly I felt when he blurted that out in front of everyone last night. Said I needed to keep an eye on you.”

Tears stinging in my eyes, I took a huge swallow of my bourbon. Fucking Caroline. She couldn’t <i>wait</i> to get home and spew my secret to her husband. And fucking Richard. All he could think about was how my ambition made him look in front of his friends.
END QUOTE

Feeling unable to trust in any of her peers, she began to confide in her daughter Kira, as the two spent time together drawing and painting in Sadie’s backyard art shed. When Kira was fifteen years old, Sadie was found dead in that same shed. The general consensus in Longview was that the bohemian artist had grown so dissatisfied with her suburban life that she’d taken the only way out available to her.

Fast-forward twenty-plus years, and Kira has left her roots far behind, living in Southern California and carefully curating a glamorous Hollywood life for her Instagram page. She’s pretty sure her former friends keep the same social media tabs on her that she does on them, and the last thing she wants is for them to know that she’s lonely and underpaid. So she isn’t entirely surprised to receive an invitation to a vow renewal ceremony from two of her childhood frenemies, even if she’s incredibly ambivalent about attending:

QUOTE
I’m certain the entire event will be just a giant Band-Aid on what has, from all accounts, been a very nasty marriage. But it’s not just the spectacle that’s making the pit of dread in my stomach expand. It’s the prospect of having to go home again. A place I fled over twenty years ago, after I lost her. Mom.

I’ve returned only the one time, for my father’s funeral.

All eyes were on me the entire day, to see if I would shatter. I’m the fragile one, the potentially unstable one. <i>Just like her mother</i>, they shout-whispered. And also, I’m the only one who believes my mother was murdered, that she didn’t die by her own hand.
END QUOTE

Genevieve and Chad Greer’s vow renewal will be at the very same place where Sadie was last seen alive, with many of the same people present, too. Kira is tempted by the opportunity to finally demand some answers, but only decides to say yes when her estranged grandmother suddenly admits that Kira might be right about Sadie’s death. Grandmother Foster has something in her possession that could support Kira’s claims, and she’ll give it to Kira if her granddaughter will only come home and see her.

Bolstered by the presence of her best friend and long-time crush Jack Sherman, Kira plunges back into a world of catty suburban preppies. She’s determined to get to the bottom of what happened to her mother for once and for all. But someone isn’t happy she’s returned, sending her threatening texts and warning her to go back to the Hollywood Hills. Has Kira roused the ire of someone more than willing to kill in order to keep Longview’s secrets safely buried?

I really enjoyed May Cobb’s The Hunting Wives, so was very excited to get my hands on her latest novel, with its terrific cover. I very much sympathized with Sadie’s struggles, even if I have trouble placing her issues two decades before the technological and cultural references used in the more recently set chapters of the book. Perhaps her community was just extra backwards in regard to women working outside the home.

Kira is a little harder to root for. She lacks both self-awareness and a healthy sense of self-preservation as she stirs up emotions and gossip in her hometown during her relentless quest for the truth. Her odyssey does make for a page-turning thriller, as she unearths Longview’s shocking secrets in her pursuit of the closure she so desperately needs.

4 Returning Home Stars!

This is my first book by Ms. Cobb and it was a great read. Kira left her Texas hometown in the dust several years ago with no intention of ever returning. That all changes when an invite arrives from old friend Genevieve. Kira’s reluctant to go, but a text from her Grandmother all but forces her to make this trip because apparently, there’s more to her mother’s death that meets the eye! Color me intrigued!

When Kira arrives home, her Grandmother hands her a memoir that her mother was writing all those years ago and this book may reveal some long held secrets…. And with those revelations, there are some in this small Texas town that don’t want any secrets revealed. And so begins the dual storytelling of Kira and her mother Sadie’s stories.

I was captivated by the way this story builds. Kira must face some very difficult obstacles to get to her truth and along the way, as Sadie’s story is told, revelations shed a whole new light on her life and just possibly, what happened all those years ago may not have been at Sadie’s hands!

When we get to the end of the story, well, those secrets others didn’t want told, really shape Kira’s future and just maybe she’ll find the happiness that’s truly been evading her all these years. While this was my first book by Ms. Cobb, it’s definitely not my last!

Kira’s mother mysteriously died years ago and she hasn’t been back to her hometown since. She has returned to go a vow renewal of an old friend. While she’s in town she’s determined to find out what really happened to her mother.

May Cobb is the queen of thrillers with rich people badly and juicy drama, so that was what I was expecting in this one. The characters are from a wealthy neighborhood but that’s about it. It was filled with shady characters and you learn how dysfunctional Kira’s family really is, but it lacked the suspense and the pacing was a little too slow for me.

Do you think our society enforces certain behavior ideals for women?

@May_cobb’s novels have always been intriguing to me, and this one especially was thought provoking as a story, which is shaped by a mother-daughter relationship. Told in dual narratives, we learn of Kira and Sadie (her mother). Kira resides in Los Angeles after leaving her troubled home since her mother’s untimely death which has been labeled a suicide. Kira and her sister, Katie, along with her grandmother and her maid, Hilda are estranged in many ways.

As a multi layered story, Sadie’s story is perhaps, for me, the most compelling because she is in a relationship with her husband, Richard who is verbally abusive, controlling, and constantly demeans her and her dreams of becoming of an artist. It is here that we see the societal pressure that women face to become “likeable” - to be accepted. Having been in a relationship like hers before, I felt for her and could feel the claustrophobic feelings that she may have felt being trapped in a relationship. Nevertheless, her actions can also be called transgressive as she tries to make sense of her difficult situation.

Grief, too, is another theme pertinent to the novel. How are families affected as we lose our loved ones, especially our parents? This is the question that kept on returning to me as I read through the novel. Finally, this novel is also a thriller as both Kira and Sadie are harassed by an anonymous person who sends them messages that can also be slandering. As Kira tries to make sense, she faces difficult unfolding truths.

Solid 5 stars from me, and worth a read if you enjoy thrillers and women’s fiction! The novel released July 11th!

Thank you @letstalkbookspromo and @berkleypub for the gifted copy!

#BerkleyPub #BerkleyBuddyreads #BerkleyWritesStrongWomen #MayCobb #shnidhi #penguinrandomhouse #LetsTalkBooksPromo

For the title of A Likeable Woman, these characters were anything but. I found this to be a difficult read because I couldn’t connect or relate to any of the female characters. The twists weren’t surprising and it was more of a mystery than thriller in my opinion. This book left me wanting more un.fortunately