3.5 ⭐️‘s
How nice would it be if we each had someone that looked just like us to step in for us when life becomes too much to handle. That’s exactly what has happened throughout the lives of identical twins, Sam and Elli. Discovered by a Hollywood agent when they were young, the girls were quickly well known for the TV show they were starring in. Sam loved the attention and limelight, while Elli much preferred the quiet life. When the twins hit their late teens Elli finally broke up the duo and quit, only to have Sam crash and burn without her and leaving them both on their own for the first time. Years later Elli is in trouble and Sam needs to use all that she has to save her from the clutches of the cult Elli is embedded in. It will take all of her cunningness to save her, and get a second chance to once again share the bond they lost along the way.

Sam and Elli are identical twins whose parents couldn't always tell apart and had been B-list child actors. When their careers ended, Elli became the perfect housewife and Sam became addicted to pills and alcohol. The twins haven't spoken in years until Sam's father calls and tells her that Elli's husband left, they had adopted a two-year-old, and Elli stopped answering her phone after going to a spa. Is Elli headed for a breakdown or is this something more?

Janelle Brown writes about very complicated relationships between women, and this book is certainly no different. What could be more complicated than identical twins who used to pretend to be each other finally living very different lives? We start with Sam's POV, a year sober, and asked to look after Elli's daughter. As she recalls the shared past of acting in Hollywood and the start of her addiction, we get to see how different the twins are, for all of the minor physical differences they had. Things don't add up, however; Elli wasn't the type to go to a spa, she isn't responding to texts or calls, and a lot of personal documents had gone missing when Sam started looking for them. By the time Sam seriously starts looking for Elli, I was hooked.

The tropes of childhood stars burning out, twins being each other or having a secret language, and the willful disbelief in problems are all at play here. On top of that is the introduction of a cult that preys on wealthy dissatisfied women, purchasing individual or group sessions to achieve levels of enlightenment. The realization that was the problem is slow, but I do want to point this out for cult survivors or those sensitive to such predatory tactics. I was thoroughly invested in Sam's search and tortured love for her sister, and the feeling of emptiness without her. Finding Elli ultimately allows both of them to reclaim the selves they had become and forge a new path together. It's a fascinating story, and one I couldn't put down.

This was a fun read with enjoyable characters and a twisty plot. Not my favorite book by this author, but a fun thriller nonetheless.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58678420

“Get Sam to help you. She’ll know what to do. She’ll get it.”

When Ellie extends her impromptu spa weekend by weeks, her babysitting mother is just desperate enough to grab this curiously confident recommendation for a sister they haven't seen in nearly a year. A sister with a long habit of drug and alcohol use. A sister with no known experience with children.

Janelle Brown’s I’ll Be You is the story of Sam and Ellie, who, as children, were two halves of a perfect whole: gorgeous identical twins whose parents sometimes couldn’t even tell them apart. But as adults, their lives have splintered. After leaving acting, Ellie reinvented herself as the perfect homemaker. Meanwhile, Sam has never recovered from her failed Hollywood career, or from her addiction to the pills and booze that have propped her up for the last fifteen years. And now Ellie is -maybe?- missing.

While I wouldn’t characterize I’ll Be You as a thriller, Sam’s search for her sister, both physically and spiritually, is a quick, fun read. Perfect for a light reading in the park while watching the kids play on the swings.

I received my copy of I’ll Be You as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley, but this perfect summer read is available to you anywhere you purchase books on April 26, 2022.

Janelle Brown is turning into an auto-read author for me when it comes to thrillers. Her writing is solid and her books seem to always have such gorgeous covers. I really enjoyed I'll Be You. It helped that it had one of my plotline buzzwords...cults! I am a sucker for any books about cults.

Emmi and Sam are identical twins and former child stars. They have become estranged over the years and took very different paths in life. Sam was wrapped up in drugs and alcohol, but is now in recovery, while Emmi went the family route. When Sam gets a call from her parents to help care for her sister's adopted daughter while Emmi is on a weekend retreat, things start to get strange.

