Great book! At first, was a little hard to follow with all the different characters, but I put it down and started back with it and was able to really get into it! I would highly recommend this book!

THIS. BOOK!!!!!!!!!!! Leave plenty of time to read this. Like Ms Knoll's first novel, this is a commentary (in a way) about several things. I can not say too much about the novel without ruining things, except to say READ. THIS. BOOK!

I found it really hard to get through this book. The beginning was either confusing or boring. I made myself get through it because I was given the book from Netgalley and wanted to give a review, otherwise I would of given up a long time ago. The ending was better, lots of twists I didn't see coming, but not sure it's worth the effort to get there.

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I had read another of Knoll's novels a couple of years ago, Luckiest Girl Alive, and I liked it ok. Do when I saw this new release coming out I wanted to check it out. This wasn't my favorite book. The plot line was pretty interesting and there were a lot of great plot twists, especially towards the end of the novel, but the pace of the novel was frustratingly slow for me and I felt like there was a lot of really dry sections. I also found it kind of frustrating that there was so much vague referencing in the beginning of the book. I know that was kind of the point, to give the reader a tease about the consequence of the action and then later reveal what the action was. But I was frustrated and somewhat confused in the beginning by the flow of events and trying to keep up with who went where when and who wasn't talking to whom when. The reality show this centers around too just ended up being about catty, bitchy women who for the most part couldn't stand each other. I definitely wouldn't call it a feel good novel. It was an interesting plot though, everyone on the show has their secrets but the real question is - whose secrets will be revealed in the end? Read to find out!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for my free copy of THE FAVORITE SISTER for review! All opinions are my own.

Well, if you think you’re getting into a mystery / thriller /slasher drama, you are incorrect. That’s what I thought. And I could not have predicted the bent that this narrative took.

First off, let’s applaud Knoll (not that she needs the applause, but she’s EARNED it) in the brilliance of writing a page-turning, breath-holding, gasp-provoking drama-thriller that just so happens to raise important women’s issues too. Like, what? That’s a genre? No. It’s just the really excellent, rule-breaking new book that she’s penned.

I picked this up expecting loads of drama, some fun cat-fights, and of course major family tension (which is kind of my jam). So, yes, there’s some of that – but while every single one of these women is flawed, they are all powerful, strong, independent women with MASSIVE (well-painted at that) personalities. You’ll want to get to know them.

And Knoll just manages to squeeze a little social justice issues in on the side. I want to watch this. Or read more of these characters. I can’t say much more because all of the rave reviews are speaking for themselves – just go grab this one. This is the perfect summer read – and definitely grab another copy for your bestie or your bookclub because this is one that you’ll want to talk about!

*3 words: left-field, Bechdel, ambition

*what I loved: YASSSSS Ms Knoll for taking a popular genre and making it about real women’s issues! This blew me away.

*what I questioned: eeee, this one always gets me on 5-star reads….here’s one: when’s the sequel come out?

*trigger warnings: suicide, substance abuse

*Find my bookish escapes and posts on Instagram at @mlleboaz.bibliophile !! Leave a comment and let me know how I can find you too!

I was so excited to read this book because of Jessica's debut novel and I was not disappointed. I love it when you can't count on your characters - when they're narrating false truths. It keeps the reader guessing everything that is happening and it made it so I couldn't put this book down. Knoll has done an amazing job once again at showing us real relationships and the struggles that accompany them. READ THIS NOW, PEOPLE!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jessica Knoll’s debut Luckiest Girl Alive. It had so much to offer: a flawed protagonist, a compelling storyline, and plots twists aplenty. That said, I was very excited about the opportunity to read Knoll’s latest book, The Favorite Sister.

This book involves the cast of Goal Diggers, a gossipy reality show about female entrepreneurs. There are secrets, backstabbing, and betrayal that culminates with a death that just might have been murder.

There are multiple protagonists, and their backstories are richly detailed. Everyone takes turns setting up the scene, and trying to convince the reader of their innocence.

It took me a long time to read this book. I just couldn’t get into it. The characters are interesting, and the plot is delightfully scathing, but the pacing is a little too slow.

