WOW!! Kaira Rouda, Author of “The Favorite Daughter” has written an intense, captivating, enthralling, riveting, edgy, suspenseful novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Mystery and Suspense. The timeline for this story is in the present, within the last year, and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The author describes her characters as quirky, dysfunctional, complex and complicated.

Jane and David Harris and their daughter Betsy are reaching the year anniversary of the tragedy that killed their daughter Mary. During the last year, Jane has been seeing a therapist and had been taking medication to deal with life. Now Jane is determined to get it all together.

The Harris family may seem like the perfect family, even with the tragedy. The problem is that every member of this family has a dark secret, and it makes it very difficult to tell when the truth is being told. Jane keeps track and is determined to know what is going on.

Some notes arrive letting Jane know that someone thinks that Mary’s accidental death was not an accident. Immediately, I ask who, what, why, how and when? Everyone does seem to be a suspect. I highly recommend this highly intense and suspenseful novel.

Good story! Jane was raised by a mean mother, one who constantly spied on her while imparting wisdom such as how to find a rich man. Jane was successful in finding a rich man and raised 2 daughters with him. At the beginning of the story, it appears she is coming off a year of grief where she was medicated for quite a bit of it. No one in the house seems to believe what she says and maybe they assume she's still medicated in spite of her denials.
Jane is determined to find out how her daughter Mary died. Her daughter Betsy is consumed with her upcoming high school graduation and maybe a love interest that Jane is not aware of. Hubby is all consumed with his assistant/girlfriend. His parents hate Jane.
Jane has plans for all of them.

This BOOK! I have quickly become a huge fan of Kaira Rouda. Delusional ,narcissist YES PLEASE!!

For fans of Best Day EVER you will love this book just as much if not more!

The Plot was creative and the protagonist Jane Harris I didn't know if she was a grieving mother or a straight up psychopath.

The story is told in the first person from Jane's point of view and not only that it was as if Jane was speaking directly to the reader and I LOVED that element.

Its a roller coaster of a book until its juicy end.

Highly recommend this book and author!

At first glance, the Harris family appears to be perfect, but, of course, nothing is as it seems in this chilling new thriller from Kaira Rouda! Each family member has a secret, and mother Jane is slowly sharing each and every one with you, the reader. This unique writing style made me feel like I was chatting with an old friend. A friend you know is a bit odd and prone to exaggeration at times, yet still warrants sympathy due to her daughter, Mary's, tragic death. A friend you want to support, but yet, something doesn't feel quite right...

If this conversation had taken place in person, then I would have been nervous and slowly backing away... but on second thought, it also would be like witnessing a train wreck... with part of me wanting to stay and keep listening to her shocking statements. The creepy, dark undertone had me turning the pages as quickly as possible all the way to the shocking conclusion!

"That's the power of the bond between mothers and daughters. It can never be broken, even in death."

If you enjoyed this one, then I would also recommend Best Day Ever (4 stars) by this author!

Location: Orange County, California

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

Unfortunately this story was somewhat predictable about 50 pages in. The main character Jane, is a mother who lost her daughter a year ago in an accident that is unknown to the reader, but easily solved halfway though the book. I like the plot, and there were a few twists I did not see coming. But the end was predictable and Jane was a somewhat annoying narcissist. I found the middle of the book to be very repetitive and wanted to just skip through to the end to ensure my predictions were correct. Overall, I would give this book three star rating. I commend the author for creating such a character as Jane, but it did lack in the over all mystery of what I was expecting from this thriller.

No one writes the narcissist better than Kaira Rouda. Jane is a lot like Paul from Best Day Ever, only worse, if that’s possible, but in a good way, if that’s possible. I enjoyed Janes POV, but it was a lot of internal monologue, so it didn’t move as quickly.

