I didn't find the plot to be that interesting, I didn't like the characters at all. I was Underwhelmed by this one.

It's always exciting for me to discover new authors, and I'm pretty sure this is the author's debut novel. When I say I was completely engrossed in this book, I mean I could not put it down.

"A Girl Like Us" is a captivating tale that unfolds with surprising twists, intricate deception, and a rich cast of characters. The story revolves around a compelling protagonist confronting personal obstacles in her quest for truth, ensuring a truly unforgettable reading experience. Although the narrative may initially seem slow to some, I was hooked and eager to unravel its complexities from the very first page. The expertly crafted plot twists and the seamless transition between past and present timelines were particularly enthralling. This novel delves deep into profound themes such as complex family dynamics, the essence of trust, the impact of trauma, and the journey toward healing. I guarantee you will not be able to put this down. Given the cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter, I did want a little more closure from the epilogue, but overall, I don't have much else to critique. Well done!

I'm looking forward to exploring more books by this author. This is a solid 4-star story—so good!

Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks, for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The publication date is set for February 11, 2025. If you enjoy thrillers and mysteries, this one is for you! Be sure to add this one to your TBRs.

I was so excited to get to read this one early! It honestly reminded me of the movie "Hide and Seek", but also with elements of "Knives Out". Can't wait until it hits stores!

Such a quick, easy thriller read that truly does give off Succession vibes, but what if the heir taking over is a complete shock to all?

I enjoyed reading about this family's complex relationships and all of the inner workings. This book was filled with so many twists and turns. I was not able to predict how it would end.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC.

Wow. At first I thought it was going to be a book about a girl who falls in love with someone but she has a past. How wrong I was.

Nothing could have prepared me for what was to come, this is one of those books that’s finished but I need more, I need to know what happens next.

Incredible book, so well written. My only downside is the swapping between calling her daughter becca and calling her the baby.

I’m a sucker for a good uber rich gone bad story and this one gives us the perfect window into that world with Maya Miller. Fresh off her stint as a reality TV star and determined to leverage that fame into something lasting, our scrappy main character marries into the aristocratic British Sterling family. Once everyone is under one dysfunctional roof, the claws come out and people are revealed to be something other than they seem. Delicious!

I had some issues with convenient coincidences and “twists” that weren’t really all that twisty, but overall, this was a fun, quick read that kept me engaged and entertained.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Maya Miller - now Maya Sterling - is on a private plane, on the way back from her wedding to Colin Sterling in Mexico. Upon landing in their home city of New York City, they are greeted with news of a Sterling family tragedy and they must immediately fly to London.

Colin's family is basically royalty. They own a media empire a la Succession and all of this is thrown for a loop with the reading of the will. Colin's family also has never accepted Maya. She's an American reality star. She was a party girl and a constant paparazzi target. Maya also has secrets that she can not have exposed. Locked in the family estate with all of the Sterlings, Maya tries to find out more about the deceased heiress because it might just be the secrets that she need to survive.
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This had huge potential. The idea of an outlier in a family full of money-hungry people. I love storylines like this. I don't even want to admit how many times I watched Saltburn in the theater (and NOT just because of Jacob Elordi). Maya was an easy character to read about; she's funny, smart and truly a strong woman. She knew what she wanted and got it.

However, Maya does make some dumb choices. Also, the story line - the back and forth - Maya's past inserted randomly inside of large pivotal moments, it all really led to me being bored. I wanted for treachery, revenge, etc.

Overall, it's still an enjoyable read in the vein of Knives Out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

So. Many. Twists. Definitely felt like a mix of Succession and The Inheritance Games, with the reality-TV star (on a show I kept imagining like Summer House or The Hills) marries into a wealthy media family, enters during a family crisis, and somehow becomes the center of it. This was lots of fun to read. If you like twisty, fast-paced, but not scary, this is for you.

Fantastic twisty mystery that reads like a mashup of Succession and The Inheritance Games (which is a huge compliment)! Thank you for the early read!

