You Look Beautiful Tonight
By L.R. Jones

✨Book Review✨

First Sentence: “Blood seeps through the cream-colored carpet, fading into the thick fibers, and a river of life runneth over and under until death do us part.”

Quotes:
“You tie your own hands with self-created insecurity.”
“Sometimes the familiar becomes the crutch that holds us back and even tears us down.”

What you need to know:
- Mia Anderson feels invisible.
- A man with a cartoon profile on a dating app calls her out for her insecurities and has a plan.

Things I Liked:
- Creative thriller concept
- Mia’s POV
- Feeling unsettled- it’s always nice when a book can actually make me anxious instead of passively reading.

Things I Didn’t:
- Slow build up
- Frustrating

Read This If You’re Into:
- Dating apps
- Medium paced thriller
- Books with a lot of books in them
- FMC is a librarian
- You by Caroline Kepnes (2014 novel)


⚠️ Stalking, abuse, manipulation, gaslighting

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/(5)

The ominous cover and title for this book initially drew me in. I was thinking that this was going to be a mysterious stalker thriller, but the twist got me!

Mia Anderson is a self proclaimed invisible woman that works as a librarian in Tennessee. She is quite used to going unnoticed and doesn't go out of her way to put herself out there. Other than her two close friends, Jack and Jess, she keeps to herself. Until one day she receives a series of weird encounters and a message saying "You look beautiful today". After getting in touch with the mysterious note writer through a dating app, she starts to change her behaviour to appease him. From changing the way she dresses, her hair, and even ditching her glasses for contact lenses - she completely changes herself for the approval of this man named Adam.

Although she goes above and beyond to do this, she finally feels like she has the confidence to stand up for herself and sheds her vulnerable persona. She is no longer invisible and people are starting to notice her. However, things with Adam start to take an awful turn when she witnesses a gruesome murder, and now she fears she will become a suspect. Mia realizes now she needs stay onestep ahead of Adam to escape his cunning game.

This was definitely a page turner that kept me intrigued the whole time. I found myself not being able to put down this book because of the suspense. I do think there was maybe a bit too much back and forth with Mia and Adam before we get to the conclusion, but the twist is quite clever and it was not easy to guess. The ending comes a bit quick and I wish there was a meatier conclusion, however it kept me company on a long flight so I can't complain!

This book is anticipated to be released on May 09, 2023. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy of this ebook to review!

I love this intense, climactic thriller. I was incredibly invested in the characters and plot. Readers are going to love this incredible novel.

Working at a Library always has my mind working overtime. How many stories involve Librarians and twisted murders? Not many but my mind goes to that place all the time. I think it comes from my life of horror. My love of horror books and movies really change my perspective on a lot of things.

Librarians have that stereotype of being quiet, calm, and cardigan-wearing smarty pants. In reality, we are just freaks who google everything. It’s no secret.

When I read that this was about a plain librarian who feels invisible but has a stalkerish secret admirer, I was all in. This is real life and it freaks me out, so I had to read this one. I even got my coworker to read it with me. It definitely gave us both the willies.

The mystery was decent but very obvious. A lot of things were obvious from the start and that definitely takes away from the book. If you pick apart clues as you're reading then this one will be a no-brainer. I was hoping for something more dark and mysterious but this was a great way to spend some free time during the weekend.

Mia was such a vulnerable character that I wasn't surprised that something like this happened to someone like her. I'm not sure if I would trust someone I just met online enough to give them some personal clues as to what my full name is and where I work. Some people just get swept up in the moment. The 2 J's were my favorites in this book. They were way supportive and you always need a few good friends who are willing to travel to the ends of the Earth for you.

You Look Beautiful Tonight was a decent book. I loved the parts that took place in the present more than in the past. The present was so intense that I was gripping my Ipad tightly. I may have broken the screen. That's more of what I was looking for in this book.

You Look Beautiful Tonight: A Thriller by L. R. Jones is about a secret admirer's devotion that turns deadly in this twisting novel of psychological suspense.
This book was good, though quite long. I loved the line, "I'd tell her to not just read the words but use them," in order for Mia to find her voice to speak and be seen.

