I have to admit that I did not so much as read the synopsis before starting this book. I like just about all of Lauren Weisberger's books so I knew I wanted to read this when I first heard it was coming out. It was a salacious and exciting read. I loved the dynamic between the two sisters, Peyton and Skye. There was an underlying theme of love throughout the book; whether it be romantic, sisterly, or familial, you can feel it throughout. I'd be lying if I said I was happy with the ending; I want to know more! Perhaps there is the possibility of a sequel? Regardless, pick this one up, you'll enjoy it!

I have been reading Lauren’s books all the way back from her Devil Wears Prada Days. I find her books to be more hits than misses although there was an occasional one that fell flat for me I always look forward to her next release.
Premise
A seat at the anchor desk of the most-watched morning show. Recognized by millions across the country, thanks in part to her flawless blond highlights and Botox-smoothed skin. An adoring husband and a Princeton-bound daughter. Peyton is that woman. She has it all.

Until . . .

Skye, her sister, is a stay-at-home mom living in a glitzy suburb of New York. She has degrees from all the right schools and can helicopter-parent with the best of them. But Skye is different from the rest. She’s looking for something real and dreams of a life beyond the PTA and pickup.

Until . . .

Max, Peyton’s bright and quirky seventeen-year-old daughter, is poised to kiss her fancy private school goodbye and head off to pursue her dreams in film. She’s waited her entire life for this opportunity.

Until . . .

One little lie. That’s all it takes. For the illusions to crack. For resentments to surface. Suddenly the grass doesn’t look so green. And they’re left wondering: will they have what it takes to survive the truth?
This covered a lot of topics that are really prevelant In today’s society with cancel culture ect. It reminded me a bit of The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. It’s always enjoyable reading the sister dynamic and the grass not always being greener on the other side hence the title. I thought the characters were well developed and the story kept me interested all the way through out. I was always hoping they would turn another one of Lauren’s titles into a movie, but none seems to fit the bill other than a Devil sequel. This one seems to fit the bill.

I enjoyed this much more then I was expecting to! It would be a great choice for a book club because, while it was a light, contemporary read, it still delivered on a lot of big issues (so many things I want to discuss with another reader!), as well as being funny and full of heart. I devoured this over a long weekend and think it might be my new go to recommendation for people looking for a 'beach read'.

I love the title (what Gen Xer wouldn't?) and this was a enjoyable read that normally I'd predict as a "summer" read but with the pandemic still with us, summer reads are still popular and will be into the fall as readers are looking for something fun--and Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty definitely is!

This one didnt hold my attention. Really enjoyed the previous books by this author but this one just wasnt for me. I didnt finish after about 40%

This highly readable and engaging family drama revolves around a college admissions sandal. Peyton is a successful TV news anchor whose husband Isaac is arrested for a college admissions scam. Max, their daughter is a vlogger who is trying to find her place amidst her privileged upbringing. The family’s lives are turned upside down and they are all forced to deal with underlying issues. Weisberger portrays both the adult’s and teen’s perspective and how the crisis effects careers, marriage, relationships and personal growth. This was an enjoyable, layered story of secrets, family, marriage, sisters, motherhood and the high cost of the pursuit of perfection.

I loved this book. As an almost 50 year old the title grabbed my attention and the characters and story kept me entertained! If you need a book to take you away from reality of life this is the book!

There are many great elements of this book. While it isn’t a complete miss there are some aspects that I couldn’t connect with.

The story follows two sisters, one with an intense career, the other a stay at home mom who are approaching 40. Here come the secrets and lies and we have all the elements for a juicy family drama.

Where the Grass is Green and the Girls are Pretty was an enjoyable read for me. A light read even with the family drama.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review...Things I liked: when the narrator was the teenage daughter. She was the character that felt the most authentic/realistic to me. Things that fell flat for me: the ending was predictable and the formula of the story is old and tiring.

I enjoyed Where the Grass is Green and the Girls are Pretty by Lauren Weisberger! Since I was sending a child off to college, it was a timely read for me! Snatched from the headlines, the main character of this book is a notable news anchor who gets embroiled in a widely publicized college admissions scandal...it's a GREAT Summer Read!

I have been big fan of Weisberger since The Devil Wears Prada. She knows how to write, end of story. I did enjoy this novel as well, but I found that I was having a difficult time reading it in it's entirety. I would read a bit, put it down and then read again. Only to find out that when I picked it up to read again, I was lost. I can see that Weisberger took some parts of Lori Loughlin's life and put it to paper with this novel, and that's fine to base a book around a real life scandal, but I kind of felt like that's what she was doing the whole time. The book involves the lives of two sister, Peyton and Skye (who are complete opposites) and the daily details of their lives. I can think of better books by Weisberger, but this one was cute and somewhat doable.