I'll Be You has elements of Hollywood, struggles of child stars, substance abuse/addiction and recovery, as well as manipulation by cult-like groups that take advantage of people. This was a solid thriller and the backstory of Emmi and Sam's life as child stars added a really interesting element to the story. I tend to like a twin trope in thrillers and I thought this was nicely done. Plenty of tension, twists and cliffhangers, I did not see much of the story coming. Solid 4 stars for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Janelle Brown - 4.5 stars rounded up for a book that was hard to put down!

Identical twins, Elli and Sam looked so much alike that they frequently changed identities for their child acting jobs, in social situations, and even their parents couldn't always tell them apart. But their personalities varied - Elli tried hard to be the perfect child and later the perfect adult and was much more introverted. Sam loved the spotlight and faced her demons of pills and alcohol. After a major fight between the two, Sam hasn't spoken to Elli in over a year and is shocked to learn that she adopted a toddler and is off on a retreat, leaving Charlotte with their parents. Sam is worried about Elli's disappearance and starts investigating.

This book was told from both Elli's and Sam's points of view, in both the past and present, so we see how their childhood experiences shaped them. I was fascinated with the group that Elli got involved with, GenFem, which bore a very similar resemblance to the NXIVM cult. Both characters were fully formed and you will get invested in both storylines. Great read!

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Canada and Janelle Brown. This book was so good and it took me forever to read. It read to me like a tv series or a movies and it made it so interesting that I forced me to take my time while reading as I did not want to miss anything. The relationship with the twins was wild right from the start and I was wide eye reading it the entire time. I even liked parts that I found that were used as fillers...if you read the book..you would understand. It worked for the book though. I recommend this book.

Rating: 4

The synopsis along with the title are what really made me interested in this book. While I love the colors on the cover I don’t feel like the cover sells the story well. If it wasn’t for the title I would have just kept scrolling and wouldn’t have clicked to find out more. It’s no secret so many of us judge a book by its cover but this is a good example as to why you should still give those books a chance.

This book ended up surprising me because I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. I think it really helped that right away I connected with Sam’s character. I liked that she was broken, twisted, and struggling with her addiction and doing the right things in life. I liked Elli’s character as well but I definitely enjoyed the POV of Sam way more. The first half of the book is told from Sam’s POV in the present day with flashbacks from the twins' childhood. The second half of the book follows Elli’s POV and also includes a few flashback chapters. Personally, I think the second half could have been shorter but that could have just been a me thing. I enjoyed the writing style and found the story to have a nice flow. I do think the pacing could have been a little bit better. There are several slow points in the story but stick with it because all together the book was good.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this one. However, don’t go into it expecting a full thriller. While it had thrilling aspects I would say it was more of a mystery/adult fiction. From the beginning I had fun coming up with all kinds of weird theories for what was truly going on. This is also one of those books where it's extremely important to connect with the characters. If you don’t connect with at least one of them then I don’t think you will enjoy the story.

𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 🌴

Happy Pub Day 🎉 @janellebrownie

𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿: @randomhouse
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Thriller/Mystery
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:
This is my second book by Brown — I thought this was another gripping story with great characters.

I enjoy stories that deal with twins and I am a fan of reading about cults. This book kept me interested from start to finish.

I can be judgmental about books that take place in LA but I really enjoyed the atmospheric setting of the now and then - Santa Barbra, Hollywood and Ojai.

Both sisters 👯‍♀️ POVs were told beautifully. It was easy to understand both of their perspectives and I could relate with their brokenness.

Thank you @netgalley & @randomhouse for my ARC of I’ll Be You 💖 #Netgalley #RandomHouse #IllBeYou #JanelleBrown

This book—I gobbled it up. It is well done character driven suspense. Janelle Brown, I’ll Be You introduces readers to former child-star twins that get into trouble in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and the desert— it’s absolutely delectable. The author was masterful in bringing complex relationships between women to fruition. A theme in the narrative is also about understanding that sometimes two things can be equally true even if they’re complicated. I’m impressed at how creative and crisp this storyline was and readers will find themselves absorbed into the world that the author created! Highly recommend this novel! I’LL BE YOU is a synergistic blend of psychological suspense, character analysis, the dark side of the “self help” culture, and an intriguing cult thriller premise in this must-read novel!

