OH MY GOD. Ok - Pretty Little Thing was my first Janelle Brown book. I'll Be You is my second and holy crap I couldn't put it down. First off - this needs to become a limited TV series starring the Olsen twins. Just putting that out there. EVERY SINGLE TWIST, and I mean EVERY TWIST, was beyond from each prediction I thought would be the next plot. Janelle Brown seriously shocked me with every turn. I want to re-read this as if for the first time to be honest.

JANELLE BROWN DOES IT AGAIN! I am addicted to everything Janelle Brown writes. Immediately put it on my TBR and let me read because I am in love with her writing and stories. I cannot get enough.

An atypical Hollywood child-star gone bad tale of redemption and rescue. Taking a familiar trope of the way Hollywood spits out hits and churns through vulnerable people, we see how two sisters swim through the sordid world of child stars. I often wondered how the parents of these child stars end up out of the picture, and this book offers plausible explanations.
Still, I'll Be You, is more than a tale of what happens in the after life of childhood television star fame. It is a tale of finding your way back.

Hmm I am sure most twins have said. … ...I’ll be you and you be me!
I have worked in education for more than 30 years~ every teacher I know can tell you a story about twins!!
I actually thought this was going to be ‘take’ on the “The Olsen Twins” ~ Mary Kay and Ashley Olsen.
I am sure many readers remember when they both played the same role in the sitcom “Full House. Then later got to play twins in “Two of a Kind”.
This totally got my attention at first. However, to me the whole cult thing has been overdone so I wasn’t as vested in the later part of the story.
This is my third Janell Brown~ I loved "Pretty Girls" but wasn’t a big fan of “Watch Me Disappear.
I went into this with a 50% assurance that I would like it. Hmm not as great as I had hoped ~ didn’t hate it but didn’t love it either.

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 26, 2022

I'll be you is the story of identical twins who have drifted apart over the years. They were child actors so there is Hollywood, drug and alcohol abuse and then a cult. Sam is the wild child and Elli is the one who follows all the rules and aims for a "normal" life in adulthood.

Their parents who don't feel that they can depend on Sam end up calling her when Elli goes to a retreat and doesn't come back home after the weekend.

Told in different times and from both girls POV's, the mystery of what happened to Elli was a compelling and kept me reading! Highly recommend, now I have to check out Janelle Brown's other books.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Usually, books about siblings don’t excite me- I have strong only child syndrome. Yet, Brown’s book was pretty captivating. Sam and Elli are former child actors: one is a mess, one is responsible... until they aren’t. This book has switching identities, some faux gossip, and a NXIVM- like cult thrown in for good measure. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

I just finished reading the book "I'll be You", by Janelle Brown. I would like to thank NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Let me start by saying that twins fasinate me. It must be awesome to have your carbon copy in this world with whom you can secretly commnicate, and at times, change places. Not alot of people can do that. Oh the fun you would have, but then again your identity is forever linked and it must be hard to maintain a separate identity.
That is generally what this book is about. Two twins trying to find their own identity while also supporting each other. Trying to accept differences and similarities between each other, and ultimately, helping each other through difficult times while accepting these similarities and differences.
This book also touches on cults and how they prey on innocent women who are feeling lost and alone.
The twins are former TV stars whose adult life isn't what they hoped it would be and when one of the sisters "disappears" the other is left to pick up the pieces and find out what happened.
I enjoyed the book. It was full of drama and intrigue which the author played out very well. The characters were likeable and rootable and I wanted them both to be happy and healthy. The intrigue and suspense focussed around the sister's past dynamic and their present issues. It was well written and easy to read and follow.
I like that the story was written from both sister's perspectives. I also like that the story didn't deviate into unecessary story telling or sub-plots. It stayed on task throughout. The author did an excellent job of creating a fascinating back story which made the sisters more appealing and interesting.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre. It was dramatic, exciting, and full of interesting characters and events. Well Done to the author.
Happy Reading.

This was a very well-written and certainly an entertaining book. I’ve maybe read a book, or two by Ms. Brown before, but none have left the impression of this work.

Sam and Elli two halves of a whole, twin child actors, who as adults went their separate ways finding the realities of life difficult to wade through. Sam falling victim to addiction and Elli unable to have a child becoming involved in a self-help group (cult). Each takes desperate measures that lead to serious trouble only solved by finding their way back to each other.

Ms. Brown has written some vivid well-described characters. Not just Elli and Sam, but their mother, Dr. Medina and even Charlotte stand up from the pages of the book. Each has her own background so real you can easily see them carrying on as they did.

Thank you Net Galley and Janelle Brown for a great read.

