Three 15 year old boys all friends since they were toddlers, and now summer lifeguards come across the body of a young woman in the "Greenway" a wooded space with trails and lakes close to their community. Freaked out by their discovery, each of the boys has a reason to lie about what happened when they discovered the body. Take three mothers, who would do anything to protect their boys on any account, add their own secrets which need protecting and the mystery and suspense is ready for readers to unravel. Did any of the boys know the young woman before she died? How did she die? To what lengths will a mother go to protect her child and their lifestyle? Author Ward takes what could have been just another "woman's novel" about life in a privileged suburb of Austin, Texas and turns it on it's ear as we discover what goes on behind the closed doors of each of the boy's homes and who is willing to do anything to protect their child.

Interesting read with intriguing twists. I wasn't expecting to be as engrossed in this as I was. I kept wanting to go back to it after putting it down! This is sure to be a hit.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book for my honest opinion of this book.

I was super excited for this book when I got it, however I was very disappointed in it. The story is about three friends in a rich area of Austin, Texas. While I read nothing of their stories seemed to connect. Nothing mad sense I found my self bored and not caring about the ending.

I don’t know what to say. This books characters are deplorable, specifically the mothers of this book. From the start, Liza drove me CRAZY. I also don’t understand the title…the book is all about the mothers but titled after the kids? This book reminded me of Megan Miranda’s, Such A Quiet Place but was executed horribly compared to hers. It did not deliver the punch like her book did. I wish I could love this book and thought it was something out of my comfort zone but I wish I DNFed it.

Thank you Net Galley for my honest review of this book.

I'm disappointed to say that I usually LOVE Amanda Eyre Ward's novels. But this was my least favorite. It pains me to say. The plot had potential for sure, but it was just. So. Wordy. Like, bad.

Regardless, thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with a copy of the e-ARC in exchange for honest review

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! I enjoyed this book. Found the characters likable. But felt like it took too long to get to the thriller side and I still have some unanswered questions.

The Lifeguards is a twisty suspense novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Three high school boys find a dead woman's body near a high end Austin neighborhood. Who was this woman? Were the boys involved? How far will their moms go to protect their kids?

This story kept me on the edge of my seat and the neighborhood antics made me laugh out loud. In my opinion, there were too many loose threads that weren't tied up to bump this up another star. I also wish we had gotten more in depth on some of the characters like the boys and Lucy. I could have used more character development there. The end gets a little far fetched, but I could roll with that if it tied up more of the storylines. The plot is good and there is so much potential, but it didn't quite hit the 4 or 5 star mark for me.

An overall very meh book. The plot sounds a lot more exciting than it actually is. I just don’t think this author is for me, but that’s okay.

Regardless, thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with a copy of the e-ARC in exchange for honest review.

This book was charming and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The twist at the end was great and unexpected, and all of the subplots were well thought out. Would recommend!

4 stars for THE LIFEGUARDS by Amanda Eyre Ward, out wherever books are sold April 5th, 2022.

If a Megan Miranda book and an Elin Hilderbrand book had a baby, I think this would be it.

How far will a mother go to protect her child? THE LIFEGUARDS follows three women that live in a picture perfect Austin, Texas neighborhood. There's Liza who ran from home and isn't as well off as the others but will do anything to fit in. There's Whitney, the hot-shot realtor and queen bee. Then, there's Annette, the undocumented woman who is becoming a US citizen and finding herself. They each have a son and they're all best friends, but when the boys come running back from the Green Belt one summer night with a big secret, each of their worlds are threatened. Mama drama ensues with a mystery that will keep you on your toes with it's twists and turns..

Having felt a little lukewarm about Amanda Eyre Ward's THE JETSETTERS, I wasn't sure what to expect with THE LIFEGUARDS but I gobbled it up and enjoyed it thoroughly. I can't wait to see what she does next.

I look forward to sharing this title with our audience and will keep it as a potential contender for a monthly pick for our community.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was good but it was sort of a slow burn. It did keep you guessing though up until the end.

I loved this multiple POV story that really gives desperate housewives vibes. Four women met when their children's were younger at swim lessons and over 15 years later they are still close and their children are bestfriends! The sons got jobs as lifeguards and one day they discover a dead body. This book then follows the four mothers and we get to hear a lot of secrets and mistakes made. The ending was a little frustrating and it puts the interpreting up to the reader.

