I enjoyed the plot and mystery elements. It was a little bit difficult to get to know so many different characters through the different POV storytelling. Some of the plot points felt like there was too much trying to be fit into one book and this made the ending feel like there were too many loose ends

The Lifeguards is a story about three women, Liza, Whitney and Annette. When their sons run back home and share they have found a dead body, everything changes. Their bonds are tested once the investigation starts unveiling secrets. This is a quick read filled with mystery and family drama. It’s a perfect beach/pool read just in time for the warm weather. I could not put the book down.
Review 5/5
Pub date: 04/05/22
@randomhouse

I requested this book because I loved the cover. I went into it knowing nothing about it. I didn’t even realize it was a mystery. I liked but didn’t love the book. It’s a fast paced easy read. I finished it in a day. It felt a little contrived at times and things just wrapped up to nicely for me. It will definitely be a great book to stick into a beach bag this summer. It’s like a bowl of popcorn., once you start you can’t stop eating it even if your full. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
3⭐️

This kept me very engaged and was enjoyably dark and twisty, especially the end which left me with questions in a good way. I didn’t love the relationship between a teen and an adult.

The Lifeguards is a fast-paced mystery with intriguing characters and lots of secrets. After reading Ward's first book, The Jetsetters, I grew to love her quirky writing style and frustrating characters. I love a good mystery with twists and turns, and this one definitely delivered. I did feel that the epilogue left me with more questions than answers, and as irritating as that is, I also don't hate it?! The Lifeguards is the perfect quick read for summer!

The Lifeguards is a story about three women: Liza, Annette, and Whitney. They are all mothers and best friends, living in a safe and fancy neighborhood in Austin, Texas. Their sons also consider themselves great friends and are often called ‘the Three Musketeers’. The lives of the families are seemingly perfect but when one summer day the boys run back home and report that they have found a dead woman’s body by their hangout spot, everything changes. The darkest, most protected secrets come to light and friendship turns into betrayal. Who is the woman, what happened to her, and who caused her death? And is there anything a mother wouldn’t do for her child?

The Lifeguards is a quick, fast-paced read that combines family drama with mystery. It made me think of the series Big Little Lies - it has the same atmosphere of secrecy, with families doing everything they can to protect each other. The characters are all flawed and it was satisfying to have them face their mistakes and past decisions. I loved that they all had unique backstories and that the book slowly peels away the masks they were presenting to each other to really understand them. I found the mystery behind the dead woman’s demise a little underwhelming, but I felt like the death itself was supposed to take a backseat to the family drama anyway. Overall, the book was pleasant and while nothing about it took my breath away, reading it was still a fun experience.

TLDR: The Lifeguards is an enjoyable, easy read that focuses on the strength of family bonds and the lengths mothers go to to protect their children.

Three Austin mom's have been lifelong friends, and their three 15 year old sons are the lifeguards. The boys find a body very late on the first night of summer, and the book unfolds from the mothers' points of view.
The book is a look into friendship, marriages, and motherhood. It examines what you do and how you act when your child is involved in something bad. It was an interesting read but ultimately left me wondering what happened to more than one character. The "one year later" epilogue didn't answer the questions, and it did make me wish there had been a bit more explanation regarding the year that passed.

Set in a ritzy neighborhood of Austin, TX, three teenaged boys who have been close friends all their lives get caught up in a police investigation after finding the body of a young woman in the woods near their homes. <i>The Lifeguards</i> is a story of the lengths affluent mothers will go to protect their young.

Easy reading, but I didn't care for the plot and found the overall development lacking. <i>The Lifeguards</i> is something adjacent to <i>Big Little Lies</i> or <i>Little Fires Everywhere</i> but not nearly as well done.

The Lifeguards
by: Amanda Eyre Ward
Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books

This book is a gripping suspenseful story in the genre of women's fiction. It's a tale of three female friends from a nice neighborhood. Their world comes apart one summer from circumstances surrounding their sons. The book is full of secrets and mystery.

Thank you to and Net Galley for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#TheLifeguards #NetGalley

Three moms bond at a prenatal class and together they become steadfast friends with their sons becoming best friends. Fifteen years later, two are wealthy and one is desperately trying to stay afloat in their rich world.