My only complaint is that I figured this one out from the beginning, but the more that I think about it, maybe that was the point? Maybe we’re supposed to figure it out and then just ride the ride until the end? I’m not sure, but there weren’t any surprises, and the book was still enjoyable.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

If you loved to hate Paul from Rouda's previous book, Best Day Ever, then hold on because you're in for a real treat when you meet Jane Harris, the narcisstic, unreliable narrator in The Favorite Daughter. I read this in one sitting pausing only for meals, and I felt like I was sitting across the table listening as Jane recounted the story to me. Believe me there's a lot of eye rolling and head shaking going on as crazy Jane reveals her story. This will be among my top thrillers of 2019 so make sure you check this book out on May 21, 2019.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy; all opinions are my own.

Kaira is a master of the narcissist. She proved to that in Best Day Ever and Favorite Daughter continues her reign.

Jane is completely narcissistic and yet compellingly addictive to read! As unrelatable and unreliable as she was, I still believed her, but I guess that's what makes a narcissist: complete belief and control over the narrative of themselves and the story they're living. Wow.

Creepy but well done - this thriller had me second guessing right up until the end!

This was my first novel by Kaira Rouda and have been hearing amazing things about the author.

Well let me tell you... she definitely knows how to deal a hand of unreliable cuhrazyyy characters!

Jane is one sh*t show of a female character that takes you on an unbelievable ride. Jane is definitely the star of this show and book!

I do have to say I wasn't shocked or mouth flown open by the reveal twists throughout the book... my detective skills were spot on in this one. But, this is an entertaining book and can see why so many people love her style.

For me, it was just a decent and ok read. It wasn't a star for me in my psychological thrillers that I would remember for long term. Was it entertaining? Yes! Was it something I'd re-read again? Probably not.

Overall, I wasn't that impressed be honest. It was too long for me and around 200 pages... I skimmed to get to the end. I was just getting impatient to see how it ended.

With that being said... overall a 3.5 stars for me on this one.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harlequin/Graydon for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 5/21/19
Published to Goodreads: 5/11/19

Jane is your average mom and housewife. She would go to the ends of the earth for her two girls—Mary and Betsy—and will do anything it takes to keep her foursome family together. But a year ago, a tragic accident took Mary away from her and Jane has been struggling to cope ever since. Jane feels like the world around her is falling apart and she is desperate to regain the reigns on Betsy and David, even though it’s clear they want nothing to do with her.

On the anniversary of Mary’s death, the family holds a remembrance ceremony, only days away from Betsy’s high school graduation. Jane discovers that her family is hiding some deep and dark secrets from her. And before she loses it all, she must rectify their wrongs.

We get to see Jane’s mind unravel. We see her plot and create devious plans, but what Jane doesn’t know is she isn’t the only clever one. Jane thinks she’s the only person who knows what truly happened to Mary, but someone else knows what happened. And they want Jane to pay.

The Favorite Daughter by Kaira Rouda is a psychological thriller told through the perspective of an unreliable, mentally unstable narrator. After seeing so many positive reviews for this book, I had high hopes that I’d love it. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work for me. Yes, Jane appears to have narcissistic personality disorder, which is fun to read about through her eyes. But something about this story didn’t work for me. At about the 75% mark, I still felt like not a lot had happened yet. And the ending wasn’t as satisfying as I was hoping after the slow start. Fans of The Perfect Girlfriend and The Flight Attendant will love The Favorite Daughter—an insight into the mind of a narcissist. 3/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Graydon House Books and Kaira Rouda for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jane Harris has been in mourning for a year since her eldest daughter, Mary, died in a tragic accident. As the anniversary of Mary's death approaches, Jane plans her "re-entry" to her elite, entitled life. Sure, she neglected her husband, David and daughter Betsy for the last year, and they've moved on without her, but she's got it all planned, and they'll soon jump to her tune once again. If they don't, well she can make them see the light. After all, she's the one in charge - she gets to call all the shots. Who else could do it better?

Kouda has given us a sort of diary of each delusional thought of a narcissist. Everything that happens in the book, every conversation, is filtered through her voice, because, after all, who else would be the MAIN character??

