What a fabulously twisty read! The more psychological thrillers I read, the more I question everybody I meet! I look at people after they introduce themselves to me and I think “yes right, if that’s your real name…” lol
Harding’s book, “Her Pretty Face” will definitely send you on a tail soon of predictions! I love how she weaved this story together in such a creepy way that until the very last pages, you will be shocked! Each chapter ended in a twisty, suspense-filled cliffhanger!
The chapters alternate between perspectives. DAISY, FRANCES, DJ tell the majority of the story. How it all comes together is revealed slowly and suspensefully! You will never guess who did what and who is trustworthy or not!
Get ready to turn pages furiously and ignore everything as you race to the end!
LOVED THIS BOOK!!! 5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ twisty stars!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Very well written and highly addictive, I found myself looking forward to getting back to the story all day long. Highly Addicting!

Her Pretty Face by Robyn Harding

If you like domestic/psychological thrillers, stop what you are reading right now. Get your hands on a copy of this book, because you have got to read this. The best way to describe my enjoyment of book is this: Thanksgiving. Okay, so at Thanksgiving you have all the best homemade food laid out for you. You binge all day on that food, until it is hard to keep your eyes open. So, you take a comatose-like nap. When you wake up, you dive right back into that glorious meal until you feel completely satisfied. That is how this book was, at least for me. This was a binge-read for me. Now that I have read this, I am definitely going to read her other work. This one in particular does not have a big a twist as most psych thrillers that I have read, but everything was beautifully written that I would not change a thing about it.

HER PRETTY FACE BY ROBYN HARDING BOOK REVIEW
Last summer, I read Robyn’s much-loved book, The Party. The unlikable characters and some of the wilder plotlines didn’t work for me & and that’s okay. I still enjoyed her writing style that is ripe with tension. When I began to see Her Pretty Face praised all over social media, I knew I had to give it a go.

TWO WOMEN & ONE IS A MURDERER
Meet two women who develop a tight bond & guess what, one of them is a murderer. Not just any murderer either. Amber Kunik participated in the killing of a young girl years ago in a sensationalized case. Think Casey Anthony type coverage. Here we are years later & readers are here for the development of a friendship between Kate & Frances. We know from the very beginning one of them is Amber, BUT WHO? What a plotline!

HER PRETTY FACE IS MY KIND OF THRILLER
Okay, let me back up a minute. There a few things I really love in thrillers. One is multiple narrators & Her Pretty Face switches between Frances, Kate’s daughter, Daisy & a young man from the past, DJ. This narration style works so well for this type of thriller. We know either Kate or Frances is a murderer & it isn’t until about halfway through the book we figure out which woman is masquerading as Amber Kunik. From there the tension really ramps up! There’s no way I was putting the book down once I knew which woman was Amber.

ROBYN HARDING KEEPS READERS GUESSING
Another thing I look for in a thriller is to guess ALL THE WAY through the book but to wrap things up at the end. What can I say, I’m needy & have expectations! I don’t want to be left to figure things out for myself. As Sweet Brown would say, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” I’m happy to report Robyn lays everything out nice & clean at the end with nothing left to guess. This way, I’m able to be all tense & anxiety-ridden while reading the book, but able to sleep once I hit the hay.

THE VERDICT
I am Really Into This book! Get ready to leave all your responsibilities behind because as soon as soon as you start Her Pretty Face you will not be able to put it down. Her Pretty Face is a bit dark, tense & may have you looking into your friend’s past just to be sure they’re not on Amber’s level.

Her Pretty Face is definitely on my Summer Reading List!

Special thanks to Robyn Harding, Gallery/Scout Press & NetGalley for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

Her Pretty Face follows the story of stay at home mom Frances battling with her weight and a troubled son, young Daisy who feels neglected by her parents and DJ, a boy from the past just trying to make it through a horrific experience.

Through the three different POVs we learn about each of them as individuals and how they all fit together. It’s a twisted tale that you will try to piece together from cover to cover. I took many notes with my guesses as to what was really going on.

Robyn Harding does a wonderful job bringing the characters to life and making you feel like you know them. You will sympathize with them, you will be angry at some of them, you may even relate to someone along the way.

