Thanks NetGalley and the Author for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
I looooooved this book and finished it almost completely in one go.

I remember being so distraught that I could not found this book on Goodreads after finishing up the ARC. Now that this is here, I am too exhausted to write a review for now.

This was one of the last ARCs that I had read last year and believe me when I say this, I ended up not reading or reviewing any of my remaining ARCs and many of them were a DNF. What followed was a period of reading slump marked only by watching movies, kdramas and studies and staying away from novels. Eventually though I got back to reading novels again(I mean obvio). I do not know whether this sudden "ebook reading slump" was the result of reading this book or the sudden mounting pressure of online classrooms that made me loath to look at any kind of "reading material" onscreen that was not chat messages(I WAS FULLY DOWN FOR READING PHYSICAL COPY OF BOOKS) or a combination of both. However, this book really drained me(in a good way?!)

But but but, I'll just say this one thing for potential readers of this book: *this book is heavy stuff*; so I would advise you not to read it if you don't wanna find yourself emotionally drained. Pick it up when your mind is at peace/calm tbh.

That being said, I am absolutely going to buy a physical copy of this book one day!

Full disclosure Jennifer Waitte is my client. I found this richly-drawn portrait of a young woman struggling with identity and mental healthy very poignant and compelling.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Lifeline to Marionette is a under the microscope story about a young lady called Michelle Seko who is the daughter of a world famous pianist. This book focuses on the dark side of being a celebrity and tackles addiction, substance abuse, depression and suicide as well as love, fame and the structure of family.

I did find this book dragged a little in places as there did seem to be a lot of conversation and less of a plot, but this didn't actually ruin the book as the characters were so captivating and well scripted that it smoothed this over for me and enabled me to enjoy it all the more.

I can't say that I was anticipating reading this book. How foolish of me because this was just amazing. If Night Film by Marisha Pessl lost its horror elements, it would be very similar to Lifeline to Marionette.
This is the story of Michelle Seko, a 22 year old celebrity, daughter of a very renowned pianist. It starts after she escapes from a fashion show and has an overdose, making her manager and friends take her to Aspen, Colorado, for a trip so she can decompress.
This deals with so many topics, such as addiction, suicide, fame, family and first love. I loved how the author didn't shy away from diving deep into the characters's souls, so we could understand their motivations. I also was amazed by how good the writing was, I was truly enchanted by Jennifer Waite's descriptions of the characters reactions to each other and of the setting (making Aspen seem like the winter paradise that it is). Jason and MIchelle meeting each other and having instant chemistry is one of the best first interaction scenes I've ever read.
The only issue I had with the story (and that's completely personal) is that I thought the plot could've been better developed, not relying so much on the characters for everything.
I'd definitely recommend this one for fans of deep adult fiction!

Aptly titled, this was an interesting, albeit unsettling, story to read. The writing is lyrical, dreamlike in quality and who can argue that Aspen, Colorado in December is not a great setting for a story? While it was the premise that attracted me (and yes, the cover art is gorgeous!), I found the delivery and plot development to be slow, and even a little underwhelming and confusing at times. Against the backdrop of snow covered mountains and holiday festivities, this story really portrays darker aspects of a high-flying world of entertainment and fashion - drug addiction, abuse, manipulation, jealousy and greed. If you are looking for a festive romance/love story.... this isn't it.

As far as characters go, I found Michelle to be fascinating. I like to get into the psychology/inner workings of a troubled character and the author really delivers with Michelle. Enigmatic on the outside, struggling/shattering on the inside, Michelle is a very conflicted persona, portraying externally as young, fragile and waif-like while providing glimpses into wisdom and worldly understanding beyond her mere 22-years. It is only towards the end that we really discover the person behind the facade and learn the reasons for her downward-spiraling self-destructive behaviour. I found the other characters serve their purpose in propelling the story forward, but for me, that is all they did. They lack the more fulsome character development I would have loved to see with this story.

I received an unedited proof copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has an unsettling vibe about it, I am not sure if it’s the actual story, the drug use, the mental problems or the writing style.

