Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin-Graydon House for an advance copy of The Favorite Daughter to review. The following is my honest opinion:

After reading Best Day Ever, I was worried I may have set my expectations too high for this book because I simply loved Best Day Ever. Well, not to worry, I thought The Favorite Daughter was fantastic as well!

Jane is a well-to-do housewife suffering from depression due to the accidental death of her adopted daughter Mary a year ago. Jane has decided it's time to reemerge into the world and set things right in her life. Without giving anything away, Jane has come to realize that both her husband David and her biological daughter Betsy are keeping big secrets from her. Jane is going to show them who's the smartest of all though.

I was a little concerned that I might not like the format of this book because it is told entirely in the first person point of view. Honestly, it was the PERFECT way to narrate this story! I enjoyed the feeling of Jane talking directly to me as the reader and telling me her side of things. Jane is an unreliable narrator, to say the least, but using the first person narrative allows the reader to get a true feel for who Jane really is. She is a fascinating character. She can be annoying, but she is also manipulative and clever. It's difficult to decide whether to hate her, admire her, or simply feel sorry for her.

I thought the ending of this book really brings the story full circle. I don't think many people will be surprised by the events that led up to Mary's death but they should enjoy Jane's perspective on the how and why of it all.

Thanks to Kaira Rouda for the afterword. I think many people know someone like Jane and it's interesting learning more about the psychological aspects of her behavior.

Highly recommended!

No one leaves a star. That's what makes one a star.
- Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard)


Jane Harris is a modern-day Norma Desmond but with a smidge more crazy, tracker apps and a higher body count.

I figured this would be a ride with an unreliable narrator but I had no idea that Jane was a next level narcissist. It was tense watching her unfurl her machinations on her family and others and it was so satisfying by book's end to find that she had had her head so far up her own rear, she missed some very big things and that was her downfall. She literally could not imagine a world in which she is not the smartest, prettiest, most deserving or most aggrieved.

People were all means to an end for Jane. She only saw her family members as an extension of herself & when they didn't conform to her strictures and demands, she went to extremes to manipulate them to her will or if they were really willful, end them. Jane throughout talked about getting back into her Hollywood life but truly, there's no getting back into something that never was. She thought every man who crossed her path was captivated by her. She couldn't pass reflective surfaces without checking herself out.

Jane's husband was cheating and planning to leave her and I didn't feel bad for her. Her daughter was ready to flee the nest & I didn't have any sympathy for Jane's empty nest feels. I was cheering the husband and the remaining daughter to make their grand escape and successfully disappear into the ether just to be free of Jane. I was pulling for a witness protection type disappearance. When I finished the book, I was still pulling for Kiley to return! Jane had me rooting for the "home-wrecker" to have a happily ever after! That shouldn't be a thing! People were all means to an end for Jane. She only saw her family members as an extension of herself & when they didn't conform to her strictures and demands, she went to extremes to manipulate them to her will or if they were really willful, end them.

Thank you Kaira Rouda for writing a character that appalled, stunned and kept me up late reading. I'd read another by Rouda in a heartbeat. Well done all around and I think this will definitely be one of the more talked about of 2019. Definitely recommended.

Many thanks to the publisher for the ARC, you made my reading weekend.

I read it all the way through, but there were times when I just wanted to stop reading. I found much of the plot implausible. And the character was very unlikable. I felt that it could have been edited more professionally.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I liked this author I loved Best Day Ever and she didn't disappoint with The Favorite Daughter at all. I loved Jane, I could see where she was coming from as a mother. I mean she just wanted to have the perfect family and would obviously go to extreme to get it. I didn't care for her husband at all. I had my suspicions about Sam her driver and when his involvement came to light I was even more surprised. Even though I said I understood where she was coming from, I also think that if she had just left none of what happened would have happened at all. She could have moved on and back to LA where she wanted to be in the end anyways

I enjoyed Rouda's last book, BEST DAY EVER, and similarly, this one kept me wondering what would happen next and put me right in the headspace of a very sick individual. We want to know if a young woman's death was accidental or murder, and whodunnit, and ultimately we do get those answers in a satisfying way. But I wish we'd seen behind the facade sooner in the book. Unfortunately, I didn't really have anyone to root for in this book the way I did in her prior book (with the psychopath's wife), because the whole story was from one POV and the husband and daughter were portrayed in a poor light, understandably given their living situation.

Rouda excels at the narcissistic characters. This was a quick, well woven read.

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars
psychological thriller- check
family drama and secret- check
reliable or unreliable narrator- check
accidental death or a murder- check
This book has it all. A total page-turner which will keep you trying to figure out what will happen next.

Sorry, but this book is awful. I can't even get to the third chapter. I suppose the creepiness is factored into the plot but I can't even...

4.5 stars

Jane Harris is a woman that I wanted to hate from the beginning. She was not a character to love or feel any emotion for at all.

I felt like most of the story I saw coming but it was well paced and laid out well to make it enjoyable. This was a very quick enjoyable read for me.

