It was an ok book. I think maybe if I was a mother I might like it more. It is a good beach read. Love the cover though.

Great domestic thriller -- I will be able to easily recommend this one to the many, many Liane Moriarty and Lisa Jewell fans out there. Three moms in a pricey neighborhood in Austin Texas, two of whom can afford it and one who can not (and who has tons of secrets as it turns out) -- their sons, all teenagers, all lifeguards at the local pool -- and an inexplicable crime that the boys were at the scene of. What happened? This question circles the story as the moms' backstories unwind. Some great class conflict and a psychopath you don't really see coming, make the pages turn right up through the last bit. The ending was a little pat and not believably so, but it was happy, which is what 99% of my readers are looking for -- so like I said, I will be able to pass this one out to many people and will buy multiple copies. Thank you!

First, so different from the author's last book.
The story is a slow-go for much of the first half, but then takes off and is a nonstop wild ride, along with short chapters which keep the plot moving!
Lots of additional underlying layers including themes of motherhood, friendship, origins & authenticity.
With great thanks to NetGalley & Random House for this ARC!

The Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre Ward might make you think of a light summer read, but this is a murder mystery and the story of a tight knit group of young boys and their first summer as lifeguards and their equally tight knit mothers who will do anything to protect them! Whitney, Annette and Liza became fast friends and have raised their boys together for the past 15 years. They loved each other and would do anything for each other...until they won't. Best friends who have spent endless days and nights together, each with secrets that they've kept from the group. All is at risk of being exposed the night a young girl is found dead in their peaceful community. Humor and intrigue kept me entertained in this fast-paced book. The ending, though, had too many loose ends. Upon further research, I'm learning the final publication may have a different ending, so I'm anxious for that because I'm sure that would only make me like this book more than I already do!
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advance copy for my honest review.

Set in Austin, The Lifeguards centers around 3 moms and their children who are faced with a tragic event that rocks their world. It gave my Little Fires Everywhere vibes.

There is a lot to navigate with this one as a reader--3 main POVs, plus some chapters from the detective running the investigation and interludes from The Lifeguards themselves at key moments that precede the book's beginning, timeline-wise. The are multiple kids involved, one goes by two names, which adds to it! It just took me a bit to get my bearings and keep everyone's storylines straight. I did appreciate the short chapters, author Amanda Eyre Ward definitely keeps the story moving.

I enjoyed the descriptive and immersive setting--from the homes to the parties to the neighborhoods. There were fun little snippets of Moms groups, newspaper clipping or text exchanges throughout that I felt added to my enjoyment of the book.

To me, the ending felt rushed and I was left with a few questions that I won't get into here to keep this review spoiler-free. I do think this would make a good book club pick because there is SO much to discuss!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advanced copy and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A book of love, friendships, longing to fit in and betrayal. I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me that no matter how old we are, we always want to find our people, our home and the place where we fit in. It also reminded me that in the end, when times are the absolute darkest, that is when we find out how we can trust. This book had complicated characters with multiple motives. When a murder shocks the sleepy neighborhood, can you figure out who was behind it?

I loved the first 75% of this book. While the timeline felt a little disjointed and I wasn’t entirely sure why we needed to get the detective’s POV, I found the story incredibly engaging, with tons of little clues that I thought would lead up to a crazy big reveal. However, the ending seemed like the author just threw the conclusion together, leaving way too many loose ends and ultimately leaving me feeling unsatisfied. The story felt nearly there, but just needed a bit more polishing and editing. Honestly, the bulk of this novel is SO good that it pains me not to be giving a rave review, but the ending just had too many plot holes to give this over 3 stars. I’d still recommend this as a quick and bingeable beach read (although don’t let the bright cover fool you; this is not a happy book!), but just be aware that you may finish it with this look on your face ➡️🤨.

