If you are a parent of a teenager, THE LIFEGUARDS will make you shudder. The parents in this book make you want to scream "Listen to your children!" even as you recognize some of your own avoidance techniques and sympathize with the parents' stress, exhaustion, and the desire to make a perfect life for their kids. Ugh. But Ward's prose is pitch-perfect - describing the richey-richness of New Austin and our constant fears and worries about who we are, how we are perceived, and most importantly, how we raise our children. Really great, engrossing read.

The Lifeguards is the story of motherhood, friendship, deceit and murder. set in Austin, Texas. Three best friend mothers, three teenage sons and a teen daughter mingle through this story, which goes back in forth in time as this murder mystery unfolds. The story was compelling, and the ending was surprising.

I enjoyed reading this story, but was confused from time to time, and had to reread certain parts to make the ending make sense. The details got a little complicated. I might have developed more about the events surrounding the murder, as the book ended more abruptly than I expected.

This will be a nice option for summer book clubs looking to change up from a summer thriller or rom/com since it is more of a character driven examination of female friendship, mothers/sons and a mystery about a dead body. I found the development of the characters to have nice depth and the resolution of the mystery to be worthy of discussion as it was a complex idea, one that did leave me thinking about how parents and children relate to each other and decisions parents make. I appreciated the complexity of that part of the plot.

I found some aspects of the book to be a bit hard to engage with. I like books that have more dialogue than this book did, that is my preference, and I found some of the intensity of the mother/son relationships and aspects of the sons' behaviors and development to just not reflect typical of adolescent behaviors. I also found the resolution of the book to be rather dark, which I did not mind as the themes of the book were at times dark and filled with secrets in relationships, and I would have liked perhaps more examination of that part of the plot, again a personal preference versus the quality of the book.

Probably 3 1/2 stars for me. Three teenagers have grown up together in a wealthy area of Texas, and their mothers have become good friends. One evening the boys, all lifeguards, are late arriving home, leaving their mothers worried. Something bad happened at the greenbelt where the boys have spent a lot of their free time their whole lives, and each mother wonders whether any of the boys were involved. While the story was good, a few things bothered me. I know the families were meant to be outrageously wealthy, but I got tired of reading about it - ridiculous parties, bunkers built underground in case of disaster, over-the-top homes. Also, I didn't really like any of the characters - while I don't normally need to like every character in a book, I usually need to like at least one. Finally, there were a few unresolved issues, and after all the buildup, the ending was too abrupt. Thank-you to Netgalley, Ballantine Books, and Ms. Ward for the ARC of this title.

A huge thank you to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this excellent mystery novel telling the story of suburban mothers becoming embroiled in their sons’ secrets. An excellent and insightful novel telling the story of modern motherhood.

The Lifeguards is the story of motherhood, friendship, deceit and murder. I love that this story is set in my hometown of Austin, Texas - it was so fun reading about all the places I get to go to regularly! Three best friend moms, three teenage sons and a teen daughter mingle through this story which goes back in forth in time as this murder mystery unfolds. The story was compelling, and the ending was surprising.

I enjoyed reading this story, but was confused from time to time, and had to reread to make the ending make sense. The details got a little complicated. I might have developed more about the events surrounding the murder, as the book ended more abruptly than I expected. The story itself was a solid 3 stars, but I gave the book an extra star for being set in Austin!

Thank you, Netgalley, for allowing me to read and review The Lifeguards.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the chance to read and review the new book, Lifeguards, by Amanda Eyre Ward. This will be a nice option for summer book clubs looking for a change up from a summer thriller or rom/com as it is more of a character driven examination of female friendship, mothers/sons and a mystery about a dead body. I found the development of the characters to have nice depth and the resolution of the mystery to be worthy of discussion as it was a complex idea, one that did leave me thinking about how parents and children relate to each other and decisions that parents make. I appreciated the complexity of that part of the plot.

I found though some aspects of the book to be a bit hard to engage with and most of that is writing style/personal preferences. I like books that have more dialogue than this book did, that is my preference, and I found some of the intensity of the mother/son relationships and aspects of the sons' behaviors and development to just not reflect typical adolescent behaviors as I know them, the parenting and behaviors did not feel accurate or relatable at times (this is the flaw of my job, sometimes my knowledge limits my enjoyment of a book).. I also found the resolution of the book to be rather dark, which I did not mind as the themes of the book were at times dark and filled with secrets in relationships, and I would have liked perhaps more examination of that part of the plot, again a personal preference versus the quality of the book.

I do recommend this for contemporary fiction groups as I think there are a lot of themes in this book that would be great for discussions.

Pub date: April 5, 2022
Genre: women's fiction
In one sentence: The bonds between three picture-perfect—but viciously protective— Austin mothers and their close-knit sons are tested after a body turns up.

The domestic thriller is having a moment! I enjoyed seeing the secrets and lies pop up among the three mothers and their sons. Like Big Little Lies, this one features two wealthy women and one less-wealthy woman, and their lifestyle differences provided plenty of drama. I did have a little trouble keeping all the characters straight - the perspective shifts each chapter, and I think it would have been better to have larger chunks of texts devoted to each character.

The mystery was compelling, but there's no clear ending, so that was a bit frustrating! The explanation we did get was a little "out of left field", but I appreciated the surprise. If you like reading about the lifestyles of the privileged in suburbia, a la Desperate Housewives, you may enjoy this one.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Posted to Goodreads 12/3/21, to be posted to Instagram closer to pub date.

