I REALLY wanted to like this more. I feel like this book was way too detailed and excessively wordy. I found myself get easily distracted. The writing style just did not flow well for me. The premise is intriguing but the follow through could have been done better. I love the cover, though.

There are so many retellings of Rebecca lately, and I somehow managed to read three recently. I liked this one, but I didn't love it. I wussy the characters were more developed.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

This sounded like it would be a Rebecca retelling initially; however, I instead I got a story about an older sister who could not stand not being perceived as not the favorite when they were younger. Many of the story beats follow a standard psychological thriller after that, but with a protagonist you know you can't trust (or help to dislike), I found myself wondering why I should care.

I think I mistakenly requested this book as it's not a genre I regularly read.  I started to read it but found it wasn't for me.  I won't leave a negative review, just a 'did not finish" as requesting it was my mistake,

I’ll give Maureen Lindley this much: she sure knows how to populate a book with utterly detestable characters.

Betty, the entitled narrator, thinks of the world as divided into two classifications: beloveds and not beloveds. She falls in the latter (of course) but believes her sister Gloria is in the former. Gloria gets EVERYTHING. Well, everything that Betty thinks ought to be hers.

You won’t like Gloria all that much, either. She is so self-involved that she can’t (won’t?) see that her sister is a psychopath (as well as a sociopath). The few times that it appears Gloria trolls Betty, you realize that Gloria is too dim-witted for that sort of compliment.

Bad things happen, most of them due to Betty’s manipulations, and she all the while believes that these people deserve those bad things while she deserves all of life’s goodness. At times, this makes for great hilarity. Betty may want to clock you with one of her empty wine bottles for finding her humorous (you do not want to get caught laughing at Betty), but homegirl is funny.

The problem is that the narrative thread here isn’t all that compelling. With someone as deliciously awful as Betty, I wanted more, I guess. More of a story as opposed to more of the wormhole that is Betty’s brain.

Really enjoyed this book. The relationship between Gloria and Betty was so interesting to read about and really take in during the book. At first, I was annoyed with the women because they both just seemed very "whiny" and I couldn't connect. After I finished the book, I felt that I had gotten to know them and I could connect better with them. The premise of the book was fascinating and something new and not yet overplayed. Glad I was able to read this book and I hope Lindley writes more like it!

this book was full of so much negativity that i felt it was really affecting my own mood. i understood what it was portraying and it was almost too well done. this main character was far too much for me to be in the mind of, after awhile i was just ready to finish this book. there were a few really good lines, "time does not heal childhood wounds." was one of my favorites. this isn't a book i'd recommend to anyone i know sadly

This book wasn’t for me. Instead of posting a negative review, it is my policy not to review the book on my site or label it as DNF (did not finish) on Goodreads/Amazon.

Elizabeth (Betty) Stash has always been jealous of her younger sister, Gloria. Betty is clearly some kind of psychopath, and in her twisted way of thinking she believes Gloria stole her mother's love, snatched her best friend away, and married Betty's love interest Henry. All of that sounds pretty evil, but let's face it, Gloria is nice and happy and Betty is evil and troubled. Betty ends up moving to London and marries an older man named Bert, who she co-owns a successful art gallery with, but she's just biding her time until she can have her childhood home, Pipits, all for herself.

When Mrs. Stash passes away Betty is expecting to inherit Pipits, but completely loses her mind when the will is read and she discovers their mother left it to Gloria and her growing family instead. Thus begins Betty's slow and spectacular breakdown.

I wanted to like this book: the cover looks so sinister. It's about an old family home. The narrator is a sociopath. It was compared to Rebecca. So many things to like.

As it turns out though, Betty is not at all a charming sociopath, and reading about her alcoholism, self-delusion and madness was just frustrating. She is evil but incompetent, and I never experienced any tension that she might be caught, or any sadness for her that she was willfully throwing away her life and any chance at happiness. 

If you like character studies and reading about people's descent into madness, you might like this book.

Thank you to NetGalley who generously allowed me to read this book.  The main character, Betty, is an unbelievably evil character.  Her jealousy of her sister, Gloria, is the backbone of the story.  In Elizabeth’s twisted mind, her “beloved “sister’s existence has spoiled her life, including stealing her love interest.  The events are so unbelievable, as is the fact that she is never accused of anything she does.  Her love for the house is definitely over the top.  The incidents with the neighbors towards the end of the book don’t seem to fit.  The ending seemed very abrupt and left me wondering what she might do next.  Interesting read.

I was, to tell the truth, feeling a bit unsettled while reading The Beloveds. Maureen Lindley has managed to make "Elizabeth" a true psychopath, extremely unlikeable and rather an unreliable narrator. The story unfolds in the first person, and it's the manic sister we hear from. My disappointment came from the fact that the secondary characters, the objects of her ire, weren't as compelling as I would have liked.  Normally I would have been angry at the unresolved ending, but since I really didnt care about the characters, the outcome was immaterial. The pacing slowed whenever Elizabeth stopped to share details about plants and the countryside. I found myself skimming those sections.  I was distracted for an afternoon, but not immensely entertained.

A "Tom-Ripley" like protagonist the reader can't help but root for. A little slow near the middle, but mostly a page-turner.

I had a hard time getting into this one.  I tried a few times to get it started, but i couldn't.  I made it past the prologue and first few chapters but after that, i struggled.  While I may have struggled and had a hard time with it doesn't mean someone else will so please don't take my review as a reason not to read the book if it sounds interesting to you.

