This book was interesting but I had a hard time reading it. I felt like it was a bit disjointed and I couldn't get into the characters. The writing was well done.

Liza, Annette, and Whitney are best friends by proximity. Living in an affluent Austin neighborhood, these women who all came from different backgrounds and upbringings have found common ground with each other and their sons have also become best friends. When one night, the boys come home from a bike ride saying they found a dead body, the women change into panic mode and hope to keep their own families safe first and foremost. This begins to cause a bit of a rift between the women as police try to piece together the investigation and decide which, if any, of the boys are involved. Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters. But I do feel they each could have been developed a little bit more. Liza was the only one with a decently explained history so it was easier to form a connection with her character. Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed by the ending. It felt very rushed and didn't deeply explain what exactly happened. I felt a bit confused. What happened to Whitney? What happened to Roma? After investing so much time in the book and the characters, I would have liked a little more of an explanation in the epilogue.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to listen to The Lifeguards by Amanda Ward.
This book was written in many different point of views and definitely one you need to keep up with. Mothers in a tight knit community will do anything to protect their children but how far should they go. Are the actually protecting them or just making matters worse when a girl shows up dead and all the boys have to go in for questioning. I was waiting for a big scene to come but overall not a bad story line.

How far would you go to protect your kids? That’s the main theme of this book, but it is SO MUCH MORE! I loved this story filled with friendships, secrets, lies and surprises. I enjoyed every word of this story even though the ending left me with a few unanswered questions. And let’s appreciate that beautiful cover art! This was my first read by Amanda Eyre award and I already purchased The Jetsetters to enjoy this summer.

Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book just wasn't for me. I love neighborhood/housewife style thrillers but since I read so many, I am extra picky when reviewing.

There were too many narrators and I didn't think the chapters narrated by the detective added anything to the story. There was way too much time spent on his history and the drama with his family that never paid off. Additionally, we flip back in forth in time multiple times throughout a chapter. Sometimes even during the same paragraph. It was frustrating and confusing to follow.

The characters were pretty flat and I think the author tried to add too many side plots. It took away from the central mystery and prevented the story from flowing properly. Since I didn't identify with the characters, the small side drama became increasingly annoying. The ending was lackluster and overall I didn't find the book memorable.

Thank you Net Galley and Random House Ballantine for an ARC in return for my honest review!

The Lifeguards is a quick and engaging read that will absolutely pull you in and not let you go until you’ve finished it. When a young woman’s body is found in a quiet Austin neighborhood the community is rocked and relationships are quickly tested. The mothers in this story will stop at nothing to protect their sons, even if it means betraying their nearest and dearest friends. I enjoyed all of the relationship dynamics and thought the characters were really well developed and realistic.

When I picked this book up I expected a light, beachy read, but The Lifeguards was way more suspenseful than I anticipated. It’s full of twists that will keep you guessing and the ending is quite surprising.

I would recommend this book to fans of Big Little Lies and think this would make an excellent pick for your book club this summer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for a review copy.

What would mothers do to protect their sons in a tight knit community? Suspenseful, with a few twists and turns.
Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre Ward. Pub Date: April 5, 2022. Rating: 2 stars. First off, I honestly don't know how to feel about this novel. It started off intriguing with suspense, drama and motherhood but then fell flat. There was a lot of telling and minimal showing. I felt no connection to any of the characters and at times grew annoyed with them. I think the concept of how far would a mother go to protect her children is a great topic for a novel, but the execution of this novel was not the greatest. I have read this author's work in the past and enjoyed it, but this one was a miss for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this free e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

What happened on the Greenbelt?

How did a local girl end up dead? Bobcat, Charlie and Xavier seem to be the three top suspects. Three young lifeguards who just happen to be the best of friends.

Their mothers, as all mothers, are out to save their boys. But at what cost?

I had such high hopes for this book. But unfortunately it fell flat for me. It was hard to follow, jumping back and forth in time. I never got the answers I waited for and the ending just left me mad.

Whitney, Annette and Liza all live in the same neighborhood in Austin, Texas, and have raised their sons together, with both mothers and sons developing close friendships. The three mothers do take overprotective parenting to a whole different level (and not in a good way). While Whitney and Annette are both wealthy, their husbands seem to be fairly uninvolved with their children, so perhaps their lives are not as wonderful as they seem on the surface. Liza is a single mother who is an adoring fan/supplicant of Whitney, and struggles everyday to keep up with her two friends and neighbors.
There's a lot going on in The Lifeguards, in addition to the day to day lives of Whitney, Annette, Liza and their children, and the messy death of a young woman. The story is told in alternating voices, primarily the three friends, but we also hear from Salvatore (the police detective handling the mystery involving the friends and their sons and my favorite character), and the Barton Hills Mama's listserve.
I liked the glimpse into life in Austin in 2019, and especially Ms. Ward's portrayal of the wealthy young tech professionals. Two aspects of the book that are being promoted were interesting (mothers protecting their children and the mysterious death), but I really loved Ms. Ward's take on the conspicuous (and often crazy) consumption and lifestyles of the rich and uber rich in Austin.
Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read The Lifeguards in exchange for an honest review.

