Rose’s obsession with Lacie ruined their friendship in high school. Years later, the two reconnect. Will they be able to build a real friendship this time, or will Rose’s obsession rear its ugly head again? This is the biggest and smallest question that this book sets out to answer. After all, readers will want to know if there’s hope for a more mature take on the friendship, but it’s also much more interesting to see the many psychological twists and turns that inhabit each woman’s mind.

Do we ever really change? And why do we hurt those whom we revere? The toxicity of female friendships, the sting of betrayal, and the rush of moving forward without contemplating the needs of others are all stripped bare for readers. Rose desperately wants a second chance with Lacie, but does she deserve one? Find out when this engaging book is released!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. 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. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

I very much enjoyed this novel, on some level, an updated and more interesting take on Single White Female, and on another level, an exploration of the complexities and toxicity implicit in so many female friendships. McCarthy writes complex characters and gives the reader fascinating glimpses into their deep, dark secrets. While reading, I never quite knew whose side I was on, and always felt a bit awkward and anxious- both great things that show what a gifted writer McCarthy is. I would absolutely recommend this novel- it is beautifully written with an intriguing, unique story and approach.

This novel is not at all what I expected. I thought it would be a dark psychological suspense story, but instead it's a meandering tale of a selfish, unlikable young woman repeating the same kind of betrayal she committed against her best friend in high school. Thirty year old Rose moves to New York City, reconnects with Lacie, the friend she betrayed, and manages to persuade Lacie to let her move into her apartment. Rose proceeds to seduce and carry on an affair with Lacie's boyfriend, while secretly writing a novel about Lacie, never coming up with the rent she owes, and helping herself to Lacie's clothing and jewelry. Rose has no conscience and the story has no plot, The meaning of it all is never clear, except perhaps that some people are lifelong users and others are born victims. The one outstanding quality of the book is the smooth writing. I received a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

i devoured this book as is appropriate about a book about obsessive relationship between a woman and her idea of her best friend, on a collusion course towards disaster. I wish there was a bit more of who the real lacie was, like a chapter or two from her perspective. even the sexual scenes, which were graphic fit in with the theme. i would give it a 4.5

From the description, I was so excited to read this book. It gave me vibes of You so I couldn’t wait to read it. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me, I skimmed a lot trying to get to the good parts which were few and far between. I did find Rose appealing, sometimes so cringeworthy I had to hide my face while reading, I loved those parts.

This book was not what I was expecting. I thought i was getting a thriller type book but instead it was more of a drama filled sexual desire between two girls. I skipped over a lot of this to see if I could get into it but it just wasn’t the book for me.
Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy.

Everyone Knows How Much I Love You by Kyle McCarthy uses the fairly standard New York City trope, but this book caught my eye and kept my attention. This is truly a psychological character study and is executed well. There is little mystery, more of an unraveling. If you are offended by graphic sex scenes and descriptions, pass on this one. Otherwise an interesting read.

A free ARC from Net Galley

I admit I cruised the book

Why, well there is a quarantine but this two girl obsessive relationship but we stay together has run its course.

Carbon copy to me,

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

I was a little disappointed by this book, but that may have been my fault. From reading the description, I assumed that it was going to be thriller-esque, with plot twists about the character who was obsessed with her friend. This is not the case, and the book focuses more on the "friendship" between the girls and various betrayals over the years. It also gets sexually graphic at some points, which I could have done without. It's fine, but not what I was expecting. I would give it a 2.5 but am rounding up to 3 stars.

Review posted on Goodreads on April 17, 2020.

Awkward, almost cringe-worthy, is the way Rose, our protagonist, inserts herself back into the life of her former best friend and adolescrent girl crush, Lacie.
She not only loves Lacie, she wants to BE Lacie.
Rose falls into a pattern of writing a play / writing a novel which repeats the past - developing a crush on a certain boy / man and having a more or less platonic relationship with him, then actively pursuing him, once Lacie is involved with the same boy / man, to the point of dangerous obsession.
Rose is a Harvard graduate and works as a tutor for students looking to get into Ivy League schools. However, she has low self esteem and proves to be a rather unreliable narrator - she is a loner and sees herself as a perpetual outsider and loser, while others find her extremely smart, talented and attractive.

I like the narrative, it is a little depressing, but very realistic. It is interesting because we only see events from Rose's perspective, then towards th middle of the book, you think "Hey, wait a minute, this is getting really wierd" and realize that maybe Rose's view of the world is not altogether sane.....

