“Under the Palms” by Kaira Rouda is the second novel in the Kingsley family series and it is just as good as “Beneath the Surface”. “Under the Palms” can be read as a standalone but, if you want to enjoy it deeply then you need to read the first book also. There's just something about reading a book with a scheming, dysfunctional, crazy family Kaira is an expert at that! I love the feeling when I can picture myself smack dab in the middle of the book I'm reading and Kaira does that every time. This book was told in multiple POVs, and even though none of the characters are very likable, I really liked reading their perspectives. I enjoy Rouda’s writing style, her signature twists and psychological suspense permeate every one of her books and this one is no different. To truly appreciate this story (and to get the full Kingsley family effect), it's best to read Beneath the Surface before digging into Under the Palms. I was both shocked and satisfied with the ending. It was very unexpected. This was a fast read that I flew through in a few hours. The Kingsley's are one of the most selfish, greedy, dysfunctional families in the world of fiction, and I really hope that Rouda continues their story. I will be waiting very impatiently to find out if there will be a third book. Thanks to Kaira Rouda, Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an e-arc in exchange for my thoughts. I look forward to reading Kaira’s next novel.

The crazy Kingsley family is back and fighting dirtier than ever! Richard Kingsley has decided he wants to fire his new President and start over. The boys, who had forged a temporary alliance, are back to one upping the other, this time at a work retreat in a resort, with wildfires closing in. This book brings back all of the characters we love to hate and notched up the suspense to the explosive ending! I thank Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This second installment of the life and times of the Kingsley klan is superb! This family is even more disturbed and murderous this time around, in the best way possible!

The Crazy Kingsley Clan is as ruthless as ever!
🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 (rounding up)
Get ready for some rip-roaring drama in the latest addition to the Kingsley series by Kaira Rouda. The Crazy Kingsley Clan is back and they're more dangerous than ever! I was lucky enough to snag an early copy for review, thanks to Thriller Book Lovers Promotions and NetGalley, and I can confidently say that this book is a must-read for all thriller fans.

Kaira Rouda is a master storyteller and her latest work is no exception. With Richard Kingsley's heart failing, the whole family is vying for a place in the company before it's too late. And let me tell you, these guys are ready to do whatever it takes to come out on top. The women of the family have even joined forces, putting aside their former animosity to take down their opponents. It's a ruthless battle that will leave you reaching for the popcorn and wine as you watch the claws come out.

I'm a huge fan of Kaira Rouda and I always jump at the chance to read her latest thrillers, even before reading the blurb. That's how confident I am that she'll deliver the goods. And boy, does she deliver in this book! As always, these are my honest opinions, given voluntarily. Don't miss out on this thrilling ride!

#UnderThePalms #KairaRouda #thomasandmercer #upcomingthriller #justfinished #ARC #thriller #honestreview #newrelease #thrillerbookloverspromotions #thrillerfriendsunite #thrillerobsessedbookishclub #suspense #mystery #lovetoread #bookworms #lovebooks #lovetoreadbooks #fortheloveofbooks #booknerd #bookreviewer #instabook #readaholic #igbookreels

Book Title: Under the Palms- A Novel
Author: Kaira Rouda
Series: The Kingsley #2
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Family Drama
Pub Date: May 21, 2024
My Rating: 4.2 Stars!
Pages: 269

This is my seventh author, Kaira Rouda novel ~ they have ALL been great.
When I finished reading ” Beneath the Surface" Book #1 in this series; my comment was ~
I am looking forward to ‘Keeping up with the Kingsley’s Book #2'~ so here I am!

Author’s comment regarding her book ~ The Kinsley’s return from their Catalina Island getaway . . . well, at least some of them do . . . and now they're gathering at a luxury resort in Laguna Beach. As they all check in, the rivalries and game playing does, too. It's family. Watch your back. I hope your Under the Palms.

Living in SoCal near Laguna Beach I was sure this was going to be a fun read.
However, the Santa Ana winds and fire danger is very real - something we never take lightly.
Santa Ana’s usually take place in the fall and although usually hot/dry wind can be we cool. If there is a threat of Santa Ana’s, we respect the ban on no ‘fireplace fires”.

Be sure to read Ms. Rouda’s Acknowledgments where in addition thanking the many who helped and supported she writes about her own experience of waking up at 3:30am with hills about their home burning, threatening the homes just blocks from her.
On a lighter side she asks readers to check out the ‘Killer Author Club’ show created by Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf and yes Kaira Rouda. www.killerauthorclub.com.
The show features other authors as well and they discuss killing of the fictional kind!

Oh! BTW I did enjoy this and yep looking forward to Book #3

Want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for granting me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 21, 2024.

“In the end, all you have is family. They can hurt you the most and love you the best.”

The Kingsleys are back and getting into even more trouble during their board retreat in Laguna Beach. With the Santa Ana winds blowing this family are more of a threat to each other than the wild fires surrounding them.

Under the Palms is the second book in The Kingsleys series. I didn’t have a chance to read the first book, but this one can be read as a standalone. The events from the first book are explained well enough that I figured out what happened and didn’t feel lost reading this one at all. I do plan to go back and read book one though because I couldn’t get enough of this awful family!

