This is her best book yet. You couldn't pull it out of my grip. I loved every single, word and sentence. I sat and savored this dark and twisty tale. A definite must read. Unputdownable. Read it and see how right I am. Happy reading!

I enjoyed this one way more than I expected! The story is told from two points of view. The con artist and the rich heiress that she's attempting to con. I enjoyed the two voices telling the same story. Each one told their versions of events so we were able to see their subjective perspective of everything that transpired. It made for a very interesting read and shows how most things are never as they seem.

You guys! Get this book ordered ASAP! I read a ton of books and let me tell you, there is nothing out there remotely similar to Pretty Things. The twists and turns in this one will keep you turning the pages late into the night.

Two women, Nina, after getting a liberal arts education starts stealing. Vanessa, a young heiress becomes an Instagram influencer retreats to her family’s mountain estate and crosses paths with Nina, two damaged women who try to survive. Janelle Brown books are always well worth reading.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3273756126

"Two wildly different women—one a grifter, the other an heiress—are brought together by the scam of a lifetime"

The book alternates between Nina, who's con artist ways run in the family, and Vanessa, a young heiress. There's history between the two women, and when Nina needs to quickly leave LA she and her con boyfriend Lachlan set their sights on Vanessa. As they start to integrate themselves into her life, things quickly go awry.

I really enjoyed this book, the first one by Janelle Brown that I've read. Secrets continue to be exposed, and who you think is in charge and running a con changes every few chapters. It was captivating and I read it in one sitting because I had to know what happened. Now I'm going to go back and read Janelle Brown's backlist!

I was a big fan of Janelle Brown’s previous book, Watch Me Disappear, so I was very happy to receive an arc of Pretty Things from NetGalley and the publisher. Pretty Things is the story of Nina, a grifter who targets rich LA party people. And Vanessa, a spoiled trust fund kid and Instagram influencer. Vanessa becomes Nina’s mark, but there’s a whole lot of back story that you find out slowly throughout the book. Brown is really good at writing realistic, complex characters. There are some twists, but the action is on the slow side and it’s really all about the characters’ motivation. I thought the ending was a little hokey but overall an enjoyable read.

Overall I thought this book was good. I enjoyed it, but there were a couple of times that the author got preachy about social media (there were long paragraphs about how bad social media was to the point that I wondered how it was related even though Vanessa is centered around social media). The characters were well done and felt real although there were times when they felt too inconveniently dumb in order for the plot to keep moving. Some of the twists near the end were shocking in a good way and some didn't make sense and felt like it was too much. So enjoyable but definitely a couple of elements that weren't written quite right and didn't add up.

When we start off with a description of Lake Tahoe being deep and dark, well, you know someone is ending up in there. Part of the journey is finding out who, how, when, and why to that what. Thankfully, that's not all we find out.

The story flips from the point of view of Nina and Vanessa. Nina is a con. But she is a con with rules. She takes from the super rich and she never takes more than she thinks they will even notice. This she learned from her mother. That's also where she meets Lachlan. When the opportunity to con Vanessa comes up, she can't wait to get the revenge she has been plotting for years.

Then we get to see the world from Vanessa's point of view. Vanessa, the instagram star. Rich girl with no worries. Or so Nina sees. Vanessa has floated around restlessly, trying to overcome the wreck of her family. She is looking for someone to blame. Someone like Nina.

When Nina and Vanessa come together, you know it is going to explode. The con and the heiress have more in common than most people know. Seeing the same scene from the eye of both women just goes to show how much women judge each other constantly. Sure, there was more to this than just seeing the fault in others or elevating others to perfection and being disappointed. But it was still and important theme.

What is really is, though, is a heist book. There are a lot of people working toward their own interest and you don't know who is really on your side and who will stab you in the back. The flashbacks to the past, revealing the motives of both women, make the characters real. This is one I would recommend. I'd like to thank the publisher, Janelle Brown, and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Nina’s chaotic upbringing helped with her determination to have a life that bore no resemblance to her mother’s, and she believed her college degree in art history would launch a successful career. Instead, she found herself doing little more than making soy latte runs for her employer. When she learned her mother had developed cancer, Nina quit her job and headed back across the country to Los Angeles, where she found her mother’s friend Lachlan was a con artist looking for someone with Nina’s skill in antiques to run another scam.

