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I previously read Janelle Brown’s Pretty Things and really enjoyed its delightful thriller take on Instagram influencers. I was excited to see another of her books on NetGalley and even more excited to see it using a child star identical twins plot. I smashed that request button, let me tell you, and this did not disappoint. In fact, between the two sisters, it covered two of my other favorite plots – a person with addiction in recovery and a person falling for a cult.

Imagine if the Olsen twins were identical (they’re not) and had a falling out right after they stopped acting. That’s the basic set-up of this book. Sam continues to try to act and also continues to fall into a hole of addiction. Elli pursues a regular life, going to college, setting up a florist business, and marrying. We find this all out in flashbacks, as the book starts with a bang with Sam, who we quickly find out is just past a year in recovery, getting a phone call from her parents to come help take care of her niece. Elli brought her newly adopted toddler daughter to them to go on a quick spa retreat in Ojai, but is gone longer than expected. Sam is shocked by all of this because she and Elli haven’t spoken in over a year for ominous reasons we don’t know yet.

I loved this book. I was immediately enamored with Sam. What a tough situation to get plopped in your lap just over a year into recovery. She suspects something is amiss with Ellie, but Ellie has always been the stable one and Sam the untrustworthy addict, so her parents don’t take her concerns seriously. But we, the readers, quickly see that Sam is likely right. There’s something fishy going on. Why would Ellie and her husband suddenly separate right when they adopt after years of infertility? How likely is it that a woman who struggled with infertility for years would suddenly disappear to a retreat for more than a week, barely speaking to those caring for her long hoped-for daughter? Why won’t Sam and Elli’s mom and dad admit something is off? There’s a lot of delicious suspense immediately.

Most of the beginning of the book is from Sam’s perspective, but partway through we swap to Elli’s. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this, because I was so invested in Sam, but it worked. Eventually, we swap back to Sam’s toward the end. Sam’s characterization is just so strong and relatable to me, whereas Elli’s is a more difficult character for me to relate to. But the reason it worked is Sam needs to come to understand Elli and so, getting inside Elli’s head and perspective helped me see that, so that I started to root for Sam’s attempts to rebond with Elli in a way I hadn’t before.

The only reason this is getting four stars and not five from me is because of one scene where a secondary lesbian character is biphobic. It was hurtful to me to read that scene, and I just didn’t think it was necessary to the plot of the book. I’m ok with characters being imperfect when it serves needs of character and plot development, but the exact same plot device could have worked without the biphobia. (Essentially, this character exacts revenge on her ex-wife. While the revenge is spurred on by multiple things the ex-wife did, the tipping point is that she got together with a man after the divorce, and the character is extra upset because it’s a man and she’d “hid” being bisexual from her. Ick. We could have just….had something else be the tipping point. There are plenty of options. An example of biphobia I would have been ok with seeing would have been if Sam and Elli’s big fight was about one of them being bisexual and the other not being able to handle it. That’s important character development. This wasn’t.)

Overall, this was a fun, different read with a main character I really enjoyed and a different take on some common thriller plot devices. I recommend it, and I think I myself might go back and read more of Janelle Brown’s back catalog.

4 out of 5 stars

Length: 368 pages – average but on the longer side

Source: NetGalley

GoodReads:
Really enjoyed this one. Twins! Cults! Child stars! Addiction and recovery!

Check out my full review.

*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

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This thriller about identical twin sisters who are former child stars did not disappoint. In fact, between the two sisters, it covered two of my other favorite plots – a person with addiction in recovery and a person falling for a cult. When Sam’s estranged sister Ellie drops off her adopted toddler daughter with their parents to stay in a spa retreat then doesn’t come back after the weekend, their parents call Sam to babysit. Sam can’t figure out why they aren’t more worried about Ellie’s refusal to return and can’t get them to listen to her worries. Because Ellie is the responsible one, and Sam is the untrustworthy one with a year of sobriety under her belt and no rebuilt trust yet. So Sam takes matters into her own hands. Link to full review in my profile.

*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

Thanks to Random House, the author, and NetGalley for the free gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll Be You is a twisty mystery with all the creepy cults vibes, but it all starts out with identical twins who were child Hollywood stars. The first part of the book is a little slow where there’s a lot of setting the scene, but once you get about halfway you won’t be able to put it down cause you’ll need to know what happens in the end.

The author played with the multiple POV and mixed timelines to keep you on your toes and always wanting more to the story. This definitely the type of book where you have to give the first half a shot because it picks up in the second half.

I recommend I’ll Be You to anyone who prefers their mystery/thriller books to have no gory moments, but lots of creepy twists and turns that leave you guessing till the very end.

