A recipe for success, but still a little disappointing?


⭐⭐⭐


I was seeing so many 5 star reviews from my friends on this one but in the end I felt like it was just okay. The premise and tropes are right up my alley. I love mysteries surrounding a group of friends. I love stories set at weddings. And I love knowing the conclusion and then going back and figuring out the whodunit. And this book executed all of those really well. But I am a few weeks out from finishing the book and I’m struggling to remember the details. It just didn’t stick with me.


It Could be Anyone follows a group attending the wedding of their college friend. A wedding ending, of course, in death. We then follow each of their perspectives of the months and days leading up to the accident as the truth unfolds.


The characters were all really interesting. They all had their own unique motivations and I felt their desperation. This is where the book really shines. I’m not surprised someone ended up dead because I understood what was at stake for everyone involved.


What I didn’t like was the pacing. It felt incredibly slow to get to the point. And in the end I was really disappointed with the reveal. I guess it really could have been anyone.


I’d recommend this for anyone who is a fan of The Guest List or Friends Like These.


QOTD: Do you read mostly ebooks or physical books? Kindle or iPad? Paperback or Hardback?

Finding Tessa, Hendricks' first thriller, was one of my top books of 2021 and is one of my top favorite thrillers ever, so I was really excited to get my hands on this one. I am a sucker for multiple POVs and this gave me so many that I felt so full. The secrets these people had were UNMATCHED and it makes me wonder if most people are walking around with this many damning secrets. I am a little shocked that these friends, who've known each other for so long, didn't trust each other more but there wouldn't have been a novel without that lack of trust. Every single POV is unreliable so you really have no idea who to trust until the VERY LAST PAGE. The twists kept coming and it really kept me on my toes.

Trevor and Fiona's best friends and family have gathered in beautiful Miami to watch the lovely couple join together in holy matrimony. Problem #1: literally the entire bridal party hates Trevor. Problem #2: no one know the others hate him too. Problem #3: Trevor winds up dead at the reception.

It Could Be Anyone is a fitting title for this who-dunnit, with a wide cast of characters, each with their own secrets and motivation. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters are their salacious pasts. The story was pretty far-fetched, and the big reveal didn't blow my socks off, but it was a fun ride along the way. And Trevor was such a horrible human, you couldn't help but be glad he was dead.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penzer Publishers for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.

where to even start with this gem. this book was messy as hell. if you’re willing to suspend belief that five people have these heinous secrets and just happened to all be the BEST of friends (this is reiterated about 500 times) then kudos. the book wasn’t terrible, it was entertaining in a so bad, its good kind of way….maybe. Dialogue. Bad. Pacing. Bad. Characters. Terrible. Not one likebale person and I could care less that their secrets were exposed. They were such dirtbags about their friend, numerous time stating that she “wasn’t a 10” or “she wasn’t that pretty how did she land a guy like Trevor?”Also, this whole “I don’t swear so let me replace every curse word with a cute word or “flippin”” is NOT funny. Authors, stop doing this I beg of you. Again, I’ve read worse. If this was written better I would have given a higher rating because I liked the concept.

•IT COULD BE ANYONE• Jaime Lynn Hendricks

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This story just comes busting through the door from page one 💥

Trevor drops dead at his wedding….

There are so many people that want him dead, you will have no idea who actually did it 👀
_________________________________

This book is as full of secrets as Gretchen Weiner’s hair. Your mouth will fall open almost every time you turn a page.

It’s told via multiple POVs that cycle through the ensemble cast of characters. I love stories told this way.

Trevor is seriously the douchiest of the all the douchy characters ever. I spent the entire book wanting to claw his face. 😂
__________________________________

I loved this wild book and you will too!

This book was unique and exciting. I don’t think there’s any other book that could switch characters like that without me getting confused. Each character was so well developed that I had no problem keeping them straight. I enjoyed the story and the unexpected ending. It kept me guessing until the last page!

It Could Be Anyone had major “Guest List” vibes by Lucy Foley which is always a good thing. At first I thought the story was a little cheesy, it’s been done before. But once the secrets started being revealed all I could think of was how twisted they were! Hendricks really didn’t stop at your typical whodunnit, she went all the way. The story was fast paced, and I needed to find out who the killer was. Of course, the hints were there all along. Can’t believe I didn’t figure it out! A fun read.

