Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I’ve read Brown’s other novels. I enjoyed that the lead stars were Sam and Elli, who were previously child actors. The story navigates through their turbulent relationship but it was very mysterious as the book centered around Elli being missing and the relationship being rekindled. .

However, I felt the plot dragged on and could’ve been cut down by 50 pages.

I really wanted to love this book because I like the last one by Janelle Brown so much it this definitely fell short. The premise seemed so intriguing and it did not meet up to expectations for me. The writing was still interesting but the story line was boring. I found myself skimming to get to the end as quickly as possible.

Thank you #Netgalley for this advanced copy!

This was a quick read that kept you guessing up until the very end. We follow a set of identical twins, Sam and Elli both chose different lives after their childhood stardom. Sam unfortunately got overtaken with drugs and alcohol, while Elli left the spotlight, married, wanted a family so badly but ultimately finding out that is possible for her. The two sisters got into a fight over a year ago and had not spoken. When Sam got a call from her mother asking to come help with her niece, Sam was shocked, she didn't even know she had a niece. Sam quickly steps in but finds Elli's weekend disappearance a bit fishy and continues to investigate. We then move away from Sam's point of view into Elli's and how they intertwine. So many surprises I never saw coming! As someone who enjoys reading/learning about cults, this was an unexpected pleasant read.

maybe I just wasn’t in the right mind set to read this one, but again, these are my thoughts and views only.

elli and sam, identical twins and former child actors, haven’t spoken in almost two years. sam turned to drugs and drinking at an early age and struggles with her sobriety so much that elli and their parents basically cut her out of their life. which is why sam is so surprised when her mom gets a text from elli asking for help with elli’s daughter and then … elli disappears. with her parents in denial that something’s wrong, it’s up to sam to put the pieces together on where elli went and what went wrong in their relationship.

I absolutely loved the premise of this one!! it was mysterious and eye-catching, but it went in a completely different direction than I was anticipating.

sam and elli were such fleshed out characters, identical twins with totally different personalities, and I was excited to see both sides of the story told by them. the flashbacks into their childhood were by far my favorite parts of the book.

the plot line just seemed to drag for me. once sam discovered where elli was (which was like 50% of the way through the book), it just seemed repetitive until the end. it was a very strong motive that didn’t need drilling in the reader’s head - especially when it’s so icky like it was - no spoilers!!!

thank you to netgalley and random house for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. this one is definitely an acquired taste - if you loved every vow you break, you’ll love this one!

rating: 2 stars
wine pairing: san jose cabernet sauvignon

I was crazy about Janelle Brown's 2020 novel "Pretty Things," so I couldn't wait to get my hands on "I'll Be You." Just looking at the description made me feel like it had somehow been created in a lab just for me, as it features so many of my obsessions: mysterious cults! Former child stars! Identical twins!

While I didn't love it quite as much as "Pretty Things," it is still a very good read. As children, Sam and Elli appeared in a popular police drama (young twins are often hired to play a single part, to get around child labor laws which limit time on set; Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are perhaps the most famous example), and then in their own Nickelodeon show. Sam loved the spotlight while Elli grew to detest it, so sometimes Sam would pretend to be Elli so she could keep performing. When Elli gets caught up in a cult, Sam realizes she may have to draw on her ability to impersonate her sister in order to save her.

Sam has been struggling with substance abuse issues, which have alienated her from her family; when Elli disappears, however, leaving their parents to care for her recently adopted 2-year-old child, Sam is reluctantly summoned home to help out. She winds up driving all over Southern California, often with the toddler in tow, to see if she can figure out what's actually going on with the initially innocuous-seeming women's empowerment group Elli joined.

Most of the chapters are told from Sam's point of view, and I can see why it was necessary to switch over to Elli for a while to provide the reader with the full story. However, Sam is just so much more of a magnetic, charismatic character than Elli, who often seems like a bit of a milquetoast by comparison. Her investigation is fascinating, as it gradually dawns on Sam just what she's up against.

I am sure I'll think of "I'll Be You" the next time I see child actors on TV. Brown will definitely make you consider the consequences of bestowing fame and fortune on kids who aren't old enough to know what they're getting into.

I'm a big Janelle Brown fan. Pretty Things was one of my favorite books of 2020 and while I didn't love this as much as I loved that one, this does have so many fun secrets to unpack. This book focuses on the sister relationship, feeling valued and understood, and complicated family dynamics. This is marketed as a mystery/thriller but reads more like a family drama.This story follows twins who were famous child actors but ended up taking different paths (one to drugs and one to a cult). They grow apart and one twin seems to have abandoned her daughter to go to a wellness retreat and the other twin starts to look into the suspicious circumstances. Both twins are quite flawed and each part of their story added much depth to their complicated relationship. There are several dramatic reveals that are satisfying surprises. If you know any twins that ever liked to switch places, this is a fun one!