Recommended for those who like psychological drama, but are tired of thrillers.

I was about 20% into the book when I decided it sounded like something that had been written by a graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop. It is. Interpret that as you wish.

Books about toxic female friendships are my catnip, so I was itching to get my hands on this one. Unfortunately, McCarthy misses everything about what makes emotional intimacy between two women heady and intoxicating. I think the biggest problem here is that Lacie isn't fully formed. If ownership of a loom and a kombucha habit is all we're going on, it's hard for me to understand Rose's obsession with her. Sure, she's able to snag men Rose has also fancied. That's something. But the way that Rose is painted--insecure and petty--makes me think she could have just as easily latched on to anyone else. I couldn't bring myself to care about either of them or the dark betrayal that was dangled in the prologue.

There's a scene at a Shabbat dinner where Rose tells a story she's sure will endear Lacie's friends to her. She's desperate for them to think her anecdote is funny so they'll find her charming. It wasn't. She isn't. That scene sums up the entire book. Everything falls flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting book, not what I expected from the synopsis, but it was a pretty good read. Good writing style.

Everybody Knows How Much I Love you was given to in exchange for an honest review. I’m so appreciative to everyone involved.

I’m not really sure HOW I feel about this book. It was just so different. The writing was amazing - it was just an odd book. It kinda was all over the place. I did enjoy it overall but wish it went further into the obsession of Lacie by Rose instead of random rants at times.

The ending was just confusing - 🤷‍♀️
I did enjoy the writers aspect and although all the characters were horrible people, it had potential. For me the darker the better and this was one weird book not necessarily dark!

I give it a 3 star rating, ⭐️⭐️⭐️ As I did enjoy the writing overall.

It did carry a Black Swan feel throughout which was interesting but it never really followed through.

Everyone Knows How Much I Love You by Kyle McCarthy is described as exploring the dark side of female friendship so naturally, I wanted to read it. I imaged a Single White Female type story combined with YOU.

Here’s the synopsis:

At age thirty, Rose is fierce and smart, both self-aware and singularly blind to her power over others. After moving to New York, she is unexpectedly swallowed up by her past when she reunites with Lacie, the former best friend she betrayed in high school. Captivated once again by her old friend’s strange charisma, Rose convinces Lacie to let her move in, and the two fall into an intense, uneasy friendship.

While tutoring the offspring of Manhattan’s wealthy elite, Rose works on a novel she keeps secret—because it stars Lacie and details the betrayal that almost turned deadly. But the difference between fiction and fact, past and present, begins to blur, and Rose soon finds herself increasingly drawn to Lacie’s boyfriend, exerting a sexual power she barely understands she possesses, and playing a risky game that threatens to repeat the worst moments of her and Lacie’s lives.

This was very well written and I wasn’t sure about Rose through the book. I didn’t like nor dislike her, rather I felt like I couldn’t get a handle on her but one thing was for certain, she creeped me out and I didn’t trust her.

When she’s not tutoring kids for their SATs, a job she is not really suited for, Rose works on her novel. Her agent pushes her to go further and deeper so Rose starts using Lacie as her inspiration. She is close to becoming obsessed with Lacie and starts to flirt and grow close to Lacie’s boyfriend with whom Rose shared a past. Soon Rose is sleeping with him. Red flag: that is not a good friend. In fact, Rose is not a good person.

If I had to pin it down, I’d say this book is a study in toxic friendship colliding with obsession!

This novel comes out on June 23, you can pre-order it here.

Heard lots about this one and looked forward to reading it, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. Too many books too little time! Heard positive things from other readers so will most likely add to our collection despite not finishing it.

It is a strange breed of difficult to write about writing. Done wrong, that dip into the meta can seem pompous and indulgent. Kyle McCarthy, however, tackled that feat with apparent ease in his novel Everyone Knows How Much I Love You.

Lacie is a Harvard graduate struggling to write her first novel. With her agent, she rewrites draft after draft trying to find the perfect balance, but writing doesn't pay the bills, and living in NYC isn't cheap. She takes a job as an SAT tutor, relying heavily on her Ivy league badge to get her more clients, and at the same time, reunites with her estranged best friend, Lucinda. Luc is dating Ian, a mutual friend, and their meeting is, too, loaded. The yin to her yang, she is everything Lacie is not (at least in her mind): beautiful, mysterious, perpetually evasive, and confident. Their relationship is layered and complex, stemming from an incident in high school that they've never talked about, and as the two become roommates, Lacie uses their closeness as inspiration in her book. The line between their lives blurs, however, and soon Lacie's flippant examination becomes an obsession.

