Another successful novel! Lisa and Liz have an absolute gift! As much as they tried to compare this to a movie I’d seen, they didn’t give themselves enough credit. There were two options, execute the idea poorly or nail it- They absolutely nailed it!!!!

This book was a good story, even though I found it super confusing at the beginning to jump back and forth! Well written and fun to read, too.

I really enjoy books with a dual ending and this one did not disappoint. The characters were realistic and the writing was great.

I am a fan of thrillers so I was excited to get The Two Lila Bennetts by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke. Liz and Lisa did an amazing job with the alternating chapters that give this book an amazing “sliding door” vibe! I love that vibe in my thrillers!!
I cannot say enough about this amazing book…..especially because I don’t want to ruin a thing for you! You need to experience that wicked awesome twists, turns and jaw dropping moments for yourself!

Lila Bennett is aware of the ethical considerations implicated in the practice of criminal defense law. But she hasn't always adhered to them. She is also well-versed in the moral dilemmas that sometimes arise in personal relationships -- marriage, friendship. and interactions with colleagues. In that area of her life, she has made reckless and callous choices.

Lila's history of questionable and, indeed, outright unethical decision-making is lengthy, dating back to well before she established herself as a successful litigator with a high-powered Los Angeles firm. In fact, were it not for some of those decisions, she would not be enjoying the well-paid career she has established. Authors Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke place her at a crossroad, examining the life of a woman who has permitted ambition, selfishness, and resentment to cloud her decision-making. The Two Lila Bennetts is a clever and tense thriller in which readers will find a message about how to navigate challenges. The prologue reveals that Lila is blindfolded, restrained, and being held captive. She observes, "[M]y life haunts me," because as she awaits her fate, she examines "every fork in the road that brought me here." After all, she notes ironically, you don't find yourself in such circumstances "if you've made the best choices."

From there, Fenton and Steinke reveal how Lila found herself in her current predicament. However, they craft Lila's story from two perspectives, employing alternating first-person narratives. Fenton and Steinke place Lila in two kinds of jeopardy. In the second story, she has not been kidnapped, but the life she has constructed is in danger because someone knows her secrets and is determined to reveal them. Thus, in one setting, Lila faces her own mortality. In the other, she stares down the implosion of her marriage, career, and relationships.

Lila acknowledges that she has lived her life as two women -- a girl girl and a bad girl reside within her. The bad girl cheers when she makes choices that are at odds with the advice and counsel the good girl gives her. That woman has a strong moral compass and is well aware of the right decisions, but Lila too often succumbs to the temptations dangled in front of her, and then justifies her choices. She lies to her husband, Ethan, a best-selling author who struggles with depression in the fact of pressure to replicate the success he enjoyed with the publication of his first book. In fact, Lila lies a lot. She has betrayed not only her husband, but her best friends, as well, in the pursuit of her goals and to advance her career. She is not unaware of how despicable her behavior has been. Does the realization come in time for her to stop behaving in self-destructive and cruel ways? If the truth is revealed, will the people how matter most to Lila be able to forgive her? Can she make amends? Will they let her? Those questions underlie and propel the story forward.

Fenton and Steinke's take on a classic premise is contemporary, refreshing, and inventive. As the focus moves between Lila being "Captured" and "Free," the suspense builds. Who is her captor vs. who knows and is revealing Lila's darkest secrets? Will she escape with her life vs. can she mitigate the damage and continue practicing law? The pace is unrelenting, the consequences for Lila in the parallel realities palpable. And because of its premise, The Two Lila Bennetts is inherently thought-provoking and empathetic. Everyone has made choices they regret, and wondered what might have happened if they had chosen differently. Lila learns that her choices have made all the difference. Fenton and Steinke keep readers guessing about the identity of Lila's tormenters and their motivation, and provide jaw-dropping but fully logical conclusions to both story lines. The result is a compulsively readable, engrossing morality play through which Fenton and Steinke reinforce that "love, loss, and betrayal can make people o the very worst things. things no one believes they're capable of doing." Can introspection, atonement, and determination not to repeat past mistakes make a difference? That's the question to which Lila Bennett finds an answer. But not without consequences.

Liz and Lisa together are like magic. The Two Lila Bennetts was interesting and well written, however I was surprised at it being written in two different POV's and didn't expect the two stories simultaneously. I thought the story was intriguing and interesting and would recommend the book to my bookish friends!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC for my honest opinion.

The Two Lila Bennetts is co-authored by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke. Attorney Lila Bennett is known to not back down from some of the toughest cases in her city. She's also known to have ticked off quite a few of her fellow citizens because of her tenacity. Therefore, when she is kidnapped she has a long list of possible candidates for who would like to harm her. However, at the same time, another version of Lila is walking the city streets rethinking the path her life has been on. Truly a mind-bending book. Read and enjoy!

Thank you NetGalley for this book in exchange for a honest review.

Loved this book! The story flows the characters are fascinating and I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend.

As much as I love Lisa and Liz, this book fell short for me. I did not like the double narrative, and the ending was flat.

