this book, which posits itself as a satirical look at the wealthy, should have been right up my alley. I even marked it as "can't wait to read."

But this is some shallow satire.

The thing about satire is that it (supposedly) dares to be Subversive. It is (usually) clever and cutting, bringing the reader in on an inside joke that (often) involves laughing at powerful people and / or Society.

Or, it can be obvious.

Welcome to Good Rich People, in which people with money ruin the lives of poor people as part of a game, from a mostly glass mansion (where they don't throw stones but they do shoot paintball guns!).

On top of that, I had other complaints:
- A dual perspective with the POVs slightly staggered, meaning you're treated to moments like reading a conversation and then reading it again two chapters later verbatim except from the other point of view
- An ending in which even the extremely graspable threads of the point are lost
- A deeply cruel depiction of homelessness, in which every unhoused person is either an addict (not to say addicts are bad at all, but that this isn't exactly a complex portrayal of addiction!), violent, or otherwise amoral

There was a lot of praise for this book but also some people that hated it. I found the characters to be detestable and I wasn’t a fan of the storyline. I found the advertisement for it to be misleading.

2.5⭐️
Things I loved about this book:
- the setting
- the premise
- the plot was original
- I was invested to find out who “won”
- the author is a talented writer

Things I didn’t love:
- there were holes in the plot line that didn’t make sense
- the timelines of the two women who tell the story didn’t line up, and it was unnecessary
- the ending was semi-satisfying but not totally

What a wild ride! I've heard this book called a sort of dark Alice in Wonderland and it sort of is! The shootout in the rose garden!? Loved this crazy story. Very original and the writing was very fast paced and easy to follow

I loved this dark and twisty satirical thriller! From one bad behaving character to the next, I had no idea what was in store for me while reading.

With most reads, I typically have to have characters that I care deeply for, but in this case, it was just fun to see what calculated moves would happen next with this set of awful characters as they stake claim on their next victim to play their “game”.

Lyla and her wealthy husband Graham live in Hollywood on a large property owned by his wealthy mother Margo. Their “game” includes choosing a new person to live in a guest cottage on the property with the goal to ruin them both financially and emotionally.

*many thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

Good Rich People was a wild departure from typical suspense thrillers. It's a dark tale featuring dark and terrible characters, told in alternating points of view from Lyla and Demi, and not everyone is what they seem.

[Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for my gifted e-ARC copy of this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own]

Synopsis:
Lyla loves to play games, but her devastatingly handsome husband Graham takes games to a whole new (and dangerous) level. Alongside his mother, they "invite" someone to move into their mansion's guest home, only to get involved in their life and destroy them bit by bit. Enter Demi, a young woman down on her luck, living on the streets. When an *ahem* opportunity presents itself for her to take over the life of someone rich, established, and private - she jumps at the chance! The game begins, but who is playing who, and more importantly - who will win?

Review:
Can we get a moment for the cover? 5 stars, a stunner, 10/10, she's a beaut.
Alright, onto the innards, the book itself.
This thriller was refreshing in the way that it was unpredictable, intriguing, and truly original. I can't say it made me think of any other thrillers and stands strong as its own story. It's one of those thrillers that would be AMAZING to be adapted for the big screen. It's a true cat and mouse tale, jumping from POV to POV, with no one clear winner. I enjoyed how at times, it would switch who had the "upper hand". It was interesting, it was strange, and I liked it.
4 stars!

this was a wild ride! i have no idea how i feel about it still, but i recommend it and it had me hooked/unable to put it down. it was unique, the satire was so entertaining, and the plot was really creative. i had no idea how i wanted it to end, but i wasn't mad about the ending. it may have wrapped up a bit too nicely for me, but i still keep thinking about it! this is a PERFECT book club pick - makes for a great discussion!!

This book was utterly ridiculous. Half the time it made zero sense. The premise was so beyond far fetched that it was not enjoyable.

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. 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.

Happy Wednesday, Let’s talk about unlikeable characters!

I recently read Good Rich People and was shocked at how strongly I disliked almost every character. From the wealthy to the poor and homeless I disliked them all. Sometimes hating the characters makes reading the book impossible but in this case I kept reading and liked the book.

Good Rich People was a propulsive read, full of action and reaction, dark and disturbing. I know this book is not for everyone because of the dark and gruesome acts and I was slightly uncomfortable enjoying it so much.

Which, in the end made me realize that sometimes a book just finds you at the right moment and you love it and connect with it.

Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for my digital copy to review!!

