This was okay. The cover had me thinking this was a romance. I was surprise to find out it was. Who done it. It kept my interest,

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

Mothers and sons. The most complicated pairing in families, by far. "Austin's Zilker Park neighborhood is a wonderland of greenbelt trails, live music, and moms who drink a few too many margaritas."A secret, a tragedy and enough drama to cause a huge rift. Well done!

I enjoyed Ward's last offering "The Jetsetters" and I've lived in Austin, so I was excited for this new family drama/mystery set in the beloved Barton Springs area. I must have started this book 3 times before I powered my way through it. It took sheer willpower, to be honest. There are multiple POVs (which I usually like). All the characters are flawed/shady (which I also like). There just wasn't quite enough of how the puzzle was going to fit together for me to naturally stay invested.
Once I made it to the end I found myself flipping back through the chapters to see what snippets of information I might have missed. I think in the end, this one is just a miss for me overall.
Thank you so much for the ARC!

The Lifeguards did pleasantly surprise me, in the fact that I didn't absolutely hate it. This author's previous book is on my 'can be tossed in the woodstove' pile. I don't even want to get into it. Now this book did start off on that path, because the cover of this book suggest a fun, summery read when it is in fact more of a women’s lit domestic (light) thriller/mystery. 

The Lifeguards did keep me interested throughout the whole book, I wanted to know what the outcome of the story was and none of the characters were absolutely awful. However it was just that - it was fine. The ending was incredibly rushed and frankly strange - if you've read this you know what I'm talking about, but it definitely lost a star for that ending.

This is an OK read; some juicy parts, some drama, some motherhood issues, but ultimately the ending was rushed and didn't really wrap up like I wanted.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I agree with a lot of other reviewers that this was a good book... until it wasn't. The ending was rushed and left so many questions unanswered. I enjoyed the fact that this book had a chick-lit/ light mystery- thriller vibe. I enjoyed the setting (Austin) and the multiple POVs (3 families). It was a fun summer read! Hate it had to move into 3 star territory because it was poorly finished. I was left feeling slightly irritated and like I had wasted my time.

I picked this book entirely based on the cover and thought “wow what a great summer/beach read” and boy was I in for a treat. This is in fact not the light fluffy read I was aiming for and instead very much murder mystery but still it was 4 stars for me. This book really kept me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed watching the development of the investigation and how the sentence “what happened on the greenbelt?” kept getting thrown around. We get to see the parents dynamic and see that everything may not be as it seems there but also the kid's friendship as well.

There are elements of family dynamic drama, friendship drama, relationship drama, murder mystery and so much more. The mom’s really put in perspective just what some people are and aren’t willing to do in order to protect their children and sometimes that’s drastic measures.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of The Lifeguards.

I enjoyed this story a lot. I was intrigued by the plot and felt challenged by the ethics and decisions made. I was constantly putting myself in their situation and loved that reflection opportunity.

This was well written and flowed well.

DNF @ 40% - I just could not get into this story for the LIFE of me. I thought it was going to be more YA and romance as advertised, but I would definitely call this one literary fiction. I did love the writing style of the author, so I’ll definitely try another one of hers again in the future.

Beachread alert! This has everything one wants in a summer beach read including a set of friends with their interesting backgrounds included to give insight to who they are now…. Their children who are friends … and a mystery who dunnit! What more do you need? It’s quick and kept me guessing and reading. Heartfelt thanks to Ballantine for the advanced copy. Get this one for your vacation or a rainy day!

I gave this books 4 stars. The book overall was good and I enjoyed the twists and turns. I thought the ending was a little rushed and a few loose ends left up to interpretation with no real explanation. I liked that the characters all had their own secret backstories that they kept from each other. It showed how far a mother would go to protect their child. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

This was definitely a page turner!
What length would you go to to protect your child? This book is about three mothers and their three teenage/lifeguard sons. The moms are enjoying happy hour one evening when the three sons rush home to say that they found a body. The question is, did they find a body, have something to do with it or did they know who it was? As the story is revealed, we are left to learn the secrets of each of the mothers , (and secrets of the sons) and what they would do to protect their child. I really enjoyed the book and it kept me hooked and interested. My one disappointment, was that I felt the book was rushed at the end. We were warned early on about Salvatore‘s nanny agency, yet it was never mentioned again to tell us if there were some thing that happened. If this was an important aspect of the book why wasn’t it ever wrapped up? I also felt that we could’ve gotten a little more information about Whitney‘s unraveling and what happened in the cave and what happened right after the cave. All in all this was a really good book, I just wish that they would’ve been more details offered at the end as I do believe there was more story to tell and still would’ve had a good ending and had it all wrapped up.
Thank you to net galley for this free advanced copy!

Synopsis: After a terrible murder in a common summer location the mothers are left to discover which if any of there sons had anything to do with the incident. The mothers also learn much more about each other than just being typical suburban wives but that each one also has their own story.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this book and it reminds me of Big Little Lies. I think that the way the author tied in the different characters and their different stories kept me interested and wondering much throughout the book who, if any, committed the crime. I think that this was a great mystery thriller and I look forward to reading more by this author.

The main theme of this book is, how far would you go to protect your children? Ward did a great job giving the reader insights into how these three different women handled the same situation. The multiple POV's kept me turning the pages and I was anxiously waiting to see what would happen. This is a really great summer read.

Murder mystery meets summertime in Texas as a teenager! There were so many different angles and characters to follow. Just when you thought it had it figured out there is a twist! Loved them all that came throughout this book! Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was… a mess. So disjointed and all over the place. Very confusing, and left an INSANE number of loose ends at the end. Not my favorite.

The Lifeguards, Amanda Eyre Ward's follow up to The Jetsetters, takes place in an affluent Austin suburb as the summer of 2019 unfolds among. A trio of best friends, Liza, Whitney and Annette, met when they were all pregnant with their now teenage sons. All three boys are lifeguards this summer in their neighborhood while their moms plan for another idyllic summer-as long as their carefully crafted facades are maintained. The cracks in their lives appear when the boys discover a young woman's body on the greenbelt trails. The boys' secret threatens to upend everyone's lives. Told from the perspective of each woman this is a fast-paced story that will have readers riveted. The characters are well-written and the social and political backdrop, while minor, serve a role in this novel. The fast ending and conclusion that left some questions keep it from being a five star read for me but it is not one to miss.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Confession: I started this book months ago and set it aside because it was not grabbing me. Fast forward, I check the audiobook out of the library, and I pretty much inhale the story. Not sure if my frame of mind is different this time around, or if this book was just better for me in audio format, but it was fantastic!

It begins with meeting the moms and getting a feel for their relationships, but once that murder mystery element was introduced, I was hooked. That element made all the rest so much more important. I wanted to collect the details, find the connections, and work out an explanation for what happened. There were some great twists, and I loved the way the ways all these people's lives intertwined.

In the end, this was a story about mothers and how far they would go to protect their children. That mother's love motif was visited in several different ways in this story. These complex characters and relationships were well explored, and the structure of flipping from the moms to the sons was very successful for me.

I have read several of Ward's books and they are always pleasant. And this one is no different.

It is a little different than her others with a bit of suspense but I enjoyed it. There is nothing like a book filled with secrets.

I think this is the perfect summer read and I would definitely recommend it.