Michelle is the fashion it girl, she has it all and she can get so much more. But with having it all come many strings, her manager Rita acts like she has all the knowledge in the world and only Michelle’s best interest in mind. In fact she only cares about her as a product, her precious cash cow. Sasha is her make up artist and friend, he saves and protects Michelle time and time again when she has gone on a drug induced bender. He’s an enabler, he cares, but not too much, it’s extremely superficial. Michelle’s one time best friend Annalise married a horrible designer, Marc, and he is mistreating both of them and anyone else. Marc cares only for Marc. When Michelle doesn’t show up for Marc’s fashion show in Paris and Sasha finds her all conked out she is set off to Aspen with Annalise and Marc ahead of Marc’s closing fashion show. Either of them wants to be there. That’s when Aaron, a producer, comes in to help. He has a certain fascination with Michelle that borders on creepy. He wants to control each aspect of her life when she is near him. At a certain point in the book his wife says Aaron is obsessed with Michelle and it’s worse than any of the affairs he has had, because it’s all consuming. Mind you Michelle and Aaron are not sleeping together. A series of events happen and you wonder if Michelle will ever cut all her ties with her past and let Jason, her Aspen saviour, help her struggle out of the hole she is in.

Deflated, that’s what I felt after finishing this book. I struggled my way through this book, hoping all the horrible events would culminate into something beautiful, a young woman finding her own strength, the courage to fight for what she wants. But the ending is just so bland, it really is disappointing. This book basically is about several people wanting to benefit from another person or hide this person away because of the talent they possess. Jealousy, drug use, some general drama, greed, women standing up for what’s right, that should be the makings of good read, but for me it wasn’t.

Thanks to publishers and netgalley for providing me an eARC in exchange for honest review. Lifeline to Marionette is the story of deeply disturbed Michelle who is the reigning super model and a piano prodigy. Michelle has never tasted freedom. Her childhood was spent in a gilded cage where her father, the gifted composer, tried to mould Michelle's life according to his whims. Her childhood was all about practising music, striving for perfection. Michelle's innocent desires for friends, normal school and ballet were crushed by her father. 🥀
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When Michelle decided to break free, she found fame and fortune but still at the expense of her freedom. Now, her manager Rita, movie producer Aaron, designer Marc, stylist Sasha and former friend and Marc's wife Annalise all have a vested interest in her. They all want a slice of her, never allowing her to think or act for herself as they all have a stake in keeping the money machine going. They all keep covering up as Michelle goes deeper down the spiral of drugs. When Michelle meets Jason in Aspen, the first person to treat her with kindness, secrets start to tumble out. Will Jason be the lifeline for Michelle? 🥀
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The premise of book is great as beauty does intimidate people. There is some rare person who can look past the dazzling beauty and understand the flawed persona hiding inside. The author seems to find her rhythm midway as her writing flows freely after half way mark. The setting of the scene, explaining Michelle's drug abuse, her anxiety and her depression takes too long. The choice of a third person narrator also exacerbates this feeling as it would have been better to have alternate PoVs of Michelle and Jason and probably Aaron. It would have brought clarity to the muddled thought processes brought in by different people. 🥀
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Marc is shown to be extremely rude and violent towards Michelle but a little more fleshing of character of Marc and Annalise would help readers understand the motivation behind their behaviors. The plot and character sketching of Michelle is very good as the reader do get an understanding of how Michelle is controlled by all these people who claim to work 'in her best interest'. But the first half of the book needs a little ruthless editing to polish and shine it better. One more thing which I want to say is that for a book which gave so much space to Michelle's musical talents and her childhood training, the language does not contain the music vocabulary instead just relying on names of famous composers and their creations. Overall, I liked the second half better than first half. Although I like my endings neatly tied in a bow, in this case the open ending works as Michelle is working towards confronting her demons which takes time.

This was a good book! to me, the plot was very well written.
I really connected with Alaina Michelle Sekovich.
Only because I know how it feels to be controlled by others!
Very well written.

Thank You NetGalley & Jennifer for this compilatory ARC!