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laurzfloyd's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
valeentina's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bookph1le's review against another edition
3.0
Strictly middle of the road because this book felt too drawn-out at times. As much as I loved how the author showed how different two people's perspective of the same events can be, it got tedious reading about the exact same events twice, from two different perspectives. This made the book feel overly long to me, stealing a good portion of its momentum. Hence why it took me longer than usual to read it.
meghan_plethoraofpages's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
We start out following Nina, who is making ends meet by targeting the absurdly rich and insta-famous, planning her heists with business and romantic partner Lachlan, by pouring over her target’s Instagram feed. The second point of view storyline is told by heiress and Instagram fashionista Vanessa, who happens to be the target of Nina’s next heist. As with most suspenseful novels, the less I knew going in, the better, so I won’t recap beyond that!
There were lots I really enjoyed about this book. Stonehaven and Lake Tahoe was an excellent, moody setting. Nina and Vanessa had discrete strong voices, and I enjoyed having both viewpoints. Both were balanced characters with endearing traits and big flaws. Also, some of the commentary on social media felt really timely and offered a surprising depth to the story.
Where it fell a little short for me was the pacing and length. I love a good character-driven story, which this is, but it sort of masquerades as a thriller. There are fast-paced scenes and twists, but things felt really lengthy to get there, at least to me. It’s definitely a slow-burn plot. I read this over a week; I think it would work better if you’re able to binge it in a few sittings!
I would recommend this if you enjoy suspenseful novels, especially if you like your thrillers to have more psychological suspense, family drama and/or a character-driven plot. This is also a great choice for someone who reads only the occasional thriller, I think it will appeal to readers of many tastes!
3.5 rounded up to 4⭐️ on good reads.
Thank you so much to Random House and Netgalley for free access to an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
We start out following Nina, who is making ends meet by targeting the absurdly rich and insta-famous, planning her heists with business and romantic partner Lachlan, by pouring over her target’s Instagram feed. The second point of view storyline is told by heiress and Instagram fashionista Vanessa, who happens to be the target of Nina’s next heist. As with most suspenseful novels, the less I knew going in, the better, so I won’t recap beyond that!
There were lots I really enjoyed about this book. Stonehaven and Lake Tahoe was an excellent, moody setting. Nina and Vanessa had discrete strong voices, and I enjoyed having both viewpoints. Both were balanced characters with endearing traits and big flaws. Also, some of the commentary on social media felt really timely and offered a surprising depth to the story.
Where it fell a little short for me was the pacing and length. I love a good character-driven story, which this is, but it sort of masquerades as a thriller. There are fast-paced scenes and twists, but things felt really lengthy to get there, at least to me. It’s definitely a slow-burn plot. I read this over a week; I think it would work better if you’re able to binge it in a few sittings!
I would recommend this if you enjoy suspenseful novels, especially if you like your thrillers to have more psychological suspense, family drama and/or a character-driven plot. This is also a great choice for someone who reads only the occasional thriller, I think it will appeal to readers of many tastes!
3.5 rounded up to 4⭐️ on good reads.
Thank you so much to Random House and Netgalley for free access to an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
v_hankins's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A bit slow to get going but plenty of twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. A solid thriller…this is my first Janelle Brown book and I’d easily read another
mimimilaa's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5 stars
this was really fun, the end dragged a bit for me though
this was really fun, the end dragged a bit for me though
utahmomreads's review against another edition
5.0
Thanks to @randomhouse for the complimentary copy of PRETTY THINGS by Janelle Brown.
Nina went to college to avoid her mother’s life as a con artist but even with her degree she can’t escape getting sucked back into that world when her mother gets sick and needs help with the bills. Using her knowledge of antiques and art, she’s been stealing from the extreme rich. Now, hiding from the cops, Nina and her boyfriend, Lachlan plan the perfect heist—she knows just the heiress to target.
Soaring high on her fame and success as an Instagram Influencer, Vanessa has gone home to the family estate to lick her wounds and grieve after her father’s death and her fiancé dumped her for someone “more serious”. But she’s lonely so she rents out the caretaker’s cottage to a pretty, young couple.
PRETTY THINGS caught my eye months ago and has been calling to me from the shelf. I went in with high expectations of this novel and though it eventually veered off in a direction I wasn’t anticipating, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
The characters are well developed and the reader comes to understand their motivations and deepest desires. Can you trust anyone? Is anyone really what they appear to be online? The plot moves consistently forward as it climbs the roller coaster before a breathtaking ride. I read the final 200+ pages without a break because I was so enthralled and wrapped up in Nina and Vanessa’s story.
PRETTY THINGS is intense. It’s a fun and thoroughly enjoyable read.
rklewinski's review against another edition
3.0
Talk about a SLOW burn. I half listened to and half read this book. It was good, but definitely a little boring. It actually got interesting in the last few chapters, and sometimes the build up didn’t feel worth it. Would probably say it’s a better listen than a read.