Member Reviews
Emily D, Bookseller
I was not the biggest fan of this, I just couldn't get into the story. Oh well, maybe her next book will be for me :) |
Deadly Little Scandals picks up right where Little White Lies left off - with all the drama, mysteries, and dysfunctional families! I love the ever-changing relationships between the characters. in the group and the different dynamics. Great teen drama mixed with mystery! Crazy twisty ending that I still can't wrap my head around! Thanks to Disney Book Group and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. |
Little White Lies was a five star read for me. It delivered debutante and family drama with white gloves. So going into Deadly Little Scandals I wasn't sure how Barnes was going to top the secrets and mystery in Little White Lies. I shouldn't have been worried. In Deadly Little Scandals I still loved Sawyer's point of view. It was one of my favorite elements from Little White Lies. Sawyer continuously has to grapple with questions of family, how the mistakes of the past come back to haunt us, and the quest to reveal the truth. When there's a truth you know in your heart, it can tear you apart. She may have had a dream of a complete family, of closure and white gloves, but what Sawyer will realize is that nothing is as it seems. Deadly Little Scandals has the same sort of cyclical beginning, where there's all this tension because we know a little about what situation they are going to find themselves in, but not why or how. I didn't think it could get any wilder than Little White Lies and I was 100% wrong. Half my notes are just, "omg" because there are twists and turns littered all over the page. But at the heart of Deadly Little Scandals is a story about family. Pacts, friendships, and lake vacations. |
"Reluctant debutante Sawyer Taft joined Southern high society for one reason and one reason alone: to identify and locate her biological father. But the answers Sawyer found during her debutante year only left her with more questions and one potentially life-ruining secret. When her cousin Lily ropes her into pledging a mysterious, elite, and all-female secret society called the White Gloves, Sawyer soon discovers that someone in the group's ranks may have the answers she's looking for. Things are looking up... until Sawyer and the White Gloves make a disturbing discover near the family's summer home--and uncover a twisted secret, decades in the making. No one is quite who they seem to be in this twisty, soapy, gasp-inducing sequel to Jennifer Lynn Barnes' unputdownable Little White Lies." I'm all about the secret societies right now! |
elaine h, Educator
Thank you net galley for the advance copy of this novel. I have loved everything by Lynn Barnes and this novel was no different. A great second book in the series! I can't wait to see what this author brings to the table next. |
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title to review. All opinions are my own. In this follow up to Barnes' hit Little White Lies the murders and mysteries keep coming. Sawyer is still on the hunt for who else could be the product of the teenage pregnancy pact that resulted in her conception and she is determined to find out what happened to Ana, the other girl with her mother in the pact. Because finding Ana means finding someone else who might understand what she is going through. Someone else who would know what it feels like to only be part of a family. But this summer is going to be about more than just Ana and any missing relatives. Because the White Glove Society is courting new recruits, and Lily and Sawyer are two of the candidates. And now they are going to have to try to make it through all of their tasks to earn their way into the secret society of high society ladies. Of course, the dead body they find on the second night out puts a bit of a damper on the festivities and leads to more unanswerable questions. As the summer wears on, it becomes apparent that some secrets just won't stay buried. Highly recommend for those who are fans of Barnes' other books and who enjoyed the first in the series. This is fast-paced and the hits just keep coming. Recommended for grades 9 and up. |
I adore pretty much all of Jennifer Lynn Barnes stories and when Deadly Little Secrets came out last year I was completely in love with it and couldn't wait to get my hands on Deadly Little Scandals. It completely lived up to all of my expectations. With twists and turns galore and so many things that I simply just did not see coming, it kept me on my toes and completely, once again, immersed in the world of debutantes, the filthy rich, scandals, secrets, and where almost anything goes with those that know people in high places and have the money to back it up, this truly was an entertaining read that kept me engaged and eagerly turning the pages. I will miss this world of lies, deceit and but most of all, families taking care of their own just as much as I will the characters, both good and bad, that have grown on me over the course of these books. Such a fun wild escape that almost everyone can get lost in and one that will stick with you long after the scandals are over. |
Deadly Little Scandals concludes the Debutantes duology and it has all the suspense, shocking twists, humor, and quirky characters that Barnes is known for. This time around though I think she throws a little too much into the mix, at times giving this a frenetic confusing quality especially toward the end. I found myself having to re-read certain passages detailing the myriad of convoluted secret family ties because I just couldn’t keep everyone straight That said, I loved the characters and there were quite a few surprises that completely blew me away. Overall, Deadly Little Scandals is a slightly messy yet still enjoyable thrill ride that I recommend to anyone looking for an unputdownable book that’s in the same vein as Pretty Little Liars. |
