Splendid Little Schemes by Robin Strong

This book was an unexpected delight…. Puremetics is a mlm pyramid scheme and Victoria is the queen in her neighborhood. When she tries to recruit a new person to the group, she doesn’t expect what happens and it changes everything for them all.

Firstly Victoria is mormon. I have never read a book where this was part of the story and I kinda liked it. It added a new dimension to the story. It’s out of control, wild and funny! It was a riot and I enjoyed every second of it.

The OWLs are a group of older ladies and they use their collective powers to right wrongs. It was so good! I enjoyed the plot and I loved all the characters. Anna, a single mother, gets pulled into a scheme to bring the CEO of the company down and it was so clever!

Okay, this was unexpectedly awesome. This is a story about a single mom moving to Utah who not only gets pulled into an MLM but also a secret scheme to take down the predatory MLM. This is fast paced, entertaining, and even though it handles heavy topics, it's done with a lot of levity.

I highly recommend this story. However, I might recommend reading it as a physical book or eBook. The narrator is the author, which I normally enjoy, but I found her voice to come across a little robotic.

This was such a pleasant audiobook experience! It was charming, quirky, and overall a well written book.
The good: The author is clearly very good at writing. The tone was very fun and it took on some serious topics in a very real way while keeping the overall tone lighthearted. In addition, the way she framed MLM salespeople (particularly stay at home moms trying to build independence and confidence) as fellow victims to the wider issue of pyramid schemes, rather than painting them as slimey, terrible people is refreshing to see.
The less-than good (for me): This book read a little bit like a Disney Channel Original Movie. It was cutesy and kitschy and spunky and a bit cliched at times. That said, that does not make this a bad or poorly written book. I think it just wasn't for me as a reader

Splendid Little Schemes is a hilarious, absurd, and surprisingly touching deep dive into both the world of MLM empires and the quirks of the Mormon community. I was laughing from start to finish! The characters are so vivid and relatable, with all their outrageous schemes and awkward moments.

The humor in this book is spot on, but what really surprised me was how heartwarming it was too. Beneath all the wild antics, there’s a genuine look at friendships, family, and the often ridiculous lengths people go to in the name of success. The way it balances comedy with those heartfelt moments makes it a truly fun and meaningful read.

Thank you, NetGalley and Strong Stories LLC for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of the audiobook to review it.

This book was such a fun read. Kind of quirky and a little mysterious, but still very lighthearted overall. I loved the various storylines underlying the main - Victoria’s past and son, Anna’s aspirations, and even a queer love story. I would have preferred a slightly darker twist somewhere in there but frankly that says more about me as a person than this book. This was a very solid 4 stars from me.

Robin Strong (author and narrator) did an awesome job narrating Splendid Little Schemes.

Anna is new to the area. Accidently driving to the wrong address, she assists a group of seniors to help bring justice to a pyramid scheme with harmful products.

Several LOL spots.. (Many books promise to be funny, this one delivers.)

Many thanks to NetGalley, Robin Strong and Strong Stories, LLC (self published? ... kudos!) for approving my request to read the advance review copy of Splendid Little Schemes in exchange for an honest review. Approx 9.25 hours, publication date is Oct 10, 2024.

Utah setting.

A woman gets more than she bargains for when she agrees to take down the head of an MLM. Overall the story was pretty interesting. I got a little confused with all the characters and with who knew what and which side people fell on. The narrator did a really good job. Would recommend to anyone who likes a light mystery.

Great audiobook and narrator! While I didn’t understand some of the Mormon references, I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. It hooked me early and kept my attention until the end!

Thank you Strong Stories for granting me an ALC!

As someone that has been part of the direct marketing campaigns, sucked in by well meaning friends, this book was absolutely on the nose with it’s satirical profile of a vitamin and “wellness” company in Utah. At times hilarious, at times somewhat terrifying, Splendid Little Schemes is ultimately a novel about the challenges of being a woman in the modern world - about maintaining (or regaining) your identity while also carrying the labels of wife, mother, career woman, church member, friend, etc etc.

I believe this is the first adult novel by the author, and I definitely look forward to reading any future books from her. I will provide warning for readers that this book portrays the LDS church in a somewhat unfavorable light - if you would be offended by this, maybe skip it.

Otherwise, definitely add this witty, heartfelt novel to your list!

Oh my gosh this was hilarious. The author nailed Utah culture. I mean she really got the toxic perfectionism right! Vicki thinking about all the ways she would improve Anna. I know women like that! It is so Utah!
I was laughing and crying. The narrator did a good job, except she didn't get our accent right. We don't pronounce our Ts. I loved her though. She was great!
The whole book was a riot. Thank you for this!

In the age of Momtok, Real Housewives of SLC, and Utah taking center stage, this is a must-read! Splendid Little Schemes hits harder than I anticipated and is a delicious romp through the twisted world of a MLM and its cult-like egomaniac founder. This book is proof that you really don't want to deceive women. We will bind together and search out the craziest ways to take someone down!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced audio to listen to and review.

I was intrigued to this story for the simple fact that for 30 years, I have stayed CLEAR AWAY from MLM companies -- the whole concept is just icky and dirty and so many of them have been "busted" one way or another for a false promise or quality control. As petty as it sounds, I wanted to hear another voice that shared my own - haha! (Although, nowhere does the author state this, this was just my assumption.)

The story is not complicated, it's pretty straight-forward with a side story that could be pulled from headlines. I knew going in, this would stand as a "popcorn refresh" after reading some heavier novels. There were some mild laughs at the absurdity and accuracy of the industry. The "takedown" was extremely far-fetched and corny - but again, "popcorn". Overall, I won't be recommending this to my more mainstream readers -- but I know others that are familiar with the industry that might get a kick out of it.

