Man's Best Friend by Alana B. Lytle

Title: Man's Best Friend by Alana B Lytle

Publisher: Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons

Release Date: May 14, 2024 

I requested this book based upon the blurb. Sadly, it did not live up to expectations.

El is a failed actress turned bakery employee. She's almost 30 but is wandering aimlessly through life. The one thing that she dwells on is her 8th grade year. She was on scholarship to an exclusive school and was befriended by Anna and Julia. They were everything that El wished she could be, wealthy and popular. She was determined to one day be just like them.

At one of Julia's parties, El bumps into a man named Bryce. He's not super attractive and he's kind of a loner but he and El start dating. She starts calling out from her job and alienating her friends. After moving in with Bryce, she begins noticing red flags about him, but they are co-dependent on each other in a toxic way. She soon finds out the truth about him. What will she do with the truth?

There are zero likable characters in this book. El is narcissistic, lazy, desperate, and worst of all whiny. Bryce is bland and unassuming and clingy. The side characters are just as bad, a typical portrayal of rich people who all are self-absorbed with major drug and alcohol problems. 

The bits of suspense that seemed interesting were rushed through or glossed over. The dream sequences and parts about the dogs were jarring and pulled you out of the story. The writing itself was good but the story fell flat. It was a struggle to finish the book and the ending was unbelievable. Based on the author's writing style, I would like to see what they come up with next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the advance reader copy to review.

Book Review: The Most Dangerous Place by Lindsey Lee Johnson

Book Review: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson

Publisher:  Random House Publishing Group – Random House

Where is the most dangerous place on Earth? According to the author it would be high school. This white school is in an affluent county in California so I didn’t really consider it to be all that dangerous.

The book starts with the suicide of a middle school boy named Tristan. He’s a social outcast and generally ridiculed by his peers. There is a girl that he has a crush on and he writes her a letter to profess his love. She gives it to the boy she has a crush on and he and his friends harass and bully Tristan online until he takes his life. I cried over the first few chapters.

The rest of the book starts in freshman year of high school. Tristan is rarely ever mentioned except in a joking manner. Each chapter is told from a different point of view and yet none of them really connect to each other. What started out as a story I cared about with a character I cared about (Cally, Tristan’s crush) went off the rails and never really came back to the track. At the end of the book I thought each kid was snooty, selfish, and stupid. Each chapter seemed to be an almost ripped from the headlines cliché about rich, white, high school kids and the stupid things they do and none of it was flattering. 

The writing itself is good but the format to this story was lacking. I would give the author herself another try but not if she sticks to the same kind of storytelling. 

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.