I will start by saying that I am not a big fan of reality television (with the exception of The Bachelor franchise), so this may not have been a book I would have picked up to read if I hadn't loved Jessica Knoll's previous book Luckiest Girl Alive.

I started this book hoping I would love it, and all things considered I did enjoy it, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the Housewives franchise.

This book starts with the revelation that one of the cast members of the reality television show "Goal Diggers" about young successful women has been murdered. (no spoilers, it's actually the premise of the book). Knoll then sets up the story from the start so that readers can follow it through and use their detective skills to try to guess "who done it".

As always, Knoll developed all the main characters well, and made the story both interesting and exciting even for us "non-lovers of reality television", and that is no mean feat.

**I received this book from Netgalley for the purpose to read and provide an unbiased review.

This book was even better than Knoll's first book, Luckiest Girl Alive. The suspense and the gripping characters hooked from start to finish. Excellent read, you should definitely pick this one up.

I am someone who doesn't understand the whole reality thing after seeing so many positive reviews. I thought I would give this one a try...WHY!! The woman were mean, bitchy and overall I did not like any of them I wanted them all stuffed in the trunk!!
You will either love it or hate it. Sorry this was not my kind of read but as I always say..Try it out for yourself.
My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I admittedly did not finish this book. I have heard such great things about it, but unfortunately, I could not get into it at all. I am unsure if it was scrambled writing or if I was just getting characters confused, but I did not enjoy the writing style.

All of the characters are so completely unlikeable. The book reminded me of a version of The Hills (which is actually referenced a few times), but with older (yet somehow even more petty) females. All the women just seemed so to act awful to one another. The different POVs and change from the past to present was a little difficult to keep track of as well.

The ending made it only slightly more interesting, but not enough to redeem my feelings towards the rest of the book.

This is my first book by Jessica Knoll, so maybe I’m just not a fan of this specific book’s plot. I’d be interested to see if I like her other book, Luckiest Girl Alive.

Sadly, I was very disappointed in this one. I loved the author's debut novel, but I just wasn't a fan of The Favorite Sister. I didn't like any of the characters and found the storyline hard to follow.

I was definitely intrigued by the behind-the-scenes look at a fictional reality show (a la Real Housewives). However, there were too many characters to keep track of right from the start and too many different POVs, which resulted in me not being able to connect to any of them. It was also hard to root for any of the characters, as they're all pretty despicable humans. I felt like there was so much build-up trying to keep it suspenseful, but I just got frustrated during the middle because of the lack of action. The ending was a good twist, but it didn't make up for that fact that this was just not a fun read with a theme that should have been delightfully wicked.

OK, I have a secret to share. One of my guilty pleasures is watching reality T.V. Shocking right!?!😳 I’d like to think I’m a level-headed educated woman. But sometimes, for just an hour...I like to lose myself in the somewhat staged and probably scripted world of “reality T.V.”

Don’t you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes? How the characters interact when the camera is no longer rolling? Well here is your sneak peek...and let me warn you, it’s not pretty!

There are so many characters in this book that I just couldn’t keep up nor could I keep them apart.
Sadly, this one kind of missed the mark for me. I was never able to connect to the characters and had a hard time following along. Told in multiple POV’s Stephanie’s character was the only one I really cared about (maybe just a little).

There are so many mixed reviews for this one. Don’t let me sway you! If you enjoy your dose of reality TV, (our secret🤫) then you may really enjoy this one!

A fantastic Traveling Sister read!🤗💞

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Jessica Knoll for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time getting into this book, it just wasn't for me. I tried finishing the book, but just could not. It was my first dnf of the year. Sorry I love reading, but this book just did not hold my interest and I read a lot and finish every book.

I AM OBSESSED PEOPLE!!!!!!!! It was so good. It cannot be defined by one genre. It’s a thriller and chick-lit and feminist literature all in one! You start off knowing there is a murder and then traveling back to find out what happened and why she was killed. But here is the kicker – the victim is a REALITY TV STAR. So the whole thing is like watching a behind-the-scenes look at Desperate Housewives. It was seriously amazing guys. You need to read it this summer. It’s truly the perfect beach read.

I really wanted to like this one, but I could not get behind the characters and their story. There was a lot of subtle body-shaming disguised as praise for women with tiny waists and big breasts. These women were supposed to be part of a show about supporting each other and being successful in a world of men; however, they just use each other and look for ways eliminate their competition. I really liked the concept of sisterhood and feminism, but that isn't what we see.

These women are catty, underhanded and cruel people that take advantage of others to benefit themselves. One person even uses her twelve-year-old daughter as a pawn to make herself more desirable. Another woman referred to a mother as "udders," because being a parent isn't good for business. It was appalling what these women would do, and I didn't want to continue reading about them. I felt like this book had the potential to be so much more than it was.