Overall I enjoyed the suspense of the story. I wish we had gotten more “past” scenes from a few characters, I feel like that would have really brought things together in the end.

Her Pretty Face by Robyn Harding is a fast and enjoyable read. The story is told from 3 points of view: Frances Metcalf, an overweight, insecure mother of a 13 year old boy with ADHD and oppositional defiance disorder; Daisy Randolph, a 14-year old teenager; and DJ, the younger brother of Courtney Carey, a 13 year old girl who was kidnapped, tortured, raped and murdered in an infamous case years ago. Frances and Daisy tell their stories in then and now time frames, while DJ's story is told only in the then time frame.

Frances and her family have recently moved to Seattle and their son is attending Forrester Academy, an elite, private school. Frances doesn't fit in with the other mothers, especially after her son, Marcus, tired of being bullied, pulls a tasteless prank on one of his classmates. Her only friend is Kate Randolph, also a newcomer to the area. Kate is a tall, svelte, beautiful and self-assured woman with confidence enough for the both of them. She is the type of woman every man looks at, and every woman wants to be like. The mothers at the Academy compete to gain her friendship, but it is Frances that Kate bonds with over their mutual dislike of the other catty mothers. Frances is beside herself with joy, that she is the "chosen" one, and she strives to be more like Kate. They become best friends, as do their same-age sons, Marcus and Casey. Kate also has a daughter, Daisey, but has little interaction with her, which greatly impacts Daisy's behavior and life.

What the women don't realize is that each of them has a hidden past, but one is MUCH darker and more disturbing than the other. When one of their secrets is revealed, everything changes, not only for their friendship, but for their families, the school and the town as well.

I really enjoyed the way Harding draws her characters, revealing more and more, bit by bit. The various storylines were interesting and Harding pulls everything together well. Chapters are short and alternate among the three POVs which makes for a fast read that holds the reader's attention.

Can people truly change? Is the penalty given ever enough to make up for a heinous act? How much loyalty do you owe a friend? Where do you draw the line? This book will start many discussions.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for allowing me to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

We've all had situations in life when we feel like we are left out. And when you meet that one friend that saves you from that feeling, it's like winning the lottery! This is how Frances and Kate meet. Frances just doesn't fit in with the other moms at her son's school. She feels overweight and awkward. She feels dowdy next to her attractive husband. She just doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. Kate, who seems perfect on the surface--attractive, smart, witty--saves her.

Their friendship is one for the ages--both women find in each other a kinship and partner in crime that is unmatched. But both women, Kate and Frances are also harboring secrets. And things just aren't adding up.

There are two other narrators that help piece the story together. One is Kate's daughter Daisy's--a 14-year-old girl who exudes confidence but doesn't get the attention she wants from her mom. JD is a mystery narrator. His story is the most intriguing and the one that puts the pieces together in the story--but his present day identity eludes the reader.

The book is very well crafted. Harding creates just enough mystery to keep the pages turning, and provides enough details that a reader can really second guess their instincts as to what is truly going on in the story.I did feel that there were issues in Frances' marriage that were left unanswered. Which made me wonder why the author put them in the story to begin with...but for the most part I felt the ending was a good one.

A must-read for any fan of the suspense genre.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Gallery, Threshold and Pocket Books for the advance e-galley.

All I can say is WOW ! This book was so good ! I read this today, it was that compelling ! I don't even know where to begin, so many bad things, secrets, lies, everyone and everything is so messed up ! Robyn Harding is an exceptional story teller and has a very twisted and dark mind, which I love ! I don't want to give anything away so you will just have to read it ! Lots of twists and turns, and surprises ! GET THE BOOK !!!!!!

