ʟᴏᴠᴇ. ᴍᴇ. sᴏᴍᴇ. ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ.

Woo Hoo I love me some crazy and this book had that in spades! Jane was one of the most over the top delusional characters I’ve read in a long time, and I loved her! Now would I want to be friends with her? Probably not, but she sure was fun to read about! A year ago Jane lost her oldest daughter Mary in a tragic accident. Jane is finally coming out of her fog of grief to find that her husband David and younger daughter Betsy have been living their lives without her. Everything Jane does is for her family *cough* SO why is it that they are getting distant? Hiding things from her? Her beloved Mary would have never done this to her, she was a good girl. She was the PERFECT DAUGHTER.

The entire book is told from Jane’s point of view. It was like she was talking directly to you throughout the book. I was fortunate enough to have an audio copy of this to review and Kathleen McInerney did a stellar job! She really brought the character of Jane to life, I felt as though Jane was venting in my ear for nine hours. This book was really pretty much a major bitch fest. Like how could the world be so cruel to Jane, when she was such a fabulous person? And oh how I loved how she justified her crazy actions. There really weren’t any major twists or revelations this book was just so much fun and super entertaining!

If you love crazy as much as I do you need this book in your life! Kaira Rouda is the queen of writing delusional characters. First “The Best Day Ever” and now “the perfect daughter,” can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next! And I loved the little shout out to her previous book in this book!

*** Big thanks to Harlequin and Harper Audio for my copy of this book ***

The main character was a little too crazy for me and this felt too similar to her last book. However, I seem to be in the minority as I had friends rave about this one, so if you love a crazy protagonist, you might want to check it out.

I loved this read! This psychological thriller is told from the point of view of a middle-aged woman named Jane who is determined to have and keep the perfect family, the perfect daughters, the perfect life. It’s a page-turner that is unique because of Jane’s voice and inner life, which manages to be at turns fascinating, at times disturbing and ultimately haunting.

Nearly one year ago, Jane lost her perfect daughter Mary due to what seemed like an accidental drowning. Since then, she’s been downing antidepressants and trying to deal with complex grief while the perfect family she’s been so proud of seems to be shattering.

The more she thinks about the night of her daughter's death, the more she realizes that something doesn’t seem right. Does her youngest daughter know more than she’s letting on? What secrets is her husband still hiding from her? And why does no one trust her to be on her own?

This entertaining novel is one part thriller and one part psychological study. If you like psychological suspense, dark surprises and unreliable (and slightly cray-cray) narrators, give this a read!

Thank you so much to HARLEQUIN - Graydon House Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

The Favorite Daughter is the story of a family drama told by the matriarch, Jane. Jane is recovering from her complicated grief over her loss of her eldest daughter, Mary, who fell from a cliff while hiking. Betsy is the younger sister, set to graduate high school and start her own life. David is the cheating husband, ready to leave his current wife, Jane, for his assistant and mistress Kylie, after Betsy graduates. After a couple of anonymous letters are received claiming Betsy knows more about her sister's death than she claims, and Jane finds out about the house David bought for his mistress, will this family be able to recover? Or will Betsy end up in prison for her guilt in Mary's death?

I have never hated an unreliable narrator as much as I did Jane and from the first page I read. Of course, that anger and hate kept me turning pages! I didn't like any of the characters in this book, but I'm not sure if that was because of the view that Jane portrayed of them, or truly their actual personalities. Jane was very well written and kept me guessing at what would happen next. I enjoyed the book even if it was a little bit predictable at the end.

The Compassionate perfect mother, a loving wife and all around perfect member of the community. It’s all in perception with Jane!

The Favorite Daughter is such a fun and entertaining story that had me shocked by Jane’s behavior and laughing at her as well. The story is well layered and through Jane’s POV the pieces to the mystery all come together as we see things from Jane’s delusional perception. I thought it was so brilliantly written and clever just how it all comes together.

Jane is such a fascinating entertaining character who is much more than just an unreliable character. She has this over the top way to her that sucks you right into not only her mind but her conversations as she addresses us the readers. Jane drew us into her perception and right into the dialog. She had me wanting to join in with some of the conversations she was having with us the reader. Now I have been known to yell at characters before but talking to them is a first. lol . I thought it was a fun and entertaining way to get to know just how Jane’s mind works. I could go on and on with just how fascinating I thought Jane was, however, you need to experience Jane on your own.

The Favorite Daughter makes for a great book to read in a group and Jane is just so fun to talk about. I highly recommend.