Thank you NetGalley, Jamie Lynn Hendricks, and Penzler Publishers for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Where to even start with this book!! I had seen it floating around Instagram and from the reviews that I had read, I knew that I wanted to get my hands on it! The book starts out with a BANG! The setting is a wedding and suddenly the groom tragically dies on the middle of the dance floor! The book then follows the rest of the best friends the days and months leading up to the wedding in a who dun it type scenario. Loved the Agatha Christie vibe that I got from the book!

I absolutely LOVED Hendricks writing style. The chapter were short but so much information was packed in and there were so many moments where I was picking my jaw up off the ground! I loved how fast paced this novel was as well, and once it started getting good I just couldn’t put it down because I wanted to know who did the dirty deed! Overall, I HIGHLY recommend this book if you love fast paced, mind blowing thrillers!

This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. I absolutely enjoyed this authors writing style. I enjoyed each character except for Trevor. This book is set in New York and Miami Florida. This book has great twists and turns a great thriller needs. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page. This book is a fantastic fast paced thriller. I would highly highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. This book will be in stores on May 10, for $25.95 (USD).

I love Hendricks, but this was not my favorite! I really enjoyed finding Tessa, so obviously I was super stoked to receive this early. I really enjoyed the multiple POV’s, there was quite a few twists and turns throughout the story that I really enjoyed. Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend this to a friend.

It could be anyone by @jaimelynnhendricksauthor
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This story opens with the groom dropping dead on his wedding day . And there are multiple people with strong opinions of the groom . Any one of them could have been behind the murder. But who ? Maybe the groom rubbed a few other people the wrong way ? Maybe . They all had motive. But who among them had more motive than the next . They could have come clean with their own secrets . They should have just offered their honesty. But then they would have let a monster stay free in the world .
This story goes back and forth between several main characters of the wedding party. Each chapter is a new secret revealed. Every page is another jaw dropping confession.. or lack there of .
This was such a fast paced read . And some the twists will leave you wondering " what the hell did I just read !?"
But which person hurt enough they needed to keep their secrets hidden . Which amongst them thought murder would be the best way to do this ?

It really could be ... anyone ..

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Thank you to NetGalley, Jaime Lynn Hendricks, and the publisher for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! I absolutely loved this fast-paced book and found myself needing to turn the pages to figure out who dunnuit! I loved the characters (minus Trevor) and how they were so connected to each other! Pick this one up if you're into a story that features drama, blackmail, love, and mystery. This one is available 5.20.22!!

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 for Goodreads.

I really like this premise, and definitely found myself intrigued by how one person could hold so many secrets. However, I found it difficult to keep track of everyone as they didn't feel like we got to see a lot of their individual personalities. Each chapter was more about how this person knows the group and the history they have with the friends and with Trevor. With this amount of POV's, it felt like we weren't able to get to know the individual characters outside of the bad things they'd done, which made me care less and less who killed the groom. Not a bad read, but not my favorite. I would've liked if there were less characters so we could get more attached to them. Or atleast to see some sort of redeeming qualities in the characters.

3 destination wedding stars

We find out very early that the groom doesn’t make it through his wedding night in this sophomore novel from Jaime Lynn Hendricks.

We then learn more about Trevor and how he arm-twisted the entire bridal party to endorse his marriage proposal and be part of the wedding. It seems that everyone has secrets, and they are willing to do just about anything to keep them hidden.

Fiona’s tight group of New York friends reluctantly head to Miami for the wedding and festivities. As the secrets and deception pile up, it becomes clear that everyone has a motive for the murder.

This one has an amazing premise but wasn’t executed in an amazing fashion for me. There were a few good twists, but I didn’t find myself invested in the characters and the ending was lackluster for me. I really liked this author’s debut novel, so I went into this one with high hopes. I hope that novel #3 returns to the form of her debut!

2⭐️

This US author new is new to me. It’s a domestic thriller, it’s got a mystery element, and a psychological element too.

Trevor Vaughan flew to Miami with 5 of his best friends for his wedding to Fiona. He dies of anaphylactic shock (peanuts) on the dance floor, the wedding day, with his epipen mysteriously not in its usual place in Fiona’s bag.
Only it would appear that these ‘friends’ don’t even like Trevor, each have their own reason for wanting him dead. As he has been manipulating them with threats of disclosing their secrets. He would seem to be a narcissistic sociopath.
So the mystery begins of whodunit.

