Identical twin sisters Ellie and Sam had careers as child actors until their teen years, when Ellie wanted out. Sam loved the attention, so much that she would sometimes pretend to be Ellie because child actors can only be on set for so many hours. They were so good at pretending to be each other that they could even fool their parents.

Now as adults, Ellie has become a suburban wife and, now that she adopted a two-year-old, she’s the mother she always wanted to be. Sam got a addicted to pills by her makeup artist when she was 13, and of course, until one sobers up, addiction only leads one way. Sam is finally clean, but her stints in and out of rehab and her endless downward spiral took a toll on her relationship with her sister. Now, Ellie seems to have disappeared, and their aging mother needs help caring for the rambunctious two-year-old Charlotte.

Though Sam is only called in to be a babysitter, she knows something is wrong. Ellie wouldn’t just abandoned her child for a never-ending spa trip.

This is told from both sister’s points of view. I had a really hard time reading Ellie’s side of things. At least Sam has been working on her issues and knows what they are. Ellie just makes all sorts of terrible decisions.

This is gripping. I liked both characters despite their poor life choices.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES APRIL 26, 2022.

Twin stories are often of interest to me and this was no exception. Lots of psychological manipulation and dysfunction going on through out the book. The story itself was not really a thriller but an interesting story with a predictable end.

Ying and yang- identical twins Sam and Elli are so alike yet so different. After being child stars for playing one role (ala Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen), Sam wants to pursue acting and becomes a struggling alcoholic. Elli just wants to fit in and disappear and follows a more traditional path, marrying a safe guy and starting a floral business. Sam is the screw up and Elli's life is perfect- but neither of these things is completely true. When Elli goes on a retreat and leaves her newly adopted toddler daughter with her parents, Sam is called in to help with Charlotte and try to repair her family relationships- and find the strangely missing Elli. Who might have accidently joined a cult (this is not a spoiler- it's in the synopsis.)

This book is faster paced and just a good, solid, well-built thriller. Brown tells the story from one perspective and then switches to the other perspective mid-way (like in Pretty Things); clearly this formula works well for her. Despite this not really being a mystery or a thriller, readers who like those books will like this. I really enjoyed this one (and only had to suspend belief a little) and would highly recommend this to lovers of Julie Clark or Lisa Lutz.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

LOVED this story of twins, Sam and Ellie! This makes me wish I had a twin sister to link my life and heart to!

Sam and Ellie grew up as twins do, sharing almost everything and developing their own language. They were childhood actors who sometimes switched identities. As they grew up and matured, their lives took different turns, and they drifted in and out of each other's lives. But that twin identity that somehow drew them together, even in the worst of times. and the ability to switch identities saved their lives.

I'll Be You is the story of recovery, of cults, and ultimately of the strange and unfailing love of twins sisters. It's incredibly well written - I couldn't put it down! Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review I'll Be You.

Having never read a Janelle Brown book before, I was unexpectedly surprised by how good this was. There have been a few psychological suspenses centering around twins, but this one has a unique, fresh take. The book has three sections, two of which are narrated by one twin and the other by the second twin. In this manner, readers were able to see two sides of the situation and it was brilliant. There are a lot of themes covered: cults, kidnapping, alcoholism, with the main theme being what it means to be an identical twin. This is a definite page-turner and it held my interest through the entirety. Fans of Shari LaPena and Gilly Macmillan will be hooked.

This book started out great, but halfway through it started getting bogged down in pages and pages of description. I ended up skipping to the end.

Sam and Elli are identical twin sisters. They were childhood tv stars who are now all grown up and have gone their separate ways. Sam comes back home to help out while Elli goes on a “retreat”. But everything is not as it seems and Sam is determined to figure it out despite having her own struggles. This was an amazing thriller. I really enjoyed it!

Janelle Brown's previous thriller, Pretty Things, was one of my surprising favorite reads of 2021 so I've had I'll Be You on my TBR since I heard she was writing a new thriller! Brown creates the most vivid, flawed and interesting characters. Even though this book wasn't nearly as fast paced and twisty as Pretty Things, I kept turning the pages because I had to know what happened to Sam and Elli.

I'll Be You is about identical twins, Sam and Elli, who were child actresses. Sam loved being in the spotlight, Elli did not. Elli seamlessly adjusted to a life post-fame, Sam did not... They have a falling out and haven't spoken in over a year. Elli abruptly gets divorced, adopts a 2 year old daughter and goes MIA at some kind of "wellness retreat." Sam returns home to help her parents watch Elli's daughter while also trying to figure out what's going on with her sister.

The novel alternates between chapters in the present and chapters detailing the twin's childhood and rise to fame. This structure gets the reader inside the head of both Sam and Ellie and you can really connect the dots between their experiences as child stars and how each girl ended up where they are now.

My only critique is that I'll Be You wasn't as thrilling as I expected, especially on the heels of Pretty Things. There are some interesting twists and turns and a creepy cult but personally, I felt that plotline took a backseat. This was more like a domestic drama about twins, personal identity and the ripple effect of choices in our youth. The characters were so strong that I still really enjoyed reading but I expected a faster paced story. I wish the concept of "I'll Be You" and twins switching places was highlighted more in the present storyline as well.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves family dramas and/or is interested in the reality behind child actors. Thank you to Net Galley for providing a free e-ARC of this book!