My problem with The Favorite Daughter was that it was entirely one-note from first sentence to last. Like listening to a child slowly beat a drum for hours, or listening to a faucet drip constantly, never-endingly, it quickly grew very, very, very, very, (you get the point) tiresome. I completed the read as I had received an ARC to review, but it nearly drove me mad in the process!! SO glad to be done with it!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Graydon House for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Crazy GOOD! Deliciously DARK and WICKED.

I LOVED THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER! My Top Books of 2019. If you loved Best Day Ever Top Books of 2017, character, Paul Strom—you will devour, THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER. Jane Harris is a character you will never forget.

With dark humor and a deliciously evil protagonist, Kaira delivers a "powerhouse" psychological thriller. Wow, she can get inside their disturbed self-absorbed, sick minds.

Set in an upscale, exclusive oceanfront gated Southern California community, (The Cove); readers meet Jane and David Harris. They are the parents of two daughters: Mary and Betsy. Only one year apart.

Their oldest daughter, Mary, died in a tragic accident (we gradually learn the events leading up the accident). Jane has been devastated by the events and barely left the house, but she plans a comeback.

David has planned a memorial service for Mary and Betsy the younger daughter is about to graduate high school. Mary is The Favorite Daughter (but why)? She was beautiful and smart, unlike Betsy.

But, David and Betsy seem to have moved on past the grief. However, Jane, of course, thinks she is the best mom, wife, and they have the perfect family. They need and must present a united front. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Jane is upset that her puppets are not behaving the way they should. She loves to bring out the Southern Belle act, after all, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Her mom had warned her about things.

Betsy does not live up to Jane's standards, nor does her husband. After all, they are lucky to be in her presence. She is the lead actor in the family. Of course, every mom is.

Slowly we learn of Jane's insecurities. Her jealousy. The author keeps readers in suspense as to what happened to Mary.

Told from the first-person narrative (Jane), we soon learn she is not as she appears. Talk about a cold-blooded narcissist. We hear every thought and action. She does not like Elizabeth nor David's assistant Kylie (you must read the book to find out about these characters).

Tension mounts as we get a day by day play building up to the memorial service and the graduation. We start out feeling sorry for the grieving mom, but soon the tables are turned, and you will despise her behavior. She is delusional.

But why is Jane receiving a note, saying the accidental death may not have been an accident?

"The thing about the truth is you can see it when it's revealed. Even if it's been in front of you all along, even if you never, ever, wanted to see it."

Jane is quite the actress. She thinks she is beautiful and captivating. She is always planning and scheming. She loves revenge, and it is best served, cold.

She has a plan in motion. The cast of characters have been assembled and she is waiting for the fun to begin. But things do not go as she planned.

Talking about unreliable narrators! From Paul Strom (Best Day Ever) and Jane Harris (The Favorite Daughter)- characters obsessed with perception as the rock star author, Kaira references.

"Everything they show to the world is carefully calculated, to portray perfection, even in their marriages, even when their lives may be falling apart. . .. Failure is unacceptable. Betrayal will not be tolerated. They expect unflinching loyalty and subservience. "

Yes, Kaira Rouda, you have developed "superpowers" when it comes to narcissistic chilling characters. Keep them coming!

PS I really enjoyed Jane's statistics and the Epilogue!.

Kaira, you rock! Your humor is "dynamite." I have never laughed so hard. The "queen" of narcissistic personality disorders. I adore her humor and ability to get into the minds of these self-centered, evil, manipulative, narcissistic and unreliable characters. No one does it better.

If you are looking for a highly entertaining well written psychological suspense thriller, this is it! Look for my Q&A Elevator Ride with Kaira Rouda coming May 21! You are going to enjoy.

A special thank you to Graydon House and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

#JDCMustReadBooks @JudithDCollins

I'm between 3 and 3.5 stars so I'll round up.

Just when I thought I had seen the craziest, most out-there, insane protagonist, along comes Jane Harris in Kaira Rouda's upcoming book, The Favorite Daughter.