I've never read anything quite like this.

Lacie is a sociopath, not diagnosed but in practice. She experiences emotions from a clinical standpoint, where they never really penetrate to her core. She's self destructive and deliberately cruel without really understanding why, yet for someone who constantly analyzes who she is and what her place in the world is, she's incredibly off-the-mark. The internal dialogue we experience jars with the impression we get (again, through dialogue only) from others around her. She describes herself as musty and plain, while everyone tells her she's a sexual being, hot, desired. Relying on comparisons, she polarizes her friendship with Lucinda, and using their differences to examine what she's missing. In fact, she only seems to be a whole person when she receives validation from Lucinda--but when she does get it, she implodes, taking whoever is in her path down with her. The inherent competition she creates is responsible for a few key turning points in their lives, and the results are catastrophic.

McCarthy's development of sexual tension is complex and wrought with conflict. Is Lacie bisexual, or is she using sexuality in order to better understand the differences between her and her best friend? In fact, the discussion of sexuality, perception, and societal standards guides help her test the waters of her own relationships, even if only within her imagination, never really being able to feel satisfaction. Gratification and satisfaction are two completely different things in Lacie's world, and watching her experience intense sexual encounters with the ambivalence of a weather report is unique literary experience. Similar to other infamous characters in this vein, Dexter or Joe Goldberg come to mind, Lacie is removed from her experiences. She talks about morals and standards, yet constantly breaks all the rules she sets for herself: I will not go through my roommate's belongings, op. I'm wearing her bra and dress. I will not sleep with someone's boyfriend; affairs are wrong, op, I slept with someone's boyfriend--and so on, and so forth.

There are bigger themes at play here: identity, sexuality, feminism, gender, and I appreciate the naked, raw conversationalist tone of some taboo subjects. It's quiet and loud as you read, no differentiation between a conventional sex life and one of S&M notes, and it's refreshing to see a text raise a healthy discussion of sexual preferences.

I will say, if you like your sexual encounters to be implied, this will not be the book for you. Outside those parameters, Everyone Knows How Much I Love You is a unique, beautifully-written novel that gives you a glimpse into the mind of a killer. Haunting, Creepy, and Unnerving, I won't be surprised if this is a Netflix hit someday.

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Toxic rivalry and obsessed relationship dynamics between girlfriends: Single White Female meets Roommate.
The plot line is a little familiar and I think so many authors lately picked up this kind of obsession stories and turned them into girls’ cat fight, blended with cheating, lies and secrets. And of course it gets dirtier at each page!

This book’s strengths are author’s writing style keeps your attention alive, intact and you never lose your interest. The opening was intriguing and ending is also fascinating. I just got my Arc yesterday and as soon as I finished my other book, I dived into and finished a few seats and coffee-munchies- Pinot Noir breaks later!

The weakest part is unlikable heroine Rose ( of course she is the obsessed one! It’s really hard to root for Jennifer Jason Leigh when you watch Single White Female who turns into a sociopath!) But when you read the narration of Rose and get tours inside her head, at least you wish to understand her motives and you deserve to be given specific reason why she is batshit crazy and why she is so focused on her dear friend Lacie and everything she has in her life because even though she considers herself unlucky, she comes from wealthy family and as far as I saw she doesn’t have a traumatic experience and she insists she is broke but she has no proper job financially supports her! (And she is freaking 30! Not in her twenties and have no idea what she is going to do with her future!)

The story starts with Rose’s moving to NY and bumping into her old friend Lacie At Bryant Park. She betrayed her friend and they got estranged. But slowly Rose gains her trust again and Lacie offers her to share her house. In their early relationship at high school, you may guess Rose is the intelligent but shy one as Lacie attracts full attention and hangs with popular groups. Her strong charisma is Rose’s kryptonite and right now nothing has changed.

Rose starts tutoring a wealthy elite’s child and starts working on her novel. And of course it is about Lacie and her boyfriend. But those novel parts confused the hell of me because it was really hard to differentiate between reality and fiction.

