Sam and Elli have it all -- they are gorgeous identical twin girls who landed their dream job on a TV show as teenagers. What more could they ask for? But not all glitters is gold, and as the twins grow up, their lives dramatically veer apart. Elli is the perfect homemaker married to a successful lawyer, while. Sam can barely hold down a job, struggling with years of addition to pills and alcohol.

After nearly a year of estrangement, Sam receives a call from her father letting her know that Elli is missing and asking for help caring for Elli's adopted daughter. While the twins' parents think that Elli has extended her spa weekend to unplug, Sam thinks something more sinister is in play, but does she really even know her sister anymore?

I'll Be You is a great domestic thriller, with a smattering of fun plot lines. I truly enjoyed it!

Elli and Sam are twins who find themselves estranged after years of childhood stardom tore them apart. Janelle Brown shares both twins struggles with acceptance thought Sam's struggles with sobriety and Elli's story about joining a women's group that turned out to be a cult. The overall story and the bond of twins was well written with some unexpected twists along the way.

This was a very engrossing story and definitely a page-turner. However, I don't feel as if we really got to know Ellie and there was something that did not sit right with the ending.

An interesting story about twin child actors who drifted apart, one chose addiction an one joined a cult. This was a very interesting read but the ending left me wanting more. A good read overall!

"I'll be you" by Janelle Brown is going to be in my 2022 favorites for sure. It was such a moving suspense. I really enjoyed the deep dive into the sisters, loved the plot twists, and the cult, I can never get enough of stories with a cult. Loved it.

Sam and Elli are twins, but very different. After being Hollywood stars as children, they live different and separate lives. Elli goes missing during a mysterious spa trip and it’s up to Sam to track her down.

I was really into the first 75% of the book and was involved in the mystery. I loved the flashbacks of the twin’s childhood and time as Hollywood stars. I wish there was even more of the flashbacks! Once the mystery was revealed, I wasn’t quite as interested. It wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. I would consider this more a contemporary fiction or womens fiction than a thriller/suspense.

“It’s impossible to fully escape the world in which you were raised; it beats inside you, a muted pulse, always waiting for the opportunity to rush back to the surface.”

I’ll Be You comes out 4/26.

“I’ll Be You” is the latest novel by Janelle Brown who brilliantly writes suspenseful novels about families and their dysfunctions.

Like many identical twins, Sam and Elli often would pretend to be each other. Growing up, they became TV stars. Yet, Elli, seeking a more quiet life, focused on college and raising a family while Sam could not let go of being in the spotlight. However, she turns to drugs and alcohol as her star crashes and the twins became estranged.

Now, sober, Sam is trying to put her life back together again. Her father asks her to help out with her niece, Charlotte (whom Sam didn’t know existed because of her estrangement with her sister). Apparently, Elli’s husband left her and Elli went to a spa for mental health wellness. Yet, when Elli doesn’t return from the trip, Sam begins to think something is wrong and her investigation leads to a cult who might be responsible for Elli’s disappearance.

As true with all of Ms. Brown’s writing, I really enjoyed this book. The author does an awesome job in keeping the reader engaged while moving through dual storylines and the POV of both twins. I really enjoyed the sections of the novel that focused on the twins together as child stars and times when they’d pretend to be one another. Stories about twins can be full of clichés ,but Ms. Brown did an excellent job in keeping one twin from being the “good” one versus the “bad” one—Sweet Valley twins these women are not. If you are looking for more than your basic thriller with not just twists and turns (and there are plenty of those) but smart, well-written characters, then I highly suggest this book.

My thanks to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for this intriguing book.

I really enjoyed this book. I did not want to put it down. So many twists and it really held my interest. I will definitely recommend this book at the library.

Oof. Not really sure what how to say what I thought about this book. Samantha and Eleanor are identical twins, blond haired, blue eyed. They are discovered by an agent as young girls and become actors, often becoming each other. Sam loves the spot light but Elli wants out and as they age they start to grow apart. Sam spirals in drug and alcohol addiction while Elli creates what seems to be the perfect "normal" life. But when Elli suddenly takes off to a women's retreat in Ojai, leaving her adopted 2 year old daughter with their parents, estranged Sam is asked to come help take care of sweet Charlotte. Things aren't as they seem and as Sam starts to look into her sister's disappearance she uncovers lies and secrets she couldn't imagine. The book is divided into sections told by Sam and Ellie. There are also chapters that reflect on previous events and how they shaped the sisters. I initially struggled with reading it but not because it is poorly written or because it was a bad story. I just didn't really connect with the story for a bit but I am glad that I stuck with it (honestly I felt the same way about her last book as well). The writing was honest and real and wasn't shy about conveying struggles and consequences. Some of the scenarios seemed to be hinting at recent news stories but overall this ended up being much better than I expected. It is about family, good or bad, and the ties that bind. I don't know that I would call it a thriller but definitely a page turner of a story.

