Kate and her daughter moved to Florida after the sudden death of her husband. While Kate makes fast friends, Alex struggles to fit in. When Alex witnesses something shocking happen, she becomes the butt of bullying by none other than Kate’s friends daughters. As things continue, Kate and Alex learn what it’s like to be on the outside of small town drama.

Oh this book took me back to high school with all the cliques and drama. I really enjoyed the mixed format as well. Alex’s video chapters were great and I also enjoyed Kate’s perspective as well. The author really captured how bad mean girls can be – they can ruin lives! The twists in this one were also great. The reveal about the 50% mark really helped explain a lot of things and from there on bam.

This author was new to me but this wont be my last. Grab your copy of this one now!

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, @amazonpublishing, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was the movie Mean Girls in real life. On steriods!! So believable and real! And I do believe there are mothers and daughters just like this out there.

After Kate's husband dies in a tragic accident, Kate and her daughter, Alex, move to Florida hoping for a fresh start for them both.

Kate quickly becomes "friends" of sorts with the moms of the it girls, but Alex is struggling to fit in and soon becomes the target of this trio of girls. They soon learn that this small town is filled with some very competitive, very rich, very driven mothers who won't stop until their daughters get everything they want.

Alex is good at tennis and threatens the status of the queen bee on the tennis team, she realizes that there may be more than hurt feeling at stake. She also catches one of the in a risky situation and video tapes it.

What comes next are lies, plots, backstabbing, and posibly even murder.

If you like reading rich entitled girls and their moms who are more of the same, a la Big Little Lies, you will enjoy this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"Lovely Girls" by Margot Hunt was
a well executed mystery about bullying, cliques & mean girls.
It had my interest & it hooked me right away starting off with a body that had been found on the beach.
I enjoyed the alternating chapters & the video diary ones that gave the reader more insight into the story.
I'd would definitely read another book by Ms. Hunt.

Absolutely CHILLING and absolutely real. So much of it struck me as completely believable and scarily true.
When Kate and her daughter move to Florida, they are looking for a new start, a way to put the death of Kate's husband and Alex's father behind them. Very quickly they realize that the small town is filled with some very wealthy and very competitive mothers who will stop at nothing to get what they want. When Kate's daughter excels at tennis and threatens the status quo, she realizes that there may be more than hurt feeling at stake. If you loved Big Little Lies, or live in a community were school prestige is a contact sport, Lovely Girls is for you!
#Thomas&MErcer #Margothunt #LovelyGirls #Netgalley

A story of small town gossip, this book would appeal to many women, young and old who have tried to be part of the “cool” group at school, work or neighborhood. And especially to those of us who resisted that temptation. It’s a book about “belonging.” Lately I’ve learned of the psychological term “matterings”—the desire to be someone who does work that matters and to matter or have value to others. This book is about mattering whether it’s authoring a book or winning a tennis match or recovering from a sudden loss in life. Faced with “mean” teens and “mean” moms who are a bit overboard on the “meanness” factor, mom Kate and daughter Alex find their way to a future. The story reveals how sudden and impetuous decisions can effect one’s life. Also visionary is the interplay of the role of technology in contemporary life and discovery of meaning as we discover our true selves. I thought it was a terrific book. May we all realize that we matter.

A scary story about the craziness of teenage girls and the new world of social media.

This story had me hooked right away. Wondering whose body had been found on the beach. I really ennoyed having alternating chapters and I loved the video diary ones that gave us more insight into the story. The pace of the book had me flipping through the pages just waiting to find out what happened. It felt like there were so many issues encompassed in this story and they were well managed. The author even managed to incorporate a little romance into the story.

The characters were well developed and I could defintely relate to what it is like to be a girl in highschool. This will be a book I easily recommend to others!

A well executed mystery about bullying, cliques and mean girls. Entertaining as a read, scary as a commentary on today's society.

After her husband dies Kate takes her daughter Alex and moves to Florida. Kate gets a job as a volunteer at the school and seems to be doing great. Her daughter however is not accepted so well. She's being bullied and treated bad after she witnesses something that was suppose to be kept secret. Or not seen anyway.

This story is told alternating between Kate and Alex.
It really picked up at about the halfway point and things were revealed that helped so much.
This is a good story that will keep you turning the pages.
For me it dragged until the big reveal.

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC. This is my true thoughts about this book.

