A well written novel that takes an introspective look into the mind of an unbalanced woman. While the plot itself is minimalistic, the premise and implementation are fantastic.
McCarthy incorporates rich symbolism and vivid imagery relative to how the main character justifies and compartmentalizes her actions. It feels as if McCarthy also keeps the characters at arms length to further support that concept. Love that the writing ignites a bit of deeper thought on the contradiction of people.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #EveryoneKnowsHowMuchILoveYou which was read and reviewed voluntarily by @wayward_readers

There are many, many books about toxic female friendship. And in some of those, there is some sort of motive, some sort of ....humanization of the characters. Everyone Knows How Much I Love You from Kyle McCarthy doesn't have this.....and that's fine.

Rose is a talented writer, someone who was once heralded as a young 'up and comer'. Harvard, then Iowa. In New York, finally at the age of 30, Rose is reconnected with her childhood best friend - and quickly spirals back into her high school self. Positioning herself in places where Lacie will be. Eventually, Lacie relents and asks Rose to move into her space bedroom, and this is where Rose fall into obsessive - Single White Female - territory.

There's a shared lover - and it's not the first one. Clothes, jewelry, friends. Rose wants everything that Lacie has and that Lacie is.

Rose is a weirdo- and I kind of like her - except that she sees nothing wrong with her actions. She's floating through life, trying to land into a role that's already taken by her friend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was supposed to be a book about a toxic female friendship - and it was, don't get me wrong. But it didn't add anything new to the many other books written on the topic, which made it quite boring. The characters were also very undeveloped - the present version of characters just repeated the same mistakes they made in the past. I can maybe see how this book would be interesting for some, but it was not for me.

Thanks to Ballantine and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

At first, I wasn't sure about Everyone Knows How Much I Love You. We don't know much about the protagonist, a young Harvard grad named Rose who moves to New York City to tutor Ivy-bound prep students on the Upper East Side without any money, place to stay, or life plan. She orchestrates a run-in with a former friend who doesn't seem all that happy to see her, and quickly insinuates herself into this Lacie's life.
While the first quarter was a bit slow to get into and I was hindered by the author's annoying tendency to reverse normal syntax, I ended up really enjoying the book. It reminded me a bit of The Paper Wasp with its themes of identity and inspiration, and of course obsessive friendship. I loved the ending and loved how the author managed to create such a creepy yet empathetic and darkly hilarious character in Rose.

Always love a good book about two friends with a long history! While I didn’t love either of the protagonists, I definitely liked them and the story enough to speed through this book! Surprising ending which is always the best outcome for a thriller!

At 30, Rose is a struggling author and tutor extraordinaire. She moves to NYC, and snuggles to find her footing in the massive and powerful world around her. Running into her old best friend from childhood, her world is turned upside down. Rose and Lacie become roommates, and slip easily into the familiarity of their past friendship. What seems like the normal rekindling of past, turns into a much deeper and darker psychological game. As the two continue to get closer, Rose refuses to divulge one secret- the book she is writing is about what tore them apart in high school. Will their friendship pass the test of time? Or will her novel destroy the shaky foundation that's been built?

Thank you so much @RandomHouse & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 23 June 2020)

SYNOPSIS | Rose is unexpectedly reunited in New York with her former best friend Lacie who she betrayed in high school.

WHAT I LIKED:
- The unlikeable characters. Normally I like to root for at least one character, but all of these characters were flawed and that was kind of endearing.
- Rose's obsession with Lacie. It was creepy and at times made me feel uncomfortable.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- "I'm not like the other girls" trope. Everyone else commented on how fierce & smart Rose was but there wasn't really any evidence of that in the story.
- The writing style was overly convulated in parts

This is a juicy, quick, twisted read that will consume you. Rose is talking to us, and she is so very captivating. She seems to lack confidence while she’s manipulating everyone to her needs. She seems to lack self-esteem while she’s using her beauty and wiles to reach her goals. She seems to act on impulse, all the while weaving her web for her next victim.
Rose and her best friend Lacie from high school fell apart when there was a terrible accident. Years later, Lacie drops a line to Rose: “I’ve been seeing someone you know.”
Sounds simple, right? They agree to meet for coffee, Lacie wants to learn more about her boyfriend, and Rose is broke and needs to live off of someone. Their relationship is really odd; they seem to be deeply in love with each other, jealous of others, but not willing to confess their love openly. Or is that strong emotion they’re feeling actually hate? There’s a fine line, it’s said.
I couldn’t take a break from this book. Even though some paragraphs shocked me, I still wanted more. To live voyeuristically through Rose’s eyes brought emotions my boring life has never known. Geez, that was fun!
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to Random House- Ballantine and NetGalley for making it available.)

