I loved the premise of this story...I love reality TV...love the drama of reality TV...love the backstabbing that is so obviously created on reality TV...but this book fell a little flat for me. Part of it was the characters - absolutely none of them have any redeeming qualities so there's no one you can connect to, no one you can underhandedly root for. Part of it was the plot - somehow slightly unbelievable (and when it involves reality TV and is slightly unbelievable we've reached a whole other realm). It just didn't work for me. I was hoping for a fun, trashy, summery read, but it just didn't deliver. It was a quick read so I guess it would be good for a beach/vacation book, but if you're looking for something to fall in love with, this isn't it. Also, what in the world does an umbrella have to do with this story?! I'm so confused...

Thanks to Net Galley and Simon Schuster for my advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited when I read the description of Jessica Knoll’s latest novel- I thought it would be right up my alley! I enjoy indulging each week in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills but I am very much the girl that must watch from Season 1 Episode 1 and this book really felt like I was starting way too late in the game. There was a lot of backstory and it didn’t help that each character had an individual on AND off screen persona; it felt like I had to keep track of double the characters so much so that I almost took notes! I was annoyed because I wanted to like this more from the start but I felt like I had been tossed in too late to ever become invested. This was a slow, painful start for me. If it wasn’t an ARC, I may have given up altogether but I am really glad I didn’t.

Then about 30-40% in, I was hooked. I knew who was who and I wanted to see what or who they would do next! I was shocked at how deep and dark the secrets were (and I also learned how to pronounce Net-A-Porter).

It seemed realistic enough for me to believe this is exactly how my favorite show plays out and I’m really okay with it- minus the murder part, of course.

A great read if you stick with it, which a true housewives fan most likely will. Knoll is relatable in her mindset and wittiness; she feels like the kind of girl you would want to be friends with / follow on Instagram (check!). I can’t wait to read her next book.

Big thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of The Favorite Sister from Net Galley. I really enjoyed Knoll’s first book - Luckiest Girl Alive- and hopes that this would live up to it. However, despite the premise of a drama filled novel with twists and turns that only a “real housewives” type reality show cast of characters could stir up- it was a little lack luster. There were SO.MANY characters I could hardly keep them straight. And SO.MUCH plot swirling around it was hard to keep focused on the events that kept he storm moving. I wanted to love it, I really did! But it ended up being just so so for me.

Buckle up, this is one hell of a ride! Based in reality TV land, completely foreign territory to me, I was fully engaged by the second chapter. The Favorite Sister quickly became that can't put it down, stay up late read I needed. The plot is just twisty enough to keep the reader guessing, but not so overboard as to become totally implausible. The characters are at once identifiable as in we all know someone like that, and at the same time, leading that glamorous TV lifestyle that is a mystery in itself. The cast is diverse enough in actions and personalities to engage without seeming too staged (even with the TV show casting element considered). But there's the twist, they are not who they seem to be when the show is taping. Once the facade begins to crumble, what has been staged to appear upbeat, motivational, and inspiring is seen to be a ring of ever expanding lies.
Even as a work of fiction, this confirmed my own bias against reality TV in general, and the gender specific politics of outwardly encouraging women to support one another while taking delight in the constant state of near cat fight. Throw one handsome, shiftless husband into the mix, and more discontent abounds. The author calls out the stereotypes of female protagonists, while creating characters display those very same characteristics, all for the ratings game. And once in the race for ratings, there was no exit for these characters.

Four successful, driven, hollow women on a reality television show? What could possibly go wrong?

Brett has done something terrible to upset her on-screen (and once off screen) friend, Stephanie, one of the alpha females of the group that broadcast their drama on reality television for mass consumption. But the biggest news is that her sister (unhip, uncool, and un-target demographic as well as *gasp* a mother) is being invited to the show. Does that spell the end for Brett, considering the other three women have frozen her out? Will she once again play second fiddle to her better looking, more popular, 'less-successful-but-everyone loves-her-anyway' sister?

