3.5 stars!

Kate Turner and her daughter Alex have recently moved from Buffalo to Shoreham, FL, hoping to start over after the death of her husband in a tragic car accident. Alex was a star tennis player at her old school and is hoping to join the Shoreham team, but she ends up making enemies with the three standout players, Daphne, Shae, and Callie. However, Kate is befriended by the girls' mothers and wonders if it's just teen girls being teen girls. She gets the answer to her question when one of the teens winds up dead.

This was my first Margot Hunt read and I enjoyed it! I thought the plot was very interesting and fast paced, which made me fly through it. However, both Alex and Kate frustrated me at times. Alex was being a little brat for most of the story, not telling her mother the truth of what had happened or where she was the night of the murder. And Kate needed to give Alex a good shake and put her foot down! I do wish the relationship between the two was more fleshed out - we didn't get too much facetime with the two of them interacting or showing the deep bond I would have wanted. The ending was a bit predictable, but overall, a solid thriller.

TW: Verbal abuse, murder, revenge porn, statutory rape, gaslighting

This was exactly what i needed to get me out of a reading slump, I devoured this in one sitting! this embodies the tropes I realized I love in a domestic suspense - focusing on a group of moms and their kids, which i’ve learned i much prefer over the standard husband/wife trope.
We begin the book with another favorite trope- knowing there’s a murder, but not the identities of killer or victim. Kate and her daughter Alex are new in town after the death of her husband and they quickly become involved with the ‘mean girl’ clique around town, and it escalates from there at a fast, addictive pace.
fans of things like The Hunting Wives, The Lying Club, Big Little Lies, or Robyn Harding’s books will probably enjoy this one. I also recommend the upcoming Lindsay Cameron novel as a good comp title. I definitely have to make reading Hunt’s backlist a priority now after owning a few of her bokks for years.

Lovely Girls
By Margo Hunt
Review and Rating 3⭐️

Lovely Girls is the first novel I have read by Margot Hunt and I enjoyed it. But maybe it took the whole “mean girls” theme too far? (Or is that even possible in a book? hahaha) Anyway, there was definitely nothing “lovely” about the girls in this book, or their mothers for that matter.
Kate and her daughter Alex move to Florida for a new start after the tragic death of her husband. Kate befriends some of the local moms while Alex, a tennis star from her old life, soon becomes the target of bullying from the girls in town, who also happen to be the daughters of Kate’s new friends.
Much drama, backstabbing, and plain meanness ensues culminating in a murder which soon gets blamed on Alex.
If you love a fast paced, action filled, thriller with a bit of a YA spin you will definitely love this one. I hope to read another Margo Hunt novel in the near future! 3⭐️⭐️⭐️
I want to thank Margo Hunt, Thomas & Mercer, and #NetGalley for providing an eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.



Book Rating Key
⭐️ Not Recommended
⭐️⭐️ Readable Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Excellent Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Near Perfect Book
***Note*** I seldom give ⭐️or ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ratings. If I feel a book is a ⭐️sometimes I just prefer to not finish reading it and not rate it. As for 5 ⭐️books, I think of those as books I would want to take with me to a deserted island 🏝️, and this means I read a whole lot of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️star books. Happy Reading!

Thank you to NetGally and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review. This is my 3rd Margot Hunt book and I very much enjoyed it. Her books are such great thrillers that suck you in and are very easy to ready. While somewhat predictable there were also parts that were crazy twists that I never saw coming. Overall 4 stars, glad to have read and can't wait to read more of her books.

When Kate and Alex Turner moved to Florida to start a new life after a family tragedy, little did they know that they would encounter “mean girls” on steroids. Kate struggles with the death of her husband. Alex struggles with the loss of her father and her new school. While moving seemed to be a good idea at the time, Kate and Alex soon learn it might have been a big, even dangerous, mistake. Lovely Girls by Margot Hunt deals with how each Turner lady handles her particular situation. This novel also explores the “unintended consequences” of bullying on both children and adults. A very thought provoking read.

Don't let the title of this book fool you! The girls that Alex meets at her new school are anything but lovely, and their moms aren't much better.

This was a quick read, and I liked how Alex's POV was told through her video diaries. I thought that was an interesting way to give the teenager perspective. I liked Kate's character and could sympathize with how hard it would be to move your high school senior to a new state and into a new school, only to have her be bullied. Then, to not know if you can trust your own new group of friends!

This was the first book I've read by this author, and I'll be looking forward to reading more in the future!

Thank you, @netgalley, Thomas and Mercer, and @margot_hunt for the e-arc of this book!

EXCERPT: I thought of all true crime television shows I'd watched over the years. Stories about pretty young girls who had vanished, never to be seen again. Every single one of those stories started like this. With a girl who didn't come home.

ABOUT 'LOVELY GIRLS': After the sudden death of her husband, Kate Turner is looking for a fresh start for herself and her teenage daughter, Alex. They relocate to the beachside town of Shoreham, Florida, where all is not as sunny as it seems.

