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.

Anyone who loves any of those Real Housewives shows or other similiar reality shows will love this juicy saga about the backstages goings on at a reality show. Goal Diggers is a show about women entrepreneurs. Brett and Stephanie have been with the show since the beginning in a cast where the older you are the more likely you are to be pushed out and replaced. When Brett's sister, Kelly joins the show the drama escalates, secrets are revealed and one cast member literally won't make it out alive. If you love over the top drama, you won't be able to put this book down.

I tried, I really tried, but I just could not get into this book. It is so unusual for me not to be able and push through, but I just couldn’t on this one. I didn’t connect with the characters and it was just too negative and catty for me. There will be those that like it, but it just didn’t work for me.

Let me start by saying that I don't watch reality TV. I get quite enough reality in everyday life. Nevertheless, the blurb for this one sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a gander. I did finish, but I set the book aside numerous times, mostly due to the fact that I couldn't find a single character in the book to actually root for. None of them were the least bit likable. Maybe that was the author's intention, but for me, I have a hard time getting invested in a story when no one has a redeeming quality.
We have five women who are each successful, but instead of being proud of that, they spend a crazy amount of time tearing each other down. The whole thing read like Mean Girls for grown-ups. We get lots of behind the scenes making of reality TV and how the drama gets encouraged, but the constant conniving among these women quickly grated on my nerves. There is a murder to give us some mystery and things do pick up in the end, but without that connection to any of the characters, it didn't help much.
I suppose I was expecting something more, some actual sisterhood at some point, and that's on me, but I still came away from this one disappointed.

I wouldn’t call myself a reality tv junkie, but when I had cable, I would find myself binging on hours of it at a time and totally engrossed. The Kardashian’s, Survivor, The Real World, The Biggest Loser, Big Brother, Real Housewives, and don’t get my started on all of HGTV :) That’s exactly how I felt about this book. I was totally engrossed in the reality tv aspect of it, and the making of a reality tv show, but also wondered what the hell?! Multiple times while reading (after all, isn’t that the exact point of reality tv?!). This is a fun read and if you’re a fan of reality tv with a side of mystery, give this one a try! It’s a perfect book for summer!

This book was good. It reminded me of The Housewive's Shows. In the beginning, it was hard to keep up,so much was going on. When it finally found its grove, the book was good. The ending was good, lost of twists in this book. Very enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

After reading this book I know why I don't watch reality tv. The backstabbing, secrets, and fake drama presented here in a fictional story is more than enough. After reading Knoll's first book and reading the premise of this one I thought it would be an interesting read. Unfortunately, the premise did not meet expectations. I didn't care for any of the main characters - I found them too shallow and self-absorbed which was maybe the point. This book just was not for me.

Jessica Knoll is following her super popular novel, Luckiest Girl Alive, with The Favorite Sister. It is perfect for women who love cat fights, the Real Housewives, and books about toxic friendships.

For me, it took a little bit of time to get into. However, this may be because I have never been a fan of the Real Housewives series. Keeping up with the characters in the beginning was a little hard for me, but again, maybe it is because I am not used to it.

About halfway in, I did get into the plot and wanted to know what was happening and why.

This book is about a group of women cast in a Real Housewives show - however, these women are not housewives. They are all successful businesswomen. But, the same types of rivalry abound. So much so that there are literal cat fights and someone dies.

That is not a *spoiler* Readers find out in the first pages that a cast member has died before the season airs. However, you do not find out what actually happens until the last couple of pages. Since all the women are untrustworthy and out for themselves, readers will have moments where they suspect everyone.

I found all the characters appalling (well, except for one - I'll let you figure that one out as you read), but the drama was addictive. And, I don't think the title is the best fit.

Ultimately, this book will not make you smarter, but it will be a fun read for many. And, I think everyone will walk away feeling thankful they are NOT on a reality show.

*This book will be released tomorrow (5/15/18) just in time for summer!

*Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy!

Great finish almost makes it worth reading the rest of The Favorite Sister.

Brett, Stephanie and Jen are the sole remaining season 1 cast members on the new season 4 of the Real Housewives-esque reality show, Goal Diggers. The show ostensibly empowers women, while provoking as many fights among them as possible. Brett is the “thick” lesbian African-American CEO of SPOKE. The company is a spin class empire that donates electric bikes to Morocco girls so they can avoid being raped while hauling water daily from their towns’ well. Stephanie is an author and married to Vince, a wannabe actor. Jen is a vegan CEO. Lauren, who arrived season 2 as Jen’s friend is CEO of Sadie, a dating app where women chose the men first.

The Favorite Sister is full of lying, conniving and cheating. There is murder and attempted murder in here too but not until late in the book. My problem is that the characters are not sympathetic at all. After some foreshadowing, I spent the first half of the book waiting for the murder to occur. I didn’t even care who was the victim. I just wanted something to shake the self-centered complacency out of one of these b*tches. There is a q&a with the author at the end of the book explaining how she loves the housewives shows but dislikes how they turn women against each other. But she wrote a book about the exact same process. Maybe it was sarcastic farce that I just didn’t get. Once the thriller part of the book started, well past halfway, I enjoyed the twists. I’m just not sure I would have read that far if I hadn’t received this book from NetGalley. The last half of the book gets 4 stars and the first gets 2 making an average of 3 stars.

Thanks to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I'm a reality tv junkie, so this book definitely caught my attention. Bring on the drama of the real housewives I said, when initially reading what this book was about. The book itself was like watching a reality tv show, meeting all the diverse/polarizing characters and the structure was reading from their different points of view. What I found daunting was, there were so many characters and you get so swirled into the drama, and I had to reread a few parts of the book. But then again, there are always twenty different story lines while watching, my favorite Real Housewives of NY, so I understand where the author was coming from when writing this book. You definitely need to be a fan of reality tv or this book maybe just as simple as self-absorbed women with too much time on their hands. I was entertained, like reading a guilty pleasure, and find it to be a good beach read for the summer. For the love of reality tv, you cannot miss out on reading this book. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.

