I was intrigued to read this book based on the story, the locale, the era, and the author. It was a good read but slightly wordy. The cast of characters were a little difficult for me to keep straight and I felt some of the minor characters ended up being loose ends because of how the story wrapped up.

This was a good page turner and I would
read another mystery thriller by this author.

Thank you to both Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

No? This book is awful? I love the author’s The Winner Trilogy series. LOVE. This, however, is not great at all.

First off, this is written in third-person present. A chore. A bore to read. So, unfortunately the e-arc didn’t work for me. I tried the audiobook instead.

The audiobook narrator is great. She’s a new-to-me narrator and I have no complaints about the audio narration of this book.

The story though? That’s a problem. This book has roughly 14 different POVs. This is 100% unnecessary. I can barely handle 4 different POVs on a good day. From the tense and the numerous POVs, this reminds me of Beartown. The story, however, is just not fun. The main character, Samantha, is the only likable one since we’re in her head for the first 10% of the book before it starts switching between the others.

There is murder and kidnapping, and this book is just DEPRESSING. Who are we rooting for here? It misses the mark as a murder mystery because of the revolving cast of characters. Is this supposed to be lit fic because that’s really not my thing as all. As a thriller, there’s really nothing thrilling or likable about anything that’s happening. The one person you like is how she’s kidnapped, raped, and ultimately killed. I just don’t understand the point of this book. I looked ahead to see what happens and there’s really no reason for me to root for any characters at all, or have any reason to actually finish the book.

Content notes for what I read so far includes transmisia, homomisia, violence, rape, murder, death, character being drugged, domestic abuse, mentions of a character’s mother with dementia, and racism.

This book was very well done. I am typically not a fan of stories that have multiple points of view. This story has MANY points of view but it all flows together seamlessly, which is no easy feat! There are beautifully descriptive lines reminiscent of prose but it’s never wordy or awkward.

I would love to read more about the detectives, perhaps in future novels? Give this book a shot if you like mystery/crime novels. I enjoyed it

3.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Real Easy probably takes place in one of the most unfamiliar environments I have read in a thriller. Though I enjoyed reading from Samantha and Georgia's POVs and learning about Detective Holly, I didn't find that I really connected with any of the characters, and at time I just wanted things to be a bit faster paced. I felt like at times the book was bogged down by the other not as essential POVs.

Even though I didn't mind the mystery I can't say I was very intrigued and at times it felt like a process of elimination. Overall, though I was compelled by one MC's relationship with her adopted daughter, I don't think that much of this book will stick with me and unfortunately it felt very middle of the road.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The characters were gritty and real. The multiple POVs were engaging. I didn't love how chaotic the writing felt when characters had flashbacks mid paragraph and the timeline felt all over the place, but other than that, it was a wonderful read!

I’m usually SOOOOO good at guessing who the killer is, but this book had me changing my guess every chapter until I finally just gave up guessing and just purely enjoyed letting the story unfold. And wow - when it did 👏👏👏👏

This book took a whole new spin on multiple perspectives. Almost every character mentioned had a back story/perspective and the way the author blended everything into such a compelling story was impressive.
I’m definitely recommending this book to any thriller/murder-mystery readers.

The only reason I can’t write a longer review is because I’m CERTAIN that I’ll just spoil it for those who have yet to read it 😅🙈

Cycling through many perspectives, Real Easy is a mystery/thriller that walks us through the disappearance and deaths of women working at a strip club. The story is pieced together through these perspectives, giving us a bit of their lives both through their jobs and personal lives. With a killer on the loose, and two girls missing, the women have a right to be nervous. They don’t know if they might be next. Told in a sometimes gruesome fashion, Rutkoski unwinds the mystery through creative storytelling.

I am a fan of alternating perspectives; it’s a smart way to tell a story. With Real Easy, sometimes there were a bit too many perspectives. I read in another review that they counted 14, and that feels right. Sometimes, it made it hard to keep track of whom we were following with that many voices. That evened out the more you read, and we got more into the grittier part of the story. I appreciated that the women were flawed and real. Georgia’s loneliness leaped off the page. There was a lot of unraveling that kept the reader engaged. I enjoyed this one. Thank you, Henry Holt and Co., for sending this along!

