Many thanks to Netgalley and Putnam for the e-arc!

So reading the synopsis I was like yes, this is totally me - I haven't read The Talented Mr. Ripley (but enjoyed salt burn I think ??) and I liked nightbitch (minus the no quotation marks over dialogue thing) so may be I had my hopes too high? I in no way thought this was a bad book but it definitely wasn't a thriller? I think I was expecting it to be something else? Normally I like books about shitty rich people? The ending was super confusing too?

A story that pushes the reader to question the nature of luxury and the sacrifices we make to attain it. While the narrative occasionally feels disjointed, the suspense keeps readers engaged. Thought provoking.
Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Honestly, I don't know what the point of this novel was. The book kept moving, but nothing was really happening. I thought from the description there would be some suspense or heart-pumping thrills, but it just... didn't. The main character, El, isn't likeable or relatable, she's just annoying, trying to find a way back into her rich friend's lives. Yeah, she's still friends with Julia but it's really on the outskirts of Julia's life... and Anna didn't even tell El that she moved to Paris and changed her phone number. El just keeps focusing on the close friendships they had as teenagers, and really, she doesn't even like Anna.

When El initially sees Bryce behind the pool house at Julia's birthday party, she had ran from him. But somehow he came to have her driver's license, so she agrees to meet him. Although he isn't really her type, she starts dating him, and he quickly becomes a walking red flag. Literally everything he does SCREAMS abusive relationship. He calls or texts multiple times a day just to make sure she's still there and hasn't run away. When she tells him she's staying at her own apartment for the second night in a row, he "surprises" her by showing up. He watches her on the security camera and puts a GPS tracking app on her phone so he always knows where she is. He isolates her from her friends and family. Just... everything he does is a no. Why is she even staying?? Oh yeah, because he's rich and she wants to live in his world... plus, she no longer has to work, so that's a bonus.

All in all, this book had the potential to be great, but the writing just wasn't there. The transitions from one section or chapter to another were harsh, the plot didn't have any depth, and there were no redeemable characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

Man’s Best Friend
Written by Alana B. Lytle
Published by Penguin Group Putnam
Release Date May 14, 2024

Yikes, I normally will give a book every possible chance to keep my interest even if just for the first half of the book. Yet this one just could not do it. If I had to choose my favorite part it would be the premise/prologue. The story dragged on slowly, made little sense, had characters that were very unlikeable with the protagonist all over the place emotionally. The author seemed to want the reader to believe one thing yet made El look so selfish and stuck up that that is the only thing you really get out of it. I would certainly read something else by Lytle and see how that goes in the future.

2.5 stars rounded to 3


Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Wha…what just happened?! What was this?! I’m so confused…

El went to NYU to study acting, in hopes of becoming an actress. She’s now 30 and it still hasn’t happened, so she’s giving up. She seems to be content working at a bakery until she meets Bryce and falls in love with his money and privilege.

This story just did not make sense to me at all. The characters are unlikable, the story itself was quite boring. The prologue, although intriguing, had nothing to do with the overall story. Although, following through on the prologue probably would have made for better reading.

I finished the book, but nothing happened and I did not see the point.

A missed opportunity to write a book from a dog’s perspective. I wish it had more dog connection than the title suggests, and more of that subplot than comes to be in the novel. El is a mess. The book was a bit slow for me. I had a hard time getting into it but glad I finished.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC

While the synopsis of this book initially intrigued me and seemed like something I would enjoy, I regret to say that it did not meet my expectations. It is important to note that personal reading preferences play a significant role in our enjoyment of a book, and unfortunately, Man's Best Friend did not align with my particular tastes. While I acknowledge the author's talent and the effort put into crafting this story, it simply did not resonate with me on a personal level. I believe that there will be readers who will appreciate and enjoy Man's Best Friend for its unique qualities I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for my honest review,

El is in her early thirties living paycheck to paycheck in NYC, she just gave up on her dream of becoming an actress. After his dad revealed he had a second family and would move with them instead of living with El and her mom, she has struggled to feel enough. When she spends a year in a private school she befriends Julia and Anna, two heiresses who have a lifestyle El could only dream of. Until one day she meets Bryce, a rich but a bit weird guy who offers her everything she could ever want on a silver platter. El's intuition says to be careful but likes feeling chosen.

This book was very well written, the pace was great which made me read it in a couple days. I'm taking off a star because I didn't love how it ended, I wish it was better explained.

I did enjoy reading this and I loved the hot mess that is El, our MC. I loved seeing through her eyes in this book and catching myself relating to her perspective of situations and having to step back and take a second to think through -- how reliable is this? Is this really what's happening? I liked the writing and would be interested in reading something else by this author but it didn't stand out as a must-read for me personally. I think I raced to the ending hoping for something major to occur that caught me off guard but I did predict some of the ending, so it didn't pay off in a big way as I thought it might, but I still had a fun time getting there.

I think the connection to the dog subplot is tenuous, definitely not direct. *SPOILERS* It was mainly foreshadowing for this theme of turning the pet/owner relationship on its head. I also so badly wanted a better character arc for El but also respect the decision the author chose for her, it does still make for an interesting ending, albeit a little anti-climatic.

