I was hesitant about reading this one after reviewing Browns previous book but this one was getting a lot of hype so I did. The book is just too long. This could have been such a good thriller but the chapters are so lengthy and there’s so much detail that it gets boring. By the end of the book I just wanted this to be over with and I don’t feel like I actually appreciated how the book ended.

DNF @ 30%

I really tried to get into this one but I just could not do it. I’m getting really picky with my thrillers and maybe if I had read this one when it came out I would have liked it more. One of the major deterrents was the length which just seemed excessive and I felt like it really slowed down the story.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

I’m not usually a thriller reader but the plot synopsis of this one drew me in. And wow! The characters were well developed and I loved the description of the setting. I ended up not being able to put it down because I was hooked and needed to know what happened next! Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

Cons cons and more cons. I found the characters and the story line interesting. One thing that really irked me was that the author says “and yet” like 2 million times which drove me insane. Besides that, if you like books that focus a lot on character development and explaining relationships between the characters then you will enjoy this one. That isn’t typically the type of book I enjoy but the author did a nice job mixing those elements in with the plot and keeping things interesting. I listened to this one on audio and enjoyed it that way.

I reached for this title as we love an hour from Lake Tahoe and I love books which are set in this beautiful place. Combine the setting with the rarely understood realization that what we perceive to be the lives of influencers is rarely truth and this equaled a page turner for me! Janelle Brown is a favorite thriller author of mine. Watch Me Disappear is a must and I can not wait for I’ll Be You! Read all her titles!

Holy crap Pretty Things by Janelle Brown was a good one. I love a thriller and this one was just so good with plenty of twists and turns throughout the story. It starts off a little slow, and for most of the book, you are waiting for something to happen. Even with that, you still get really into the story and just keep reading. While the length of this one can be a bit daunting, the last 150 pages or so are totally worth it.

This was all sorts of fun to read! It had all the twists and turns I look for in my thrillers and I loved it. A lot of people will be turned off by its length (500 pages) but this simply allows for some great character development and suspense. It will certainly have you pay less attention to influencers on Instagram - or maybe not? A compulsive, cleverly written read.

Still am processing my thoughts on this one.

While reading this there was nothing that truly grabbed me. I kept reading and thinking 'okay, when is something going to happen'. But, the last probably 100 pages had me!

So, this is my quandary. The beginning felt slow and dry but I loved the end.

Definitely a slow burn, but a great domestic/family thriller.

Loved, loved, loved this one! There was a lot of character development and the story being told in two points of view, but overall, I still think it worked quite nicely.

Heartfelt and Beautiful. The writing was out of this world. I need more form this author. A true gem of a story.

Pleasantly surprised with this one! Pages full of deceit, lies, money and theft, Brown keeps you intrigued and interested until the end. This is such a page turner - and the ending is pretty satisfying but mostly unexpected from where the story begins! Highly recommend!

I love any story with a con woman, and this was no exception. With her mother sick, Nina and her sometimes-boyfriend and partner in crime target a rich family Nina has a history with for one last con. However, the plan isn’t as simple as it sounds, and the job is much more complicated than it first seems.

The story’s twists and turns kept me on my toes, and I enjoyed that this was more than a cut-and-dry heist. My only issue was that the long first foray Vanessa’s perspective slowed the pace of life the story and served little purpose in the end, likely only intended to lend more sympathy to a character who is somewhat hard to sympathize with. However, the third act was redeeming with its final twist, providing a satisfying suspense arc.

I'm currently clearing out all of the books that were published in 2019-20 from my title feedback view!

This book is so misleading! We start with a delicious mystery/thriller, but after that first chapter, it turns into a big slog of a book. Multiple points of view that rehash the exact same information.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

I unfortunately, did not see what everyone else who enjoyed this one saw. It took me multiple tries to sit and read this without losing focus and forgetting what was going on.

I think many others will like this one. But it wasn’t for me.

This novel is told from two perspectives, though the sections are long enough that I was actually pretty surprised at the first change. Nina is a 20-something who had a tough childhood, constantly being moved around by her grifter mother, who has been pulled back into the grifting life herself by her mother’s cancer and medical bills. Vanessa is a poor little rich girl type - an Instagram influencer from a rich but troubled family - and Nina’s new mark. In addition to the present day story, the book also flashes back to their past so we can see how they ended up where they are.

This one is not really quite a thriller - I’d say more of a character study that only later morphs into something of a psychological suspense novel with some surprising twists and revelations towards the end. This book has been on my TBR since it came out last year (or even before because I got an advanced copy), but I was a little intimidated by the nearly 500 page length. As it turns out, I should have picked it up long ago, because I enjoyed it so much I tore through it in just a few days.

This was an entertaining con artist story. The alternating points of view help build the suspense and the characters. The twists and turns made the book enjoyable, but I do feel it was longer than necessary. I felt myself skimming various parts that just didn’t seem to impact the story line. It didn’t stop me from turning the pages to find out the ending.

3.5 stars but rounding to 4

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for a review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I finished Pretty Things last month but needed some time to organize my thoughts. This was an engrossing tale filled with some pretty buzzy topics: social media stardom and backstabbing friends, both of which reeled me in immediately. It was the writing that kept my attention, though. Janelle Brown has the writing chops to tackle some serious subjects and keep the reader begging for more. I could not put this one down and finished the rather weighty book in just a few sittings. The story is engaging and the pacing is perfection.

The novel is told in both a dual narrative and dual timelines, alternating between Nina and Vanessa - a con artist and a wealthy social media influencer, respectively. The two women seem like they couldn't be more distant from each other, both in temperament and circumstance, but there are some hidden links between them in their past that one of them may or may not remember.

I loved the look into the life of a successful con artist. It was fascinating to read about how these people operate. The social media aspect was also really interesting. Both of these women were so well-written and their stories captivating. I cannot wait to see what Brown comes up with next. An easy 5 star read.

I have mixed feelings about this book because parts of it were slow to me. Nina has resorted to conning folks in order to help pay for her mom’s cancer treatment. Vanessa is a social media influencer with the “perfect” life, and Nina decides that she will steal a million dollars from her because she knows where it is hid. As Brown tells the story, you learn about each character and their motivations. Wasn’t bad but wasn’t my favorite either