Chilling, absorbing, & oh so wickedly entertaining!

THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER by KAIRA ROUDA was such a wickedly delightful, gripping and immersive tale that totally sucked me right into this hauntingly dark psychological suspense novel. Once I started reading this one it was hard not to get totally wrapped up in Jane’s fascinating, snarky, obsessive and audacious character. Making it quite the deliciously fun, compelling and an all consuming page-turner.

KAIRA ROUDA delivers an intriguing, unique and enthralling story here that was so irresistibly written. I absolutely loved Jane’s voice and thought she was such a fantastic character. And the execution and portrayal of Jane’s character was so darn entertaining and absolutely ingenious, allowing us to fully be in the moment with Jane and this story. Extremely impressive!

I absolutely loved the addition of these little bits of morbid trivia that were included in the storyline in regards to the unusual and freakish ways someone can die. There was one particular way that had me chuckling as a friend actually advised me not to do this because I could possibly really hurt myself. Do not under any circumstances put knives in the dishwasher facing upwards because you know you might trip and fall right into the dishwasher and die. Ever since she told me this story I have always and advise others to always put the cutlery in the dishwasher face down. Thanks Jane and my friend Stella for this piece of advice!

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: Intriguing, suspenseful, appealing, attractive and an extremely fitting representation to storyline.
Title: Appealing, suspenseful, intriguing and a fitting representation to storyline.
Writing/Prose: Well-written, vivid, engaging, fascinating, irresistible, amusing, captivating, and fluid. Thoroughly enjoyed the narrative!
Plot: Intriguing, perfectly over-the-top, suspenseful, engrossing, fast-paced, enjoyable and extremely entertaining. I was totally sucked right into this storyline!
Ending: The perfect ending that left me feeling totally elated and satisfied!
Overall: 4.5 Stars! This book was absolutely fabulous and the perfect escape as it was so darn entertaining, fun and amusing to read! Oh and did I mention that it has one of the absolute best psychological characters ever. Kaira Rouda definitely has the knack for writing fabulous characters. Would highly recommend!

This was a Traveling Sisters read that we all really enjoyed!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Harlequin / Graydon House and Kaira Rouda for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in.

In addition to receiving an ARC from NetGalley I also won myself a copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

This is my first read by Kaira Rouda and I am looking forward to more! The Favorite Daughter introduces us to Jane Harris, a grief stricken perfectionist trying to come to grips with her oldest daughter Mary’s death the year before. It does not take long to detect something is off about the Harris family. But as Jane pulls herself out of her depression, she believes that someone knows more about Mary’s death and wants answers. I highly recommend this book. I received an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Jane has the perfect life. Well, except for the fact that her oldest daughter died in a tragic accident last year. And the fact that her youngest daughter had completely turned against her. Oh, and the fact that she suspects her husband is having an affair. Other than that, everything is perfect and she is in control—she has the perfect plan to make them all pay.

"None of it will matter in a couple of days, anyway, not if everything goes as it should."

The Favorite Daughter is a riveting, on the edge of your seat, story that knock your socks off. Jane is such an evil, conniving woman and everything she does fulfills a part of her master plan. A plan that she lets the reader in on to some degree. It was interesting to know her thought process throughout the book and to get a glimpse of her anger and sense of revenge.

This was definitely a unique story-line, where the reader is so much in the head of the main character. It was an amazing read that I couldn't put down! You definitely need to add it to your TBR list for this summer.

3.5 of 5 stars

Boy, this book is going to be a doozy to review. I mean, just how is one supposed to remain objective and impartial after spending 300+ pages inside the head of someone you think is completely delusional, despicable to the extreme, and unlikeable as all hell? Because that’s how I would describe Jane Harris, protagonist of The Favorite Daughter. Mother of the year, she is not. But then generally speaking, neither is she really a decent human being.

Before I get ahead of myself though, just a little background on the character and her story: Jane is an affluent forty-something woman living with her family in a swanky gated community in Orange County, California. By all appearances, she has the perfect life—or at least, she goes to great lengths to make sure everyone around her believes it. However, exactly one year ago, tragedy struck the family when oldest daughter Mary drowned in an accident after falling from a cliff into the ocean, and Jane has been grieving for the loss ever since.

