The Pretty One touches on a subject that you think isn’t well known, but sibling rivalry and abuse within is more common than you think. Which is quite sad. I haven’t read a book that features this topic before, so it was a whole new area for me.

Mum Anna tries to be a good mum. She took in her step daughter Bay and treated her just like her own two daughters Nell and Ivy. Bay could do no wrong in Anna’s eyes. Nell pays the price for this.

Anna gave up her career to bring up her three girls. I think deep down she was unhappy, being torn in many ways to keep the peace in the family. Her relationship with her husband, Bay’s dad is strained. He didn’t want emotionally damaged Bay to live with them.

One day while the girls and Anna are out shopping, 15 year old Nell catches the eye of a model scout. This is the start of lost innocence, disturbing scenes, jealousy, and a rollercoaster of emotions. As a reader, you are thrown into the murky world of teen modelling. It’s not as glamourous as you are led to believe. Keep your eyes peeled as secrets are exposed, which means life will never be the same for the family.

I really enjoyed The Pretty One by Clare Boyd. It was hard reading in places about a 15/16 year old girl being exploited in the dangerous world of modelling. The story was slow in a few places, but it made up for it in others. I was going to give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars but have decided to round it up to 5 out of 5, due to the unusual nature of the story pursuing sibling bullying and I know it’s a pretty harsh word, but torture as well.

When I was reading this book, I was literally carrying my kindle around the house.  I took it with me to read while I waited for the toast to pop, I was  reading which watching TV and yes, I even took it with me to the loo.  I could not put it down.
So current and real, it will chill you.
Anna is taking her kids on a day out to a gallery in London.  Her daughter Nell, her stepdaughter Bay, and the youngest Ivy.  A little bit of culture and an opportunity to bond. She is so proud of her kids; they are all different and yet she loves them all with passion.  Bay might not be her own biologically, but in every sense of the word she is hers.  Bay is quirky and striking and likes to be different, and Nellie is classically pretty, the pretty one. Although at fifteen she isn’t aware of her looks and hasn’t grown into them.  Ivy is just herself, too young to worry and happy to be with her big sisters. A strange man is following them, and it makes Anna uncomfortable.  She decides that stopping for tea and cake might shake off their tail.  It does the opposite though and the man comes up to them.  He is a model scout and he has his eyes on Nell – the pretty one.
Read this book please …
I don’t want to give too many spoilers because I really want you to read this book.  It is a fantastic read from author Clare Boyd.  More than that it is a cautionary tale of modern times, and the power of social media, body image and peer pressure. Against Anna’s better instincts, Nell becomes a model.  The money is amazing, and this could change their lives.  It does change their lives, but for the better, and what about the past?  What effect does the past have on the present and the future.

This was my first story by this author and it won't be my last.

This was an interesting take on family dynamics. It was compelling and a page turner that I didn't put it down until the end.

The chapters were short and quick which made it easy to read and get the story quickly.

Loved it!

Wow! This book is such a must-read. I was completely consumed by it and could not put it down.

There is so much to this book, it’s difficult to even categorise it. It’s dark and chilling and suspenseful, but it’s also a completely compelling account of the world of modelling, and the sort of scene that young girls get sucked into. After I had read the book I read an interview with the author, who explained that she’d been a model, and that really explains the feeling of authenticity that you get from this book.

Above all else though, it’s a totally intriguing and addictive read. The characters feel so real, and I liked some more than others. Anna, I liked, but I felt as though she had no confidence in herself as a mother. She didn’t seem to know where to draw the line, or how to say no to Nell. Having said that, she’s going through a bit of a crisis of confidence in general in her life, and questioning her life choices. She also has quite a complicated relationship with her own mother. I liked Nell, and could see how she’d be so easily drawn to the glamour and the money and the lifestyle when it comes to modelling. They live in a small village, and life in the modelling industry in London must have seemed to appealing to someone her age. Her relationship with Bay is complicated, and I had no idea what secrets from the past they might be hiding. When the secrets are finally revealed, they are shocking, and it explains so much about Nell. Bay is a bit of an enigma, quite a complex personality, though she has been through a lot in her life. I did find it a bit hard to warm to her though.

Be warned, once you start to read this book you’ll find it very hard to put down. It’s a real “one more chapter” book, and certainly kept me reading late into the night. I really enjoyed this one, and can’t recommend it highly enough.

I really enjoyed this domestic thriller - a seemingly perfect blended family comes undone as one of the daughters is being noticed for her looks. Tense and surprising!