I found The Favorite Sister to be vaguely likeable, but overall, this is an average book. I think that I’ll re-read Luckiest Girl Alive and wait for Knoll’s next book in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3. This was a slow burn for me. It was just okay. As a Real Housewives fan, I liked the reality show aspect but was hoping for something with a quicker pace and more twists.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Favorite Sister followed the stars (Stephanie, Brett, Jen, Lauren, and Kelly) of a reality hit TV show called The Goal Diggers about successful, ambitious women. Each woman was harboring a secret, but what happened when the secrets were revealed? Will their time on the show be over? Or, will they do whatever it takes to preserve themselves, and their fame and fortune?

Let me start by saying that I enjoyed Luckiest Girl Alive (4 stars) when many of my friends did not because I felt like the main, extremely unlikable character, Ani, redeemed herself by the end. I also saw the author speak a year ago and very much enjoyed it. With Sister, however, I just couldn't get past the unlikable, catty, backstabbing cast of characters. While many of their statements about and to each other were witty and pithy, I found it tiring rather then funny or entertaining.

While I appreciated the irony surrounding a show that featured "feminist" entrepreneurs, I found myself exhausted while reading about their cattiness and attempts to sabotage and undermine each other. If you like books with lots of twists and turns and secrets, then there definitely were a lot of them in this story. If any, even just one, of the characters had been likable, then I would have enjoyed this story more. P.S. I did like Layla, Kelly's 12 year old generous, humanitarian daughter, so there's that.

I would recommend this for fans of the TV shows The Real Housewives and The Hills, as well as the movie Mean Girls.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for an advance copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

Location: New York City, New York and Marrakesh, Morocco

Another good read from Jessica Knoll. I look forward to reading her next book. She definitely knows how to keep the reader guessing.

In her follow up to her hit novel, The Luckiest Girl Alive, Knoll takes on crafting a novel based on a group of women who star in a reality show.  There are five women stars.  One woman has both a daughter and sister involved.   The story is told by the women in alternating chapters.  At first I had trouble keeping track of who was speaking.  

None of the main characters were nice people who you felt like rooting for.  They were written in such a way that you never felt like you knew more about them that just that was located directly below the surface.  It is my belief this was done on purpose so that it became obvious the women each stood for a stereotype of the kind of women you see on reality shows.  

I was particularly impressed with the writing.  A person could read the novel and never think too hard about anything if they chose to.  Or they could dive in much deeper and enjoy the themes explored regarding feminism, race, and the unreality of a reality show.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley to allow me to read an advanced copy of this novel.

A big fan of The Last Girl Alive, I was extremely excited for this one and not one bit disappointed. Completely different from that one, but it had been so long I wasn't sure what to expect. It really was the best book for bringing reality tv to the page. Drama galore! gimme gimme gimme! Of course, each character is as unlikeable as ever, but that's why we watch, or in this case read, these crazy stuff. I love the secrets and the twists, it's really what kept me hooked- aside from the drama of course lol The ending is messed up! but in the best way.

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll is a brutal and honest tale of celebrity and friendship and the lie that is the loyalty of modern sisterhood. It is, in short, a terrific cruel read.

"...Even though I know we are not and never will be 'friends', the word sends a warm spike through my middle. To be a part of Jesse's orbit is a fantastic thing. I'm sorry this is the way it had to happen-of course I am, I'm not a monster-but I shouldn't have to feel guilty about it either. I deserve to be here, more than Brett ever did.
'I think of it like this, Jesse,' I answer. 'That if what had happened to my sister had happened to me, I wouldn't want the truth censored..."

Goal Diggers is a reality show centered around five super successful young women living in New York City. Initially it was created to become a beacon of feminism and as an example of what women can achieve. But what it became was something very different as it began to fall into the cesspool of catfights and bad behaviour that reality television survived upon.

"...The thing you must understand about the show is that it is heroin. Fame changed our brains at a cellular level. Quit it cold turkey and you might as well toll the knell..."

Brett is the fan favorite. Tattooed, twenty-seven and a lesbian, her spin studios and meteoric success made her the envy of her castmates. What they don't know is that her success depends on her sister Kelly, who has always been the golden child and the direct opposite of her wild child sister, Brett. But Kelly knows the secrets that would also bring Brett down. Now, Kelly is the new member of Goal Diggers.