HOLY FUCK THIS BOOK. Omg. What the fuck are words anyway??? This book does not pull any punches whatsoever. There are many many MANY twists and my head is still spinning from trying to figure out what I just read. Jennifer Lynn Barnes is known for her mysteries and her mysteries are why I keep coming back to her. Deadly Little Scandals, in my opinion, is unlike some of her previous stuff in terms of how major plot points unfold and the punches we are thrown. I cannot quite decide if this is a good thing or a bad but it is definitely a thing. Little White Lies took me a while to get invested in but by the time I was 10% into Deadly Little Scandals, my eyes were completely glued to the pages. We are thrown right into the action and the pacing is very quick. As I reflect on the book though, I feel like a lot of the exciting plot stuff came at the cost of relationship arcs? A lot of the characters from the previous book simply had no page time in this one and I genuinely missed the found family vibe of Little White Lies. There wasn’t as much of an opportunity for us to see relationships develop further. I could see that these characters were still interacting because they were attending the same events but there wasn’t much dialogue so it didn’t feel the same. Having said that, Lily and Sawyer’s relationship was absolutely on point in this book. They had a lot of ups and downs and I enjoyed this new, complex, exploration of their friendship (and SISTERHOOD.) So, if it wasn’t already clear, a lot of crazy shit happens in this book. I could not have imagined at all that this is where Jennifer Lynn Barnes was planning on taking us and part of me still isn’t sure if that is a good thing or bad?? Because I felt like a lot of the twists in this book made it so that a lot of minor plot points from the previous book were completely brushed under the rug with no questions whatsoever. Yeah, I am not sure whether I loved or just really liked Deadly Little Scandals but one thing is for sure, this book absolutely packs a powerful punch and I was squealing with excitement the entire time I was reading it. Deadly Little Scandals is a sequel worth reading and I am very very sad that this might be the last time I ever get to see these wonderful characters. On the plus side, it means I might get to meet new JLB characters soon! |
I don’t know why, but Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ books are so freaking addicting and easy to get into that I had a feeling I was going to have no trouble whatsoever with this one. And after the events that happened in book one, I knew I had to pick it up. Now, I feel that even though this one was a continuation of what happened after Little White Lies, the tone and the entire vibe of this sequel was pretty different. We had the same characters trying to solve a mystery, but the atmosphere I think was a lot darker, which is something that I adored. It took me a couple of chapters to remember all the characters and events of the first book, because it’s been a year since I read it and my brain isn’t as functional as I want it to be, but once I passed that confusion I started to enjoy the plot more and more. I’d say it took me a bit longer than expected to start getting into the story, because in the first quarter not much was going on, but as the plot started to develop, I had such a great time. The mystery was so interesting and really well written, and I was constantly at the edge of my seat guessing, making up theories and wanting to know what was going to happen next, and I was so pleasantly surprised by the different twists and turns the story had, and the revelations made towards the end, because I for sure wasn’t expecting THAT. When it comes to the characters, it felt so nice to be back into that story and learnt more about them and seeing them interact. I really enjoyed some of the friendships formed in this book, because I loved those characters and they were so strong and powerful together, so it was great to see them be friends in Deadly Little Scandals. However, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the romance. I think that there was a lot going on with the characters and the mystery, and because of that the romance felt quite unimportant and lacking. There was no room for these characters to start a relationship, and because of that I found those parts a bit unnecessary. Like I mentioned before, the ending was totally worth the read for me. I feel with mysteries I can look past certain things I wasn’t the biggest fan of if the ending is amazing, and in this case, I was constantly surprised by everything that was happening. Overall, I don’t know if there are going to be more books in the series (hopefully it will), but I think I enjoyed Deadly Little Scandals a bit more than the first installment. I was such a great fan of the mystery and the way it played in the story, and we got to see characters I really enjoyed in Little White Lies become friends and interact more, which is something I wanted since I finished book one, so I was pretty pleased with that! |
Posted to Goodreads: 3.5 Rating: Sawyer Taft is now part of the high society that her mother rejected almost twenty years ago. Sawyer had dreamed of learning about her biological father and now that she knows the secrets of her birth she just wants to keep her family. However, Sawyer's new life is being threatened by a long ago secret that is refusing to stay hidden and a secret society that is trying to recruit Sawyer into their rank but that might also hold secrets to the mystery haunting the Taft family. I had a very mixed reaction to this book. Deadly Little Scandal has the same fun and pithy writing that made Little White Lies so much fun to read. Barnes let her characters grow and change which made Sawyer, Lily, and Campbell even more entertaining. Plus, Sadie-Grace is just delightful, seriously, I read a whole book about her. However, the plot felt a little muddled and focused more on the characters parents then I would have liked. The book is fun and fast read but it doesn't live up to the first in the series. |
4.5 stars! The second installment of this series is not as exciting as the first one, but if you've read it, you can't help getting involved in what's happening here. Sawyer knows who her real dad is, but she feels like she can't confide in Lily without risking her getting mad and wanting to get some distance from Sawyer. But, as with everything that happens in that high-society circle, things are more complicated than that, and soon the girls find themselves with a dead body and a huge mystery in front of them. This may not be the best book in the series, but I hadn’t cared like this for a group of characters in a long time. I would love to read more, so please keep them coming! |
