Cover Image: Please Join Us

Please Join Us

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Member Reviews

I've been a fan of Catherine McKenzie for many years and have read most of her books, and while this wasn't my favorite one, it does showcase her incredible talent in executing some flawless twists. Nicole was a fairly unlikable character, which made it difficult to connect with her on the level I would have expected, but again, the twists at the end more than made up for the slow pace for the first two thirds of the story. I'll be eagerly awaiting the author's next release!

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I read this a while ago and forgot to review it. So my thoughts on it aren't exactly fresh but I remember being slightly disappointed after reading her previous book about the clone.

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For fans of Nine Perfect Strangers and The Herd this feminist thriller follows the life of Nicole as she joins a network of powerful women who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

I love a good cult thriller and this one did not disappoint. I loved to hate all of the characters and sit back, relax and watch the plot unfold. The pace at times was a bit slow and convoluted but that’s also because it’s certainly not a whodunnit mystery. It was fun never quite knowing who to trust and what was real and this would make a fabulous screen adaptation.

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Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This was a perfect beach read thriller. It kept me on my toes and although it was my first nook by this author, it won’t be my last!

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Oh I really liked this one! Love reading a Canadian and while thrillers are not my go to genre, this one worked for me! Lots of twists and turns and I binged in one sitting because I had to know what happened immediately!

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A clever and captivating unique novel that I had to consume in one sitting. I loved how this group had every step of the process of overtaking another person's life down to an art form. The author created a circumstance and offer few of us would turn down, a chance to be empowered and succeed in our chosen career. A genuinely clever and Machiavellian story; I have read everything this author has written, and I found this novel to be in a class by itself! When I reached the final page I wanted to give the author a standing ovation for this well crafted masterpiece; such a clever and imaginative book! Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy for review!

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This one was a DNF for me. I will not be posting a review of it but thank you for sending I think people would like this one it just wasn't for me. Thank you again for the copy.

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Overall this was a good book. I like reading about cults, and it kept my interest peaked throughout.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for an advanced copy!

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This was a smart thriller! I say that because there is a lot of legal jargon and some twists that were very hard to see coming! I really was invested about half way through, and I needed to know how it would end. If you are in the mood for a fast paced thriller following extremely smart women, this is the one for you. I've never read this author before, but I will read more now!

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I would rate this 3.5 out of 5 stars for this one. I had anticipated that it would be more cult-like and it disappointed me slightly. It was an interesting read but slow at times. Overall an OK book!

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3.75 stars

This was a wild ride that I didn't want to end. I really enjoyed this from start to finish. It was extra, maybe a little too extra (is that possible?), but when I finished this story, I was very satisfied. It ended a little too abruptly, and the last couple of chapters were a hot mess. But hot mess is my favorite type of ending, so I mean that comment in a positive way!

I really enjoyed Catherine McKenzie's writing style. This will not be the last book I read by this author, that is for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

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This was a wild ride! I loved the concept of a women’s networking group helping other women succeed in life.

The book is told in dual timelines, the past where Nicole joins Panthera Leo and the present where something sinister is taking place. At first I was confused by the present timeline, but I loved how it all came together in the end. I felt the past took a little while to get into as it moved a bit slowly for me as we learn about the organization and what it takes to join it, but once we got past the initial retreat, I felt the pace picked up.

A big concept of this book is the sisterhood and bond of these members and what they’ll do for each other. It was interesting to me to see that everyone in the group seemed to have their own agenda, and not all of them had good intentions. I loved trying to figure out each of the ladies’ motivations and what was driving them to do what they were doing.

Although a bit predictable at times, overall I enjoyed this story and loved seeing where it was going. I loved the ending and how it all came together.

3.5 stars

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It can be hard getting ahead as a woman in a male-dominated industry. It’s something that Nicole Mueller has fought her entire career as a lawyer trying to make partner. And she’s fighting hard, but she’s starting to lose as male lawyers in firm just seem to cut in line ahead of her on the corporate ladder at every turn. So when she’s invited to join Panthera Leo, a networking group for powerful women, she’s intrigued, but also skeptical.

Nicole is quickly taken up in the Panthera Leo culture and while she’s a bit intimidated by the leaders, she does quickly make some fast friends that make it worth it. Best of all? They promise to help her level-up her career and it’s clear they have connections to pull those strings to advance her career to where it would have been already if she were a man. Everything’s going well until her debts come due and she realizes there is a lot more going on being the scenes at Panthera Leo than she could have ever known.

Please Join Us is a fantastic page-turner that will keep you up all night. Special thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. This one is out now!

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Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for a review. This novel released on Aug. 23, 2022.

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I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Nicole Mueller thought she had it all. Partner at her law firm and a great home in NYC in a rent controlled apartment owned by her husband's aunt that they will purchase from the estate upon her death. Then, she has a meeting with the her mentor stating that her billable hours are down and they are watching her. Nicole needs to do something to get her career back on track. She receives an anonymous email from an exclusive women's networking group, Panthera Leo, to join them. Nicole thinks what is the harm, she can use this group to help further her career as all members are successful, professional women. However, her husband tells her it sounds like a cult, but she joins anyways and goes to their retreat in Colorado for a few days.

At the retreat, she meets several very successful women and thinks she is very lucky to be there. At the retreat, there is a lot of bonding type activities to remind the women that they have just as much power as the boys and that they need to exercise it. Stop caving to the boy's club and fight for what you want.

After the retreat, Nicole notices a lot of changes. She picks up a large client that will make up for the shortage in her hours. She is offered a gorgeous apartment at at discounted rate by another member of the group so that she is not homeless. The favors others ask in return are not too difficult to handle, donation to a charity, help with a project, etc. Then, one night she is called to a member's home. The member is a congresswoman and she has committed a crime. They need Nicole to help cover up the crime and and keep it to herself. As Nicole goes those this, she starts realizing that there is a bigger play at stake. Can she get out in time?

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I just couldn't get into this one as much as the author's previous book. It spent too much time trying to convince me that Nicole was super intelligent, which she definitely wasn't, and not nearly enough time actually telling a story. I didn't feel quite enough suspense.

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I found this book to be so disappointing given how excited I was for it! The author’s book “You Can’t Catch Me” is one of my favorites, so i was bummed that it lacked the suspense I craved.

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I loved every minute of this twisty tale. The characters are well developed with red herrings thrown in to keep the reader on their toes. I was engaged from start to finsih and did not see the final twist coming!

I also loved the premise and the cult like expectations, it made for an interesting twist on a more traditional who done it. I look forward to reading more from this author!

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced copy.
Please Join Us follows Nicole, a lawyer who is on track for what she wants, but then problems start to pop up and slowly her life is falling apart. At the perfect moment, she gets invited to an exclusive womens organization that’s designed to help women with networking and in their careers. But it’s so much more than that.
This book was a fun read. It was a bit predictable because it was absolutely a cult. But the twists and turns were good and there were definitely still surprises.
I think anyone that liked mystery/thrillers will enjoy this one and I’d definitely recommend it.

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This started out so promisingly — great plot, realistic-enough characters (although it is unclear how an in-house attorney and a very senior associate/non-equity partner were so strapped for cash), a sense of intrigue. About two-thirds of the way in, things started to unravel for me as the book became predictable yet also ridiculous. Would definitely read another book by the author, however!

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