Stephanie is the oldest member of the cast and the first black person. She is a bestselling author of erotic novels but it is her latest novel, about surviving domestic abuse that is getting the most fame. More so because it is being marketed as autobiographical.

"...It wasn't until I admitted to my own place in the cycle that people gave me the respect I always knew I deserved. And now that I have it, I can't stop wondering why it is that for a woman's work to be taken seriously, she has to bleed first? And why I was so quick to open a vein..."

The other cast members, Lauren and Jen, successful in their own way, are more like satellites that float around the rivalry that is becoming vicious between Brett and Stephanie. It is into this madness of fake reality that Kelly steps in and what she cannot expect, what none of them can expect, that it would end in murder.

Jessica Knoll is a powerful new voice in the thriller genre. There will be the usual comparisons between other popular female lead novels but make no mistake. There is nothing in the marketplace quite like her novels. The Favorite Sister is a murder mystery where the truth is something that is not only hid from the readers but that the characters hide from themselves. The worst thing that seems to happen is that the truth actually comes out. About anything. The novel is not only about the lies we tell one another, but the multitude we tell ourselves. The facade about who we really are versus the secrets we keep. The setting of reality television is perfect her. We watch Kelly as the innocent lamb led to the slaughter amongst the she wolves that will pretend to be her friends but eventually only want to destroy her. Even her own sister. Even to the point of selling out her own child to further her cause. These are the popular girls from high school on steroids.

The men in this novel only serve as fall guys. Figures to be blamed for whatever emotional trauma the women are going through. That is not to say that they are innocent in any way, it's just in comparison to what the women do, they are rank amateurs. There is nothing these women will not sell out to hold on to their little piece of fame. Their past. Their children. Their own family. Their marriages. None of it is as real as the next tv spot and certainly not as valuable.

I thought it brave of Knoll to make the women the real evil in this book and not the men as most of her contemporaries are doing. The female hero overcoming the evil domineering man. But perhaps this is just the next step in evolution for a female character. The female villain willing and capable of using anyone and doing anything to get what she wants. With the self-centered narcissism and ambition to actually believe she has done nothing wrong.

A hell of a good read.

No sign of a sophmore slump! Addictive read. I was hooked from pagr one and didnt want the book to end. Also loved thr cover!

I may be the only one in the publishing world who hasn't read LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE, which shot Jessica Knoll into author superstar orbit. But I did get my hands on her new novel, THE FAVORITE SISTER (Simon&Schuster).
It's an exciting enough premise: Two sisters on a reality television show aptly called GOLD DIGGERS. One of them dies, the other isn't innocent, but who dunnit? A fast paced thriller? Not what I took away.

"It is a dangerous thing to conflate feminism with like all women. It limits women to being one thing, likable, when feminism is all about allowing all women to be shades of all things, even if that thing is a snake oil salesman." The Favorite Sister

It may be because I read the interview with Jessica Knoll at the end of the book first, that I knew what she was attempting to do with THE FAVORITE SISTER. It's more than just a thriller that's shot up the bestseller list and has been optioned for a movie.

Jessica Knoll takes a look at the sisterhood and the reality of how society pits women against each other. It highlights how some women act as if they support one another, while keeping one another down. It's a political statement about how our culture keeps women in "their " place and a wake up call for women to join together while pushing toward equality.

"I think the feminist sisterhood is a lofty goal to aspire to, but I think it's disingenuous to pretend it's all pink pussy hats and pun-y protest signs when women get together. We're dealing with eight generations of restricted access to positions of privilege and power." Jessica Knoll

Knoll creates an environment where powerful women are feared, and at the same time, feared by one another.

"THE FAVORITE SISTER acknowledges the reality that people are still uncomfortable with ambitious women. And not just uncomfortable, but afraid. There is a real fear about what an ambitious woman might do, the status quo might change." Jessica Knoll

I enjoyed THE FAVORITE SISTER and believe you will, too. I just didn't appreciate the preachy undertones. I thought Knoll was trying to play it both ways - entertainment and message, which is really tough to do. Sometimes it works, other times, not so much.