Elli and Sam are identical twins that grew up as fairly successful childhood stars. As the twins grow older their unbreakable bond begins to unravel. As adults both have very different lives, Elli is married and lives close to the beach and Sam has been in and out of treatment facilities for addiction. The sisters have been estranged for awhile when Sam receives a call from their mother asking for her to help take care of Elli’s adopted daughter. Sam is shocked to find out that Elli’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems. She has gone away to a womens retreat and is not answering her phone and doesn’t come home. Sam begins to unravel the secrets of Elli’s life and the mysterious group that she is part of.

I was really looking forward to this book. The premise was very interesting and it started off intense. However it kind of fizzled out by the end. The story was interesting but I was expecting more of a thriller, it was more of a family drama.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

After reading several duds over the past couple months, I was relieved when this book hit all the right spots for me. It’s a perfectly-plotted suspense mystery that’s not too dark, yet not sugar-coated either. Two adult twins, former child stars, and estranged from one another, are brought back together when one of them abandons her child and disappears. The one left behind is convinced she wouldn’t intentionally abandon her daughter and is determined to find her sister. As she slowly follows the clues to her whereabouts, she learns things about herself and her upbringing that starts to heal her own painful memories and grudges. I thought that this book was very well done. The characters show real emotions and the situations they’re in are interesting. I wasn’t expecting to be thinking about the plot as much as I still am, weeks later. I guess you could say it has a little bit of a literary fiction style to it. I would recommend this to my book club friends, because it will make you want to discuss it once you’ve finished.

3.5 stars. Janelle Brown can be a bit hit or miss for me. Some books are a bit more "thriller-ish" than others, but when they are not, I feel that they are often miscategorized (which I think ends up disappointing readers resulting in a lower rating than what might otherwise be given if readers knew what to expect). Regardless of the book, Brown excels at writing morally gray characters....all of the characters have both positive and negative traits. I am a huge fan of books centered on cults, and I enjoyed this aspect of the book. However, I felt that things got just a bit too far-fetched, and I struggled to buy into the plot. Overall, a decent read but not exceptional.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

Identical twins Elli and Sam used to switch places growing up. They were child actors and when Elli didn’t want to do her part, Sam took over. Now they are grown up, leading very different lives, and are no longer speaking. Their parents contact Sam because Elli is missing and they need her to come help with a niece Sam didn’t even know she had.

Sam finds it odd of Elli to disappear and starts piecing together clues as to find her. Can Sam save Elli from the mess she’s gotten herself into?

So…I both liked and didn’t like this book. I was intrigued at first - twins switching places, one twin missing, weird crap going on…but I felt like I was waiting for a huge twist that didn’t happen for me. I also think this is more family drama than thriller. It has gotten several really good reviews, so maybe it’s just me - definitely check it out if the synopsis appeals to you!

The plot featuring twins is what captured my attention since we will soon be welcoming a set to the family. Twins are a fascinating subject—even more so when they are identical. Even though identical twins are sometimes hard to tell apart, each one has their own distinct personality that shines through as they grow into adulthood.

In this story, twins Sam and Elli shared many things, but as they hit puberty, the differences began to emerge. When they are “discovered” by a Hollywood agent, Sam is excited to be a part of the acting world, while Elli is reluctant to be in the spotlight.

I felt like the story merged a bit of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen with a star like Lyndsey Lohan. The glare of the spotlight, the pressure to perform and the drug scene all played a part in ending their career as twins and eventually becoming estranged from each other.

When Elli disappears, she leaves Sam with some disturbing clues and a lot of questions. Sam is determined to find out what is going on with her sister and in order to find her, she decides to be her. The lengths each sister goes in order to protect each other proves just how strong with twin bond can be when tested.

Besides the Hollywood scene, California is also known for its offbeat religions and cult communities, which is another part of the plot.

I enjoyed the book and liked the ending, but some readers may feel everything was too neatly wrapped up. This is a clean story and the drug use is not dealt with in detail.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Random House for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.

This was a fun slow-burn mystery which had identical twin sisters and former child actors who have grown apart. Elli, the golden child, goes missing and her sister, struggling to stay sober after a lifetime of addiction is called in to help her parents babysit the niece she didn't know she had. Elli is supposedly at a spa, but she stops returning their calls and texts and hasn't returned. The book has a sold story line that is full of suspense without being super murdery or scary. Check this one out.

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for the electronic advanced copy.

This was a really unique story with a lot of components thrown into the mix.