I really enjoyed this novel! It unfolds like your typical domestic thriller, but at its core is a story about the complexities of female friendship. It is also a story about obsession and the blurred line that separates self-perception from reality. I found it fascinating and entertaining all at once.


Thank you to Net Galley, Kyle McCarthy and Random House/Ballantine Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This story of the rekindling of a once toxic female relationship provides plenty of obsession, backstabbing and lies. A good debut by author Kyle McCarthy.

An unclassifiable book, it seems like it can’t decide between being a pulpy thriller or a piece of modern literary fiction. It was a page-turner, and certainly had some interesting ideas and unique perspectives - plus the main character was fascinating but I think it will suffer from not having a clear idea of what the book wants to be.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙. 𝙏𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙩.

Friendships are built upon strange reasons, sometimes we see a mirror and click, other times we befriend what we wish to be, have and cannot attain. Female relationships in childhood undergo transformations once puberty hits, the uncomfortable teenager phase can be comfort, competition or outright poison. Friendship is sometimes hungry enough to consume everyone in it’s path and leave behind sharp edges that not even time can dull. Rose is meeting up with her former best friend Lacie, the girl she betrayed in high school, in turn exiling her from their friendship. The years have passed, but not without remnants from the past rift haunting them both. Rose, at thirty, is moving to New York to work for Ivy Prep as an SAT tutor for wealthy children of Manhattan, providing her the means to focus on her novel. Lacie is a graphic artist now, living in a beautiful apartment, swimming through life in her alluring, graceful mystery. How could Rose not push her way in, and jump at the chance to live with Lacie? It was a boy that came between them, the cause of a violent rendering but now a man, Ian, has brought them back together through happenstance.

It isn’t long before their old ways arise, the same dynamics. Lacie draws people into her orbit without guile and often without thought. Rose isn’t content to live in her shadow, yet she still cannot help but be just as enchanted as every single person who crosses her path. What better way to purge the envy then to burrow into your muses life? Insidiously, Rose writes about Lacie, fiction spilling into reality. Absorbing her energy through her things, wearing her clothes as if slipping into Lacie’s skin. But that isn’t all Rose is sliding into.

Rose’s writing may be real and raw, as others tell her, but nothing nearly as rancid as her envy. She is easy to vilify, her parasitic antics, her bitterness and the rage brewing inside of her. No one wants to be the person who is starved for affection, of course she would hunger for the illuminating beauty and energy Lacie oozes from every blessed pore, but is her anger misplaced? If Lacie is guilty of anything it’s her carelessness, obliviousness to the power her allure exudes. Intelligence is power too though, and this time Rose is going to steer her fate, steal some of the magic that makes Lacie’s life carefree. That she is brilliant at everything without effort both impresses and irritates Rose. Lacie’s wealth, her ease is a reminder of the imbalance, of Rose’s own struggles.

She may be sinking too deeply into Lacie’s life, cozying up to her friends, swooning over lovemaking she hears between Lacie and her man, and forgetting where she ends and Lacie begins. When Rose begins to channel her own power, it is Lacie’s boyfriend she tests it on. Full of deception, psychological desperation, mental instability, and caustic desires the friendship descends into darkness. If anything, it’s a lesson that we outgrow some people for a reason, that it is often wiser to leave some relationships in the past.

Both women are troubled, yes- even Lacie in her beauty that is a confection everyone wishes to taste. You can’t have this dynamic without both people participating. Blindness can be suspect too. There is a line that Rose thinks about Lacie amidst betraying her , “Her kindness was making me ill. I couldn’t take much more of it.” Hmmm, very telling! Rose and Lacie both need each other for different reasons, of course it is toxic. Why is Rose so bitter, so jealous from the start of Lacie, who seems to love her best friend and talk her up? I think, this is a stretch maybe, but it’s because everything others love about her seems so artless, and Rose has to work hard to be likable, has to be clever to be noticed. Sometimes words of the person rallying behind you can start to sound like condescension, even when it’s not. Truly, I don’t think Rose even knows what she is doing, the why of it. Writing isn’t even enough of an outlet for her rage, and no good ever comes of it. She is troubling to the very end, oh boy is that an understatement! I liked it because it stays dark and that is scary, the writing is wonderful, and the only justice in this story is the self-serving kind. A bitter pill, that Rose!