What a fabulously twisty read! The more psychological thrillers I read, the more I question everybody I meet! I look at people after they introduce themselves to me and I think "yes right, if that's your real name..." lol
Harding's book, "Her Pretty Face" will definitely send you on a tail soon of predictions! I love how she weaved this story together in such a creepy way that until the very last pages, you will be shocked! Each chapter ended in a twisty, suspense-filled cliffhanger! 
The chapters alternate between perspectives. DAISY, FRANCES, DJ tell the majority of the story. How it all comes together is revealed slowly and suspensefully! You will never guess who did what and who is trustworthy or not! 
Get ready to turn pages furiously and ignore everything as you race to the end! 
LOVED THIS BOOK!!! 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ twisty stars!

This was a little too predictable but still enjoyable overall. Good, quick read for a day on the beach.

I enjoyed this book. Very easy to read but interesting. I did find it odd that they focused on the main character being so overweight when in the beginning she was 20 lbs overweight then lost another 11 or so pounds as the book went on. I get that she had low self-esteem but being less than 10 lbs overweight isn't something the book needed to harp on. I also wish her relationship with her husband had been fleshed out more. The ending seemed a little abrupt.

This started out as such an interesting premise, but it petered out for me when I reached the middle . I couldn't form any attachment to any of the characters and root for any of them. Plus I figured out early on who Amber was which seemed pretty obvious to me.

Did I miss something in the book that made this a thriller? Or even a mystery? While the book was a decent beach read and I did enjoy it for the most part, I wasn't drawn to it. I didnt particularly like any of the characters. I didnt tai and k they had a whole lot of personality and I guessed the whole plot before 25% of the way through it. I was also waiting for some massive plot twist and it just didn't happen. It is a enjoyable read, but dont expect anything super exciting.

4 second-guessing stars to Her Pretty Face!

I’m not second guessing giving four stars to Her Pretty Face. In fact, I’m awarding Her Pretty Face four stars for making me second guess myself throughout the entire novel. Four stars also for sleep loss because I found this book compulsively readable!

Her Pretty Face is told from three different points-of-view: Frances, a stay-at-home mom, Daisy, a teen, and DJ, a young child. Part of the fun in this book is figuring out how these voices are connected, so that’s all I’ll say about the narrators.

Frances is a stay-at-home mom who needs a friend as much as her son, Marcus, who has some behavioral difficulties. She meets Kate who is beautiful, confident, and the opposite of Frances in every way. The two build a strong friendship just as their sons eventually do.

However, one of these women is actually a murderer by a different name. That’s where my guessing game took place because it was clearly narrowed down to two choices, Frances or Kate.

I was especially drawn to Daisy as a character. Robyn Harding did an exceptional job with characterizing a relatable, vulnerable, but strong, teen girl.

I noticed in the synopsis that Her Pretty Face is referred to as a domestic drama, and I think that is suitable. It was not intended to be a psychological thriller that gives me chills or makes me check the locks on the door, and it was not a jigsaw puzzle’s worth of analysis on my part trying to figure out what happened. Instead, I second-guessed myself over and over, and more and more, I’m finding myself enjoying the simplicity in that.

Overall, I found Her Pretty Face to be well-written, original, and addictive!

Two mom’s in a Seattle area become friends when both their sons enter a uber snobby school. These two are complete different one is thin, always looks nice and crazy organized while the other has a little more junk in her trunk, never put together and crazy low self esteem. But they do have one thing in common a dark secret they are trying to keep secret 👀!

Robyn Harding writes a good thriller with Her Pretty Face. I was literally sitting on the end of my sofa while reading. And when everyone’s secrets came out WOW!!
You will def want to go one click now!!

Frances is struggling. She feels overweight and socially inept, struggling to keep up with the beautiful, wealthy mothers at the fancy private school, Forrester Academy, that her son Marcus attends. That struggle is made even harder by an incident with Marcus and a classmate, Abbey Dumas, that sets the other moms against her. Even worse, no one knows about a horrible event in Frances' past that haunts her: not even her husband, Jason, and Marcus. But she feels rescued when she forges a friendship with a beautiful mother, Kate Randolph. She's funny, irreverent, and almost seems to recognize a kind of darkness in Frances. Suddenly, life at Forrester--and life in general--seems bearable. Meanwhile Kate's teenage daughter Daisy feels as if her mother has stopped loving her. Every few years her parents uproot her and younger brother to move yet again. What is the purpose of trying at school--in life--she wonders? Then a startling discovery comes to light, changing everything for Frances, Kate, and Daisy.

