Kardashian & Real Housewives drama mixed with murder – what’s not to love with a storyline like that?

What I liked:

All of the characters are success stories. They did not have everything handed to them. I enjoyed reading about how each female persevered to get where they are today. I enjoyed the inside look at a reality show – Most reality shows are scripted and fake, and this plot definitely supports that theory. The book has a lot of character diversity! It has people that are black, white, and every color in between, old, young, every kind of sexual orientation imaginable, and different economic backgrounds. This book reflects the complicated relationships of sisters – the highs and lows, the good and bad, the loyalty, love, support, and friendship – and how it can change minute by minute.

What I didn’t like:

The many POVs got me confused on who was narrating. I kept going back to the beginning of the chapters to remind myself who was narrating. I couldn’t keep them straight. The voices were not as distinctive as they could have been. There were so many characters narrating this story that it only provided a small glimpse into the person before it switched to another character’s viewpoint. I didn’t like any of the characters. I think that this was the author’s intent, and she certainly succeeded in this, but hey, I need someone to root for. This book was long, and many times it went overboard on feminism topics.

If you like watching reality shows on Bravo and E! and relish the drama, cat fights, tears, and backstabbing of these shows, you will enjoy this book!

So as I read; I realized- damn I need to read the first book! Story of my life! However, if you are like me and read this first, it's still a fab read that doesn't disappoint! It's like Big Brother in a book but it's really not, it's about women and triumph, cattyness and all things that make a girl a girl! Oh snap, did i forget to mention death? Yes - always, sadly a good read when someone dies; you will continue to wonder- what happened to Brett? You are hooked from the first chapter! Kudos for this read! Loved but now I must read the first book to get the back story!

Again, thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Shuster for this amazing read!!

In "The Favorite Sister" Jessica Knoll has created a sophisticated novel about the lives of women in real life under the scope of a made up one through a reality TV show - and how both might collide to force the examination of women in society and the workplace.

Starting with Kelly in present day, the novel starts with her recounting how she made it onto the show "Goal Diggers" with Brett, her sister. Three other women round out the cast of the reality TV show which hopes to change the conversation in reality television from other shows by showcasing successful, or on their way to be, women.

The problem is that the women it casts off it show usually don't end up being successful once the camera stops filming them. So as all the cast members deal with their issues: fake background stories, alcohol problems, anger issues, and more, they'll also do anything to keep their place in front of the camera, by either lying or making up a narrative that fits the "reality TV" world's view of them.

But one cast member slowly but surely becomes unhinged as her "reality" starts to become disintegrated before her very eyes and the effects will make all of the women question what exactly the "reality" of their situation is.

Knoll doesn't throw any soft punches in the secret lives of these women's minds that we enter and at different times and instead challenges what it means to be a feminist and to be a woman and a feminist today. The drastic viewpoints from some of the characters presented are sometimes hard to swallow, but Knoll wants women especially to know that feminism can only work if women are willing to help other women and not, as the author states in a revelatory Q&A at the end of the book, just be feminists when it's in fashion.

As a story about the lives of women in television, a murder mystery with gossipy points, it works on levels like "Big Little Lies" and Knoll's own winning debut "Luckiest Girl Alive". The reality show these women are on would have you believe they are "GOAL Diggers" who are achieving and doing so with low drama, but the repercussions of decisions on casting and storyline lead into their real lives, which since they are depending on the show for their livelihood, they're willing to do anything to protect that image (real or not) - even sometimes at the cost of each other. Knoll also presents a tapestry that brings the issues of race, class, gender, matrimony status together that forces the reader to confront real issues and perceptions head-on.

For anyone who's read "Luckiest Girl Alive", this second novel will not come as a surprise with its scathing remarks on society and for new readers, don't expect to like too many of the characters as Knoll takes you through moral choppy waters and doesn't care if you mind the ride or not, she's telling it either way.