The ending was sad as it captured a tortured soul and a lost friendship and deception.

Overall, a good story, but it did get bogged down in the middle, and I found myself skimming pages.

I would rate this 3.5 stars (rounded to 4) out of 5.

#YouLookBeautifulTonight #NetGalley @AmazonPub

Call me a sucker for a mysterious title...

You Look Beautiful Tonight

L.R. Jones, you have captured my attention and put me on a roller coaster of a lifetime.

I started out thinking this was going to be a murder mystery with a cat and mouse like plot. Obsessed stalker, poor little victim trying to stay alive.

NOPE

This book is one hell of a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. The writing style was simple, easy to follow along with and had a nice even flow that pushed you right into the next chapter. In addition to being a thriller it also had elements of romance which kept things interesting and made the story multi-dimensional.

This book had it all from secrets, lies, deceit, obsession, murder and a twist you will never see coming!

Big Thank You to LR Jones, Netgalley and of course Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read and review You Look Beautiful Tonight before the big debut in May 2023!!!

Teaser :

A secret admirer’s devotion turns deadly in a twisting novel of psychological suspense.

Mia Anderson is an invisible woman. An unremarkable thirty-two-year-old Tennessee librarian, she’s accustomed to disappearing in a crowd, unseen and unheard. Then she receives an anonymous note: You look beautiful today.

It doesn’t stop there. The attentive stranger—a secret admirer named Adam—has plans for Mia. With each new text comes a suggestion for her hair, clothes, or attitude, and for the first time in memory, Mia feels noticed. Slowly, she develops a confidence in herself she’s never had. But Adam has a surprise coming…and Mia finally sees him for who he is and what he’s prepared to do for her. Even kill.

Fearing she could be implicated in the murder, Mia’s forced to turn to the stranger in the shadows watching her every move. Adam’s game of cat and mouse begins with Mia as the prey. In order to survive, she must also become the predator.

You Look Beautiful Tonight by L. R. Jones is a great slow burn thriller debut.

The writing drew me in and kept reading way too late.
I enjoyed the characters and seeing how this story played out was exciting.
I was so pleasantly surprised by how fun this book was.
It is more on the slower side but that didn't stop me from being engaged and flipping the pages.
I will definitely pick up this authors work in the future.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL TONIGHT by L,R. Jones. Publish date May 2023. You can not believe what you see. Salt looks just like sugar. Mia is an invisible girl, a librarian , who has her books and her two best friends jack and Jess But one day she starts getting notes left for her. You’re beautiful tonight. I like you in red. Wear your hair down. Is she not invisible? Does she have a secret admirer or a stalker?. This is a great must read

I did and didn’t love this book. I didn’t love most of the book till like 50% it wasn’t till that point that things started to get interesting.
I felt that the characters where a bit underdeveloped.
We don’t know whole lot about Jess , Jack or mia . It was super repetitive the whole invisible thing that Mia constantly talked about almost annoying.
I feel like when i got to that 50% point after Kevin is killed i couldn’t stop reading. I’m glad i dorky DNF it because the beginning really dragged but i feel like the last half of the book was a 4 star. All together i think it was a pretty good psychological thriller .

I love the slow, creepy build of this novel. It all feels vaguely ominous but can also be written off as normal. I also love the feeling of invisible girl starting to come into her own. This was an incredible read for me! The chapters are the perfect length to hold my interest and I felt like I could really connect with each of the characters.

sadly this was a DNF for me - i’ve heard great things about Jones’s books so i was really excited to finally try one. unfortunately this was not at all what the blurb made it out to be - it felt more like a romance story with maybe a hint of suspense rather than a suspenseful thriller. it may have picked up further in the book but life is too short to keep reading books you’re not enjoying so i quit about 40% in

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the copy of You Look Beautiful Tonight. The premise of this book was great and I was excited to read it. At first I was loving it but I slowly started to lose interest because it was so heavy handed. Mia feels invisible then she goes to the coffee shop and the barista ignores her not once but twice. That’s taking “feeling invisible” too literally. Feeling invisible is when you start to talk and someone talks over you. Or you’re in a group of people and you’re the only one not asked for an opinion. She meets Adam online and suddenly she’s spilling her guts to him, even after he starts to give off creepy vibes. It all just got exhausting and disappointing how desperate she is portrayed.
It was worth reading until the end just to see how it all wrapped up, even though the ‘bad guy’ was predictable, I liked the last turn in the story and how I can imagine Mia’s life turned out.

