3.5 Stars

I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown is a thriller that has an interesting premise. Twin child stars that have both had their share of heartbreak wind up in a set of strange circumstances that ultimately lead to the disappearance of one of them. It is an intriguing story that will keep you guessing, although it is a bit slow paced.

The book is told from the perspectives of twin sisters, Sam and Elli, and alternates between past and present. While the girls aren’t likeable characters, they are well-described interesting and flawed. It is easier Typically, I need to relate to a character to enjoy a story, but the prospect that these characters would redeem themselves in the end is really engaging.

❀ AN INTRIGUING THRILLER

The flashbacks to the sisters’ childhoods and what eventually led then to having a falling out have some shocking elements to them and adds to the dramatic conclusion. It is a strange relationship that is definitely influenced by their childhood stardom. Parts of the story seemed to drag on, but I was kept intrigued to find out how things were going to play out.

❀ SIBLINGS THEME

I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown is a thriller that will surprise you, although it has some pacing issues. It is a perfect read if you enjoy stories about siblings and cults. I look forward to finding out what the author has in store for us next.

I am such a huge Janelle Brown fan, and this book solidified it for me. The deep dive into the intricacies of sisterhood, motherhood and addiction was impressively rich in a story that was still full of suspense. The plot was undeniably propulsive, but I loved I’ll Be You even more for how deeply real Sam and Elli are, as well as their complicated relationship with their mother. If you’re a fan of thoughtful thrillers with completely fleshed out characters, you are going to love this one.

Ellie and Sam were twin child stars but despite looking the same, they didn't turn out the same. Ellie moved on from her Hollywood life (which she never liked) and became a responsible adult, but Sam grew up to have an issue with drugs.

This book goes back and forth between the twins' childhood and present life. I liked this way of telling the story because I feel like as a reader, I needed to know the backstory to understand where the twins and their families were in the present day. Overall, I thought this was a unique story with a strong ending.

There are so troubling parts of the book, including cults, abuse, and alcohol use, so if you have a trigger to any of those topics, I would go in easy.

Another beautiful book by a very talented author. I read it in one sitting. Absolutely brilliant! I recommend it.

I'll Be You has such an intriguing premise, and to be honest, I love anything involving a cult. The problem is that this book is sooooooooo slow and that's especially problematic when there are so many leaps of logic that need to be made. Someone abandons their daughter they've only had a few months for a few days that turns into weeks and no action is taken? Bizarre. No thanks.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'll Be You by Janelle Brown is a suspense novel about identical twin sisters who were child actors. When Elli disappears, Sam is forced to be the responsible twin. She goes back home to help her parents care for Elli's newly adopted daughter. Sam starts to investigate where her sister has gone and realizes that she may be a part of a cult. Can Sam convince Elli to leave the cult? What has Elli gotten herself involved with? This book was a quick read, but I'm not sure I would call it "suspenseful." I did enjoy it, as I've enjoyed Janelle Brown's previous books as well. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

I’ll Be You kept me reading way past my bedtime! The story starts slowly, learning about twins Sam and Elli and how they sometimes tricked people by playing each other. Then we see how being childhood actresses messed with their lives and ultimately set them up for failure as adults. But being twins has it’s advantages when you are trying to figure out where your look alike could have disappeared to. Some great twists and turns. Loved it!

I really enjoyed the eARC I received from Net Galley. Twists and turns, and a well-paced story which kept my attention, with an ending that didn't leave me hanging. I have already recommended this to a handful of friends..

"I'll Be You" is a gripping story about twins, now adults, who were child actors. Sam and Elli have very different temperaments and Elli did not want to act. She did it for Sam for a long time. Sam is an addict with a habit of relapsing after rehab. Elli and Sam have been estranged for about a year and Sam has been sober for about a year, when their mother asks her to come help out with Elli's two year old adopted daughter. Elli is away at a retreat. Sam didn't know Elli adopted a child. As the novel unfolds, we are exposed to Sam's ongoing struggles with sobriety, the story of her life and the twins' relationship and choices over the years. Their mother spends her time seeking enlightenment and it seems that Elli may be taking after her. Elli sees Sam, the naturally talented actress, as sucking all the air out of a room. Sam sees Elli through a haze of drugs and alcohol as wanting things very different from her, all of it boring. While there are things that require investigation and research and resolution, this is not a thriller, a psychological thriller although it is suspenseful some of the time and there are surprises. I have never read other books by Janelle Brown. I thought this was well worth a read. 3.5 stars rounded up.

