Pretty Things, by Janelle Brown
Random House Canada - April 21, 2020
Thriller
E-book
Thriller
E-book
470 Pages
* I received this digital ARC courtesy of Random House Canada, via NetGalley, in exchange of an honest review. This does not influence the following opinions which are my own.
My Rating (out of 5)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pretty Things by Janelle Brown is a modern, character driven story of class and revenge.
Nina had dreams and aspirations. but as the daughter of a con artist, she eventually falls into her mother's line of work. Nina's world threatens to implode when her mother falls ill. Desperate to save her mother, she and her boyfriend Lachlan plan a job much larger and riskier than anything they have done in the past. A job that will see Nina return to Lake Tahoe where she once lived.
Vanessa was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Never having had to worry about money she travels the world as a fashion influencer, modeling clothing and products given to her by top design houses in exchange for a spot on her popular Instagram feed. When her engagement is broken, she retreats to Stonehaven - the mansion she inherited on the shores of Lake Tahoe, but was the setting for some of the most traumatic events in her life.
As these women come together, their pasts and the present meld into a tale of desperation and revenge, double-handedness and deceit.
I struggled to get into the story. It wasn't until about half way that it started to pick up for me. Part of the problem was my personal situation and reaction during the COVID adjustments, but I think that only intensified the slow start of this book for me. Once I reached the half-way mark and the story started to take shape, it become more enjoyable, and by the end I was quite enjoying it; so even though slow to start the ending was strong.
Character development for this novel was one of the things about it I did enjoy. As the story unfolds we see in both women aspects of victim and villain. Both have been shaped by their life experiences and seeing each from different perspectives gives depth and dimension to them and to the story.
The plot was strong and had some good twists to keep the reader on their toes. The ending was clean and satisfying.
All in all, while slow to start, this novel was a solid character driven thriller with an exciting and satisfying conclusion.
Nina had dreams and aspirations. but as the daughter of a con artist, she eventually falls into her mother's line of work. Nina's world threatens to implode when her mother falls ill. Desperate to save her mother, she and her boyfriend Lachlan plan a job much larger and riskier than anything they have done in the past. A job that will see Nina return to Lake Tahoe where she once lived.
Vanessa was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Never having had to worry about money she travels the world as a fashion influencer, modeling clothing and products given to her by top design houses in exchange for a spot on her popular Instagram feed. When her engagement is broken, she retreats to Stonehaven - the mansion she inherited on the shores of Lake Tahoe, but was the setting for some of the most traumatic events in her life.
As these women come together, their pasts and the present meld into a tale of desperation and revenge, double-handedness and deceit.
I struggled to get into the story. It wasn't until about half way that it started to pick up for me. Part of the problem was my personal situation and reaction during the COVID adjustments, but I think that only intensified the slow start of this book for me. Once I reached the half-way mark and the story started to take shape, it become more enjoyable, and by the end I was quite enjoying it; so even though slow to start the ending was strong.
Character development for this novel was one of the things about it I did enjoy. As the story unfolds we see in both women aspects of victim and villain. Both have been shaped by their life experiences and seeing each from different perspectives gives depth and dimension to them and to the story.
The plot was strong and had some good twists to keep the reader on their toes. The ending was clean and satisfying.
All in all, while slow to start, this novel was a solid character driven thriller with an exciting and satisfying conclusion.
Happy Reading,
Christine
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