This is my first book by this author, other than a short story she had in the anthology called Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions. I don't remember which story was hers, however. Anyway, this story was presented to me as a mix of Gilmore Girls and Pretty Little Liars gone Southern. I'm not a reader or watcher of either of those, but I understand the general gist of what they are about. The synopsis was intriguing for sure. And when I picked it up, I was sucked right into the story. There were a lot of twists and turns in this, the final twist being a huge one out of nowhere! I loved that!

Sawyer's snarkiness, especially her take as she was dropped into this debutante world, was one of my favorite parts of the story. The characters were all great in this as well. Not only were our four main debutante characters given incredible back stories, but all of them were even made so that you could feel sympathy for them, even if they came across as ruthless or villains at first.

The book switched between the present, where the four girls, Sawyer, Lily, Sadie-Grace, and Campbell were all in a jail cell; and the past starting when Sawyer first was brought into the midst of all this intrigue and wealthy people. The present portions are kind of told from the viewpoint of one of the police officers, Mackie. Like him, I spent the book reading to find out just which of the felonious actions the girls made landed them in that cell. When you find out just how it happened, it is a little bit surprising and comical.

While this may be my first time with the author, I have had her books in my library for my students to check out. Not only will I be adding this one with budget money, I will now be able to personally recommend her books based on my own enjoyment of them. I look forward to reading more from Jennifer Lynn Barnes as well If you like a good mystery, and enjoy lots of twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat as you read, this is the next book you need to pick up!

Review originally post on Lisa Loves Literature.