I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for a fair and honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read the conclusion to this series early. If you have not read the 1st book in the series, you would need to in order for any of it to make sense. Sawyer's story resumes in the beginning of summer following Deb season. The family is traveling to the lake for weekends. So begins a new mission, and a new mystery. There is an all girls secret society and a contest to be chosen, and Sawyer is trying to find the baby her mom's friend Ana had. The flashbacks to 25 years ago are a little frustrating as I wasn't as interested in those parts, but they connect to the current story. There is some convoluted family tree secrets which make sense at the end. The romance between Sawyer and Nick takes a back seat to the whose your mama/baby drama. There are definitely some surprises at the end that blew me away. As confusing as it may seem, I enjoyed the book and reccomend it when it comes out 11/5. |
Have you ever watched Pretty Little Liars? That is what this book reminds me of. You are wondering who is dead, who killed them, who is plotting against them, etc. But it sure makes for a fun read. I really loved the first book in the series and the follow up was just as good. The questions continue in this book and leave you with a great ending. The author sure knows how to write a great novel. |
If I thought the first book in this series was wild, I didn't know anything. What a wild ride this truly was. That said, things do veer towards the unreal and unbelievable but honestly it was still a really fun time. And also as long you read book one, and I don't know why you'd skip it, you'll be prepared for the kind of unreal and unbelievable things. But definitely not how far things will go or the surprises that are in store. The hijinks are a little less light hearted and yet the way things resolved, and didn't, felt.. right. Not too devastating and yet packing the right kind of punch for you to feel the rollercoaster without being too numb from all the wow moments. Barnes keeps you guessing all the way through, and even leaves reveals almost to the very last chapter, and I think that adds to the fun. The predictable pacing of a typical kind of mystery doesn't really apply here. Like I said, w i l d. "At this point, I could literally become a porn star, and I still wouldn't be the real scandal in this family." I would definitely recommend this for fans of Pretty Little Liars and, even if that's not your thing at all, but you still like tightly packed twisty stories with strong characters, you'll dig this, too. Hah, dig. Sorry. Read the book and you'll understand. I have no idea if this is the final book in the series or if there's more to come -- because things did kind of follow a natural conclusion and close the book on all the scandals -- but if so.. I will totally read on. |
Darcy D, Reviewer
Man...this one. So many secrets, it seemed like each time the girls would find one secret it lead them to another, to another, to another. By the end of the book it seems like we know all the secrets and all the kids have had their worlds rocked, nothing is what it seemed with the adults all lying to them. But now that things are out in the open they seem oddly at peace, ready to find their own place in the world and there is no doubt they will do just that. |
Michele K, Librarian
What a great sequel! I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Little White Lies and this one just ups the crazy drama. I would highly recommend reading the first one before jumping in to this one. You can read it okay but I don't think that I would have enjoyed it so much. The story starts off shortly after the first one ended. There are so many twists and turns in this story, it kept me reading way too late in the night! I just had to finish it. No spoilers, just read it! Recommended! |
Sawyer Taft has survived her debutante year and secured enough money to pay for college. It is now summer and time for fun and relaxation. That is until she is offered the chance to pledge with a very private, secret society called the White Gloves. During the first pledge “dare” the ladies discover a secret that has been hidden for over 20 years. Sawyer is now trying to unravel another family secret while also walking the fine line of high society. What else will Sawyer uncover along the way? Deadly Little Scandals is the second book in the Debutantes series. I loved Little White Lies and this book was not a disappointment. I enjoyed the characters and the mysteries that may be separate or may be connected. Barnes’ characters are easy to relate to and have more depth than readers first believe. This is a very fun read with hidden truths that everyone should hear. I recommend Deadly Little Scandals to everyone who enjoys a fun mystery or just wants a little change. |
*Thank you Disney Book Group for providing me with this eARC through Netgalley. 3.25 / 5 stars Deadly Little Secrets follows Sawyer Taft and her small group of gal pals as they are recruited to be in secret society. Sawyer and the gang are back in this sequel to undercover more secrets and scandals in this small town. I thought that this second book was a very interesting sequel. I think that the mystery reveal was far-fetched and unbelievable, but ultimately entertaining. These books are quite humorous and leave the reader wanting to know what will happen next. I found the inclusion of the secret society to be very interesting. I appreciated the knowledge that was shared about different characters throughout the book. I did find most of this book to be ridiculous, but it is still a very fun and fast read. Overall, I would recommend these books to someone who wants a more humorous story with a hint of secrets and scandal. |
Librarian 519441
Holy plot twists, Batman! Deadly Little Scandals was a stunning follow-up to Little White Lies, and kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Book two adds layers upon layers of drama and scandal (past and present) to the foundation laid in the first book, and a few twists that I never in a million years would have seen coming. I got a little confused at times but it all worked itself out. Overall, a great story! |