I think some people may judge this book by its cover and expect a fun beach read. With the title and the cover art one could draw that conclusion. But The Lifeguards is not light and fluffy. It's part chick lit, but part mystery. It really isn't sure what it is supposed to be most of the time.

The lifeguards in the title are three fifteen year old boys who are best friends because their moms are best friends. The families live in Austin, TX and they are all hiding secrets from each other. Told from alternating POV's of each mom the story of how their boys and the body of a dead young woman are connected is told. Interspersed are short chapters from each of the boys. AND the detective working the case also gets time to tell his POV. I like stories with multiple narrators, but this one actually could have used one more - Roma! Why didn't the author give us anything from her POV?

I did not connect with any of the characters. I wanted more depth from most of them. I really wanted more about Roma. And the ending is just rushed. There is no real wrap up. I don't understand what happened to Roma. I want to know where Liza visits Whitney? At her house? In a hospital? In prison? I wanted clearer answers than what the author gives to us. There is something about the writing style of Ward's that keeps me engaged and that is the only reason I finished the book. The premise was promising and there were some potentially great characters, but overall it felt flat to me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was definitely a page-turner and had me thinking about the lengths I would go to protect my children. I enjoyed reading about the complicated relationships between husband/wife, friends, and parent/child. There were some really unlikeable characters which sometimes make the reading experience slightly less enjoyable but also makes it feel more authentic. I’ll be thinking of this book for a long time to come.

similarly to The Jetsetters, this book was a LOT more intense than the colorful cover portrays.

There were honestly a lot of twists and turns that I was NOT expecting during this story and it kept me so intrigued the whole time. I think I finished the book in like three days, I just had to know what was going on.

Liza was my favorite of the moms, but I think Bobcat was my favorite of the boys. All the characters were messy but pretending to be neat and tidy and the rich person drama was great.

TW for drug use and abusive siblings

overall would definitely recommend this book! I would suggest picking it up if you liked THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME and the Finlay Donovan series!

This book is about a trio of women and their sons/families. They met while pregnant and their friendships grew and became a big part of their lives as well as the lives of their sons. When the boys discover a dead body of a local woman, the mystery begins. The theme throughout the book was how far would you go to protect your child. I felt like the characters in this book were not fleshed out enough and this book wasn't a hit for me. I felt like the :whodunit" was predictable and the ending was rushed. There was quite a bit that was left unanswered. I did finish it so it was engaging enough. I wish there was a little more thrill to it.

Awesome read, grabs you and keeps you turning pages.This is about three families that live in Austin. These families are friends. None of the families are exactly what they seem. And have their secrets.They live in the wealthy neighborhood of Barton hills. With a swimming hole called the green belt. Each family has a boy the same age and all are good friends. The Moms are best friends and spend lots of time together having dog walk time though none of them have a dog.
Wonderful read.thank you NetGalley and Ballentinr/Rqndom House for an ARC of this book.. #Netgalley #Ballentine/RandomHouse

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I read "The Jetsetters" by Amanda Eyre Ward last year & enjoyed it & was thrilled to be given her newest book, "The Lifeguards" to review.
"The Lifeguards" was a much darker story than the "The Jetsetters".
It's marketed as Woman's Fiction but there's actually a really good murder mystery wrapped up in this story.
I found it to be an addictive, interesting & well written story.
It pulled me in & didn't let me go until its final outcome.
I enjoyed the author's writing style, how she told the story using the different character's perspectives.
I will definitely be on the lookout for Ms. Ward's next book.

I love how this book was written from a different perspective (narrator) each chapter, and with each chapter we got another peek at the characters' dark pasts.

This book grabs you from the start and wraps up with a wild twist that you will not see coming. Highly recommend!

The Lifeguards by
Amanda Eyre Ward

Read if you love
-suspense
-mothers that will stop at nothing to protect their children
-the suburbs
-friendships

This book was a pretty quick read with suspense and touches of mystery. Overall I really enjoyed the story and how much background I got to read about each of the characters. I grew to really love Liza and Charlie and was rooting for them until the very end. I am a fan of suspense and there were definitely moments where I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was going to happen next but there were also parts that dragged a little bit for me. I enjoyed the ending but the epilogue left me with a few questions which may have been intentional by the author. This is a perfect summer beach read that doesn’t require a ton of thought but keeps you on your toes until the last page.

3 stars

Following three very different women bonded by the years of child raising everything they know about each other, themselves and their children is questioned after one single night. Ward weaves together this story beautifully relatable to all people. In the end the bond to protect your own though will always outweigh even the closest of friends. An absolute must read.