Janelle Brown | PRETTY THINGS

Plot (via Goodreads):

Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.

Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead she becomes an Instagram influencer—traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family’s sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven: a mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa’s past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina.

Nina’s, Vanessa’s, and Lachlan’s paths collide here, on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity and revenge.

Review:

WOW. What a twisted tale. I was such a huge fan of Watch Me Disappear and loved how Janelle Brown wrote a plethora of believable and brilliant characters - both good and bad. Her heroes and heroines are heartfelt and characters you want to root for and her villains were unsettling and bone-chilling. Well, with Pretty Things, Janelle Brown has still got it and it's even more unsettling than ever how she can effectively weave together a mysterious and well-detailed story with characters that will chill you to the core.

What I loved about this book the most was that it was so detailed and the prose was sharp enough to be considered literary fiction, but with a thriller/suspense plot. The backstory to this one and how it connected to the current timeline was well-written, detailed, and the pacing was perfection. I am such a sucker for alternate perspectives and I loved both of the perspectives in this one. As if I wasn't already loving it, the way that Brown was able to give her readers basically four character studies within one book was astonishing. I enjoyed how we saw both characters for who they were and how they viewed themselves and how they viewed each other. The similarities and contrasts were jaw-dropping and very well executed.

The plot to this one was really immersive and I loved how it went back and forth between two character perspectives, but also gave us a really detailed look into the backstory within this one. There were so many jaw-dropping moments and the setting really complimented the story well. I don't want to say much more other than if you're looking for a smart and well-written story with a brilliant setting and sensational characters, look no further and scoop up your copy of Pretty Things ASAP. You won't regret it.

Special thanks to Random House for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5