When you’re on top, you can get away with anything…

Amanda Pellegrino writes to open up the dazzling world of the one-percenters for her readers. In doing so, she highlights one woman’s rise to the top.

Three things should have kept me from finishing this book. Firstly, I’d normally feel cheated by a character, especially a protagonist, intentionally keeping something from me. Secondly, this, in addition to the unclear goal and direction of such a major character not being revealed until the denouement, would have normally kept me from finishing the book. It didn’t and this should speak volumes to the author’s writing ability. I was hooked. I knew something was up and that there was an undisclosed ulterior motive, but I was kept in the dark. Thirdly, I was disappointed with the swearing. Under normal circumstances, I’d have tossed this one. I didn’t. Why? The book was way too compelling. The ending made me thankful I’d sidelined my hesitations. WOW!

Eliza Bennet had me twisted around her little finger…much like everyone she came across. I sat gobsmacked, book in hand, completely in awe of the dedication Eliza had in realizing her goal.

Deliciously wicked. I couldn’t stop reading.

I was gifted his copy by Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Amanda Pellegrino, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was not a bad read, but it was nothing special for me. I felt like this was a story I had read before, and I found that the twists were a bit predictable. The extremely vivid descriptions of a severe eating disorder made me like this book less because I personally have people close to me that have almost died from eating disorders, so while I understand what the purpose of including it was to the story, I felt like the book could have achieved what it was trying to without such repetitive mentioning. The book felt repetitive overall, and the few twists there were didn't happen until the last 10% of the book, making it a bit hard for me to get through otherwise. I do think that this book has an audience that will enjoy it, but unfortunately, that wasn't me.

#TheSocialClimber #NetGalley Excellent read and a must read!!Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out!

I'm so torn about this book! The first part (getting to know lead character) as she readies for her wedding, was fast paced, good character arc, excellent story telling. Then the author delves back to youth. This, for me, wasn't as crisp and tight of writing as the first part of the book.
Either way, the story draws you in and won't let you go. So, it's gotta be a five star recommendation from me!

Wow, was this a good book! The premise sucked me right in and I’m happy to say that once I got into the book, I wasn’t disappointed at all. The writing was spectacular and the main character was both likable and unlikeable at the same time. Every time I thought I had this book figured out I was wrong. I certainly didn’t mind, though. It’s never fun for a reader to guess the ending! I couldn’t predict the ending at all with this one. This was a phenomenal book. I highly recommend this to others.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC.

Eliza Bennet has become one of the elite after her religious upbringing and experiences at an evangelical college. She’s about to marry Graham Walker, wealthy Yale graduate. As the wedding approaches, we wonder who is Eliza and what exactly is she after?

I enjoyed this book because you have no idea what the intentions of the main character are, but you have a feeling they aren’t good. It reminded me a little bit of Luckiest Girl Alive with the lifestyle and flashbacks. The parts about the evangelical school were mind boggling, but interesting. The ending unraveled all at once and it was a pleasure to watch unfold.

The Social Climber comes out 1/3.

“If you put a group of professional tanned and blown-out women in Alice + Olivia pencil skirts and four-inch Celine heels in a room together; it’s not a means to a feminist evolution, but a way to ensure you never want to work with women again.”

I really liked this book. I liked the two different time periods and while I could kind of guess what Eliza was doing it sill had enough twists to make it interesting, and I liked learning how all the different people were connected.

I stayed up far too late finishing this book. I just couldn't put it down. I love books where I think I have the ending all figured out, but I was far from having anything figured out. It's like being slapped. A few paragraphs I had to read twice to make sure I understood properly - which is definitiely a good thing! Kudos to Amanda Pellegrino for writing such a captivating thriller!

Think growing up in a religious cult, finding your partner in crime in college, and then completely changing yourself with a goal in mind... That is The Social Climber.

4.5/5

I will always pick up a novel about rich people behaving badly and the synopsis doesn’t even begin to cover what lies ahead. It’s still basically all you need to know though because this was a slow burn where you don’t even fully understand the characters motivations and intentions until the bitter end. Many times I’m not a fan of a slow burn, I tend to gravitate towards books with some action but I was never even close to bored here. The whole thing read as intoxicating to me and Eliza definitely had me under her wicked spell. You have a past and present alternating timeline and things don’t converge until almost the very end but when they do things were pretty explosive. Eliza as a character fascinated me, she got under my skin and there was something unsettling about her but I kind of liked that? Overall this had a sophisticated feel but a darkness as well, something cruel and complicated lurking. Definitely a fan!

An excellent, twisty-turny read for the cold months ahead. I loved this more than I thought I would -- and I expected to really enjoy it!