"I'll Be You" is a compelling novel centering around two identical twin sisters named Sam and Ellie. Both were child actresses whose lives took dramatically different turns as they entered adulthood. Sam is called to her parents' home to help look after her niece Charlotte when her mother doesn't come back from what was supposed to be a long weekend away. The story is told from the perspective of both sisters. First there is Sam's investigation into what happened to her sister and then there is Ellie's saga which details how her attempts to become a stronger person independent of her sister have led her down a rabbit hole. It was fascinating to read the backstory from both sisters' perspectives to see how the twins' struggle with individuality versus sameness shaped them into the people they became. This is definitely a book that is hard to put down!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Janelle Brown for the advanced copy of I'll Be You in exchange for my honest review.

Sam and Elli are identical twins who became moderately famous child actors after being discovered one afternoon on the beach. But now they're adults, and their lives have taken two wildly different turns. Elli married a real estate lawyer and they live comfortably in a house near the beach, while Sam lives in a tiny LA apartment, forever trying to kick her addition to pills and alcohol.

It's been just over a year since Sam and Elli had a huge blowout and they haven't spoken since. When Sam gets a phone call from their father one day asking for help with Elli's child, Sam is certain she's misheard. Much to her surprise, Elli's seemingly perfect life has taken quite the turn: her husband has left and she's adopted a two-year-old little girl. Elli is supposedly at a spa in Ojai, but Sam can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. As Sam tries to figure out what's really going on with Elli, she discovers there's so much about her sister she never knew.

Did all the mystery/thriller authors get together this year and dub 2022 the year of the cult?? This is my second read in a row with a culty undertone and Scientology vibes! (No complaints from me, I'm here for it)

I will say I did thoroughly enjoy the mystery in this story. It took a little while for me to be fully invested, but once I was I was hooked. I don't really want to say too much more for fear of spoiling. Suffice to say, this is a great book centered around a complicated relationship between identical twins.

And the COVER! Just gorgeous. This has been deemed "one of the most anticipated books of 2022" by PopSugar, and it's not hard to see why.

I'll Be You will be on US bookshelves April 26, 2022!

I really enjoyed “Pretty Things” so I was excited when I got approved for this book. I did enjoy it, but the twist was not twisty enough for me and I found myself getting bored 50% into the book. It wasn’t bad, I would still recommend.

I'll Be You is a fascinating, fast paced thriller about identical twin sisters. The girls are swept up in the Hollywood scene, using their beauty and twin-ship to alternate the same role. Predictably, as the girls grow, they drift apart and one spirals out of control. It is told from the girls alternating perspectives. The characters are well written, interesting, and you feel as though you are intertwined in their lives as you are reading.
Reading about twin relationships is fascinating, and with a cult twist added in, I'll Be You will draw you in immediately. This is a quick, keep you on your toes read, with an interesting ending. This was my first Janelle Brown read, but it certainly won't be my last!

Thank you to NetGalley, Janelle Brown, and Random House for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Janelle Brown's I'll Be You, identical twin sisters and former child actors have grown apart. One of them disappears, and the other is trying to find her. Both are confronting secrets they've kept from each other for years.

I found the story pretty interesting but it did start to fall a tad flat for me. Overall though, a solid 3 star read.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my review.

Thanks to @RandomHouse and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #IllBeYou. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

This is my second Janelle Brown read and I'll continue searching our her books. She writes real, complex, flawed characters dealing with real life ups and downs. Twins Sam and Elli were successful child actors, but their lives have diverged in adulthood. Sam is a recovering addict and estranged from her sister, when she is called home to help her parents take care of the niece she didn't know existed while Elli is at a retreat "regrouping" after her divorce. But things are not exactly as they seem, and Sam soon finds herself in a familiar role - pretending to be her sister to uncover what's really happening.

Switching back and forth between their childhood and current day, and told from both sister's perspectives, this story will keep you turning the pages. Definitely recommend!

This one wasn’t my favorite. I liked the first 2/3 but then it lost my interest. It’s about twins and one of them goes away to a women’s retreat,, but soon it becomes clear her sister is being held against her will…

This book was hard to put down. As an only child, I am always fascinated by stories of siblings, especially twins. And these two definitely had a relationship that was like no other. I really did not see the plot twists and turns.. Janelle did a nice job in always keeping the reader guessing. Cults are fascinating and to see how one of the sisters got so caught up in it just shocks you. Why couldn't she see what it was? Janelle does a great job showing the different sides of every story of the sisters. Great book to read on a rainy day or any day.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You sister just seems to disappear?
You find out you have a niece?
This book literally threw me for a loop, I was very impressed by it. Not a typical story line that you read over and over, very different! Very impressed!

Thoroughly enjoyed Pretty Little Things so was that fluke for the advance copy of I’d Be You from #netgalley. Janelle Brown did not disappoint. While this was a thriller, it was also a portrait of a family, addiction, sibling bond and a cult. I finished this in two days as I had to know (no spoilers) how things turned out. Look forward to Janelle’s next book and thank you #netgalley!

I enjoyed this book, the twist wasn't what I expected, I liked the back story of the twins' childhood as Hollywood stars, which was what drew me to reading the book. I haven't ever read this author, but I am likely to recommend the title to our patrons.

Having previously read Pretty Things by Janelle Brown I was super excited to come across her new novel I’ll be you!

A physiological thriller that revolves around the two twin child stars, Elli and Sam. They haven’t spoken in over a year when Sam, an addict, gets a call from her mom to help out with Elli’s daughter while she’s away at a wellness retreat. Except the retreat turns out to be more a cult then a wellness retreat.

This book takes a look into not only what it psychological manipulation that result in one joining a cult but also the psychological impact of being a twin. This book was so incredible interesting I couldn’t put it down. The twists and turns were so interesting that even until the end I was questioning the motivations of both Elli and Sam and worried about how everything would resolve!

Both characters were so well developed that their motives were obvious and a natural progression to the lives they lived. I found it easy to relate to both characters and how they ended up in their situations.