There are a lot of guests names and POV so I made a list to keep track.
We aren’t given a chance to get used to the characters involved at the wedding before we start getting other unconnected friends and family names thrown into the mix too.
With their secrets non of the friends come across as likeable, Dutch does superficially with his good deeds.
We are taunted with the secrets constantly, but when finally revealed I was underwhelmed.

It’s also a story about the power of friendship and whether you put your own needs above those of your friends, and the consequences of both the selfless and selfish route. I did feel sorry for Fiona.

Unfortunately this story failed to grip me at any stage.

It Could be Anyone

It’s a GREAT title, but, unfortunately NOT a great story!

The bride, Fiona, was having a few doubts about her whirlwind romance and engagement.

So, the groom, Trevor, digs up dirt (and photos) on her five best friends and blackmails them into give her a little nudge to say “I Do” and walk down the aisle.

Which of them hated him enough to murder him at the wedding? Well, all of them, actually.

Which one is guilty is what you are reading to find out….

Unfortunately though, my mind kept on wandering, and I was having a difficult time keeping the characters straight, which is rarely the case-even with books with larger casts of characters!

I just never became invested in the story and didn’t really care who did it, or what Trevor “had” on any of them.

There was the potential for the ending to be CLEVER or surprising-IF ONLY the author had selected a different character to be the killer-but, unfortunately, the opportunity was missed, and the reveal was underwhelming.

If you enjoy books with destination weddings and want to see if you can figure out whodunnit-you can pick this up on May 10, 2022.

Thank You to Scarlet for providing a gifted ARC, in exchange for a candid review!

I am a big fan of Jaime Lynn Hendricks, after reading Finding Tessa. And I was so excited to be able to read this book early thanks to NetGalley! This book was one that I couldn’t put down! From the first page it caught my attention and made me eager to find out who done it! I love books with multiple characters’ point of views and this one had them all! I love getting to find out what each person is thinking and see the story play out from behind their eyes. I would definitely recommend this book!
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book early! I can’t wait to buy this book in print when It comes out!

This is certainly a fun read! Five good friends fly to Miami for the wedding of the sixth in the group, Fiona, who is marrying Trevor., one of the most despicable bad guys in any book this year. Fortunately he dies in the first few pages and we settle into a mystery of who might have killed him. All five had good motive and you can add me into that group too. So, what would you do if someone knew about a deadly secret you had, would you go along with silence to keep the status quo or would you do something about it. We find out here and I loved it.

WOW this book!

It was such a fantastic read! I read It Could Be Anyone by Jaime Lynn Hendricks in record time, its one of those novels where you don’t want to put it down until the last page is read! It kept me completely glued to the pages and I loved how everything unfolded. I always love a story that’s set in an exotic location where any of the guests could be guilty of a crime- very Agatha Christie!

To anyone on their flight out of New York, they appear to be five best friends excited for a destination wedding in Miami. No one would guess that each of them has a reason to want the groom dead.

Trevor Vaughn, the groom in question, wooed his bride-to-be by first becoming close with her friends—which is to say that he learned all of the five’s darkest, most dangerous secrets and blackmailed them into convincing Fiona to say “I do.” The friends were forced to convince a doubting Fiona to go through with the wedding, no matter what, and now the charade is set to continue all the way to the altar.

Trevor has his own reasons for wanting to marry into Fiona’s family, and he’ll stop at nothing to make his plan a reality. But when he dies of an apparent allergic reaction at the wedding, surrounded by such close enemies, the possibility of murder isn’t far behind. And for the authorities investigating the case, anyone present could be a suspect…

Expect plenty of twists and turns from this one!

Published on May 10.

Yes, it could be anyone- but whodunit? That's what we read to find out in this fun, suspenseful, and binge-worthy novel.

The story centers around the wedding of Trevor and Fiona and their best friends (bridesmaids and groomsmen) over a weekend in Miami. We know the groom dies- and we know many wanted him dead- but who and why?

This was such an enjoyable book! I was hooked from the first page and found myself furiously turning pages to discover the secrets and motives of the killer. I thought I knew who it was a number of times, but I’ll admit I was wrong. The ending was a surprise and I appreciated that.

I am a fan of Jaime Lynn Hendricks and look forward to future books! It Could Be Anyone publishes May 10, 2022, add it to your TBR list now!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jamie Lynn Hendricks, and Penzler Publishers for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.