4+stars

Nina goes to Lake Tahoe to scam heiress Vanessa out of a fortune, but it becomes a game of cat and mouse on who is conning who. The book switches between both women’s point of view and the author did a great job having very different voices for each character. I really enjoyed Nina’s backstory and felt I really got to know her.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nina and her boyfriend Lachlan are grifters, Vanessa is an heiress and their worlds collide in Lake Tahoe. Nina grew up moving constantly as her Mother followed Marks and did whatever she could to support them. Nina tried to have a 9 to 5 job using her Liberal Arts degree but when her Mother's mounting medical bills begin to pile up, Nina teamed up with Lachlan, an acquaintance of her Mother’s, for a few cons before deciding con a mark in Lake Tahoe that they both believe will provide a HUGE payoff. Vanessa is an heiress who is also an Instagram Influencer. She travels the globe, wears pretty clothes and has a glamorous life that is posted for the world to see and comment on.

"...there are only so many hours in the day that one can read before one starts to feel like one's mind is literally melting inside one's skull"

I'm going to have to disagree with the above quote and add that maybe if the characters in this book spent more time, say reading, then they would not be dealing with the stuff they are dealing with....but I digress...

The first half of this book was a slow burn for me. Lately I have been reading books that don't really grab me until the 50% mark which is exactly what this book did. Slow burn then *BAM* things began to get interesting - very interesting. There are a nice amount of twists and turns thrown in at the end. This is a long book and I might have enjoyed it more had it been a little quicker to grab me and not quite so long. But overall, I found this to be an enjoyable ride as the Con and the Mark both prove to be worthy adversaries.

Slow burn which turned the tables fast, became quite intriguing and had me turning those pages lightening fast at the end to see how this book would wrap up!

I received a copy of this book from Random House Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This domestic thriller throws tropes way out the window!

The narrative is all over the place, but in the best way possible. We have different perspectives, different timelines, and it all just works. The plot centers around pulling off the ultimate heist and this subject has always been of interest to me. We often seen fantasy tied with the heist trope, but as a thriller it was exciting, inventive, and engaging!

I appreciated the characters' inner turmoil and dialogue and felt like it added to the atmosphere of the overall book.


My issue resides with the scenes of suspense--they needed more time to be felt by the reader as monumental or as a crescendo-type "conclusion". They were rushed through.

Otherwise, Pretty Things was a great read!

Janelle Brown's Pretty Things follows two very different young woman, whose pasts intersected once, and whose lives will soon overlap once again, with dark consequences.

Nina Ross's mother was the ultimate con artist. Nina tried to avoid that life herself but was pulled back in by treatment costs for her mother's recurring cancer. Now, she works with her lover, Irish Lachlan, stealing from the wealthy young in Los Angeles.

Privileged Vanessa Liebling became an Instagram influencer, flown around the globe to pose in exotic locations. After family tragedy and a broken engagement, she hides away in the family's estate of Stonehaven. She seems the perfect mark to Nina and Lachlan.

But nothing is what it seems in Pretty Things!

This book wasn’t for me. I struggled reading it and really forced myself to finish. The story was very slow. I also skimmed some of the repetitive view points just to finish. The author’s writing is very detailed, but I am not sure if any of the details were actually interesting. I was not invested in any of the main characters. I honestly did not understand the real motivation of the two main characters. I did not think that the tension between them was warranted, and by the end I just didn’t care. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

OMG this is my first Janelle Brown book and wow this book was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It had high society rich girl and con artists. Drama drama and more drama!!!!!!!! Twists and turns everywhere!!!! I devoured this story and loved every minute of it. I have got to check out her other books and if their anything like this one devour those too!!!! Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for my honest review .

I liked the structure of this book, the juxtaposition of the two women who seem so different yet have more in common than they think. Some things were a bit predictable, but there are still enough twists and turns to keep turning the page. There was one major bomb at the end that I didn't see coming. And this was the first book I've been able to stick with since self-isolation; thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the distraction I needed.

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

A slow burn the first quarter half of the book...but with good reason. Janelle Brown paints each character with precise strokes. Each one giving way to well crafted and beautifully formed personalities. Some of which you may relate, others to whom you will certainly love to hate.

Nina, a twenty something struggling to best play the hand life has dealt her.
Vanessa, also a twenty something whose family history, wealth and conceit has made her a prime target to Nina.

Who will outwit who?

With every turn of the page you will question, are you a winner by luck or how you play the game?

If you like suspense, this is a must read!
Grab #PrettyThings upon its release April 21st and enjoy.every.second! (you will, I promise) 🤗

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance reader copy!

💍💰BOOK REVIEW💰💍

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown was just so much fun! I’ve read a lot of thrillers and mysteries but nothing with these sort of twists! Looking for something dark? Twisty? Look no further!

Told between two perspectives: Nina- a grifter and con artist. Knowledgeable in art history and antiques, she spends her time swindling the rich. And Vanessa- the victim. A socialite and heiress, an Instagram influencer with a mansion full of money.

When Nina needs money fast she looks no further than poor vapid Vanessa. Nina and her cohort Lachlan infiltrate Vanessas posh life to rob her for all she’s worth. But Vanessa is smarter than she appears, which makes this ‘game’ just a little bit harder. 🙊

This book had suspense, relationships between mother/daughter, mental illness and forgiveness. It was written very well and the story flowed at a good pace. Bonus: The ending I didn’t see coming! I loved the way the author wrapped everything up. It was perfect.

This book comes out later this month on April 21st. 👏🏼

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @randomhouse for this digital advanced copy!
Thank you @janellebrownie for an amazing novel!