But as the one-year anniversary of Mary’s death approaches, Jane is determined to show everyone that she is a new woman. At the upcoming Celebration of Life ceremony for Mary, she has a plan to turn everything around so that her husband David will see her in a new light and forget his late-night dalliances at the office. Their youngest daughter Betsy, who will be graduating high school in three days, will also have reason to be proud to call Jane mom. And if they still don’t wise up and appreciate her…well then, Jane will just have to show them they can’t get between her and what she wants without paying for the consequences.

All hail Kaira Rouda, queen of unreliable narrators! Needless to say, seeing the world through Jane’s eyes was a real trip. You could never be sure what was the truth, and what was merely our protagonist’s overblown opinion of herself. Though I suppose if there’s one thing we can be certain of, it’s that Jane loved Mary, and that the death of her “favorite daughter” really messed her up. So when an unknown person start leaving notes for Jane, not so subtly hinting that Mary’s death was no accident, suddenly we have a delectable mystery on our hands.

Still, let’s go back and focus on Jane for a bit. What an unpleasant woman, but at the same time, I must applaud Rouda for writing a character so complex and capable of evoking such strange and complicated emotions from me. Mixed in with all the moments of “Wow, you’re nucking futs, lady” were also moments of tenderness where I truly felt sympathetic and pity for her situation. Heck, I even found myself cheering her on at some points. In spite of her many faults, she did lose a child, and the story did a good job making you wonder if she’d always been this horribly deluded and nasty, or if Mary’s death made her snap. Let’s just say it was immensely satisfying to see how the answer played into the bigger picture at the end.

But that also brings me to the biggest problem I had with this book, which is that The Favorite Daughter became a fairly predictable read at the end of the day and it’s the main reason why I’m not giving it a higher rating. This is my second book by Kaira Rouda after Best Day Ever, and to be honest, it feels as though she has reused many of the same themes and tactics. As a result, you could see that “twist” ending coming a mile away, which robbed the story of a lot of suspense, and without that crucial element, all you’re left is Jane’s over-the-top whackadoodle narrative. Not that it wasn’t fun while it lasted, being in her maniacal and egotistical little mind, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t hoped for a bigger bombshell of an ending than the one we were given.

Had I not been able to expect what was coming, I might have enjoyed this one a lot more, though if you’ve never read anything else by the author, you probably won’t experience the same issues. If you are a fan of slow-burn mystery thrillers with unreliable narrators and an atmosphere of edginess and foreboding, The Favorite Daughter offers a situation where what you see on the surface is never how things truly are. Devious and manipulative Jane Harris might prove a very difficult protagonist to endure, but she’s also one of the most fun and interesting characters I’ve ever read—the kind to show you why you should never trust what you see or hear.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

I have to say that I was a big fan of Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda, so despite the mixed reviews for The Favorite Daughter, I was very excited to read it. And I am so glad I did!

What it's about: Jane Harris has the perfect family, well, sort of. She lives in the exclusive gated community The Cove, on the oceanfront in Orange County. She has the perfect, handsome husband, a great body, and 2 beautiful daughters. But a year ago, she lost her oldest daughter Mary to a tragic accident and buried herself in her grief and pills. Now, 3 days before her youngest daughter's high school graduation, she has decided it is time for her to reclaim her life. But things aren't the same as before - her husband is rarely home claiming long hours at the office, and her daughter Betsy seems to be hiding things. Mary always was the perfect daughter, but does Betsy know more about Mary's death than she is letting on? Some bonds should never be broken, and Jane is determined to keep her family together, no matter what . . .

The entirety of The Favorite Daughter is told from Jane's viewpoint, and what a viewpoint it is. She is quite obnoxious, and has many ideas of how her family should live their lives. She's obsessed with making everyone think their family is perfect, and a stickler about appearances. Some people will definitely have a hard time with her perspective, but I was rather fascinated with it. You can tell while reading that there are definite personality disorders going on, and although she did get on my nerves, I still managed to feel sorry for her because of how Betsy and her husband treat her. She felt like everyone was against her and all she was trying to do was have the perfect family.

This book was such a quick read and I think it will be a binge read for a lot of people. I was able to read it in about 4 hours and 19 minutes as a slower reader, so I could see people reading this in one sitting. As the mysteries unravel along with Jane's life, you don't find out anything super surprising, but I still had fun reading it. It was a bit of a slow burn as well, and I would describe Jane as positively devious!

Song/s the book brought to mind: A mix of Done and Chainsaw, both by The Band Perry.