3.75 stars

This book was better than I expected! I love, love, love when that happens. It is one that kept me on the edge of my seat, and binge reading way past my bedtime because I needed to know what happened and didn't want to stop it until it was done. This is the first novel from Margot Hunt that I've read, but if her others are this good, it certainly won't be my last.

In alternating chapters from Kate (Alex's mother) and Alex a senior in high school Lovely Girls is just as much about the power of cliques and the girls in them, as it is about their mothers.

Kate and Alex have just experienced the loss of their father/husband from a car accident. Kate thought a fresh start in a new city would be great for both of them. Good intentions set aside; the move would prove to be a test of parenting and social media boundaries.

Alex is seeing a therapist after the accident. The therapist suggested Alex keep a video diary of her thoughts and feelings. In the 'Alex' chapters we have the unique perspective of Alex's moods and movements as she records. I especially liked this. Alex's new high school quickly becomes an episode from the movie Mean Girls when Alex is slotted in the highest position on the tennis team.

Kate is quickly making friends at the high school volunteering until the friendships turn suddenly cold. Kate and Alex are caught in a situation that involves Alex's video diary and her word against the other girls and a mother's fierce protection of her child.

I really enjoyed this novel. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

After the death of husband/father Ed, Kate and Alex move to get a fresh start. But when their past is uncovered, the high school mean girls go after Alex. This is a book of clique moms and daughters behaving horribly and the intended and unintended consequences. I felt like both the characters and the plot were predictable and one dimensional. Attempts were made to add a few new twists and give the characters some edges, but those weren't very effective to me. However, while I say this, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the read. Sometimes even if you know where something is going, you can still enjoy getting there.

This was just ok for me. I struggle reading some tropes and the mean girls thing drove me crazy. I guess that was the point though right?

I didn’t find it overly suspenseful, but it was a quick easy read. I will probably check out other books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars--a quick, propulsive read, but not quite as layered and nuanced as I needed to take it to the next level. This was my first Margot Hunt book, and I may just not be the ideal reader, but I was hoping this novel would add something new to this genre and that didn't happen in my read.

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 it seems. Kate makes fast friends with a trio of fellow moms, but it's a different story with her daughter; their daughters take an instant dislike to Alex, who attempts to document their bullying in her video diary. 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.

This story is told through two separate povs; Kate's pov and Alex's pov as told from transcriptions in her video diary. This makes this book such an engaging read; I literally finished it in one day!! Feeling like a dark Mean Girls, this book had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out just how the story will unfold! This book felt addictive and fast-paced and I loved every minute of it.

Read this if you love:
-Twisty thrillers
-Mean girls vibes
-Comeuppance
-High school drama
-Multi-media povs

This book really made me want to read Margot Hunt's backlog so I'm currently adding all of them to my tbr!

This was my first book by the author and won’t be my last. The story is full of emotions developed by both mother and daughter depending on the situations they find themselves.
One is living a hell of a billing new school new mean girls life but is recording it all and the other doesn’t really know what to believe as she gets accepted in a group of mothers that don’t really seem to be the good ones and still carries on with that.
Lots of things happening, lots of drama, family meddling, lots of lies and deceptions and deceiving characters. Something bigger is about to happen as the story is told in dual timelines and I had the feeling of a suspenseful moment throughout the story. Was I that surprised? No, because once I got to know more about everyone and everything, I knew who and why they did it but that didn’t took my enjoyment away.
A story that many readers will enjoy.

NetGalley read now title.

Carve out some designated reading time before starting this read as you will find it difficult to put it down. Moving to a new town in hopes of shaking off a tragedy, a mother and her teenaged daughter each make different connections with a group of girls and their mothers. I found Alex to be such an interesting character, so very wise for her years, while Kate seemed so naive. I am certain that mean girls exist, hopefully not to this extent. I found myself cheering for Alex throughout this read, as I am sure Margot Hunt expected.
I loved the style of Hunt’s writing and the feelings she invoked in me as a reader. Can’t help but think that social media in today’s world causes so many issues for teenagers.
Many many thanks to Margot Hunt, Thomas &Mercer, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasure of reading an arc of this fast paced read soon to be published. I will definitely be reading more books by this author.

