This was a tough one for me. It is the story of two women, Nina and Vanessa, a grifter named Michael, and a long con game. And I do mean looooong. As in 496 pages long. On one hand, the writing is fantastic: deep character development, beautiful syntax, thoughtful themes of privilege and destiny. On the other hand, it was about 150 pages too long for me, with too many extraneous details and a great deal of repetition (due to both women telling their side of events). Ultimately, I saw through the con before I was supposed to so it also wasn't much of a thriller to me. I know many people have loved this book, but the length just wasn't worth the underwhelming feelings I had when I turned the final page.

This book was loaded to the brim with surprises. It was SO well written and sucker punched me with unexpected twists. It comes out April 21 and you should do yourself a favour and pre-order it NOW. A Friday night with @janellebrownie might be the best TGIF you’ve had since beginning social distancing.




Nina is a con-artist who works with her Irish boyfriend, Lachlan, to steal from those too rich to notice in LA. When Nina’s mom gets sick, she needs to step up her marks from Rolex watches and Prada purses. She needs the biggest con yet to cover her mother’s astronomical medical bills.




Enter Vanessa, an heiress, who spends her days as an Instagram influencer documenting her day through a series of filters and hashtags. Vanessa has moved back to her family estate, Stonehaven, on Lake Tahoe. But Nina is no stranger to Stonehaven. It is home to many secrets and painful memories for both women. Vanessa’s family hurt Nina in her youth and she’s never been able to properly move forward. Let’s just say that there is no love lost between them, making her the perfect victim to Nina’s biggest dupe yet.



Oh. And did I mention - it’s being adapted into a series on Netflix with none other than @nicolekidman. Yah. It’s that good. Another reason 1543786537 to order now. Read it before you watch it. There’s no other way.

This book reads like a Liane Moriarty story. Each character takes their turn to tell their past as they lead the reader to a present that will explode, leaving us to try and figure out where we missed the clue that sets the whole mystery/thriller on it's ear! I love reading books so skillfully written. Janelle Brown has now joined my must read list.

The first thing that drew me into this book was the cover. It is just brilliant. The blurb was just the icing on the cake and I knew I must read it.

This book is written so meticulously and detailed and in that vein sometimes a little too detailed and at times repetitiously so. It starts off very strong and then there is a point where it drags a bit. Not enough to make me want to stop, just enough to distract from the story. After this it picks up with a bang and I just could not put it down!!! I stayed up past midnight because I needed to know where all the twists, turns and conning would take this intriguing tale.

I feel that this book is going to be one of the big "IT" books this year. It is a very compelling read that will have readers captivated and entranced within its pages.

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

Favorite Character: Nina Ross

She has a spunk and a fighting spirit. Even though some of her choices are not the best, desperate times call for extreme measures. I found myself empathizing with her even when I didn’t agree with what she was doing. Nina’s story is a bittersweet tale of life constantly derailed by a mother with a disreputable character and a lack of a moral compass.

What I Loved

Pretty Things is a masterfully woven tale interlaced slowly and methodically with intrigue and suspense. I loved that the story kept me glued to the pages while telling me a tale that spanned 12 years and the lives of 2 families. There were not any surprises as the story unfolds, but still, there were twists and turns that created a satisfying level of suspense and kept the pages quickly turning.

I loved the theme of “I see you.” In a world where everyone hides their innermost selves and puts on a public face, it’s essential to see them – to see their insecurities and failings – to understand who they indeed are. A con-man who changes his identity as often as most people change their clothes was the character who opens our eyes to see what everyone else is missing. All the characters are so well-developed that you can truly understand them and love them for their successes as well as their failings.

Usually, I prefer one narrator, whether it is an omniscient 3rd person or a limited first-person tale-teller. In Pretty Things, I discovered that dual narrators could also offer a fascinating perspective. Vanessa and Nina told their own stories in alternating segments of the novel, and it is as compelling as reading two separate stories that happen to connect at various points. I wanted to know what was happening with each of them and was happy that I had the opportunity to see the story from both of their perspectives.

To Read or Not to Read

If you, like me, love a suspenseful tale with con-artist characters and a good, solid, relevant theme, then Pretty Thing is a book you won’t want to miss.

This is a fantastic book! I breezed through these 400 pages at an incredible pace. This is one of those page turning thrillers that will keep you wanting more, so be sure to read this when you have lots of time on your hands.

Superb plot building and very intriguing characters. A must read for those a fan of thrillers and plot twists.

