I hate stars

4 or 5... eh

What makes this book brilliant almost made it a bit meandering.

I loved how it wasn't just person joins cults.

Because... NO ONE JUST JOINS A CULT.

I really, and I believe (from the way too many documentaries I've watched) in a very thorough, thoughtful and fact based manner, showed how you get from hey I'm going to this meeting, to oh shit I'm in a cult.

I loved the characters. I loved the sibling bond and how it played out. The structure was perfectly utilized to enhance how the story was told.

Thank you to NetGalley and Janelle Brown for this E-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

Identical twins and former child actors Sam and Elli could not be more opposite. Sam loved the spotlight and now struggles with sobriety. Elli married and moved into a beautiful beach home. The two sisters haven't spoken in years so Sam is surprised to get a call out of the blue from her mother asking for assistance with her sister's daughter. Sam has more surprises in store when she returns home.

Janelle Brown's Pretty Things kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. Unfortunately I'll Be You did not have the same urgency to me. I picked this book up and down several times. I had a hard time focusing on it. I do wonder how this book would go as an audiobook. It didn't captivate my attention as much as I was hoping.

Thanks to Random House for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Janelle Brown’s “I’ll Be You” combines two topics of my own, personal interests, twins and cults.

Elli and Sam are identical twin sisters who achieved some notoriety as teen stars on television. Their lives took a different turn after their last show was cancelled. Elli retired from acting, married, and opened her own floral business. Sam lost her career due to her alcoholism and drug addiction and has been in and out of rehab for the past decade. Sam graduates from another rehab stint when her mother tells her that Elli has gone missing and has left her daughter, Charlotte, behind. Sam takes on the responsibility of taking care of her niece then goes in search of Elli. Sam finds Elli living at cult compound, GemFem, that promises women empowerment and fulfillment, but also costs them their darkest secrets and personal possessions. Sam will put herself at risk to rescue Elli then will uncover secrets that can either bring them together or drive each other out
of their lives.

Brown covers a lot of territory in “I’ll Be.” The story is divided between Sam and Eli’s points of view. Both go through setbacks and trauma. I imagine some readers may have a difficult time reading about their tumultuous lives, but I can tell them that their issues are handled sensitively and without melodrama. There are no easy solutions or quick fixes for either Eli or Sam. Brown bravely allows them to have setbacks. The strongest aspect of the story is that Brown cements the twins bond in the beginning which makes their unified front convincing when they take on the founding leader of GemFem in the excellent finale.

I often have a problem with stories that take on multiple issues, because I wind up
getting confused with all the drama that goes on. Janelle Brown writes her issues and themes in her latest release with plotting that’s clear and concise.

“I’ll Be You” is a page turner that takes it’s time plot wise, but leads to a completely satisfying ending.

I enjoyed the setting of this book, in California. The author's descriptive writing made me feel like I was driving along the coast myself. I also liked the storyline of twins, Elli and Sam, and even enjoyed the alternating timeline. However, I did not enjoy the cult aspect of this novel. I am usually a sucker for a twisted cult novel, but for some reason, in this instance, it just bored me. I think this could have been an even better novel if it wasn't so drawn out. I will definitely read more by Janelle Brown in the future, I just think I'm in the minority here, and just wasn't a huge fan.

Omg her books are sooo sooo good! This one kept me up so late! I highly recommend it and clear ur schedule once you start this you won’t want to stop!

Janelle Brown is back! I'll Be You is another creepy thriller, this time with two twin sisters, one of whom has joined an MLM-like cult. I really enjoyed this, although I did enjoy Pretty Things more. That said, this is definitely worth a read!

This book had so many things going for it - the bond between sisters, a woman struggling with her sobriety, another woman struggling with her “perfect” life being not so perfect, and the identical twin thing. And then the author threw in a minor romance, a kidnapping, and a cult! Another solid story from Janelle Brown. I will continue to read whatever she writes.

Quick and dirty - family/sibling struggles, addiction issues, missing person, twist at the end. While there are a lot of different characters in the book, it's really about just two - Sam and Elli, twins who have had a falling out and are no longer speaking. I enjoyed Sam, with all her flaws and mistakes she made. She wasn’t perfect, and she accepts that. Elli grated on me with her passive and malleable personality, how content she was to be a doormat.

