This is a fast read, a lighter look at fame and how it can turn against you. It is told in the past as Ivy gets an unexpected lead in a teen soap opera type of show, romances friendship, both in life and the plot of the show really affect her. It is told in the present as one of her co stars, a former friend is murdered and she has to confront the truth about what happened then and now. A bit over dramatic read but also fun, if you don't try to take it too seriously , though some serious issues are discussed

4.50 stars
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Hello, Juliet felt so nostalgic to me having grown up watching many teen soap operas. We follow our main character Ivy (who narrates our book in the past and present), and how she quickly went from a nobody to the main actress in a tv series. During her time on the show, she forms bonds with her castmates, until an incident happens, and she's now known to the world as #PoisonIvy.

A decade later, Ivy is invited to star in a secret reunion episode after a Hollywood expose puts her name back into the limelight. When she arrives on set to film, she's bothered that she can't find anyone else. That is...until she finds her former co-star dead. This sets off a world of panic for Ivy and her manager's mother, as they fear that they may be targeted next.

Our chapter are broken up with news articles, online forums, and comments mainly surrounding if you're team Ivy, or not. Once you pick up this book, you won't want to put it down. As secrets come out, you begin to wonder who you can trust, and who might want to see the downfall of Ivy. Once the killer is revealed, it makes sense, I however had guessed the twist in this one.
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Overall this was a great read, and it kept me up most of the night reading just wanting to know what happened in the end!
I would like to thank Thomas & Mercer, Samantha M. Bailey, and NetGalley for a copy of Hello, Juliet in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, this book is set to be published on April 29th, 2025. Pre-order your copy today!

Wow! What a brilliant read from Samantha Bailey! Starts out at a thoughtful and deliberate pace A good slow burn, but don’t forget to fasten your seatbelt! Fantastic characters
that added to the inability to put this book down. Highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley, Samantha Bailey and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This thriller follows a former actress pulled back into the spotlight for a reunion show, only to find herself facing dark secrets and danger. With plenty of twists, Hollywood drama, and shocking revelations, it’s a book you won’t be able to put down.

Overall, I really enjoyed Hello, Juliet. I'm a sucker for any Hollywood-centric mystery, especially one that includes a teen soap. It's a quick read with a few decent twists to keep the reader guessing.

I can't put my finger on it exactly, but the cover and the premise blurb feel very from the story itself. I think part of this disconnect comes from the flashback scenes, which largely drive the story. I wish the author would have spent more time in the present, allowing Ivy to truly unravel the mystery. Instead, it reads more like the past is revealing what happened to the reader, and Ivy's catching up in the current timeline. (In regard to the cover, I can't think of a single time a character was in a swimming pool, so maybe that's why?)

Without a doubt Samantha M Baileys BEST BOOK YET!!!

This book had me hooked from the beginning, I read this in one day extremely eager to see where the story went.

The plot follows Ivy who gets cast as the lead role in a tv series “Hello Juliet”. This is her biggest role yet and her lack of celebrity status and acting experience puts her under a lot of pressure from the director, reviewers and public scrutiny.

The cast on the show soon become fast friends and we follow their lives in past and present tense to see how and where it all went wrong ending with a present day murder mystery.

I loved each cast member and found myself so invested in their lives and well being along with the success of the show. If you grow to love these characters as much as me there is definitely some gut wrenching moments that will come your way.

I am still in shock from the big twist at the end, it’s definitely one that’s hard to process, I wasn’t on board at first however after the follow up chapters i had a change of heart and now I just feel distaste towards certain characters, the author does a great job of making you feel love and hate towards certain people at the right moments.

I am so glad I chose this book it was certainly a memorable read! I definitely recommend everyone to give this a go, especially if you grew up in the era of binge watching amazing tv shows like pretty little liars and vampire diaries etc, it gives you the behind the scenes vibes of how the actors lives may have been in the spotlight at a young age.

Thank you to the author as well as Thomas and Mercer for the EARC!

