Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
I saw this cover all over Bookstagram and thought it looked really interesting and after seeing that a lot of my fellow book friends loved it, I decided to order it and read it myself. I have never read any of Janelle Brown's work, but I promise you, this book won't be my last.
MY RATING :
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
"Pretty Things" follows 2 very unlikely women, Nina, the con artist and Vanessa, the wealthy Instagram famous IT girl that comes from old money. I must say, this novel was
Starting off the novel, we meet Nina as she's in the middle of one of her cons. She's going to get over on a rich Russian billionaire. At first, I kind of got J.Lo's "Hustlers" vibes, ,but oh no. Nina does way more than drug you and steal your money. She seeks out your antiques and expensive furniture to sell months later on the Black Market. Once we learn what she does, we learn that her mother is very sick with cancer and is a con artist herself. The apple doesn't fall to far from the tree, huh? She has this boyfriend, Lachlan that is actually the man who called her 3 years ago to tell her that her mother was sick and forced her to return to the West Coast. She thinks he was helping her mom, Lily pull cons since her mother was always pulling cons since she left Nina's father when she was about 7. Lachlan eventually is the one that led her to this con life and is her partner in crime when it comes to pulling these high stakes jobs. After finishing the Alexi job, Lachlan informs her that Efram , their Israeli antiques dealer isn't answering the phone and still owes them 47k. At the same time, her mother just got the news that her cancer has returned and is stronger than the last time. The doctor recommending chemotherapy and a new drug.
Nina is going to need money a lot of money. And what also doesn't help is that the police show up at her house for reasons unknown. They must have caught on to what she's doing. She needs to do a job, a big one and no where near LA. That's when she informs Lachlan of Vanessa Liebling, the Instagram IT that she has been following who recently left NYC to stay at her old family estate of Stonehaven in Tahoe.
You know those gorgeous girls on Instagram who wear the gorgeous clothes and perfect bodies and have the fabulous friends and are always going on the exotic trips? That's Vanessa. You know the ones I'm talking about. The ones who lives look perfect. The one whose lives you envy and think that if you just had their money, your life could be as easy and carefree as theirs? Yea, that's the one.
Only Vanessa hasn't been posting much of the glamourous lifestyle and more of old, dingy mansion that she has been staying at. Her family's Tahoe estate of Stonehaven. In my mind, I picture Stonehaven to be so dark, and built of old big stones, like something of the dark ages. She starting to lose some of her thousands of followers, but why is Vanessa not doing the glamorous lifestyle? Who would ever want to give that up?
Turns out, Vanessa is very lonely. Many years ago, 12 to be exact, Vanessa lost her mother to suicide when she jumped in Lake Tahoe and weighed herself down to drown. To top it off, a few weeks later, her brother Benny got instiutionized and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now, when father dies, she uploads an emotional picture to her Instagram , causing her fiancé to break it off with her.
Now you may ask, How do these 2 worlds collide? Its more complicated than you think. You know those 12 years ago when Benny (Vanessa's brother) got instiutionized ? Well, during a time when Lily promised Nina a normal life away from cons, they lived in Tahoe and Nina and Benny were best friends. Only difference between them, is that Benny came from a wealthy family, and Nina, coming from a single mother home, did not. They started a relationship and the last time Nina and Benny were "together" Benny's father pulled Nina out of bed, mid thrust (how embarrassing) and completely naked and told her she will never be good enough and that she needed to stay away from Benny. This eventually drove Nina and Lily out of town.
Nina was heartbroken. Her life was starting to be normal. The Lieblings ruined her life and a chance to live normal. She held on resentment for a long time. So, given the opportunity now, she was going to get her payback.
When Vanessa loses pretty much everyone in her life, she went back to Stonehaven and starts renting out the cottage that is on the estate to people. Tahoe is such a tourist attraction so she is bound to have a lot to people looking to getaway and an added bonus is they can keep her company and she can show them around Tahoe. Her next tenants are young couple Ashley a yoga instructor and Michael a Portland professor taking some time off to write a book.
Here's the catch though. Ashley and Michael are really Nina and Lachlan. What goes on next will start blowing your mind and like I said earlier, the slow burn to get here is totally definitely worth the wait.
SPOILERS AHEAD...….
If you haven't read this book and still want to, STOP READING!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!
So, when "Ashley" and Michael started renting out the cottage, of course their main goal was to rob the safe that Nina was told by Benny when the were teenagers had at least a million dollars inside of it. Their first step was to befriend Vanessa and get inside a lot of the main rooms to set up secret cameras. This was almost too easy since Vanessa is very lonely. She almost has no family left, since both of her parents are passed and her brother is intuitionized and her fiancé broke up with her.
