Jane's daughter, Mary, died tragically a year ago and since then Jane is grief-stricken, taking anti-depressants and can't seem to get herself out this dark cloud. Her husband and the daughter she does have left are quite distant. All chaos begins when hints arise that her daughter's death may have not been an accident like they thought.

What a total rollercoaster that I did not want to ever get off. I loved this book.

I loved this book! Thank you for the ARC. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that I wasn’t leaving reviews on netgalley and was solely sharing on Instagram. My apologies. Huge fan of this author! I actually received the tangible copy. Trying to clean up my netgally account.

This one was okay. It would be a good read for people just getting into the mystery genre. I wouldn't say it's really a thriller though, as there isn't anything really thrilling about it. Plot twists? Sure. Thriller? Ah, not so much. I didn't like the aspect of animal abuse and death of a dog. If I knew that was going to be in here then I would have automatically skipped this one.

AH JANE! She's awful - and does awful things - and it was great reading about this perfectionist who takes everything out on everyone else.

An enjoyable and twisty thriller I’ve come to expect from Kaira Rouda. I love this directions she’s taken with genres melding a lovely blend of drama, suspense, and contemporary issues.

I received a gifted copy.

This one was a little too predictable and the unreliable narrator trope is so over done. It was a fast read, but will not be one that sticks with me.

Continuing effort to clear out my Netgalley backlog!

Jane was the right amount of crazy and I dug it! She’ll do anything to keep her family together!

What would you be willing to do…?

An emotional page-turner!

The Favorite Daughter is about the perfect home, family and the perfect lie.

Jane Harris lives in a sparkling home in an oceanfront gated community in Orange County. It’s a place that seems too beautiful to be touched by sadness. But exactly one year ago, Jane’s oldest daughter, Mary, died in a tragic accident and Jane has been grief-stricken ever since. Lost in a haze of anti-depressants, she’s barely even left the house. Now that’s all about to change.

I received an advanced reading copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this author's book Best Day Ever, so I read this one in eager anticipation for the next thrilling must-read recommendation which I would be able to give as a librarian. I was sorely disappointed. I usually love an unreliable narrator, but I found Jane to be ~too~ unreliable somehow. I think it is because she screamed unwell from page 1. The ending was predictable. Sadly, I found this to be no where near as strong as the author's first book.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

When the plot of a thriller involves a mother, her children, loss, death and a man... the right author can knock it out of the park. This is what Kaira Rouda did in her title “The Favorite Daughter”! Don’t underestimate how you would handle this heart wrenching situation.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Kaira Rouda has her finger on the pulse of characters that want to make you scream & throw a book, but like a train wreck- you can’t take you eyes off them (or quit reading them).

If you enjoyed Paul from Best Day Ever, Jane will def be your cup of tea (or whiskey).

What I liked:

That cover def works for me!

Believe it or not- I liked Jane. She was good theater. Now if I had to hear one more time about her hot bod or how every man with a freaking pulse was lusting after her- I might would have screamed a bit. But Jane, as the book went on, got better- because her purpose and motives became clearer. And I loved to see how her mind worked.



Bottom line: This book had a lot going for it. If you like unlikeable characters with an unreliable narrator air about them- well, Jane is your gal. I’m excited to see what Kaira Rouda writes next.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy!

I have a love-hate relationship with unreliable narrators and villains-as-MCs. On the one hand, it's such a delicious and disturbing break from the norm. On the other hand, it can be really hard to maintain momentum in a novel if the reader absolutely despises your heroine on a molecular level. And let's just say, Jane is definitely despicable.

The main gist of the plot is that Jane is trying to figure out the truth behind her favorite daughter's death one year prior. Throw in a hefty dose of narcissism, a big scoop of sociopathy, and a strong desire to slap the shit out of this woman, and you've got a murder mystery that grates on the nerves and yet is impossible to put down.

In the end I didn't rate this book higher just because I really didn't enjoy Jane as a character. She was so full of herself and never really did anything to live up to the heights of glory she envisioned for herself. She certainly didn't fit in with the ranks of, say, Amy Dunne. (Now, if you want to talk about crazy...)

