Cover Image: Deadly Little Scandals

Deadly Little Scandals

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

*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.

Was this review helpful?

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!

Was this review helpful?

Another delightful Jennifer Lynn Barnes book! I think my head was spinning near the end though. Very difficult to keep up with what was going on.

Was this review helpful?

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 4.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

Was this review helpful?

Ok, so I requested this book in the hopes that I would enjoy it more than the first one. I felt that the first book wasn't fully developed in some areas and I found a lot of it unbelievable (umm...kidnapping a teenager and the parents don't even notice? Really?). Maybe I took these books too seriously, but I found this book to be just as problematic as the first. I don't want to say they're BAD, because they're certainly not. I do think they're for a younger audience, though. I feel like someone in their early teens would LOVE this series.

Was this review helpful?

Deadly Little Scandals takes the debutante drama from the first book and runs with it. This delightful sequel is chock-full of reveals, murder, affairs, a secret society, and every kind of scandal imaginable. Readers will find their head spinning as reveal after reveal shows the skeletons - literal and figurative - in these seemingly perfect families' closets. While the melodrama teeters on the edge of ridiculousness, the book is grounded by an excellent cast of characters with strong, unique voices who grow substantially as the novel progresses. This was thoroughly entertaining from start to finish and will not disappoint readers who wanted more mystery - and scandal - after the first book. Recommend for fans of Rachel Hawkins, Meg Cabot, Maureen Johnson.

Was this review helpful?

I may be a bit dense, but I totally didn't see that twist coming.  This book was crazy!



As with any mystery, it's hard to review without giving up too much information.  Being a book two, this is even harder, but I'll do my best. 



We are back with Sawyer, Lily, Sadie Grace, and Campbell.  Greer is still faking her pregnancy.  Sawyer avoids telling Lily that J.D. is her father, too.  And we see a bit of Nick, Walker, and Boone (plus the adults).



This book goes back and forth in time.  We start off right away with Sawyer and Sadie Grace drugged in a hole, but we don't know how it happens until we go back to the beginning of summer.  We also see chapters from twenty five years earlier with a bunch of their parents.  Everything was easy to follow and I kept changing my mind of the identity of one of the things found.



All four girls get invites to join the White Gloves.  Everyone is into it except for Sawyer.  But she agrees because of Lily.  They have to do all sorts of crazy things to make it into the secret society.  Only eight girls will be chosen to replace the eight girls leaving.  This society is only for the elite.  



"The Candidates are many."  Those words were spoken to carry.  "The Chosen are few"



Sawyer decides that she wants to find Ana and possibly her baby.  Campbell joins in since that baby would be her half sister.  None of the girls were prepared to unwind the mess of what happened all those years ago.  So many secrets come out.  There are multiple weird twists and the book is fast paced.



I enjoyed this one as much as book one.  I gave this book 4 stars.  Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my review copy.

Was this review helpful?

Book two in the Debutantes series. First time reader. OMG what did I just read!

Back to the white gloves a secret female society. Sawyer is learning more about her biological dad. Teenage pregnancy pacts. Finding of skeletons. I mean what more can one want.

This book had twists & turns. Kept my interest from beginning to end. A real page turner. Had me at the edge of my seat. Has a bit of everything. The drama just wow! Loved it. A great mystery read.

*Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Was this review helpful?

If you haven't read Book 1 (Little White Lies) it won't matter that much. Some of the relationships can be complicated at first but soon it ceases to matter and it's just fun. The old-school older generation has secrets (gasp!) and it's up to the younger generation to figure them out. Of course they do, and of course their parents and grandparents aren't happy. Throw in secret societies and it's a great beach/cabin read.

eARC provided by publisher.

Was this review helpful?

This is over-the-top in the most fun way possible! It's a whirlwind of deception and there are more lies and twists than in a soap opera, but I had so much fun reading it!

Was this review helpful?

I don't know exactly why I didn't really like this one, but I was never able to fully get on board. I loved the first book in the series, and I've liked all the other Jennifer Lynn Barnes books I've read. I'm usually down for this kind of camp and shenanigans. But this time I was just bored.

The mystery didn't really interest me, and the characters felt weirdly flat this time around. Instead of goofy and endearing Sadie Grace was just annoying and ridiculous. Sawyer was missing her signature snark and all her little known facts. And the others all kind of felt like place holders. They never really came alive for me. Overall I ended up very bored and indifferent. I am still slighlty interested in a spin-off with some younger kids they mentioned at the end of the book. But I don't know if that's actually happening or if they were just talking.

I tried really hard to love this book, but I still found myself looking for excuses to put it down every chance I got. I'm disappointed because I expected to love this one. I'll still check out whatever Barnes writes next.

Was this review helpful?

When Sawyer’s grandmother talked her into becoming a debutante last summer, Sawyer had no idea the crazy ways it would change her life. Emphasis on crazy.
In the first book, Sawyer learned that her existence was the result of a teenage pregnancy pact. Her mom slept with her sister Olivia’s husband and became pregnant with Sawyer on purpose.

Sawyer still hasn’t told her cousin Lily that they are actually half sisters.

In this book, Sawyer becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to the other baby born from the pregnancy pact. She knows the mother was her mom’s high school friend Ana. She knows who the father was. But she doesn’t know what happened to Ana or where the baby is.

She realizes the baby could be someone she already knows.

While all this is going on, Sawyer and Lily are also being recruited for a secret society called the White Gloves. It’s during a hazing stunt that the girls uncover a body in a lake.

So, in addition to the missing baby plot, there’s also an mystery body. It’s probably be in the lake for over twenty years.