I was so excited to receive a copy of this book to review and I really wanted to love it but it just fell flat to me. I didn't really care about the characters and found them to be not believable as people in real life. It was a really slow start I think due to the extensive background upfront about each of the moms. I have read books with a similar plot line and enjoyed them much better. It was well written but just fell a little flat to me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book starts out following Liza, Annette, and Whitney became fast friends when they attended a prenatal class together. We follow multiple POV's, Liza, Annette, Whitney, Xavier, Bobcat, Charlie and Salvatore in their cozy Barton Hills community. We start off with the boys racing home to tell their mothers that they found a body on the Greenbelt. Now all the adults rally together to save their boys.

Liza came from nothing and did whatever possible to try to blend in and seem like she fits in her community of rich families. She works so hard to keep up this façade at the expense of her son, Charlie’s, feelings. She comes across incredibly selfish. I felt so bad for Charlie. He tried so hard for his mom to listen, and she just brushed him off.
Whitney and her husband Jules (“The Lion”) are a semi-famous Real Estate power couple. Whitney had a rough upbringing. She’s the mother of twins Xavier and Roma. She bought the house Liza lives in and became her landlord and has a savior complex
Annette was a basketball star in college and caught the eye of Louis. Annette eventually married Louis and they had a son Robert (Bobcat). Annette feels like she’s going through the motions of life, while Louis is trying everything to make his son a “man.”
Salvatore is a detective that lost his wife. He’s trying his best to raise his kids while doing what he can as a detective.

This book gave me Big Little Lies vibes. It’s a murder mystery that hooks you from the first page. Secrets unfold as the story plays out and you realize how little everyone knows each other. I didn’t really care for the ending. I wanted to know what came of Whitney, Jules, Roma, and Louis (especially since Whitney was a main POV). It would have been nice to have a full wrap up.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

Great book, very interesting indeed.

SYNOPSIS:
Three women Liza, Annette, and Whitney became the best of friends when they were pregnant with their sons. Now the boys, 15 years old are lifeguards for the summer in their affluent Austin Community. When one night the boys rush home to tell their mothers some very bad news. Now all their lives hang in the valance as these families try to come together to protect their boys, but ultimately will do anything to save themselves.
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THE GOOD:
I could not put this book down! I loved The Jetsetter, and quickly fell in love with this authors style of writing. Fans of Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies will enjoy this one. It’s Told from 3 POVs which I really enjoyed. As the story starts to unfold you learn everyone has a secret, and a mother will stop at nothing to protect their child. You think these women are like sisters, but all their little secrets start to spill out, and they are left questioning how well they really know one another.
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THE BAD:
The ending. I can’t say too much because I don’t want to spoil anything, but it was a let down. There was a lot that was left unsaid. The development for Whitney’s daughter Roma completely fell flat, as did Whitney’s character. I felt stunned and re read a few pages to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Sadly I didn’t. I think we needed a little more closure with these two characters. Im always open to books that don’t wrap everything up in a bow, but this left too much on the table.
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All in all I enjoyed the whole story. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for letting me read this one early in exchange for an honest review.

The lifeguards was thrilling to read. I was riveted to find out what happens. I did not want to put the book down that is how good a read it was. I read it in a few days and would recommend this to all my followers and friends.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I've enjoyed Ward's books in the past and this book is no exception, don't let the 3 star rating discourage you. The writing is very sharp and character development is strong, but too many unanswered questions was the reason my rating wasn't rounded up to 4 stars.

The Lifeguards cover looks like a fun cheerful summer book but it's deceptive. Part murder mystery, part friendship test, we meet Liza, Annette and Whitney, bonded by their motherhood and raising their sons together who become best friends and lifeguards the summer they're 15 in Austin, Texas. Except the body of a young woman is found and the three friends may have an idea of who the girl is...and tried to save her.

The book moves back and forth in the days after and preceding the first day of summer, which forces the reader to piece together clues about what happened. My advice is just to read and not to analyze too much. The 4th character highlighted is Salvatore Ravello, an Austin police detective who is raising 2 kids after losing his wife to cancer. He also has a connection to one of the women.