Publish date - April 29th 2025

For a bit of context - we follow a group of actors who get together for a secret reunion to film a TV show that made their careers. But then people start dying...

Short chapters, dual timelines, Hollywood celebrity style gossip setting and a mystery that will keep you guessing throughout all make this book into the phenomenal read that it is. The ending is so unexpected that I found myself shaking my head in awe. Samantha Bailey has done it again! Be sure to put this one on your radar for next year.

Ivy Westcott fled LA as her acting career imploded. In a flash, she lost her first love and chosen family—her Hello, Juliet castmates. But she never discovered who turned her closest friends against her. Now the whole world knows her as #PoisonIvy.

A decade later, Ivy is horrified when a celebrity exposé thrusts the Hello, Juliet cast back into the limelight, dredging up the old scandals she hoped to escape. Desperate for a fresh start and some financial stability for her mother and manager, Ivy agrees to participate in a top-secret reunion episode.

Ivy’s poised for a comeback, but past betrayals become a present danger when she and the man who once broke her heart find their costar dead.

Determined to find justice and clear her name, Ivy must tear down the facades of cast and crew to uncover chilling secrets that have plagued the Hollywood set from day one. Or she could be the next to die.

Loved it. Will recommend to others.

This book had everything I love in a thriller. Past and present timelines, blurbs from a variety of media outlets, and an ending that I did not see coming! Ten years ago Ivy was a thrown into the spotlight as the star of a new teen drama. Now, a decade later she has been asked to participate in a reunion episode. Of course there is murder, drama, deceit, and some pretty amazing friendships. I could not put this one down, finished it in less than 24 hours! This was my first time reading a Samantha M. Bailey book, can’t wait to read everything else she’s ever written!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I can’t get Hello, Juliet off my mind, it was the perfect slow burn read that has you wondering, as you go to bed, if you can’t just stay up a little longer to to see what happens next. Dual timelines capture the mid 2010’s against today as Ivy Westcott, who was just breaking into stardom in her early 20’s, reflects upon that time as she literally walks into a tragedy that breaks her.

Ivy is representative of every actress who doesn’t seem to fit on the teen shows of our youth (looking at you, Tori Spelling), but because she isn’t already famous entering the lead role of the show she’s on, Hello, Juliet, where she just can’t seem to measure up to the rest of the cast in talent. But they’re so gracious and kind you have to wonder if it’s in her head. When one of her castmates and best friends from that time is found dead by suicide, later determined to be murder, we find out what Ivy went through on the show and why she is called Poison Ivy and has hidden over the last ten years.

This definitely took advantage of some nostalgia for me as well as just all around being a solid mystery. I wondered about whether Ivy had been in her head back then, what had happened, what had actually happened within what happened, and who the murderer was - and I could not guess at any of it. Now, Ivy was not a character I loved as her insecurity and general stuck in development vibes were strong and not appealing. Nor did I feel we got to really understand why her castmates and her were so close or their personalities. But everything just worked for this story, the lack of character development making the mysteries that much harder to guess at (who was friend and who was foe), and having me not trust Ivy as she ultimately was pretty basic, making the real villain at the end all the more believable. I could have happily seen this story doubled in page count to be able to continue reading!

My dad used to tell me if you look a ginger in the eye, they will steal your soul…

What happens if they steal your life?

Meet Ivy

Red hair, green eyes and a fearless woman .

The rumors

Do you believe them ?

Sweet baby Jesus… do not believe a word you read . Bailey put my soul in a blender.

I’m an honest little lass, I’ll tell you the truth, I love Bailey so I know without a doubt I’ll read everything she writes but when I read the description, I may have taken a step back . It sounded a little too “YA” for me .

I was so SO wrong.

Sex. Lies. Secrets. Drugs. Manipulation

My tummy hurts a little bit
That ending
Gosh, it was good
I wasn’t prepared

If you can’t trust the ones you love, who can you trust?

