Twisty mystery!
Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Groups for the opportunity to read and review Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes!
The ending of Little White Lies isn’t the full story of who Sawyer’s father is. The story continues and causes more stress. In the meantime, the group of friends and their families have traveled to Regal Lake for the summer and Sawyer, Campbell, Lily and Sadie Grace have been secretly invited to the White Glove Society. The book alternates between Sawyer’s experiences and to the past, twenty-five years earlier to what Lily’s mom and Campbell’s mom we’re up to at that time. During the White Glove party at the lake, Sawyer and her friends see a skull that’s been washed ashore and an investigation ensues. I could have used a family tree, a timeline and even a pregnancy pact history to help with all the twists and turns in this story! The danger amps up in this sequel to Little White Lies with the mysteries of who’s related to who and the skull discovered at the lake. The character development includes maturity and clarifying priorities. A mystery that was hard to put down, 5 stars!

This novel picks up where the last left off. With new information about her biological father, Sawyer has more questions that may just tear her family and friends apart. Sawyer must walk a tight-rope hoping that she won't lose her new friends. When the debutantes are tapped to be part of a prestigious secret society, Sawyer only follows along because her cousin, Lily, begs her to. The further these teens learn about the family, the more deadly and damning the information. This book keeps the stakes high, like the first book.

I enjoyed this novel. I love the characters and I was pulled in by the mystery. I love this author and I was not disappointed.

I honestly didn't think I'd like a continuation of the first book and I wasn't sure how the author would top the craziness but this one definitely did! It had me laughing out loud and tearing up and getting chills. I loved revisiting the colorful characters!

Sorry - I really struggled to remember what happened in the first book and there wasn't enough recap to remind me. I may have time eventually to re-read book one and then tackle this. Thanks for letting me try it!

**More book thoughts can be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

Sawyer thought she had experienced it all when her estranged grandmother coerced her to join the debutante season, but really she was just getting started. Sawyer is now keeping secrets from her cousin/best friend, not talking to her mama, has no idea what she wants to do with her future and refuses to be in a romantic relationship regardless of her heart. Add on the fact she is going through initiation to take part in a secret society, and her summer is going to be rocky.

This was fabulous, everything that I could have hoped for and more and I would not change a thing! I am fan-girling hard right now and want to binge read everything written by the author right this minute to keep my happy glow feeling going. With some sort of voodoo magic (I assume) the author was able to mix humor, mystery, drama, suspense, a tiny bit of romance, and lots of southern charm and manners to create one of the best books I have read this year. I have loved each book that I have read by this author, but this one takes the cake. Just when you think you know what is going on, the rug was ripped out and something new and shocking was added in it's place and I never even had a chance to see what was coming and I loved it. A mystery that you can't predict is the best kind, and add some super random and well placed humor and it is basically gold, in my opinion.

Based on the ending, I kind of feel like the story was wrapped up perfectly so I have no idea if there will be a third book in this series. I really really hope there will be (for purely selfish reasons mind you), but this was a great ending if the series is concluded. I am not disappointed at all and loved all the characters that I got the opportunity to know. I especially loved the relationship between Sawyer and the three other girls in her debutante circle, how they have each other's backs and no situation is too big that those girls can't take on. While (multiple) mystery is the main plot focus, the relationships between Sawyer and her people took main focus to me. And while I always love romance in my stories, romance took a way far backseat to familial relationships and the overall importance of made families. Overall this was a fantastic sequel to one of my favorite reads from last year, just as good as I hoped it would be (and my hopes were incredibly high). Pick this series up if you like twisty mysteries, girl power, secret societies, lies and blackmail, as well as the best southern charm around. I am pretty sure I am going to walk around saying "bless your heart" to everyone for weeks now.

A great follow up to the first book, even more of a mystery. YA is lacking good mysteries that keep you guessing and this definitely fills the gap.