There was a lot of potential to this book, if it chose either the mystery/suspense, or the contemporary genre. But not both. It's labeled as a mystery, but it honestly fell flat for me in that area. Elli's "spa" trip and the events leading up to and following it were far-fetched and hokey. Yes, it created a suspenseful turn to the storyline, but it really felt like more of an afterthought. What I did enjoy was reading about the struggles Elli and Sam went through as they grew up, and how those struggles evolved as they became adults. I thought there was a family dynamic that could have been developed and delved into in much greater detail. This could have been a great contemporary genre focused on Sam and Elli and their struggles, and ultimately, how they overcame them.

"Let's get together, yeah yeah yeah
Why don't you and I combi-ine
Let's get together, what do you say
We can have a swingin' ti-ime"

Sam and Elli are child stars. They first shared the role as the daughter on a popular tv show. Then as teens, they starred in their own show. While they looked exactly alike, their personalities couldn't be more different. Sam is the outgoing, sparkling star. Elli is the introverted, quiet one. After they reach 17, Elli doesn't want to act anymore so the girls split, with Sam moving to LA to continue acting and Elli going away to college.

Now, as adult, the women have not spoken in some months. Sam is one year sober and working in a coffee shop. She receives a call from her mother, asking her to come home to help take care of Elli's daughter. Sam is surprised, mainly because she didn't realize that Elli even had a daughter.

Elli was supposed to be away just for the weekend but now it's been several days...and Sam feel like something isn't quite right about this.

.....

I'll Be You is a fast-paced thriller that really depends on the power of the relationship between sisters. The flashes between the past and present timelines was probably my favorite part. I found Elli's 'voice' to be kind of boring - I liked Sam's voice much more compelling, however Elli's voice was important to hear to move the story forward.

The story is almost a cautionary tale on MLMs and women's 'empowerment' groups. I've read a few of Janelle Brown's few books and this is the best one so far.

Thank to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

I absolutely LOVE stories with a cult aspect, especially in the horror, thriller, or mystery genres - and this didn't disappoint! This is my second book by Janelle Brown, and has solidified her as a must-buy author for me moving forward.

Told from two perspectives of twin sisters dealing very differently with an early life of fame & stardom, we follow first one and then the other as their stories fully intersect in a final culmination of twists and turns. I loved that, despite how similar the girls looked, they're fully fleshed out & have totally different personalities. It can be hard for an author to accomplish this even when the characters aren't sisters - let alone twins! So I really loved this and thought it was executed very well.

Overall, loved this twisty thrill ride, and can't wait to read more from Janelle Brown!

Janelle Brown has a unique skill for creating characters with detailed backstories and layers that make them believable and deeply intriguing. Sam and Elli, the twin main characters of I’ll Be You are no exception. Once childhood actresses, Sam is single and now struggles with addiction while Elli is married with her own floral business. That is, until one day when she mysteriously disappears to a retreat and stops responding to all communication. As Sam begins to worry about her sister, whom she’s been estranged from for years, she realizes that Elli’s happy life may be a mere facade.

Brown shows the progression of the sisters and their bond as they are discovered, become famous, and first learn to switch places. These flashbacks add such a richness to their present-day story and helped me understand their motivations.

I didn’t expect the cult aspect of this book going into it, but I found it especially fascinating, particularly the introspection into the members and how they ended up where they did.

This wasn’t a thriller in the traditional sense, and definitely was a little slower moving, but it kept me glued to the pages trying to guess how everything fit together and how the sisters would end up at the end of it all.

Intriguing read for sure! Sam and Elli are identical twin sisters, and former Nickelodeon, T.V. stars. The two have not spoken for over a year. They have fallen out due to Sam's substance abuse issues. When Sam is called by their parents to help babysit Elli's daughter, a new addition Sam is only just learning about, she finds that there are some odd occurrences associated with Elli's absenteeism.

What makes this book good? First, the storyline is totally believable. What is happening with these two women could definitely happen to former stars! Second, these characters, especially Sam, is well-written. She is much more than a 2 dimensional plot point. The characterization in this story, absolutely elevates the novel above your typical suspense drama.

Put this in the hands of fans of Lisa Jewell and Liane Moriatty.

Twins almost always make a great storyline, and this one was great.

Sam and Elli are identical twins, former child actors, and now estranged as adults. Sam could never get over her failed Hollywood career, and turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. This drove a big wedge between her and her family. Especially Elli. Elli moved on to a "normal" life, but eventually got tangled up in a cult.

