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A review by feliciarene
Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
4.0
While I'm not typically huge on thrillers, Janelle Brown's Pretty Things had me hooked from the start. Without relying on gratuitous violence or gore to create suspense, Janelle Brown managed to keep me on the edge of my seat from the start to the very end.
The two main women in this story, Nina Ross and Vanessa Liebling, were utterly fascinating to read about. Nina Ross is probably the last person you would expect to make a living by stealing. But she doesn’t just steal — she specifically only steals from the rich, those who “deserve it.” As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Nina has had a difficult past, particularly with the wealthy elite class, and it has wholly influenced her outlook on life. Vanessa, on the other hand, comes from an extravagantly wealthy, but deeply troubled family. I thought Vanessa was the most interesting character to read about because of how different she was outwardly (for instance, in Nina's perspective) versus in her own mind, which you could see in her inner dialogue and narrative.
While this novel was about crime and secrets, I think the real focus here was upon the dangers of social media. Vanessa’s whole life was documented online—but none of it was real. It was all a hoax, a carefully crafted version of reality that reflected Vanessa’s perceived notion of happiness and success. And from that, she put forth this image of herself that completely contradicted what Nina had experienced, and left Nina feeling so apathetic and vengeful towards the girl who had everything.
Without giving away too much about the story, I will say that it’s hard to trust any character. Every character is unreliable, their actions very suspicious. It’s hard to decide who you want to believe, what version of the same story you think is correct, and even harder, where you think the characters will end up.
Overall, this is a fast-paced novel, with incredible character development and a shocking—but not gruesome—plot. And I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I received this ARC for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Full Review: Link
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The two main women in this story, Nina Ross and Vanessa Liebling, were utterly fascinating to read about. Nina Ross is probably the last person you would expect to make a living by stealing. But she doesn’t just steal — she specifically only steals from the rich, those who “deserve it.” As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Nina has had a difficult past, particularly with the wealthy elite class, and it has wholly influenced her outlook on life. Vanessa, on the other hand, comes from an extravagantly wealthy, but deeply troubled family. I thought Vanessa was the most interesting character to read about because of how different she was outwardly (for instance, in Nina's perspective) versus in her own mind, which you could see in her inner dialogue and narrative.
While this novel was about crime and secrets, I think the real focus here was upon the dangers of social media. Vanessa’s whole life was documented online—but none of it was real. It was all a hoax, a carefully crafted version of reality that reflected Vanessa’s perceived notion of happiness and success. And from that, she put forth this image of herself that completely contradicted what Nina had experienced, and left Nina feeling so apathetic and vengeful towards the girl who had everything.
Without giving away too much about the story, I will say that it’s hard to trust any character. Every character is unreliable, their actions very suspicious. It’s hard to decide who you want to believe, what version of the same story you think is correct, and even harder, where you think the characters will end up.
Overall, this is a fast-paced novel, with incredible character development and a shocking—but not gruesome—plot. And I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I received this ARC for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Full Review: Link
Blog | Instagram | Twitter