I’ve read her books for nearly 20 years and was disappointed by this one. I think mystery/thrillers are probably more profitable and marketable than general Fiction about women but I don’t think this is her strength. The timeline was unnecessarily confusing due to the events in the book taking place in about the span of a week. I don’t know why it couldn’t have been told chronologically. There were so many points of view and subplots involving long lost fathers, addiction, racism, suburban sprawl and citizenship that are never fully explored. The mystery aspect seems forced in. I did like the subplot of what do you do if you think your child is a sociopath and can’t change but that, along with all of the other drama could have been it’s own book. We got a buffet of stories but nothing filling.

I could not put this book down. The suspense. The all encompassing story. As the story progresses you find you're not sure who to trust anymore and everyone has a secret, though some are much more explosive than others.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This one kept me on my toes up until the very end. We follow three teenage boys and their mothers, a bond so strong. The boys are lifeguards for the summer and the mothers bond as strong as ever continues on with "dog" walks aka wine nights and gossip. When one late night the boys arrive at wine night scared and alarmed stating they found a dead body. The moms are shocked, Whitney takes the lead, grabs her husband and calls lawyers and advises all the boys and moms to stay quiet. We then follow each day prior, the day of and after from each mom/son's perspective. Each protecting their own son as well as private secrets they fear may come out as a result of this investigation. Each person has their own story to tell...yet we don't learn the final stories until the very end.

This was book was the perfect read when I am missing the summer time like crazy! It's cute and quick. A solid 4 stars.

This was such a captivating read y'all! First it was about a variety of relationships. First, there were three moms who had been friends since they were all pregnant together. Then, there were their sons who had begun friendships by default. And then, the body of a woman is found. The mothers are now in protective mode as they figure out what happened and how the boys were involved - or weren't. The boys reveal how they have a connection to this body - or don't. This is a book full of choices, of lies and half-truths, and of so much testing of relationships. It was a thriller that kept me turning the pages AND it was also some really great character and relationships development. This is another must read thriller for 2022!

I loved the new novel by Amanda Eyre Ward!! The Lifeguards follows three women and their incredible strength and bond as they raise their teenagers in Barton Springs, Austin Texas. But when their three boys, the "three musketeers," find a woman dead on the greenbelt, secrets and lives begin to crack.
This book is almost impossible to put down. Enjoy!

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this book.

I had heard so many good things about this book. When I received a free ARC in return for an unbiased review, I was really excited. I set aside time on evening to dive in. I got all comfy with my blanket and my wine, and settled in... and then.....nothing...

This was a really SLOW start. Plus, the book is told from differing points of view, which I normally love. But in this case, because I really could not connect with the characters, I couldn't remember who was who, which just confused me. Instead of thinking "Oh I understand her point of view, and that's interesting" or instead of rooting for one character over the other I found myself going "wait, which one is this?".

The book did pick up in the second half and the last quarter of it was actually really good. But it took way too long to get there.

The story itself was interesting. It made you think about how far you would go to protect your child or someone you loved. However, it was a THINKING book not a FEELING book if that makes sense.

If you are like me, and need to feel the character connection, I dont think you will like it any better than I did. However, if you are that person that loves books for the story, or the appreciation of the words or plot,and do not need that connection, then pick this one up by all means.

If wasn't a bad book, just not my cup of tea.

I should start by saying The Jetsetters was a DNF for me and that I was drawn in by the cover of this book.

Great, now that I got that out of the way, I must say I found this book intriguing. It’s a slow start which for me matched the slow pace of suburban life in the midst of summer heat.

The story follows the friendship of three moms Whitney, Annette, and Liza who are bonded by their sons who are the same age. This year their boys are all becoming lifeguards and their mom’s summers are relatively free of kid duties.

The book really delves into what it means to protect those you love and the lengths to which someone will go to keep their own safe.

My struggle with this book was how superficial some of the characters were and how little they really thought of one another. Would I recommend this book to a friend? Maybe. I would happily tell them by 75% I wanted to know what happened. I didn’t find it thrilling or captivating. I did find the intricacies alluring and wanted to figure out how things went so wrong.