This was not what I was expecting. I try to go into thrillers pretty blind. The less I know the better.

This takes place in Illinois, near Chicago, in a strip club. Told from many pov’s I did get a little confused with all the characters. The strippers have stage names but the chapter titles are their really names with their club name below. It took me a bit to keep them all straight plus all the other characters.

Two dancers go missing and a troubled detective Holly and her partner are in charge of the investigation. This was not a page turner for me. It was more of a slow burn and character study. It was well plotted but it could have moved a little faster.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a early copy in exchange for an honest opinion.
3.5⭐️

Rutkowski's murder mystery set in a strip club was a delightful throw back to a typical whodunit. There are a couple suspects from the start, but none of the major twists and turns that many of the current mysteries and thrillers focus on it. Rather than focusing on the twists and turns, Rutkowski allows us to get to know quite a few characters (the victim, her coworkers, multiple suspects, two detectives) very well by allowing us to work through the story from various points of view. I loved that every woman who worked in the club had their own distinct personality and didn't become a stereotype. A beautifully written, slow thriller with great character development set in an interesting, but not sensationalized setting.

Samantha aka "Ruby" dances to make a living three nights a week and is one of the most successful girls at her club, the Lovely Lady. When she feels sorry for the new girl who's struggling and gives her a ride home one night, that decision proves deadly - and now its up to a couple of damaged police detectives and a fellow dancer to figure out what happened to Samantha and "Lady Jade" on that country back road before more dancers fall victim to a psychopath.

This book was so atmospheric I felt like I was walking into a strip club every time I picked up the book. I could practically smell the smoke and feel the sweat the gutter on my skin. I really felt like I was right there in the middle of all of it. I love that. It also made you realize the struggles that the girls go through as they navigate the politics of the club and the outside world, which complicated the case as well as their lives - there really wasn't anyone they could trust to go to with their concerns and issues.

Georgia was a great character to build the story on as she was sympathetic and very smart. She wasn't someone who just bumbled along and made you frustrated with her meddling in the investigation - she actually seemed to know what she was doing as she worked with the detectives and understood that she was in danger if she helped, so she wasn't overly enthusiastic like some characters can get.

The solution was really good. I did not see it coming, and I thought it was really clever. There were enough solutions out there that it kept you guessing until the very end, which kept me interested.

This was a great mystery/thriller and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's a perfect escapist read for fans of the genre!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This was not good. I feel bad posted a negative review but the writing was horrible. There are also way too many POV's. If this had been better edited and and centered on a few main characters, I believe the concept could have been better executed.

A compelling premise that was unfortunately hindered by too many points of view. For me, the strength of this book was the description of the operations of the strip club as well as the relationships among the community of dancers who work there. The author introduced several characters from law enforcement which diluted the story and slowed the pace.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW This book was a cant put down thriller with an insane plot. This story takes place in Chicago in a strip club called the Lovely Lady. There is a new dancer names Lady Jade who needs a ride home, and Samantha the star dancer offers to take her home. The next day, Samantha is reported missing and Lady Jade is found murdered. This book follows the POV of the other dancers, detectives and victims families which gives you an incredibly look into how this event is effecting everyone and allows you to slowly start to put the story together, but the evidence really pointed to everyone. This was such a good thriller!

I got approved for this ebook unexpectedly after reviewing the audiobook back in January! My main problem with the audiobook was that all the characters are voiced by the same (excellent!) narrator and there are many many different perspectives. I… unfortunately had the same problem with the ebook. Also I found myself uninterested in some characters’ perspectives and started skipping their chapters. It reminded me of reading My Sister’s Keeper as a Youth and I always skipped the dad’s chapters because I thought he was annoying. (And I was right!) Unfortunately, this brought down the review to three stars. But also an intersex perspective! I just think there should have been more intersex perspective and less everything else. I’m not biased at all.

Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co for allowing me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really liked Marie Rutkoski's The Winner's Curse Trilogy, I haven't read the extended duology to this world and was intrigued to find out more about her new adult book Real Easy. The remise sounded interesting and I do love murder mysteries in either the Adult or YA genre.

