Nicole is seeking partnership and looking to advance her career with her law firm. When her results come in for billable hours and work load, she is just not keeping up with the group in building the firm. I really think that this author did a good job creating an extremely plausible plot line. We have all been inundated with the men's club mentality and the inequality women face in the workplace based on gender. This book delves into what it takes to reach that next level with the support of a lady's club. The odds are stacked against Nicole, but if she can figure this out, she will at least get her life back. I really liked the suspense elements of this book and how complex the layers were in the plot. I struggled a bit with the men roles in this book because they seemed a little back seat when this would not be the case in a law firm, or intense career of this type. I enjoyed this book and this author has never disappointed me yet.

Nicole receives an invite to a discreet, invite only women’s networking group called Panthera Leo at the exact time she is discouraged in her professional life. She is tired of the patriarchy and the boys club at her law firm.
The story alternates between her initial joining and the aftermath. It becomes clear to Nicole that sisterhood in the group is everything and they must protect each other at all costs to include murder. The members of the group are very noteworthy public figures such as movies stars and politicians.
While the story lagged a little in the middle, it did pick up and had a few minor twists with the amount of secrets hovering, revelations, and realizations from the sinister members. It almost seems as if Nicole trades one demanding job for another but this time with murder. This was a 3.5 * for me. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the EArc and the chance to review it!

Meh.

That’s kind of how I felt about this book as a whole. Normally I can devour a book in less than a day, maybe two if I’m working. This one took me six.

I liked the premise. I love reading about cults (as you can probably tell from my recent reads). But this one just kind of bored me. I kept waiting for it to get better. And while the end tried, it fell flat for me. It was too convoluted. Far too fantastical.

I appreciate the work that the author put into this book, but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, Atria Books and Catherine McKenzie for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinions. Please Join Us will be released on August 23rd 2022.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. I have read all of this author’s books, and this was my least favorite. It didn’t have a thriller vibe…it hardly had a mysterious vibe. I found it really unpredictable, and for a group that was supposed to be about supporting women, all they did was tear each other down. This just didn’t have a spark for me.

Nicole’s job is suddenly on the line. She lost a big client that went bankrupt, and the other members are questioning her worth. When she receives an email inviting her to an exclusives women’s networking group, Nicole feels like she needs to take the opportunity. At the event she becomes part of Pride. The only rules, be there for your fellow members. When they need something you are there. And yes, there will be a test. Nicole is all in at first, but things are starting to seem off…

I am really enjoying this trend of novels about cult like women’s networks. This one kept me on the edge of my seat and I flew through it. It definitely twisted u0p my mind trying to figure out what was happening and who was pulling the strings. I can’t imagine getting wrapped up in a group lie this, but I can also totally see how it would happen. I found this a fast paced and fun novel!

Excuse Me Miss Muffet, Sitting On Your Tuffet!! 😯😳🤯😳

This book gave me some "The Collective"by Alison Gaylin book vibes! And I was all over it! From the beginning I was yanked in when the first chapter started with one heckuva thrill! The build up and lead into this story was suspenseful, thrilling & kept you on your toes with insane intrigue. The plot was so well done, focusing and empowering these women who were trying to thrive in the "mens club" world in their respectable career areas. I love how certain woman are reached out to & become a part of a small group called Panthera Leo - becoming a lioness with "the pride" helping one another to thrive, survive and make it in life's world to achieve the utmost. Nicole becomes a part of this and travels to a ranch for five days to be initiated, as it were and develops a sense of community & friendship with the other women. Soon she'll find out the cost once she's completed the initiation and it may be more than she bargained for.
Although the ending left me a tad dissatisfied I still loved the whole journey, the entire read and everything that lead up to it. I loved how she touched on something so true in today's world of trying to be a successful woman in a man's world. This was devious, dark, twisted and boy oh boy the thrill was excellent! McKenzie is always a go to author for me and yet again she has done it!

Thank you to NetGalley & Simon & Schuster Canada for this DARC.
Release Date: August 23, 2022

I give this 4.5 / 5 Bouquets! 💐

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie is a modern thriller about an elite group of women with an agenda on getting exactly what they want, no matter what.

