I personally did not like this book. I enjoyed the general idea that it had, and some of the characters were very good. but overall, i highly disliked most of the characters. The only character I did like was the niece Layla, and even then she was barely ever in the book as she was not an important character. So much was happening, and the timeline jumping was not executed very well. I skimmed the last 20% of the book because I just wanted it done and over with.

I ended up really liking this book, it got really good in the second half, I'm so glad I stuck it out (I was having some trouble getting into it at first). The Favorite Sister is a story of five wealthy, self-made women living in NYC and filming a reality show called Goal Diggers (think Bravo’s Real Housewives of any city). Readers are taken on a wild ride navigating friendships and business opportunities. When the cameras are rolling these women support and lift each other up, but once the cameras are gone…get ready for the backstabbing, plotting against one another, and manipulation to begin. In the first chapter, you are told that one of the main characters is dead; the book’s characters lead you through their takes on the events that ultimately lead to her untimely death. I thought I had it all figured out numerous times, but after many twists and turns, I ended up being completely wrong. The references to recent current events were a nice addition; some made me laugh and it kept it feeling fresh. The Favorite Sister is a great book that will leave you guessing right up until the end.

Wow!! I’m still thinking about this one!! So good and so much better than Knoll’s first book to me! The ending!! It didn’t exactly wrap up what was happening, which is why I couldn’t give five stars. All in all, I loved the characters and disliked the ones I wasn’t supposed to. What I thought was going to happen didn’t. Knoll did a great job with this one!! This is one I’d love to see made into a real reality show like the book or movie! I really enjoyed this follow up!

Interesting thriller with some nice unreliable narrators and a real sense of whodunnit. Surprisingly, has quite a bit of cultural commentary in here about reality tv, truth, aging, feminism, and public vs. private personas.

For when someone is looking for an airport novel with a little extra oomph.

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll takes us into the lives of five women who are on the reality show Goal Diggers. While the book isn’t great literature I did enjoy the story, the shallow characters, and the twist at the end.

I really enjoyed the author’s first book and had high expectations for this one. The cover sounded like an interesting read. Unfortunately, the storyline was extremely slow to progress, and the characters were flat. I ended up putting this one down several times and reading something else. I am not a fan of back and forth reading between past and present. I realize that some stories require this type of writing, but I could have done without it here. I finally completed it and am glad that this one is done.

I tried and tried but I couldn’t get into this book. I’m sure dyslexia played a part as I found it challenging to keep the characters straight. I thought maybe I was the wrong demographic. But I really want to read this book so I’ll try again. Thanks for giving me this opportunity.

I had a hard time following the dialogue as each chapter changed characters. The ending was also confusing, I had to read thru the last chapter twice.

This is a story of fiction - I hope there aren't many women out there like these - about a group of hungry for money and fame women. These women will do anything to continue their desperate idea of what they want out of life. I found no character I could like. It took me a long time to read as I found it disjointed, easily lost as to who was talking (I had to go back to the chapter heading to find out) and not very exciting. Not a page turner in fact I had to make myself finish it. I have to say the last few chapters did hold my interest. It's about women who are fake and the glass houses they live in can easily be shattered by a truth bomb. I am sure this book will be enjoyed by some the women those who watch reality TV will find it entertaining. I find it sad that there was no true alliance by any of the women no one really cared about anything more than themselves. I received a digital copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I somewhat enjoyed Knoll's book Luckiest Girl Alive, but had similar issues with this one as far as not relating to the characters at all. I understand that protagonists don't need to be perfect or even likable, but everyone in The Favorite Sister was horrible and unsympathetic. Honestly, I couldn't even finish it, I was so sick of everyone and had no desire to find out how it ended. This was a pretty disappointing experience, unfortunately.

I've spent a couple of weeks struggling through The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll. A thriller with a reality series that ends in the death of one of its cast members, it sounded like something I'd really enjoy....but the first half of the book was like listening to someone complain about friends you've never met. The author didn't let us see much about the actual show, just five women talking about what had happened in the past.



Dumb as it may sound, I think one of my biggest complaints about the book is that there was so little white space on the pages, just dense blocks of text. I switched from reading it on my Kindle to checking out a hardback copy from the public library, which actually helped me get through to the point, a little over halfway through, where the plot starts to gain momentum.



Even when dramatic bad things do start to happen, the reader is kept at a distance from them, hearing about it from other characters. If the first half of the book had been more like the second, I would've enjoyed it a lot more.

“The Favorite Sister” is my second read for Jessica Knoll, and I feel like the person who says “I like the premise, but I don’t necessarily feel like I’m drawn to this for execution.” I felt this way about Knoll’s first book (which makes me sad because there are a ton of people I know who actually loved her first book), and that seems to be my end thoughts on this book as well. I definitely see things here that I really like. I’m just…not completely immersed in it.


“The Favorite Sister” is a darkly humored take on modern day reality TV social culture and feminism. (And when I say dark, I mean really daaaaark. Like watch these scenes through your fingers and cringe dark.) To its credit, it’s very on the nose and apt for its examinations into a group of women on a reality show with toxic levels of competition and pushes for relevance. While the story revolves around the murder of the protagonist’s sister (Brett) and notably her role in the events leading up to it, Kelly has her own motivations in the scheme of this story, and she’s a member of a group of women here who have very colorful personalities but clash in some rather jarring ways. I’m not a huge fan of reality TV culture, but I find myself fascinated by academic and social dissections of it, so this book definitely had appeal to me on one end, particularly underneath the layers of the interactions of the cast. Yet, the way this book toggles between that, the overarching mystery of what happened to Brett, and the past/present of it all – some of the better pieces of this narrative get lost in the shuffle and are more convoluted than they should be. That was my biggest gripe in the narrative and ultimately why it had me in some points, while losing me on others for appeal.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t put this book down for lack of intrigue – but it was definitely difficult to push through because of the pacing. I definitely want to continue looking into Knoll’s work because the appeal for her narration and characterization intrigues me with each book she writes, I just wish that this had been a better experience for me in terms of being able to savor it for what it offered.