In The Pretty One, back in 2012, Anna has three daughters, Bay, Nell and Ivy. Baby Ivy is the youngest, Nell is the pretty one, aged 6, and Bay is the eight-year-old daughter of Anna's husband, Dom Hart. Fast forward to the present day and the sisters are nine years older, meaning Nell is fifteen. Anna and her daughters are taking a trip to the Tate Modern in London. Having a break in the café, a man introduces himself as David and he is a scout for a modelling agency. Anna and Dom aren't keen on Nell becoming a model but the family could use the money so they relent, without realising that their worst nightmare is just around the corner...

Written with panache Clare Boyd delighted me with this polished psychological tale. The plot execution was first-class, as was the characterisation. There were no disappointments and I was completely gripped from the first chapter, loving the tension and twists.

Told from Anna's, Nell's and Bay's perspectives, characterisation is the prominent factor in the storytelling. Bay is a fascinating character and she has an extremely unpleasant side, to say the least. Anna is a people pleaser, determined to keep the peace. As occurrences manifested, the author certainly kept me on my toes in this immensely absorbing and chilling read with themes of jealousy, cruelty, manipulation and sibling rivalry. The Pretty One was everything I wanted in what was a stellar family drama novel, and I enjoyed how things panned out in the satisfying finale. This was my second read by Clare Boyd and I enjoyed it immensely.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Pretty One is a well written family drama that explores the lives of a blended family seemingly well adjusted but with so much more going on in the background.  It explores the forces of outside pressures, money, hormonal teens,  and temptations and how they can change and damage the bonds of family dynamics.

The author manages to maintain a sense of taut suspense throughout.  We know something transpired between the stepsisters early on, but we're not sure of the extent of it.  I was not sure this type of behind the scenes of modeling was cliché or real-life based, but when I read the author's letter to the reader, I appreciated that the story was informed by her experience. 

There was good character development for the main narrators (Anna, Nell and Bay) as well as Anna's mom.  I couldn't quite get a handle on the dad, which was telling in itself.  And then there was the youngest daughter, Iris, almost non-existent as a character, but cued in to a lot of the family happenings. There were definitely some uncomfortable moments in the book, and kudos to the author for making us feel them.  

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced reading copy for review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this Arc.
Having loved Clare Boyd's books I was really looking forward to this one. It definitely didn't disappoint. Keeping me on the edge of my seat I read it in one sitting. Definitely worth five stars.

A absolutely loved this book, it is a truly dazzling novel pitting the complexity of family dynamics against the murky world of the modelling industry. Boyd's vision is a satisfyingly complex one which dives deep into the way we manipulate and are manipulated in the name of love, she uncovers how secrets can scar us (literally and figuratively) and how appearances are never what they seem, a fitting concept for a novel which takes on the enormous subject of the dangers for adolescents lurking within the modelling industry. Written in first person from Nell, Bay and Anna's (the mother) POV (with flashbacks), this made for a gripping read, due to Boyd's deft writing, and the plot comes across as deceptively composed while under the surface trauma and a constant sense of threat bubble away. There is a constant sense of the situation detonating every step of the way and this made for addictive reading (NB certain scenes were hard to read about and could be considered triggering). I was highly impressed at how Boyd juxtaposed between being behind the camera (it is no chance that Bay prepares films and is always watching, observing and ultimately manipulating her material to tell the version of events that suits her in the same way that the modelling industry emphasise appearance). I was really engaged with Anna's trajectory as mother and wife too. A brilliant novel that does so many things at once!

"Take one for the team."
My word! This is bizarre to say the least.
A family is on the verge of disaster with twisted games, modeling contracts, and a mess of selfish ways.
I can't imagine this mother Anna and what she's thinking but how on Earth does nobody notice a thing for years when that thing scars a young lady internally during what's known simply as a "patient game."
Sure, many of us have played similar games, dressing up, having fun, pretended to be anything from a doctor to a cowboy or police officer, but this was unnerving and deliberate-willful and malicious.
YIKES!
I'm not sure I could say much more on the topic of Bay and Nell's relationship other than to say it's quite toxic and in need of major repair by a family that seems more concerned over appearances externally than internal harm.
Thank you to Clare, the pub, NetGalley, and Amazon Kindle for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

First, I want to thank Clare Boyd, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

Clare Boyd’s The Pretty One goes inside and shows you what the modeling world is really like. It is an extremely eye opening book that is incredibly dark. 

There are so many important life lessons and important topics in The Pretty One. Some are self mutilation, rape, loosing your virginity, infidelity, etc. 

Oh there was a point in this book where I was just livid. Nell was being told that her size was too big and they would have to promote her another way! A size 10 in the USA is not fat by any means. Putting someone down for their weight messes with their self esteem big time. I should know as I was once 303lbs. 

Clare’s strongest writing has to be the very climatic ending of the book. 

The Pretty One is broken up into sections of the book.

Like Nell Clare was into modeling and had her share of horror stories as well.