There are a lot of details, enough to bring me into the story, but not enough to hold me to it.  There were creepy and interesting elements to the story such as Betty's "relationship" with the house.  This was an interesting element to the story, and I had hoped it would have liked the story with something like this in it.  While I hoped Betty would end up getting the house back, most of the book she doesn't do anything to spur that into motion.  She just complained about how Gloria got the house she loved in more ways than one and she didn't.  I had hoped it would delve more into the sisterly relationship between Betty and Gloria, but I didn't get that either.  Maybe if the story was split into duel perspectives to see how Gloria seen things.

There doesn't seem to be much character development or character depth to this novel.  Everything seemed to have fallen a little flat for me.  We aren't even 100% sure where the story takes place other than somewhere in England.  I wanted more for the book and the characters.  I unfortunately was unable to finish the book.

Genre - Mystery/Dark Humor/Psychological Thriller
Pages - 336
Publication Info - Gallery Books, April 3, 2018
Format - Digital
Stars - ⭐⭐⭐

“The Beloveds” by Maureen Lindley had oh so much potential...I fear it fell apart for me with an ending that fizzled and really should have exploded. I loved the dark humor, and I hope I never run into the likes of Betty, (a Hyacinth Bucket escaped from the looney bin, Mayfair Lady type). She is seriously demented and in need of professional help. I fear that she would not take said help however, and would continue on her crazy path of talking to “House” and planning ways to get rid of her brother-in-law, sister and noisy Mayfair neighbors. She is a true psychopath that I loved following all the way through the book. The ending however left me less than satisfied and a bit disappointed.  This was a strong 4 or 5 star read up to that point, and left me saying what the heck just happened. I admit I was saying what the heck is happening all through the book, but in the good way of being amused and entertained. Captivating and dark.

Synopsis (from back cover): An exploration of domestic derangement, as sinister as Daphne Du Maurier’s classic Rebecca, that plumbs the depths of sibling rivalry with wit and menace.

Oh, to be a Beloved—one of those lucky people for whom nothing ever goes wrong. Everything falls into their laps without effort: happiness, beauty, good fortune, allure.

Betty Stash is not a Beloved—but her little sister, the delightful Gloria, is. She’s the one with the golden curls and sunny disposition and captivating smile, the one whose best friend used to be Betty’s, the one whose husband should have been Betty’s. And then, to everyone’s surprise, Gloria inherits the family manse—a vast, gorgeous pile of ancient stone, imposing timbers, and lush gardens—that was never meant to be hers.

Losing what Betty considers her rightful inheritance is the final indignity. As she single-mindedly pursues her plan to see the estate returned to her in all its glory, her determined and increasingly unhinged behavior—aided by poisonous mushrooms, talking walls, and a phantom dog—escalates to the point of no return. The Beloveds will have you wondering if there’s a length to which an envious sister won’t go.

For some reason I was not able to really get into this novel. I'm not sure what it was exactly... she is an amazing writer and a great storyteller but I think it was the characters that did not seem to draw me in as much as I would have liked. There is some suspense which is always good. Try it for yourself!

Couldn't get into this book. I tried several times but finally gave up. Just didn't do it for me. The writing is not bad. It was just the storyline.

I was very excited to read this book based on the premise but, this book turned out to be just not for me….let me start out with what I liked.

I enjoyed that despite my issues with the MC she did have a strong voice and was consistent with her character type and that the book was very well written. I found the idea of her being in love with house very interesting and enjoyed that aspect of the book. That is about it….

I think I liked my expectations of the book better than the actual book, sadly. I just couldn’t get into it. I couldn’t relate to the main character in any way so it made it hard to read with no sense of connection…I know you aren’t really supposed to relate to a deranged person but her personality was just so off putting and haughty that I couldn’t stand it. I think I may have enjoyed it more with alternating perspectives to be honest. I found the intended “slow burn” to just be boring and drawn out. If this had not been an ARC I would have DNFed early on.

I could see plenty of people really enjoying this book and the fact that I didn’t in no way means that you will not! so, reader I encourage you to find out for yourself.

I give The Beloveds 1.5 Stars
I was given a copy of this Arc through NetGalley and the publisher for an Honest Review.

When you're off your rocker and want to return the mansion to the rightful owner after it was left to the golden child of the family.
Ok, well this one is all about two children - Betty and Gloria- and what happens when neither of the two see eye to eye literally or figuratively.
Betty is made out to be the psycho who wants Pipits ( the family mansion) and all the connections to the estate and the gardens upon her shoulders. She has deep seeded emotions just thinking about it and dreads the fact that the Beloveds have full access to it.
Tension rises when these emotions boil over and Betty plots a scheme to take back what she should possess.
Creepy! 
We can only imagine what is going on inside the mind of this lady and the obsessions she holds dear.
With an air of intrigue and mystery that deepens with every page this one is sure to be a hit for 2018!
Thank you to Maureen , the publisher, NetGalley, for this ARC copy in exchange for this honest review.

Betty has lost her mind. I’m not sure that she was ever sane.

Of the opinion that everything and everyone in her life has always been against her, she resents those she calls the Beloveds, people that she feels have everything going their way and who are getting all the things that she deserves.

When things don’t go her way, everyone else is wrong for turning the world against her.

She resents her sister Gloria and her brother-in-law, her former boyfriend who was “stolen away” from her by Gloria. She resents the house they grew up in, Pipits, being left to Gloria and her husband. She resents her mom for leaving it to them instead of her.

I wonder though: did her mom realize just how off her rocker Betty was? Did she see mental instability rising up in one of her daughters?

Betty loves Pipits, and she believes the house talks to her and loves her back.

I loved the story, but I did not like the ending. There are things I desperately wanted to see happen, but they didn’t. It left me feeling that the story was incomplete. The author could be planning a sequel to this one though. If she is, I will be reading it.

I was sent a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.