Check out this teaser :

In a dark thriller from USA Today bestselling author Samantha M. Bailey, a TV reunion brings costars back for the drama and betrayals their viewers once craved—and this time, the stakes are deadly.

Ivy Westcott fled LA as her acting career imploded. In a flash, she lost her first love and chosen family—her Hello, Juliet castmates. But she never discovered who turned her closest friends against her. Now the whole world knows her as #PoisonIvy.

A decade later, Ivy is horrified when a celebrity exposé thrusts the Hello, Juliet cast back into the limelight, dredging up the old scandals she hoped to escape. Desperate for a fresh start and some financial stability for her mother and manager, Ivy agrees to participate in a top-secret reunion episode.

Ivy’s poised for a comeback, but past betrayals become a present danger when she and the man who once broke her heart find their costar dead.

Determined to find justice and clear her name, Ivy must tear down the facades of cast and crew to uncover chilling secrets that have plagued the Hollywood set from day one. Or she could be the next to die.

This thriller has everything I want—social media drama, reunions, old friends brought back together, buried secrets, and a fictional TV show so well-conceived that I wish it actually existed. If only this book could go on forever!

In Hello Juliet, we meet Ivy Westcott, the once infamous lead actress of the failed television show Hello Juliet. Ivy rose from a bit player to have her moment in the spotlight, but unfortunately, she never crystallized into a lasting star. Since then, Ivy and her mother—her biggest supporter and steadfast manager—have been scraping by, taking on odd jobs and attending open roll calls, always hoping for that one incredible opportunity to come along.

When Ivy gets a call inviting her to participate in a reunion show for Hello Juliet, she doesn't hesitate. She signs the contract, takes the money, and heads back to the set that once held so much promise. But the moment she opens her dressing room door, everything changes. What she finds inside unravels old secrets and puts not just her, but all of her former co-stars, in immediate danger.

The stakes continue to rise as Ivy is thrown back into a world she thought she had left behind. Old friendships are tested, long-buried rivalries resurface, and the thin veneer of nostalgia quickly turns sinister. The reunion is not just a chance to relive old memories—it’s an opportunity for someone to settle scores, and Ivy soon finds herself in a deadly game where she can trust no one.

The book is peppered with scenes from the original TV show, flashbacks of Ivy's relationships with her co-stars, and a sense of nostalgia tinged with darkness. The tension builds as each character’s true intentions come to light, and Ivy must navigate the blurred lines between reality and the scripted drama that once defined her life. This is a gripping thriller for anyone who loves teen dramas, media sensations, and rooting for an underdog. Samantha Bailey does an incredible job of building a believable world where Hello Juliet feels like a real hit show and Ivy is a character you can't help but cheer for, all the while, holding your breath!
#thomas&Mercer #HelloJuliet #samanthambailey #netgalley #thrillbookloversthepulse

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

What a great book!! This one had me on the edge of my seat from page one!!! Suspense thriller mystery scans ALL OF IT!! This one is a page turner.

This is my new favorite from Samantha M. Bailey!! I got such nostalgia for some of the old shows I used to watch, especially The OC. I was totally enthralled by the characters and the plot. I kept trying to figure things out and found myself in the completely wrong direction. I suspected everyone except the real killer and was blown away when all was revealed.

Hello, Juliet be new to me author S. M. Bailey, published by Thomas & Mercer is a stand alone, suspenseful, dark novel.
Ivy was on top of her world whrn in the blink of an eye she lost everything. Now 10 years later she's on the brink of a comeback, but she's in great danger. Only she doesn't know anything about it.
An intriguing, goosebumps giving, twisty and full of unexpected turns read that had me on the edge of my seat till the last page.

𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕. 𝑰 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉...𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔.

Ivy Westcott yearned to make it big in the acting world. But with her shy demeanor and head full of red curls, she didn't have the looks or the charisma to land leading parts. When she reads for a part in a new teen drama, the mercurial director and creator of 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐, 𝑱𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒕 Mack Foster stuns her with his brusque, dismissive critique. Lauren Malloy possesses everything Ivy doesn't--looks, charm, and confidence, but she's also incredibly kind, and the two form an unlikely friendship.

