3.5

Read this book if you like: Past and present timelines, cult vibes

Nicole Mueller is a 39 year old lawyer who feels everything is falling apart for her. Her firm’s senior partner has threatened her job, her husband's aunt is sick, and they may have to move from their beloved apartment. She receives an email invite to an exclusive women’s networking group, Panthera Leo. Membership is anonymous, but every member is a successful professional. It sounds like the perfect solution to help Nicole revive her career. Despite Dan, her husband, having concerns that the group might be a cult, Nicole signs up for their retreat in Colorado.

Once there, she meets the other women who will make up her Pride. A CEO, an actress, a finance whiz, a congresswoman: Nicole can’t believe her luck. The founders of Panthera Leo are equally as impressive. They explain the group’s core philosophy: they’re a girl’s club in a boy’s club world. Nicole is all in. Her new network quickly provides her with clients that help her relaunch her career, and a great new apartment too. Soon she's called in to do crazy favors in return.

I enjoyed this book. I flew through it. I didn't find it to be much of a thriller, more so a mystery but I did like it. I enjoyed the drama within the characters. I got to know them pretty well and they still managed to surprise me. Definitely recommend this one!

Thank you so much to the author and Atria Books for the gifted book! ❤️

I really enjoyed the "cult" like vibe that went on throughout the book, as well as how the main characters were women coming together to empower one another.
I didn't really know what to expect going into this book. At first I wasn't too sure about it, but as I continued to read I began to really enjoy it. There were some twists but it wasn't a creepy, have you sitting on the edge of your seat scared kind of twists. It was a nice easy read when you're not looking for an intense thriller but you still want a bit of suspense.

I love Catherine McKenzie’s books. And this one was no exception. This book got creepier and creepier as it went on. It had that edge of your seat and nail biting feel to it that I enjoy. This scared me off joining exclusive clubs for life. 🤣

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free ebook ARC edition of this book in exchange for my review.

Sadly, this wasn't the book for me. I started reading it and put it aside several times before now. With the publishing date coming up, I decided I just had to push through it. Had it not been for this being an ARC, I would have given up a long time ago.

I had a hard time getting into the story and connecting with the story at all, or any of the characters. I can't pinpoint exactly what the problem was, just really not the book for me.

2 stars for "it was ok"

Imagine going through it in life, your career is going south, and you feel defeated. Then you get this invite to be part of some form of retreat for women, something like a secret society of sorts, and you agree to go, and see what it’s all about. Nicole was hesitant, and her husband Dan was really supportive. I knew something was going to happen in this book I just couldn’t put my finger on it until everything started to unravel. Nicole, being the lawyer that she is, she questioned everything! She was part of a group of women who were successful, but she didn’t understand why she was chosen to be a part of this “Pride.” I won’t give too much away but this book was such a page turned and the fact that the main characters were mainly WOMEN, seeking revenge and seeking POWER. This book came with so many twists and turns it was LOVELY! Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Wow what a thrill ride this one was! I always love her books but this one was something special! It was just so Soo good.

Nicole is having a pretty bad time as of late. Once the protege at her law firm, she's now been placed on the "naughty" list and her job is in jeopardy. Her and her husband are about to lose their beloved apartment. She then receives and invitation to join a very exclusive women's networking club. Hoping this will give her the career advantage she's in desperate need of, she joins the group. That's when things start getting very weird.
I enjoyed this book alot. The characters are despicable (in a way you'll love!), the story line intriguing, the suspense is revved up and twists kept me glued to the pages.

I really enjoyed this one! I loved the “cult” like aspect and it sucked me in from start to finish. I loved the writing style and look forward to this author’s next book.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Shortly after Nicole learns her job at her law firm is in jeopardy due to a decline in new cases, she receives an email inviting her to a women's networking retreat. Nicole's husband, Dan, jokes it sounds like a cult, but Nicole thinks it is just what she needs to get back on track. Within weeks of joining the elite Panthera Leo, Nicole has a new network of powerful women, a giant new case that pushes her back on top in her office, and a new apartment. But when the leaders start asking for more and pushing her in ways she is not comfortable with, Nicole needs to decide if she really is all in, and if not, how to get out without losing everything.

I liked the pacing of this book and now/then format of the chapters. The book was not super fast paced with tons of twist and turns but was instead a more realistic story. I was a little surprised with how the end came together, but again it was not some big twisty ending. The book had quite a feminist overtone throughout the book, but nothing too in-your-face which I appreciated.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

PLEASE JOIN US by Catherine McKenzie is an intriguing and twisty story that kept me flying through the pages to see what happened next. At age thirty-nine, Nicole Mueller’s life suddenly seems to be falling apart. Her successful law career is at risk after the senior partners at her firm put her on notice for her lagging billable numbers. She and her husband, Dan, may lose their beautiful apartment when its owner, Dan’s aunt, dies. Right at this vulnerable time, Nicole receives an invitation to join a secret and exclusive women’s networking group. She signs up to join the group at a team-building retreat, hoping the support of these powerful women will help boost her career. At first, her participation appears to be paying off in many ways, but when Nicole is asked to help cover up a brutal crime, she realizes that she has become part of a sinister and manipulative group that will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. As their demands for loyalty increase, can Nicole extricate herself and resume her normal life? I enjoyed this fast-paced and expertly-plotted story. It is thoroughly entertaining but also has a timely and provocative message about ambition and women in a male-dominated workplace. Highly recommended! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

