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A review by candacesiegle_greedyreader
Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
5.0
This is a an unputdownable novel with great character development and a rip roaring story. Nina has struggled to get an education and change the trajectory of her life, but still she ends up grifting with a handsome friend of her mother's. Their latest mark is from a family that disparaged Nina in the past in a way that marked her for life. Vanessa is a glittering Instagram star who is living the #Vlife, being whisked all over the world by brands so that she can post wearing them. For some reason, she has returned to her family's freezing stone pile of a mansion on the shores of Lake Tahoe, hunkered down, renting out the caretaker's cottage on AirBnB.
There's a lot of juicy backstory and good twists. You'll learn about grifting, which seems like a lot of work for little return. I wish there'd been more about the fencing and resale of historic furniture (think about that one for a minute) but I'm glad there was as much as there was.
The problem with grifting is that it is possible for the deception to seep in to unexpected corners of one's life. This happens to Nina, and to Vanessa. Janelle Brown has the craft of the relatable but unreliable narrator down pat.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the nod to read and review "Pretty Things." While you're waiting for this novel to be published, read Brown's "Watch Me Disappear," a similarly entrancing read.
~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
There's a lot of juicy backstory and good twists. You'll learn about grifting, which seems like a lot of work for little return. I wish there'd been more about the fencing and resale of historic furniture (think about that one for a minute) but I'm glad there was as much as there was.
The problem with grifting is that it is possible for the deception to seep in to unexpected corners of one's life. This happens to Nina, and to Vanessa. Janelle Brown has the craft of the relatable but unreliable narrator down pat.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the nod to read and review "Pretty Things." While you're waiting for this novel to be published, read Brown's "Watch Me Disappear," a similarly entrancing read.
~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader