How far would you go for your sister? Sam and Elli would do a lot!
I’ll Be You was a fantastic read and I would definitely recommend this fast pace, psychological story to anyone!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Very Britt Bennet vibes from this one in the best way. Truly a fascinating thriller about the two sisters. Thanks to Random House for the arc for my honest review.

This was an intricate novel of suspense. The main characters are twins Sam and Elli. Something is going on with Elli and Sam is asked to come help by their mother. When Sam arrives she begins to think there is something seriously wrong as she learns more about what has been going on. Sam and Elli have had their share of issues between them. It started as they were close twins and continued through their younger years of acting and into their resulting adult lives. The emotional memories of the whole family are revealed as the story unfolds.

I have been trying to get into this book for over a month with no luck. I am not connecting with the characters or the story. I am deciding to DNF at about 24%

An outstanding thriller with 2 childhood start twins, but when one of them goes missing, this is when the fun begins! The author did a fantastic job describing what it would be like to be in the eye of fame as a child. The book is told in both twins POV. Fantastic twist as always from Janelle Brown.

I am so sorry to say that this book just didn't work for me. I have liked other books by the author, but I couldn't get into this particular story. I am sure that others will love it, but I couldn't get pulled in.

I wanted to love this one but I just couldn't connect with the storyline. I love a family drama mystery, but the "good and evil twin" plot just didn't work for me. I love the way this author writes such nuanced and realistic characters and enjoyed Pretty Little Things so much, but this just fell really flat for me. Maybe it my was my timing but this wasn't a hit this time around!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my gifted copy.

Wish we could give half stars because it’s really a 2.5 for me.

I like the overall concept but the storytelling didn’t do it for me.

This book is weird. Not fun weird, not crazy WTF weird, just strange and kind of boring.

Didn’t get invested in either of the characters enough to care how it ended so when I finished the book the whole thing just felt like a shrug.

I started to read this one expecting a captivating and twisty thriller, and Janelle served it right in a silver platter!! I felt like there were many topics talked about in this story, and all of them kind of coherently came together. Slow burns must work hard to make me like them, and I enjoyed this very much. The plot kept me guessing which is hard not to love!

Thank you Random House for the e-arc.

I'll Be You is an outstanding thriller following former child star twins who have grown apart when one of them disappears. The story is unpredictable from start to finish. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers hooked with it's fast pace and delicious plot. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly addictive. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out I'll Be You today.

There were some excellent moments in this book! Janelle Brown did a fantastic job of digging into the dangers of child stardom without making it sound cliche or cringy. I started out (as many other readers probably did) thinking this might be an alternative story about the Olsen twins, but I realized that this book could have been about any set of twins working in Hollywood or any child actor really.

Of the two twins, Sam's story really spoke to me. Because we start the book with her and spend a considerable amount of time with her before moving on to Elli, we really get a chance to get to know Sam and realize that even though her behavior isn't excusable -- and she doesn't try to justify it, which I found refreshing -- it is explainable. There are legitimate reasons for her behaving the way she did. The best part was that she owned up to it in every instance.

Elli's story was a little less engaging. Maybe this was because her voice and Sam's voice sounded quite similar. They're identical twins, so I don't know if Brown chose to make them sound almost identical too. There was an eerie quality to that, though, that made me fidget a little. Also, even though Sam is the more troubled of the twins, and therefore the one with way more to lose, I found Elli to be much more fragile. I know their characters are set up where Sam is the dominant twin and Elli is the submissive one. But something about Elli just made me a little impatient with her.

The last third of the book fell a little flat to me. After all the buildup to the GenFem compound and everything that was supposedly going on there, I expected a much more dramatic climax and ending. I'm starting to find, though, that many books written during the pandemic are like this. They start out great with wonderful characters and tight plots and unravel somewhat by the end. Some unravel way more than others. This one still held together, for the most part, for me, but I found myself at the end feeling underwhelmed.

Still, it was definitely a compelling read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for my gifted digital review copy!