Rouda wrote such a compelling story and I was completely sucked in from the first page. This was a book I didn’t want to put down, and the short chapters made it east to fly through. The multiple points of view worked really well, and that was a great way to get to know each of the characters individually as well as seeing the family dynamics. This is a family you’ll love to hate, and I highly recommend jumping into this series!

I enjoyed this book. The characters were fun, even though unfamiliar to me. I gather the author has written other books about this family, but I was able to follow the story easily, despite it being my first book by this author. I would read another book by the same author to see what happens next.

This is book two in the Kingsleys series (Beneath the Surface is book 1), and I actually enjoyed it even more than the first one! I think it's because we already know how unlikable these characters are! The author writes each of them so well, told through alternating POVs. It was fun to see just how far each of them would go to get what they wanted. It was kind of like watching a train wreck where you can't look away! It was a fast read with lots of twists, and the ending hinted at a 3rd book, which I'll definitely be picking up!

I recommend reading the first book before diving into this one!

Thank you, @thrillerbookloverspromotions for having me on this tour, and thanks to @netgalley, @amazonpublishing, and @kairarouda for the #gifted e-arc of this book!

Back at it with the Kingsley family! This time, Paige, the family president, has everyone gathered at a luxurious Laguna resort. The backstabbing, sibling rivalry, and overall dysfunction of this family continues with each character up to their usual antics. If you have not yet read Beneath the Surface, I highly recommend reading that first. You will get all of the backstory about the quirks of the Kingsleys there.
Under the Palms had my mouth opened a few times in a what just happened moment. I love how irrational and wild these characters are. You never quite know what turn they are going to take, and I find it so entertaining! Everyone is vying for power and control, and now they have powerful Santa Ana windstorms to contend with at this retreat. Funny, entertaining, and just a delight to read!

Thank you to Thomas and Mercer, ThrillerBookLoversPromotions, and Kaira Rouda for the early ARC.

Calling all lovers of THRILLERS and FAMILY DRAMA! This domestic thriller (which I read in a day) is about the ultra-rich Kingsley family, which is full of traitors, backstabbers, liars, and…murderers!

The Kingsley family has gathered at a luxurious California seaside resort for a corporate (family-run) business retreat. The problem: Richard, the patriarch and CEO wants to fire the current company president, daughter-in-law Paige. But Paige isn’t having it! And Richard’s two sons, Ted and John, are eager to take Paige’s place at the top. How far will these individuals go to get what they want?

This story unfolds through multiple perspectives and with a large cast of characters. (I had no difficulty keeping up with who was who.) In addition to the characters mentioned above, we have Serena, Richard’s 5th ex-wife, who shows up hoping to reconcile with Richard; Richard’s rebellious daughter Sibley, who arrives unexpectedly; and John’s young, gold-digger girlfriend, Krystal. Every character has their own agenda for the retreat. There are also excerpts from a local tabloid, which has “spies” at the retreat to report the latest happenings with the unusual Kingsley family.

The drama unfolds quickly with lots of surprises. The atmosphere builds quickly, with the fierce Santa Ana winds blowing in and a dangerous wildfire growing closer. There are some references to a murder from Book 1 in the Kingsley series. I have not yet read book 1 and this did not impact my enjoyment of Book 2! I recommend this book if you enjoy:

*Family Drama
*Unscrupulous behavior
*Multiple characters
*Murder!

Thank you @kairarouda  & @thrillerbookloverspromotions for my gifted eArc and for including me on the book tour!

The Kingsleys are back and on their worst behavior - just the way we like it! I highly recommend reading Under the surface as this story builds on what (and how it) happened in the first book.

I loved reading the books back to back and wholeheartedly hope there will be more books because I feel the remaining family members have enough mischief left in them for some more fun storytelling.

This time the setting is lovely Laguna Beach and an executive retreat organized by the president of the company trying to hold on to their position as the other family members scheme to overthrow them! New allegiances are formed, new (really fun) characters introduced, and more lies, intrigue & secrets thrown into the mix. And Santa Ana winds threaten to bring even more mayhem to an already crazy weekend!

I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first one because there was more character development, I loved the allegiances that happened but I think overall my favorite thing is the way characters started to feel like actual people I know and would recognize if we were to meet, they felt so real!

Read this one if you’re a fan of:
✏️ unlikable characters
✏️ beautiful settings
✏️ people scheming with a side of murder
✏️ life of wealthy & spoiled
✏️ multiple POV storytelling

A huge thank you to @thrillerbookloverspromotions @netgalley @thomasmercer for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to @thrillerbookloverspromotions for the #gifted copy.

This book serves up allll the family drama and I am here for every single bit of it!!! It was fast paced, non stop domestic suspense. The Kingsley Clan is back in book 2 of The Kingsleys. I didn’t read book 1 and it worked just as well as a Standalone. Paige, the daughter in law, of Richard Kingsley is running the show and her husband, Ted, is trying to take her down. Both brothers,John and Ted, want to take over the company, but Richard doesn’t think either of them is ready. Paige is holding on to a family secret that could shatter the family and she is going to use it to her advantage. She is really no better than the rest of the family. The secrets will come out at the weekend retreat at Laguna Beach. Who will get burned?

