I started this book multiple times and unfortunately had a hard time getting into it. I don't normally watch reality TV shows in life, so maybe that is why I couldn't connect, but I just couldn't get over the cattiness of the women. I loved Jessica's other books, but this one I couldn't relate or wrap my head around .:(

I could not put this book down! Jessica Knoll is a wonderful, engaging writer. I was hooked from the start and got even more engrossed as the story went on. Loved this book & didn't want it to end!

Became a fan of Knoll with her first novel and I was sure this was going to be hard to put down. Based off my favorite reality shows - I appreciate some clever bitches

Unfortunately, this book just did not do it for me. I wanted to like this book because I loved Jessica Knoll's first book and am a total reality show junkie, however after 3 attempts I just couldn't get into it. It had a VERY slow beginning and honestly just never picked up. I very rarely give up on books, but this one I unfortunately abandoned after 3 attempts.

This was a no-go for me. I really wanted to enjoy this due to how popular this novel became but it just did not do it for me. TOO much drama for me.

A solid premise but not as good as her first novel. It did bring up some very timely issues. Neverless, an entertaining beach read.

A bit of a hard time getting into this book, but it picked up toward the middle. Interesting premise!

2.5⭐️⭐️
This was a weird book. It has a great premise that fits with our current times, a reality show following a group of women who will do pretty much anything to remain on the show and center of attention. Friends turn to enemies quickly when people aren’t treated “fairly” on the show and secrets are revealed.

Although I didn’t really like this book and it’s storyline and would have rated it a 2 Star or potentially even DNFed it due to the lack of an entertaining story arc, I bumped it up to a 2.5 because of how real this story is in our current society. Society loves reality TV and the drama that ensues with the people on it, even when we know that it’s staged. We want to see these characters a certain way and don’t want to think that they could be lying to us. It also did really well with how women have been trying to support one another and be a feminist, but at the same time, end up cutting each other down all with a fake smile on. No woman in this book was ever truly happy for another woman’s success. They would put a fake smile on their face and talk about them behind their back which is a huge problem in society right now.

I think my biggest part comes with the fact that we learn from the start that Brett is killed and we are working our way back to that moment when it will all be revealed. However, because we knew that, I didn’t care so much about all of the boring storyline because I just wanted to know what happened and how it happened. I feel like this is less of a thriller and more of a social commentary. Maybe if the thriller aspect wasn’t revealed right up front, I would have been more interested in the catty and underhanded ways of the “Goal Diggers”. Even the big reveal at the end was anti-climactic and I just wanted to be done with the book.

First of all, I will say that skimming reviews before reading the book was a terrible idea. It really hindered my ability to give the book a chance and not think about what others thought.

I agree that it was extremely difficult to start and continue reading. It got much better in the last 1/3-1/4 of the book though. First of all, it's written from a bunch of characters' perspectives which made it hard to keep track and get invested. There are also a LOT of characters, so I often forgot who was who.

The story is about women on a reality TV show, but it was clear what was happening "on screen" and what was happening off screen. It took me a while to even realize they had been "filming" what was happening.

I was excited for this, but the "thriller" aspect of the novel didn't happen until way late, so it was hard to sit down and want to read it...at least for me.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC, for which I have given an honest and unbiased review*

It made me feel a bit sick inside to admit that I enjoyed this book. Readers see behind-the-scenes moments between friends, enemies, and family. We view their insecurities and witness their most vulnerable moments. It’s a bit like watching the Hunger Games meets The Real Housewives.

Normally, books last about a day or two for me. This one took several days to finish. The writing is superb. It’s obvious that Jessica Knoll is a very intelligent, quick-witted author. There were so many pop culture mentions I had to Google — and I’m sure just as many went over my head. In that respect, this book is very entertaining and fun to read. There were laugh-out-loud moments and I actually gasped a couple of times. Knoll didn’t hold back when it came to the vicious nature of her characters. She showed exactly how ruthless they could be! Such negativity, jealousy, and hostility turned my stomach. Thus, it took me longer to absorb the full impact of the story. I could only stand it in small doses.

Since I was given an advance reader version, there were several typos. Also, the ending seemed very abrupt. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was supposed to understand from the final moments of the book. Hopefully those things are worked out in the final copy.

I loved the fresh, relevant topic of this book - a behind-the-scenes look at the dirty secrets of a reality TV show. The story is told by several points of view, and is a story you can get sucked in to. If you feel like it starts out slow, keep reading. The ending is definitely worth it! The only thing I have mixed feelings about is that I read from the description that the book involves a murder, and it's referenced fairly early in the book, though it doesn't happen until late in the story. I can't decide if I like that I knew a murder would happen, so I could guess who did it, or if I would rather have been surprised that someone died when it happened. Overall, it was interesting and fresh, and I definitely recommend it! It's equal parts catty fights and mystery.

I, like many others in this world, am a sucker for a good trashy reality show. Even though I know deep down that it’s not REALLY reality.. but still. One piece that was fun about this book was seeing the behind the scenes to a show - and this part felt very real to me.