If you love unlikeable characters this is the book for you. Full of twists and turns that come at you from multiple perspectives. Great for fans of Girl on the Train.

I tried reading this book a few weeks ago, but I put it down. I finally picked it back up...and well, I didn't love it. Wow. That's all I can say. Wow...these people were horrible. Basically everyone in the book sucked. I think the only decent character was Posey and she was barely in the book. At times I felt bad for Layla, she could have been such a decent person. This book shows how money can corrupt people. I'm trying to think of one redeeming quality Graham or his mother had and I come up empty.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the book!

Review of Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So I DNFed Blue Ticket which is also by this author but I always give a second chance snd was excited to get this one from NetGalley. And this is why I give second chances because I really liked this one. Not close to five stars, but it was overall a good, solid read for me❤️. It gave me major Bret Easton Ellis vibes and I am a huge fan of his so it worked for me. Keep in mind every single one of the characters in this book are despicable but that’s the way it was meant to be. I enjoyed the ending quite a bit and the writing was fabulous. There is an animal death in it as well and drug abuse.

Quick synopsis:
Lyla and Graham are rich. They’re married and they’re bored. Graham and his mother are ruthless and have always played “games” with people where they manipulate them and try to effectively ruin their lives. Now they want Lyla to play. I will it short to avoid spoilers.

A big thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for a copy of this one. It’s out now! I am looking forward to our discussion with some of my faves with #theyearofnetgalley

Propulsive and almost diabolical in its plotting, this tense thriller about two women who are both trapped by their very different circumstances is memorable, smart, and deeply unsettling. Readers who like their domestic thrillers complex will find a lot to chew on here: there are no heroes, and there are no easy answers. The prose is bitingly smart and often darkly funny. This one gets under your skin and stays there.

This was a pretty standard thriller. The way the stories were woven together was interesting, but did make the timing of the sections a little hard to follow.

I also wanted a bigger twist. What happened was fine, but I really wanted more reveals and twists than we ultimately ended up having.

A very interesting novel that is part mystery, thriller, and social commentary. This is a must read! Highly recommend. Will be purchasing.

Book review: Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier

Good Rich People is an adult suspense novel about a trio of the ultra wealthy and the games they play with other people’s lives for their own amusement.
Good Rich People is told in alternating POV’s between wealthy Lyla (wife of Graham and daughter-in-law to Margo) and Demi (their new tenant who stumbles into their lives by accident) against a glittering Los Angeles backdrop of wealth and privilege. Lyla is tasked with destroying the life of their latest unwitting tenant in a long standing game that her husband and mother-in-law invented. The game is that they rent part of their home to a self-made person on the cusp of success and then slowly unmake them. But Lyla can’t figure Demi out because she’s not who they were expecting to show up when the game began.
I would have enjoyed this book more if I approached it as a dark comedy instead of a straight thriller. The over-the-top descriptions of wealth, the lack of moral compasses among the characters and the weird descriptions of things as mundane as Graham’s scent made it an odd reading experience overall. It was written as if someone listened to Lorde’s “Royals” on repeat decided to write a book about rich people being awful. There was nothing remotely human or relatable about the interactions within the entire book and I quickly grew exhausted of their machinations (and Graham’s scent) and just wanted people to die or whatever.
I wanted to enjoy this one and be entertained by the scenario of Spoiled vs Scrappy but none of the characters were clever or interesting enough to make it work for me.

Imagine your life is just about as hard and bad (and awful and scary) as life can get.

You have no home, no belongings.

No friends.

Nothing.

Yet somehow, despite your complete and utter lack of anything, “the system” can’t seem to manage helping you get back on your feet, or to allow you to feel as though you actually belong, to… anything.

But then, on one otherwise ordinary (in other words, basically terrible) day, you find yourself in surroundings such as you’ve never seen, or even dreamt (for to dream, you first have to be able to comprehend, in order to envision)… the literal Lap of Luxury, where no desire—no matter how grandiose—will go unfulfilled (let alone any need, because in this particular rabbit hole, Alice, there is no such concept as “need”).

What would you do… especially if it became possible for you—sans any pesky repercussions—to step into such a fantasy life and live it, for your very own?

Eliza Jane Brazier poses that compelling question in her latest thriller, Good Rich People.
_______________

From the outside, Lyla and Graham are the epitome of the golden couple, enjoying the ideal life. With an almost-impossibly cantilevered modern home clinging oh-so-precariously to the rocky hillside in the Hollywood Hills [which is saying something, in an area where anyone who’s anyone has a house that could be thus described], posh luxury cars, fabulous designer wardrobes and jewels, and enough money to afford all the pampering [plus any elective surgical treatments to tweak little things which Mother Nature may not have gotten quite perfect] their hearts could possibly desire, they are the Beautiful Power Couple to which everyone else in their set aspires.