While the book ends on a happy note, there's far too many unanswered questions that really need some closure. I did like this book as Liza was a sympathetic likeable character as was Annette. For Whitney I may have had sympathy for her until the end.

TW for opioid drug addiction.
3.4/5☆

The Lifeguards by Amanda Ward is a multi-layered psychological thriller featuring protective mom's, secretive teens, hidden pasts, and a suspicious drug-related drowning. Amanda does an amazing job of weaving the plot together without revealing the ending gradually increasing the 'tension and hope that the perpetrators of all the wrong doings will be caught and punished and the innocents will remain. Great read.

A lovely book all about family, friendship, and loyalty, with some mystery too. I fully expected this to be drama and was pleasantly surprised to find it was more of a light mystery than anything else. I completely devoured The Lifeguards and couldn't put it down. I felt like I was immersed in Liza, Annette, and Whitney's group of friends and was sitting with them, drinking margaritas, and listening to their lives.

I've read a lot of reviews that people felt they couldn't connect with the characters or found them a bit annoying, but I felt the complete opposite. I thought each of the main women had completely different personalities and I liked that the story got into their own personal backgrounds. I wish there was a bit more on Whitney's story, especially the ballerina aspect.

I feel like I know what happened at the end, but I felt like it wasn't fully explained and you were left to come to your own conclusion. When I finish a book, I don't want to be left with any questions (unless it's a series of course!)

Otherwise, The Lifeguards was a fun read and certainly one to add to your spring reading list.
4/5 stars

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The cover to the books looks like a fun, summer book but there is some more to it than just that. We follow three moms, Whitney, Annette, and Liza, who are close friends and raising their teenage sons together. The summer, the three boys are working as lifeguards.

What should have been an idyllic summer becomes disastrous when the teenage boys find the dead body of a young women.

Overall, I enjoyed this book.

Charlie, Xavier and Bobcat are the Three Musketeers of Barton Hallow Austin, Tx. It is summer and they are lifeguards, one night they find a dead body and the course of the summer has changed, what happened to Lucy? This book examines the friendships of the three boys and the boys mothers. Loved the character building and relationships. Murder kept me intrigued to know what happened.

This book didn’t live up to its potential. It’s called “The Lifeguards” and centers around a a mistake they’ve made, but it focuses on their moms more than anything. This made it hard for me to connect with the characters. I wanted more suspense and thriller and just kept getting left with more of their domestic lives. Even the climax was a letdown. On top of that, there were so many plot lines that seemed to be forgotten, leaving me with so many unanswered questions. I wanted to love this book but it just wasn’t it for me.

This review is currently available on Instagram @kyreadthat.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had been in a reading slump until started reading The Lifeguards. A story of friendship between three women and their sons who appear to be living picture perfect lives. The bond of friendship will be tested when one night their sons come home saying they discovered a body. I was hooked from the beginning wanting to know what happened the night three friends discover a body. With the story unfolding through the viewpoint of each mother we come to understand each mother and their relationship with the others in their group.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub: 4/5/22



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This book was just ok for me. There was nothing memorable about it. I didn’t connect with the characters. It was told in three POV’s. I’m normally not a huge fan of multiple POV’s but I didn’t mind it very much. The ending saved it from being a two star read.

Whitney, Annette, and Liz give the mama bear instinct a new meaning. Best friends for fifteen years, they even raised their kids together. They have this idea that they can shelter their children from a chaotic and dangerous world. These mothers believe their boys are still sweet little angels that could do no wrong. They are about to be surprised.

One evening in the summer, the moms are hanging out trading stories and drinking while their sons. Each of their sons have secured a job lifeguarding for the summer. On this particular evening the boys are pedaling home on their bikes from a local swimming hole. They share a secret that will shatter their lives and their mother’s perfect images of them forever.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.