Lots of drama. Lots of twists. Lots of secrets. Seriously, lots and lots of secrets. This book was amusing but confusing. I doubt I could have ever figured out the twists.

I got to read an early copy from NetGalley. Thanks

Was this review helpful?

“Think of the White Gloves like the Junior League - by way of Skull and Bones.”

Deadly Little Scandals returns us to the world of Southern High Society as Sawyer and her family navigate the Summer Lake Season with new secrets, revelations, and as always - scandals.

Things I Liked
This series has so much campy dramatic goodness. It’s addicting to read about this over-the-top world and the rigid social rules that they’re determined to break.
There is such a strong focus on family that I always love. We see the deep complexities that occur when you keep secrets and that ultimately, you’re family is who you choose to love and stand beside.

Mysteries galore! This story is compiled of so many layered and interwoven mysteries, secrets, and lies that I couldn’t put it down. Everything is so connected and well-built.

Things I Didn’t Like
While I really loved the flashbacks used in the story, it was a little hard to get everyone straight and remember their present day counter parts.

The pacing near the end of the story was a little jumpy and hectic. I think it worked with the tone of the story at that time, but it could be distracting at times.

Overall, Deadly Little Scandals was an incredibly enjoyable followup to Little White Lies. And while I think book 1 is a more solid story overall, the rich drama and wonderful characters makes this a book you won’t want to miss.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review/

Was this review helpful?

The sequel the LITTLE WHITE LIES is even more twisty than the first book. Sawyer Taft took her grandmother's offer for college tuition in exchange for doing the debutante thing in order to find out who impregnated her teenage mother. It seems like every piece of information she finds only adds to the mystery and the confusion.

In this book the girls are pledging a mystery and elite secret society called the White Gloves. They have a number of tasks to perform and trials to overcome. During one task bones are discovered that might tie into the mystery of Sawyer's parentage...or maybe not.

Three different time periods are interwoven into this story. The first has Sawyer and her friend Sadie-Grace drugged and tossed in a pit, the second goes back twenty-five years and tells what the future parents of Sawyer's friends are doing and what happened that resulted in a body in the lake, the third and largest section tells about the summer events, discoveries, lies, and betrayals that led up to the first part.

I really liked Sawyer who has a tough exterior and an easily bruised heart. I liked her friends/sisters/cousins Lily and Campbell too. And Sadie-Grace was always good for a bit of inadvertent comic relief because of her eternal optimism and penchant for speaking in exclamation points.

The plot is really twisty and I'm not sure, even yet, that I have figured out all of the genetic relationships. Fans of soap operas will enjoy this complex and twisted story.

Was this review helpful?

This book is a crazy ride in a very fun way. I had to make a family and friend tree with all of the changing connections, but the background information converging with the present day made the unfolding of the central mystery a fun read.

Was this review helpful?

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this was really a great sequel with a great twist!

I really loved Sawyer's relationships and how they developed and just the character development in general.

Was this review helpful?

This was a drop everything to read book for me, so HUGE thanks for the opportunity! I love Jennifer Lynne Barnes and the Debs so much, and Deadly Little Scandals is a great follow up to Little White Lies! I love love love the quirky main characters and the secret society feel to these books. I will say, it was a challenge to pick up the pieces from when I read Little White Lies, and the context wasn't always enough to get me there right away, but overall that wasn't too distracting, and this book was so good!

Was this review helpful?

I have loved every Jennifer Lynn Barnes book I’ve read, even including the ones that were not necessarily up my alley synopsis-wise. I still have to read THE NATURALS series and I can’t wait to be blown away by those too! In any case, I was sure to read this one relatively quickly to continue the story I loved so much.

I didn’t remember that much from the first book but Barnes did a good job of recapping without overdoing it or feeling like an actual recap. I think the biggest issue with these books, which became even more of a problem in this one compared to the first, is that there are SO many characters. I could never keep anyone straight! The book, like the first one, also has chapters in the present and small flash-forward chapters that you’re working up to timeline-wise. This book additionally had some chapters set 25 years in the past, with the parents of all of the main characters. I was constantly trying to remember who was who. On top of the amount of characters, there are so many secrets around everyone’s parentage and family lineage too. Just when you think you’ve figured out who gave birth to someone or is related to someone else, everything changes again. I can’t say much more without being spoilery so I’ll just try to leave it at that. Overall though, this made it challenging to follow the story. There were a lot of big reveals though.

I still really loved these characters – Sawyer, Campbell, Lily, and Sadie-Grace. The romance is not fully necessary for me, but I do like Nick. It just was an added layer to an already complicated story, but it’s not like it added any complication really. The White Glove Society addition to their world was fascinating and a great way to continue their story. It brought new characters in that connected to everyone else and opened it up for new plot points.

Overall, I have loved these books so far – I’m not sure if there’s going to be a third but like with THE FIXER series, I sure as hell hope so.

Was this review helpful?

This book was a wild ride of a sequel and I loved every moment of it. It was, if possible, even more unexpected and twisty than the first one. Can't wait to add this to the teen collection!

Was this review helpful?

This book was received as an ARC from Disney Book Group - Freeform in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This series just keeps getting better and better, I have read Little White Lies and loved every chapter and Deadly Little Scandals did not disappoint. The drama, discoveries and trouble the White Glove society uncovers is just breathtakingly brilliant and to incorporate the story of Sawyer destined to find the truth about her biological father made the story more addicting to the point of where I felt like I was transported in the story going on the journey with them and determined to find as much information as possible. This book will also be a good candidate for our teen book club as they love mysteries as well.

We will consider adding this title to our YFiction collection at the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Was this review helpful?