Last year when it was announced that Jessica Knoll was going to be publishing her third book, I was over the moon. Her first novel, Luckiest Girl Alive, is one of my favorite books of all time and one of the first 'thrillers' I ever read so it's responsible for a very long love affair with the genre.

I did enjoy her second book, The Favorite Sister was published in 2018 and that was it, until last year. Bright Young Women was desperately needed in the literary world, and in my personal collection. I craved a new Knoll novel and she delivered in so many ways. 

This is not your typical Knoll novel. It is completely different from her other two and feels more literary, more deep, and more thoughtful. That is not a knock on the other two novels because like I said, they're two of my favorite books ever... it's just that this was such a shift and that's probably because of the subject matter.

When I found out the author of "Luckiest Girl Alive" was coming out with a second book, I was so excited! Then, when I found the book on NetGalley and was able to read it early, I was even more hyped; I think I actually yelped when I was approved to read "The Favorite Sister".

*I could've SWORN I did a book review on Luckiest Girl Alive but I can't find it anywhere!

I started reading the book and was very confused. There was a lot of POVs, and we went back and forth between the past & present, and I just couldn't get into it at the beginning.

The premise behind the book is that there is a group of girls, the Goal Diggers, who are on a reality show of the same name. Brett, Stephanie, Lauren, and Jen are the main characters and stars in Goal Diggers, and they each have their own niche.



Brett & Stephanie used to be best friends before they had a major falling out, and their reconciliation is the storyline for the next season.

Brett's sister Kelly joins the cast, as well as her daughter (Kelly's) Layla. The sisters have a SoulCycle type of business called SPOKE and they give back to third world countries in the process.

At certain points, I felt like I couldn't follow along; I was just confused as to what previously happened. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention and was distracted when reading it, or maybe it just simply was a confusing book.

However, in the middle of the book, I caught on and everything was good.

The book was very interesting and I loved that it gave you a weird, behind the scenes look at what probably happens on our favorite reality shows. It's not scripted, but it's definitely coerced and directed in the right way.

I was definitely missing the mystery/suspense feeling of the book until we get to the end of it. There's some secrets that are revealed, some marriage problems, and a whole lot of drama.

The end of the book is truly mind-blowing and makes up for the slowness of the rest of the novel.

My vote is, this isn't a must read but if you need a good, light-hearted suspense novel, this is a going to be a good one.

It's important to note that this book doesn't come out until April 24th so keep an eye out! I think if you like mystery novels but also like something not too dramatic, this is the one for you!

xoxo
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