Tropical Girl Reads

2nd book review of the day! I am making up for the yesterday since I couldn’t post a blog (because it was lightening and thundering here).

The name of the game is revenge—no matter the cost—in this emotionally charged thriller reminiscent of The Wife Between Us and The Perfect Nanny.

Kerrie O’Malley, jobless and in an unfulfilling relationship, can isolate the singular moment in her life when things veered off course—the night she was irrevocably wronged by someone she looked up to. Eighteen years later, when Kerrie sees the very woman who destroyed her life on television, a fire ignites inside her. The stakes are high. The risks are perilous. But she’ll stop at nothing to achieve the retribution she deserves.

Jordana Pierson is a gilded New Yorker who appears to have it all: wealth, glamour, a successful and handsome husband, and a thriving wedding concierge business. Her record is spotless. Her business is flourishing. No one knows the truth about her and the dark shadows of her past.

No one, that is, except Kerrie.

Exploring just how far someone will go for vengeance, Pretty Revenge is a riveting, compulsively readable novel bursting with twists and turns and plenty of suspense.

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Gallery Books (July 2, 2019)
• Language: English
• Genre : Thriller

Emily Liebert is the USA TODAY bestselling author of six books. FACEBOOK FAIRYTALES, YOU KNEW ME WHEN, WHEN WE FALL, THOSE SECRETS WE KEEP, SOME WOMEN & PRETTY REVENGE. Her forthcoming novel, PERFECTLY FAMOUS, releases June 2, 2020.

She was born and raised in New York City, attended the Horace Mann School and Smith College, where she graduated with a B.A. in English Language & Literature.

After college, Emily landed her first job as an Executive Assistant at ABC News, where she honed her organizational skills and helped produce television specials for Peter Jennings Reporting. To this day, she is a whiz with “To Do” lists.

Since childhood, Emily’s had a passion for writing, so when the opportunity to become Editor-in-Chief of The WAG–a luxury lifestyle magazine covering Westchester and Fairfield Counties–presented itself, she jumped at the chance. During Emily’s five-year tenure, she wrote hundreds of articles, including celebrity profiles, travel, fashion, and beauty.

Ready for her next adventure, Emily became a full-time freelance writer, penning lifestyle pieces for media outlets such as, The Huffington Post, Oprah.com, Elite Traveler, Robb Report, Gotham, and Cottages & Gardens.

In 2009, Emily edited Kerry Kennedy’s New York Times bestseller Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans Talk About Change in the Church and the Quest for Meaning.

The following year, Emily published her first book, FACEBOOK FAIRYTALES, which was featured at the 2010 Frankfurt Book Fair, and Emily was one of 20 guests of honor–among Elizabeth Kostova, Russell Banks, and Lisa See–at the renowned Literary Feast 2010, a privilege reserved for best-selling and buzz-worthy authors.

Shortly thereafter, Emily was hired by Microsoft as the spokesperson for Bing’s partnership with Facebook and appeared in 30+ television and radio spots for the brand, which garnered exceptional ratings.

In 2012, Emily wrote her debut novel, YOU KNEW ME WHEN, which published on September 3, 2013. Her second novel, WHEN WE FALL, published on September 2, 2014. THOSE SECRETS WE KEEP, her third novel, released on June 2, 2015, her fourth novel, SOME WOMEN, came out on April 5, 2016, all with Penguin Random House. Her fifth novel, PRETTY REVENGE, released on July 2, 2019.

Emily is featured often in the press, by outlets such as: Today Show, The Rachael Ray Show, Anderson Cooper, FOX News, Good Day New York, Oprah Radio, Martha Stewart Radio, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, InStyle, People StyleWatch, OK!, Nylon, Ladies’ Home Journal, Woman’s World, WWD, Woman’s Day, The New York Post, The Washington Post, The New York Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, People.com, and The Huffington Post.

When Emily’s not writing, she teaches Pure Barre classes and enjoys traveling, cooking, eating, and reading. She’s been known to ride on a Harley Davidson. And she does a mean Running Man on the dance floor. Emily lives with her husband, Lewis, and their two sons, Jax and Hugo, in Westport, CT where she moved kicking and screaming for fear that there would be no Chinese food delivery at three in the morning. She was right.

The name of the game is revenge–no matter what the cost

When I saw that this book is apparently the reminiscent of The Wife Between Us and The Perfect Nanny (which I have written a book review on), I decided to try this book out. And the plot line sounded interesting to me too. Kerrie O’Malley, a jobless with an unfulfilling relationship while watching TV comes across the face of a woman named Jordana Pierson, who is a form of celebrity and socialite being interviewed, Kerrie wanted to take revenge on Jordana…because many years ago, Jordana apparently destroyed Kerrie’s family. By changing her identity to Olivia Lewis, Kerrie leaves Connecticut and moves to New York City to work as an assistant to Jordana Pierson in her wedding business concierge. Meanwhile, Jordana is trying to live her new life as a socialite in New York but her husband and all the other people has no idea about her past…except Kerrie.

So as you can see, the plot sounded interesting.

As usual, I’ll tell about the things I liked about the book.

• The story was told from the perspectives of Kerrie and Jordana so as a reader, you can have an idea of their views and on their thoughts–how Kerrie is plotting revenge, about Jordana’s past life.
• The writing was easy to read and simple as well so it was easy to read fast.
• The starting of the story was good and it did actually reach to a certain climax.

Now the things I didn’t like about the book.

• As I said, this book is labeled as a reminiscent of The Perfect Nanny (which I have done a book review on) so usually in a thriller, you would expect some sort of twists or turns or something that will keep you hooked and be at the edge of your seat or something surprising that will happen. Unfortunately, this book does not have that, which was disappointing to me. It did keep you hooked into the story, but there are no twists or turns or those unexpected surprise turn. It was pretty much straightforward to me.
• As I said in my positive points, the beginning was good, but unfortunately the ending was lame and I feel it was a bit of rush. The confrontation between Jordana and Kerrie seems a bit rush and hesitant, the ending was a bit vague. A bit disappointed in with that.

Overall, it was not really a bad thriller, it was OK. It’s not really a Gone Girl, Girl on the Train or The Perfect Nanny type of book though. This is pretty much a straightforward thriller. Worth three stars in my opinion.