PRETTY THINGS is a super fun, twisty and dark thriller that you will have trouble putting down. Set in Lake Tahoe, we follow LA grifter Nina who returns to the small lakeside town she spent a year at during high school to do one big shakedown of a rich family she got entangled with. Vanessa, her mark, is an Instagram celebrity with secrets of her own. As their lives collide, we learn more about the women and their backstories as the plot barrels forward in fun and modern ways.

I have to admit I picked this book up because of the setting of Lake Tahoe, a place where my family and I spent most of our vacations when I was growing up. Brown nails the vibe and feel of Tahoe, and that was my favorite part of the book. However, I am never disappointed in immersing myself in a good thriller as well. I gobbled this one up in 3 days (and it's a pretty long, substantive book!) I loved the twists (actual gasps where had), and it played out like a movie in my head. If you need escapist fiction right now, this is a perfect read to get you through.

The characters, setting and story are delightfully woven to form a compelling and entertaining thriller.

SUMMARY
Nina watches and waits. She studies social media to find what people have and where they have it. When the time is right, she and her boyfriend, Lachlan take what they want. Nina learned grifting from the best. Her mother was a con artist, hustling where she could to give her daughter a decent childhood. But now her mother is has cancer, and Nina is running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet to pay for her medical care.

Vanessa is a an Instagram influencer with half a million followers. She is traveling the world, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But in real life Vanessa is struggling. Her life has been marked by tragedy. After the death of her father and a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family’s sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven. It’s a mansion on a Lake Tahoe full of dark family secrets. It is here that Nina, Vanessa, and Lachlan’s paths collide and nothing goes as planned.


REVIE
PRETTY THINGS is a clever and compelling novel. The writing is fast paced and the story keeps your head in the book. It’s interestingly structured alternating between Nina and Vanessa’s viewpoints. It also ricochets between Los Angeles and Lake Tahoe.

My favorite part were the innumerable twists, and the various side stories, like Vanessa’s brother and Nina’s mother, and the impact they had on the story. I really liked the development and uniqueness of all the characters, they really brought the story to life. I also appreciated the setting in Lake Tahoe and learning more about the lake. It’s a place I have never been, but would love to visit one day. The characters, setting and story blended well to form a satisfying and entertaining book.

Author JANELLE BROWN is the author of Watch Me Disappear, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything and This is Where We Live. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Random House
Published April 21, 2020
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Other than the story hitting a slow part in the beginning, I really enjoyed reading this thriller. It did have several twists thrown in, which was expected. However, a couple of them didn’t really seem necessary by themselves, but the author had to input something in to advance the story the way she did. Which I totally understand.

Brown’s writing really brought Nina and Vanessa to life in addition to the story being a dual POV, which helped make the twists even more interesting. Sometimes we learn something from Vanessa’s POV that wasn’t really shown in Nina’s. What’s even more interesting is that the way they’re written shows that one is not better than the other; this is not a story of good vs. bad. They are both very realistic though annoying in their own way. Nina thinks she’s morally superior or maybe just superior to Vanessa whereas Vanessa doesn’t know how to function without constant validation and attention. But they both have good hearts and care about others, specifically Nina’s mother and Vanessa’s little brother.

What I found intriguing, but also a little frustrating, was that Lachlan is a big character in the story, but we don’t ever know what he’s thinking or planning because he doesn’t get his own POV. I thought that that was a smart play on the building of the characters and the plot.

Speaking of the plot, I can’t figure out if I think the plot is the strongest point or the characters. I guess they kind of go hand in hand, at least for this book. I thought Brown did a great job using the characters to drive the plot while at the same time having a clear direction for the story to go in. And while there are plenty of twists, I enjoyed having time to savor those moments instead of the story advancing too quickly.

I enjoyed this book enough to look into picking up another Janelle Brown book.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pretty thigns by Janelle Brown is a thriller about a grifter and an heiress. Nana, the grifter, is low on money and needs to pay for her mother's cancer treatments. Vanessa, the heiress, is back at her family's estate alone.

I liked a good majority of this book. The build-up and character work was all there, and unlike other readers, I didn't find the set up too long. I liked Nina and Vanessa's characterization.

However, there's a twist about 70% in that feels out of nowhere. Since Vanessa has her own POV chapters, it feels a bit cheap to reveal a secret of hers 70% into the book with "Oh, did I not mention [plot twist]?" I didn't care for that much.

Pretty Things was a perfect escape this week. The setting at Lake Tahoe and Stonehaven pulled me right in. Stonehaven plays an integral part of both women’s pasts, reminding me a little bit of a darker version of The Dutch House. Vanessa and Nina each seemed like fully-realized, relatable characters, and Brown kept me guessing even when I thought I knew where the story was going.