An audio observation, while not horrible, I was not thrilled with the whole experience. She is clearly from Utah, as all of the people I know there makes a "k" sound with words ending in "ing", so that was distracting. I almost rarely go beyond 2.0, but the voice just wasn't working for me that I put her on 2.5 and 3.0 to get through a lot of it in order to review the story itself. I read a lot of 5 star thrillers with bigger, full-cast productions so perhaps I'm spoiled a bit. (Just wanted to provide honest feedback.)

I didn’t expect to love this quite as much as I did, which says a lot when I spent the majority of the time really almost despising one of the main characters in the book.

Splendid Little Schemes is about women peddling MLM schemes as ways to dream big and live a luxurious life through mummy blogging and influencing their way to the top. Victoria a Mormon wife, mother and MLM star living her best life in Slendor Springs when she targets Anna Price and that’s where it all starts to get interesting.

This story had a surprising amount of twists and turns given I thought it would have had a fairly limiting set of boundaries given its storyline focus. I disliked Victoria for at least 85% of this book, yet somehow Strong manages to keep you gripped in even when writing a truly unlikeable character. The portrayal of religious women in Utah, LGBT struggles and how MLMs target women were written perfectly, it really strikes you that the author paid close attention to ensure this felt real.

A full 5 star read from me. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook. The narrator was fantastic & made the audiobook easy to tune into.

I listened to the audiobook and the author narrated and it was ok. The storyline was interesting and a neat take on MLMs. I felt like part of it dragged but I liked the ending and would probably read more by this author.

Splendid Little Schemes had schemes and plans that kept going wrong for the characters either due to bad luck, lack of confidence or sabotage. The characters have a good level of development by the end of the story and I appreciated that Vicky was portrayed as both victim and perpetrator of the MLM. I had a bit of difficulty with keeping track of which characters perspective I was following which I think was likely due to the audiobook only having one narrator which for me is not ideal if there are different chapters from different character perspectives. I also liked how brave and steadfast the children were in the story and always trying to help their mothers who even despite tensions they love dearly.

Have you ever been harassed by a #bossbabe to change your life and join her empire (pyramid scheme?)? If so, this story is for you.

What a fun read this was. While not a traditional thriller, the book reminded me of one because of how tightly focused it was on the primary conflict and the drive toward the outcome. Though it's not full of twists and turns, it felt like a thriller in its own right due to the chilling realism with which the MLM (multi-level marketing) company at its core was portrayed.

Unlike several of my recent reads, Splendid Little Schemes was refreshingly well-written and easy to follow, and I definitely needed that! I did notice some believability gaps—for instance, the jumps ahead in time could have used more harassment from Vicky to Anna to maintain tension—but overall, it was a minor issue in an otherwise enjoyable story.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Victory Editing, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It took a while for this book to get going but, once it did, the story was engaging. I enjoyed the growth of the characters. Both Victoria Sterling, Anna Price, and their children experience tremendous growth as they are intertwined in Splendid Little Schemes.

I'm torn on this one! It's quite well written but i didn't feel the characters were completely believable; when I was part of an MLM, I met a lot of Mormon ladies from Utah (I'm British), but none were as ruthless as Vicky, despite many of them being very focussed. MLMs are a tricky one as many, many women do get pushed into buying in a load of stock that they end up stuck with, in order to move up the rankings, but that's not just the MLM company or the upline's fault, it's up to the individual to know their own mind and say no! Personally, I had a lot of fun, learnt a lot and made some money in my few years in the biz and I refused to be drawn into the cult-like aspect that MLMs are famed for.

What I found way more disturbing, again, having met and become friends with several Mormons, is the bigotry and toxicity of organised religion, which is absolutely not exclusive to the LDS church, but across most sectors of religious based businesses/cults, more commonly known as churches, and I wasn't sure whether the author was portraying this behaviour as something she agreed with and was part of, or something she didn't support, Vicky's reaction to her Son's sexuality was heartbreaking. A mother shunning her own child in the name of an unsubstantiated idealism - awful that this is still happening in 2024, but sadly, we know it is.

Anna was confusing. At points she was driven and at others she would come across as weak. I didn't feel convinced that she would have signed up thousands of women in order to bring down a CEO with little or no evidence that he had done anything wrong at that point.

I wasn't convinced at the situation that led Anna to meet Gloria and the OWLS; would a driven and arguable successful businesswoman like Vicky not know her own address?!

If you can suspend a lot of disbelief, it"s a fun and interesting read. I listened to the audiobook, which the author narrated herself.

3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Robin Strong and Strong Stories, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Overall I enjoyed this book. Coming from an area that MLMs are huge and having joined a few myself this was spot on. I loved the women supporting women aspect and the sisterhood they created all coming from different walks of life and ages. It was inspiring all those women coming together for the greater good.
While I am a Christian woman and I don’t personally have any knowledge of the Mormon faith or the religious area of Utah (I could have done without a lot of that information) it was a nice clean story.

Overall enjoyed it.

I chose this in audiobook format and found myself listening for hours while accomplishing many mindless tasks.
A great story bringing together a spread of vastly different characters, generations and attitudes.
I really enjoyed the concept and how the author delivers multiple messages gently yet firmly, with the overarching theme of recognising the power of women and of courage to be oneself, no regrets. From dislike and frustration we're given insight and understanding and led to celebration and inspiration.