Pretty Things by Janelle Brown is one to add to your 2020 TBR list! I was so excited to have a chance to read and review her upcoming novel because I loved Watch Me Disappear whenever I read it a while back. Pretty Things features Nina Ross, a grifter who was raised by her con artist mother, Vanessa Liebling, an heiress turned Instagram influencer and Lachlan who is Nina’s partner in crime/boyfriend.

To earn money to pay for her mother’s cancer treatments, Nina and Lachlan move to Lake Tahoe and target Vanessa for their latest scheme. It turns out that Nina has a history in Lake Tahoe with the Liebling family and the book tells this backstory. Vanessa Liebling, although everything seems wonderful via instagram – is actually lonely and eager to make friends.

I won’t give any spoilers but suffice it to say there are secrets exposed; double crosses; and a number of surprises throughout the novel. Although this book was 496 pages long – the writing was really good and I quickly found myself unable to stop reading. This book was a 5 star read for me! I absolutely loved it.

A true page turner kept me reading late into the night.Multilayered kept me guessing from page to page.Chilling read #netgalley#randomhouse

This was a quick thriller. A lot of POV switching where I was constantly going back to reread and feeling somewhat lost sometimes. Overall ok.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

Nina and Lachlan are a con artist couple, stealing from rich millennials who barely notice missing furniture or antiques. When the cops come knocking for Nina, the two take off for a new victim- Vanessa Liebling, an heiress living in her family's Lake Tahoe mansion. They pose as a humble, well rounded couple, Ashley and Micheal, who simply want to rent the caretaker's cottage for an extended stay. Vanessa, who is no longer to glamorous Insta-famous blogger she once was, craves the human interaction from Nina and Lachlan. Nina has an ulterior motive for pursuing Vanessa, a grudge that dates back to Nina's high school days and her first love, Benny, who is Vanessa's younger brother.

This book was excellent, and a different thriller than many others. It focuses in on how easily someone can get into people's lives simply by their presence on the Internet. It also highlights how what someone sees on an Instagram feed is far from reality more often than not. This book give depth to each main character, and the ending was thought out and tied back to the beginning. The emotional epiphany of Vanessa and Nina made them both easy to relate to and made their actions almost justifiable.

I would have loved so see more into the lives of each character in the Epilogue, but that is simply because Janelle Brown created such realistic and well developed characters.

Goooood! This was a page turner, alrhoigh a little long! The plot of this book is superb! Twists, turns and rollercoaster ride along the way but I do believe the book could have been just as good, minus a couple chapters! There were times that the background stories of the characters were almost too in depth?! Overall however, if you are fans of The Last Mrs Parrish type of books you will enjoy this! Definitely will read this author again! Thank you so much for the advanced copy!!!

Very enjoyable, dare I say satisfying? Yes. Bonus points because I barely wanted to murder most of the characters.

Interesting premise, average execution. This story follows Nina and Vanessa, one grifter one mark, as Nina tries to pull the “scam of a lifetime” (quote from synopsis - not what I would call it). I really enjoyed the plot but the writing dragged at points. I found myself urging the story along and eventually skimming paragraphs. Nina’s art history degree is referred to time and time again. The reference to the antiquities is meant to show expertise and I guess richness but really it was boring and slowed the story down so much. I was hoping I would be rewarded for my patience by an indulgent twist but the ending was predictable and a bit of a let down. I still enjoyed the author’s writing style...if only the book was 100 pages shorter. What made the book drag (showing the same situation from two points of view) did also prove to be interesting for certain plot points and at the end when the narrative started flipping every chapter, it was more interesting to read, but overall the book was too slow.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book- it was a quick read that I finished in a day. It centers around Nina, a minor con artist, and Vanessa, an unhappy and untethered heiress. The book alternates between their POVs but gives you enough time with each character to empathize with her, though neither character is initially likeable. Vanessa's house, Stonehaven, is a key part of the book and is described in a way where it almost felt like another character in itself, which was very interesting to me.

The story elicited anxiety the whole way through- what were the characters planning, and would it work? Vanessa went on a little long in feeling sorry for her herself, but it was also interesting to get into her head and see how the way she thought about things differed from what was seen in the public eye. I found myself especially interested in Benny, Vanessa's brother, though he is a somewhat minor character in the story. Likewise, the side story with Nina's mother, Lily, was also intriguing.

There were a couple examples of lack of attention to detail that annoyed me- Ashley Williams turns into Ashley Smith 40% of the way through the book, and Vanessa's mother's birthdate would have been impossible knowing Vanessa's age.