Twins Sam and Elli have had an usual upbringing as child actors. But Elli was always the reluctant one. When labor laws insisted that the twins trade off working hours, Sam decides to switch places with her twin, working a double shift because she’s so enthused by the job. Achieving success on a television show has left them rudderless as adults. Sam is in recovery and Elli is married to a real estate lawyer trying to live the semblance of a normal life. But when Elli ups and leaves her young daughter with her parents, they call Sam to help with the childcare. At first, they all believe Elli has left to go on a healing retreat of sorts, but Sam digs deeper and finds that all is not so copasetic in her twin’s life. This is a book about sisterhood, family and healing and the price one may ultimately pay when the wrong path in life is taken. My only jolting moment in this novel was that I was thrown by the POV switch midway through the novel as I’d grown fond of Sam. Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

I love a story that involves a cult, and I really loved some parts of this book, but felt like it was just a little bit too long. Sam and Elli are identical twins who become child TV stars a la Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen - Sam excitedly, Elli reluctantly. Elli left Hollywood and focused on being a wife and a mother; Sam tries to make it in Hollywood alone but is also struggling with addiction. Sam gets a call from their mother asking Sam to come home to help take care of the daughter that Elli has left with her parents while she takes a few days to herself. But Sam starts to worry after her sister doesn't come home, and sets off to untangle the mystery of where her sister has gone. There are lots of twists and turns along the way.

This has to be the MOST extreme plot of twins switching places that I have ever read! I was enthralled. Nearly every aspect of this storyline surprised me. The more reliable twin becoming a member of GenFem only causes more rifts in an already tumultuous, estranged relationship between the now grown twin-sister, childhood actresses. Substance abuse and secrets aplenty! Great book!

Sam and Elli had a charmed childhood from the outside looking in. They were child stars who were in the limelight too early and faded quickly. Sam led a life of addiction and rehab, where Elli went to college, got married, and opened her own business. But one fateful night drives them apart and when Elli goes “missing” a year later, Sam’s parents enlist her to help with her niece. But as Sam tries to find her sister, she also revisits what got them to this point. And it’s not pretty.

Sam and Elli are identical twins. But they are also very different. Sam loves theatre, Elli hates it but does it for Sam. As Sam takes over Ellis roll in movies they are doing she starts taking drugs and drinking. Elli always tries to help Sam recover, I too one fatal day. Sam and Elli haven't spoken in over a year when there mother asks Sam to come and help with Elli daught. What will Sam do to help save her sister in her time of need. Thanks netgalley

Thanks for the advance copy - I am a fan of this author. This started out a little slow but once it got going, I couldn't wait to see where it would head next. I didn't love the cult part as much as other reviewers but I really like the twin story and their separate thoughts.

This one was super underwhelming for me. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. I went into it expecting more suspense and twists and there was none of that. Sam and Elli are identical twins that were child actors. Sam loved the limelight, elli wanted to be normal. I didn’t realize that this story would take a turn and focus on a cult. Elli is sucked in hook line and sinker and Sam has to try to find a way to get her out. It just was kinda blah for me. The writing was great and I will definitely check out more from this author. But I don’t think I’ll remember this book a few months from now.

Janelle Brown never disappoints! I'll Be You is great from the first page until the last. This story is well written and the characters are so well developed, you will love the ones you don't want to love.

Thank you to net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What a fantastic book. Five stars!

Sam and Elli are identical twins, thrust into stardom at a young age. For Sam, she this was nothing short of an answered prayer, but for Elli, she felt much more comfortable in the shadows. As they grow older, their differences become much more pronounced and they went their separate ways.

Elli had the type of life only one could dream of, beautiful house, her own business and a successful husband. Sam on the other hand left Hollywood with both a drug and alcohol addiction that has consumed the last 15 years of her life. Sam gets a text one day from her mother, asking her to come home and help her out. Once Sam arrives she realizes her sister Elli has disappeared and left behind a small child that Elli wasn't aware of.

As Elli helps her mother care for the child, she also starts to question just what kind of retreat Elli has enrolled into, and the more important question, when is she coming back? What she finds as she digs deeper will shock and change everyone.

What a great thriller! The storyline completely pulled you in and the character shift from Sam to Elli was a great twist towards the end of the book. The writing was fantastic.

Thank you NetGalley and Random Publishing Group for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

This book was sort of a drag for me. I wanted so much more and it just felt so draggy - too slow.

The story was good, but it was so slow and I found myself constantly losing interest. I just never felt intrigued or invested.

Which is so unfortunate because I loved Pretty Little Things - but this one never got going, felt like it slogged along and I just can't say I loved it.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and opinion. This was such a well-told story! I stayed up way to late to finish reading this book as I couldn’t put this down. Please add this ASAP to your to be read list immediately as you will be so happy you did.

I’d say this was a 3.5 for me— good, but not something that will stick with me. Author Janelle Brown does a great job differentiating the twins, developing them into fully-fledged individuals with complex belief systems and desires. Though they’re identical, with nearly identical histories and upbringings, they are entirely unique. I also think the cult story is deceptively hard to pull off in writing; they almost inevitably fall flat, as the strict, monastic lifestyle of the indoctrinated is often not nearly salacious or thrilling enough, in comparison to a cadre of thrillers filled with kidnapping, murder, and torture, where the stakes feel so much higher. Additionally, there are many more real life cults to which we’ve been exposed on TV, and there’s far less variation between them, so it feels done. If you’ve watched or read anything about the NXIVM cult, then nothing here will be particularly shocking. However, Brown does a good job here, keeping things from being boring, by making the cult itself secondary to the mystery of Elli’s disappearance and Charlotte’s story line.