What if "You" was considerably less interesting and constantly stumbled around its own plot? I know this author is well-established, but I didn't enjoy this. DNF around 30%.

I could feel the fear and angst that was growing ever stronger in Mia as if I was there myself. All of the characters were fleshed out so perfectly that I felt that they were real people. Even the most minor characters. This author has real talent and I look forward to reading more.

DNF at 21%. I really wanted to like this one because the plot was so intriguing, but it just didn’t live up to its potential . I felt like the FMC goes on way too many rants and gets off topic to easily and she just pissed me off.

Started to read…got in about 50 pages and thought it wasn’t going anywhere so I gave up. Might have been interesting according to the preface but too slow going for me.

I wouldn’t really classify this as a thriller. It took until over half way through for any thing actually “thrilling” to happen and even then, I wouldn’t say it was all that exciting. The novel spent a lot of time focusing on family and work drama and was filled with many unnecessary details and repetition that didn’t add anything to the story. This could have been a great premises, but overall, I didn’t find this interesting or find myself caring at all about what was going to happen or about any of the characters.

Sadly this was not my favorite thriller. The premise sounded fascinating - an unremarkable woman begins getting mysterious notes and texts from a secret admirer who may be more nefarious than he lets on! Unfortunately, the execution was just not there for this one. I found the writing to be uneven and even cheesy at times. I generally love stalker themed novels, but this felt lacking.

I liked but I feel like it could be a little bit more better. I did enjoy it though. Thank you for letting me read it NetGalley

A thriller that will keep you on your toes. This book had me from page one. The beginning chapters sets everything up for you for the plot. Some reviews say the beginning is too slow, but to me it’s not. You need all this info to fully grasp the story. There are many twists and turns that make for a great psychological thriller. I consumed this book in one day.

I wanted to love this book and ended up barely tolerating this book. I just couldn't connect with Mia in any way and it was very long on dialogue and short on anything actually happening. Skimmed more than read the last 10 percent. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this available.

1.5 stars. Oh man. Let me see if I can put my thoughts into words. Another reviewer complained about the constant lengthy scenes of dialogue between Mia and others in the book, but that’s the one part I enjoyed. The plot has a ton of potential but omg, the writing was so bad. I looked up the author afterward and found that she is really an erotic romance author, and I could TELL.

The writing was bad, which made the main character INSUFFERABLE because it’s first person POV. Arouned the 35% mark I started skimming; I was interested enough in the story to want to finish, but I couldn’t spend three hours reading the writing. I’m glad I skimmed to the end - which was decent with a good twist - because the writing just stayed as difficult. At once point the chapters opened with quotes and the author used a JOEL OSTEEN quote about shutting up if you’re not gonna be positive??? I died lmao.

The story had a lot of potential, but the quality of writing just took away from it. Grateful for the ARC from NetGalley and the publisher.

3⭐️

Mia Anderson lives a quiet life. She has her two best friends known as the 2 J's who hate each other but get along for Mia, and her parents even though her relationship with her mother is strained. She works as librarian and goes about her life trying to be invisible. Being invisible is a security blanket; if you're invisible, no one can expect anything from you.

But when her best friend Jess begins to write an article about online dating, Mia gets drawn in. That's how she meets Adam, a mysterious man who says he wants to help Mia get out of her shell. Around that same time, she starts getting anonymous notes left at random places that all revolved around the same theme: You Look Beautiful. She soon finds out that Adam doesn't want to just help her out of her shell, but he will get rid of anyone in the way.

I'm conflicted on this one. The idea is great and while the twist wasn't necessarily surprising, I do feel like it was a good conclusion for what we got. I liked the hatred between Jack and Jess and how they seemed to overcome their issues to support Mia. I liked the storyline of a stalker that was met on a dating app. I liked almost everything about this book, except Mia.

Mia as a main character did nothing for the story. She's just another mousy girl with no self-esteem who complains repeatedly about being invisible while actively making herself invisible. The constant disdain of her mother over being left at the store as a child (look, I get it), the pointless 'drama' of the library, the constant insisting that everything she did as a leadership role at the library was a 'disaster.' It was just a lot and her shyness didn't come across as humble it just came across as 'pick me!' Had Mia had any other personality, this would have been a much higher rated book for me.

Oh, and the random 'present' chapters that were sprinkled throughout the story did not make this more suspenseful or thrilling. They could have been completely cut and nothing would have changed.

Thanks Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing this ARC to me!

You Look Beautiful Tonight by L.R. Jones

Pub: June 1, 2023 by Thomas & Mercer

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the gifted eARC to read and review!

Mia Anderson has always felt invisible. She hides in the shadows in her friendships, relationships and career.

The story combines a You like secret admirer/ with a journey of self-growth. If that combination sounds weird, it does kind of come together at the end.

The biggest challenge I had as a reader is the book's slow pace. The past vs. present timelines helped, but the pace and tension suffered from being told primarily through Mia's POV. The ending was both easy to predict and felt like it was trying too hard to be edgy and provocative. I would have loved to have had the killer's POV throughout the book and a more detailed back story.

I loved that Mia was a librarian and that a library was a primary setting for the story. The comfort she finds in books is something I think we can all relate to!