I could not put this book down. I thought I was getting a straight-up thriller, given the blurb and the cover, but it's less that and more just a really compelling story about identical twin sisters and the secrets and behaviors that have driven them apart as adults. Sam and Elli were child actors whose lives have wildly diverged. Sam is a former addict who spent years partying and going in and out of rehab. Elli has become a suburban housewife who has given up trying to bail Sam out and is focused on her new adopted child. The sisters are estranged, but when Elli vanishes one day, Sam is drawn in to caring for her child and trying to discover more about where Elli has gone. I really loved the exploration of the bond between the sisters and Brown's ability to convey emotion. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a digital review copy.

I’ll Be You is filled with suspense. Janelle Brown spins a tale that keeps adding layers of complexity. Brown writes about twins who pretend to be one another but adds so many twists to the deception. I didn’t know how the story would end.

I highly, highly recommend this one! All the thriller vibes for real! And love that cover. Four well-earned stars.

Former child stars, twins Elli and Sam, used to be close, like two halves of a whole. They were even able to switch places with each other without anyone noticing. But the sisters haven't spoken in more than a year when Sam, the rebellious former addict, gets a call from her parents saying that they need her to come home and watch Elli's newly adopted daughter, Charlotte, while Elli, the golden child, takes some time out at a spa. But Sam soon begins to question what type of "spa" Elli has checked into, fearing it might be linked to a cult, worries that only increase as Elli's absence grows longer.

This book is like a mix between a family drama and a thriller. There are strands of the story that deal with the issues between Elli and Sam and the struggles they've faced trying to both stay close while forging their own identities, and parts that are very suspenseful as Sam tries to figure out what's going on with Elli and this group she's gotten mixed up with.

I've always enjoyed a good story about a cult/extremist group and this one doesn't disappoint. I don't want to get into too much detail and spoil anything, but it's quite a good story as Sam digs deeper into the inner workings of what Elli is involved in and as she tries to figure out what's going on. Let's just say that the author has created quite a scary little organization, but one that has a good business model as far as scammy organizations go. I enjoyed the suspense of it all and I loved seeing it all unfold.

There's a couple of twists in there - but once the big twist was revealed, I kind of guessed the rest of the plotline. But I still enjoyed seeing how it all played out. And there's some good connections to the overall themes in there that I really enjoyed seeing.

Overall, this was a really good, unique book.

Janelle Brown is one of my favourite writers and she delivers another great page-turner. I tore through this book!

Janelle Brown is becoming one of my favorite authors and has definitely made it into the one click territory! This was so well written, with phenomenal character development! It really grabbed me from page one and didn’t let go until I turned the final page! So full of tension. I felt it in the actual world! Realistic, but thrilling! So many fun twisty turns, made me feel I was riding a roller coaster, with plenty thrills, chills, and gasp worthy shocks! CANNOT RECOMMEND ENOUGH, but prepare for one heck of a hangover! It’s that good!

This was a terrific read! As soon as I read the description, I knew it was one I had to read. Once I started reading, I had a very hard time putting it down. The characters were very entertaining and the story was gripping.

Can’t wait to read more from this author!

I read this book in one sitting. I was really hooked for the first 60% or so and then I found myself skimming to get to the end. I was expecting more of a mystery but it turned out to be more about the strong and complicated bond between sister twins. Overall, a good read. 3.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book was amazing. Read it in 2 days and highly recommend.

I’ll Be You is a thrilling story about cults, addiction and family, especially sisterhood. It has an underlying concept that is fairly popular in modern day media-twins pretending to be each other-but what happens to each twin individually created a compelling story. Brown wrote mostly from Sam’s point of view but switched to Elli’s in part two to give us a background on what was going on with her. Sam and Elli were both deeply flawed but not unlikeable and it made me root for them. Brown also goes into detail about their relationship with their mother which helped me understand the girls a little more as well.

I wouldn’t say this is necessarily a true thriller even though there were twists. The twists felt a little predictable but I also really liked that the twists moved the story along and weren’t just there for shock factor. There is also a deep cult plot line that is similar to the NXIIM crime that happened a few years ago. As someone who loves the psychology of cults I really enjoyed this but it may not be for everyone.

Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend. This is possibly my favorite book I’ve read by Janelle Brown!

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital copy in return for my honest review!

I really enjoyed this book. The cover really attracted me. I enjoyed the characters and storylines. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

4.5/5