Go into this one knowing that it is a domestic drama and not a thriller and you will be satisfied. It's a fairly quick and easy read. I feel like it was a mix of adult and YA though but it was still an enjoyable and fun read.

Revenge
Slow Burn
Betrayal
Online Drama
Light Thriller
Pranks and Pranks Gone Wrong
Perfect Neighborhood Full of Broken People and Secrets

Seriously everyone in this book is a mess and they just get messier. Some are comical in their mess others are rough. Everyone is grey at best so pick your favorite and watch them go.

Go into this not overthinking and you'll enjoy the ride from start to finish.

Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Plays Well With Others✂️ by @myraclegirl ⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re a fan of neighborhood conflict, scandals, revenge: pick this one up. It’s definitely more of a drama than a thriller, and follows main character Jake (Jacquelyn) as she picks up the pieces of her life while trying to determine her next move, following the heartbreaking stillborn birth of her son and a messy divorce. It’s very character-driven, with multiple POV. There’s humor, emotions, tension, tragedy. And the book definitely showcases how the Internet is today’s court of public opinion, how easily people get obsessed and/or tangled up in the mess of social media, and “cancel culture.” Quick listen! And I enjoyed the audiobook narrator’s range in character voices!

Thank you to @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for this advanced audio copy! 💕

#netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreview #playswellwithothers #booknerd #bookstagram #audiobookstagram #audiobookreview #audiobooklover

Thanks to Blackstone & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Despite the fact that I didn't really *like* the main characters (lots of moral gray area here), this was pretty good. It highlights the modern age issue of the Internet being the court of public opinion, and how easy it can be to get canceled. This is exactly what happens to Jacquelyn "Jake" Nolan (GOD I hate the nickname so much): although she is the wronged party in her situation, she is publicly dragged and has to start over with a new name (strangely, she doesn't revert to "Jackie," which would really keep anyone from recognizing her, but OK).

In her new life, Jake is living in a new-build bungalow paid for by her cheating ex, not working while she figures out what to do in the aftermath of her stillbirth and messy divorce. Her new neighbor, Mabel, comes by with cookies, and a friendship is born (never mind that Mabel stole away her husband from his genuinely awful ex-wife, and how that would probably tank any nascent friendship between these supposed new besties). Mabel hates her husband's ex, and Jake hates her ex-bestie, Shelby, who sank her entire life (we get to know just how much in later chapters), and this provides common ground, and they make spectacularly bad choices both apart and together.

This is all fine, but the parts about the kids hanging out with the adults is a bit much, although it is heartwarming. There's trauma galore for these characters, and the Billy chapters were especially difficult to listen to (thankfully, we never veered into Stephen King territory).

Kelli Tager does a nice job with the voice acting (but why so many characters in Colorado with Southern accents?).

Certainly not a bad outing from YA author Myracle. Hopefully next book is a little stronger.

3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you Blackstone Audio for this book. I LOVED this book. Jake, a newly single, grieving woman, moves into a new bungalow. On her street is Mable, stepmom to a 5th grader, Vanessa, whose son Billy is also in 5th grade. Delilah and her brother Wendell live with their aunt. All of these people are hiding secrets. All of them want revenge. Jake made headlines for words taken out of context after the death of her baby. Mable, may or may not have been seeing her husband before his divorce was final. Delilah and Wendell have lost their dad to the prison system and their mom to an infection following a gun shot. Who knew Ft Collins CO would be like this? This book explores all the ways we want to get back at the people who wrong and hurt us and the scars those actions leave. Not just the physical, but the mental. Can we really be better than that? Put this book in your beach bag and read it. This would be good for book club too. Read it now and thank me later!

From the start, I was all in Team Jake! She’s been through so much and still manages to hold it together better than I ever could (definitely a better human than me 😂).

The story starts off grounded in grief and redemption but takes a sharp, unexpected turn that had me guessing. That final spin? WILD. It gave the whole book an eerie, twisty edge that made it stand out from your typical suspense.

The audiobook narrator did a fantastic job each character had a distinct voice and tone that made it easy to stay immersed. The pacing was solid, and the emotions came through clearly.

Not sure if it was just my recording but there was some audio clarity changes in a few chapters Chapter 36 39 44 49 51

This is one messed up neighborhood. It’s hard to imagine all of these uniquely terrible people living in the same place. I really felt for the children and what they had to deal with, but even they were perpetrators of harm to others! I just never really connected to the characters. I thought the character development was done really well. The pacing on the other hand, felt off. It was fast and engaging at times and then slow and unfeeling during others. I think a lot of fans of neighbor hood dramas will enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t for me.

Spoiler alert, this book has child abuse in it. Had I known this, I would not have read it. Not my speed and no I didn't like it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

This book was just fine for me. I wanted more from it. There were some really unhinged parts but also some parts that just seemed like they were written to add pages. The pacing was off because it went up and down but in the end, the overarching story wasn’t bad.

If you want dysfunctional families and crazy, over-the-top drama, this is probably a good book for you!
I will admit I had a hard time staying engaged throughout the book. However, I was able to finish it, and it's a pretty wild book.
The characters were well-developed. They just didn't feel super engaging to me.
Satire is not always my thing, but that is done fairly well in the writing style.
The plot was developed, but not exactly structured in a way that I could truly enjoy it. It felt a bit disorganized, and that drew my attention away.
I do think with some work, this has great potential.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!
Happy Reading!