The fact that golden couple Graham and Lyla aren’t remotely “nice” or “good” people [understatement of the year, that] matters not; no one else in their circle is particularly pleasant, either. As for their happiness, you might ask? Well, what is “happy”, really…?

Meanwhile—a mere mile or so away—another youngish woman lives a very different existence. Never having much, things have gotten progressively worse for her, to the point that she now finds herself experiencing homelessness, for the first time. Her current abode? A little shelter she’s erected in a tiny nook under a support in an underpass off the 101 Freeway.

Until one night, when fate intervenes. A chance meeting between this woman and a staggering-drunk (and very wealthy) stranger—who has lost her phone, effectively putting the kibosh on an Uber ride—results in the unhoused woman taking pity on the other, and walking her home… all the way from the grubby underpass, up the straight-out-of-a-storybook hairpin streets into the odd mixture of old-and-new glamor and trying-too-hard-to-act-rich-to-pull-it-off deshabille, in the nearby Hollywood Hills.

When morning comes, though, the fairy tale fractures… because the Good Samaritan—who’d fallen asleep after drinking a couple of glasses of wine she’d been offered as thanks for seeing the inebriated partier safely home—wakes up to find the other woman has OD’d overnight.

And who doesn’t know how that’s gonna look to the cops?

But The Fates aren’t done with her yet, for just when she’s bolting out the door, she runs right into… Lyla, the beautiful, wealthier-than-the-gods envy of the neighborhood… who just so happens to be renting out the lower-level guesthouse of her home to Demi. (That would be the oh-so-recently-deceased Demi.)

The kicker? Lyla has never actually met (nor even laid eyes on) her new tenant; the rental arrangements were all taken care of online. And, surprisingly, Lyla seems thrilled to finally be meeting the new renter (even if said occupant does seem oddly disheveled and as skittish as a baby bunny).

And just like that, the (soon-to-be-previously)-unhoused woman sees a crazypants way out of her present predicament: to be Demi.

Of course, there’s another kicker [you knew there would be, right?]: Lyla and Graham aren’t anything like your average landlords. They have a vicious little game—one to which only they know the rules (and the very existence of, in fact)—up their designer sleeves, which they play with their tenants. It’s one the bored, cruel couple have played numerous times before… and it’s one which they never lose.

Then again, they’ve never played their twisted game against someone like “Demi”—a phoenix rising from the ashes of poverty and desperation, as it were—before.

They might just have finally met their match.
_______________

There are a couple of ways to read Good Rich People. The first—which is how most people probably will—is to view it as a devilishly-crafted thriller… made palatable by its very “unlikeliness”, if you will, as it calls for a suspension of disbelief. (It is a very, very good thriller, and a pretty fantastical tale, so that’s cool.)

The second way involves a somewhat more nuanced read—the sort made possible only by firsthand experience with the subject matter— wherein the story isn’t great merely because of its design, but because so much of it rings undeniably true… which is how I read this one. Having plenty of very good friends who live/have lived in those hills [so, yes, there are decent folks living there, too]… but even more acquaintances, who fall much nearer the Lyla-&-Graham end of the power-and-privilege spectrum (albeit not quite that gorgeous or loaded) of being “really-not-very-nice-at-all”, I had no trouble buying these characters, at all, because I’ve met them.

Good Rich People is a great read… heading, at times, where you think it might, before veering sharply off down a path you didn't even see coming [and don’t worry, I’m giving you no more spoilers than perusing the back of the book jacket would], as it leads you on a—by turns—shocking, funny, appalling, and bizarre trip from the lowest levels of existence in L.A. to some of the loftiest echelons… and all within the teeny-tiny space of just a couple of square miles.

If you’re craving a diabolically-twisted tale that hooks its elaborately-manicured claws into you (and refuses, point-blank, to let go, because where’s the fun in that?!), then Good Rich People demands its rightful place at the top of your list.
~GlamKitty

I love a good bad guy main character story but this one was just awful. Every single character was terrible but the story was so interesting I just kept reading. I feel like at least one character should be interesting or fun to read about but I pretty much despised every character 🤷🏼‍♀️. An interesting story with a cool plot but just the worst people I’ve ever read about 😂. Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub sorry for the brutal review 🤷🏼‍♀️