Although Kate makes fast friends with a trio of fellow moms, their daughters take an instant dislike to Alex, who attempts to document their bullying in her video diary. Kate brushes off Alex’s concerns—until she receives a series of chilling warnings about the clique of moms from other parents and neighbors. As it becomes harder for her to ignore the malicious undercurrent she senses among her new friends, Kate grows increasingly unsure of who to believe—and who to trust.

As small-town gossip weaves a harrowing web of jealousy, deceit, and betrayal, Kate and Alex discover that whether you’re in or out, the status quo can turn on you deadly fast.

MY THOUGHTS: I love Margot Hunt. Her books are automatic buys for me, and she hasn't disappointed me yet!

In high school there was always a clique of girls who ruled the roost. You remember them; the beautiful girls who seemed blessed with every possible attribute. Except, perhaps, kindness. We were either one of them, or wished we were, spending our time trying to be noticed and included by them, and/or had our lives made miserable by them. I wonder where they are now . . .

Probably like the mother's in Lovely Girls, they are still in their clique, bestowing favours on the lucky few, but, for the main part, making a lot of people's lives miserable with their snubs, cutting remarks and innuendo.

I didn't envy Kate, revelling in her good fortune at being 'adopted' by Genevieve, Emma and Ingrid, because somehow I knew it wouldn't last and that the fallout would be catastrophic.

Alex doesn't have any such problem. From the outset she is ostracized and bullied by these women's daughters, Daphne, Shea and Callie. And everything she does just seems to make the situation worse.

Where will it all end? With one dead and another fighting for her life, that's where. But who's dead? And who's fighting for their life?

Margot Hunt does what she does so well, imperceptibly ramping up the tension and suspense in this dramatic and well-paced novel. Her writing flows seamlessly and I was drawn into the story immediately, reading this in a little over twenty four hours. Had I been able, Lovely Girls would have been a one sitting read for me, but nasty things from the real world, like work, interfered.

I've read everything that this author has written and I hope Margot Hunt is hard at work on her next book. I, for one, simply can't wait to get my hands on it.

An entertaining and easy to read 'guilty pleasure' novel with a superb final twist.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#LovelyGirls #NetGalley

I: #MargotHunt @amazonpublishing

T: @HuntAuthor @AmazonPub

THE AUTHOR: Margot Hunt is the pseudonym for chick lit and women's fiction author Whitney Gaskell, who has also published several Young Adult books as Piper Banks.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harlequin-MIRA for providing a digital ARC of Lovely Girls by Margot Hunt for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This and other reviews are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage

I've only read For Better or Worse but when I saw the description for this one I knew I had to read it as I enjoy Hunt's writing. While this wasn't a super unique plot, I found myself extremely engaged and couldn't wait to see how it ended. This started strong with a prologue that hooks you immediately. As a teacher, I know from experience that some parents raise their children to bully - it's unfortunate and never ends well. I am excited to read more of her work!

I just finished reading "Lovely Girls", by Margot Hunt. Thank you to Net Galley and Thomas and Mercer for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
First of all, I am struck by the irony of the title. The girls in this novel are not lovely in any way. They are absurdly mean and vicious, expecially the ring leader Daphne, who is absolutely despicable. The story takes place in small town Florida, when a mom (Kate) and her daughter Alex move there to get a fresh start. Alex is a senior at the local high school and right away becomes a target for the mean girls (Daphne, Shae and Callie).. Kate in turn, befriends the. moms of the girls, despite many warnings to stay away from them. What follows is a look at how mothers enable their daughters to do monstrous things and are monsters themselves.
There is a murder that takes place towards the end, that begins the process of settling the conflict between Kate and Alex and the horrible mean girls and their equally horrible mothers.
I thought this book was a little cartoonish at times. It is hard to believe that these girls and mothers could get away with such atrcocious behaviour, and that noone would fight back or expose them. The main characters of Alex and Kate were a little flat and not very interesting. I didn't feel compelled to wish for their happiness.
I did finish the book, quite quickly in fact. It was a very easy read, and well paced. The characters all had essential roles to play in the story and it moved along quite quickly. But I just felt ...meh...about this book.
I feel like this storyiine is nothing new and while it was intersting and I finished it...it didn't blow me away.
Happy Reading

“Lovely Girls” seemed to be a book that I would love, a domestic thriller involving teenage drama plus that of their mothers. However, for some reason, the story fell a little flat for me. It sometimes felt more like telling than showing. Certain parts seemed to be unreasonably unrealistic while I thought the general tone of the book was fun. This is an easy read that certainly is not a bad option, but is just not an unforgettable thriller that will be one of my favorites. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy for review.

Lovely Girls was the first book that I have had the pleasure of reading by Margot Hunt. Not being familiar with her writing style I was not entirely sure what to expect. However, once I got to a certain point in the plot where some hidden discoveries were revealed, I found that I could not turn the pages fast enough. Margot Hunt proved to be a masterful storyteller, in my opinion, as she relied on her ability to create a plot that was part mystery, part thriller and involved a murder. She incorporated the themes of bullying, mother/daughter relationships, grief, coping, starting over and fitting in into her book, Lovely Girls. The scenarios and dialogue throughout Lovely Girls seemed authentic and possible.