Final Thought: Like I stated earlier in my review, not everyone is going to enjoy reading from Jane's perspective, but if you are ok with an unlikable narrator then I definitely recommend checking out The Favorite Daughter. There isn't anything too shocking that happens here, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride this book took me on and I really do love the way Rouda writes. She can evoke so many emotions that it's just bonkers, and she definitely knows how to create unreliable/unlikable characters. If you're ready to have some strong emotions about Jane, check this one out!

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Favorite Daughter is, without a doubt, a tense and entertaining psychological thriller that was extremely enjoyable and hard for me to put down! It is definitely going into my favorite reads shelf!

Jane Harris has a perfect life, perfect house, perfect family. Everything has changed a year ago when her daughter Mary had a tragic accident that took her life. After a long year of grieving, Jane feels as she has been awoken from a terrible dream, just on time to realize that besides Mary she has also lost her remaining family. And while on a mission to reclaim her perfect life back, Jane learns a chain of secrets that led to her perfect family to fall apart. And there is no perfect time like the present to get revenge.

Welcome to the dark, chilling and vicious world of Jane Harris.

This book has so much to recommend itself... for me, the hook was the unreliable narrator. I love books where the reader is constantly on edge because we aren’t sure if the narrator is lying or not and with this book the authors executed it flawlessly! The plot itself was cleaver and there were so many twists that had me on edge throughout the novel. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. Thank you NetGalley and Graydon House publishing for an advanced copy of the book.

Jane Harris had everything. The perfect home. The perfect family. The perfect tragedy. Tucked away in her oceanfront Orange County home, Jane has been grieving the loss of her oldest daughter, Mary. Now that a year has passed it is time for Jane to emerge from her sadness and rebuild her family. For the last year she has mourned Mary through a haze of antidepressants, but now that the fog is lifting, she’s starting to have her doubts that Mary’s death was an accident. Did she really just accidentally fall from a cliff or was she pushed?

With just three days until her youngest daughter, Betsy, graduates high school, Jane must put her efforts into overdrive in order to avoid losing her perfect life. Her family has changed in ways the average person would not be able to undo, but Jane knows she is up for the massive challenge. She will stop at nothing to have her family whole again. She will stop at nothing to track down a killer. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

Kaira Rouda is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers of unreliable narrators. She has a wickedly, brilliant way of writing narcissistic, yet entertaining characters that make me unable to not binge read her books. Once I opened THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER I was hooked within the first few pages. I needed to know more about Jane, what happened to Mary, and what secrets everyone was hiding.

Let’s start with Jane Harris, our delightful, perfect mother. Oh Jane, you have so many devious thoughts coursing through your mind. She is a woman hell-bent on having her family exactly the way she wants them. The only way to be is Jane’s way and she won’t hesitate to work behind your back to make sure you feel the same. Her narration is captivating and the reader is left wondering if they hate Jane or love Jane. She made me cringe. She made me laugh. She made me want to know more!

Working from solely Jane’s perspective the reader is forced to start to read between the lines of Jane’s story. There are clues that perhaps Jane’s theories on her family aren’t reliable, but she does a phenomenal job of justifying her perspective and making you second guess your doubts. I constantly felt my feelings for Jane fluctuating between pity and being convinced she had lost her mind. What exactly is the truth? Well sit back, because you’re going to learn in the most entertaining style!

The bottomline is, don’t hesitate to put THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER at the top of your summer reading list! You’re going to want to clear out a few hours because once you meet Jane, you won’t want to stop devouring her story. You’ll be entertained until the very last page!

Disclosure: Thank you Harlequin books for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 stars!

Oh my GAWD! This book. Please, please do yourself a favor and read it. Now.

Jane is our narrator and much like Paul Strom (the main character in Rouda’s last book, Best Day Ever - which is also a MUST read), is over the top, controlling, delusional and hysterical. Paul was definitely a piece of work and successfully pissed me off, but I think I like Jane better - simply because her insanity is just so hilarious. She is obsessed with the statistics on how people die and shares her obsession with us throughout the book. Rouda Is a master at creating the most narcissistic characters that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. She’s quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, so I can’t wait to see what’s coming up next!

Not much can be shared without giving things away. Revenge is best served cold, as Jane says, and I loved reading and watching this sh*t show of a revenge tale unfold before my very eyes!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Harlequin - Graydon House Books and Kaira Rouda for my advanced copy to read and review.

A shocking twist around every corner and a hair-raising main character lead to an unputdownable story that I read in one sitting! Jane Harris is a grieving mother, a betrayed wife, and a creepy narcissist who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. The author did such a fantastic job getting into the head of Jane, each page dripping with chilling revelations. The story was told as if Jane were taking us into her confidence, revealing her secrets and exposing her diabolical genius.

