The Sequel is the second book in “The Book Series” written by Jean Hanff Korelitz. The Plot was the first in the series about Jacob Finch Bonner, an author who makes his name known through his writing of The Crib. I absolutely LOVED The Plot! I was incredibly excited to continue the series with The Sequel.

In The Sequel, Anna Williams-Bonner, the wife of Jacob, meets with her own writing success when she publishes her own novel, The Afterword. As Anna is promoting her book, she receives a message that she believes will jeopardize everything she has worked toward and will no doubt reveal her secrets. Anna is on the hunt for clues to uncover who is behind this scheme to take her down.

I do not want to include too many details of The Sequel in case those reading my review have not had the opportunity to read The Plot. I highly recommend reading this series in order to become fully immersed in the story. I really enjoyed this series! If you have not experienced the story of Dianna Parker in this series, put it on your list to read immediately! The narrator of the audiobook The Sequel, Julia Whelan, is EVERYTHING! She does an incredible narration that assisted in making this a pleasurable reading experience.

I am sincerely hoping that Jean Hanff Korelitz is writing a third book in this series, as I do not believe Anna’s story is over! If there is a third, this book will be an immediate purchase for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to receive an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Let me just say that I loved this book and thank you to Macmillan audio for the advanced listening copy. Anna Williams Bonner is not who she says she is. I’m just gonna say it. You gotta listen or read all of this book and learn who she is. she’s so convoluted and multilayered and really bad. It’s just fantastic . If you thought the The Plot was interesting., Wait until you read this, it’s just a brilliantly written novel and I loved it Fast moving and you have to pay attention, a must read for those of us in love with books end publishing.
Narration by the never lets me down Julia Whelan. So perfect.

Not as good as the first book - there were too many narratives that were conveniently wrapped up, I thought.

Smartly written and well executed dare I say I enjoyed the sequel more then book one? I loved how it wrapped up some thoughts and unanswered questions from book one in a realistic way.

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun sequel to the plot! I was able to predict some of it, but the ride was so worth it! I couldn't believe I was rooting for a murderess to get away with her crimes,

The Sequel is aptly named - a sequel to The Plot, which I'd read and enjoyed a couple of years ago. And the characters in the book aren't wrong when they say that it's tough to write a good sequel - but for me, Jean Hanff Korelitz did succeed here.
If I had it to do over, I'd probably find a synopsis or do a quick flip through the pages of The Plot before starting The Sequel, because it had been over 3 years since I read The Plot and it took me a bit to catch up and remember what had happened. But Korelitz leaves enough breadcrumbs here to get me back up to speed. And then it was another twisty story as Anna (and the readers) try to figure out who's accusing her of stealing the plot for her new book. It's atmospheric and unpredictable and kept me interested throughout. It was probably a 3.5-star for the book for me on the page - but I listened to the audiobook, and Julia Whelan was brilliant, as always. Her narration was perfect for the character and pushed it to 4 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing a digital copy for an unbiased review.

This sequel was totally unexpected but still enjoyable! I loved The Plot when it came out and didn't know what to expect from this story. I loved the meta elements that were peppered in (like "sequels are never as good as the original!"). It was interesting being in Anna's mind now and learning more context behind the original story in The Plot. I also enjoyed the writing/publishing storyline. Ultimately this book didn't have the same magic as the first one. But I still recommend this for anyone who enjoyed the first book.

Devious. That's what she is. Period. This was a good read and if there is a 3rd book I want to find out if she gets caught! This was a good follow-up book for Jean Hanff Korelitz and I look forward to her next book!

#TheSequel
#NetGalley

Anna Williams-Bonner is attempting to move on with her life now that she has been able to not only lay to rest her husband, writer Jacob Finch Bonner, but has laid to rest the rumors concerning plagiarism that has been surrounding him and his best-selling novel. Living off the success of Jacob’s novel Anna decides to take a stab at writing herself, ultimately publishing her own bestseller, but her success brings its own set of problems; someone is sending her pages from a novel that should not exist, pages that suggest that this individual knows more about Anna, Jacob and Anna’s brother, knowledge that could threaten her own success, and maybe even more.

I was very excited to read The Sequel after reading The Plot last year, but sadly The Sequel was not all that I had hoped it would be. While it was nice to revisit some of the characters and events that occurred in The Plot, there were times when things did not make sense; they relied way too much on coincidences and circumstance, even for a piece of fiction. I was also disappointed in the fact that there were no new, substantial characters in The Sequel; this was almost a part two as opposed to a sequel. Some of the plot holes also took away from my enjoyment of the story as well as affecting my ability to relate to the story or the characters,

The audiobook neither added to nor took away from the story. I liked how Whelan gave many of the characters their own voices, but at times the pace was too slow and the narration, often lacking a change in pace or volume, was monotone. It was an audiobook that I could take or leave; it didn’t make me want to listen to it the way that some do.