The format of this novel makes it an incredibly quick read: we get present-day events told by Frances and Daisy, interspersed with snippets told by a young boy named DJ, whose older sister, Courtney was murdered by a man named Shane Nelson in the 1990s. I found this to be a fascinating thriller: it keeps you wondering the entire time, with some very interesting and unexpected turns. I always appreciate a novel with some twists that I'm not expecting. I especially enjoyed how Daisy grew on me--her character was really well-done and while, at first, she seemed out of place in the story, by the end, she was my favorite, and I couldn't imagine the book without her.

In many ways this is a more character-driven book than a straight-up mystery. While, as mentioned, there's definitely some unexpected moments, there was no explosive ending, which I thought might happen for a while. In the end, though, I think that was appropriate--you become somewhat attached to these characters and Harding does a good job of bringing you into their (often twisted) worlds.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was compulsively readable, with some great twists and turns and interesting characters. I've had THE PARTY on my Kindle for a while--this has definitely motivated me to push it up higher in my TBR pile. 4 stars.

How do we ever truly know new friends and acquaintances? Is your neighbor a sociopath, is your new pal a convict? This is a great story with a few surprises and twists and turns that keep you interested to the very end.

Two young mothers become unlikely friends when their sons enter a snobbish, elite middle school in the Seattle area. One is gorgeous, well put together and organized while the other is chubby, a bit of a slob, with low self-esteem. But both have deep, dark secrets...when the truth comes out, will they still be friends?

This suspense thriller asks some interesting questions: "Can people ever change? Is it possible to forgive the past?" We often say a criminal has paid a debt to society when they've served their sentence but that stigma often follows them, even if they've changed their identity and have tried to start anew. When is their debt paid? When do we forgive and forget? Will they always remain a threat to society?

I enjoyed this suspenseful story. It is told in two timelines and by three characters: Frances, one of the young mothers; Daisy, the fourteen-year-old daughter of the other young mother; and DJ, the brother of a murdered girl (told in flashbacks to the trial.)

At times, especially in the early pages of the book, I felt that the author was working too hard at word-crafting, perhaps with a thesaurus (or equivalent) in hand, and that has a tendency to throw the reader out of the story because it doesn't feel natural. Here is one example that I bookmarked: (Daisy is feeling unloved by her mother.) "At first, Daisy had thought it was a normal part of growing up, this growing apart. But when she saw her friends interacting with their MATERNAL FIGURES, she realized that what was going on between her and her mom was far from typical." When I read 'maternal figures' instead of 'mothers' or 'moms', I had to stop and think about that...was she trying to be so inclusive, to include all the variations of just who is doing the 'mothering' in today's world?? I just felt that was an odd way for someone 14 to be thinking to herself. But I have to say, as I got deeper into the story, I noticed these instances less and less and enjoyed the book very much.

I received an arc of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley for my honest review. Many thanks.

A compelling psychological thriller peers into Her Pretty Face and sees a bubbling cauldron of duplicity.

Frances’ son Marcus has ADHD and oppositional defiance disorder making him difficult to control. Recently accepted to an elite middle school, an offensive act makes both him and his mother pariahs. Kate’s son Charles is in Marcus’ class. When Kate defends Marcus, she and Frances become best friends.

Frances has something unpleasant in her past. In flashbacks, the story of the rape and murder of 15-year-old Courtney is told by her 12-year-old brother DJ. Courtney’s killer Shane was assisted by his young girlfriend Amber, herself abused by Shane. Is Frances really Amber? Does Kate have ulterior motives for her friendship? Why does Kate seem distant from her 14-year-old daughter Daisy?

Her Pretty Face merges both trepidation and anticipation for what is about to happen. It is recommended for thriller readers that enjoy a intriguing character study. It’s perfect for fans of Big Little Lies, where the sophisticated surface covers up a web of deceit. 4 stars!

Thanks to the publisher, Gallery/Scout Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

This was a very dark and intriguing read! I was totally wrapped up in the story from beginning to end!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own