This book really satisfies a certain itch to read about the downfall of truly terrible people. These women are hypocritical, sanctimonious liars. That's not to say Stephanie, Brett, Kelly, Jen and Lauren don't have good qualities and aren't dealing with issues such as racism, sexism, ageism and substance abuse. These women are very nuanced, while they are treated as tokens on the reality show Goal Diggers, they are true individuals. In the end it's a real chicken vs. egg scenario, did the show turn them into monsters, or were they attracted to the limelight because of their baser qualities.

I'm not sure if I would consider this a mystery or even a thriller. Brett's death is known from the very beginning. I felt like the twists throughout the book were pretty obvious. This did not lessen my enjoyment of the book. Reading about Brett and Stephanie's machinations to stay relevant in the public eye was enough.

What I really liked about this book is how it sheds light on a lot of modern issues through the lens of reality TV. The racism Stephanie deals with and Brett's obnoxious "wokeness" are shown in a very interesting light.

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.

I really enjoyed Luckiest Girl Alive, so I was eager to read The Favorite Sister. In this book, Jessica Knoll excels at pacing and the development and demonstration of complex relationships between characters. I particularly like the way pieces of the story emerge—we get bits and pieces at a time, from different perspectives, and presumably know that the truth lies somewhere in the middle (not just Brett's or Kelly's or Stephanie's point of view, but somewhere in the midst of it all). One weakness of this novel: the voices of the narrators are not easily distinguishable. They all have similar tones and styles, so even though we're getting chapters from several different perspectives, it can, at times, be a little difficult to remember whose voice we're reading.

This was a DNF at 16%.

On the positive side there were many passages about body image and women that resonated with me. I understand the characters were supposed to be unlikable but the constantly changing POV and name-dropping of characters I felt I should know but didn’t, became burdensome and was taking away from
any enjoyment I may have gotten out of the plot.

I would recommend this title with caution for a younger demographic who enjoys reality shows.

Thanks for the opportunity, but unfortunately I am the wrong reader for this book.

What a great gossipy book full of women who will yank and tear your hair out while stepping on you to get where they want to go. I loved everything about this book from the awesome plot to characters that you will easily relate to. Definitely pick this one up and be prepared to be entertained. Makes think of the Housewives of Whatever shows so if that's something that you're into you will love this book as much as I did because once in a while you need to read something that's purely entertaining.

I enjoyed Knoll's first book and looked forward to reading this but.....sad to report that I DNF 45 percent through. This is a topical novel for using reality tv and reality tv candidates as subjects but gosh it was boring. AND, more importantly, I had a hard time telling the voices from one another and understanding why I should care about any of them. The three main characters- Stephanie, Kelly, and Brett are the most fleshed out because they are the narrators but details were parceled out so slowly that I lost interest. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Others might enjoy this but it never engaged me despite my efforts to keep powering through. I'll admit to clicking to the end to see what happened and, well, leave it to you to decide.

This is a tough book. The story is great, but the characters are so flawed, hateful, and abusive to each other. However, it is very suspenseful and the plot twist at the end was a surprise!

4 questioning reality stars to The Favorite Sister! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Five successful women are appearing on a reality show called Goal Diggers, and the season ends with the murder of one of the stars. The book covers the events leading up to the murder.

I don’t watch tv often, but when I do, my flavor of choice is reality tv. I think it’s partially because I’m part of the reality tv generation. Just as soon as I hit adulthood, Survivor, Big Brother, and The Bachelor, were on everyone’s watch list. I also watch because it’s a true escape from my own reality. Mind numbing? Sure. But it can also be thought-provoking, and I found some room for that in this book as well.

On the surface, this is a story about reality television where women are stabbing each other in the back and being paid. When I dug deeper, I thought about our reality culture and the thin line between truth and fiction. I also reflected on sisterhood, and the competition and drama that can ensue, even when cameras aren’t rolling, filming your every eye roll and blunder.

I found the author’s writing to be intelligent and thought-provoking with a blush of feminism if you are in tune to it. I would expect nothing less from Jessica Knoll.

Thank you to Jessica Knoll, Simon Schuster, and Netgalley for the ARC. The Favorite Sister will be released on May 15, 2018.

My reviews can also be found on my shiny new blog www.jennifertarheelreadercom

When it comes to reality shows, I really dislike them. So as I read this book, I really had a distaste from the start. That being said, I am attempting to give an honest review in spite of my dislike of reality TV.

This story is about five women that are on a reality show entitled Goal Diggers. The premise of their show is to promote women entrepreneurs. As most reality shows, the problems and outrageous behaviors are more what people are after.

Brett is the one of the longest running player of Goal Diggers and the most hated. She recently got engaged to her girlfriend and running a successful business with her elder sister, Kelly. The two of them are still fighting their sibling rivalry, and in the end, one of them will make it.

The book was not my cup of tea. It was too long, too wordy and some really good editing might help. There was too much detail and endless yacking between the characters that I struggled with the dialogue and keeping the characters straight. I really struggled with trying to finish this book. If you like Real Housewives, you might like this and appreciate it better than I.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about a group of women on a reality show. The book jumps between points of view. It starts with one of the girls' sister doing an interview about her death and then as the book goes on, we learn more about the events leading up to her death. I really enjoyed this book. It took a while to get into, but once I did it was great. Would definitely recommend.