I was super excited about receiving this book from NetGalley, but I must say that I was pretty disappointed. The text structure was complicated, but not in a challenging and thoughtful way, more like a scattered and disheveled way. The characters lived within a tangled web, with their lives crisscrossing and intertwining without ever seeming to untangle. Unfortunately, with all that was going on between the pages, I never seemed to connect with any of the characters, therefore not really caring what happened to them.

The Lifeguards was full of extremely unlikeable characters. For it it be titled around a group of boys, it sure was focused on the moms more than anyone. The plot really started to fall apart for me and by the end of the book, I was pretty annoyed with myself for sticking it out to finish it. This book wanted to be similar to Such a Quiet Place but just did not deliver with the same level of intensity.
Thank you to Netgalley for the arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read by Amanda Eyre Ward and the rest of her books are now on my TBR shelf. Three mothers with one common goal, keep her son safe, come together when their children are young and then fall apart as their sons grown up in The Lifeguards. Each mother has their own story to tell, but some stories are more innocent then others. This book turns pages until the end!

The Lifeguards left me with so many questions. I would love to have read this with a bookclub because it would be great to discuss everyone's interpretations of the ending. This story has multiple POV's which include each of the three mother, each of the three sons and the detective. The Multiple POV's and flashbacks at times made the story feel like it was jumping around. The story read very quickly and I was engaged the entire time. There was a nice twist that didn't see coming, which was nice. Ultimately, the book makes you think how far would you go to protect your child.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Ballentine for the arc

4.5 rounded up
Excellent use of multiple POV.. it grabbed me quickly and was hard to put down. Good characters. Even the ones I didn't like.

We follow 3 mother’s who are best friends in this story. We also get to see how they respond when their boys who are also best friends, share a secret that could change their life’s forever.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I feel like I’m missing so much information after finishing this book. At the start, It was very difficult for me to get invested on what was happening. At the midway point, I started to get a bit more Interested. The best part was the end of the story when we start to get some answers. However, the author leaves a lot to the readers imagination. I need more answers as to what happened. It definitely had some suspenseful moments but overall didn’t surprise me too much.

I loved the jetsetters so I had very high hopes and this one delivered! It was so good while also being deep and having meaning. I love Amanda’s writing and I will continue reading her books. Highly recommend for the spring summer vibes!

Interesting book.... the three women have three different stories (in the beginning)... that merge into one.... and then have similar ending. There was a lot of repetition of their background stories in a few chapters (maybe to establish characters)... the ending was a little rushed...

It was an interesting read.... will recommend for a light afternoon read.

#TheLifeguards #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC.
I enjoyed the Jetsetters so I was excited about the author’s upcoming novel.
Even though I was hooked from the very beginning, I felt like the book failed to deliver what I was expecting and somewhat lost intensity and the ability to retain my interest in the final chapters.
Enjoyable enough thriller read.

2.5 Stars

This novel did not quite live up to its promotional blurb. It was suspenseful and did have a surprising twist, but there were loose ends that left me wanting more closure with these families.

Three women who bonded at a shared prenatal class have maintained their friendship over 15 years.

Whitney, mother of twins Xavier and Roma, is a wealthy, high-powered agent in a real estate firm partnered with her husband.

Annette is a Mexican immigrant married to a man living on the inherited wealth of his family’s oil holdings. Her son is Robert (aka Bobcat).

Liza is a single mother desperately striving to provide the safe and secure childhood for her son, Charlie, - the one she herself never had.

All three boys are lifeguards at the greenbelt pool adjacent to their upscale Austin, Texas neighborhood. While the book title seems to be derived from the boys’ summertime jobs, it also metaphorically describes the mothers’ fierce protective instincts for their children.

Amidst this seemingly perfect, suburban backdrop, a young woman is found by the boys one summer evening that sets in motion the unraveling of the carefully crafted and maintained facades of these families. Was her death an accident or a homicide? Did the boys know her and have any involvement in her demise? Each mother is faced with the choice to protect her child at the expense of her friends, and even her marriage.

I’m not a big fan of this book. The dysfunctional nature of all the relationships makes for an interesting, but unpleasant reading. Each woman is consciously or unconsciously in denial about her child’s true feelings and activities. The character development is a bit uneven. The backstories for Annette and Liza provide a solid foundation for their behaviors. However, Whitney, the least sympathetic and likeable, remained more of a mystery to me. Each women sacrificed their integrity and sense of self to achieve some idealistic picture of their lives.

The story is told from the perspectives of the three women, the police detective, text messages, and a gossip-riddled neighborhood online group entitled, “Barton Hills Mamas.” At times it felt disjointed, moving back and forth in both time and perspective. Overall, this was a passable book, but not an author I am likely to pursue in the future.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC. Publication date: April 2022

This book started on such an interesting note, sucking me right in with all of the right make up of a good chick lit. But as the book went on, I became less and less engaged in the story, skimming through most of the middle portion. I really did like the multiple POVs & all of the sprinkled in subplots, but it’s just missing some development and depth for me. I wanted to know more about the sketchy babysitter, the bunker, and a few characters that were mentioned towards the end. The moms felt underwhelming and the ending was…confusing? There were so many loose ends and not in a good way.

Great thriller! Loved the story and plot kept me guessing. Would definitely recommend! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

This story focuses on the friendship of three mothers who have been best friends ever since they met during pregnancy. They have each other's backs and would do anything for each other.... or do they?
Secrets! Secrets that will certainly test their friendship.

I wish I could say I fell in love with this one and couldn't put it down. I found myself constantly fidgeting or checking the time before trying to finish it. The ending was good, but I didn't really enjoy the story along the way.