A dead body is soon discovered and the boys find themselves being pulled under into the investigation. The reader will dive headfirst into the world of these carefully crafted, well maintained families and how they save their sons from drowning in the deep end of bad choices. All the secrets lurking under the water will explode to the surface as they boys connection to the women are uncovered.

The Lifeguards plot swims its way through various twists and turns for a fast paced read. This novel does not have one mother who'd make a good role model. I only wish this novel was a little more dark, addictive escape.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for the complimentary copy of this novel.

Despite a promising premise, "The Lifeguards" was a book that did not work for me from the start and unfortunately fell apart even more so as it went on. From the first few chapters, it felt like this book was trying very hard (too hard) to be something akin to "Big Little Lies" and "Little Fires Everywhere." Even with a diverse character ensemble of well-do-do suburban moms, wanna-be well-to-do moms, teenagers, and a blue collar cop investigating a mysterious death in his community, I wasn't able to connect to a single character. Collectively, the characters were unlikable and lacked so much depth that even by the end of the story, I didn't feel like I had a good grasp on who each character even was.

From a plot perspective, this felt very clunky and disjointed. While the title suggests that this story focuses on a group of lifeguards (our teenage characters), I found the chapters centering much more on a trio of moms who did little to propel the plot forward in an interesting or suspenseful way. Ultimately, I'm surprised I was able to move through this book as quickly as I did, given that it fell totally flat for me.

Unfortunately, Ward's writing and plot conception were the real culprits here for me; this book felt like an unpolished rough draft (in character development, dialogue, everything) that left little impact on me as a reader.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced review copy of this title*

The Lifeguards is an intense and shocking story about the different struggles within families, for the children and their parents. It’s a story about the loss of innocence and rites of passages intertwined with an incredibly fast-paced murder mystery with a jaw-dropping ending!

Liza, Annette and Whitney are three mothers who have been best friends for years. They would do anything for their own children and each other’s families. They live in an upscale Texas neighborhood. Although the women consider each other best friends, Liza and Annette would do anything for Whitney’s approval and attention.

Liza is a single mother of a fifteen-year-old son named Charlie. When she fled her home life after finding herself pregnant, she ended up here. Whitney was her first friend and has since helped Liza in so many ways. But Liza has secrets and tries to fit in with the other women. Although she pretends to have it all, she struggles to make ends meet. Charlie is her life. She is overprotective of him and although she knows this, she can’t stop it from happening. Charlie only wants an answer to a simple question. Who is my father?

Annette is married to Louis and has a son nicknamed Bobcat. Louis feels superior to his wife and sometimes expects the same from his son. He is the man of the house and makes no bones about that fact. Annette worries how Bobcat will turn out with Louis as his father. She misses her family but enjoys the lifestyle Louis is able to give her, something she did not have growing up. In the meantime, Bobcat is trying to find his way in life navigating his parents, friends and puberty.

Whitney is a famous and established real estate agent whose family hurts for nothing. She and her husband Jules have different styles of parenting. She parents…Jules doesn’t. They have twins. Xavier is very conscientious and considerate, and he tries to please everybody. Roma is a bad seed. She tortures her brother and has since they were young. She is spoiled and her behavior is overlooked by her parents. Although recently, her actions seem to be getting worse. Xavier is scared of Roma and fears she will kill him.

The three boys have been best friends since childhood and this summer they have become Lifeguards. One night the boys come home late, and they tell their mothers that they found a woman’s body on the greenbelt she is dead. They swear they don’t know what happened to her, but their actions say otherwise. No matter how hard the mothers try, the boys refuse to give the full truth, so they think. What are they hiding?

As the investigation begins it at first seems to be ruled a drug overdose, but one of the boys’ shin guards is found at the site of the body as well as a picture of the three friends. The women begin to panic, but the boys still insist they know nothing.

Then one of them is arrested.

The chapters switch back and forth from the day of the incident to the present day. We begin to see what happened before the body was found and after the body was discovered and what the police learn during the investigation.

As the boys lies begin to unravel, their parents, especially their mothers go into protection mode. The mother’s will not believe their child could do such a thing. All they want to do is safeguard their families. But the children are not the only ones who are keeping secrets and by the end of the investigation everyone will be stunned at its conclusion.