What a fun sequel to the original book! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Was she going to get away with it?! I loved it.

I highly encourage you to read The Plot first to understand the premise behind this book. You are brought right into the story with Anna newly widowed from her famous author husband. As the story unravels you start to see the darker side of the book that made Jake famous and how she is handling being a writer and widow. Loved how in both books you see how blackmail plays a part and you just want to know who is behind it. If you choose to listen to this one, please know the lovely @justjuliawhelan will transport you.

A good sequel to The Plot! The continuation of the story from Anna's POV was a fun one to follow. She's ruthless and willing to do whatever it takes to keep her secret. There were some surprises along the way. Loved more excerpts of a book within the book. It likely helps if you read The Plot first for more context. Loved the narrator in this one!! Julia Whelan is amazing! Thanks to #macaudio2024 for the copy of this audiobook.

I decided to reread this author's first book The Plot before I started this book, and I'm glad I did. It had been so long since I had listened to it that it was helpful being reminded of the author's writing style. Sadly, her new book I did not enjoy nearly as much. It moved at a much slower pace and did not engage me nearly as well. I did not find myself connecting with the characters and wanting to find or make time to continue the story. I actually would've been fine if the story had wrapped up 100 pages or so before it actually did. While the author did a great job of tying loose ends and putting all the pieces into place, it didn't make the story anymore enjoyable...... more like reading an extended multi chapter epilogue when you feel like you could've been OK not knowing. I ended up giving this book 3 stars. Thank you, NetGalley and McMillan audio for the ARC of this audiobook..

I wasn’t sure if The Plot really needed a sequel, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed The Sequel. It picks up with the same suspenseful tone and twists that made the first book so memorable. The story takes some unexpected turns that kept me hooked, and the characters are developed in ways that felt fresh yet consistent with the original.

The writing style is just as sharp, and while the pacing starts off slower than I expected, it builds up to a satisfying and tense ending. I appreciated how the author didn’t just rehash the same ideas but expanded the world and themes.

It’s not perfect—some parts felt a little predictable—but overall, it’s a sequel worth picking up, especially if you were a fan of the first book. It adds a new layer to The Plot that I didn’t realize I wanted.

I reread THE PLOT in preparation for reading this and absolutely loved it again! 5 stars on the reread.

THE SEQUEL, on the other hand, never grabbed me. There is a lot of rehashing of the first book with very little action. And the new premise didn’t make sense to me. Why in the world would Anna publish a novel? And go on a national book tour afterwards no less? Wouldn’t she want to be more incognito? It felt like a convenient vehicle for another book, and an unrealistic one.

I was hoping for a big payoff after the extremely slow start. Instead I felt bogged down by detail after detail having to do with the original book’s plot. And I didn’t really care what happened to Anna in the end. I did love the audio narration. Julia Whelan consistently knocks it out of the park.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I really enjoyed this one! I went back and read The Plot first and I am very glad I did- I suppose you could read this as a standalone but it would be so much better reading that first. I was fascinated by the MC and really enjoyed all the twists. I would read more by this author. The narrator did a good job.

I did not enjoy this book. I found the main character annoying and very hard to connect with. I will still recommend to readers at my library because I know everyone has different likes.

The Sequel wasn’t nearly as jaw dropping as The Plot, but Anna is a fascinating character who readers only fully glimpsed at the very end of the first book, and The Sequel hooked me immediately by letting me read an entire story from Anna’s brilliant but dark perspective. It was an added bonus that one of my favorite audible narrators read the story, and her performance made the story even more enjoyable. Highly recommend!

Ｔｈｅ Ｓｅｑｕｅｌ

| Thank you @celadonbooks for the #Gifted copy and for the Readalong opportunity! |

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📖: 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 • 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 • 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙝 • 𝙪𝙣𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 • 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 • 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 • 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨 • 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮• 𝙘𝙖𝙩 & 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 • 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙩 • 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 •

💭:
I’m so thankful to Celadon Books for including me in this read along.

Someone from our group suggested that we read The Plot first, and I’m so glad that he did. If you plan on reading The Sequel, it is my recommendation that you read The Plot first too!

I had a hard time putting this one down, I was captivated from the beginning. This was another example of “books that took me by surprise.”

The pacing of The Sequel was just right, there were layers to the book that were “nuanced” at times.

There really wasn’t much about this book that I didn’t like. I’d recommend reading this to anyone wanting a book with great detail and appeal.

📝:
𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙, 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚.

🎵:
𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯 👑 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭.

I am an idiot because I read THE SEQUEL without reading THE PLOT. But even so... I LOVED this book. It was SO twisty and wild and clever and satisfying and the protagonist had every quality I love: she was unstoppable, sarcastic, smart, and driven to succeed at all costs. She does so much wrong and I love every bit of it. Great author.