When Ivy receives the incredible news that she, not Lauren, has landed the coveted role of Juliet in the series, their friendship remains steadfast. But when small acts of sabotage toward Ivy begin happening on set and the script begins to mimic real life in uncomfortable ways, Ivy begins to wonder if her best friend could be responsible. Then when a cast member dies before the finale airs, the entire show and its relationships implode.

Ivy finds herself relegated to a series of hateful memes and venomous tweets until a decade later when she and the show are the subject of a scathing tell-all docuseries. In an attempt to capitalize on the fame that the show once had, Mack reaches out for a
reunion of the surviving cast. Because of the financial boost it will provide for both her and her mother, Ivy grudgingly agrees. But when she arrives at the top-secret location, no one else is there--except for the body of a co-star hanging in the closet.

HELLO, JULIET is a stunning thriller that peels back the layers of fame, exposing the dark, seedy underbelly that the Hollywood lights never shine upon. It's also a commentary on the public's obsession with celebrity and how the media can pen any narrative that we just blindly accept. Finally, it's a reminder that when the lights of fame and adoration are shining upon you, you will never truly belong to yourself, perhaps best stated by Terry Pratchett: “𝑨𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑷𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘.”

Thank you to much to Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse for this early read. At the time this review was written, this title was expected to publish April 29, 2025.

I could NOT put this down. Narrated by Ivy (both past and present), and it also includes articles and posts (I love mixed media). I did not have this figured out by the end. It was a pretty good twist in my opinion. Fast paced and super enjoyable. I promise this is worth your time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This will be out in April of 2025.

This one was not for me. The storyline didn’t flow well and I could not connect with the characters.
****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

I loved this book! It combines mysteries with the guilty pleasure of celebrity gossip and rumors leaving you completely unsure what is true and who you can trust. Ivy was the surprise star of a teenage drama show, her first leading role that she was completely unprepared for. But she made fast friends with her costars, had a fleeting romance, and ultimately was cast from the limelight after a blowup with her best friend became viral. It's now a decade later and she's asked to participate in a reunion show. She accepts because she needs the money, but a little part of her hopes deep down that maybe she can reconnect with her old friends. Until one is found dead. And the nightmare begins all over again.

The book is a true page-turner, you can't help but feel for Ivy as the underdog with her single mother who works hard to support her struggling acting career. I did think it veered into unbelievable territory because anyone wanting a career in show business would be used to eyes on them and non-stop attention, but Ivy's portrayed as quite meek and naive, even after she worked in the industry for several years. There's also the cliche of her costar and 'It Girl' Lauren being tall blonde and beautiful while Ivy is 'different' because she's a short curvy redhead. I can't be the only one reminded of Mean Girls - Ivy as the Lindsey Lohan character and Lauren as the Regina character. But come on, blonds are a dime a dozen and I don't think the author accurately portrayed how the two would be seen in the media - everyone automatically hates Ivy just because she's not Lauren.

But anyway, the narrative is split into the past and present, with fun little blurbs between chapters that mimic news articles and social media feeds reacting to the costars and the publicity they receive. It all builds up to the unspecified event in the past that led to Ivy and Lauren's fight and that mirrors the present timeframe as she copes with the death of her costar and balances being a suspect or the next target. I absolutely loved the conclusion of the story and the many revelations that unfolded. I'm sure many readers will be surprised and delighted as I was because the ending could have gone in a much more basic and unsurprising way.

I read this all in one sitting and was disappointed when it was over! It was the first book I've read by this author, but it won't be the last. Such a fun read, the book is the epitome of escapist entertainment that everyone can use!

A TV reunion brings costars back for the drama and betrayals their viewers once craved, and this time, the stakes are deadly! Good book! This book had suspense, murder, mystery, interesting characters, and a few twists and turns! The story was interesting, it wasn’t one of my all time favorites but still a good read! I would recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!