Popcorn thriller that I flew through this one. Mean girls with mean moms. Alex and her mom recently moved to Florida to make a fresh start after the husband/dad was killed in a car accident. Alex starts to get bullied by three girls her age while her mom becomes friends with their mothers. One of the girls end up dead and the story follows in the typical "who dun it" fashion. Easy read and enjoyable to mix in after some heavy read.

*Thank you Thomas & Mercer for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely Girls is a fast-paced, easy-to-read domestic thriller/suspense that centers on Kate Turner and her daughter Alex. After the death of her husband, Kate has moved them to a Florida coastal town for a fresh start. Alex isn't excited about starting her senior year at a new high school, and after she gets off on the wrong foot with the three resident "mean girl" bullies, things go from bad to worse. Meanwhile, Kate develops a friendship with their mothers, despite warnings from her neighbor that these women and their daughters are monsters . As the conflict between the girls escalates, Kate learns for herself that maybe the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and discovers just how far the girls will go to protect their status, and the mothers to protect their daughters.
This is my first book by this author, and I really like her writing style. The pace was good, the characters were believable, and the plot twists were subtle but unexpected.

Margot Hunt returns following Tell Her Story, with her latest twisty domestic suspense of a mother and daughter duo who meets the "mean" girls/moms in LOVELY GIRLS (anything but lovely!)— Bullying, backstabbing, jealousy, deceit, betrayal, drama, and MURDER.

My seventh book by the author, and since I am a Floridan, I always enjoy revisiting the fictional beachside town of Shoreham, Florida. I love her audiobooks as well.

Meet Kate Turner and her daughter, Alex. They are relocating from Buffalo, NY, to Shoreham, FL, after the death of Kate's husband. We also hear about events that led up to the accident and the aftereffects. They want a new fresh start away from grief and regret.

However, what they get is a NIGHTMARE. Kate is on the tennis team at the new high school and gets on the wrong side of three mean girls.

When they lived in NY after the father's accident, Kate was going to a therapist for the trauma and she thought it would be helpful to keep a video diary.

Broken out "Before She Died" and "After She Died." So we know in the beginning, someone dies.

Alex keeps a video diary, leading her into trouble with the girls when she videos one of them in a compromising situation. Alex does not want to go to school due to the bullying and torture by the girls. She does not want to tell her mom, which will worsen matters.

Kate, the mom, is getting along well with the mothers and does not understand why these girls are so bad. Others have warned her about these moms. Who can she trust and believe?

Bad girls grow up to be bad moms with evil daughters! OMG! Mean girls and mean moms. Tensions mount with backstabbing—A girl is found dead on the beach. A MURDER. Who is dead, whodunit, and the motive?

Told from Kate’s POV, with excerpts from Alex’s dated VIDEO diary.

We also learn more about Kate's complex relationship with her husband and Kate with her dad. Also, an in-depth look at how women raise their daughters and how cruel teens can be to one another.

This was more of a popcorn mystery soap opera drama with teenage girls and mom drama. I would like to see more sarcastic dark humor; however, not a massive fan of adolescent drama. Especially teen girls, as why I always wanted boys, which is what I have. Thank goodness I was lucky not to have to experience the girl drama.

While this was not my favorite by the author, I highly recommend her books. For fans of Pretty Little Liars and fans of YA books.

Thanks to #ThomasandMercer and #NetGalley for a gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: March 1, 2023
March 2023 Must-Read Books

Kate Turner and her teenage daughter, Alex, move from Buffalo, New York to a small beachside town in Florida. Kate's husband died suddenly and both mother and daughter are looking for a fresh start. Alex immediately gets on the wrong side of the Queen Bees of her new high school, but Kate is befriended by their mothers. Kate and Alex both end up in the middle of drama and Kate realizes she doesn't know who she can trust. However, when that drama heats up into something dangerous, Kate is determined to protect her daughter.

This story is told from two different timelines with a prologue letting you know right up front that things are not going to turn out well for at least one of the characters. I was drawn into the story from the beginning, but it was a tense read. I was worried about what would happen next. As bad as the bullying and poor decisions by some of the characters were, you knew it was going to get worse. It was hard reading about some of the bullying that went on by some truly horrible characters, but the story kept my interest. I liked the intriguing and somewhat ambiguous ending. This is the second book I've read by this author and I would like to read more of her work.

I received an advance copy of this ebook from NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer at no cost. My review is voluntary and unbiased.