* * * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * * * “Engrossing…Deliciously savage and wildly entertaining.”—People Magazine (Book of the Week) NO ONE EVER SUSPECTS THE GOOD ONE.Brett and Kelly have always toed the line between supportive sisters and bitter rivals. Growing up, Brett was the problem child, in the shadow of the brilliant and beautiful Kelly. In adulthood, all that has changed. Kelly is a … beautiful Kelly. In adulthood, all that has changed. Kelly is a struggling single mother and Brett has skyrocketed to such meteoric success, which has been chronicled on a reality TV show called Goal Diggers.
When Kelly manipulates herself onto the show and into Brett’s world, Brett is right to be threatened. Kelly, and only Kelly, knows her younger sister’s appalling secret, and it could ruin her.
Still, when the truth comes out in the explosive final weekend of filming, neither of them ever expected that the season would end in murder
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Loved It! Couldn’t put it down!
Mean, shallow characters, and poor story lines.
4 stars
My initial thought on this book is that it was an addiction and reads like a reality show confessional. I couldn’t. get. enough.
Let’s back up for a moment before I delve into why you need to read this juicy piece of gossip. I am in the minority grouping of readers who did not enjoy Knoll’s novel, The Luckiest Girl Alive. It was a book that came highly recommended to me and I was massively disappointed. So when I saw that Knoll had a new book coming out, I hedged my bets and gave her another chance (everyone deserves a second chance). I am beyond happy that I did because now that she is 1 for 1, I will be on the lookout for whatever she is going to cook up next.
Now that we got that out of the way, on to the review. The story is told in 3 different POV. Kelly, in the present and Brett & Stephanie in the past telling the story forward to Kelly’s present day storyline. The story is about these women on a reality show, and the book actually reads like a reality show. It was amazing how I was able to see it all and picture this reality show. I don’t know if Knoll got some insiders info on how reality shows are made, but it feels exactly like how you picture it. Editors and Producers pushing a dialogue, creating “characters”, pigeon-holing people to being either loved or hated.
I devoured this book. It was juicy, dark, twisty-turny and addictive (haven’t I mentioned that already???).
My only 2 critiques on this book are 1). The chapters are LONG. I heart short chapters so that I get a chance to fully digest what I read. And 2). The end is a little bit of a cliffhanger. This is not really a spoiler, but I feel like it is something that no one else is mentioning. Now, don’t get me wrong, you will be very satisfied with the end and you do find out what happened.
I highly recommend this “behind the scenes” story or love, sisterhood, betrayal and secrets.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for my copy of this book via Edelweiss
Okay in the beginning it was very slow for me. I mean to the point of a bore. Granted, I love my Real Housewives of Whatever City has the most drama shows, but I couldn’t get past the first 140 pages quick enough. After that, it picked up for me, and all the puzzle pieces became clear.
Damn Brett!!! She didn’t have to go out like that. That last twist, ticked me off but made me chuckle like a lunatic. Savages. Goal Savages, I tell ya!
I did not like the book, to much profane language.
Works a little too hard to be clever.
Everyone who likes thrillers should read this book
Quite a few characters that I thought were not necessary, which left the ending not as surprising as I expected. Loved he whole idea of the book, the look at the characters thru each other’s eyes, not necessarily how they were perceived at the beginning.
A definite look behind so called realty TV. Strong women put into situations and against each other that brings out the worst in each other.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.
The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll is a quick and easy read. If you like reality TV shows like the Housewives of….. series, then you’ll like this book. I received this as an ARC copy for giving my honest opinion.
This is a tough one for me to rate and review. There is so much lying going on this book it’s hard to keep the lies straight. What you think you know of these character is very far from the truth. The question is what are they lying about and how come? I think if these ladies were not on a Reality show they would not lie as much and of course their lives would be totally different. But because they are on a reality show they do whatever is necessary to stay on that show, which is to tell the most brazen lies. It’s an ending you will be talking about but at points are not surprised about it.
*Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this for my honest opinion*
To distill The Favorite Sister into one category is to vastly reduce what Jessica Knoll does in telling this story.
For one thing, Knoll shakes her fists at societal norms that dictate strictures and limits to women. Told through three perspectives–Brett, the youngest cast member of a Real Housewives-esque reality show devoted to women who achieved success without any influence from men, her older sister Kelly, and Stephanie, a bestselling author who also is black–you see the different ways our genders affect us, whether through age, single parenthood, marriage, race, and professional success. Knoll doesn’t ask “at what cost,” rather, she wants to know “why must a woman’s cost be any different than a man’s”?
In a lesser writer’s hands, such heavy sociological discussions might feel hamfisted or pedantic. Knoll proselytizes, yes, but in a way that makes you think as opposed to rolling your eyes. Why are the same behaviors accepted in men abhorred in women?
Her three narrators each offer a different perspective, and it is critical that we get to know these women. You will find your loyalty vacillating from one to the other, and as various truths are divulged, you might find yourself despising all three. No one in this book is honest, even when they’re lying. Each feels the need to resort to falsehoods in order to achieve her goals. Do men do that? Of course they do, but too often we excuse it in them because that’s part of a man doing what he must. We judge women far, far harsher.
The problems come in the last quarter of the book. You have to suspend logic a time or two, and you might find yourself asking, “What about …” regarding a couple of dropped plot points. If you go into this book expecting a big fat suspense-thriller, you’re reading the wrong book. There is a mystery, but it really doesn’t come into play until well past the halfway point. Up until then, Jessica Knoll spends time introducing you to her characters and inviting you to trust at your own peril.
Pay attention to the title. Jessica Knoll plays with that throughout the book, and, in the end, you might find yourself asking which sister really is the favorite? Or is it possible that no one is and no one deserves to be.
This was a quick, enjoyable read. Full of drama and suspense. Dark, and thought-provoking! So many twists and turns.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own.