There are three parts to this novel and the last two were much better. The voice and story of Elli, one of a pair of identical twins was much more interesting. Sam, the other twin, is in and out of rehab, comes to help out her parents with Elli's child while Elli is away at a feminist retreat. There is much more to these women and this retreat. The story lags at first but not to the point that you don't care what happens.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

"I'll Be You" was an attention-getting, interesting psychological thriller--one that definitely could not be put down!
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This thriller was different from what I thought a thriller had to be and I loved every second of it! Told in three parts, first by Sam and then her identical twin sister, and finally Sam again. Sam has always been the screwed up one of the twins. After their Hollywood careers dried up, she fell into drugs and alcohol while Elli managed to secure a husband, a house and a job. Elli is always there when Sam needs to be bailed out until Sam pushes it too far and the sisters become estranged. When Sam’s parents ask her to come help take care of Elli’s daughter after Elli leaves for a weekend retreat, Sam is not only shocked to find out she has a niece but that Elli has gotten herself into something much deeper than a day at the spa. Sam is left to figure out what led to Elli’s disappearance and how to get her back

This is the second book I’ve read recently (This Might Hurt being the first) about sisters, one of whom joins a cult, leaving the other one to try and wrangle her back. This one was the better book.
The two sisters in question are identical twins and former child stars. They’ve become estranged due to Twin A’s substance abuse problems. When Twin B, the supposed good twin. leaves her child behind and disappears behind the gates of a “women’s retreat”, Twin A knows she needs to get her crap together so she can bring her sister home. Of course, that’s much easier said than done.
I found this to be a fun, enjoyable read.
Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhouse for this #arc of #illbeyou by #janellebrown in exchange for an honest review.

Part family drama, part cult thriller, I'll Be You follows identical twins Elli and Sam in both present and past timelines. As kids, they were child stars, until Elli decided that wasn't the path she wanted anymore. A devastated Sam becomes listless and a series of events leads to the two no longer speaking - that's where we come in. What exactly happened, and why did Elli just up and leave her two year old to go on a wellness retreat with no notice of when she will come home?

I'll Be You is a slow burn - switching timelines and narrators as we learn what happened to Sam and Elli's relationship, and where Elli has run off to. While it unfolds as a thriller, there is also a strong thread of familial relationships and how our choices impact our interactions with family. If you enjoy a family drama or suspense, I think you'll like this one.

LOVED this book. Was hooked from the beginning. Go read this book right away! Great story! Quick fast paced book.

I finished this book last week and really enjoyed it! Janelle Brown’s books take the wildest turns. I would call this one more of a psychological read than thriller or mystery. It was much milder than an on the edge of your seat thriller, but I was so intrigued by the twin storyline and the cult aspect, that I didn’t care that it felt slower at times than I would prefer. There were also twists I didn’t see coming at all.

It was hard for me to connect to either character because I felt they both did extremely outlandish things at times, but I found that I was pulling for Sam more than Elli. Maybe it’s because we are in Sam’s perspective first 🤷🏻‍♀️ either way, the things Elli did felt less believable.

Overall, I would say pick this one up if you are looking for difficult aspects of life being faced (addiction and infertility) and struggled through. Or if you like stories surrounding twins.

Also, cults are nuts. The end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the arc in exchange for my honest review

Absolutely loved "I'll Be You" by Janelle Brown. I could not put this book down as soon as I knew there was a cult involved. It was so well written and pulled a lot of info from current cult's I have heard about before, but twisted a bit to sound like it's own. The story of sisters really pulled at my heart strings and made me think of my own sister, whom I am going to share this book with. One of my favorite reads this year, well done Janelle! Also appreciate the mention of Mammoth,CA as it is near my hometown. <3

I enjoyed this book. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be but it was a good surprise. This book follows the now and then of twin sisters Elli and Sam. It was a interesting take on twins, as they are usually close and share brains. These twins aren't like that.

This is well written and I loved the Elli character, the whole redemption thing was cool to see and to see her become a better version of herself was a interesting story line. They did lose me mid way through the novel as it went into something i despise reading about but I did finish it and they did bring it back in the end.