Sam and Elli are sisters and former childhood stars who have lost touch with one another. As an adult, Elli has dedicated her life to being the perfect homemaker to her real estate lawyer husband. Sam, on the other hand, is still dealing with her failed Hollywood career and is overcoming addiction to pills and alcohol. It was this destructive behavior that ultimately drove a wedge between the sisters.

But when Sam is contacted by her father out of the blue, it’s then that she learns just how imperfect Elli’s life really is. Elli’s husband has left her and she now has an adopted two-year-old child that she has dumped on her parents while she attends a mysterious spa in Ojai. Sam isn’t quite convinced, however, that her sister is merely decompressing, and she believes Elli may be in trouble. Sam now makes it her mission to find her sister and what she uncovers along the way is so much more complicated than she imagined.

This was such an interesting story, and I really enjoyed reading it. The secrets that Elli was harboring were quite surprising and it wasn’t until Sam dug a little deeper that they came to light. Despite their differences, I think it showed just how deeply connected these twin sisters were. Elli helped Sam through her sobriety and though certain actions ultimately caused some contention between them, the fact that Sam was still willing to go to such lengths to find and help Elli revealed the strength of their bond and love for one another.

Definitely recommending this book!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4169324944

Title: I'll Be You
Author: Janelle Brown
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"I'll Be You" by Janelle Brown

My Assessment:

'I'll Be You' was a long read, but a good one in how these identical twins Elli and Sam were former childhood TVstars who now are adults. However, even though they were identical twins, they were pretty different. We find Sam is recovering from drugs and alcohol, and Elli has divorced her husband and supposedly adopted a daughter. However, it seems like Elli is going through something but seeking help in the wrong place...a cult. Sam has been called home to help her mother, who is now taking care of Elli's child...Charlotte. What was weird about this? Sam had no dealing with children. Even though Sam has had her problems with alcohol is being asked to come home and help with this child. The big question is, where is Elli, and why is she not there taking care of her child. It wasn't like Ellie to abandon this child for a never-ending spa retreat. There will be a lot going on with these two sisters, so the reader will have to keep up with the problems the mom added to this story. Both of these sisters had issues, but it seems like just one was trying to work on theirs while the other just kept making all kinds of wrong decisions.

As the story continues, there will be a lot of twists and turns as Sam makes it her goal to find her sister as it seems like her parents are not concerned about this issue. The story starts as they are young kids who started as stars, and what an intense and intriguing read the reader will be given as we see what they go through going back and forth in time, explaining the lives of the children to the present day now that they are adults.

Be ready for a little bit of it all from 'alcoholism, kidnapping, family drama, cults, control abuse, manipulation, the twins switching places, and unfailing love of these twin sisters' will show its hand in this read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

Best book yet by author Janelle Brown, period, I'll take no questions on that. This twisty sister story combined with a cult story is absolute captivating perfection. It's got remnants of stories we are familiar with- the escapades of child stars, the recognizable lures of cults- but there are aspects of this story that ring shockingly unique. There are some really heartbreaking moments in this story, and the sister relationship between twins Sam and Ellie rings really true as it explores the things that challenge their bond.

When identical twins Samantha (Sam) and Eleanor (Elli) are spotted by a talent agent, the two beautiful young girls are thrust into a life as child TV stars. Sam loves the spotlight and Elli would prefer a normal life going to school and having friends her own age. After a childhood of switching identities and keep secrets, the two sisters grow apart. As adults, Sam is battling addiction in Hollywood after her acting career has ended and Elli is leading a normal life in Santa Barbara with a husband and her own business doing floral arrangements. After being sober for a year, Sam is contacted by their father. Elli, who she no longer speaks to, and her husband have split up. Elli has gone to a spa retreat in Ojai to recharge. She has left her adopted two-year-old daughter Charlotte in her mother’s care and help is needed.

It is soon clear that Elli has not been truthful about where she is. She is not responding to calls and texts and could be in danger. Told from each sister’s perspective, Sam and Elli’s stories unfold and despite lies and deception, the bonds of sisterhood may prove stronger than they realize. I was a big fan of author Janelle Brown’s last book Pretty Things and I’m very happy that I’ll Be You is another twisty, can’t put down suspenseful mystery.

Rated 4.25 stars.