5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Ok, Pretty Things is all over the place. While that typically sounds bad, in this case, it's not. At all. In fact, it gives this book sort of lightening in a bottle. You have two women, one of whom is a con artist, and the only seems like your run-of-the-mill privileged pain in the butt. Then they go against each other in a possible heist. Throw in a hot Irish man, who might be screwing them both over, and a terminally ill parent, and you have this incredibly woven story.

I'd say the only negative about Pretty Things is that eventually it had to end.

Super awesome, and it publishes 4.21.2020.

5/5 Stars

This was a good book and different take on the thriller. It’s about con artists and has many twists and turns that leave the reader guessing. I found it a good read

Pretty Things isn’t just an average con novel though. The reader doesn’t just get the con and how the con happens, but also what pulled Nina into her life. The reader also get to see how Nina decided to pull off this “ultimate con.” Finally, the book shows something a con book rarely does-the full backstory of the target. By the end, not only does the reader understand both women, but their able to empathize with both. Pretty Things is a great book to get sucked into for a few hours.

I loved this book! It was the perfect thriller! This is a story about con artists and it took some very fun twists and turns. I love a thriller that keeps me guessing while also staying realistic and not moving into ridiculous, over-the-top territory, and this book absolutely delivered. I enjoyed the setting (Lake Tahoe) and the role that social media played into the story. This is a really fun novel and it will definitely appeal to a wide-audience. I will definitely be recommending this book to friends!

Thank you to Netgalley and Rand House for the advance copy of Pretty Things by Janelle Brown. This was my first Janelle Brown book and I flew through it.

This book tells the side by side stories of Nina Ross, a scrappy grifter who learned the hustle from her own mother, and Vanessa Leibling, heiress and Instagram influencer who returns to her family’s Tahoe estate after the tragic deaths of her parents. The story goes back in time to the girls’ teenage years when Nina was best friends with Vanessa’s troubled brother Benny and tells the story of how Benny and Vanessa’s powerful family ran Nina and her mother out of town. Harboring deep-seated resentment for 12 years, when Nina needs cash, she decides to run a con, the biggest of her “career” on Vanessa and infiltrates her life once more.

I liked how this story was told in one girl’s perspective and then it would back up and start it again from the other’s POV because you quickly learn that what both hold to be true, is not always so straightforward. I both liked and disliked these characters in turn and the book makes clear that there is no obvious hero nor villain in this novel. Well there is a villain, but not the person you expect at first...this was quite the juicy page-turner and I’ll be reading more Janelle Brown after this introduction. I expect to see this book everywhere once it’s released on April 21st and I hear Nicole Kidman is already signed on for the TV adaptation!

I can't wait to see this book appear as a limited series! It will be my obsession. Although on the longer side, this twisty thriller is paced perfectly and the setting is broody and will be gorgeous to watch.

The story is portrayed as the intersection of a grifter and a socialite. I feel like it is so much deeper than that. The path weaves though parental relationships, self identity, young romance, mental health and ultimately betrayal.

The reader is drawn to both Vanessa AND Nina. They are complex characters and the author gives the reader just enough back story before the point of view changes. At some points, the characters speak directly to the reader. I found this late addition a fun draw.

In a landscape flooded with domestic thrillers; this one stands out. I promise you will want to see the house on your screen - All those antiques, the yacht, the lake, the cottage......

Buy this one and share it with your friends!

#NetGalley #PrettyThings

Thank you NetGalley and Janelle Brown and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, for the opportunity to read Pretty Things. I absolutely loved this book, it kept me reading, I did not want to put it down and even more so towards the end, The twists and turns just kept getting better! You can bet I'll be watching for Janelle's next book.
This book was written from two characters perspectives and sometimes doubled back over time but not in a repetitive way that sometimes happens. Nina and Vanessa are the two main characters along with family members of both these women. Nina steals from the rich and only just enough to make a living and to help her mother out who also used to be a con artist to try to support her daughter as she raised her on her own. Vanessa comes from money and lots of it, living in the family estate home now on her own as she has lots both parents and her brother is in a mental institution. Lachlan is an acquaintance of Nina and they formulate a plan that will make them both a lot of money as Nina has found out that her mother's cancer is back and the cost of treatments is incredibly high.
This is a real page turner and a must read, the first of Janelle's books that I have read, i will certainly be reading more of her novels.

I love Janelle Brown, and her clever twisted novels. She always pulls a fast one, and the latest is no exception.

Bravo for another entertaining weekend read, and I’m happy to cheer to all!

A grifter. A heiress. A con. This is a book about wanting what you can't have.

Social media is a son of a bitch.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I thought the premise of this book was very interesting, original, and a little terrifying. A team of con artists targets wealthy people who are influencers on Instagram, walk into their lives, and steal their stuff. Throughout the book there are many twists and turns that I did not expect. It kept me guessing right up until the end. I received an advance copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

This was a real page turner for me! I was fully engaged from the start. I cant say which character was my favorite because the author developed them all so well. Especially the main two women Vanessa and Nina.

Nina was called by her mother one day who was an ex con artist taking money from rich men. Her mother was sick with cancer and needed her daughter to care for her during treatment. Nina quickly realized she also needed her for more than that as the cancer treatments were expensive. Her mother introduced her to Lachland an man she had worked with to work cons with. Lachland took a liking to Nina and trained her to work cons to help pay the cancer treatment bills

Vanessa is a rich entitled young woman who lives in a mansion , and her father was hustled by Nina's mother years ago. Nina herself has been treated poorly by that family and has resentment towards them

They cross paths again when Lochland/Michael offers Nina an opportunity for revenge and a mark for more money

Here is where things get interesting and surprises are revealed. This is a very twisty roller coaster ride that will surprise you at every turn.
I really loved this book. I give this ***** .