It seems like people either love this book, or hate it. I fell closer to the love ranking. Well paced and kept my interest!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, how I wanted to love this book since I'm a fan of Jessica Knoll but I got about 30% into it and I just couldn't. Too many characters for me and I felt that it was dragging. Sorry.

I really tried with this book. I gave it multiple attempts and I just could force myself to read it all the way through. It is like a boring version of Desperate House Wives but with unmarried business women. Then all the sudden 40% of the way through the book you find out someone was murdered and it was covered up... and that’s it... Read another 5% and no explanation. Nothing interesting happens. I finally gave up. I wasted enough of my time on this book.

*Thank to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I thought this is a super twisty and well-written thriller. My only beef with it was that by the end, I disliked almost every character and felt like I never wanted to befriend a female again.

This novel follows 5 successful women who are all part of a reality tv show. Right away you find out that one of the characters have died and the rest of the book leads you on a journey to find out what happened.
This book started out very slow and I honestly struggled a bit with the first third of the book. They introduce you to a lot of characters all at once and it's hard to keep them straight. At about the half way mark I really started to get into it and the story really began to pick up pace.
Overall I enjoyed this book and think it's worth a read.

Five women together on a reality TV show. The show is about successful females who supposedly support each other. While the successful part is true, the supporting each other is not. What results is a lot of infighting, back stabbing and one upmanship.

Sadly, I have worked with groups of women and think the author was pretty spot on with how women can sometimes behave when in a group setting. Note that I say sometimes and not always. It's been a while since I've been in that environment and I can only hope that things have changed.

I did find the first half of this book to be slow going. Once the women got together for the new season of their show, the storyline picked up significantly. I was pleased with how the author chose to end this. After spending time we these mostly amoral women, it was good to see someone decide to rething their behavior.

I received this from Simon & Schuster via Netgalley.

This book had been on my TBR for quite some time. I found that the concept of following a reality TV show behind the scenes in the most fictional setting ever extremely compelling. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. Although a few characters did fall flat for me, I do think some were intentionally made to dislike compared to others. Great read!

I thought Jessica's first novel was okay, but I really was hoping for some redemption with this second novel. IN the end I was disappointed, I didn't even finish it because it was just that bad.

*Received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review*

"The Favorite Sister" by Jessica Knoll, who arrived on the scene in 2015 with her debut best-seller "Luckiest Girl Alive," is an enthralling sophomore novel that doesn't quite meet the stature of its predecessor but stands on its own.

The story surrounds the "Goal Diggers," a reality TV show surrounding successful millionaire millennials like Brett, the mastermind behind SPOKE, a bicycle fitness startup, who just brought Kelly, her older single mother sister on board with the show, along with her beloved niece, Layla. But Brett is dead. This is not a spoiler because it's in the first paragraph, so the story builds up to how Brett died and how the spotlight contributed to it. She's dealing with the blowback of her twisted relationship with her frenemy, Stephanie, a top memoirist and novelist, and Jen, a vegan food entrepreneur. In the background are the other cast members such as Lauren, an entrepreneur with a forgettable company; Jesse, the 40something executive producer and show creator, and Vince, Stephanie's brawny yet empty-headed husband.

The premise in itself sounds frivolous since it's around a reality TV show, but the characters are withering by the moment from their narcissism and the secrets behind the lives they choose to present on camera. At first, the characters and their lives and careers get entangled in each other with the excess descriptions and witty language, but as the story progresses, the characters who emerge from the verbose debris are Brett, Kelly, and Stephanie. They each get more chapters than the other characters who fade as supporters to the story.

I like Stephanie the best. She's the lone black woman on the show, but she's hyperaware of her race and gender and how it affects her reputation. For example, she spends a lot of time constantly pointing out the flaws of her castmates and how it's impossible to support other women because she's 34 and will term out of the show for her age. The concept, done in a way buried with trendy verbiage referring to every pop culture reference out today, is something to ponder. Along with the issues of domestic violence, body shaming, single mother shaming, vegan shaming, infidelity, race, eating disorders, and others interlaced in the plot. All of these are thought-provoking issues yet the mask of reality TV world may or may not conceal the seriousness of these issues for the reader.

Mentioning Stephanie as the black woman on the show raised by a single white mother and married to a white husband, the book had diverse characters rare to find in a traditional chick lit novel written by a white female author. At the end, Knoll admits her first novel didn't really show any diversity and seeing it there and in Hollywood made her want to add more unique characters to this book. Other examples include Brett being a lesbian, Layla being biracial, Jen being vegan cancer survivor, Lauren being an alcoholic, the castmates choosing their trip of the season in Morocco for charitable reasons, etc. The characters show depth with realizing what's at stake because of what makes them different.

When I started this book, I had a difficult time keeping up with the characters. I actually stopped reading it to read other books due to time restraints, and I thought I wouldn't return to it. But I had to find out what happened to Brett, and I'm glad I picked it back up. With a fresh perspective, I absorbed the story and the characters popped off the pages. So this book is great for someone who loves those women-oriented reality TV shows like the "Real Housewives" franchises and guiltily imagine things going too far. It's a more elevated beach read because of the setting mixed with the issues successful women face.