Overall: As I mentioned before, I enjoyed the conclusion. Familiar plot is well-written: Its pace slow down and got blurry at Rose’s novel parts but at least it reached somewhere logical. I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars because heroine irritated me so much but I decided with 3.5 rounded up 4 stars as usual because as a debut novel: it was better than more stories I’ve read lately. And even though most of the authors picked this subject, I always enjoy the dark obsession and stalker stories.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House publishing/Ballantine Books for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

This book was dark and twisted. I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. It’s a page turner, and kept me on the edge of my seat!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

VERYONE KNOWS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU
BY KYLE MCCARTHY

I found the writing of this novel to be very vivid in all of its depictions. The setting for the majority of this narrative of twisted friendship takes place in New York City. There isn't anything about this plot that moves forward in a linear line. It moves back and forth in time told by Rose who has moved to NYC where she runs into an old best friend that dates back to when they were ten years old. Lacie's everything that Rose wants to be. So much so that after Lacie considers offering Rose a bedroom in her apartment, Rose tries on Lacie's clothes including her bra. Rose breaks the golden rule about snooping by breaching Lacie's bedroom while she is at work and rifles through her closet and underwear drawer. She is even caught by Lacie wearing Lacie's distinct clothing which in this case happens to be a one of a kind ethnic dress. As Rose ruminates about their shared past Rose muses over how in High School Rose purposefully causes a car accident injuring Lacie's boyfriend Leo. Rose is intelligent but not as popular and confident as Lacie is/was. Rose produced a play about Adam and Eve by which Lacie and Leo play the only two roles.

Rose is writing a novel about Lacie and Leo secretly while she sneaks off and betrays Lacie by sleeping with her adult boyfriend who is an artist. Rose was an undergraduate from Harvard and I got the feeling that she took advantage of Lacie's kindness. The lines really do blur between reality and what perceptions Rose thinks about by thinking that Lacie knows about her sexual relationship with Lacie's long term boyfriend in the present. Rose has one student that she tutors for writing an entrance exam to get into her student Isabel's first choice of College. Isabel drafts many entries but her father isn't satisfied with any of them. He has absolutely no faith in Isabel's ability to write her own essay and her father keeps hinting at Rose writing Isabel's essay. Her father doesn't believe Isabel has the same IQ as her sister.

The ending really saved this novel for me as a reader albeit a sad and sick ending. I felt that their wasn't a strong plot but an excellent depiction of characterization. Both Rose and Lacie are very different people. I suppose the point the author was trying to make was that they had nothing in common with each other. I did like and empathize with Lacie for including a friendless Rose into her social circle. I didn't like anything Rose did. I thought she took advantage of Lacie's kind gestures and I thought that Rose wanted to usurp her life. For those who like their storytelling to move and meander with more of a quicker pace, then this novel isn't for you. I really think the ending gives the reader a chance to discover where the author is going with the majority of the novel. I kept reading waiting for some coherence into why Rose did the things that she did. The writing was well above average and although disturbing it is a excellent work of literary fiction. This was haunting and I am sure I will never forget this brilliant portrait of the many different facets of love.

Publication Date: June 23, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley, Kyle McCarthy and Random House/Ballantine Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinion's are my own and not biased and in no way requiring me to write a positive review.

#EveryoneKnowsHowMuchILoveYou #KyleMcCarthy #NetGalley #RandomHouseandBallantinePublishing
VERYONE KNOWS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU
BY KYLE MCCARTHY

I found the writing of this novel to be very vivid in all of its depictions. The setting for the majority of this narrative of twisted friendship takes place in New York City. There isn't anything about this plot that moves forward in a linear line. It moves back and forth in time told by Rose who has moved to NYC where she runs into an old best friend that dates back to when they were ten years old. Lacie's everything that Rose wants to be. So much so that after Lacie considers offering Rose a bedroom in her apartment, Rose tries on Lacie's clothes including her bra. Rose breaks the golden rule about snooping by breaching Lacie's bedroom while she is at work and rifles through her closet and underwear drawer. She is even caught by Lacie wearing Lacie's distinct clothing which in this case happens to be a one of a kind ethnic dress. As Rose ruminates about their shared past Rose muses over how in High School Rose purposefully causes a car accident injuring Lacie's boyfriend Leo. Rose is intelligent but not as popular and confident as Lacie is/was. Rose produced a play about Adam and Eve by which Lacie and Leo play the only two roles.