Overall score: 3/5 stars.

Note: I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher.

This is a tough one for me to review. There were aspects that I liked, and aspects that I didn't like. I was tempted to put it down and not finish at least once, but I'm glad I didn't.

Jessica Knoll writes a compelling thriller, that kept me guessing until the very end. I thought I had figured out what had happened about halfway through, and was surprised to get to the end and realize I was completely wrong, and completely surprised. I always find that a sign of a good thriller, one that isn't too predictable.

However, I also struggled. I felt like the build-up took too long, and the beginning was too slow. I didn't connect with any of the characters, they were all terrible people, and I didn't feel any sympathy for any of them. Admittedly, that may have been part of the point, showing how no one is as perfect as they seem on the surface, but for some reason, that didn't really resonate with me. I also struggled to keep track of all of the characters and their ventures/story-lines. There was just too much going on in my opinion. I was never able to fully invest in a character or story-line because it jumped around so much. I was also left with a number of questions at the end. I feel like I never truly got to know Kelly as a character well enough to understand the ending, which is a little frustrating.

Overall, this was an okay read. It was well-written and surprising, but a little slow and confusing. Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I was very excited to read this book, as I love a good thriller. However, I wouldn't really call this a thriller as a drama. Brett is one of the main characters on a reality TV show called Goal Diggers about women who are starting their own businesses. She is one of the few that has stayed on the show since the beginning. At the end of the season she ends up dead. Who did it? Was it her sister, who recently joined the cast? Her best friend turned frenemy, Stephanie? Stephanie's husband, who was recently outed for his many affairs? Overall the storyline needed a little something and ends pretty much right as the death occurs. I read an arc in exchange for a truthful review. I have heard that since the book has been published the ending has been changed.

I think Jessica Knoll and writers like her are often unfairly shuffled under Gillian Flynn and "Gone Girl"s shadow. I really enjoyed Knoll's first book and I really enjoyed this one. They share similar DNA to "Gone Girl" but are not imitations at all.

The premise was intriguing and the central mystery was riveting -- I was truly surprised by the twists and turns.

My only real issue is that Knoll is terrible at dialogue. Her characters are so internal, so wrapped up in their own thoughts and expositions that it's hard to read scenes that involve a conversation. A character will ask a question, and fully 2 pages of internal monologue later, a response -- at times I had to flip back to figure out what the original question was.

I liked how the mystery unraveled, but man, not many characters to like in this one... Loved all the twists along the way and the changing of perspective.

I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley. This book had me from the very beginning. I love that it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I would highly recommend this book to my fellow readers. Thank you for the chance to review this book!!!!

This was a not finish for me. I attempted several times to get through the first few chapters but the book just did not grab my attention or keep me intrigued.

The Favorite Sister b Jessica Knowl'l is a fun and juicy read. The novel centers around women in a reality show. The book reminded me of Desperate Housewives..I was so engrossed in the book that I could not put it down. I can see why it is optioned for a movie. Read it! You won't be disappointed.

Goal Diggers is a wildly successful reality show featuring five uber-successful women. This year's season features veterans, Stephanie, an author of erotic novels and the first black cast member. And Brett, the youngest at twenty-seven, and the only lesbian cast member. Brett's older sister, Kelly, is in her first year on the show. She has been helping Brett run her empire for many years, so it only makes sense that she, and her young daughter, are included in the filming. Kelly can't help but hope that being on the show will help her get out of Brett's shadow. The season is set up to be full of drama. Brett and Stephanie, once best friends are now bitter enemies. Kelly and Brett have a tumultuous relationship going back to their childhood with a mother that played favorites. And Brett is engaged to a woman who is successful in her own right. The explosive dynamics between the five women are sure to be a ratings goldmine. But what will happen to the future of the show when the season spirals out of control and into murder?

Millions of people tune in every week to the reality show of their choice. The Favorite Sister takes you behind the scenes of a successful reality show featuring successful women. One of the things that I like about the premise of this book is that the stars of the show made peanuts. The produces wanted them to use the show to drive the sales of the business, therefore keeping them "hungry" rather than resting on their reality show laurels. I have to be honest that I did not really *like* any of the characters, except perhaps Layla, Kelly's daughter. They were all so desperate to keep their adoring fans that they were all ready to do whatever it took to keep their secrets secret. But it is when one of them stops caring is when things start to get dangerous. The book really jumps around in the timeline and in narrators, so my advice is to not stop reading in the middle of a chapter. I had guessed that it was one of the stars that was the murderer. In fact, there were several reasons why it could be her, but I was wrong. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS - And I love being wrong when reading a thriller!

Bottom Line - The Favorite Sister has everything you could hope to find in a reality show. Competition, revenge, love, jealousy, and even murderous rage. This is going to be one of those books that everybody will be buzzing about this summer. Be sure to read it so that you can be in on the conversation!

Details:
The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll
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Pages: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 5/15/18
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