Nicole has just been given the worst news of her career, her points at her law firm are the lowest at her career and her partnership is in jeopardy. While questioning her future, she receives an exclusive invitation to Panthera Leo, an exclusive women's group that has a teambuilding corporate retreat in the coming weeks.

After the retreat, she's quickly ingrained in the group, weekly drinks and dinners, long text chains and ongoing favors. But pretty soon those favors start getting bigger and bigger.

This book is fast paced and does have a satisfying end. That said, I had a hard time connecting with these women. There were several that I was getting confused for the others. Athena, Samantha, Heather...I completely forgot about Connie and she was a rather important figure! I also felt like it got a little TOO convoluted in its who is blackmailing who towards the end.

STILL, the overall satisfying theme of women getting everything they deserve is awesome.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed this novel, I rated it 4/5 stars! I got early access to this book through NetGalley. Trigger warning for brief graphic descriptions, blackmail, manipulation, descriptions of sexual assault, and related topics. This thriller includes time jumps, starting first off with a woman covered in blood and a dead body. While Nicole's high-power law career seems in a lull, she accepts an invitation to join a women's networking group despite her husband's jokes that it's a cult. Nicole grows close to these women and reaps the rewards, like an apartment and a career-making case. It all comes to a head when Nicole notices coincidences she can no longer explain away. The ending is surprising and has a great legal angle. I'd recommend this to anyone! The scheduled publish date is August 23, 2022!

Catherine McKenzie gave us a wild ride with this one! Please Join Us is a fast pace, dive right in thriller that kept me glued to the pages.
Right away I was intrigued by the whole secret society plot- the characters were interesting and so different from one another, the short chapters were brilliantly written and the alternating past and present tenses added to the build up of the story. The twists and turns definitely kept me on my toes throughout the book. It ended with a surprising bang, and I had to take a minute to connect all the dots because I wasn't expecting the plot twist!
Should you read it? Absolutely!

Meh.. this book didn't do much for me. I understood what she was going for, with the cult NXIVM vibes, but it just wasn't thrilling enough! It kinda felt like a first draft to me.

Unfortunately, this one was just not for me or at least not for my mood! Will update if able to finish at a later date, but didn’t grab me enough to finish! 3 for neutral!

Absolutely loved the premise of this book and the last 30% was so exciting and explosive with twist after shocking twist. The rest, however, was so slow. Nothing really happened. Even the retreat and the club seemed like nothing but what they were advertised to be. I would have enjoyed this book so much more had it picked up pace, kept a mysterious and nefarious atmosphere, and had twists throughout.

This is my fourth read by Catherine McKenzie. I'll Never Tell and Fractured were both four stars and Six Weeks to Live was a stellar five star read for me. This book was very unique and definitely surprising with lots of twists. Most of the characters were very flawed and unlikeable but hey, I dug it because it was also very fast paced. I can always count on Ms. McKenzie to deliver a riveting mystery. I loved the strong women throughout the book. In a word: Wow.

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie comes out in August, but when I got it through NetGalley I knew it I had to read it asap. I really enjoyed Six Weeks to Live and I wanted to see what this one had in store.

This book is told in dual timelines. One timeline is when Nicole’s life seems to be falling apart. Her job is in jeopardy, her marriage isn’t as happy, and they might be losing their home. She gets invited to this women empowerment retreat and decides maybe this is her way out of this mess. The other timeline is in the future and we can tell something bad is happening until the two timelines eventually meet. Was this women empowerment trip more than Nicole bargained for?

❤️Review❤️

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how it was told in the dual timelines. It made you want to keep reading especially to find out how Nicole gets herself into the future perspective’s problems. There was great discussion about being a woman in the workforce, as a friend, as a wife, etc. that I thought was unique to a thriller novel. In the end I had no idea how she was going to get out of the predicament she was in. I began to worry and was extremely anxious for her. I love when a book can make me nervous because then it makes me flip the pages even faster. This was a fun book and you won’t want to miss it!

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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The story/premise was interesting but I did find the book a bit slow-moving in parts even though there was a lot going on. Somehow it didn't totally grab me, it was less about the suspense and more about the mystery.