Nicole is a Lawyer and when she is basically feeling like her world is collapsing on her she receives a mysterious invitation. Now, this invitation is for a Woman’s Networking group that is very exclusive. Now Nicole’s husband is not quite convinced about this group at all, he thinks it sounds like a cult. However, she decides to see what's going on and go to the retreat.
Once she joined the group she realizes how powerful the women in the group are and how her problems are seemingly getting solved. They find a new place to live, she starts getting more work and they check in on one another. Now, this seems like a complete dream and everything is going really well until a phone call in the middle of the night.
This call is insisting that she goes to one of the other women's houses. When she does she finds a dead body. While finding a dead body is a shock alone, this group wants her to help cover up the murder.
This is a fast-paced thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. This author does do her due diligence and she has the lawyer jargon thrown in there but, it's written and used in a way the reader can follow along easily without worrying about everything going over their head. If you enjoy intelligent, twisty, and fast-paced thrillers then this should be your next read! I loved it and I am definitely already looking for other works by this author! However, I must warn you this is one of those books that you start reading, and when you look up 5 hours have passed and you did not even notice!
I applaud this author! Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this one! It was definitely a delight!

Catherine McKenzie gives us another compelling read with this fast-paced, hard-to-put-down novel about a women's secret society which guarentees its members will get what they desire despite the men and circumstances that often get/are put in their way. All they ask is complete allegiance, no questions asked. Do you want to join?

To say much more would mean spoiling the read for you; the less you know going into it, the more you'll enjoy it. Clever, twisty, suspenseful, I have no doubt you'll enjoy this book!

My thanks to Atria Books for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley. It is due to be published 8/23/22. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

This story intrigued me because I love a rallying plot about women helping women. Throw in a little mystery thriller and I’m there! I leaned more toward the present tense chapters, than the past. I felt like the women’s group was vaguely uplifting, only when it suited them and at a disadvantage of someone else. It held the important devil’s advocate question of how far will you sacrifice yourself, in order to obtain what you want in life. Overall, the story didn’t hold up for me throughout and felt like I was rushing through the past chapters to get back to the present.

This one was ok. I enjoyed the storyline but felt like there were too many characters, some felt unnecessary.

This one wasn't a real hit for me. I just though it was okay. No real connection, but I didn't NOT enjoy it. As a lawyer I connected with the themes of "boys club," etc., but just didn't love the book overall.

I very much enjoyed this book! The main character, Nicole, gets invited to join an exclusive women's networking group after a bad review at work and her membership in this group is what drives the rest of the book. I wasn't sure what to expect at first, especially as I found the initial women's retreat super frustrating - I'm surprised she didn't leave! That said, the retreat was a good set-up for the rest of the book. But as the story progressed, it became very fast paced and page turning. While there was no courtroom action, this definitely had elements of a legal thriller and a long con storyline, which I loved. This was the first book by Catherine McKenzie that I read and I'll definitely be checking out her backlist. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review early!

What's the last novel you read all in one day? I'll go first: Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie.

With a cult-ish, women power group trying to think and act like their male peers, I liked the premise of this book so much - but unfortunately it fell short of the mark for me.

This book is told in three very distinct parts; two thirds of them totally worked, hooking me fast and holding my attention. It was the last third, however, that left me feeling like my head was spinning with an abundance of information, and left me sitting there feeling overwhelmed. This last third felt so much more rushed, and less fluid that the rest of the book had seemed.

Initially, I found the abundance of characters easy to keep track of, but as the book came to a close, I was left feeling a bit like I had whiplash as I tried to keep track of these same key characters. The wrap up scene with high-impact twists, had me distracted as I tried to make sense of the constant changes.

At one point while reading, I thought "this is giving me Gone Girl-esque vibes," so I'm really sad this one didn't work out well for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the complimentary copy to read and review.

i went in expecting a cult book and while I enjoyed the read, the ending left me a bit surprised and I would have loved more darkness, action and twists. I also wish the book had stuck with the empowerment theme and followed the women as they powered together to take more men/companies down. Overall it was a good book.

Nicole is an attorney, married to attorney husband, Dan. While Dan has accepted his mid-level, corporate role, Nicole just received the news that her career at a high-level law firm has stalled. Just in the nick of time, Nicole receives an email inviting her to a women's career group that will help her move forward. While the group does help her, it's not what she was expecting. Formulaic and predictable, this one was just OK for me. The pace was good and, at times, the story and setting were intriguing. Still just OK. It's 3 stars for me.

Thank You NetGalley, Atria Books and Catherine McKenzie.
When you life appears to be falling apart and you receive an invitation to join an exclusive women’s group who will help you get back on track, do you join?
If appears to good to be true, what do you do?
I really enjoyed this novel, loved the characters.
Quick read, well written.
4 stars