I was thrilled to read this one! I read Jessica Knoll's other book, Luckiest Girl Alive and was definitely not looking to miss another story from her. I love reading books that are full of drama. This had that which made the story line go by so quickly. These twists and turns had me turning the pages quickly. I would recommend this one!

This book was entertaining like reading a reality tv show. The characters were interesting and the different points of view made it interesting. It was a murder mystery and I did want to find out what happened. It was to me like her other book though in that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

Being that reality TV is a guilty pleasure of mine, particularly a few of the Real Housewives shows, I was very excited to read this book, thinking it would mesh that world, with a thriller. However, this book did none of that for me. If you are a watcher of these shows, then many aspects of the book felt repetitive and boring, because the author used information about how these reality shows work within the text, and in that aspect was not very original on many of her ideas. It seemed like she wrote scenes that I've already seen play out on actual TV.

On top of that, not one of the characters was likable, not even enough to really care that much how the main character died, nor others. Not to mention, the first half of the book took forever to get through, and I considered abandoning this book several times. I powered through the last quarter of the book, because I just wanted it to be over. I do know many people loved 'Luckiest Girl Alive' and I was not much of a fan of that one either, so I could be in the minority on this book as well.

*Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

I couldn't finish this book. So confusing and didn't want to spend the time trying to figure it out later on.

I feel a lot like I did after finishing Jessica Knoll's first book, The Luckiest Girl Alive. I really did not get the hype about that one.

As with TLGA, The Favorite Sister was very easy for me to read though. It definitely kept me turning pages. I really liked the premise, the whole reality show thing was new to me, and I really liked the dynamic of that. The characters had that moral-greyness that i love too. really awesome character development. The end was a little predictable for me however, I mean the ending is practically hand fed to the reader, and I'm left wondering, "what the..?" at the end - and not in that ambiguous way I like.

Not a bad book. A little long, and a little predictable, but not something I regret reading.

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll will be loved by readers who are fans of the Real Housewives television series. This book is about a group of ladies who are stars of a reality based TV show about women, known as the Goal Diggers, who have succeeded without the help of any men. Readers are aware from the beginning of the book that one of the women ends up dead but are unaware as to how that happens. The author has written a tale of intrigue and suspense that will leave you gasping at the finale. Read and enjoy!

I was a little skeptical about picking this book up. I wasn't a huge fan of Jessica Knoll's last book. I always believe in giving an author a second chance. So right away I was super interested when reading the summary. I use to love reality shows. I'm always here for the drama. Plus I really liked the cover of this book. Well I'm sad to say I didn't end up enjoying it. I got to about 16% before I decided to dnf it. I got really into chapter one. Then something about chapter 2 just killed it for me. I found myself reading only a chapter every other night. I didn't really have the motivation to pick this up. It sat on my shelf for a couple days before I really decided I was going to dnf it. I am really upset about this because it was a book I was looking forward to. I hope you guys end up enjoying it!

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't. I liked the authors first book The Luckiest Girl Alive so I thought I would give this one a try. But after reading just s couple pages I knew this book just wasn't for me. I couldn't get into the book and I forced myself to read about 30% of the book. I thought Kelly was whiny and her relationship with Bett was not healthy at all. This was a DNF for me.
Thanks Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of this book.

Although I'm not a fan of reality TV (and don't really get into references to current fashion, beauty trends, etc) I still enjoyed this book (more than Luckiest Girl Alive, in fact.) I think that's in part due to the characters, who felt three dimensional to me. Although both Stephanie and Brett did some not-so-great things in this story, you felt for each woman and could see what motivated them to behave in the ways they did.

I think the weakest link in the book is the character Kelly. She is, in effect, the conscience of the narrative and bookends the story by both setting us up for what's to come as well as summarizing the fallout. And yet I felt like we didn't get to know her very well (even though she appears to be "the favorite sister" mentioned in the title.)

The book did a nice job of getting into the dynamics of female relationships and how the media enjoys manipulating those relationships in order to create drama (which, in turn, makes them money.) I liked that the women were both aware of this manipulation and yet still tried to assert some control over it in order to meet their own objectives.

This was true for other issues as well--body image, race, sexual orientation. The characters were aware they were playing into stereotypes, while at the same time working to dismantle those stereotypes (or, at the very least, reframe them on their own terms.)

I felt like the book lagged a bit at the beginning, but certainly had an exciting ending with some interesting twists I didn't see coming.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to LOVE this book. I tried, I really tried, however, I didn't make it very far.

Thank you Jessica Knoll and Net Galley!

A lovely surprise!! I wasn't quite sure what to make from this one from the blurb. I have been in a guilty pleasure TV mode so I figured I'd give it a shot. This book was SMART. Not what I would have expected. I loved the business aspects. the behind-the-scenes aspects. The intuition of the characters. There was quire a bit I enjoyed about this book. I felt intrigued and drawn-in the whole time and was satisfied with the ending. Surprisingly a thought-provoking book and so much more than I expected. I hope anyone who is debating reading this DOES decide to give it a shot... if this is SO not your thing... maybe don't.... but if you are thinking "maybe" then just read it... I think you will be happy you did.

I found this to be a very interesting book. Having watched several reality TV shows, I thought I knew what to expect. I am delighted to say that this book met my expectations and delivered more! The characters were well written as was the story. I did not get lost in the change of times once. Very enjoyable and I would definitely recommend to others.