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie is such an excellent, evil read. The characters are great, so very real, and at various parts of the book I found myself empathizing with each one of them. At different parts of the book I also found myself disliking most, if not all, of the characters. It's a wonderful author who can draw out those very different feelings for each character in turn.

I think the only people I never disliked were Dan and Nicole, and of course, the dearly departed Aunt Penny, although the reader never really meets her.

For an incredibly plotted, tautly written thriller which is essentially a very, VERY long game of well-plotted chess, you will want to read Please Join Us. I read many books in this genre, but I don't remember the last time I felt that a book was this well done.

There's a reason I enjoy everything Catherine Mackenzie writes. If you haven't read her yet, what are you waiting for?

Thank you to Negalley, the author, and publisher for an ARC at my request. All thoughts are my own and happily shared.

This started off super strong for me. I enjoyed the premise a lot but this fell flat for me. I found the whole plot and various subplots completely unbelievable for starters who goes on a random retreat after getting a random email? The most interesting part of the book to me was when Nicole was on this retreat. I enjoyed the interactions between the women and quickly realized this women's networking group was very cult like. For me, the book dragged in the middle, and then crammed a bunch of twists and drama within the last few chapters. Even with all that, I found the ending to be very unsatisfying and kinda boring. This was just not for me. I enjoyed the New York setting and the attention to detail McKenzie put in the book but sadly was not my cup of tea.

Another doozie from Catherine McKenzie! I absolutely love how she ends her chapters with an answer to a cliffhanger! I struggled to stay awake reading “Please Join Us” because I couldn’t put it down! An amazingly twisted look at corporate culture & the #MeToo movement.

I loved the main character and her husband, Dan. My only regret was not being able to find out about their future & if they ended up staying together & having children. I always wish I could have found out more about Katherine, as she seemed like a strong, self-made woman who could do with an even deeper storyline!

A fast-paced, fun read with lots of twists & turns!

Twisted does not even begin to describe the plot of this book! It’s more like driving on a curvy mountain road with all kinds of switchbacks that you weren’t expecting and a tractor trailer tailgating you. There were so many unexpected surprises that I just sat back and decided to enjoy the ride instead of trying to figure it all out. Not only was the plotting phenomenal, but the characters were completely fleshed out, with their flaws and weaknesses on display for all to see. Nicole is the lawyer in a large firm, but her job may be ending because the powers that be in her organization are no longer standing behind her. Desperate for that elusive success, Nicole receives an email from an organization called Panthera Leo inviting her to join a group of powerful women who make things happen in their lives and in their careers. Thinking she has nothing to lose, Nicole attends their weekend getaway. And that’s what happens next. Her life gets away from her, out of her control, bouncing to places and events that she never dreamed would happen. The sub-plot of her relationship with Dan was also mesmerizing as he just came across as a good guy who wanted whatever would make Nicole happy. Meanwhile, Nicole has a whole set of new lady friends and something weird is going on in her career, something remarkably unexplainable. Without giving the twists away, I cannot tell you much more about the plot except that this book captivated my imagination like no other book has lately. Told with real emotion and some evil manipulations that are somewhere in another stratosphere, this book is one that no one who loves suspense thrillers should miss. In fact, it’s a good thing that the book is listed as fiction or I would be trying to join Panthera Leo myself. Realistic book with so many wow factors and including so many details that demonstrated excellent research. Creativity and imagination combine to make this story one of the best fiction books that I have ever read!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Simon and Schuster via Netgalley and also a hard copy from them via mail. I was not required to write a positive review, but I was absolutely delighted to do so for such an amazing book. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Nicole finds herself unfairly losing her status in her law firm and is invited to join a womens "club" that is determined to make things equal for women. Unfortunately, it comes with a lot of strings attached. Nicole has to do what they say or else find her life destroyed.

I really enjoyed the build up to this story. I like the back and forth in the first part of the book and feel it really added to the suspense of what was going on. I enjoyed the story as a whole, but felt the ending wasn't quite what I was hoping for. It wasn't bad. I enjoyed it up until the last couple (literally) pages and then it fell a little flat for me. I still highly recommend reading as it made me think of how corporate America really works, the good ole boys (or women in this case) always looking out for one another.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.