There are lots of twists and turns in this book, and it all worked well. While being a great work of fiction, it also shows how easily people can be manipulated when they are vulnerable. People think, oh people who get involved with cults must be so dumb. It's not like that. It can happen slowly, and before you know it, you're stuck.

If you like twin stories, this might be for you. Identical twin sisters, Elli and Sam, are “discovered” at 9 years old and are tween/teen stars. One twin, Sam, loves the spotlight, while the other twin, Elli, hates it. Cut to present day, and the twins are in their 30’s and when Ellie's marriage falls apart, she goes to a mysterious retreat. Sam then seems out to discover what's really going on at the retreat. What transpires is a slow burn look at cults, addiction and family secrets.

This book took me a bit to get into and then I didn’t love the second part very much at all, but then I am not a big fan of reading about people stuck in cults. Ellie and Sam are twins who get discovered in child hood since they can play the same part and work twice as long as other children actors. Sam loves everything about acting, but Ellie seems to be fading away and one day Sam has an idea “I’ll be you” and this starts her on a path with Adderall and ending in addiction. Ellie has always been the good twin, but her marriage falls apart and she goes on a retreat leaving her adopted daughter with their parents but when she doesn’t return when she said she would she texts her parents to invite Sam to help even though they haven’t talked in over a year. Sam is about to learn that maybe there isn’t a good and a bad twin and they both have their secrets.

I received a digital advance copy of I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown via NetGalley. I’ll Be You is scheduled for release on April 26, 2022.

I’ll Be You follows identical twins Sam and Elli. When they were younger, Sam and Elli shared roles on film as child actors. They moved in and out of each other’s personalities as they shared one role on the screen and sometimes played each other off screen.

Now they are adults who have grown apart due to Sam’s addictions and Elli’s longing for a normal, real life. Sam is surprised by a phone call asking her to come home and help care for Elli’s newly adopted daughter while Elli spends a long weekend at a retreat. Elli doesn’t return when expected, which leads Sam on a path to investigate the life her sister has built and bring her home.

I’ll Be You is described as a thriller/ suspense novel. It did start on this path, with a sister potentially missing and the search to find her. Once we hit the midpoint however, that sense of mystery and potential danger disappears. While there is a big twist at the midpoint, the second half of the novel is the very logical playing out of that revelation. For me, there were no surprises in the last half of the novel. After the questions raised in the first half, this was a bit of a letdown for me.

The two sisters at the heart of the story are separate and distinct characters who fit together as a pair. We do get a better sense of Sam as she is the narrator for the first half of the book. She is taking us with her on her hunt for Elli, and sharing her memories of their past together. Elli is less well developed. In the first half, we are seeing her through Sam’s lens. In the second half, Elli takes over as narrator, but her narration felt distant to me, and lacked the same connection that we were given to Sam.

I’ll Be You seemed to be more of an exploration of relationships, and the forces that can either drive people together or apart, rather than the suspense/thriller it was billed as. While I did miss those suspenseful elements in the story, I did enjoy what it had to say about connections.

Identical twins are discovered by a talent agent and they go to Hollywood to be on television. They are still in elementary school when they begin this journey which continues until around college time. The two choose different paths at that point, one of them chooses home and family…the other chooses drugs and alcohol.
But they are never apart from one another more than a short time until this last break…..it has been a year and everything has changed….
Elli has a daughter and not a husband, Sam has sobriety and a job.
Sam is called to help with Ellis daughter when Elli goes to the spa and does not come home after two weeks…then this book becomes even more compelling.
Won’t share more, I don’t want to spoil it.
It is a good one, read it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Very interesting book. Not what I had expected so I was pleasantly surprised. Definitely recommend!

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Identical twins and former child actors Sam and Elli have gone their separate ways. Elli yearned for a normal life and Sam was deep in her addiction issues. When their mother reaches out to Sam to come help with Elli's young daughter Charlotte while Elli is on a retreat comes as a surprise, the least being that Sam didn't even know Elli had a daughter. But Elli doesn't come home and doesn't come home and Sam begins to investigate where her sister is really at.

This one took a couple of turns I wasn't expecting, which made up for the ones that I was. The first portion of the book is told from Sam's POV, then switches. It was a nice change from the alternating POV books that I've been reading recently, to see the story Sam was telling and then see it again from Elli. The chapters were short and this book was easy to keep reading. I felt like I was racing through it to see how everything turned out! Overall, a good read and I'd definitely recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me a free digital copy of this book.

Available April 26, 2022

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

6/10