ARC Review
Under the Palms by Kaira Rouda
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

This is book 2 in the Kingsley Family Drama!
Twists and turns I did not see coming. The family is like a car wreck that you can’t turn away from. They are morally gray, corrupt, rich, and make the worst decisions. Lies, murder, suspense. This series is so good! I really hope she makes another one for this crazy bunch! Thank you for allowing me to be an ARC reader! So good!

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers Promotions, Thomas & Mercer, #partner, for an advanced e- copy of Under the Palms in exchange for my honest review.

I have long been a fan of Kaira Rouda’s books. She does crazy so well and I just have such fun reading her books. This is the second in her Kinsleys series and I was so happy to have more time with them. As I expected, it was another wild ride, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I highly recommend reading this series in order. So much happened in that first book, Beneath the Surface. Not only do you meet the wild and crazy Kingsley clan but you will really understand the bulk of what is going on with the whole succession plot line here in this installment. Plus…it’s just such a great book!

In this book, Paige, the new president of Kingsleys, has decided a corporate retreat is in order and so the family has gathered at the Laguna Beach resort. Of course, nothing goes as planned and not only are there a few surprises in store for just about everyone, but the Santa Ana winds are wreaking havoc on everything as well. Disaster lurks around every corner and no one is safe.

Once again, we have a deliciously fun story based on a family that is so dysfunctional it almost hurts to watch. The backstabbing, petty revenge and sibling rivalry that happens is borderline over the top at times, but given who these characters are, it all works. Again, if you have read the previous book, you know they are just being true to themselves. Each character is so fully formed and continues to be developed and I just love this. Whether you like them or not, they are acting true to themselves.

I loved that this one takes some unexpected twists that I did not see coming…and this happens a few times. I really had no idea where this one was headed and that kept me on my toes all the way through. And let’s not forget about the tabloid snippets…those were just icing on the cake! I do hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the Kingsleys…they have become my new favorite dysfunctional family!

I love this crazy family. With all the POVs the story is easy to follow. If you're a fan of unreliable characters I highly recommend The Kingsley family. There were times when my heartbeat sped up. I could not have guessed the ending. Book one of the Kingsleys is Beneath the Surface.

The Kingsley’s are back and unsurprisingly, up to no good! The lengths this family will go to for money and power is disgusting and so entertaining 😂 This book is fast paced and at times was truly shocking! Under the Palms picks up right where book 1 left off. Paige is president of the family business with Ted and John still vying for the position they believe is rightfully theirs. A deal that Ted insisted he checked out completely and convinced Paige to push through, is going to lose the company a lot of money and Paige knows she is going to be the one to take the fall for it. That’s when she plans a weekend retreat at Laguna to solidify her position and bring the company together. She has a few surprises for the family, and a foolproof plan in place to stay president and keep the family in check. There are secrets, blackmail, lying, backstabbing, and Santa Ana winds that threaten a wildfire.. What could possibly go wrong? 😅

This family puts the dysfunction in dysfunctional family. If you thought book 1 was nuts, this one adds a mystery into the mix. I can’t mention what that mystery is but that reveal took me by surprise. This one is definitely a roller coaster of a ride.

A continuation of the power struggle from book 1, but it isn’t necessary to read book 1 to enjoy the unraveling of the Kingsbury family. While I don’t watch reality TV, this almost seemed like it would be the cross between the Kardashians and real housewives. Adults behaving badly.

While there is a nice cat and mouse or should I say mice game to see who will run the family business, you can’t totally appreciate it until the end. Everyone thinks they are best suited and is trying to one up each other for the job.

This one moves at a fast pace and doesn’t let up. And if you like unlikable characters, there are so very many to choose from. I really enjoyed trying to figure out which one tops my list.

This was an entertaining read for a dark winter’s night.

This was the best book to start the year off with! It was so scandalous and juicy. Rouda knows how to write unlikeable characters! I really enjoyed the first in the series Beneath The Surface but I think I enjoyed this one more!

Told from multiple POV this had all the succession vibes! Hands down, favourite character is Sibley. Hilarious. But everyone is just so snarky and bitchy and back-stabbing lol!! And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rouda’s writing style is effortless to read, and the dialogue is so deviously funny. A truly fun popcorn thriller - definitely add this one (and Beneath the Surface) to your TBR.

4.5 stars rounded up.

I unfortunately did not love book 1, so I had low expectations for book 2. Unfortunately I think these types of books are not for me.

If you have ever read a Kaira Rouda book you know you will meet a cast of dysfunctional, lying, and scheming characters and this one delivers all of that and more. I loved the descriptive writing as Laguna Hills California, right as Santa Ana winds are starting and then threatening, is the setting. Of course I tried to solve which character was the worst of the worst but I again guessed wrong. This is the second book in a duology but can definitely be read as a standalone. For a great suspense story about a very deranged family give this book a try.