Janelle Brown created the perfect mystery novel in this book, telling the tale of twin sisters who are as different personality wise as can be, thrown onto each other’s path upon one of them suddenly disappearing.

I’m a Janelle Brown fan. Pretty Things was a top 10 for me and Watch Me Disappear was also really enjoyable so I was excited to get my hands on an ARC for this book. Ultimately it’s a solid 3.5 star read that feels like a family drama than a thriller/suspense. It follows the story of twins who both had it all, but succumbed to their surroundings (one too drugs and one to a cult). Once close, they had become separated due to these stressors and they must find their way back to each other when one twin seems to have abandoned her daughter to check herself into a wellness retreat but is now unreachable.
I enjoyed the complexity and imperfection of the characters—I do love me some flaws protagonists. Ultimately I would have liked a little more suspense and a little less childhood history of the twins, but I will always be here for anything Janelle Brown writes.
Thanks to Net Gallery and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Imagine if your estranged identical twin sister disappeared at a spa in California, but you couldn’t find anything about the organization. This is the premise of I’ll Be You* by Janelle Brown, a novel in which twins Sam and Elli have a tenuous relationship because of their shared past as famous television child actors. They are adults now but have followed two very different paths. Elli, the sister who has vanished, has always been the cautious, dependable twin but has been behaving more erratically lately. Sam is a former addict, a reformed party girl, and a struggling waitress. Janelle Brown focuses on the fractured family relationships that follow the girls into adulthood.
Sam has taken advantage of the fame and money from her childhood, but her addiction to drugs and alcohol have sabotaged any chance of an acting career as an adult. When the book opens, Sam is attempting to maintain her sobriety and stay employed. The sisters have grown apart and never speak because of Sam’s destructive past. So she is shocked when their parents ask her to babysit Elli’s daughter. Sam, who didn’t even know Elli had a daughter, learns that Elli is getting divorced and in the process of adopting. Elli has told their parents she was at a wellness retreat; however, Sam believes Elli is in trouble and investigates the wellness group, suspecting that Elli could be involved in a cult. Through the sisters’ past and present experiences, Brown examines Sam’s fears and insecurity regarding her relationship with Elli, her parents, and her sense of self worth.
I loved the characters, especially Sam, because she wants so desperately to be seen as worth loving. Brown writes about parents and children, “you could simply argue that all children grow by cutting their parents down to a manageable size. It’s only once you recognize that they aren’t superhuman, after all, that you start aspiring to evolve beyond them.” Ultimately, Sam hopes to find “a glimpse of something new inside myself, a seed that has the potential to grow. I was curious what it might become.” There are several dramatic reveals that are satisfying surprises. Without spoiling the ending, I can say that Brown kept me reading late into the night to discover what actually happened to the sisters. This novel combines elements of a mystery and a psychological thriller in a compelling story with vibrant characters.

Interesting and well-written book that was nothing like what I expected.

The book centers on Sam and Elli, twins who spent a lot of pivotal moments in their lives pretending to be eachother (hence the title). I’m an only child and I always wanted to have a twin, so this book about the special relationship between a pair of twins was intriguing to me.

The girls start out as child actresses very much in the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen wheelhouse, both playing part of the role of a single child on a popular television show. One twin, Elli, is introverted and does not really like acting that much. But Sam loves being in the spotlight, and starts secretly taking over her twin’s half of the work.

I wouldn’t say this book is really a mystery or a thriller. More of a literary family drama type tale. But I really enjoyed it. The way Janelle Brown writes really draws me in. Her characters were intriguing and had well-articulated backstories and motivations.

There’s a big plot about a cult in this book. Do be forewarned of this if books on cults aren’t your thing. The cult depicted here is basically a weird pseudo-feminist cult. I was worried about this at first (in my view, feminism ain’t a cult and also btw most cult leaders IRL tend to be sexist dudes gathering harems) but ultimately I enjoyed it. It was done well and was unique and, at times, pretty funny. I think there were more than a few Ayn Rand jokes, which I appreciated.

All in all a quirky, deep, interesting and satisfying read by an author to watch. Four stars. Thanks to Random House, NetGalley, and the author for this interesting read.

I read many reviews on this book before reading and I was surprised that it didn't get more positive feedback. I liked this book alot. It was so different than your usual mysteries. This was more of a family drama with a little suspense but I flew thru it! It was so captivating and loved the story being told by both sisters. This book definitely kept me reading into the night If your looking for a different storyline this book is for you!