I was also a little confused about who was what, when, where and why. The timelines were a little skewed and I occasionally forgot where I was supposed to be. The wording was weird, too.

The Favorite Sister dives into the lives of five successful women who are stars in their own right and on the reality show Goal Diggers. Each woman is different and will do whatever it takes to remain in the spotlight and get the ratings they need. No one thought murder would be what kept them in the spotlight though. I’m just going to go ahead and say it…I didn’t like this book. I enjoyed Jessica Knoll’s first book “Luckiest Girl Alive” so I was excited for this one, but it fell flat for me. The first half of the book is slow and I had a hard time keeping up with the five characters. It does end up picking up about 50% in, but at that point I was kind of reading it to be done. I felt a lot of the details could’ve been left out as it felt more like rambling than providing information that pertained to the storyline. I’m sure this will resonate more with others and will be a bestseller, but it just wasn’t for me! I respect Jessica Knoll and really look forward to her next book!

When five successful young women agree to appear on a reality series set in New York City called Goal Diggers, they are launched into stardom, and all that comes with it.

Brett’s the fan favorite. At only twenty-seven, the success of her spin studio and her recent engagement to her girlfriend have made her the object of jealousy and vitriol from her cast mates and former friends.

Kelly, Brett’s older sister and business partner, is the most recent recruit, dismissed as a hanger-on by veteran cast, is protecting Brett and their shocking secret.

Stephanie is a successful bestselling author worried that she's getting too old for the producer's liking. There have long been whispers about her husband and his wandering eye, and she and Brett have had a major falling out. Will these storylines be enough to keep her on the show?

Lauren, the start-up world’s darling whose drinking has gotten out of control, is Goal Diggers’ recovery narrative—everyone loves a comeback story.

And Jen, made rich and famous through her popular vegan food line plays a holistic hippie for the cameras, but is someone else when the cameras are off.

What the producers didn't expect is that the season will end in murder…



I want to just start by saying that The Favorite Sister is not going to be for everyone. I'd had it on my TBR, and saw lots of mixed reviews flowing through, so I was a little nervous picking this one up, but I had to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. The reality TV show narrative is what hooked me from the book's blurb, as I'm a huge reality TV junkie. This one read like an extra dramatic episode in the Real Housewives franchise, and I honestly ate it up. 

In the beginning of the book, I struggled to keep the characters straight for a little while, but after some flipping back and forth to remember who everyone was, I managed to get them down pretty quickly, and was immersed in the story. The book is told in three sections - pre production, filming, and post production, which a few interspersed chapters from the present day. One of the main characters dies, and we find that out very early on (we also know who, but not how or why), so while the majority of the book doesn't read like a thriller or mystery novel, the death was always in the back of my mind. There were a few reveals throughout the book, but none of them were earth-shattering for me. I'd guessed pretty much everything that was revealed before it came out, so while the book was a fun read for me, it wasn't anything groundbreaking. 

The Favorite Sister is full of unlikable characters who do horrid things and treat each other terribly, which I think a lot of people struggled with while reading the book, because it's hard to root for anyone (and honestly, I wasn't rooting for anyone - they all sucked!) but as I mentioned before, it reminded me of an extra dramatic episode of Real Housewives, so I enjoyed it! All in all, I rated this one 3.5 stars because of the "binge-ability" for me, but also because of the unlikeable characters and the fact that the book was pretty predictable. If you are a fan of reality TV and enjoy reading about characters you'll hate, you may enjoy this one. I'd like to thank Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for my copy of the book. It was my pleasure to provide an honest review.

Chilling, suspenseful, and compulsively readable. For fans of Gone Girl, The Luckiest Girl in the World, and similar titles. For library collections with a strong demand for suspense, thrillers, and contemporary fiction with strong female protagonists.

Brett and Stephanie were best friends. After their seasons together on Goal Diggers, the reality tv show about young women entrepreneurs who are changing the world, they have shared experiences, laughs, tears, secrets—so many things, really, When Brett broke up with her girlfriend and needed a place to stay, Stephanie opened her house to her. And that’s when things went so terribly wrong. An epic fight erupted between the two women which was certain to fuel the upcoming season. 

But the biggest change in the new season is the addition of Kelly and her daughter Layla. Kelly is an unusual choice for Goal Diggers for several reasons. First, she’s a single mother. All other cast members had either chosen not to have children yet or not to have them at all. Goal Diggers wasn’t previously interested in the lifestyle of the working mom. Kelly is also unusual because she’s Brett’s older sister.