Former child stars, Sam & Elli, are identical twins in every way except personality. Sam loves the spotlight. She shines on the stage and dons her characters like a chameleon changes color. Elli does not like the attention. She only continues to act to please her sister. After their second sitcom ends, the twins now almost adults choose different paths.
Elli goes to college, starts a business, and marries her college boyfriend. Life seems perfect for her. Sam, on the other hand, stays in Hollywood and continues to audition, looking for that big break which never seems to come. Her life is a disaster and her apathy lead to drugs and lots of bad decisions. Over time, Sam and Elli have drifted apart. They haven’t spoken in years.
Out of the blue, Sam’s father calls her and begs her to come home. Elli has taken off and left her daughter, Charlotte, for them to watch. Elli has a daughter? Had things got so bad Elli didn’t tell her? Sam takes a week off work and heads home. Her mom fills her in on Elli’s life … she is divorcing her husband, she adopted Charlotte, and now Elli is at some sort of self-help retreat. It was only to be a weekend but she has been gone for a week and isn’t answering texts or phone calls. As Sam helps with Charlotte, she also does some investigating. What she finds does not make her feel better. What lengths would you go to help someone you love?
This is the third book I have read by Janelle Brown and it is every bit as good as the previous two. Her characters are so real, you feel you know them. Her character, Sam, is a mess and you are not sure you like her and as the story moves forward, Brown’s characters pivot and change places. Now you are rooting for Sam and disgusted with Elli. The family drama is intense but isn’t that the way it is with all families? Readers who like Catherine Steadman and Shari Lapena will love this novel.

Robyn Heil, Buyer for Brodart Co.

Wow! Janelle Brown did it again! What a must read, A story of the lives of twins that were child TV stars whose paths as they grew up were very different Both were so torn by the life they lead, yet they came together in a very mysterious way. A page turner!

Gripping story with interesting characters! I was intrigued from the beginning and it kept me guessing until the end. I did not find it as exciting as some others I have read in the past but it was still a good read overall.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not normally a fan of novels where a cult essentially serves as a character (as in never) but Janelle Brown's latest is pretty damn good! It's the story of two identical twin sisters and former child stars - one now a disgraced party girl, the other the perfect daughter who appears to have it all, but looks can be deceiving. A complex & captivating thriller and a great readalike for fans of Liane Moriarty's Nine Perfect Strangers. Note: I liked I'll Be You A LOT better.

Twins? Cults? What more could you want from a domestic thriller??? This book hooked me from the first chapter and I just couldn’t wait to see how it unfolded! This was suspenseful , had great plot twists and strong yet flawed female characters!

I'll Be You is my first book by this author.

I went into this book expecting a thriller. And to me that's not what this book was. There was some mystery but it read more like a family drama to me.

The book is divided into 3 parts. The story is about identical 32 year old twin sisters: Sam and Elli.

The book starts off from Sam's 1st person POV in the present. But we get some of the past (when they were childhood television stars). I liked the childhood acting part of the story. And was intrigued by the concept of sisters who were so identical that they could switch places and become the other.

My favorite parts of this book were the reveal at the end of Part 1 and Caleb. I wish that he had been in this book even more as I loved every scene that he was in.

The book deals with some serious subjects: addiction, disappearance of a family member. and estrangement between sisters.

The book was interesting. But I was hoping for more reveals. For something more riveting and chilling. Overall the story was just okay for me.

4.5 stars
I'll Be You was my first Janelle Brown thriller but definitely won't be my last. Twins and a cult - sign me UP! And wow this book did not disappoint. I flew through the pages, hoping but still uncertain how things would end, but still was left satisfied when I clicked to the last page. Sam and Ellie could have been anyone I knew (minus the Hollywood fame). Their character profiles were thoughtfully well developed, and if a powerful wellness group is going to band together to change lives, then California is where I'd expect it to pop up. I did need to review a few passages as the perspective of the sisters swaps a couple times and the story is pretty fast paced. Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to preview #IllBeYou by #JanelleBrown - I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one.

Can y’all hear me screaming from the mountain tops because this book is SO GOOD and I’m fully prepared to make everyone read it!

So. This book is about a cult. I didn’t know that going in and I mostly picked this up because I absolutely LOOOOVE Pretty Things. So Janelle Brown is definitely an auto buy author and I’m down for reading anything she ever writes!!

But as soon as “cult” was mentioned in this one, I was SOLD. I feel like it’s hard to find good books written about cults? But this one is FANTASTIC. It definitely had some similarities to NXIVM (er, in ~programming, not the, uh, branding) so I enjoyed that since I absolutely DEVOURED The Vow.

But even beyond that, this book just had so many layers. And it’s ultimately about relationships and the choices we make regarding them. And how sometimes your life just doesn’t turn out quite the way you thought it would.

So to say I enjoyed this book would be a massive understatement. This is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year and you can fully expect to see it in my 2022 favorites in December! I already know this is going to be a book that haunts me. But, like, in a good way.

So I have I convinced you to read this yet? I hope so. I finished it just moments ago and I already can’t wait to read it again. It’s that good!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review. I loved this one so much!!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a fine read. I was expecting to love it more but it was just fine.