Let me just start by thanking this author for a nail biting thriller that keep me guessing and on the edge of my seat. It is true in thrillers that everyone is a suspect, and I truly never saw the real ending coming. Excellent work and I hope to see more from you.

Okay. I almost gave up on this book. So glad I did not. It starts slow but definitely picks up. Please, if you continue with this book, you will not regret it. Mia is a quiet unassuming librarian. She is used to being invisible. She begins to get some attention from an unknown source and perhaps seeming invisible is not so bad. I really did enjoy this book. I was not expecting the twist ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

A very clever psychological thriller that keeps you well and truly hooked. Friendships and secrets that lead to obsession and murder, and a surprise ending you will not see coming. A highly recommended read and worthy of five stars.

dnf at 20%

The story was spinning it’s wheels, not going anywhere. So much talking between characters and nothing happening. I loved the blurb but sadly the story wasn’t giving me the suspense I expected.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

You Look Beautiful Tonight
A Thriller
by L. R. Jones
I just could not get into this book. It was just pages going nowhere. Not a thriller, just no meat in the story. Very slow and never panned into anything.

i picked this up thinking it was a thriller about a stalker/murderer since it says on the cover that it is, but this one is actually a psychological suspense novel according to google. well, it wasn’t at all thrilling either way. it’s coming out next year on 9th of may if anyone’s interested in reading it!

the characters for me were under developed. there was Jess, who was this rich, know-it-all girl. then Mia who felt completely invisible to everyone else and Jack, the geeky one. at first i really liked them but then they all just got obnoxious, having cheesy conversations and all 3 of them just dull. i wanted to get to know Jack more but the author ALWAYS kept him away by making him go work to his desk every time he talked to Mia. like how am i supposed to get to know his character properly then ?? Mia just got way too repetitive with her frustration of no one noticing her but when someone actually gives her attention she’s like oh i wish i was invisible again !! like girl tf you want from life then omg. not to mention how Adam came right into her life to help her with “self-discovery” via a dating app and ofc she fell for it cos he was handsome as hell. it was cheesy and it
was poorly done. i’m all for self discoveries in books but not in this unbelievable way.

the writing style was also simple, basic one. i didn’t understand the need to every now and then going to the “present” chapters when it didn’t do fuck all to the story until 52% mark (that’s when i dnfed). could’ve just talked all this time about the past and left the present chapters for the 3rd part of the book, but that’s just my opinion. i just felt they weren’t important as of yet 🤷🏻‍♀️

the plot was boring too. it read more like a romance novel and not at all like a suspense since i didn’t feel any of it. i predicted instantly who was leaving Mia the notes as well and i don’t normally try to predict stuff so that says something.

overall, i did like it at the beginning, but the more i read, the more i realized that it was just too boring for me to continue. personally, i wouldn’t recommend this.

4.5 out of 5 Stars. I mainly picked up this new thriller because of the cover and the stalking plotline. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the writing style and the main plot/character. I managed to fly through this novel in two sittings and was thinking about finishing it the whole day because I needed to know the end of it. I will be reading a lot more from this author in the future! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this early copy.

Dnf at 38%. It was a great premise similar to You, but in my opinion the author could not deliver. I couldn’t stand the writing, the cheesy dialogue and the characters were obnoxious. It was so slow and nothing is happening!


Mia is a librarian and frequently voices how she feels invisible. With the help of a friend she creates an online dating profile. Things start getting weird when Mia begins getting notes from a secret admirer. Eventually, things escalate and she finds herself tangled in a dangerous web.

You Look Beautiful Tonight is available May 9,2023.


Thank you to netgalley and thomas&mercer for this arc in exchange for my honest review