I really was looking forward to reading this one after enjoying the first book. And boy am I glad that I did! This book had even more twists and turns than the first one! In fact, there was even one part at the end when we've finally sorted out all the sordid past betrayals and secrets that I had to repeat one character's line out loud to help myself keep all the new family lines and branches straight. I loved how once again the author started the story with our main character, Sawyer, and her friends in a situation that you knew they needed to get out of, but that she kept only giving you bits of them maybe getting free in between all the chapters telling the past and what happened. Not to mention we even had a further back part of the story, with Aunt Olivia and others of the parents in the story. While I assumed we were just learning to be more sympathetic to certain characters through that, and while I wasn't sure exactly why we got the viewpoint of one of them, it all came together in the end, in such a way that totally had me in shock. Definitely another great mystery with the snarkiness of characters that I grew to enjoy in the first book.

I really enjoyed Little White Lies, but the sequel....not so much. For starters, this book includes three different timelines and the flashback timeline was very confusing and didn't add much for me. Keeping all of the characters straight and connecting them with the present was very challenging, and I am generally able to manage books with large casts of characters. In this case the writing and signposting of who was who was very murky and I often couldn't recall why I should care about what a given character was doing. The rest of the story, for the first half of the book, was fine but not really sucking me in. It might have been a three star read, but then the later part of the book happened....

The twists and reveals in this book were just SO over the top and unbelievable, I couldn't. If I need a serial killer level diagram to explain all to the scandalous relationships and "musical parents" I am afraid you've lost me. When we got the big revelation at the end I definitely rolled my eyes because it came out of left field and didn't feel believable. At this point I think I am done with this series, but I do think that book 1 is worth checking out if you want a soapy southern drama. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I have loved every book by Jennifer Lynn Barnes that I have read, and Deadly Little Scandals is no exception. It has a great mystery with many twists and turns. I do recommend reading Little White Lies, the first book in the Debutante series, before reading Deadly Little Scandals as you will have a much easier time understanding the connections between all of the characters.

It’s been a while since I read a YA novel that I could envision as a TV series right in my own brain. Deadly Little Scandals broke that barrier!

There were lots of issues with the chapter formatting. There seemed to be dual timelines, but since I didn’t have the background knowledge from book 1, I found myself frequently confused about what was going on.

The teens in Deadly Little Scandals are a wee bit scary in their ability to unearth damaging secrets and potential landmines. I like smart characters in books, and this was even better because they were young smart characters with lots of potential to be practically diabolical!

2.5 Stars.

Secret identical sisters who switch places! Illegitimate children! Black market babies! Several dozen other murky parentage plot lines!

National Enquirer headlines, or plot points from this book?

***

I’ll say this for Deadly Little Scandals: It certainly keeps you compulsively turning those pages. Unfortunately, it’s also a convoluted, difficult to follow mess, and fraught with all sorts of absurd soap opera elements that are too ridiculous to be believed and irritating to slog through.

I enjoyed the first book in this series and didn’t mind the parentage questions about Sawyer that occurred because it was just one part of the plot and also fundamentally important to Sawyer’s identity.

But in this book, it seems that almost everyone is a baby switched at birth, or an adult pretending to be someone else, or an illegitimate/bought on the black market/bastard baby. I know we’re supposed to view this group of people as full of dirty secrets, but am I really supposed to believe there are THIS many parentage scandals in one community?!

What was once an interesting part of Sawyer’s story became doltish and obnoxious as it became EVERYONE’S story in book two.

If over-the-top soap opera stuff is your thing, you might enjoy this. The characters are still likable and it’s certainly a compelling read. Unfortunately even for those who do like this kind of thing, it’s also so convoluted in the end that I’m still trying to figure out who is related to whom.

This series started off well, but is already completely off the rails in book two. I generally like Jennifer Lynn Barnes a great deal, and was surprised she chose to go so lowbrow with this, and at least would have thought the plot would have been tighter and better organized.

Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes held all the mystery, and quirky moments, that fans of Pretty Little Liars will absolutely love. This was my first book by author Jennifer Lynn Barnes and I certainly can't wait to read more of her works! From the beginning of the story I kept a chart of the characters to try and solve the "who dunnit" and by the end of the book, I had two pages full of circles and arrows as the mystery took various turns.



Overall, beware of dirty little scandals dear readers....for they may prove to be deadly.

Deadly Little Scandals picks up soon after the first in the series as Sawyer, Lily, Sadie Grace, Campbell, and their families head to the lake for the summer. But there is intrigue, more secrets to uncover, high-stakes drama, and more webs tying these high society families together than one could have ever imagined: Sawyer and the other ladies are being hazed to determine if they are eligible to join the White Gloves, a university secret society, but it also puts them in contact with another girl affected by the Pregnancy Pact. Greer is still faking her pregnancy, which puts the girls in contact with a long lost (but just how long-lost is a major spoiler!) family member. Uncle J.D. and Aunt Olivia's relationship is marred with a past that doesn't bode well for the skeleton found in the lake. And Nick is there, too. Will Sawyer and Sadie Grace escape the fate that we get glimpses of every other chapter or so? Will they uncover all the secrets and figure out how everyone is connected?

Deadly Little Scandals is still Gilmore Girls meets Pretty Little Liars: a fun romp of a mystery with a southern twang and lots of polite manners.

What a wild ride!

I immensely enjoyed Little White Lies and could not wait to get started on Deadly Little Scandals. It took me a little bit longer to get in to this one, but I also had a lot going on in my life and my focus wasn't all there. I settled back in while I was chilling at the airport and it was all downhill from there.

DLS is even more scandalous than the first one. There are so many secrets and troubles and I can't really dive in to any of that without spoilers so I'll stay away. There were a few things I saw coming, but one big one I definitely did not.

The familiar cast is just as likeable as the in the first group, showing some growth as they are a little older (and wiser) than before. The adults were the worst, but that's just how this high society rolls. Sawyer handles everything that best that she can, not only looking out for herself but also her friends (and frenemies).

DLS is full of twists and turns, you won't want to put it down!

I really liked the first book in this series (Little White Lies) and I was super excited to continue the story. From the beginning, I’ve found Sawyer to be an extremely likable protagonist (if somewhat overly capable). In this book especially, I really liked Sawyer’s relationship with both Lily and John David. I love how protective Sawyer is of Lily and their relationship. Sawyer grew up without any extended family, so that relationship is really precious to her. I also liked the main friend group of Sawyer, Lily, Campbell, and Sadie Grace. They’re all supportive and mostly nice to each other which is refreshing. Unfortunately, the plot in this book was just so complicated. There are two main plot points that get mashed together and I feel like the author should have just picked one of them. It almost feels like this book just got away from her? There are elements of it too that I don’t feel like jive with how characters were portrayed in the first book. I still liked the book (Sawyer really carries it for me) and I’ll read the next one (if there is one) but man, some really weird stuff went down in this book. 4/5

I loved Ms. Barnes’s The Fixer series, so last year when Little White Lies came out, I knew right away that I wanted to read it. I instantly fell in love with Sawyer and the whole gang, even as eccentric and prickly and outwardly stuck-up as they each were. I was sucked in to the machinations of Sawyer, Sadie-Grace, Lily, and Campbell, and instantly drawn to Nick and Boone (I’m still iffy on Walker!). The society into which Sawyer finds herself thrust is daunting and rigid and so out of her comfort zone, and yet she manages to fit herself in to a hole that seems to have been just waiting for her to fill it. The girls go through a lot, and they *certainly* put others through a lot, but they come out (no pun intended) the other side stronger for it all.