But Kelly has several things working her favor. She’s beautiful. Her teenaged daughter is half Nigerian and a whipsmart young entrepreneur herself. And Kelly is also Brett’s partner in the fantastically succeassful spinning empire SPOKE. While Brett is the face of the company and the one who drives their charitable interests, it’s Kelly who can read the financial reports, who found investors, who decided it would be cost effective to expand into yoga studios, who understands the legalities of owning and running a multimillion dollar business. And it was Kelly, as the girls were growing up, who was the favorite sister. 

And as the new season starts to roll, the secrets come to light. There is Jen, who runs a vegan food empire, whose secret could ruin her reputation in the vegan community. There is Lauren, whose dating app has earned her millions, and the secret that could separate her from the company she built. There is Stephanie, the writer, whose romance trilogy rocketed her to the top of the bestseller lists and whose new memoir is quickly following suit. But if the truth comes out about her, she could lose that movie deal with the Oscar-winning female director that she’s preparing to meet with.  

And then there’s Brett, the show’s golden child, the executive producer’s favorite. Generally, Brett is untouchable. But this season, things are different. Not only had she lost her best friend, not only does she have a secret that could destroy her and everyone she loves, but she also has a sister who is joining the cast of the show. Her older sister. The one who knows all her secrets. 

Once the cameras start rolling and the mics start recording, what will happen to these women? They spend weeks being followed by camera crews, showing off their best features, focusing on their successes, breaking past their barriers. Under all that pressure, what will happen when some of those secrets bubble up to the surface? Will the show survive? Will the women’s professional lives make it through unscathed? Or will these women take each other down in an attempt to dig their way to their ultimate goals? 

Jessica Knoll, author of The Luckiest Girl, has crafted a monstrous story of women and their relationships. Each of these powerful characters have secrets to keep hidden, lies to cover them, and the motivation to stay on top. With these women’s ambitions and egos, their professional reputations, and the emotional stress of living on camera, you have a story with tension that feels like a smoldering rag just waiting for its pool of gasoline. And The Favorite Sister does not disappoint. It’s an explosion of women’s power and all of its mighty consequences, the story of feminism’s good intentions and sometimes destructive results, a mind-bending twister of emotions. And the first best book of summer 2018. Don’t miss this one! 



Galleys for The Favorite Sister were provided by Simon & Schuster through NetGalley, with many thanks.

The Favorite Sister is one of those books that has a great premise. It revolves around women who are stars of a reality show that focuses on successful women who have pursued careers rather than marriage/families. This "Real Housewives" inspired show, however, focuses on drama over the women's accomplishments. Knoll is making a point here about women in entertainment, women in their prescribed society roles, women and their relationships with other women. All of that is great, but the problem is that none of the characters are worth rooting for, so ultimately I found I didn't care about these vapid, vindictive backstabbers. Knoll repeatedly has the show producer and characters saying that happy women who get along are not interesting. Maybe not, but neither was I interested in reading about these awful people. I think for viewers who DO enjoy Real Housewives or watching the Kardashians, this is probably an entertaining book, but I needed someone I cared about and didn't find repellent.

I read The Luckiest Girl Alive and didn't love it. I thought it was just okay. That said, I really liked The Favorite Sister. I couldn't put this one down!

Sadly, I think I need to chalk Jessica Knoll up as just not my cup of tea. I read her first book and had a hard time getting through it. Now, this one, same thing. It is the story of women that are on a "Real Housewives" type show. There is deception and lying and secret affairs and all sorts of underhanded-ness, but in the end, I just didn't care.

I will say in the interest of "it not you, its me", there are a lot of people that liked her first book. And I have seen a lot of positive reviews of this book too. So, it really may just be me. If you liked her first book, Luckiest Girl Alive, you will probably like this one too. Go ahead and give it a read!

Ok, I will admit it. I am a reality show junkie. When I started to read this book I had no idea what it was about but was thrilled to discover it was about a "housewives-type" reality show. I would watch Goal Diggers is it was a real show for sure. It took me a bit to get the characters all figured out because there are quite a few of them, but they are all interesting and likeable (or unlikable). On the surface this a a fun, enjoyable read but there are feminist messages about how women in our society treat each other and themselves. (Also the expectations and limitations society places on women.) So while this book is a great beach/vacation read (especially for reality show addicts like me) it does make you stop and think once in a while. Another aspect of the book I enjoyed was learning some of the production secrets that may or may not take place behind the scene while shooting reality shows. This is the first book I have read by Jessica Knoll and it will not be my last.

I had a really hard time getting into this book. I picked it up about 3 times but just could not get into it. I don't think it is my style of writing.

The book is about two sisters who join in a realty show and something terrible happens. The plot of the book sounded really good and I am sure for a lot of readers they will love this book. It has a lot of twist and turns.