Vanessa hated Stonehaven, the family mansion on the California shore of Lake Tahoe, but it was all she had after her father’s passing. Her career as an Instagram influencer was leaving her cold, making her doubt herself, and she made the decision to step away from living her life online and retreat to try and make sense of her life choices. Renting out the caretaker’s cottage brought in some money and also provided sorely needed companionship, and Vanessa was horribly lonely in Tahoe. When Michael and Ashley showed up, they seemed absolutely perfect for the cottage – a writer and his girlfriend, a yoga instructor, a bright and clever couple who were friendly and understanding – and Vanessa hoped for two brand new ready-made friends.

Nina and Vanessa had met before, and while Nina had never forgotten their chance encounter, Vanessa was completely oblivious. Exacting revenge for the pain Vanessa’s family had caused Nina was first on her mind in agreeing to help Lachlan with the scam, but somewhere along the line, things change for Nina. In Pretty Things, Janelle Brown shows the underside of this wealthy family and the pain and dysfunction they left trailing behind them. Told from alternating viewpoints, the reader has insight into Nina’s and Vanessa’s thoughts and fears, and seeing their families and their struggles helps make these women more relatable.

What happens when the Player gets played? When a Grifter gets what is coming to them? When someone you love and trust turns out to be the person you always saw? When the Played turns to be a Player?

Lily and her daughter, Nina, are always on the move, one step in front of the landlord. Going from one city to the next trying to make a living. They move to Lake Tahoe, and Nina befriends, Benny, a broken boy and Vanessa, his spoiled sister from a rich family. Tahoe proves to be a short fix though. Life doesn’t turn out exactly as Nina has planned though. She meets Lachlan, and together they start a deceit like no others. They return to Tahoe and target Vanessa, now a famous influencer. What happens from here will open your eyes.

First book by this author. Write up sounded promising, cover was beautiful. At the beginning, I wasn’t sure the book was for me, but as one chapter became 5, I was hooked. Original plot, interesting shady characters and personality disorders. The story unwinds and a decent pace, I wasn’t really sure where it was going, but came together with a somewhat satisfactory/somewhat disappointing ending.

Thanks to Ms Brown, Random House and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown is a story of grifters and revenge. A story of social media influence and its facade of a happy life. It brings to light the old saying money can't buy happiness but it also brings to light that people will steal, cheat, lie and even kill for that money.

Nina's mom was a career con artist and she past down the family business to her daughter Nina. In fairness Nina tries to break free of a life of crime. She graduates college and tries for the high paying career but life throws her some curves and soon she is in L.A. ripping off rich spoil kids to pay for her mom's medical bills.

Vanessa is a heiress and social media influencer who portrays a life of glitz and glamour on line. When events cause her heartache she heads for seclusion at the family estate, Stonehaven. Sadly, she is on Nina's radar as Nina and her no good boyfriend Lachlan plan the con that will eclipse all other cons and let them leave the criminal life forever.

Here's the thing though, Vanessa isn't just a random mark for Nina. There is a history between their families that Vanessa is oblivious to and that enables Nina to set her notorious plan in motion.

There are many twists and turns within this story. It is told from Nina and Vanessa's point of view and neither is a reliable source of information. Even if you are paying close attention without all the facts it's hard to figure out the real con game and who is playing for keeps.

I enjoyed this novel because the writing flowed so easily and I kept forgetting not to trust the protagonists so I was surprised by many of the twists that popped up. That being said the novel is almost 500 pages and I honestly feel it could have been done easily in 400 pages. Pretty Things is about the not so pretty ways people treat each other but it is also a pretty darn good book.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Pretty Things. It was a fast read for me. Liked the two view point, and how both characters, Vanessa and Nina, very different ones but nonetheless connected throughout the whole story.

Also liked the unexpected twists, and how all the elements for a great thriller are present. Janelle's writing style is very unique and enjoyable, and will definitely be checking out her previous work.

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of a con woman and her boyfriend trying to pull off a major scam on a family that wronged her in the past. They end up connecting to the daughter of the family, who is not exactly who she appears. As the reader, it was hard to figure out who to trust and who was the real con person. That kept me interested throughout this long book. There were definitely twists and things I did not see coming, especially towards the end of the book, but it’s not a fast-paced thriller. There is strong character development and I really enjoyed the writing style. Once you let yourself settle in for the long haul, this is a very enjoyable read.