Ultimately, THE FAVORITE SISTER examines the invisible barriers that prevent women from rising up the ranks in today’s America—and offers a terrifying portrayal of the dark side of the sisterhood.

ENJOY!

This book is even better than the last book by Ms. Knoll. It is unputdownable and a fantastic read. It is already at the top of our summer reading list.

I've never watched any of the 'real housewives' shows and maybe if I had, I would have liked this book more. It seemed slow and sluggish to me with lots of dialogue and inner thoughts. I didn't really like any of the characters which made it difficult to care what happened to them. I didn't even care who got killed or why. Still, this is all probably more a matter of personal preference than a fault of the book. It might make a good beach read for fans of the 'housewife' shows so I'll give it 3 stars on that basis.

Thank you Net Galley for providing me with a copy of The Favorite Sister. This is my honest review.

The Favorite Sister follows a group of women who participate in a reality show called Goal Diggers. The women are successful, driven women but are also hot messes. None of the characters are particularly likable (by design) and just when I thought I understood what drives a particular character, the plot would twist and turn. It’s what kept me going, because I almost gave up on the book in the beginning - it took a while to sort out the many characters, who they were, how they related to each other, whose POV I was reading. But I was happy I did because I certainly wanted to follow all those crazy plot twists. This was a fun read.

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll is a recommended thriller for fans of reality based TV. We know from the start that season 4 of Goal Diggers, the New York City based reality series that showcases entrepreneurial woman, results in murder. The question is why was Brett Courtney murdered and who did it?

On Goal Diggers all five of the female cast members compete with each other for audience popularity and a greater share of social media hype to stay on the show. Brett, the youngest cast member, is the owner of a spin studio franchise and quick to make it clear that being skinny does not mean being healthy. She's moving in with her girlfriend this season, which will surely up ratings. Returning cast members include: Stephanie Simmons, the oldest, is a bestselling author of erotic novels and the first black cast member; Jen Greenberg, the vegan owner of a juice bar line and health food guru; Lauren Bunn, a dating website creator and known as Lauren Fun! on the show. The latest addition to the show is Brett's older sister, Kelly, a single mother who runs Brett's ever expanding business empire. Jesse is the network executive who controls the focus of the series and what will be highlighted. The focus for season four will be on the rift and resentment that is growing between Stephanie and Brett, former best friends.

The narrative is told through alternating first person accounts of what happened before and during the production of season 4. Excerpts from Jesse's interview with Kelly after Brett's murder open and close the book, and are also included a few times in-between the first person accounts. This clearly demonstrates how muddy the line between truth and fiction is in the reality TV show and real life.

The start is slow as we are introduced to the woman, their lives, and getting a glimpse into what they are thinking or scheming. You will need to keep track of who is talking in each chapter until you get a grip on the characters. As events unfold with secrets revealed and lies exposed, it becomes clear that the tension is going to boil over and something bad is going to happen. There are humorous moments in The Favorite Sister and Knoll does manage a message about the reality TV obsession - the striving for a few more minutes of public fame, and the need to appear to be young and relevant in order to stay in the public spotlight.

While very well-written, the problem with The Favorite Sister for me is that I simple couldn't muster the capacity to care about these women. They all seemed like caricatures of a type rather than real people. Perhaps it is because I don't watch reality TV shows and don't care about them. Also my lack of following pop culture, etc could have influenced how I related to the book. Knoll's gets points for the writing, the message she was trying to get across, and the ending, which was a surprise. I have a feeling that this novel will do much better with a younger reader (20s or 30s) and anyone who loves to watch reality shows like real housewives and... I can't even name any.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster via Netgalley
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2018/05/the-favorite-sister.html
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https://www.librarything.com/work/20795317/reviews/156041083
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I was enthralled with the premise of this book. Reality tv ladies and one ends up murdered during the filming! Sign me up. In reality this book was slow. It didn’t really get going until about 70%. I didn’t care about the characters and honestly couldn’t keep 3 of the 6 women straight. The references are super dated though while current, it won’t stand the test of time. If you love all thrillers check it out and make your own assessment.