While I really wanted to love this book, and appreciate the opportunity for the sneak peak (ARC), the characters were simply not relatable to me or anyone I know. The women were all hugely successful and wealthy, and while the author tried to make it seem that they had struggled to get there, they really were either lucky, spoiled, or a combination of the two; not a reality for many women in business. What *was* relatable was the sniping, backstabbing, and Machiavellian manipulations the women inflicted on one another, sadly. The best character was Layla, the daughter/niece, for her authentic representation of a twelve year old girl. This author wowed me with her first book, but this sophomore effort leaves me frustrated.

I really was excited for this book and I tried to give it my undivided attention but I just couldnt get into the story. Im not really into the drama of reality shows so maybe this wasnt a good pick for me. I know from reviews I have read online that there are a lot of people who do love this book though and I wish the author and publisher much success!! Thank you for the opportunity to try this book even if I had to shelf it as a DNF.

I enjoyed this book more than I expected...

I loved Jessica Knoll's previous book The Luckiest Girl in the World so I was excited to have the opportunity to read the advance copy of this book. Initially, the characters were a little confusing. This is highlighted by the multiple narrator style. However, about halfway into the book, it really took off. There were some great twists and the larger theme about a woman's ambition made it thought provoking. Great suspense read!

Great story, although I did keep getting confused, keeping track of all the characters. Written well, good character development.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! The plot of this story sounded really juicy- reality tv mixed with mystery...what more could you ask for? Unfortunately, this book was NOT for me. It took me about 3 weeks to get 35% of the way through and even getting that far was truthfully agonizing. The characters were all extremely unlikable and there were a million different people to try to tell apart which made this a very difficult read. I had high hopes going into this one because I really enjoyed Luckiest Girl Alive, but it just shows not every story will appeal to every reader. This will go as a DNF for me but I'm sure others will enjoy!

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll was not exactly the mystery/thriller I was expecting and I think I would put it more in the contemporary fiction section. It reminded me the drama that occurred in Big Little Lies, except I found that book much easier to get into.. The Favorite Sister I think will be great for fans of dramatic contemporary fiction, but I didn't find it to be my type of book. I am really not a huge fan of contemporary books and this is also the first book I have read from the author.
The premise of this book is group of women in New York City who are on a reality TV show called Goal Diggers. My first mistake in reading this book is that I really do not like reality TV shows, unless its something involving law enforcement or true crime, so reading about it wasn't my favorite. There are variety of characters in this book, all of which have different backgrounds and stories, however I never really became very interested or invested in any of them. If I am not invested in any of the characters, I am going to have a hard time getting invested in the plot itself. The chapters are really long and give a lot of information on each of the women and I found it difficult to keep track of them. Overall, I wasn't really a fan of this book, I am however curious about reading her previous book, The Luckiest Girl Alive.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book.

Set in the world of reality television, The Favorite Sister tells the story of five women appearing on the show Goal Diggers. The show has been on for a few seasons and Brett has become one of the fan favorites, partially due to her complete acceptance of herself. and her body type. Unfortunately her popularity has led to some feuds with the other members of the cast including Stephanie, an African American author who feels like her age will cause her downfall at any moment.
The story is told in several different points of view (Stephanie, Brett & Brett's sister, Kelly) It also flips back and forth between present day and the past. Right up front, you know that a Goal Digger is dead but the remaining story is telling how that came about as well as who did it.
I loved Jessica Knoll's first book and this book was just as amazing. There were several twists that I never saw coming. I did find the ending very abrupt but I understand the reasoning for it.

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll is a thriller that revolves around five successful women who are star in reality TV show called Goal Diggers that showcases their businesses and their personal lives. It’s revealed from the beginning that one of the stars have been murdered and the story describes events leading to that point. This novel is filled with gossip, backstabbing, and lies. The plot sounded intriguing, but the actual book was underwhelming. I was ready to quit reading the book a quarter into it, but I knew I had to finish if I wanted to give a fair and unbiased review. All the characters are unlikable and play the victim role. The narration varies among Brett, Kelly, and Stephanie. The main issues I had with this novel were that there was too much character background and just too many characters in the story. There wasn’t too much distinction among the characters. I also didn’t like the blatant push for feminism in this particular novel - it felt like it was trying to hard to be with the time. The story only got interesting in the last quarter of the novel. This hardly felt like a mystery or thriller and felt more of a contemporary. I would recommend skipping this book. The book releases on Tuesday 5/15.