While there are some darker themes, I think this would be a great read for anybody looking for a compelling mystery. I absolutely loved the enchanting setting of Lake Tahoe and Stonehaven.

I received this book from Netgalley for an honest review,
Although I feel like this book had a lot of potential, I couldn’t really get into it like I expected I would from the reviews. The first part of the book is the backstory for Vanessa and Nina. And I felt like it just dragged on. Maybe it would have been better woven into the rest of the book?

I didn’t enjoy the alternate chapters of one person than the other, but the same thing... maybe at some point, I’ll try to read it all over again.

I enjoyed Pretty Things by Janelle Brown. It's told in alternating sections of Nina and Vanessa so you get insight as to how each of the main characters are interpreting the situation. They are each on different ends of the spectrum concerning wealth and privilege. It was not predictable in my opinion and kept me guessing as to where the story was headed. This was the first book I've read by this author although I've heard good things about Watch Me Disappear. I would read more by this author in the future!

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

I was hooked from page one, this is a mix of mystery, family drama and high society. The twists and turns felt way placed and thought out. I was guessing the whole time. I loved seeing how the characters lives were interwoven throughout the story.

HOLY COW--just like Darling Rose Gold, Pretty Things is one of those thrillers that will get you.

If psychological pageturners are your jam and you love dysfunctional families as much as I do, I'd highly recommend this wild April 2020 new book release.

Plus, the novel plays into the current Instagram influencer life, which is highly relevant today.

See our full review on The Uncorked Librarian: https://theuncorkedlibrarian.com/april-2020-book-releases/

I enjoyed this book. Pretty Things by Janelle Brown is a thriller about Nina, a con artist, who uses her wide knowledge of art history to steal expensive pieces and other items from wealthy people to fund her lifestyle. I found Nina likable. She seems to feel justified in stealing from the rich. However, her job with her boyfriend, Lachlan, requires her to steal from Vanessa. Vanessa is an heiress who is related to a sad experience in Nina's teenage years. This job makes Nina confront her beliefs and feel some guilt for her actions. I think Nina was terribly unsympathetic towards Vanessa . This surprised me because Vanessa was initially a very shallow character. However, this was because we are seeing her through Nina's perspective. Vanessa's character shocked me. We are initially introduced to Vanessa as a spoiled heiress and a social media influencer. However, the book humanizes and made me root for her despite Nina's strong dislike and disdain for her.

I really enjoyed how Janelle Brown discussed the impact of social media on influencers and how it can encourage unhappiness because you are constantly trying to please people who do not know you. They only know the image you present. I also liked how she switched perspectives between Nina and Vanessa since they are such different characters and it is interesting to see how they view each other. However, this switch also makes the book lengthy. She describes the same events through both of their point of views so at times it is a bit redundant.

The ending of the novel and the events in the book were unpredictable without being unrealistic and rushed to me. I rate this book 8 stars. I really enjoyed it and liked all the twists and turns.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley. THIS was the book I've been waiting for. Psychological thrillers can become predicable, but THIS one was a surprise. Pretty Things is a tale of "who do you trust when you can't trust anyone." I loved the multiple points of view because it fleshed out the flaws and motives of both Nina and Vanessa. There were twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Great book. Highly recommended.

I rarely do this, but I went into this book completely blind - I didn't read the description and had no idea what the book was about. And you know what? I am convinced that it added to experience of this twisty thriller! The characters were interesting. The relationships were intriguing and the twists and turns in the plot just kept coming. Favorite game - Plot in 5 words: Heiress + Con-artist = big scam!

After seeing a lot of comments about the length of this book, I was a little worried that I would be stuck on it for a while, but it moves so fast that you forget the page count!

Nina is a con artist who follows in her mother’s footsteps, despite growing up and dreaming of being so much more. Vanessa, an Instagram influencer with a safe full of a million dollars, is her next mark.

The book is told from both women’s point of view and while some may find the chapters repetitive, I really enjoyed reading the same scenes from two different perspectives. The first half of the book has a lot of backstory and helps to set up each character’s motives, and while that means it takes a while for the plot to really start moving, I enjoyed seeing all the layers of both Nina and Vanessa. Neither of them are necessarily good people, but you still find them interesting and likable as characters on a page. With social media being such a large part of Vanessa’s life, it just goes to show you that not everything is as it appears on the surface.


Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc for my honest opinion.

I had a hard time reading this book. The author’s writing style was not to my liking, I did not like the characters and the repetition of the chapters was frustrating.

I would read another book by this author to see if it was just this book that I did not enjoy.