"It was hard to tell where she ended and I began…"

I thoroughly enjoyed I’ll Be You! More of a family drama with mystery elements than a true psychological thriller, this book is well-written and engaging and still had moments where I was on the edge of my seat to see what would happen next.

"There are moments in life when you collide with something that sends you careening down a path from which you can never return."

The story reminded me of a mash-up of The Girl in the Mirror , with the twins-who-sometimes-switch-places element, and A Special Place for Women , with its creepy cultish feminist group. The author offered really valuable insight into addiction, sobriety, infertility, and challenging family dynamics, which gave this book a lot more depth than what I would expect from suspense fiction.

"I didn’t understand how we could have started as the same person and ended up so very far apart."

The ending wrapped up a little quickly, and felt a little unrealistic based on all the twists the story had, but overall, it was a fast-paced, enjoyable read that I finished in a single day. A solid 4 stars!

——

Thanks to Janelle Brown, Random House, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars. I thought this book was just "ok." Even though I blew through it, I am not sure I like the cult angle or the way the Charlotte story panned out. I think that Brown was trying to do too much with the child actors, twins, addition, infertility/egg donations, cult, sister dynamics. It just didn't really work for me.

I'LL BE YOU
BY: JANELLE BROWN

"I'll be you and you be me."

"I'll Be You," written by Janelle Brown is mostly character development top heavy. It definitely drew me in at the beginning. I enjoyed Sam's point of view. But it went on too long. It didn't change to Ellie's point of view until 60% into this novel. I do think that Janelle Brown is more of a literary fiction writer than a suspenseful thriller writer. And we do find out how different these two twin's are at least they both are their own person. It is about two identical twin sisters' who look so much alike nobody can tell them apart. But they have very different personalities and very different identities. This is the third one of Janelle Brown's book's that I have read. I did love "Pretty Things." This one features Eleanor and Samantha or Elli and Sam. Two child actor's who grow up acting in different series. Elli tires of this profession first and Sam at times fools the cast and director playing both sister's roles. The only one that knows that Sam is playing both roles is the make-up artist on the set who keeps the secret. Sam is soon introduced the drug Adderall that allows her to feel quick and sharp; It allows her to naturally conjure up her lines as they rise out of her mouth-giving an edgy performance; It makes the director take notice of her like it is almost the first time he really saw her. That begins Sam's addiction to drugs and alcohol. Sam is the extrovert where Elli is the introvert. But I digress. This story is so top heavy on character development as I said, the plot is shrouded in mystery and this causes the reader to recognize the plot at about 60% into the novel.

The story begins in the first chapters where Sam who is a barista in Los Angeles and estranged from her twin Elli for over a year is summoned home to Santa Barbara to take care of Elli's adopted toddler. Elli has checked herself into a spa and nobody can get in touch with her. Taking care of Charlotte has gotten to be too much for Sam and Elli's mother so Sam is asked to take charge.

Sam moves back in with her mother and father and starts to take charge of Elli's adopted daughter Charlotte. It is only supposed to be for a few days, but it turns into a couple of weeks and Elli is not responding to Sam's texts messages and voicemails, but it is evident that they have been listened to and marked read. This leads Sam who has been sober for 386 days to think that something nefarious has been going on with Elli. Sam takes Charlotte for her favorite strawberry ice cream outings and to the beach and park by day. She ventures out to AA and NA meetings at night in Santa Barbara where they serve Nespresso and bakery cookies instead of the regular coffee and store bought cookies Sam is used to from her meetings in LA. At this meeting she befriends a man named Caleb who has a daughter named Mae who they get together for play dates.

You will never guess the plot or the big reveal that is so popular with this type of genre these days. This is being marketed as a thriller but is more like a mystery that doesn't start to surface until at least 60% into this novel. That you or I should say I never guessed the plot twist is to Janelle Brown's credit. The downside is that the plot is a slow burn and it becomes too bogged down with character development that the plot moves along at a snail's pace. It became a chore to slog through. That being said if you don't mind the really slow pacing you will appreciate Janelle Brown's psychological acuity at her descriptions of almost like peeling the many layers of an onion to get to the prize. I prefer to be drawn in and captivated with a novel that makes me lose track of time because I am so invested in the beautiful prose or the storytelling. This definitely has a message it just seems like something is off with the amount of time it takes to get it. I honestly don't know if I am being less than charitable by rating this 3.5 stars rounded up or if I should follow my instincts that while there is a powerful message, that this could have been better if the pacing was faster. This should be an appreciative literary novel rather than touted as a thriller because it absolutely lacks suspense. There are a few gems to marvel at but for me this was not my usual enjoyable or entertaining reading experiences. I think that this will be my last Janelle Brown book that I read. I would never tell somebody not to just take my humble opinion. I would encourage reader's to check out other reviews before deciding to read this. If you like heavy descriptive writing that meanders before it reveals the gems and nuggets that holds our attention then you might like this better than I did. Both Sam and Elli are basically good people at heart--even though each is flawed and as the reader reaches the twist it is evident that Elli has done something awful. Elli is thought to be the one who has it together but after reading further Elli is not superior to Sam.