In The Favorite Daughter, by Kaira Rouda, the narrator, Jane Harris is unreliable, this is clear from page one. As a reader I definitely didn’t like her, however, I was fascinated by her story and wanted to keep reading just to see how far her narcissism would go. Kind of like a train wreck you can’t help but watch. Rouda wraps you into the story and keeps you reading even as you recognize that you don’t actually like any of these characters. That is a rare talent. Rouda earned her place on my auto-buy list with Best Day Ever. The Favorite Daughter just cemented her into place. I look forward to seeing where we go next.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novel.

This book starts on the day that Jane, the narrator is planning to move forward after spending a year grieving the loss of her oldest daughter. I loved that Jane was not only an unpredictable narrator, but that she was winking at us the whole time. She constantly lied, then called us out for believing her, while calling on her skills as an actress to fool the people around her. Jane's narcissism and the thought processes that led her there make for an interesting read. My only complaint is that the story went on for quite a while before we find out how her daughter died and the mystery surrounding the death. I enjoyed that this book exposed Jane's flawed perspective as the story unraveled.

As the one year anniversary of the death of her daughter Mary approaches, Jane decides that she needs to try to shake off the grief that has consumed her and start making an effort to be an active part of her family again. Her husband has been working long hours and avoiding her. Her remaining daughter, Betsy, is about to graduate from high school but also hasn't been home much and avoids Jane whenever she can. They've all been grieving and clearly Jane needs to step up and resume her role as loving wife and mother to bring her family back together. This novel takes place over a span of 4 days and is told entirely from the perspective of Jane who we quickly discover is more than a bit...delusional. I loved the clever asides when Jane addresses the reader directly as if we were her confidante. I did find the story to verge on predictable but there were enough twists to keep me entertained and being inside the head of a delusional narcissist was deliciously engrossing. A perfect summer read. If you enjoyed "The Au Pair" you'll love this one!

Thank you to Graydon House Books and #NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. #TheFavoriteDaughter

Ugly cry potential: Low
LOL: Medium
Character development: Good
Unputdownable-ness: High
Originality: Medium
Quality of Writing: Good
Intellectual Depth: Low
Emotionally Trying: Low

The Favorite Daughter was the book I hated to love. Kaira Rouda has an absolute gift for writing the most vile, devious, demented yet, completely compelling characters. I started this story knowing full well that the main character, Jane, would be unreliable and simply awful. She lived up to both traits and more. If you are a fan of twisted narratives and enjoy sorting out lies from truth, you will love this novel!

3.5, rounded up. This is one of those books that I feel must be described carefully as I fear giving away any of the plot. To be truthful, it's not that I think the ending is unpredictable, but there is so much along the way that is unexpected. Jane is the type of narrator that readers will love or hate, but either way she's fairly unforgettable.
If you've read Kaira Rouda's previous book, Best Day Ever, the author's writing in this one has a similar style and tone (with, to be clear, a very different story and plot, so it's not just rehashing what's already been done). I found myself very curious about what Jane had planned, and what secrets she and her family had, and the ending was very satisfying.

Man, Kaira Rouda writes f*cked up people really, really well. I’m over here reading The Favorite Daughter and was already trying to tell the person next to me how crazy Jane is almost immediately after I started the book. I mean, I think she is, anyway. Or is she just sad?

Jane is a grieving mother. Her eldest daughter Mary died last year and the memorial is coming up. She has been struggling with her grief and can barely cope. She doesn’t drive, she’s been doped up on antidepressants and wine. She’s losing her grip with her other daughter Betsy and husband David has checked out completely. Has she pushed him away? She’s been like this for so long now…

Reeling from all of this, she is determined to take back her life. Through fierce devotion and a hell of a lot of manipulation, Jane keeps your jaw dropping throughout the entire book. Mary was the perfect daughter. Her life wasn’t supposed to end. And now new clues are popping up suggesting there is more to the story. Was Mary’s death an accident? Everything was supposed to be perfect. Nothing is perfect.

Rouda writes narcissism like a pro. She reveals these characters to you layer by layer to the point where even you the reader are questioning yourself. Kaira Rouda has this innate ability to gaslight you via a fictional character. How’s that for fantastic writing? I couldn’t put this book down. Audibly said, “Daaaaamn” when finished. You’re gonna want to pick this one up.

I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.