Publication Date: June 23, 2020

Ballantine Books

Friendships are built upon strange reasons, sometimes we see a mirror and click, other times we befriend what we wish to be, have and cannot attain. Female relationships in childhood undergo transformations once puberty hits, the uncomfortable teenager phase can be comfort, competition or outright poison. Friendship is sometimes hungry enough to consume everyone in it’s path and leave behind sharp edges that not even time can dull. Rose is meeting up with her former best friend Lacie, the girl she betrayed in high school, in turn exiling her from their friendship. The years have passed, but not without remnants from the past rift haunting them both. Rose, at thirty, is moving to New York to work for Ivy Prep as an SAT tutor for wealthy children of Manhattan, providing her the means to focus on her novel. Lacie is a graphic artist now, living in a beautiful apartment, swimming through life in her alluring, graceful mystery. How could Rose not push her way in, and jump at the chance to live with Lacie? It was a boy that came between them, the cause of a violent rendering but now a man, Ian, has brought them back together through happenstance.

It isn’t long before their old ways arise, the same dynamics. Lacie draws people into her orbit without guile and often without thought. Rose isn’t content to live in her shadow, yet she still cannot help but be just as enchanted as every single person who crosses her path. What better way to purge the envy then to burrow into your muses life? Insidiously, Rose writes about Lacie, fiction spilling into reality. Absorbing her energy through her things, wearing her clothes as if slipping into Lacie’s skin. But that isn’t all Rose is sliding into.

Rose’s writing may be real and raw, as others tell her, but nothing nearly as rancid as her envy. She is easy to vilify, her parasitic antics, her bitterness and the rage brewing inside of her. No one wants to be the person who is starved for affection, of course she would hunger for the illuminating beauty and energy Lacie oozes from every blessed pore, but is her anger misplaced? If Lacie is guilty of anything it’s her carelessness, obliviousness to the power her allure exudes. Intelligence is power too though, and this time Rose is going to steer her fate, steal some of the magic that makes Lacie’s life carefree. That she is brilliant at everything without effort both impresses and irritates Rose. Lacie’s wealth, her ease is a reminder of the imbalance, of Rose’s own struggles.

She may be sinking too deeply into Lacie’s life, cozying up to her friends, swooning over lovemaking she hears between Lacie and her man, and forgetting where she ends and Lacie begins. When Rose begins to channel her own power, it is Lacie’s boyfriend she tests it on. Full of deception, psychological desperation, mental instability, and caustic desires the friendship descends into darkness. If anything, it’s a lesson that we outgrow some people for a reason, that it is often wiser to leave some relationships in the past.

Both women are troubled, yes- even Lacie in her beauty that is a confection everyone wishes to taste. You can’t have this dynamic without both people participating. Blindness can be suspect too. There is a line that Rose thinks about Lacie amidst betraying her , “Her kindness was making me ill. I couldn’t take much more of it.” Hmmm, very telling! Rose and Lacie both need each other for different reasons, of course it is toxic. Why is Rose so bitter, so jealous from the start of Lacie, who seems to love her best friend and talk her up? I think, this is a stretch maybe, but it’s because everything others love about her seems so artless, and Rose has to work hard to be likable, has to be clever to be noticed. Sometimes words of the person rallying behind you can start to sound like condescension, even when it’s not. Truly, I don’t think Rose even knows what she is doing, the why of it. Writing isn’t even enough of an outlet for her rage, and no good ever comes of it. She is troubling to the very end, oh boy is that an understatement! I liked it because it stays dark and that is scary, the writing is wonderful, and the only justice in this story is the self-serving kind. A bitter pill, that Rose!

Publication Date: June 23, 2020

Ballantine Books

So this is a book about an obsessive need to be someone else. Normally, I would frown in these types of circumstances, but when it comes to book and the drama that ensures, I can't help myself. Everyone Knows How Much I Love You isn't quite a thriller (and I don't know if it's being marketed as one), but it absolutely has some aspects to it that are a bit thrilling...and certainly creepy.

Even though I was sort of able to predict where the story was going, the book is still enjoyable. There's plenty of "oh crap" moments, that fulfilled by drama quota. I've read a lot of these types of books within the last year, and I don't know if they are becoming a trend, but I'm here for it.

Everyone Knows How Much I Love You comes out 6.23.2020.

4/5 Stars

DNF at 23%. I had problems connecting with the characters. The writing was fine. I didn't care about the well-being of the characters so I thought it would be best to DNF.