Publication Date: April 26, 2022

Thank you to Net Galley, Janelle Brown and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#I'llBeYou #JanelleBrown #RandomHousePublishingGroup #NetGalley

Review Also Posted on Bookbub Account and Facebook

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦...𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺, 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.

I have no idea how to characterize this book...it wasn't a thriller, and I wouldn't even call it suspense, but I did enjoy this dark story of twins separated by choosing two different paths.

Sam and Elli were B-list child tv stars, so perfectly attuned to each other that they would fall asleep holding hands. The game started when they were young..."𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮."

Now as adults, Elli is a homemaker, married to an attorney, and trying desperately for a child. Sam has gone through her royalties, spending it all on alcohol and drugs. Because of her destructive behavior, she hasn't spoken to Elli in over a year. When her father calls her out of the blue, worried about Elli, Sam is shocked to find that she has split from her husband, adopted a child, and has stopped answering her phone after checking into a spa to decompress.

As Sam searches for her missing half, her journey takes her to shocking and unexpected places, and to her horror, she realizes her sister has been duped by a cult. While this story line didn't develop much until the second half, I found it to be well-written, especially the psychology behind how cults prey upon and recruit, especially vulnerable women like Elli. When Sam finds out the catalyst behind her sister's sudden adoption even as her marriage was imploding, she is rocked to her core and realizes that all roads, all decisions, would have eventually led here.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this early read.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In challenging times, twin sisters would trade places to help the other get through a difficult circumstance. During a particularly difficult time when the sisters were estranged, Elli reaches out to Sam through their mother. Sam rises to the challenge and faces a daunting moment and a heartbreaking opportunity to do the right thing.

Twins are so interesting, and this story turned out to be just as good as I was hoping, if not better. The only problem with this book is that I can’t reveal much about the major plot themes without spoiling anything … this book is full of good twists!

Elli and Sam are identical twins, child actors who have now fallen out - fallen out of the limelight, and fallen out with each other. Elli is the “good” twin; she gave up acting, got married and runs a posh decorating company. Sam is the “bad” twin; she stayed in Hollywood and went down the typical child actor road of drug and alcohol abuse. I don’t like to think of them as good or bad though, because they both seem to be good humans who happened to make mistakes in life.

After years of Elli paying for multiple rehab stints and supporting Sam, and after one her sister’s drunken ideas backfired horribly, the girls who shared a womb haven’t spoken in over a year. One day, Sam gets a call from her parents, begging for help. Elli has gone on a wellness retreat but she hasn’t returned and they can’t reach her, and they need help watching her child. This throws Sam for a loop, and not just because she knows nothing about babies.

Why is her always-dependable sister gone, and wait, WHAT? She has a child now? When did this happen? Where is her husband, why can’t he take care of the baby? And why does her mother want her help, when she’s a recovering addict who nobody trusts?

Sam agrees to go meet her niece, but soon realizes just how far apart she and her twin have grown. So much has happened in the past year, and as her sister remains missing, she starts trying to find out what is going on. Exactly what is this “wellness retreat”? Why has she left her child for so long? There are so many questions in this book, but you’ll get the answers eventually … and they’re good.

This is obviously a thriller, but it also had the element of child fame and how it can go one of two ways. You’ll see those ways evolve when the two women take very different paths in life. There are a few mysteries along the way, the ending was done well and overall, I really enjoyed this one. 4.5 stars for a book I highly recommend!

(Thank you to Random House, Janelle Brown, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

I had to request this because I loved Pretty Things so much! I’ve been following this author waiting to see what else she has up her sleeve! Brown knows how to write a thriller and captivate an audience! The story is about twins who were actors as children and where they are as adults now. One sister has had problems and is in and out of rehab while the other wants to live a normal life. The twins have their problems and different lifestyles so they don’t talk anymore until one goes missing. You’ll love the multiple viewpoints and the girls may be twins but couldn’t be more different! Can’t wait to see what Janelle Brown writes next! I’ll be impatiently waiting!

I loved this author's first book, but this one just wasn't for me. I was not invested in the story line at all and I put it down at 31%.

I love Janelle Brown's previous books and this was just as good. She writes a great thriller. This one about identical twin girls who were child B actresses. One just wants a normal life as an adult and the other has been in and out of rehab. One ends up not coming back from a wellness retreat and the other has to come help with her daughter and try to figure out how to get her back home. A solid 4 stars.