4/5

Another novel enters the sphere of women who are attracted to power cults to escape their work lives and motherhood. Janelle Brown offers an exciting twist with thirty-something identical twins in California who grew up on Hollywood sets as sitcom actors. Elli is married, wealthy, but unable to conceive a child, much to the disappointment of her husband. Sam is single, broke, and a recovering addict who sells her eggs to support her drug habit. The two worlds collide when Elli, who is going through a divorce, suddenly becomes the parent of a little girl. A good gripping story.

Blog:
I previously read Janelle Brown’s Pretty Things and really enjoyed its delightful thriller take on Instagram influencers. I was excited to see another of her books on NetGalley and even more excited to see it using a child star identical twins plot. I smashed that request button, let me tell you, and this did not disappoint. In fact, between the two sisters, it covered two of my other favorite plots – a person with addiction in recovery and a person falling for a cult.

Imagine if the Olsen twins were identical (they’re not) and had a falling out right after they stopped acting. That’s the basic set-up of this book. Sam continues to try to act and also continues to fall into a hole of addiction. Elli pursues a regular life, going to college, setting up a florist business, and marrying. We find this all out in flashbacks, as the book starts with a bang with Sam, who we quickly find out is just past a year in recovery, getting a phone call from her parents to come help take care of her niece. Elli brought her newly adopted toddler daughter to them to go on a quick spa retreat in Ojai, but is gone longer than expected. Sam is shocked by all of this because she and Elli haven’t spoken in over a year for ominous reasons we don’t know yet.

I loved this book. I was immediately enamored with Sam. What a tough situation to get plopped in your lap just over a year into recovery. She suspects something is amiss with Ellie, but Ellie has always been the stable one and Sam the untrustworthy addict, so her parents don’t take her concerns seriously. But we, the readers, quickly see that Sam is likely right. There’s something fishy going on. Why would Ellie and her husband suddenly separate right when they adopt after years of infertility? How likely is it that a woman who struggled with infertility for years would suddenly disappear to a retreat for more than a week, barely speaking to those caring for her long hoped-for daughter? Why won’t Sam and Elli’s mom and dad admit something is off? There’s a lot of delicious suspense immediately.

Most of the beginning of the book is from Sam’s perspective, but partway through we swap to Elli’s. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this, because I was so invested in Sam, but it worked. Eventually, we swap back to Sam’s toward the end. Sam’s characterization is just so strong and relatable to me, whereas Elli’s is a more difficult character for me to relate to. But the reason it worked is Sam needs to come to understand Elli and so, getting inside Elli’s head and perspective helped me see that, so that I started to root for Sam’s attempts to rebond with Elli in a way I hadn’t before.

The only reason this is getting four stars and not five from me is because of one scene where a secondary lesbian character is biphobic. It was hurtful to me to read that scene, and I just didn’t think it was necessary to the plot of the book. I’m ok with characters being imperfect when it serves needs of character and plot development, but the exact same plot device could have worked without the biphobia. (Essentially, this character exacts revenge on her ex-wife. While the revenge is spurred on by multiple things the ex-wife did, the tipping point is that she got together with a man after the divorce, and the character is extra upset because it’s a man and she’d “hid” being bisexual from her. Ick. We could have just….had something else be the tipping point. There are plenty of options. An example of biphobia I would have been ok with seeing would have been if Sam and Elli’s big fight was about one of them being bisexual and the other not being able to handle it. That’s important character development. This wasn’t.)

Overall, this was a fun, different read with a main character I really enjoyed and a different take on some common thriller plot devices. I recommend it, and I think I myself might go back and read more of Janelle Brown’s back catalog.

4 out of 5 stars

Length: 368 pages – average but on the longer side

Source: NetGalley

GoodReads:
Really enjoyed this one. Twins! Cults! Child stars! Addiction and recovery!

Check out my full review.

*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

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This thriller about identical twin sisters who are former child stars did not disappoint. In fact, between the two sisters, it covered two of my other favorite plots – a person with addiction in recovery and a person falling for a cult. When Sam’s estranged sister Ellie drops off her adopted toddler daughter with their parents to stay in a spa retreat then doesn’t come back after the weekend, their parents call Sam to babysit. Sam can’t figure out why they aren’t more worried about Ellie’s refusal to return and can’t get them to listen to her worries. Because Ellie is the responsible one, and Sam is the untrustworthy one with a year of sobriety under her belt and no rebuilt trust yet. So Sam takes matters into her own hands. Link to full review in my profile.

*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*