This family drama got my attention from page one and had me until the very last one. Not only I wanted to keep reading and know more about the story, but I found myself thinking about it while I wasn't reading. 
I have nothing negative to say about the writing or about how the characters are built. Actually, I don't have anything negative to say about the whole book. 
Perhaps the only thing I'd say, is that this might not be everyone's cup of tea. Mainly because it revolves around the drama and tension of this family and how everything changes bit by bit.. And I reckon, some might find this boring. But I'm definitely not talking from my point of view. Just stating this for others.

The Pretty One is an edgy family drama that takes sibling rivalry to a whole new level.

The family is a blended one consisting of Anna and Dom, the parent. Dom's daughter from a previous relationship, Bay. Nell and Iris, the 2 biological daughters. Bay came from a troubled home to live with her father and his family. On the surface, they seem like an ideal family.

Near the beginning, the surface appearance starts to crack. We have family discord, jealousy, terrible decisions, secrets, shouting and the inability to parent sensibly. 

The story centres around a young girl who manages to land a successful ymodelling job. She is The Pretty One. But the troubles in the family started long before the modelling jobs. Right from the beginning, there was an undercurrent of tension between Bay and Nell, even though they seemed outwardly loving. 

Fast-paced, character-driven and plot-driven. The reader is never sure where the story is going until it is there. Many times during the book I had trouble reconciling my feelings about the parents. Anna doubted her own intuition. Dom had his own agenda. I had lots of empathy for both Bay and Nell. And, poor little, oblivious Iris; all she wanted was a kitten. 

Some book blurbs say this is a thriller. I think a more accurate description would be that it is a psychological study of a broken family. It is dark, dysfunctional families always are dark. 

The ending is a bit tidy but also satisfying. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an Advance Readers Copy of this book.

Bay is 8-years-old and she will now live with her father, Dom, stepmother, Anna, and half-sisters Nell, 6, and Iris, 1.  Anna is so happy to welcome Bay into their family and does all she can to help the young girl settle into her new home.  Anna and Iris are very loving to her as well and are delighted to have a new sister.

One day when the girls were 16, 15, and 10, Anna takes them to see an exhibition at a museum.  There, she notices a man who continues to stare at Nell who is a natural beauty with blonde hair.  He introduces himself as a scout for a talent agency and hopes Nell would be interested in it.  At first, Anna is totally against it, but Nell begs to be allowed to try out.  Dom insists that Nell try out but Anna worries it will interfere with her studies.

Bay appears to be happy for Nell, but secretly she is going to try to trip her up.  On the outside, Bay appears to be nice and loving, but over the years she has done many means and hurtful things to Nell and then lies about it.

As Nell becomes involved in the modeling scene, she encounters some really bad characters, but she wants to continue as she knows her Dad likes the money she can make.

This story is a bit overly long but it builds well.  Bay and Nell have a secret that turns out to be so sad.  Even though Nell acted out with her modeling social scene, I felt sorry for her.  I wanted to simply kick Bay in the butt along with her Dad, Dom.  Parents will see get a lot of insight into the minds of teens whether they are normal or not.  Glad my sons are raised!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Pretty One by Clare Boyd is narrated through the eyes of Anna, Nell and Bay. It follows a dual timeline which switches between the past and present. 

This book had me hooked from the very beginning with its intriguing storyline and complex characters. I like how the story is separated into three parts because it sort of hints at what the major events are that will happen. I saw each chapter as a stepping stone that brought me closer and closer to the final showdown. With each chapter the intensity builds until it finally boils over.

I found that Anna cared more about Bay than her own children and I can understand that she needed to give her more love because of what happened to her but she was totally blind to what was really happening. My heart absolutely broke for Nell and everything that she went through. I found that I had absolutely no sympathy for Bay at all especially at the end. Anna really annoyed me by still making excuses for her.

The ending really shocked me and I actually never saw it coming. Part of it made me really happy but other parts were a bit sad. This was definitely a heartbreaking and emotional read. 

I recieved an advanced copy for free, and this is my honest opinion.

Nell's day is long, excitedly waiting for her new big sister Bay to arrive, her fathers daughter from a previous marriage is coming to live with them full time.  All is not as Nell hopes, as the excitement is not reciprocated, no matter how hard she try's.  Will they all live as one big happy family...

Told from Anna, Nell and Bay's perspective, Anna is Mum to Nell and Iris, Step Mum to Bay. On a visit to a museum Nell gets scouted by a model scout, Anna airs on the side of caution, not wanting this to go any further, her father Dom, not so.  Anna's also concerned for the impact on their family.  
Lots of changes for the family, skeletons coming out of the closet.  Whilst there is a lot of mind games/manipulative actions, it also touches on more serious subjects of the modeling world for young girls.
Overall a good read, quite sad in many ways, a whole mixture of emotions.