Sam and Elli, identical twins and former child television stars, followed a similar trajectory until their late teens. Yearning for a ‘normal’ life, Elli drops out of the spotlight while Sam struggles to stay in it and descends down a path leading to drug and alcohol addiction. After a big falling out that results in the two not speaking for over a year, Sam’s mom asks her to come home and help with Charlotte, the niece she didn’t know she had. Sam, a year into sobriety, is forced to confront the fact that she may not know or understand Elli as well as she presumed.

Yay for another amazing book from Janelle Brown and boo to me for taking way too long to read this one. As always, Brown’s characters are lush, developed, and feel like real, breathing people. I was quickly drawn into this one and felt so invested in Sam and Elli’s stories. I particularly emphasized with Sam, especially as she details her battle with addiction. The book covers so many interesting themes: sisterhood, perception of addiction, and cults/groupthink. I wouldn’t expect anything less of Brown- she’s definitely become one of my favorite authors!!

Janelle Brown has written an excellent twist on twin sisters who have gone in opposite directions. A definite must read!

4? stars

This was an interesting read. I’ve been very into the domestic-thriller genre these past few years, so I always like to check out big and/or intriguing story concepts. There’s also something about twins and the potential to swap identities/lives that can be kind of fascinating. This book was strange but fun; it got a bit wild at times, it was twisty, and I was captured by many of the details of the story. Overall, I enjoyed this story and will be keeping an eye out for the author’s future work.

Thanks #netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. This started out slow for me. I almost stopped but after the first third of the book, I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend.

Interesting story of dysfunctional twins who were former Hollywood stars who haven’t spoken to each other but now one twin must solve the mystery of where her twin is. Numerous drug use descriptions, cult interactions, child kidnapping, and an odd romance between former addicts covered in this book. A quick read that isn’t really a thriller but will keep you guessing.

Identical twin sisters and former child stars are now adults and have grown apart. One, a seemingly perfect housewife and homemaker who lives near the beach. The other, having never fully recovered from her failed career in Hollywood, deals with mental health issues, substance abuse and addiction. Then one sister disappears, and the other is forced to confront the secrets in order to connect the dots.
When Sam's parents call her to come help with Elli's daughter while Elli is away at a spa, Sam wants a chance to prove that she is sober and responsible. But as Elli's absence is extended, Sam knows that something is wrong.
Not just a mystery with a cult at its center, I'll Be You also examines the sacrifices we make for those we love.

Two identical twin sisters and former child stars are now adults and have grown apart. One, a seemingly perfect housewife and homemaker who lives near the beach. The other, having never fully recovered from her failed career in Hollywood, deals with mental health issues, substance abuse and addiction. Then one sister disappears, and the other is forced to confront the secrets in order to connect the dots.

This was actually my first book from the author and I liked it a lot. It was told in multiple parts, each from a different sisters point of view, which I found really interesting. I liked getting their unique perspectives on the events as they unfolded. The cult aspect of the book was pretty cool, as I havn't read many books with this theme. I think this is classified correctly as a mystery/suspense, so don't go into this one expecting a thriller.

The book deals with secrets and lies, the bond between family (most especially between twins) and the complex choices that we make to keep those family bonds. I like how it introduced a behind the scenes look at child stardom. Overall, I found this to be an entertaining read that had me easily turning the pages to see what was coming.

This was a terrific book - twisty and unexpected and kept me guessing the whole time without being over the top. Definitely worth reading.

Elli has disappeared. Not long after joining GenFem, she left her daughter with her mother and cut off communication with her family. Has Elli joined a benign self-help group or cult? Either way, her identical twin sister Sam is determined to bring Elli home.

The exploration of the complicated relationship of the estranged sisters makes I'll Be You an intriguing read. While I wouldn't label this one a thriller, this slow-burn contemporary fiction novel mixes mystery and suspense with a fascinating tale of sisterhood, manipulation, the impact of failed expectations, and co-dependency.

I'll Be You raises some interesting moral questions to ponder long after you finish reading it.

I received a gifted copy of this book.