While it wasn't a match for me, there were lots of promising elements and many others have enjoyed it.

The first half of the book I found slow and repetitive. Towards the last half of the book it started to pick up speed. I totally did not expect the twist, I did suspect but, still did not think it would go that way. At the ending I found the author was rushed, it was like oh yeah here is the stalker the end. Just felt unfinished. It was still a good thriller overall.

Ahhh...I was just not impressed and that is unfortunate considering how excited I was for receiving this ebook ARC! However, that is not to say that the writing was bad by Jones and it may have just been me that was the issue as I traveled through this "mystery thriller."

You Look Beautiful Tonight is infused with suspense revolving heavily around secrets. L.R Jones' prose was captivating, and the book has a good mix of narration and dialogue. At times, I found that the details deviated from the central plot, dragging on a bit. Mia Anderson is a thirty-three-year-old librarian who has always been invisible. Putting herself out there and taking risks is outside her comfort zone, and she accepts her solitary existence. Occasionally, she is thrust into the social and busy life of her best friend, Jess, a successful journalist who signs her to an online dating website as part of her article. While completing her tasks in the library, Mia watches the world around her until she finds a man holding her gaze. She also begins receiving notes saying, "You look beautiful today, " affirming the words she longs to hear. The frequency of these notes ignites a sense of creepiness and paranoia within Mia, leaving more questions than answers in her wake. Things take a drastic turn when people around Mia, particularly from her past and present, suddenly die, and the safety of the ones closest to her is used as a bargaining tool to ensure Mia complies. Will Mia pay the ultimate price as she tries to orchestrate an escape route? The ending was unnerving and caught me off guard. If you have been subject to stalking and catfishing, I strongly suggest that you skip this one. However, if you enjoy suspense and thrillers, get ready to be swayed!

Thank you, NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer, for providing a reviewer copy. This honest review has been left voluntarily

Well, that plot took a hard unexpected twist that made this thriller unexpected. My curiosity was piqued along the way with suspicions but never would I ever have suspected the outcome giving that ending. I found this to be a good suspense without having that predictable feel which kept me hooked, wanting to know what was going to happen. This makes the psychological drama to come all the more satisfying.The book slowly builds then turns very quickly.

I will say given this being a character driven plot, you really connect with the characters. The characters in the book are what made me want to keep reading. On a side note, had this not been a thriller, this could’ve been an amazing contemporary romance. Wishful thinking pairing up Jack and Mia but in the context of this book, I loved their friendship. Then there’s Jess. Well, you’ll love her and then you won’t.

Overall, You Look Beautiful Tonight was a good psychological thriller with a slow unravel that really became quite the page turner. Given my experience with this author only in the contemporary romance genre, I’m ready to explore more of her thriller and suspense side.

This was giving heavy stalker vibes, something a la "You" and had me intrigued. I find those books so gripping and creepy and this one lacked both of those qualities for me. I found the writing to be good, but the excecution was just very meh for me.

3.75stars—YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL TONIGHT by LR Jones (Lisa Renee Jones) is a contemporary, adult, stand alone thriller focusing on thirty-two year old Tennessee librarian Mia Anderson.

Told from first person perceptive (Mia) following two timelines, YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL TONIGHT focuses on Mia Anderson, and her best friend Jessica ‘Jess’ Pierce’s attempt to push our heroine out of her comfort zone to try something new. Mia is a librarian who believes herself to be ‘invisible’ to others, non-descript, plain-Jane type, stereotypical nerdy librarian whose prospects for a future with love limited at best. Mia’s best friend Jess Pierce is tasked with writing an article about dating apps, and signs up Mia for a chance at love. Mia is immediately taken with ‘Adam’, a businessman who is willing to help give Mia the push she needs to try something new but something isn’t quite right, and Mia begins to suspect that Adam isn’t the man he presents himself to be. As the bodies begin to amass, all in the name of defending our story line heroine, Mia knows there is only one man who may be able to help, a man who isn’t at work when she needs him the most but as the people in her life disappear or die, Mia struggles to separate herself from the online persona.

YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL is a murder-mystery, suspense thriller focusing on obsession and madness, delusion and determination. LR Jones pulls the reader into a fast paced story line that covers a few days in the life of our story line heroine. The premise is intriguing although the direction of the story, and the guilty parties were obvious and predictable; the characters are desperate and dogged- most of the secondary and supporting characters control every aspect of our heroine’s life. I had some concern about the immaturity of the characters, and the adolescent dialogue-not what I was expecting.



THE READING CAFE: http://www.thereadingcafe.com/you-look-beautiful-tonight-by-lr-jones-review-tour/


GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5542966683


AMAZON. COM: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2UKJ3J6DI8A3R/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8


BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/823480838

This is a slow burn style mystery. There is a lot in here about relationships, dating websites and trying to sort out your life at almost 30. It took a while to get going and I found myself immersed in the MC's inability to feel seen all the time rather than the mystery. The reveal and ultimate plot twist was so over the top it was hard to even picture - more like an action movie plot than a thriller. It didn't keep me hooked and I'm sad I didn't love it. I love the cover though.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

It wasn't the fast paced thriller I was expecting but it was still an interesting read. I had a hard time connecting with the characters, especially Mia.