Rose is writing a novel about Lacie and Leo secretly while she sneaks off and betrays Lacie by sleeping with her adult boyfriend who is an artist. Rose was an undergraduate from Harvard and I got the feeling that she took advantage of Lacie's kindness. The lines really do blur between reality and what perceptions Rose thinks about by thinking that Lacie knows about her sexual relationship with Lacie's long term boyfriend in the present. Rose has one student that she tutors for writing an entrance exam to get into her student Isabel's first choice of College. Isabel drafts many entries but her father isn't satisfied with any of them. He has absolutely no faith in Isabel's ability to write her own essay and her father keeps hinting at Rose writing Isabel's essay. Her father doesn't believe Isabel has the same IQ as her sister.

The ending really saved this novel for me as a reader albeit a sad and sick ending. I felt that their wasn't a strong plot but an excellent depiction of characterization. Both Rose and Lacie are very different people. I suppose the point the author was trying to make was that they had nothing in common with each other. I did like and empathize with Lacie for including a friendless Rose into her social circle. I didn't like anything Rose did. I thought she took advantage of Lacie's kind gestures and I thought that Rose wanted to usurp her life. For those who like their storytelling to move and meander with more of a quicker pace, then this novel isn't for you. I really think the ending gives the reader a chance to discover where the author is going with the majority of the novel. I kept reading waiting for some coherence into why Rose did the things that she did. The writing was well above average and although disturbing it is a excellent work of literary fiction. This was haunting and I am sure I will never forget this brilliant portrait of the many different facets of love.

Publication Date: June 23, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley, Kyle McCarthy and Random House/Ballantine Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinion's are my own and not biased and in no way requiring me to write a positive review.

#EveryoneKnowsHowMuchILoveYou #KyleMcCarthy #NetGalley #RandomHouseandBallantinePublishing
VERYONE KNOWS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU
BY KYLE MCCARTHY

I found the writing of this novel to be very vivid in all of its depictions. The setting for the majority of this narrative of twisted friendship takes place in New York City. There isn't anything about this plot that moves forward in a linear line. It moves back and forth in time told by Rose who has moved to NYC where she runs into an old best friend that dates back to when they were ten years old. Lacie's everything that Rose wants to be. So much so that after Lacie considers offering Rose a bedroom in her apartment, Rose tries on Lacie's clothes including her bra. Rose breaks the golden rule about snooping by breaching Lacie's bedroom while she is at work and rifles through her closet and underwear drawer. She is even caught by Lacie wearing Lacie's distinct clothing which in this case happens to be a one of a kind ethnic dress. As Rose ruminates about their shared past Rose muses over how in High School Rose purposefully causes a car accident injuring Lacie's boyfriend Leo. Rose is intelligent but not as popular and confident as Lacie is/was. Rose produced a play about Adam and Eve by which Lacie and Leo play the only two roles.

Rose is writing a novel about Lacie and Leo secretly while she sneaks off and betrays Lacie by sleeping with her adult boyfriend who is an artist. Rose was an undergraduate from Harvard and I got the feeling that she took advantage of Lacie's kindness. The lines really do blur between reality and what perceptions Rose thinks about by thinking that Lacie knows about her sexual relationship with Lacie's long term boyfriend in the present. Rose has one student that she tutors for writing an entrance exam to get into her student Isabel's first choice of College. Isabel drafts many entries but her father isn't satisfied with any of them. He has absolutely no faith in Isabel's ability to write her own essay and her father keeps hinting at Rose writing Isabel's essay. Her father doesn't believe Isabel has the same IQ as her sister.

The ending really saved this novel for me as a reader albeit a sad and sick ending. I felt that their wasn't a strong plot but an excellent depiction of characterization. Both Rose and Lacie are very different people. I suppose the point the author was trying to make was that they had nothing in common with each other. I did like and empathize with Lacie for including a friendless Rose into her social circle. I didn't like anything Rose did. I thought she took advantage of Lacie's kind gestures and I thought that Rose wanted to usurp her life. For those who like their storytelling to move and meander with more of a quicker pace, then this novel isn't for you. I really think the ending gives the reader a chance to discover where the author is going with the majority of the novel. I kept reading waiting for some coherence into why Rose did the things that she did. The writing was well above average and although disturbing it is a excellent work of literary fiction. This was haunting and I am sure I will never forget this brilliant portrait of the many different facets of love.

Publication Date: June 23, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley, Kyle McCarthy and Random House/Ballantine Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinion's are my own and not biased and in no way requiring me to write a positive review.

#EveryoneKnowsHowMuchILoveYou #KyleMcCarthy #NetGalley #RandomHouseandBallantinePublishing