Overall, it was a good read and I'd recommend it, even if the premise isn't something you'd normally read- I was glad I did! Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This novel has everything you want in an escape read: unexpected (but plausible) plot twists, complex characters, evocative writing, a zippy pace, a satisfying ending. It also avoided one of my pet peeves: The two narrating characters have distinct voices; you would be able to tell which one was narrating even without the chapter headings. I don't want to say too much else for fear of spoilers, but I especially loved how well-limned the relationships between the characters were, and the character of Benny broke my heart.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Nina grew up to become her mother. A con artist. Vanessa, an heiress and Instagram influencer, also has slowly morphed into her mother... a troubled woman that is isolated in a mansion. Nina's and Vanessa's paths cross and they are led on a wild journey of deceit and and destruction.

This was definitely a twisting thriller. The entire time I was trying to figure out who was truth-worthy and if people were really who they said they were. In addition to the thrilling tale were deep and moving backstories. The characters as they are in the present were unlikeable, but knowing their histories made me feel empathetic towards them and clued me into their motivations. The ending was a bit predictable. I was hoping for one big twist, but it was still very enjoyable.

If you've ever wondered who you can trust, for the people in Pretty Things, the answer is NOBODY! I was engaged in the story line. I almost read the last few pages so I could find out what was going to happen. Then I would have gone back to discover how it happened. The Survivor motto - Outwit, Outplay, Outlast - would apply to the characters in this book.. I didn't care much for the characters or their behavior. The story was intriguing but I had trouble rooting for people with such a patent disregard of right and wrong. If you like bad boys (and girls), it's a good story.

I read this Kindle edition from Random House and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Do you want to read an engaging and twisty tale? Willing to postpone bedtime until you finish it? This is the book for you.

What starts as a story of robbery becomes a story of deceit. Lachlan and Nina begin pulling cons but soon move into a giant grift, using Vanessa, disoriented heiress as their mark.
Loyalties change, alliances shift and soon lies begin to ooze through the book Everyone conning each other, even some who are not suspected.

If I continue enthusing, I am afraid I will give away too much of the plot. This is an engaging, well written novel. I loved Brown’s first novel, but was a bit disappointed in the next two, but this book has totally exhibited her fine writing skills.

Thanks Netgalley, for allowing me to read and enjoy this novel.

Terrific psychological thriller that kept me guessing right up to the end. Who's conning who?! Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. What a good read! This one was twistier than I thought it would be based on the description, but that makes perfect sense since this is a book about people conning each other. I felt conned, in the best possible way, by the events that unfolded in the last quarter of this book. What kind of mother behaves that way toward their only child? I definitely didn't see that coming from her character. The only part that I didn't 100% love was the ending. It seemed pretty far-fetched to have the Lieblings and Nina all living together in harmony at Stonehaven. Despite the too-neat ending, I would definitely recommend this book to others once it is published.

I really liked the concept of this book, but for me, the execution was a little shaky. The book alternates between Vanessa, an heiress, and Nina, a grifter who has essentially made a career of stealing from the obscenely wealthy. A lot of the conversation was repeated by both narrators, and instead of highlighting the different views of the narratives, it just came across as redundant. On the positive end of the spectrum, I really liked how the author tied up the ending.. .it ALMOST made me feel something for an entire cast of highly unlikable people.

“Pretty Things” by Janelle Brown is a psychological thriller set in Lake Tahoe.
The book alternates between two narrators: Nina, a grifter who is always searching for the next con, and Vanessa, an naive heiress who moonlights as an Instagram influencer.

Initially, the plot seemed somewhat silly, but the writing was really good and I quickly found myself immersed in the story and unable to put it down. I really enjoyed the characters and the battle of wits between Nina and Vanessa.

I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown is a twisting, turning psychological thriller. Nina is determined to exact revenge on Vanessa, who she blames for the way her life has turned out. Lochlan, while not exactly Nina’s boyfriend, is in in the con with her. But Vanessa isn’t quite as clueless as they think she is. Add in Nina’s mother, who has always told Nina that they can only really trust each other and the threads of this story weave in an out, creating a can’t-put-it-down book. Kudos to Janelle Brown!

This book is an interesting combination of a modern day spin on both Oliver Twist and My Fair Lady. Nina’s plans for a high paying job crash and burn and she takes to stealing with her grifter boyfriend. After all, Nina’s mother was the ultimate con artist, but when she becomes ill, Nina will do whatever it takes to save her mom. This is when Nina and her boyfriend meet Vanessa, a poor little rich girl and the story really takes off. This is a diamond sharp, twisted tale of revenge and the lust for money

A great female 2-hander that feels like GRIFTERS meets INGRID GOES WEST. It’s wicked and sharp in a way that reminded me of Riley Sager's THE LAST TIME I LIED with two flawed complex female characters one-upping each other with deceit. I though it was sharp and complicated and deliciously fun. A great story of family and inheritance.