This was a good, fast paced read on a cozy winter/rainy night when you have trouble going to sleep. It
is a story about friendship, ambition, toxic behaviour and the toll that a toxic person can take on the bearer.

Mac (a successful hotshot professor) runs into Gwen after 10 years at a hotel bar. They had been good friends once but have grown apart and this coincident meeting turns out to be a blast from the past for Mac.
Mac has supposedly risen from the ashes and carved out a great and successful life for herself inspite of domestic troubles and emotional and financial setbacks back home.

Mac is driven into a rage filled rivalry with Gwen (who is just impeccable in her eyes)and it changes her completely. It drives her into a downward spiral which ends up incapacitating her.


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the e ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Claire is just getting into a hotel elevator with a one night stand when she hears an old friend’s laugh from across the room. This kicks off a night of spilling secrets and revisiting their past for both Gwen and Claire.

Told in alternating chapters, we find out why Claire and Gwen are no longer friends, and what happened during grad school to break them apart.

Young “Mac” (Claire) has just entered grad school. She is a student relying on scholarships and a job outside of school to make it, sending money back home to her mother and a sister with autism, all the while struggling to get through all the reading from her first semester. Grad school is much harder than she had anticipated, and Mac is struggling to stay afloat, a striking difference from her affluent peers who do not share any of her concerns about making rent or sending money home.

I really enjoyed this book. Getting past the academic language was a bit difficult- there’s a lot of talk of “ethical negation” and film, neither of which I know anything about, but it doesn’t play such a large part in the book that I felt excluded from the plot.

It went in a different way than I had expected, and it is definitely somewhat slow building but it was worth every page. The ending was an outcome I had anticipated, but I was somehow still surprised. The prose was very captivating and the secondary characters are interesting and well-fleshed out.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free arc of this striking, different thriller in exchange for an honest review.

I r eceived an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn’t my favorite psychological thriller of late, but it was perfectly serviceable and did the job. The epitome of a three star thriller

"Bad Habits" by Amy Gentry is perfectly made to be a television miniseries. While reading I instantly envisioned the characters come to life on the screen. The edginess darkness that exists within the characters, particularly Bethany and Mac, made the book interesting and compelling. While the book is certainly unique in its own right, the edginess and academic aspect of it drew comparison to "You" by Caroline Kepnes for me.

There are many elements of this book that I found compelling. The relationship between Mac and Gwen drew me in. Gentry crafted it so perfectly that you could feel that there was always something a little off about their friendship. You felt that not only did Mac envy the luxurious life Gwen lived, but also that she essentially wanted to be her. The meeting between Mac and Gwen years after their friendship had fizzled in grad school was illuminating and showed both characters true feelings toward one another.

I am all for intellectual conversation so the academia setting suited me. The most interesting part of the book for me was the relationship between professor and student, Bethany and Mac. Both were strong characters in their own right. Bethany, so manipulative, that it was intriguing. Mac, so determined to win the prestigious Joyner fellowship that her ambitions would stop at nowhere. You can just sense Mac was a younger version of Bethany in a lot of ways. The qualities that irritated and infuriated her about Bethany were in a lot of ways qualities that existed within herself. Both used people to get what they wanted and to have control.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and would recommend to others.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a pretty fast paced thriller, focused on academia profession and all the chilling, disturbing, competition, and absolutely insane lengths people will go to make it! It was well written, chilling in parts, a bit shocking and disturbing! I couldn’t give a full 5 stars, because it didn’t quite give me that unputdownable thrill I get with my 5 stars! I did find it to be an original and generally unique story, which shows that no matter where you get you will never be happy, unless you first feel happiness and content with yourself! I loved seeing this theme in every arrange of socioeconomic, races, sexes, and education! It was very thought compelling! Sure to give you a few good chills and gasps!
Will make sure to buzz it around and use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Bad Habits.

This is not so much a thriller than it is about an ambitious young woman struggling to overcome her childhood obstacles and emulate her BFF, a young woman born into wealth and privilege.

Claire Woods is a respected professor, but over a decade ago, she was Mac, a scrappy teenager with a druggie mother and a mentally challenged sister.

Gaining admittance into a prestigious school and pursuing her academic dreams has led Mac down a road of corruption, jealousy and spite and she will do anything to keep what is rightfully hers.

For the most part, the writing was good, but the content was dull.

I was not interested in reading about students studying snotty subjects and the backstabbing politics and hypocrisy in academia.

I didn't like Mac, but I didn't dislike her. I admired her for her loyalty and devotion to her sister, supporting her family when she had so little support of her own.

I felt her dependence on her BFF, Gwen, was cliche, the standard trope of a girl from the wrong side of the tracks envying the friend who has everything; money, privilege, good parents.

I was looking forward to a standard mystery/thriller but the narrative is about Mac and how she survived the rigors of the fancy schmancy school, her dealings with a manipulative professor and how she got to where she is now.

There are some coincidences including the true identity of Mac's father that was hard to suspend disbelief in so Bad Habits wasn't for me but I think some readers will enjoy it.

This is a one-sitting type of thriller and I cannot recommend it enthusiastically enough. It casts an unflinching eye on what it takes to get ahead if you're born into a troubled family and the adversity of navigating academia. So often thriller protagonists are painted with an overly sympathetic brush; this novel allows Claire to be unapologetically ambitious. The plot pacing is tight and economical which keeps you racing along to see what happens next. Easily my favorite book of 2020, and I don't anticipate it getting dethroned.

This novel was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"I wonder how she can keep looking at me when I'm not there anymore. Not a person. Nothing."