Kate Turner’s husband had recently died in a car accident. Her daughter, Alex, had been in the car with her father when the accident occurred. Alex had suffered a concussion and was having difficulty remembering exactly what had happened. Since the accident, Alex had become very quiet and withdrawn. Kate and Alex lived in Buffalo, New York and Alex had gone to school with the same group of friends her whole life. Kate thought that perhaps a change of scenery would be good for both of them.

Kate chose to move her and Alex to a beachside town called Shoreham in Florida. Through Kate’s eyes, Shoreham, Florida appeared to be just the kind of new town that both Alex and her needed. Shoreham was so completely different from Buffalo in every way imaginable. Transferring to a new school was difficult no matter what but transferring in your senior year of high school was too difficult to even imagine. Alex and Kate each had totally opposite experiences in their new community. Kate easily made friends with a group of three mothers who had daughters in Alex’s grade. The daughters of those three mothers Kate had easily befriended were as mean to Alex as their mothers were nice to Kate. Alex was belittled and bullied by them. It was hard for Kate to recognize and accept that these girls could be so mean to her daughter. All three of the girls were on the tennis team at the high school. Alex had been a strong and quite good tennis player at her school in Buffalo so she tried out for the team at Shoreham High School. Although Alex easily made the team, it was hard for her to get the coach to notice her or give her a chance to play against other schools. The top spots were taken by no other than the three girls who continued to bully her. By chance, Alex observed something one day that would alter her life in Shoreham even further. As a way of learning to cope with the car accident Alex and her father had been in, Alex’s therapist had suggested that Alex keep a video diary. When Alex observed the unlikely scene she happened to stumble upon, she automatically recorded it. That was the catalyst of worse things to come. What transpired next put both Alex’s and Kate’s life in danger and resulted in a tragic murder.

Lovely Girls by Margot Hunt was told in alternating POV’s between Kate and Alex. When the action really picked up, I could not turn the pages fast enough. I did not want to stop reading. Every chapter ended with a cliffhanger to make me want to continue reading to find out what was going to happen next. I really enjoyed reading Lovely Girls and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read Lovely Girls by Margot Hunt through Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Are some people just born broken?

Kate and her daughter Alex and trying to start over, move forward from the tragic accident that left Kate’s husband dead. It’s a rocky start for Alex at her new school and the queen bees have made Alex their latest victim of bullying. A chain of events, one bad thing after another, ends up with one queen bee dead and the detectives determined to find out what happened that night.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book releasing in Feb 2023

This was my first book by the author. Family drama, social media bullying, murder—Lovely Girls is the serious side of Mean Girls. It's a fun read, but mostly straightforward for the avid thriller reader.

Catchy murder story. Alex and her mom Kate move to Florida after Ed, their father and respective husband die. The details initially surrounding his death are unknown. Alex gets on the bad side of the 3 popular girls on the tennis and they start to bully her. But her mom Kate befriends their moms? Alex doesn’t understand. As the story goes on the bullying gets worse but Alex may have recorded some information they don’t want out there. The story is engaging and enjoyable to read.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Means moms. Mean girls. This book was partially told from the viewpoint of the girl being bullied, so it read a little YA. It’s a fine domestic “thriller” (in quotes because it wasn’t really thrilling.) A quick read that held my attention. Nothing sophisticated or complicated. The end (not the resolution) was meh and unnecessary.

I simply could not put this book down. The high school girls in this book take the “Mean Girls” stereotype to a whole new level. When Kate Turner moves with her daughter Alex to an idyllic beach town after the death of Alex’s father, things turn dark quickly. The reigning queens of the school don’t like competition and they are out to get Alex from Day 1. Kate and Alex aren’t sure who they can trust. This is a five star read that you will read in one sitting!

Awesome thriller! LovelyGirls has it all; the outcast new kid, a nasty mom group, sex, lies and video proof! Rich, well developed, believable characters and short chapters make this a quick read. Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies.

The mean-girl trope is quite popular, but it's also predictable. The writing was okay, but I never really engaged with the storyline or flat characters. Nothing will really stick with me now that I've turned the final page.

Lovely Girls was my first novel by Margot Hunt and overall it was a good read. It was fast paced and kept you guessing. I couldn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted to though. This is a good “read it in a day” thriller.

Mean Girls as a popcorn thriller.

Kate and her 17-year-old daughter Alex move to Florida after Kate's husband dies in car crash. Looking for a new start, Alex joins the tennis team and encounters a trio of girls who are beautiful and athletic- and terribly mean. They start bullying Alex from the start. Alex has journalistic aspirations and starts recording their movements. When someone gets hurt, will the town believe the outsiders or the girls and their moms who groomed them to be so hateful?

I don't read a lot of popcorn thrillers, so this was fun. It was very fast paced, and I liked the framework that was similar to Mean Girls, a movie and musical I love. I never want to hang out with any of these characters, but I enjoyed seeing where they would go and the depths of their wickedness.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review. 3.5 stars