A mother’s love has no limits…

Thank you #NetGalley #BallentineBooks #AmandaEyreWard #TheLifeguards for the advanced copy.

I felt only okay about this book.
This certainly wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as captivating as I assumed it would be from the synopsis.
I think it got better as it went along, but I was never fully into it. It just felt rather slow and I couldn’t enjoy any of the characters.

The Lifeguards is an engaging thriller set in a close-knit community. Three best friends find a body and go to their moms for help. Their moms are also close— to each other and to the boys. However, their bonds become tested once the investigation into what happened starts unveiling secrets.

I liked the twists and turns that this one took. Although I had ideas of what happened, the book definitely went into far more interesting realms. I found the final resolution rather rushed and would have liked more of an explanation.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group and Ballantine Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5* rounded to 4.

The classic teenage summer job is being a lifeguard, and that’s the job that 3 best friends get as their first job. And then when a body is found their pivots, and their moms and best friends go into their own lifeguard mode to protect their sons. After all, how far will you go to protect your children.

“The Lifeguards” was very readable, but I found it also to be an Austin travel blog with constant name and location dropping. Maybe it’s not a big deal to others, but as an Austonian I found it annoying and over the top - P. Terry’s. Check. Uchi. Check check. Franklin barbecue. Check check check. I mean, if someone wants to visit Austin they can just read this and find out where to go.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House, and Ballantine books for the ARC to read and review.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine, I was provided an ARC of The Lifeguards by Amanda Erye Ward via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

****Coming out April 5, 2022*****

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow, this book had me hooked from the beginning! A page turner that will keep you entertained from the first page to the last!

Liza, Annette, and Whitney had been friends for 15 years. What connected them were their sons, all friends who grew up together since birth and now at age 15 were lifeguards together at the same pool.

Each chapter is from a different perspective. This book is divided into two main sections: Days of Summer , which is from the mom’s and police detective perspectives and the second section is the lifeguards, which are the three 15 year old boys who have been lifelong friends.

When a body is found by the lifeguards on the greenbelt, they rush home to tell their moms who happen to be all together for a get together. Jules, Whitney’s husband feels they should call from his cell that is not traceable, but is that the best way to proceed? Will the boys end up being accused of murder? What secrets will be revealed? This book will have you turning the pages to find out.

I loved all the twist and turns, definitely didn’t expect the ending! This book will keep you guessing until the end! A great beach read! Definitely one to put on your TBR list!

This book kept me guessing throughout, which is a good thing! Written in multiple POV, and going back and forth in time, the story could easily get convoluted or confusing, but Amanda Eyre Ward manages to do it seamlessly.

Three women, all with their own secrets face the ultimate question of how far are you willing to go to protect your children. There are so many things to uncover in this book, and never a dull moment. I wished there was more of it, because the ending seemed a tad rushed.

It was definitely a book I'd recommend. The perfect selection for a book club, as there are so many different topics to explore and discuss as each thread is unraveled.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and Ballantine Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My rating: 4.5 stars/5 stars (rounded up to 5 stars for this review)

I really enjoyed the Texas setting because I just moved from Dallas, and always wanted to visit Austin, but didn't get the chance to. I loved the complex relationships between the three mothers: Whitney, Annette, and Liza. I also loved how they met at a prenatal class 15yrs ago and now their sons are all best friends. The Lifeguards touched on many different issues: competition between friends, wealthy privilege, and how mothers will do anything to protect their children. This book was addictive with all the twists and turns. The characters were unforgettable and the ending was unexpected! I was wanting more at the end of this book!

My review has been posted on my instagram handle: @thrillersandcoffee

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine Books for an early copy of The Lifeguards. Sooo many opinions I have with this novel. The title is not a correct one, it had little to do with lifeguards, it was about their moms. The story was good if you could figure out who belonged to who, very confusing for most of the book. Also what happened at the end?? We will never know. It could have been a great read but it wasn’t.

One hot Austin June. Three moms who are good friends. Their three sons are Close friends. Until one event shatters all those carefully constructed illusions. The boys find a body and all the secrets about their lives and the moms come tumbling out. I found all the interconnections very clever and the story kept my interest.
At the end, however, two of the characters’ fates are left in the lurch, which I disliked. They were integral characters and I wanted to know what happened to them.