I’ll Be You is about identical twin sisters, Sam and Elli. They shared everything together from holding hands in the dark or sleeping cuddles together a night. They become actresses and when Elli didn’t want to do it anymore, Sam became both twins.
As adults, their lives have grown apart. Elli got married and had the perfect life and Sam became an addict. That drove a wedge between them for over a year. One day Sam gets a call from her father and found out Elli’s husband left her and she had adopted a two-year-old girl, Charlotte. Elli was feeling overwhelmed and went to a retreat. Their mother has a bad hip and asked Sam to come and take care of Charlotte. It become apparent that Elli isn’t coming back, doesn’t answer her phone. She has disappeared. Sam takes it upon herself to find Elli. The adventure begins and many mysteries await her.

I thought I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown was a quick easy read, I couldn’t put it down. I had to get to the end to discover what this mysterious retreat was all about.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the preview yearly and review.

Sam and Elli are two twin sisters that have shared everything before. They’ve shared a birth date, a connection, the same family, the same fame, and even their lives.

Sam used to take Elli’s spot often throughout their lives and she has to do the same once more. Elli has all but disappeared and it’s up to Sam to find her sister. Does this new self-improvement cult have something to do with it?

While Sam struggles to find her sister, she also has to struggle with her inner demons and the sobriety she’s worked so hard for. Can Sam find her sister before it’s too late?

I completely loved trying to untangle this web of deceit and so will you.

I'll Be You by Janelle Brown was another engrossing novel by this author, whom I have grown to love. As with the last book I read of hers, Pretty Things, she writes about family love and dysfunction exceptionally well. This story is about identical twins, Sam and Ellie, flashing back and forth between their interactions as children and as adults. Especially intriguing is how the same stories were referenced from both their different perspectives and seen so differently by both of them. Sam is the bold, extroverted, wild twin. Ellie is the more reserved, conventional twin. Both were raised by a loving mother, whose fatal flaw was she didn't want to know about unpleasant realities, so often the twins were forced to figure out their own way through tough emotional situations without adult guidance from an early age. Their father enabled his wife's issue,

As kids the twins starred on a couple television shows. The showbiz life was one that Sam loved, but Ellie hated. After their twin-star career ended. Ellie settled into "normal" life as a student then wife and hopeful-mother. Sam tried to be a star on her own, but found it difficult and fell hard into a cycle of addiction and rehab, most often with her sister as her savior.

After a falling out with each other, over a year later, the twins' parents calls Sam (now on the wagon after successful rehab) to ask her to come home to help take care of Ellie's daughter while Ellie is away at a self-help weekend. Sam didn't know her sister had a daughter. But when Ellie's absence extends questionably long with no contact, Sam gets suspicious and decides to try to be her sister's savior for once leading to intrigue.

I liked the book. I found the dynamic between the sisters pretty realistic given the odd circumstances. The mystery of Ellie's disappearance was a little strange, but still engaging. To me, though this book played better as a family drama than as a thriller.

Definitely more family drama than thriller, but a well plotted and engrossing read.

I'LL BE YOU joins a slate of novels exploring cults, this time through the lens of two former child star twins. Each twin was a fully drawn character and there are lots of insights about sibling relationships. A good pick for when you want a family drama with some mystery in the background.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for this review.

3.75 stars. I’ll Be You is a thriller that had me riveted to the end. The story centres around adult twin sisters who were child actors, and when one sister doesn’t return home from a retreat as expected, and sends only a cryptic text to update her family, things begin to get tense. The organization which focuses on women empowerment is hosting the retreat, and it begins to reveal itself as having not so pure intentions as the story progresses. As things unfold, there are interesting layers to the family history, including a lack of boundaries, substance abuse, and jaw dropping decisions that shake relationships to the core. The book also examines how over time, one’s judgement can be clouded by strong emotions and desperation.

The book was a great reading experience, and it has a stunning cover. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the electronic ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is one of my favorite reads of 2022! I loved everything about it. Janelle Brown does such a good job with the character development of each twin. It was creatively done by giving each one half the book. While it is not a thriller, there is a great mystery vibe that leaves you not wanting to put it down. I highly recommend this book!

I recently started reading books by this author and love her! Good characters, storylines and quick reads. I read it all in 2 sittings!

Janelle Brown is quickly becoming one of my favorite more literary mystery authors, and this was another strong book from her. Brown’s writing has an incredibly strong sense of place that I always enjoy, whether that’s Lake Tahoe, Santa Barbara, or even in this case, just a passing run in on the streets of Burbank. I think in this one, I was a little less invested in what I had perceived as the main mystery.

Wh???? Wha????? WHAT???? This book in bonkers but in a great way. Janelle Brown is such a talented author who is able to create characters that jump off the pages. In this one, its two twin sisters who have a grown apart but when one goes missing, the other one knows that something has happened.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the arc.