The Favorite Sister is a dramatic and humorous story about successful women on a reality tv show and what they will do to stay on top. The story follows a reality tv show about self-made women focusing on their careers called Goal Diggers. The Goal Diggers are Stephanie a best-selling author, Jen a creator of vegan food line, Lauren the founder of dating app, and Brett the owner of the SPOKE spinning studios. Brett’s older sister and business partner Kelly along with Kelly’s 12 year old daughter Layla are new additions to the cast. Stephanie’s new memoir is a huge success, but she had a falling out with her best friend Brett, her husband has a wandering eye, and as the oldest on the show at 34 (gasp!) she worries she will be cut. Lauren was forced to step down from being the CEO due to her drinking and drug use and she believes one of the Goal Diggers sent Page 6 the video that exposed her substance abuse. Jen pretends to be someone different on camera, her mother favors Brett over her, and her secret relationship ended leaving her heartbroken. Brett has come into money from SPOKE and is engaged to her lawyer girlfriend, Arch, but is worried the truth behind her fight with Stephanie will come out. Kelly is a single mother who manages all the business aspects behind SPOKE and she would like some recognition for her work. At the start of the story, the show has wrapped and we learn that one of the Goal Diggers has been murdered. Then the following chapters take place before, during, and after the filming of the show leading up to the murder. Feeling in constant competition to be relevant on the show and in their endeavors, each of Goal Diggers has been telling lies, keeping secrets, forming alliances and backstabbing each other. As the story progresses, all their lies and secrets come out building up to the shocking conclusion.
The story has a fair pace and well-written characters. The story does keep you mostly interested, but could slow when one of narrators when off on a tangent. The story is told in first person alternating between Brett and Stephanie with a few chapters narrated by Kelly. The story centers around Brett and Stephanie and we learn the most about them. I would have liked a couple chapters told by Jen and Lauren to be able to get their perspectives and understand the motives behind their actions. Besides Layla, the characters are not really likable, but that is probably true of any reality tv show. Also characters are hard to keep track of at the beginning before we are fully introduced to them, but they are easier to follow as the story goes on. Brett is self centered, braggy, and nasty to Kelly. A good thing about Brett is that she had strong body positivity despite being treated as the fat girl her whole life. Stephanie is funnier, but she could be a snob and she was obsessed with her age (34 is not old). She was stressed about her secrets, her age, and has always felt out place being a black girl adopted by a rich white family. Lauren is always drinking or on drugs, playing the dumb girl. Jen is really uptight and a total fake. She not only fakes being a hippie, she also fakes being a vegan. A true vegan would never ever eat meat, dairy, or eggs for any reason. The author is very inaccurate about the vegan diet, if Jen was on balanced vegan diet she would not have her health issues, her hair would be shiny and healthy, and she would be a healthy weight, not super thin. Jen was never on a vegan diet and calling her juice cleanses or anorexia a vegan diet is very wrong and narrowminded. Kelly is the most down to earth one, trying to better her life, run and expand SPOKE without going bankrupt, and raise her daughter. Although we get to read with happened with the murder, the scenes are not gory. The sex scenes are not very graphic or overly descriptive. The author does raise intriguing points about how women are defined, how women act toward one another, how society always pits women against each other, and what we are willing to do for fame and fortune. The ending is not a cliffhanger, we learn who the murderer is and how. Fans of Luckiest Girl Alive, Big Little Lies, Pretty Little Liars, and the tv series Unreal would enjoy this book. I liked the book aside from the author’s annoying errors on veganism. I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Favorite Sister

I can’t tell you how excited I was for this book release. So you can imagine the squeals of joy when I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book opens with present day questions about a murder. A group of powerful women from different backgrounds on a reality show. One ends up dead. Personally, I love when a book starts in the middle and I have to put the pieces together.

I grew up in the age of “The Real World”. You know, when reality TV brought up questions about diversity, culture and socioeconomic status. This book tapped into that vein for me.

While the start was fast, the first half of the book dragged. There were so many characters that I had to take notes to keep track. However, I stuck with it and about the 50-60% mark, a switch flipped and I was right there in Morocco with the cast and crew of Gold Diggers. It’s incredibly rare that I do this, but I read the second half of the book in one night. I was even more surprised by this because the first half took soooo long for me to get through. I’ll say that not all of it was necessary and I’d like to see some trim there, but the ending (multiple twists!) was well worth it!

Fast pace and keep-you-guessing. While I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a good thriller, fans of Housewives-style reality shows will find a special pleasure in the “behind the scenes” stories this book offers. The reflections on feminism told through this reality-show lens are especially thought provoking.

I really enjoyed The Luckiest Girl Alive, but this one I couldn't get in to. After 120 pages I had to call it quits unfortunately. Maybe it just wasn't the right time? I'll give it another shot later.

I was a huge fan of The Luckiest Girl Alive, and had my doubt that the author could deliver another book on the same level of excellence. And to be completely honest, when I heard that the storyline had to do with reality show personalities, I began to expect the worst. I am happy to say, however, that I was drawn into the story, could not put down the book, and LOVED all the twists and turns!!! There is nothing better than having an unpredictable story line, and The Favorite Sister provided just that! This is definitely something that you should only begin reading when you have several hours to devote to it, because you cannot put it down once you start reading it!

We know from the first paragraph that Brett is dead, but we don't know what happened to her or why. What follows is the slow unraveling of five ambitious women as they film a season of their reality show, tension ratcheting up until the confrontation that will leave Brett dead. This is an intense, page-turning book about ambition, friendship, and jealousy, and I'm still thinking about it days later! Highly recommend.