Whoa! This book will have you on pins and needles. It's so mysteriously creepy and impossible to put down. I don't even know how to begin to describe it, but it's unlike anything I've read before. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the chance to read and review this book!

This story opens up with Jane, who has finally emerged from her year-long fog of grief from her daughter Mary's sudden and unexpected death. She is starting to re-engage with husband David and younger daughter Betsy who both have big secrets. The book is told from Jane's perspective, and this is really entertaining because Jane is a narcissist.

My opinion of Jane swayed back and forth. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her at the way that her family treats her. Jane seems to have good intentions but she feels very misunderstood. Her husband is cheating on her, and her daughter despises her, but did she cause this or is she a victim of the circumstances? Is she a grieving, heartbroken mother or a messed-up narcissist? How and why did Mary die? These burning questions kept me reading.

As the book progresses, Jane's calm and cool demeanor crumbles and she becomes unhinged, but it happens gradually through Jane's humorous, dark perspective. I laughed out loud many times. I hated David for cheating on his wife. I rooted for Jane and wanted her to get revenge on David and pay for what he did. So what if she's crazy?! Jane needs retribution!

Jane Harris is just as fascinating as Paul Strom, the character from Kaira Rouda's first book, Best Day Ever. There are some similarities between the two characters, but Jane is more layered, complex, and an unreliable narrator. I like Jane more than Paul. I had a hard time completely hating her because of her circumstances, but it's obvious that she is cray cray.

Kaira Rouda's writing is compelling and engaging, ominous, darkly funny, and creepy. She is a master at creating narcissistic, psychopathic, and sociopathic characters that you love to hate but relate to on some level. If you like books with unpredictable, crazy female characters like Lydia from Lying In Wait by Liz Nugent, or Louise from Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton, then this book is a must-read for you.

A wonderful and entertaining story told by a riveting narrator, Jane Harris. It’s a year after her favorite daughter died and Jane is emerging from a medicated haze of grief. She’s ready to reinsert herself in the starring role as Mother. But the cast of characters have different plans. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, this one fits the bill!

Wow! This book is a psychological thriller at it's best! If you read The Perfect Day, then you know how unreliable Rouda's characters can be.
The book follows the story of Jane, a grieving mother whose second daughter is graduating from high school in a few days. Her first daughter died in a tragic accident, so Jane is nervous about letting her daughter go. However, things are definitely what they seem, and trying to figure out what is real, and what is not, is part of the intrigue!
I loved this book, couldn't put it down, lost sleep over it, and HIGHLY recommend!

Kaira Rouda is a unique storyteller with a talent for character creativity! We first meet Jane, the narrator of the story. I have to admit that initially I felt sorry for her. She was grieving for the loss of her daughter, Mary, in a tragic accident. It seems her husband was not sympathetic and she had been reliant on drugs to help her get through the days. Then doubts crept into my mind and I was not sure that I liked Jane very much. She proves to be a narcissist, controlling and probably a psychopath. I did enjoy a line I read in one of the later chapters where Jane described she was going to have the Best Day Ever, which is the title of her previous book. I loved it!

5 stars. The Favorite Daughter will be a standout in 2019!
A psychological thriller with chilling suspense and an unreliable main character.. She will make you laugh out loud and shutter at the same time with her dark wit and sinister thoughts. There are twists and turns at every corner and a satisfying ending. A hugely entertaining and satisfying read.

Oh wow. Put some time away for this book. It has all the ingredients for a terrific psychological thriller.

No spoilers from me. Book is great with lots of lies, deception, tragedy, and twists. Also, loved the unpredictable ending. Can't say enough great about this. Read it today!!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this fabulous book.

I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! It was definitely a book that kept you thinking! I would definitely recommend this book to fellow readers. Thank you!

I have been a victim of a book hangover...because of this book. Holy Cow, Kaira!!
taking a concept that worked in her last book (in my opinion the best thriller in the past 5 years) and focusing the MC as an unlikeable and unreliable person. I never thought I could detest and yet feel for a character at the same time. Jane, is a grieving Mother. A helicopter Mom if you will. A devoted wife and she is being wronged. At least that's what she wants you to think...inside her head, sinister thoughts arise.

I loved every page of this novel

Wowza what a thrilling non stop ride!!! Jane Harris is living a perfect life. Perfect husband, perfect daughters, and a perfect house in a wealthy gated community in California. A terrible tragedy happens one year ago, Mary the oldest daughter is tragically killed. Jane lives the year in a haze of anti-depressants. When it is just days before Betsy's high school graduation, Jane knows she needs to reclaim her life. What has Jane's husband David and only remaining daughter Betsy been up to in the year Jane checked out of life? In just a few days Jane tells a story of a mother's love and a devoted wife but can she be believed? This story had so many fantastic twists and turns it left me at the edge of my seat wanting more and the ending? Wow!!! I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Harlequin Graydon House. All opinions are my own.

An intriguing thriller with an unreliable disturbed main character who leads the reader on without revealing the truth, till the end.