This book was so convoluted and delicious that I'm going back to read it again, directly after finishing it! Jessica Knoll makes a twisty, dark commentary on reality shows and feminism; inclusiveness and duplicity. I could NOT put this down, after a slow start, it had me completely sucked in! My loyalties shifted with each new development, but I remained feeling amazed and pitying these smart, but vicious women. Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Scushter, and Jessica Knoll for the ARC for my honest opinion of this delightful book!

Welp, I pretty much finished this in one sitting. Fans of Luckiest Girl Alive will not be disappointed; this book is similarly sharp, deadly funny, and packed with sly feminist commentary. It has all the hallmarks of a soapy reality TV show--engineered plot twists and "big personalities" that have been handpicked to clash with one another--but this tale gets more and more disturbing with every jaw-dropping revelation. Knoll has a knack for writing villainous women; yes, these characters are ruthless and "unlikeable"...but they're also shockingly relatable. And that's the most unsettling part of the story.

I tried and tried. Less than halfway through had to give. Sorry.

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.

I read and enjoyed Luckiest Girl Alive a year or two ago so I was excited to be invited to read The Favorite Sister. However, I was quickly disappointed that now instead of one unlikeable, bitchy narrator, we had three. Each one more horrible than the next.

I can’t decide which I think the author hates more, women or feminism. It felt like there’s a lecture about feminism every third page and then a judgment on it every fourth page. And women trying to destroy each other every second paragraph.

Maybe this was supposed to be a commentary on how reality TV pits women against each other for ratings but it’s guilty of doing exactly the same thing! There is no redemptive female bonding to show that women can (and do!) rise above pettiness. Nope, pettiness to the bitter end. These women feel like caricatures.. does the author actually know any other women? Because these women? They’re horrible. And it feels like that is the whole point of the story: Women are awful. The end.

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Ugh. I’m going to be perfectly honest here. What a complete waste of my time. The book starts out really slow which I think the author was trying to develop the characters. The problem is that there are so many characters in this book that it is almost impossible to remember who is who because every one of the characters is a disgrace to the female gender. They are all spoiled bratty women who used to be spoiled bratty little girls. Each character thinks she is better than the other characters and it’s all just a big cat fight. Then someone dies, okay it’s Brett, but that’s not even a spoiler because they tell you that in the very first chapter. The whole book is written so that the reader becomes engrossed in these women’ lives and so you wonder how Brett was killed. I didn’t like a single character in this book so I could have cared less how Brett ended up dead because she was as horrible as all the other characters. Towards the middle of the book, I thought it was getting interesting, however, that took a turn for the worst. You know, the kind of worst where cake is flying every where and champagne is getting spilled and then someone gets stabbed. Okay, so that didn’t happen in the book but it very well may have.

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

2.5 stars. Oh, how I wanted to love this book. A murder mystery woven into the lives of five hyper-successful women, layered with all the drama and scandal typical of reality TV? Sign me up. The blurb just sounds so juicy and fun, the cast of characters is wonderfully diverse, and if that isn't enough, that final tagline promises the exploration of a multitude of feminist themes. I wanted it all. But if it sounds like a lot is packed into these 384 pages, well ... that's because it is. To me, at least, the unfortunate side effect is that many of the well-intended storylines fall short.

Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty to enjoy. All of the female leads are badass and unique, hardened by the trials they've had to face to get to where they are now. Nothing has been smooth sailing, and now that they're at the top, they'll do anything to stay there. The narrative is sarcastic, witty, and incredibly self-aware, and it's refreshing that no one is above acknowledging their own pettiness or ambition. I love that the chapters bounce between different narrators, giving us different sides of the same story and showing the effects that each woman's hunger for power has on the rest of the group.

There's so much diversity packed into this book that it's at the point of tokenism, but everyone - author and characters alike - embraces it, which is a new and intriguing perspective. The Favorite Sister tackles important questions of body image and positivity, racism, domestic abuse, misogyny, and so, so many stereotypes about women ... this novel will be the starting point for a lot of book club discussions. Unfortunately, the abundance of powerful themes means that the narrative can come off as soap-boxy and repetitive at times, which really is just a shame for what it's trying to accomplish.

In terms of pacing, it's a slow start. The first half of the book throws you into the deep end with character background, and it's initially almost impossible to keep everyone straight - especially given that each of them have different on- and off-screen personas and storylines. I found myself having a difficult time liking or relating to any of the main characters as the plot progressed. All of their voices started to blend together. Having multiple narrators means each woman is able to cast herself as the victim and tear down the other characters, when the next chapter just spins it back the other way.

It was only the last 10% or so of the book that truly picked up for me, but wow, that ending is a wild ride. All of the tensions that have been building the whole novel reach their boiling points, and the plot spirals straight towards murder in the blink of an eye. There are jaw-dropping revelations left and right as the depth of all of the characters' secrets, lies, and motivations find their way into the open, and everyone starts clawing for solid footing by finding ways to tear each other apart. I didn't predict one bit of it, but I loved every frenzied twist.

The Favorite Sister has its ups and downs, but it simply wasn't the book for me. I couldn't get past the slow start and the increasing difficulty to like the narrators, even if I'm so very appreciative of Jessica Knoll's attempts to tackle so many relevant and important issues. I don't think anyone else should discount this book off-the-bat because there's still plenty about it to enjoy, but at the end of the day, it just didn't live up to my expectations.

I was excited to read this, I'm a sucker for drama on reality T.V. & I was so down. However, I overall just wasn't really into this. There were a bit too many characters and I found myself forgetting who people were & what was going on. The central five women were so egotistical and catty and although it was interesting and had some good moments, ultimately, I just found myself reading it just to finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.