This was a bit of a miss for me.

There were too many POVs to follow, which is sometimes okay but I felt drawn out of the story/plot each time I had to wrap my head around a new person's thoughts. The summary for this book caught my eye but I tended to drift off and put the book down multiple times during the read.

2 stars

Gritty, thrilling, and at times tender, Real Easy was a great book that I ripped through in one day! The setting of a 90s strip club and its cast of characters was unfamiliar to me, but provided an interesting look behind the curtain of a whole new world.

This story is told through several points of view which was not only a fantastic way to move the narrative along, it brilliantly set up several red herrings along they way and consistently had me questioning character's motivations. However, this led to a lot of characters - many with a given name as well as a stage name so it could be a tad overwhelming if you take your time with the book. Marie Rotkoski does an excellent job with character development so once you get a few chapters in, you can vividly picture each individual and understand their POV.

The story is very good and I will definitely be recommending Real Easy to my friends and colleagues - but there is a good chance I will never look at a Mason jar the same ever again.

Thank you #NetGalley, #HenryHoltBooks, #MarieRotkoSki for this ARC! #RealEasy

This novel reminded me of Ivy Pochoda's fantastic THESE WOMEN. Happily, Rutkoski's REAL EASY has some of the same brilliance. Told in the kaleidoscopic voices of a wide cast of characters, the story centers around three unforgettable women: Samantha (Ruby) a stripper who goes missing from her club, Georgia (Gigi) a fellow stripper who becomes entranced in finding out what happened, and Holly, the lead detective working the case. The writing is beautifully rendered, the characters as real as the air we breathe, and the strip club setting painted with a brush that shows all of its stark and raw beauty and heartbreak. Rutkoski has managed to build a strong mystery with a beating heart that will jolt at times, pitter at other times, and come close to stopping but, like hope itself, never quite completely move into stillness. This is an example of what a writer can do when she infuses a thrilling story with some soul. Very much recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for the galley copy.

When I first started reading this novel, I was a little disappointed, as it seemed like it was focused on the the dancers and their lives. However, it quickly turned around to an engaging mystery/police procedural with strong female characters in leading roles. The lives of the dancers, however, continued to be a central piece of the story, allowing one to actually understand a bit more and to empathsize with these characters.



Overall, a fresh, engaing read. Recommended.

I really wanted to love this one. A murder mystery revolving around a strip club in the '90s? I mean, come on! I was sold. But, this book just didn't do it for me.

The alternating POV's were intriguing, but only in theory and not in practice. There were WAY too many characters to keep track of, and I wound up becoming frustrated with this book. Many character introductions were frivolous and contributed nothing to the plot.

I also found this to be too much of a slow burn. This was partly because of the large cast of characters, some of whom were entirely irrelevant. Some of the chapters kind of dragged, too, and could have been much shorter.

What I did like was the LGBTQIA+ representation! Without giving too much away, I appreciate how the author introduced characters who fell under this umbrella in ways I have not previously read!

All in all, this was a disappointment for me. I just feel very "meh" about it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Marie Rutkoski for providing me with a copy of Real Easy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! This was such a good read. It is so very rare anymore to see such great character development. All characters were represented really well and had so much depth you couldn't help but get sucked in.

The story centers around two missing women from a local strip club. We then alternate POV's from basically everyone, which could be daunting at first but once you got into the novel it worked so well. The first chapter started backstage at a strip club from Samantha's point of view but there were so many characters I got lost….it was hard to decipher who was who and real names versus stage names. However, once it got going it was easy to put that behind me and just follow what was going on. As I've said multiple POV's…like a TON…..but it worked so well. It wasn't the usual Person A chapter to Person B to Person A again….it was EVERYONE. Which really worked so well.

This wouldn't be my typical read but has to be one of the best ones I read recently. The mystery in my mind was in the back burner, it was more the characters that made this book really work for me.

On another note: the nostalgia again hit me. Second book in a row set in 90's!!!! Ditto Machine(as a kid I always sniffed the paper- yes I'm weird)…Tamagotchi and vision viewer!!!

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Henry Holt & Company for my copy