In Deadly Little Scandals, the whole gang is back and discovering more mysteries and scandals (naturally!) that threaten to rock their collective world. They’ve gotten through their debutante year and find themselves facing young adulthood with varying degrees of trepidation; some are ready for college; others, like Sawyer, aren’t sure they want to go to college; some are in love and others have fallen out of love. Sawyer now knows who her father is, but hasn’t told anyone, and hasn’t really faced the face head-on herself; her relationship with her mother is more strained than ever, to say the least. And to top it all off, the girls are recruited to join a secret all-girl society, The White Gloves, which introduces us to some new characters and a host of new mysteries to uncover.

Ms. Barnes can write one heck of a twisted mystery, which I first discovered in The Fixer series and which brought me to the Debutantes series. Just like Little White Lies, Deadly Little Scandals has twists and turns and complications galore, many of which I didn’t see coming (and after you’ve been reading as voraciously and as long as I have, it’s always a plus when an author can surprise me!). However, I think the best thing about this particular series of hers is the focus on family -- how screwed up and complex it can be, and yet how important it is to our lives. Since this series is set in the South, I feel a kinship with Sawyer and I recognize certain aspects of the white Southern family dynamics at play here (though I was most decidedly *not* part of a “society” family and did not have a debutante year!). Combined with the twisty mystery and the feminist secret society, Sawyer’s and the other girls’s struggles with their families and discovering what “family” means to each of them make this a book I highly recommend. After everything they’ve faced already, I don’t know what could possibly happen to Sawyer and the gang next, but I hope that we’ll get to see more of them in the future!

Rating: 4 stars!

**Disclosure: I received an early e-copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of this blog tour. This review is voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review of the book.

Deadly Little Scandals is the final installment in author Jennifer Lynn Barnes Debutantes duology. Sawyer Taft moved into her Grandmother's home after she was offered a pretty amazing deal. In return, Sawyer was introduced to the world of the Debutantes and all the scandals that have been uncovered. This time around, the author does something a bit different. She actually goes back in time 25 years to the year of her own mother's Debutante year. If you have read the first installment, you know that Sawyer knew absolutely nothing about who her father was.

All she knew is that she's the result of her mother's teenage pregnancy pact with two other women one who lost her baby. Having discovered who her father really is through a series of hits and misses, Sawyer didn't expect to find friendship with girls who have their own scandals, & dangerous secrets (Sadie-Grace Walker, Lily Taft, and Campbell Ames). As I said, this story goes back 20 years to fill in the blanks, as it were, to what really happened and leads to even more curious mysteries. As the story opens, there are hints that something bad has happened to Sawyer and Sadie, but we have to wait until the last chapters to figure exactly what.

In the meantime, the girls are invited to join an exclusive group called the White Gloves. The White Gloves are thought to be Suburban legends until you actually receive an invite and are encouraged to participate in a series of challenges to see if you are deemed worthy. All is going well, mostly, until a skull is found during one of the challenges. A skull that dates back 20 years! Now we're cooking with gas! Who is the mysterious girl? And, why should we actually care? Oh, you should, you really, really should since it's a huge plot twist that you won't see coming!

Sawyer isn't finished with her Nancy Drew detective work however. She's still on the hunt for Ana Gutierrez, the other girl with her mother in the pact who disappeared. Sawyer knows that if she can find out who Ana's baby is, she won't be the solo member of the teen pregnancy pact. She will actually have someone else to understand how she feels. Sawyer's search uncovers even more dark and dangerous secrets which leads to her and Sadie ending up in mortal jeopardy, and even more understanding at how many things can go wrong if you dig too deep.

I liked that this book kept moving forward and not stopping to pause for romantic interludes, although Sawyer & Nick have to resolve some pretty twisted issues thanks to Sawyer. Between the Lady of the Lake, the White Gloves, the affairs, the truth about what happened to Ana who hasn't been seen in 25 years, and the shocking surprise twist, there wasn't ever a truly dull moment. The flashback to 25 years ago was kind of boring for the most part. Until the final one which leads to a stunning revelation in the present.