This book was such a win for me! I don’t often read thrillers - I’m just not drawn to them - but there was so much positive buzz about this book that my interest was piqued. Then I had the chance to meet the authors at an event last month, and they were just the best. I knew I had to read this!⁣
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If you are like me and love plots with a “Sliding Doors” scenario, you will definitely enjoy this one! In alternating chapters, we learn what happens to the title character, Lila, following a singular decision.

In one version of the story, Lila, a successful criminal defense attorney, is captured by a mysterious psychopath. In the other version, Lila is “free” to continue her life.⁣ ⁣

This was engaging from the first page and highly entertaining! So glad I read it!⁣

THE TWO LILA BENNETTS features a Sliding Doors-style gimmick where a choice made by the main character leads to two parallel lives. One where she’s captured and one where she’s free. I enjoyed the differences between her two lives but I think it could have been more fun!

Every character is either Good or Bad. Lila is Bad because she’s a defense attorney whose clients may be guilty, she cheats on her husband, she is mean to people (supposedly; this is never shown). Her best friend Carrie is Good because she’s cheerful and kind. The characters are not drawn in grey areas so there’s not much of a mystery in finding out who wants Lila dead. The villain is pretty fascinating though, I wish we got more of them. I didn't find the criticism of Lila working too much or selling her soul to her job convincing. In fact, I liked that she was great at her job! Overall, the thriller is a little preachy in some parts but it was a fast read with an interesting concept.

I enjoyed this novel. A very clever parallel universe psychological thriller. It was interesting and kept me intrigued.

This was confusing at first but once you got into a manageable rhythm it was quite easy enough to get into it. I enjoyed the plot but the characters...I enjoyed the plot lol! I always find it so admirable when two writers are able to have a great relationship and their words flow and ebb so easily like this that the book comes out beautifully. It's real talent on their part.

This was a fast and fun thriller and not my first from them and will definitely not be my last.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this ARC.

This book was an amazing psychological thriller. It held my attention from the moment I started it, I did get confused at first when they were switching back and forth between the two scenarios. But, I picked up on that fast.
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book...

Hello duo writers, what a collaboration!! I was so impressed with how well this storyline flowed. Though I will admit while reading on my Kindle I thought the chapter was repeating at first, haha oops! Quickly realized the title change though and was on my way! I do have to say this was definitely the first time I've read a book with an alternating storyline like this. The storyline goes back and forth between the FREE Lila Bennett & the CAPTURED. I LOVED IT!! So unique and truly had me questioning who the culprit was the entire time. At one point I was so sure I had it all figured out ... complete blindside! Love, Love, LOVE a book like that!! I look forward to being shocked and was I ever. Now I need to get my hands on their other 5 books! The writing was so so good!!

Huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy!

4 stars! I started on the book the other day, but paused to finish book 2 of the Shades of Magic series.😉 And then finished it last night.

It started slow but by gum, 35% in and my heart skipped twice, and my unease has grown. This was like Sliding Doors (check out the movie if you can. I like that movie) only darker.

I thought, if my suspicions are correct, this is one sick individual! I was wrong. You never really know a person, don’t you? And for Lila (and me), that person was totally unexpected. And not quite right in the head either.

It wasn’t hard to follow the two paths. Of course I like the path of the free Lila, especially towards the end when she started on a new path.But was it better really? A little spoiler here: it ends like Sliding Doors does. So know you ask, which was the better path for Lila?

Thank you Lake Union Publishing for this review copy. It was fun read! And you too @netgalley

#NetGalley #The Two Lila Bennetts #Lake Union Publishing

Lila Bennett is a successful criminal defense attorney, competitive and pretty much only out for number one. She made some bad choices on her way to success and made a few enemies, now those choices are coming back to bite her.

The story is told in two time frames "Free" Lila is going about her life, being the successful, cold hearted defense attorney. "Captured" she is being held prisoner and her captor is making her review her life and the decisions that she has made.

The story was very well told and had many twists and turns. It kept me guessing and very surprised at the end. It was like watching Karma in action.

I have mixed feelings about this book. First, I liked the premise. However, I didn't like any of the characters. In my mind, they had no redeeming characteristics. They were selfish and egotistical. I also found the plot to move extremely slowly. But I kept reading because I was reviewing and I kept hoping that the plot would improve. For me, it never did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

It’s been a couple days and I still am not sure how I feel about this book. It was really good, but I don’t really understand the point of having two different perspectives unless one was supposed to be good Lila and the other bad Lila? But they both seemed like the bad Lila and then she decided to be better? That’s the only thing I could think of. Other than that I did think it was well written and it kept my attention. Near the end I figured out who it was, but I still finished it to see how the author revealed it. ⁣⁣
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Overall, it’s something I would recommend to read.⁣⁣
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Thank you to netgalley the publishers and the author for this ARC in exchanged for an unbiased review

the idea of the book was really good and i like chapters moving between the parallel universes i just found at times it became a little messy to truly get in to