Absolutely absorbing- a rollercoaster read packed with twists. The writer deftly weaves us in, the characters gripping our attention so we are reading with bated breath until the last gripping page. Wonderful. A bestseller for sure.

This is a book that shows a family’s pretence of normality when the reality is they are broken, dysfunctional and struggling to hold it all together. It also encapsulates an unsavoury behind the scenes look at the supposedly glamorous world of modelling.

I struggled with Anna as a mother and her chase for family perfection. As a mother of two girls I thought I would relate to her but maybe it’s because i think perfection is overrated I just wanted to shake her. The Japanese art principle to me is a better way of looking at flaws, embrace them, gild them and turn them into something wonderful. Whereas Anna just chooses to bury her head in the sand and ignore the obvious.

The children all had very distinct personalities, Nell desperate to please but also find independence, little Ivy who only wants a kitten but Dad is allergic and Bay. Now Bay was my favourite character and I wanted to hug her and murder her all at the same time. The tag line you’re only as perfect as your most troubled child was genius and fits this family and the book completely.

The short chapters kept the pace and the minutiae of chores and family life kept the realism of a stay at home parents daily struggle. This is a dark family drama that really puts parents and the modelling industry under the microscope and makes you ask how well do you know your kids?

The Pretty One is a standalone domestic drama following the trials and tribulations of a blended family and their dynamic, sibling rivalry and how secrets can tear even the strongest families to shreds. The prologue begins in 2012 and Nell is more than a little excited that her stepsister, Bay, is moving in with them. Eight-year-old Bay is Dom Hart’s daughter from a past marriage and he and wife, Anna, believe they can make it work. Six-year-old Nell and their second daughter, baby Iris, are dying to show Bay her bedroom and make her feel welcome and a part of the family as quickly as possible, even though to allow Bay her own bedroom meant Nell would have to share with Iris. They point out Pippa the horse in the field across the road before Bay asks to see Nell’s bedroom and says that she wished that was hers before running out and slamming her own bedroom door behind her. Both Bay and Nell end up in tears. Fast forward to present day, Nell is fifteen and on a trip to the Tate Modern in London with her mother and sisters. She is rapidly turning from a girl into a woman before Anna’s eyes and is curvy and beautiful. Iris is ten-years-old now meanwhile Bay is seventeen. Anna spies a white-haired forty-something male who was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable by watching her and her daughters as they move from exhibit to exhibit. The man eventually catches up to them in the cafe and introduces himself as David from Take One models, who had been searching for new talent.

Nell can't believe her luck but her parents are wary and are filled with concern that if they decide to allow her to work as a model that it will negatively impact her education. How can she prepare and ace exams if she is networking and often busy as well as being either out of the country on international photoshoots or away from home in another state? They decide to allow it as the money she earns will be able to help pay for her college course when the time comes and will teach her an important lesson – the value of money. She is persuaded by her management agency to attend parties to increase her exposure and to further her career prospects and Bay goes along to film it all. Anna worries herself sick continually about Nell and the danger she could be in but little do they know, their worst nightmare is just around the corner and unlike Nell, it ain't pretty. This is a compulsive, captivating and heartbreaking domestic drama about the disintegration of a blended family. When jealousy erupts between Nell and her stepsister, Bay, it becomes deeply disturbing. Bay feels like the black sheep and has turned from a once loving teen into an angst filled ball of rage which takes it toll on the Harts. Explosive secrets unravel before our eyes in a wickedly twisty and superbly plotted read in which the tension is palpable throughout building slowly but surely and the complex, multilayered narrative that becomes exponentially more chilling and enthralling as it progresses has you engrossed. Bay is willing to go to any length to try to gain attention from her parents as her envy over all of the attention Nell is receiving makes her resentful and devious. What could go wrong? Highly recommended.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Pretty One’ by Clare Boyd in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

When Anna’s fifteen-year-old daughter Nell is discovered by Take One Models Anna’s worried how she’ll be able to fit in modelling assignments with her exams.  Nell’s agency persuades her to attend parties to enhance her career and Anna’s step-daughter Bay chaperones while filming everything on her phone.  But Nell and Bay have a secret that they’ve kept hidden from when they were little girls that will devastate the family if it’s revealed.   

‘The Pretty One’ is the disturbing novel of an ordinary loving family, the consequences of taking on a neglected step-child and the hidden threat of her jealousy towards her step-sister.  It’s been really well-written with a tense and complex plot that’s become more chilling as the story unfolded, making me feel uncomfortable thinking of what could happen next.  I was sitting on the edge of my seat unable to stop reading as events became traumatic until I reached the mind-blowing and totally unexpected conclusion.  This is an exceptionally good and involving novel that I can wholeheartedly recommend.