Review: 4 STARS
If you are anything like me, you look forward to the summer every year. It’s a time when we plan our vacations, enjoy our fun outdoor activities and flaunt our favorite sandals and shorts. For me, whether I have fun trips planned with family and friends or I’m just spending time outdoors soaking in the sun, I always need a good book to accompany me. If your summer plans have been cancelled or postponed due to the 2020 global pandemic, there is no need to worry!
For many avid readers, not only are books our travel companions, but they act as our mode of transportation to other destinations. I read Janelle Brown’s Pretty Things as part of BookSparks’ Summer Reading Camp and I can definitely see why this was a summer release. So what exactly makes a good summer read?
- A Scenic Atmosphere to Escape To
Pretty Things transports us to the Californian world of the ultra-rich from the glamorous city of Los Angeles to the majestic landscape of Lake Tahoe. The multiple POV of the book allows us to explore this world from two different women’s perspectives — a grifter and an heiress/social media influencer. They trek the same hiking trails and look out to the same vast blue body of water, but live in two very different worlds. And you can experience both! When you can’t hop on a plane to vacation on the beautiful lake of the Sierra Nevada, you can mentally rent out a room in a lake-side mansion as you watch a con game unfold.
- A Page-Turning Adventure
We all love books that grip us and carry us away on a twisty adventure full of secrets to uncover, and summer is the peak time for these juicy reads. You want something that will have you constantly flipping the page to uncover what happens next and make you forget that you are actually sitting in your living room with the fan on full blast. Thanks to this book’s captivating plot, you won’t be able to stop yourself from being swept away in the deception and scandals that manifest themselves bit by bit.
- Characters for Good Company
Are you still feeling a bit lonely after having to spend months in quarantine? Are you craving some good company? As a bookworm, you are probably accustomed to turning to fictional characters. There are many interesting characters to meet in Pretty Things but the two main characters have stuck with me the most.
Nina: a con artist with a liberal arts degree and daughter of a life long grifter. Nina has a snarky and cynical attitude that you can’t help relate to. She is the type of character that you root for, but would be wary of in real life. I loved reading about her story and experiences that led her to where she is today.
Vanessa: the social media influencer that you can’t help but watch from afar and secretly hate at the same time. Vanessa is the classic case of the villain that you end up relating to by the end. Suddenly you are unsure exactly whose side you are on.
- Guilty Pleasures
Summertime is all about having fun and experiencing the pleasures in life. I would like to say that I am always that person on the public transportation reading an impressive, intellectual book. Alas, I simply cannot claim to be. I can enjoy a guilty pleasure read any day, anywhere. But for some reason, they are somehow better when enjoyed at the beach or by a pool. Here are some of the guilty pleasures you will get to experience in Pretty Things:
- Social media fame
- Luxury vacation homes
- Star-crossed lovers
- Sassy attitudes
- Dark, juicy secrets
Great review! Thank tou! You certainly convinced me to read it as I also love to escape and Cali is one of my favourite destination!
Thank you! Such a great destination!!