Buckle your seat belts, it's going to be a wild ride.

That's really all the advice I can give you when it comes to The Favorite Sister. That, and if you are the mood for a fast paced novel filled to the brim with drama and characters you love to hate - pick this book up now.

Set in world of reality TV, The Favorite Sister tells the story of five young high powered business women chronicling their lives for the cameras. The producers want you to think this is a serious documentary of how power players are made but as they enter their fourth season, Goal Diggers has begun to skew closer to Real Housewives meets Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Backstabbing, bitching, and secrets are what follow these women around and as the stress, jealousy and vitriol between the main players continues to grow there is no way for this season to end in disaster. It's really just a question of how bad will the shock waves get?

While this novel is totally bingeable in a 'I can't look away from this trainwreck' entertainment value, perhaps what is most interesting of all is the way it tackles some very timely and important topics such a feminism, women's rights and the role of media. Knoll laces this novel with quotes and statements that make you pause and consider the larger story. Is this a beachy consumable women's fiction novel, or is this piece of fiction creating a satire of our society today and it's role/effect on women? Either way, both ways...I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read this book in advance. Unfortunately, I did not finish this title. I really wanted to like it, the plot seemed right up my alley. I didn't care for the author's writing style though. I found the different view points very confusing. I would definitely give this author another try but this one just wasn't for me.

I was unable to get into this one too much conflict and going back and forth.

1 star and so close to DNF.

Goal Diggers is a reality show featuring 5 successful millennials living in New York City. One of them gets murdered at the end of the season.

That's really all I got out of the book. It was terrible for me. I don't understand how people are giving this 4 stars. The story was so hard to follow, the characters all blended together and none of them were likable. I was able to distinguish Brett (she's fat) and Stephanie (she's black) because the author hammered those facts so hard into our heads throughout the entire book. The other characters all blended together into one hard to read, easily forgettable story. Was there a twist at the end? Umm...kinda. But honestly, I didn't care at that point. I was just glad finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of The Favorite Sister. When I read the description of this book I honestly thought it would be a real page turner. I love watching reality television so I thought this was a book I would probably end up reading in two nights or less. I wanted to like this book. I tried so hard. I never want to leave a bad review, however, I was given an ARC with the expectation of leaving an honest review. I just did not like anything about this book. It took me over two weeks to read it in its entirety.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36967019-the-favorite-sister?ac=1&from_search=true

I didn't like this much. I found the characters' motivations to strain credulity and their plots excessively complicated. Twists seemed to happen for the sake of twist, without regard to characterization or a cohesive.

Unfortunately this one was a DNF for me. The premise sounded good, but I just couldn't get into it sadly.

This book should have been a huge hit for me. I’m an addict of reality television and in particular the Real Housewives franchise. This book is written as a behind the scenes look at such a show told from the point of view of various cast mates. But I pretty much hated it! I found every character to be awful and the storylines stressed me out.

I am a fan of this author and I’m a fan of this genre but I am not a fan of this book.

I was ready looking forward to reading this book, I had read the authors first book and liked it. I just couldn’t get into this book, I found myself skimming the pages and daydreaming until I finally gave up.

Thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley. I was provided with a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The book centers on 5 women who are cast members of a reality show, Goal Getters. Think Real Housewives or any of the Bravo reality shows. One of the women is killed during the filming of the season and we see the story in flashbacks. There are secrets, scandals, lies, travel, and all kinds of drama along the way.

The book had some hilarious, withering, skewering descriptions that made me laugh.

As much as I enjoyed the mystery and the writing, I also was intrigued by the production aspect. As a reader, I got to be "behind the scenes" and learn just how much manipulation goes on in a "reality" program.

When The Luckiest Girl Alive was published, I jumped on the bandwagon. The book did not end up being the next Gone Girl (nothing was) but it was a solid, quick and satisfying read. The sophomore novel by the author look me a long time to plod through. Maybe I don't like reality tv? I watch my fair share of competition shows and was an avid Real World fan for the first few seasons but this is probably more for the Real Housewives and Kardashian sets, and that's not me.

The book did show the dark and dangerous side of fame, but even the murder plot did not hold my attention. The reader finds out one of the main characters on Goal Diggers, a show about impressive young female entrepreneurs, is dead on the very first page. Unfortunately, I found the 'twist' and the story along the way to be unexciting and lacking suspense. None of the characters were very likable, which is not a requirement for a great read for me (see: Gone Girl), but they were so self-involved that I did not find myself wanting to follow any of their storylines.

For a reader interested in learning more about the innerworkings of the reality television world, this might be a better pick. Thank you netgalley for the preview!