Lord. Have. Mercy.

Jane thought she had it all: a handsome husband, two daughters, a beautiful home in an exclusive oceanfront community in California's Ocean County. But the last year has been terrible. She's been consumed with grief since the unexpected death of her oldest daughter, Mary, in a freak accident. All of the anti-depressants she has been taken have left her in a haze, and she's barely been functional, let alone capable of being a good wife or mother.

But that's all about to change. As they get ready to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Mary's death, Jane is ready to take control of her life again. She hasn't been entirely unaware of what's been going on behind her back. She knew that her husband and both of her daughters were trying to keep things hidden from her, but she knows a lot more than they think—and it's high time she let everyone know they can't fool her.

Jane is surprised, however, how much has changed in the year that she was immersed in her grief. Her husband can barely stand to be in the same room, let alone the same house, with her, and her younger daughter is uncomfortable around her, and keeps talking about how ready she is to leave after she graduates high school in just a few days. But as Jane discovers that her husband and daughter have even more secrets, this time Jane will not stand idly by.

When someone starts leaving notes for Jane saying that there was more to Mary's death than a simple accident, and that someone close to her should be looked at more closely, Jane insists the investigation be reopened, no matter the amount of chaos it might cause her family. Could someone have killed Mary in an effort to control a particular situation? How far would they go to keep that a secret?

The Favorite Daughter takes you on a wild ride. I honestly had no idea what to expect from this book because Jane was such a bizarre character. Part of me kept expecting that this would resemble Sandie Jones' The First Mistake in that you'd see the story from Jane's side and then see a wholly different version through someone else's eyes, but apart from occasional barbs from her husband or daughter, that didn't happen. Regardless, she is so unhinged that I found it difficult to determine what she actually was seeing and what was imagined.

This book definitely kept me guessing as it hurtled toward its conclusion. I read the entire book in just a few hours because I needed to see how Rouda would tie everything up.

I really like the way Rouda writes, and in her "Dear Reader" letter that appeared in my advance copy, she explained what brought her to create Jane's character (if it's in your book, I'd recommend not reading this until after you've read the book), and that's fascinating. But these characters all seemed so unlikable, and it almost felt like I was seeing them through Jane's drug-induced haze, so I never understood them thoroughly enough.

If you're looking for a book with one crazy character, pick up The Favorite Daughter. It's quite a read!

NetGalley and HARLEQUIN — Graydon House Books provided me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

This book will be published May 21, 2019.

Jane mary betsy

Jane is still suffering the loss of her daughter Mary a year later. As the memorial service that her husband has planned quickly approaches Jane is noticing how much has changed during the time she has been withdrawn, mediated and mourning her daughters loss. Mary was the good daughter who always did as she was told and surpassed all her parents expectations. That left their second daughter Betsy as the daughter who was not adored. She was always being compared to Mary and always fell short. Betsy can't wait to graduate and escape the shadow of her sister.

Jane is now thinking that someone may know more then they have shared about Mary's last days or even more about Mary and her life in general. Will she find answers she wants or find out things she didn't ever image.

Jane is slowly recovering from the death of her daughter a year before. She has decided to bring her family back together again before her younger daughter graduates and leaves for college. You think this is going to be a story of a family coming together over a loss and figuring out what really happened to their older daughter. NOPE. Jane is an unreliable narrator, albeit, a great unreliable narrator with an audacious attitude. It was quite a roller coaster ride with her at the wheel!

The Favorite Daughter is a psychological thriller.

The narrator is 42 year old Jane Harris (1st person POV). The story takes place in Orange County in a community called The Cove.

Jane is crazy, selfish, delusional and completely unstable. I love stalkerish female characters. The crazier the better. I loved this aspect of the story. The reader knows that Jane is unhinged. Yet I still found myself rooting for her.

There is a lot of internal monologue. Plus Jane sometimes speaks directly to the reader, which I found unusual. Although it sort of worked for this story.