This book had a fun premise, but at times it dragged on and I felt like the ending kind of irked me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

One thing I loved about this story is the sisterly love! It’s about Peyton and Skye, two sisters who seem to have it all, but who aren’t quite content despite that. Peyton is the anchor of a nationally syndicated morning news show who becomes embroiled in scandal when her husband is arrested for being involved the college admissions scandal. Everything she worked so hard for might be about to disappear. Skye is a well-educated helicopter mom/ do-gooder who has been secretly amounting quite a bit of credit card debt in the hopes of making a residence for underprivileged girls feel more like a home. Meanwhile Peyton’s daughter Max, who didn’t even want to go to Princeton, but probably could have on her own merit, is under intense, underserved scrutiny as well.

I liked that this story is written from Peyton, Skye, and Max’s point of views and I think that gave it a little more depth. Again, I truly loved the sisterly bond the women shared and enjoyed their banter back and forth.

If you’ve enjoyed her other books, you’d probably enjoy this as well, but it just fell flat for me. It wasn’t horrible, I think the author is witty and descriptive, but it just wasn’t fun to read. Aside from the initial juicy scandal, it just kind of kept going but there wasn’t really a climax or a lot of change. I think one thing that took the fun out of the book was that the sisters were a bit insufferable and Max was kind of bland. Although Skye is seemingly the “good” one, I actually liked Peyton much better! I felt like she was shallow and at times self-absorbed, but she was at least honest about it and owned it. Skye was also quite shallow and critical of the other helicopter moms and seemed to think she was better than them when she really wasn’t by much, and if anything, it didn’t make up for how judgey she was.

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Taken straight from the headlines, this novel adds little to our knowledge of why a parent might get involved in bribing college admission boards. I was hoping to see more deeply into the family dynamics other than what we saw in the news (oops, my bad, was that illegal?). Book reeked of white, upper-class privilege, where the criminal's life was barely changed by the scandal. Her husband's unfaltering desire to take the fall for the family, a summer "vacation" in the suburbs that she can financially afford, and a daughter, thanks to her own moxie, will sail right through it make this novel beyond fiction and into fairytale. Don't get me started on the sister's mid-life crisis of shopping too much for her charity girls residence and who also gets rewarded with another child from the same birth mother.

I've been singing GnR in my head for weeks. Don't know if that's a + or - for this book.

I loved the last Lauren Weisberger book and I was so excited to receive this as an ARC, but this book wasn't my favorite. The story felt tired and overdone. I did like the personal growth of our protagonist, but ultimately I finished it and moved on, it didn't leave me with much contemplation and I could see the ending from a mile away.

This is most definitely my favorite Lauren Weisberger novel to date. I didn't think it could get much better, but alas, it has! I have recommended this to all of my friends who are fans of her other novels as well as Liane Moriarty. I cannot wait to see what she continues to come up with inside this literary world!

This is such a fun beachy read that is perfect for summer. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun light pool-side novel.

This one will make you laugh, maybe cry, definitely snort with some "oh please" and even say OH LORD. I've been a fan of Weisberger for a long time and love all of her books so much. This one deserves another gold star. It's fun, easy to read, and overall, very enjoyable.

4/5 Stars

This novel alternates between three perspective. Peyton is a successful morning tv anchor whose seemingly perfect life gets thrown into turmoil when her husband gets arrested for a college admissions scandal. Max is her daughter who has just graduated from high school and finds her life upended by the same scandal. And Skye is Peyton’s sister who is feeling unhappy with her suburban mom life. No Guns n Roses in this book, but the town Skye lives in where Peyton and Max go to live for the summer is called Paradise so I guess that’s why there is a title that will have “Paradise City” playing in your head while you read it.

Based on the other two Lauren Weisberger books I’ve read, I went into this with fairly measured expectations - basically, expecting a light silly beach read. So on the one hand, I was pleasantly surprised this book had a little more depth. But on the other hand, it wasn’t really the fun read I was expecting either. And things wrapped up a little too easily though I was glad for a happy ending. All in all, ends up a 3.5 for me, just like her other books.

This book could be summed up in three words: sisters, secrets and scandal. There is also plenty of emotion to go around. Despite the story centering around Peyton and Skye, the real heroine is Peyton's daughter Max. Pair this with The Gifted School for lessons on how NOT to parent!

While the story here is familiar (parents cheating to get their kid into a prestigious university) the point of view was interesting. I liked how this story told not just the impact on the immediate family but how the ripple effect impacted people around them as a result of their actions. Even though at times I wanted to hurt some of the characters in the end I was pulling for them all to get a happy ending which I think makes for a great book.