Thank you to Janelle Brown, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is at least a third too long. It's slow, it wanders and it's boring for at least a third of it. Which is too bad because the synopsis is eye catching, the first 20% is good. Then you are in flashback snooze. It picks back up with the con but takes another trip to the coma train until the last 15 % where the twists and turns are tight and well done. Started reading in February and almost gave up on this netgalley ARC. At best 2,5 ⭐

Pretty Things is my new favorite book.( I’m not exactly sure which genre I would classify it). Basically it is a cat and mouse chase but the cat and the mouse are constantly changing. Nina and Vanessa were the main players and they were excellent characters. Alternating narrators allows us to peek inside the brains of each of them. Thank you to Janelle Brown for giving me a most entertaining ride.

This is my favorite book by this author so far. I had a hard time getting interested at first. I don't know if that was due to slow early chapters or just my mood. But once I was about a quarter or more of the way through, I didn't want to put it down. I liked that I switched my preference constantly between Nina and Vanessa. One minute I liked Nina better and understood her motivations, the next Vanessa. I think both characters will be a little hard for the average reader to relate to, since neither like to work for a living and instead live off other people. But makes for great, fun fiction. The scam at the center of the main plot is a disappointment, though, not in its execution, but in it's goal. Steal money from a safe after getting the owner to trust them enough to give them access. I would think a "scam of a lifetime" would be automatically more complex and clever than the normal job, no matter the sum of money at the end. But that's a minor thing I nit pick about.

Such a smart, twisty suspense novel. I was thoroughly engaged, trying to figure out how everything would shake out. I love a smart protagonist and this one did not disappoint.

Wowie! Wow! Wow! Was that ever good! Roller-coasters are my favorite! :)

This is my first, and absolutely not my last adventure with Janelle Brown's writing!

This slow burning novel is told from alternating perspectives of the heiress, socialite, Instagram influencer and the woman who is trying to run a con on her. There's a lot more going on here and I don't want to ruin anything, but this is an intriguing read.

Aside from being very fun, traipsing through the life of a rich girl. There are also a lot of food for thought and quotable quotes in the book. One, for example, "perspectivve is, by nature, subjective. It's impossible to climb inside someone else's head, despite your best-or worst-intentions."

I stayed up WAAAAAYYYYY too late reading this one and I know you will, too!

I can't wait to go back and check out all the rest of Janelle Brown's books.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Janelle Brown for providing me with an ARC.

I was super unsure about this book at the start as it took a while to get into it, but once I did, I just couldn’t put it down.

It centers around a cunning con woman and an old money heiress, as their worlds collide and they try to save their families. The plot twists and turns, their deepest secrets are revealed, and the women try to survive the greatest game of deceit and destruction they will ever play. Just when you think you have it all figured out, things end up taking quite a turn and you’re left questioning it all.

5 STARS for Pretty Things by Janelle Brown.

This was my favorite book of the year. Seriously, it was so good, you will shush your children, burn the bread, and escape to the basement to pretend match socks if it means more time to read.

This book sucked me in from the very beginning and I found myself gasping multiple times while reading it. I could sense my eyes widening as I tried to anticipate the next things to happen in the book. And, can I tell you something? Time and again, NOTHING I anticipated was right!

Janelle Brown outdid herself with the setting of Pretty Things. I found myself wrapped up in the velvet couches and heavy curtains of old money, the mansion, and the antiques inside the pages. I could smell the must holding all the secrets down dark hallways and like any good book, Janelle shows you what it means to side with all of the characters.

Do not scroll to the next review, do not app hop over to facebook to check on your friends. If you are looking for the next book to take you away from the chaos we're going through right now, head over to your favorite bookstore and order Pretty Things by Janelle Brown. Or, you could read it on your kindle, which I also recommend. Because you're going to want to read it after you've turned the lights out. The kindle will be perfect.

The book comes out Tuesday. I didn't want this one to end and hope like heck there's a movie coming soon.

Thanks to @netgalley, @randomhouse and @janellebrownie for the opportunity to read this before everyone else in exchange for an honest review. I mean, it was a real treat and I'm literally wigging out to talk to someone else who has also read it. Y'all. For real.