This book is labeled as a psychological thriller, but I find it is more accurately described as a character study.
The story follows the life of Claire 'Mac' Woods from childhood into present adulthood. Her life has been wrought with tragedy and manipulation. That manipulation started with her mother, a woman desperate to live her pageant queen dreams through her daughter. Sadly, Mac never evolves from that vulnerable girl and that vulnerability allows herself to be manipulated by the intelligent and charismatic Bethany.
As an adult, Mac has changed her name to Claire and is destined to be the success story she always wished for herself and finally leave behind a past of mediocrity. Unfortunately, despite the name change, the prestige, the academic success, she is never able to evolve past that fragile little girl we meet in the beginning. There is great intellectual insight in this story and the characterization of Claire makes this a powerful story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've never been a part of an elite academic program or community, and this book sure doesn't make it look like anything I'd want to be involved in. There aren't many likable characters in this book, and the subjects they are studying and writing about sound like pretentious nonsense, as I suppose was intended. In spite of all that, I found that the intrigue and twists of the story held my interest throughout the book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the e-galley.

WOW!
This book was phenomenal the character development was astonishing and i honestly cannot say enough good things about this books! I felt all sorts of emotion both love and hate and i absolutely could not put it down until i finished! Murder,friendship,sex, scandals it has all the juicy details without being raunchy!
Great read and look forward to more from Amy Gentry

With an intriguing cover, title, and blurb, I was thrilled to be approved for this title.

Estranged friends Mac and Gwen reunite at a conference, reminiscing about their relationship and the events that led to their separation. At one time, they had been close, watching old movies and sharing secrets while vying for the same grad school fellowship. Their differences compound, however, when each woman strikes up a relationship with a powerful married couple leading the Program; and in a night of reflection, old grudges and suspicions come to light.

I really enjoyed this book. Character driven, Mac is really the star of the show, and her arc is a fascinating study in toxic relationships. From a young age, she struggles to relate to the people around her, never feeling accepted, feeling like she'll never belong. The obligation she feels to provide for her mother and younger sister highlights her empathetic side, demonstrating she's more than just ambition, and her motivations to get out of her hometown transcend just "getting out." Gwen is her focal point, the tube she latches onto in order to pull herself out of her own misery, but then she has to deal with her own realization when reality doesn't live up to perception. There's also Bethany, who is a character study in itself, but together, these characters serve as building blocks of our impression and understanding of Mac.

One thing I really related to was Mac's determination to succeed, yet accepting that she was at a financial disadvantage to her peers. Having put myself through grad school with copious loans, I found her struggle to survive in academia authentic and powerful. For many, the desire to be more than what we were given starts with an education, and it's not always handed on a silver platter. Balancing classes, reading, a full-time job, and a rigorous program requirement takes its toll, and the dark side of earning a degree felt right on the mark.

I felt a little bogged down by details at times, expecting something more nefarious to happen but invested in the suspense unraveling, nonetheless. I also was disconnected from the conclusion, like there was a glazed-over bridge from the character development we had for the first half of the book to the last page, but this didn't detract from my reading experience. This is one that will resonate and simmer.

Overall, Bad Habits is a twisty, psychologically-taut examination of friendship and ambition.

Thank you to HMH/Mariner Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

BAD HABITS is an intriguing read that follows the lives of two friends, Gwen and Mac through their childhood and into graduate school. There, an event occurs that effectively ends the friendship until Mac and Gwen run into each other again ten years later. Gentry does a great job of [piquing the reader's curiosity and building tension. The ending was a bit far-fetched but I enjoyed the ride.

“Every year, I know which of my students is going to get the Joyner. My students
don’t know, but they know I know. I have never been wrong
about who was the best fit. Not once.” She tented her fingers in
front of her. “Some might say I have a knack for choosing the
right horse.”

This is a quote from Machiavellian Bethany, graduate professor of students Mackenzie and Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn is the Uber clever, ultra rich, beautiful, cultured friend of MacKenzie, the poor girl; the scholarship kid who is desperate to achieve, prove herself, and do well. The girls met in high school when Gwen moved to their town, arrived at school and overwhelmed MacKenzie and others. It was then in high school. that MacKenzie became competitive, ,working ultra hard to get all As and be as good as Gwendolyn, who excelled academically and always got As. All MacKenzie has is a strong will and perseverance. Her mum tells her that she gave her an unusual name as she wanted her to be special and successful..

Her hard work pays off. She gets into the same elite graduate programme as Gwen. Then at graduate school, Bethany prompts her to behave in ways she normally wouldn’t with the lure of the prestigious and sought after Joyner prize. Bethany manipulates MacKenzie by telling her that Gwen is the smartest student she has ever taught but that MacKenzie is stronger than Gwen, and because of that she could sweep the Joyner prize from under her nose. . MacKenzie and Gwen compete furiously to gain this coveted Joyner prize.

MacKenzie is now a professor, enjoying her superior status as as she attends an academic conference. She feels elated and invincible as she has achieved the acceptance that she has craved. for so long. Others envy and admire her. In the bar, she meets her old friend and rival, Gwen. This is a shock to her as she is confronted with the memories of the tactics she engaged in to win the Joyner prize. Has the past well and truly caught up with her? Could she be exposed and possibly lose all that she has fought so hard to gain and now holds dear?

This is an engaging psychological thriller. I found it absorbing and I recommend it to others..

As a teenager, Mac was used to being a poor kid, but when wealthy Gwen moves into town, Mac gets a look at what money will buy. From that moment on, Mac has one goal, to have wealth of her own. With this single goal in mind, Mac studies and works hard and ends up accepted to the same exclusive college as Gwen where the two battle for a prestigious fellowship. How far will Mac go to see her dreams realized. Years later, Mac, now called Claire, has achieved all she wanted and more when she runs into Gwen at a bar and must face what she did during college. A twisted story of friendship, jealousy and the price of success.