Enjoyed. The setting is rich and sinister and the plot is fairly fast paced if a little anxiety inducing at times. Well-written and easy to follow the twists and the characters. I had fun!

SO glad I received an ARC for this book — I’m obsessed. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks!!

4.25 stars

Definitely felt the Saltburn /Succession vibes here and I’m so here for it, love reading about people with disgusting amounts of wealth and all of their dirty little secrets! I was instantly compelled by the absolute enigma that is Maya Miller, I was rooting for her the whole time despite all of her flaws. She is an incredibly strong protagonist and has demons of her own to grapple with but this doesn’t stop her from uncovering anything and everything!

The setting was brilliantly thought out, I was picturing Saltburn House levels of wealth and then-some. And being trapped there with the whole family, your new in-laws, NONE of whom can be trusted and most of whom seem to actively dislike you? Delicious.

I was gripped reading this, so many unexpected twists and it really kept me guessing and guessing! This is a fantastic debut novel and would highly recommend for lovers of dysfunctional families and their dark secrets, rich people behaving badly, and questionable morals all round. Will look forward to reading more from Anna Sophia McLoughlin in the future!

I received a free copy of A Girl Like Us for review from Netgalley and Sourcebooks. I really enjoyed this book. Solid thriller with lots of twists. While there were things I felt a bit predictable, overall I was hooked and didn’t put it down. #bookstagram #thriller #myterynovel #netgalley #sourcebooks

I loved this book so much! So many twists and turns you will never see coming! "A Girl Like Us" by Anna Sophia McLoughlin is a gritty, fast-paced thriller that dives deep into the complexities of trauma, survival, and justice. The novel features intricate storytelling and a compelling protagonist who grapples with personal demons while seeking the truth, creating an unforgettable reading experience for fans of crime fiction. "A Girl Like Us" explores a number of powerful themes, including family and trust, trauma and healing, and justice and corruption: The book highlights the difficulty of achieving true justice in a world full of moral compromises and systemic corruption.

Such a fun, cozy, thriller that truly does give off Succession energy, but what if the heir taking over is a complete shock to all? I enjoyed reading the familiy's exploits and backstabbing, you will be truly entertained!

The first thing that drew me to this book was its cover, which instantly captured the vibe and mood of this story. I am a sucker for locked-room mysteries and this one did not disappoint! I loved the themes of power, wealth, and secrets, which are something we can all relate to at some level. Maya was a strong protagonist and truly drew me into the story, rooting for her along the way. I couldn't put this book down and enjoyed the ride with every twist and turn!

Maya, a gamblers daughter inserts herself into a family whose generational wealth has set them up as American royalty. Then one of them is murdered and everyone in the family is put into lockdown on the family estate. When Maya is then named the heir it sets off a chain reaction that opens up the many skeletons hidden in the family closet. A great read with a surprise twist that I could not predict.

"Girls Like Us" will be available on February 11, 2025. I would like to thank the publisher and author for providing an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I love a good mystery, and "Girls Like Us" delivered a page-turning psychological thriller that I couldn’t put down. The story follows Maya, a reality TV star turned billionaire’s wife, as she returns to her husband Collin's estate after the murder of the family’s heiress, Arianna. McLoughlin takes the reader through Maya’s vivid descriptions of the all-encompassing Sterlings family estate, which is wildly entertaining. After Collin and Maya’s arrival, the family is informed that Arianna has named Maya the new heiress to the estate. The entire family is put on lockdown as the murder investigation begins. Maya must learn to play the game of the ultra-wealthy in order to keep her sanity and her secrets to herself. The journey that ensues is full of family drama, greed, deception, and unexpected twists.

There are quite a few characters in the book, but McLoughlin does a great job of reminding the reader how they are all connected. I wasn’t confused about who was who, as I have been with other novels featuring large casts of characters. While the final big plot twist was a bit predictable, overall, I really enjoyed this book.