I just could not finish this book. The writing and plot too convoluted and confusing. The back and forth was too hard to follow. I gave up and I never do that!

First of all, I’m not typically one that watches reality TV. For that reason, I didn’t know if I would love this book, but I was drawn to the murder mystery aspect of it. I’m a total sucker for a good mystery.

The book. We meet five women that are part of a reality show called Goal Diggers. We get to hear two sides of the story leading up to Brett’s death- Brett’s side and Stephanie’s side. Don’t worry- that’s not a spoiler. We also get an intertwined present day story from Kelly, Brett’s sister. No one is who they claim to be. As with reality TV, things are never what they seem. We are introduced to the real characters and who they claim to be on Goal Diggers. The show wants ratings and that’s what everyone is out to get. You’ll see there are liars, cheaters, and some real B’s.

Despite the fact that I don’t care for reality TV, I really enjoyed the book. I couldn’t put it down for the last third. It was like a guilty pleasure and totally addicting. Must take this one on vacation!

Luckiest Girl Alive is the book you can't put down. It's a dark and twisted page turner that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. You'll be so enthralled with this title, everyday activities will be forgotten.

This thriller is a must-read for anyone who watches Bravo shows like Real Housewives.

It’s a good read in it’s own right but the way it satirizes the reality shows we’re all familiar with is so juicy. I also kept stopping the book and trying to talk about it with my friends because I’ve never read something before that really captures how phony wellness and activism influencers are. It’s a really fresh story of reality tv, woke capitalism, and murder.

I wasn't too sure about this book at first. It took a while to get going, but once it did, it was a twisty tale with more drama and backstabbing than any episode of Real Housewives ever dreamed of having. If you are a fan of any of the Bravo reality series, this book will make you think and maybe even re-evaluate some of your perspectives on the shows. Not to mention, it's fun to think about which 'wives inspired which characters, because there are some definite parallels. While I enjoyed the author's first novel a bit more, The Favorite Sister deserves a spot on anyone's summer reading list.

Knoll doesn’t seem to write warm and fuzzy characters, but her style of writing is pretty unique and gritty. The Favorite Sister starts off a little confusing. With the introduction of several different characters in the very beginning of the book, I found myself having to take notes to keep up with the story. Once you get over the initial introduction, you are led through a series of bickering and backstabbing catty drama that is actually very entertaining. I’m not particularly fond of reality TV, but Knoll did a superb job capturing that world. This is a suspenseful story full of twists. I can’t say I particularly loved the characters, but that is exactly the point. Kudos to Knoll’s novel for being authentic and creative and for keeping you immersed in this twisted drama. I highly recommend it!

After a slow start, the book really picks up speed and I devoured the last quarter, if not more. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes of reality TV plot and it was interesting to think about what the show would be like if it were all men. As someone who used to watch the show Knoll references in her interview at the end of the book, but had to quit them for all the reasons Stephanie points out throughout the book, it really resonated how far society still has to go.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you are a fan of the Housewives franchise, you really need to read this book!

I personally am not a fan of these shows. Why do women let themselves behave like this toward each other? That has always been a question I struggled with. Is it the money? Obviously not, as what they make couldn't keep me in tea for a year!

Shows like this are what make it hard for women to be taken seriously. They should just change the name to Women Behaving Badly. And the author has laid it all out there. Every ugly part of "reality" television. There is no reality here. None of these characters had any redeemable qualities at all. Back stabbing, cheating, lying, and the unhealthy need to be front and center. To matter.

This book could not have come at a better time. With social media and all of these so-called reality shows, everyone's life looks better than yours. But is it? Really?

Not only are the women ruthless, the women who run the show are as well and encourage the fights. When everything comes to a head with a shocking conclusion in the end I thought, well maybe this will knock some sense into the women of television, but I was horribly wrong.

Well Done!  I will definitely check out what ever comes out next from Ms. Knoll!

NetGalley/May 15th 2018 by Simon & Schuster