I remember reading the first one and loving it, so I've been waiting for this one for what feels like a very long time. And let me just tell you, this was worth the wait. I can definitely say this crazy, wild ride was something I didn't mind waiting for.
Sawyer Taft has found a family, not only her real family, but also her Debutante family. But both of those families come with a price. Her real family is every bit as scandolous as it was last year, and the Debutante family is much of the same. But Sawyer soon discovers everything is much more messed up than she thought.
Y'all, this was so messed up. Like I really want to ask Barnes where she gets her ideas. And did she know how this book was going to end when she wrote the first one. There was no way she couldn't because this book was too messed up to NOT know. Every twist will have you gasping out loud. With that being said, I was able to guess one part of the big twist, but there are so many more other twists and turns in this book, that even if you guess one part, it won't make you feel like you've guessed anythng at all lol
The characters were still my favorite. I'm super glad everyone was still there and the addition of the new characters was fun too. Some of them felt a bit forced, but for the most part I really enjoyed some of them, like Victoria and the gang. As a whole I did like most of them.
And for the first time ever, I felt like the romance in the book was unneccessary. I usually live for the romance line in a book, but this time I wasn't as into it. I was more into the mystery and all the reveals that kept happening in the story. The romance was pushed into little pieces and it just felt like it was there to tie up loose ends. But for no reason. I really hope the reason it was there will be a spin-off. (If you've read it, you know what I mean.)
This series has definitely made it to my favorites series list. There's so much to unpack in this series, let alone in this book, and I loved it. Again, Jennifer Lynn Barnes has showed she is a mastermind in the YA thriller world.

4.5 stars. WOW! The plot twists in this are dizzying! I had dreams about the ending, and I couldn't stop thinking through it for a good 24 hours or more after finishing. It was almost like a different book by the end because so many things happened.

As with the first book (also terrific) this starts with snippets from a current situation (in book 1 the girls are in jail) and then it goes back in time - this time about 3.5 months - to tell the full story of the book. This one also has some scenes from 25 years in the past which come to play a part in this story. It's all woven together so well, and I was frantically flipping pages while I discarded theory after theory of what was going on. It was fantastic!

I missed some of Sawyer's spunk in this one. In the first book she wears her sass like armor. By this book she has settled into her family situation a little more, so she's less snarky. I missed it because I love Barnes' snarky characters, but I was soon swept up into all of the twists of the story. DO NOT MISS THIS ONE! Be sure to read these in order because it matters in this series.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes has done it again. In the second book in the Debutantes series, we are reunited with Sawyer, Sadie-Grace, Lily, and Campbell for more hijinks and adventures.

In Little White Lies, the first book in the series, Barnes introduces us to Sawyer, who has been bribed by her grandmother Lillian to do a Debutante season in exchange for college tuition. It is while living with Lillian that Sawyer embarks on a detective journey to discover who her father is.

At the beginning of book two, Sawyer knows who her father is, and it's an even bigger scandal than she'd anticipated. It's something she has to keep from Lily, her cousin and best friend, because it would, in Sawyer's opinion, shatter Lily and maybe estrange the two. But as Sawyer continues to push the envelope on discovering the whereabouts of the second baby from the Pregnancy Pact her mother had engaged in with her two best friends, she gets embroiled in something even bigger, that could lead to her death.

Barnes weaves this tale by alternating chapters that show the reader the past - the relationships between the parents of the Debutantes - the present, and for part of the book, the future - we know that Sadie-Grace and Sawyer are in trouble as the book opens, but we don't find out why or how until nearly the end. However, the times of each section/chapter are clearly delineated so it's very easy to follow.

The characters are skillfully developed and each has her own personality that clearly defines her. I love how Barnes knows her characters so well that we feel we know them too.

I look forward to future adventures with Sawyer and her Debutante crew.