"She always knew what her dad meant about the secret angel of vengeance. The little girl with her nose against the glass and the pulsing in her throat always understood that a sure way to get on the other side was to take a crowbar and smash her way through. Shock those people on the inside eating their hundred-dollar steaks in thousand-dollar dresses. Make them see her."

WOW. This was book was such an incredibly welcome surprise. As a 90's baby who grew up on 2000's trash TV and celebrity gossip, I was immediately intrigued by the blurb, but this book surpassed all my expectations.

Maya Miller, ahem, Maya Sterling, is a girl who grew up a poor kid cleaning rich people's houses on Long Island. After her mother leaves and her father goes to prison, she ends up clawing her way to success by starring on a reality show called The Springs, taking on the persona of Miss Mayhem. Through a series of quite interesting events, she ends up marrying Colin Sterling, a member of the highly respected (and extremely rich) Sterling family. Unfortunately, in the same weekend that the couple marries in Mexico, the family's heiress, Arianna Sterling, is found murdered.

Maya, Colin, and their baby Becca abruptly have to fly to the family's illustrious (and creepy) English mansion, Silver House, in hopes that the Sterlings can figure out what's gone wrong - and what will happen to the family's fortune. Suddenly, it is revealed that Maya has been named Arianna's sole heir, despite having no recollection of ever meeting her in her life. This immediately puts a target on her back.

All while Maya tries to discover why she would be named heir and guard herself and her family from the cutthroat, secretive family that all seems to want her gone, she's protecting a major a secret of her own. Unfortunately for them, she's willing to do anything it takes to protect it. And, unfortunately for her, while trying to piece together the mysterious dead heiress's motivations, she's about to discover way more than she's bargained for.

This book made me feel INSANE in such a good way. Silver House has such a dizzying, opulent haze to it, and I never really felt like I understood the way anything was laid out - much like Maya - which helps plunge you into her state of mind that much more. While I had my guard up reading this book, I was genuinely shocked by every single twist. I was clutching my Kindle and gasping more than once. All in all, if you're someone who lives for 2000's pop culture, you love to see rich people behaving badly a la Gossip Girl, and you love a good book that takes you in a million different directions at once, this is your book. I am simply begging you to pick this one up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book just kept getting better and crazier as it went! Maya a past reality tv show star ends up marrying into a wealthy family. This family is anything but ordinary and after the death of one of their own, they all go to their big family estate, and the past starts unraveling. Will Maya’s husband stand beside her and support her against his own family as she uncovers some crazy family secrets?
This book is full of family drama and twist and turns that you never see coming!

A Girl Like Us felt like reading a reality show, which is appropriate considering the main character is a reality star. I don't mean that negatively, either - it drew me in just like so many of those shows do. And furthermore, who doesn't want to be the underdog, the girl with a less-than-glamorous upbringing who hits the lottery with an uber-rich (and, as a bonus - *nice*) husband?

Maya Miller made a name for herself on a reality show as the quintessential bad girl. It was all an act, but the rest of the world didn't need to know that. When she got pregnant with Colin Sterling's child and married him, she ensured she would have everything she needed. With that kind of summary, one would think that Maya would be insufferable, but I actually liked her character. I found her relatable and intriguing.

When the young Sterling family heir, Arianna, winds up dead, the family is summoned together to 1) ensure they also aren't in danger and 2) determine the new heir. When Maya and Colin arrive, Maya is given a rather cool welcome by the family because, let's be real, they suspect she's in it for the $$$.

So imagine the entire family's surprise (including Colin) when the lawyers announce Arianna had changed her will before she died and named Maya as the next heir.

*cue family horror*

Up to that point, it was a 5-star read for me. I couldn't put it down and was flying through it. After this proclamation, I struggled. The webs that this family wove and the random connections this person had with that person...I started to glaze over. I can appreciate setting it up so the reader doesn't guess the "whodunit" but I started to get to "whatishappeninghere?"

Overall, it was an enjoyable read but the second half of the book wasn't as gripping as the first for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.