Jane's husband is David. They had two daughters Mary and Betsy. But Mary died the year before. There is a lot of stuff going on with David and Betsy.

I loved that Jane was deranged and devious. I do wish that the ending had been more shocking. But overall I enjoyed this book.

Jane the wife, Jane the grieving mother, Jane the planner - Jane, Jane, Jane.

It's all about her.

After her adopted daughter, Mary, died, Jane was unable to cope with life, and life went on without her, but Jane is back now and needs to be in control again.

Jane thinks she controls her therapist, and she thinks she controls everyone else especially her husband, her daughters, and Mary's biological mother. Jane's biological daughter, Betsy, is difficult to control and is a challenge for Jane.

Jane likes challenges, though, but only if she is the one who comes out on top.

She did find out some interesting information about Mary's biological mother that adds to her determination to get her plan into action.

Jane finds out about more and more betrayal from family members and friends as time goes on and more people to add to her list of getting even. Her husband is the one with the most offenses.

Jane also finds out some startling information about her daughter's death at the memorial service. Someone knows something and isn't telling - could that help with her plan or hinder it?

This book was difficult to put down because I wanted to see what other information would pop up about Mary, Betsy, the husband, the accident, and what Jane's plans would be after that.

THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER will keep you guessing if Mary's death was really an accident and who was responsible if it wasn't.

THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER will also have you guessing who is really telling the truth and who is doing the lying.

Fans of domestic turmoil, secrets, mystery, unsavory characters, cheating spouses, lies, narcissistic characters, and psychological suspense will enjoy THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER.

This book will be a summer MUST read.

It is a page-turning thriller/mystery/domestic gem. 5/5

This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a gripping mystery thriller that held my attention throughout.

The story is mainly narrated through Jane the main character. A grieving mother who had lost her eldest daughter.
Soon we get to know that Jane's family is toxic and she herself is an unreliable narrator.
Unstable, narcissist, and overly protective of her remaining daughter, Jane falls far away from a likable character, yet my her imperfections glued me to the book to know how all this drama will unfold.

I'd have also liked to get to know more about Jane's late daughter Mary as her perspective could have added more suspense. But this is just mu opinion and the plot had enough thrills to keep me turning the pages fast.

Thanks Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A lot of people may like Jane as a character, an obsessive, unstable, narcissistic woman, as it is a perspective that is not used very often. However, this was a perspective that wasn't for me as a lot of Jane's thoughts and actions kind of annoyed me and had even made the plot predictable.

The plot itself was interesting at first, but once secrets began to unfold and the story progressed, I began to lose interest. There was also a lot of toxic family drama involved, which makes sense as it is what causes Jane to become unstable, but I kind of found the amount of focus unnecessary. Even though Mary was the dead daughter that the story revolved around, I find that we don't know a whole lot about her, just the surface layer of personality and her biological origins. I think it would have been more interesting if the POV shifted between Jane and Mary, giving the story more depth and more sympathy for Mary, whom I did not care about when reading the story. In fact, I did not care for any of the characters in the book, so there's that.

Overall, I did not really enjoy this story, as the thriller/mystery aspect was weak and Jane's POV was not really my cup of tea. However, a lot of people seem to enjoy this book based on the reviews that have been released so far so don't let my review steer you away from this just because it wasn't for me.

What a character! This story was entertaining and twisted from beginning to end.

Meet Jane Harris, devoted wife and mother who about a year ago lost his older daughter to a tragic accident. For the past months, Jane has been grief-stricken and spending her days at home, leaving the house only to visit her therapists or to run essential errands.
The one-year memorial is almost here, and Jane is waking up to a new reality, she wants to reclaim her place in the family but it won't be easy as it sounds, things have changed.

The story is character driven and narrated by Jane. I found her thoughts captivating, she was a truly interesting character, sometimes making me laugh and other times cringing at her actions.

Overall, I enjoyed it and recommend it to readers of mysteries/suspense and contemporary fiction.
Received ARC from the publisher via Netgalley