This book was a very twisty story about two teens—one who was a grifter, and the other an heiress whose worlds collide. It was very interesting to read both of their POV’s. I will say it started off kind of slow for me but in the end, I thought it was a great read.

You had me at rich girl, poor girl and con artist. I really liked how the author brought these two seemingly different young women together. That was a nice twist.

Interesting book. Characters were engaging and realistic. Lots of twists and turns to keep you turning the pages.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I actually grabbed this book at the free book area at Bouchercon 2019– the cover was gorgeous and it sounded great. Fast forward a few months later and I’m looking around for audio books to listen to and when I see Julia Whelan is one of the narrators- well, I just had to get it.

What I Liked:

The cover is GORGEOUS.

Julia Whelan as Nina and Lauren Fortgang as Vanessa. Both narrate characters that are so incredibly flawed- and their flaws made me want to know more about them.

The ending. It’s pretty fitting.



Bottom line: There is a lot of backstory in this book to truly understand the dynamic between Vanessa and Nina. And there is a lot of re-telling of same scenes from their different POV. So, actually- the book could have been a bit shorter (17 hours is a long listen.) But so much of it worked- so I overlooked some things.



*Traveling With T purchased this book on audio for her own listening while walking time. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Giving this book 5 stars bc it actually hard to put down, read it all in one go lmao

I really think it's time for me to set thrillers down for a time. I don't think this book was even poorly written, or badly done, I think it just takes so much for me to be pleasantly surprised by a thriller, that I should do these books a service and stop reading them. I don't even feel fully equipped to review this one but I will try:

I feel like this author tried to cover up a very mediocre plot with flowery and overly detailed writing, which I don't mind! I like purple prose (this wasn't purple, quite), I just didnt think it fit with this story, and it seemed like the author was trying to hide something behind her writing. This book is more of a character study than its marketed thriller, which again, I don't particularly mind, I just didn't think that this one was well done, and didn't find any of the characters interesting enough to deem writing an entire book about.

This one just didn't work for me, but I know it has high ratings, so hopefully it will work for more people!

Pretty Things is my first time reading a book by Janelle Brown and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It pulled me in right away and I loved Nina so much as both a character and grifter.

The book is definitely a slow burn, but I loved every minute of it. I also liked that it switched back and forth between both Nina and Vanessa. The dual narrative with those two really made the book for me, and I loved getting all the background to them as characters, especially when their paths connect. None of the scenes seemed repetitive for me even though there are a few told from both their perspectives. I really appreciated this because I hate when the same scenes are told from different POV's and you learn nothing new.

Pretty Things did draw me in right away, but I especially enjoyed it once the secrets started being revealed. The last quarter of the book blew me away and I couldn't put it down. While I did most of the book on audio, I ended up reading the last 116 pages because I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. The narration on the audio was awesome as well, and while I didn't realize there were three narrators (I thought there were only two) I can say I loved all of them. Julia Whelan, Lauren Fortgang and Hillary Huber made the book even better with their voices and tones, and I would highly recommend the audio.

If you are looking for a slow burn that is part family drama, part heist 'film', and part thriller I would recommend checking out either the book or the audio. Pretty Things made me fall in love with Brown's writing and she has an instant fan here!

Thank you to The Book Drop and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

"Pretty things" was beautifully written with family lies, haunting secrets , and A LOT of twists. Almost too many twists because it turned out how you originally thought. A wonderful read!

As someone who grew up in Los Angeles, I always am drawn to tales of my former hometown - Nina, while not liable at first, grew on me and I loved this tale...

The blurb on this one pulled me in almost immediately. A grifter and an heiress brought together by the scam of a lifetime. Oh I am definitely in. What I got was a story that pulled me in and twisted and turned me around every which way. I had no clue what was going to happen in the end and I LOVED IT.

I loved Nina so much. I know, she's the criminal and the bad guy but I just found her so relatable and likeable. Vanessa was such a complex character and I just love how she was fleshed out. She was phenomenal and I just fell more in love with her the more I read.

The pacing is wonderful and I feel like I am getting to know the characters in an easy, flowing way. But these twists, these turns, I just didn't see them coming. I loved this one 4.5 big stars from me.

One girl is raised by a grifter and then later becomes one herself; the other born into wealth, never wanting for anything.
Their paths cross and sets the future events in motion.
These two women from such different worlds will take you on a wild ride that you will devour.
I really enjoyed the alternating chapters between Nina and Vanessa.
This story sucks you in until the the very end.
I’m giving this one all the stars!

Well written and captivating from beginning to end. The tale of a daughter and mother who spend their lives conning and stealing from others. When someone from their past becomes a mark how will it turn out exactly? Turns out not so well. I just couldn’t put this book down! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

absolutely phenomenal! So many twists and turns keep you gripped until the last chapter. Highly recommend this book. First time reading this author and because of how well this book is written I will be back for more.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed the story line but the book was too long. The two main characters told each incident in their point of view repeating each incident in detail. It could have been a much shorter story that would have engaged me more.

I regret not getting into this book sooner. I really liked the pace of this mystery/thriller and thought it was different than other recent novels of the same genre. This one kept my interest right until the end and I was very happy with the ending. Will recommend to friends looking for a suspense novel.

Despite really great character development and perfectly interwoven POVs, this was an solid, 3-star read for me. Good but not a book I would go out and buy for myself. I felt a lot of the plot was predictable, and I disliked every single character. I would be interested in trying another book from this author.

2 Stars ( I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)

I started reading from my e-arc but just forgot about it, so I ended up getting the audiobook from my library. I listened to about an hour of the book and I was still struggling to get into the story. Wasn’t hating the main character but I didn’t really like her either. I could sense that I wasn’t going to fully enjoy the story and it was going to be a slow read. I might pick it up again some time later on but for now it is not something I am interested in at the moment.

I loved the Pretty Things! I enjoyed the multiple points of view, the plot twists, and how well the characters are written. I have not read many books about thieves and con artists, so this one was very interesting to read for me! If you enjoyed Anna K but want a more mysterious read, this one is for you!

SOOOOOO love this Author. Thrilling book that was impossible to put down.. I read it as slow as I could to absorb every word and make it last as long as possible!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.