Overall I did enjoy reading it but may not recommend for big thriller readers, as it may not be compelling enough for you.

i REALLY wanted to love this; i think the title was great and the blurb was very interesting. i think maybe i expected too much (the nightbitch comparisons had me excited), and i think this maybe fell a bit short for me. some of the writing felt clunky and forced to me, but i think the main character was interesting! i'd definitely check out other works by this author, i think this just wasn't for ME personally.

El always feels like an outcast, growing up amongst the NY rich, and elite, she came from a working household that was anything but well to do. So when her goals of becoming an actress fall through, she is left yet again floundering through the city. Then she goes to the Hamptons hoping to reconnect with some old friends. While there she meets a guy, and they begin a relationship in the city. There is something "off" about him, but El realizes that he could provide her with the life she has always admired from the outside.

This was an odd read for me. really, I could not figure out what the goal of the novel was for the author. The FMC being different in that she did not just want the stereotypical happy life, was interesting, but that's really the extent of my interest. The other aspect that I really don't comprehend is the whole crazy dog dilemma. I really have no idea how that fits in... maybe I'm dense though...

A failed actress, El, with rich friends meets a guy who, surprise, is quite rich. She sees him as a way into the privileged life she has only glimpsed through her friends and their pity invites to their events. Unfortunately, he is not really what he seems, and El must decide if she is alright with that. This book was a real page turner for me because I wanted El to triumph, whatever that was going to be for her, in the end. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

I couldn't really connect with this book and just found it hard to get into. It felt like it was kind of all over the place and just really wasn't for me.

3/5 stars

𝟮.𝟱 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡
I am all-in for a messy main character, but El was just not the one for me. THAT BEING SAID, there was something that about the plot that held me in its clutches and made me want to keep reading.

I was fairly intrigued by the beginning of this book, ESPECIALLY when it came to that vague opening chapter. However, the pacing was just so incredibly slow and drawn-out. As soon as we add in the rich "friends" from her past and a run-in with a pretty odd man, I was hoping things would go haywire. Things went a tad off the rails for sure, but there was always a destination point I wanted things to get to and they just never quite got there.

It was pretty clear where the ending would go from about the midway point, so I wasn't the least bit shocked. But, *spoiler alert* we never get answers on what the opening chapter alludes to, and that frustrates me more than words can express.

I tried really hard to get into this one, but I just wasn't able to. I am still really thankful to the publisher, author, and netgalley for granting me advanced access to this digital collection before publication day.

I did not care for this book. The main character, El is a boring person. I never liked her and found her very selfish. Only wanting the rich around her and what they could do for her. The friends she did have she only saw them when she felt like it.
El meets Bryce. He is smitten with her and pretty much will do anything for her. But things don't add up and before we know it she isn't quite the person I thought either but then again maybe she is.
I had a hard time liking the book, the characters and the storyline.
Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the ebook to review,

This was a bit of a slow burn and, as others, the dog component is a bit confusing. El is a very unlikeable, selfish character and she happens to meet an equally unlikeable, selfish love interest. Just when she thinks she will be living the life she's always dreamed, she finds out what seems to good to be true might be just that. Overall, this was a decent thriller.

Man’s Best Friend began with the perspective of a dog. It was pretty intense, but I wasn’t thrilled to be reading from that perspective the whole book. Fortunately, once the “story” begins, we get to read as humans 😉

El’s dream was to be an actress, but she’s not had much luck. El has found that she can live the glamorous lifestyle she wants, and basically act in the biggest roll of her life.

We get a few references to a dog throughout. But I honesty didn’t get the connection; I kept waiting for it to make sense. I thought Bryce was doing experiments to brain wash dogs - hell, that would have been more interesting than what actually happened. It was supposed to be an “owner vs pet” metaphor… but there was such an abrupt switch, and the storylines didn’t mirror each other, or really make much sense. The result was a disconnect that left a confused reader.

This was also a long story… and really nothing happened. Even the “climax” was wildly anticlimactic.

I received an ARC via #NetGalley for review

Allow me a minute to catch my breath...

Alana B. Lytle, who are you and where have you been hiding my whole life.

Man's Best Friend.

Whatever you think you know about this book, you will be DEAD wrong.

This book right here, exceeds all expectations.

Check out this teaser :

A failed actress must decide how much she will give up—and what lies she will overlook—in order to live a life of luxury, in this irresistibly suspenseful and slightly surreal debut that is The Talented Mr. Ripley meets Nightbitch.

Ever since her year as a scholarship student among the ultra-wealthy at a Manhattan private school, El knows what it is like to feel rich—to feel chosen. And being not chosen is her current living nightmare: at age thirty, she has given up her dream of becoming a famous actress, she has no passions, no great love, nothing to look forward to.

Then El meets a mysterious trust-fund Cambridge grad who holds the keys to the world she has long dreamed of. Bryce may not be particularly good-looking, charming, or interesting, but he has chosen her. El allows herself to be lulled by the ease and safety that his wealth provides, becoming Bryce’s little pet, and giving up her job, friends, and apartment in short order. But when a series of disturbing and slightly surreal events reveal that Bryce is not quite what he seems, but something entirely more sinister, El must face the consequences when his darkness—and her own—are unleashed.

This is not what I thought it was going to be. Awful book. Cannot recomend.

THanks to Allana Be Lytle, Netgalley and Penguin Group GP Putnam and Sons for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already avaiable