Overall, a solid read with solid plot twists, just not the most enjoyable title I've ever picked up. I would certainly come back to this author in the future though!

What in the actual… Who does this?

Those were just a couple of things I said as I read this thing. I listened to this on audio and it was excellent. Jane is the type of character you love to hate. This is a roller coaster, and right off the bat you are like wait, what? And then off we go! I loved this one so much, and it was my first read by Rouda, so I will absolutely be going back to Best Day Ever and reading that shortly. This was disturbing but fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed it all the way until the end. And still was asking myself, what in the actual…and, who does this? So.dang.good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for the egalley to review!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Favorite Daughter started out compelling but about a third of the way in, I found myself losing interest. I couldn’t stand the narrator anymore and I was just struggling to finish this one. The book was well written, just not my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for this ARC.

Jane Harris is starting to come out of the fog that she has been in since her oldest daughter, Mary tragically died. It is coming up on the one year anniversary of her death and Jane is ready for all of their elite friends to see just how good she is doing now. She lost a lot of weight due to her grief and her husband has bought her a brand new house to surprise her with a fresh start. All she has left to do is figure out who killed Mary and she has a gut feeling that it was their youngest daughter, Besty. She has been acting different ever since Mary's death.

The Favorite Daughter is one of those books full of characters that are easy to dislike. It didn't take me very long to figure out that Jane Harris was an incredibly unstable narrator. With every passing page, her narcissism just radiated off of the pages. I often found it infuriating, especially the way she confided in the reader like she was my best friend. Her husband was a pretty shitty husband, too. I pitied Betsy for having such a viper for a mother, but I didn't really like her either. Nothing about the end really surprised me, well except for Sam. -CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS.

Bottom Line - The Favorite Daughter was one of those books that you love to hate. I didn't want to like the book because I really did not like Jane Harris, but the truth is, I couldn't put it down. And those are the kinds of books that I love.

Details:
The Favorite Daughter by Kaira Rouda
On Instagram
Pages: 368
Publisher: Graydon House
Publication Date: 5/21/2019
Buy it Here!

Special thanks to Harlequin for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

After reading & loving BEST DAY EVER I had high expectations for this book! It was totally over the top & wild. Her books are just such wild and compulsive reads, they're hard to put down.

Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

I couldn't get into this book. I've had it downloaded for over a year, and it just didn't draw me in well enough to feel like devoting the time to finishing it. I have never left a review like this; most of my reviews are quite lengthy and comprehensive, but I can only say so much without having finished.

I saw this book on NetGalley and knew I couldn't wait to read it even before I read it - you see, I have read a couple of Kaira Rouda's books already and loved them! It started with The Goodbye Year back in April of 2016, and then in July of 2018, there was Best Day Ever, so when I saw The Favorite Daughter available, I requested it right away.  Unfortunately, I've had a lot of life issues going on and never had a chance to read and review it until now.

Jane Harris is one of those characters that readers love to hate. Jane not only thinks the unthinkable, she does and says it too, but still, readers won't get enough of her.  I just kept turning the pages like wild just to see what she'd do next!  And speaking of wild, The Favorite Daughter takes readers on a seriously wild ride.  Jane was such a bizarre and insane protagonist, that I honestly had no idea what to expect from this book.

Readers are invited inside Jane's head and they were provided with a shocking and unforgettable journey. If you're like me, you'll be thinking of this story long after the book is finished. I really enjoyed Jane's snarky and obsessive personality, and her inner thoughts and dialogue really sucked me in and I was unable to stop reading.

The Favorite Daughter really kept me guessing as the conclusion moved with great speed. In fact, I read this entire book in just a few hours because I couldn't help myself from needing to see how the author would tie everything up.

Kaira Rouda has a knack for writing this kind of psychological suspense story - it's twisty and unsettling, but amusing with a nutty and ridiculous quality.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to provide a positive review and this affected neither my opinion of the book, nor the content of my review!!