I was hoping this would be more of a thriller and less of a drama. However, it turned out to be exceptionally well-written and character-driven. It ended up being much more emotional than I anticipated! The narration was excellent as well—it truly brought everything to life.

3.5 Stars

New to me author. Fun story about scandals and revenge. Featuring multiple POV and a twist I didn’t see coming. For domestic suspense fans of Liane Moriarty.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I did not expect that and was shocked. I really liked the different characters and as much as some pissed me off they all played a huge part! Just shows you can’t trust ANYONE!

This kept me interested enough to finish it but there was a lot of eye rolling. What a bunch of childish adults.

I was liking the main female character until she did something awful at around the 80% mark that dominoed some pretty horrific events. There didn't seem to be any remorse or regret from her either. Everyone else was petty and ridiculous and there were some pretty big coincidences happening too. This read more like a high school YA book.

Plays Well With Others was an interesting read. It very much reminded me of books I’ve read before.

I'll be honest - I wasn't sure about this one in the beginning, and almost didn't finish. The characters seemed so childish in their behavior and attitudes, and I wasn't at all convinced I would be interested in continuing. Reviews were pretty universally positive though, so I kept with it - and I'm so glad I did!

On its face this is a wild tale of people behaving badly - but it is so much more than that, too. It is also a really lovely consideration of friendship, how secrets overwhelm us, and the power of perseverance in the face of extreme obstacles. There are some difficult moments, particularly in the treatment of children, but the story comes full circle in a way that is satisfying and ultimately redemptive.

The narration was excellent and perfectly suited to the story - catty and petty when it needed to be and mature and considerate at other times. On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed the listen - don't let the opening back-and-forth turn you off, there is so much more here than meets the eye (or ear) initially!

Plays Well With Others had some moments that offered comic relief & some moments that were pretty emotional that touched on heavier topics. The narrator in the audiobook remarkably distinguished these moments by adding her perfect diction & tone to these moments. I immediately wants to see what else has she narrated after hearing her performance!

When Jacquelyn “Jake” Nolan moves for a fresh start after enduring life changes that would break most people, she begins to uncover secrets from some of the new neighbors in the surrounding area. Some of these secrets were definitely jaw dropping.

I was wondering the purpose of Jake befriending some of the children in the area, but it all unfolded nicely & made sense as to why she was drawn to them.

The emotional journey of hearing Jake’s story throughout her healing journey from having a stillborn son was heart wrenching & if it’s not triggering for some, readers will enjoy.

There were some lovable & some dislikable characters, I’m unsure of who I despised more Vanessa, the neighbor that is despicable to her son or Shelby the ex best friend that betrayed Jake in the worst way. Although it took her a while to get there, I enjoyed Jake’s character development! When the opportunity presented itself to “get her lick back” she chose to use that opportunity to help others.

Favorite Quote
“She does not deserve an inch of your mental real estate, nor mine.”

Overall worth the read, 3.5 ⭐️ and I will be reading more from this author. Thank you Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks and NetGalley for this advanced listening copy. All opinions are my own.

4.25 stars
I feel like for the first ~2/3 of this book I was feeling meh about the story, but the last 1/3 ramped up both the action and the story in such a way that it completely changed my opinion of the book as a whole and I added a whole star to my rating because of how neatly everything wrapped up and how all the threads were finally connected together in a beautiful thrilling web. The side characters all came to life in ways that I didn't feel straight away.

I am glad I didn't give up on the book halfway through and I'm excited to read more thrillers by this author. I'm a big thriller reader (listener specifically) and finding an author who gets me to gasp out loud and say "oh no!" multiple times is always a treat.

The narrator did a phenomenal job throughout, she took on so many different personalities just with her voice and I would be happy to hear more stories narrated by her in the future.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS by Lauren Myracle @myraclegirl

Genre: Domestic Suspense
Format: 🎧
🌶️: N/A
⚠️: Light themes of child neglect / abuse (not graphic)
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

If domestic drama is your jam this book should offer enough to satisfy your cravings 😂

If you love a good petty revenge oriented queen then this one is for you! The fake poops where my fave m, iykyk.. however i did feel for Billy receiving all the wrath 😪

We all agree that anonymous online keyboard warriors are absolutely the worst kinds of human beings in real life, but in book and fiction format it is pretty fun to watch unfold!

You can choose for yourself which character it root for and which to defend their bad behaviour, I personally rooted for the main character and was glad she made a supportive friend with her wacky neighbour 😆

Not my typical genre but l enjoyed this book and would recommend the read! Light themes of grief, loss, found family, friendships, betrayal and divorce with a heavy side of dramaaa 🍿

Thank you @blackstonepublishing for the gifted copy!

I’m a sucker for a good domestic thriller, and this suburban noir delivers all the juicy neighborhood drama. With a cast of dysfunctional, slightly unhinged, yet endearingly flawed characters, it unfolds a tangled revenge story told through multiple POVs—packed with gossip, tension, and sheer chaos.

Beneath the surface drama, there’s a surprisingly insightful commentary on how media shapes culture, adding a thought-provoking edge to the plot. Myracle deftly weaves in themes of manipulation, control, abuse, and child loss, layering emotional depth while balancing it with flashes of dark humor throughout.

A strong and compelling adult debut from Myracle!