I don't know how I feel about this book. I don't know how to rate it. I don't know how to review it.

What I do know, is that this book got under my skin. It made me feel dirty, it made me feel glum. It completely took over my mood.

Did I enjoy reading this? No. But I kept reading it because there was something obsessively intriguing about it. This book made me feel similar to Rooney's Normal People. I didn't like it, but I couldn't stop reading it.

And I think that's very similar to the actual story.

The main character doesn't like herself, doesn't like what she has become, but yet she cannot stop herself.

I don't know what this story is really about. Is it about friendship? Relationships? Becoming an adult? Loneliness? Obsession? Sexuality?

I honestly don't know. It's about all of those things, and yet none of those things.

I feel very weird after finishing this book.

The one thing I do know is the author is clearly a very talented, educated woman. I needed to rely on my Kindle's dictionary quite a bit while reading this one. The writing is highbrow and this story was written for an educated reader.

A big thank you to Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC and wanting my honest opinion!

Lacie and Rose have a complicated relationship. They were once best friends, but that all changed their junior year in high school. Probably the only way they could have reunited is in a new place, in the city, where a shared history meant more than a betrayal.
They dynamic between the two of them is so strange. They are jealous of each other one minute, practically in love another and indifferent at times. And I have to say that it really mimics a true-life love/hate relationship that is possible in our twenties, during that time when we are still figuring out who we are. It’s messy. And real.
As the book progresses, we learn more about Rose and Lacie. We learn what motivates them, what they admire, what they are good at, what they love and what they covet. And it gets ugly. And the betrayal goes deeper. And it becomes clear that maybe, people never really change.
I really enjoyed Everyone Knows How Much I Love You. It’s literary fiction, the best kind, with a dash of melodrama and a pinch of thriller. Special thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out June 23.

I'm a sucker for stories about dysfunctional friendships or families. We follow Rose who moves to New York and runs into her old best friend whom she hasn't spoken to since high school when they had a falling out. They decide to become roomates and find them selves in familiar territory with the past becoming the present.

I found the writing fantastic and felt it had a dark, dirty underlying current to it but it never took that deeper dive that I was hoping for. This is such a hard one to rate because the writing is exactly the kind of writing I am constantly looking for in psychological thrillers. So many now a days tend to have lack luster writing but exciting fun plots that keep me reading. This one had that dark fantastic writing but just fell a bit flat. I'm all for unlikable characters but didn't find myself caring for either character and felt untethered overall. I did enjoy the inner dialogue of Rose and all of her self esteem issues and the reality of the difference between what others see and what really goes on inside their head. The writing was enough to win me over to definately check out future works of this author.

*Thank you NetGalley, Ballantine publisher, and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really wanted to love this book. I did - I even got a wish granted via NetGalley and Ballantine but it just never grabbed my attention. As much as tried, I had to DNF around the 40% mark.

"Why does this book need to be written?" is a question Rose's agent asked in Everyone Knows How Much I Love You and I feel like that's a perfectly honest question one could ask about this book as well.

It just wasn't for me. Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for the chance to experience this book. I hope the next one works out better for me :)

I have to say I am really over the unreliable female narrator. I hated The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl. Neither of the protagonists in this book were people I cared about, which is an essential element for any book. If you don't like the characters, you cannot like the book. I am probably the only reviewer who will say this, but...sorry, not my cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC of Everyone Knows How Much I Love You. One part old high school friendships, one part Single White Female, Not everyone would enjoy reading about Rose and Lacie, friends with a past that would make one question why they were ever friends at all. Rose seems to be obsessed with Lacie, who is prettier, wealthier and more talented than she is. Their friendship in high school ends when Rose attempts to take Lacie's boyfriend, and then intentionally wrecks her car and injures Lacie's boyfriend. Fast-forward 10 years and Lacie is living in NYC, with her own apartment and some success. She has a boyfriend, nice clothes and a full life. Rose is still struggling and decides to attempt to befriend the estranged Lacie. She moves to NYC, with no plan, nowhere to live, no money. She worms her way back into Lacie's life and eventually becomes her roommate. History repeats itself - Rose becomes obsessed with Lacie and her life. She begins writing a book about her experiences with Lacie, unbeknownst to Lacie. I enjoyed the story, even though Rose is very difficult to like, which is the point. Kyle McCarthy does an effective job of making the characters just unlikable enough to be convincing. A sense of dread prevails, even when the reader knows the situation between Rose and Lacie is going to spiral downward.