The couple get her to invite them to dinner to get to know each other better, but of course they have other plans for the meal. But plot twist, Vanessa has plans of her own. Almost instantly after meeting them , she has an instant attraction to Michael and plans to try and take him for herself. They are both diabolical.
And guess what Vanessa does...?? She puts Visine her Ashley's drink to get her to get sick so that she can have some alone time with Michael. Ashley gets sick almost instantly and goes home, but that gives Michael the perfect opportunity to get the cameras out and Vanessa gets her wish and gets her alone time with Michael. Michael pulls off his mission after getting a little tipsy and arriving back late. And they find where the safe is.
Ashley asks for a do over on dinner now that they know where the safe is and come up with a plan to get into it. Everything goes according to the plan , but once she gets in the safe, guess what??? Its EMPTY!!
It seems like Daddy Liebling left Vanessa broke and was on the verge of bankruptcy when he died. Was not expecting that, were you? But guess what was in the safe.....a few envelopes with a very familiar handwriting on the outside.
Letters and photos of none other than Nina's mother. In the letter, Lily is blackmailing Mr. Liebling, threating to expose their AFFAIR if he doesn't give her some amount of money. WOW...I was not expecting that. Nina, realizes after all these years that the family didn't run them out of town, but her mother had a con with this particular family and it was over. Just when she promised it was going to be different this time.
Obviously upset, she rushes out and goes to LA to get answers. That leaves Michael and Vanessa alone...…...
This is where I had my 'THIS BITCH" and "WTF" moment all in one.
The character point of view changes to Vanessa's point of view and guess what happens? This bitch MARRIES Michael.
WTFFFFFFFFFF
How the hell did that happen? I did NOT see that coming. In the upcoming days, they learn to adjust to married life. By this time, Vanessa had already learned that Ashley wasn't who she was pretending to be because she posted a picture to Instagram and her brother called her out. Vanessa told Michael what she knew and this whole time Michael acts likes he's been fooled.
Meanwhile, back in LA, when Nina confronts her mother, she comes clean about the past back when they were in Tahoe all those years ago. And something else that happens, Nina calls Lily's doctor and he tells her that Lily has been cancer free for at least a year. Her mom has been lying to her this whole time. WTFFF......who can she trust?
Remember when she left and the cops were looking for her? Well, that finally caught up to her. She goes to jail because Alexi (remember the job she was working when we originally met her) turned her in. She goes to jail for a few months because there's no money to bail her out.
Man, its getting intense for me at this point and I'm loving it. I'm here for it!!
So, back at Stonehaven, Vanessa is loving her new married life, but there seems to be a little problem. Michael seems to be a little abusive the more and more she questions him about some things. About his past, about the future. Hes very strange, but she loves him, apparently. This is where you want to scream...… "Silly girl!! You don't know him! You don't love him and he doesn't love you! Its all lust."
She decides she needs to get answers. And the only place she goes to find answers is Nina. She goes and sees her in jail and tells her everything that is going on. Nina, in turn tells her the whole plan. This is when they each realize they are both in trouble. And the straw that breaks the camels back ?? Vanessa is ….PREGNANT!!
Nina tells Vanessa to get her out of there and she can help her because Nina knows she is in more trouble than she realizes. She gets out and they break into Lachlan (Michael) apartment and guess what? The fake name he was using for this job against Vanessa is his REAL NAME. So, that means, the marriage is real and that he's entitled to Vanessa's worth because there was no prenup.
Get the hell out of here!!! They also finds stashes and stashes of money everywhere. What else is here that Nina doesn't know about?? We got to get rid of this guy, they decide. He's back at Stonehaven. They have to figure out something. They come up with a plan.
When they get back to Stonehaven, they execute their plan, but it doesn't go in the direction that they anticipate. Vanessa ends up leading them to the same boat that her mother committed suicide and Michael attacks Nina. Vanessa ,comes in clutch and beats him from behind and hits them in the head and knocks him out till he's dead.
These bitches killed him. It was either him or them. And he didn't know that Vanessa was pregnant, so can you imagine what he could've done to them. They dump in out in the middle of the lake and if he gets discovered, no one will be able to identify him because he had so many alias.
Wow....they are really going to get away with murder from the ultimate con man. Months later, Vanessa has a baby girl. She goes back to being a Instagram blogger, but this time its a Mommy and me vibe, with Uncle Benny being the photographer.
And Nina?? Well, Vanessa hires Nina to come catalog the estate to eventually start selling items inside to help pay for the upkeep since she is almost broke. The job includes room and board.
I loved this ending and I loved this book. It kept me turning the pages faster and faster. It definitely didn't turn out the way I thought it would. Any of the turns that I thought were going to happen came in different ways that I couldn't even imagine. I definitely recommend this book to anyone.
Have you read this one?? Please tell me your thoughts in the comments!
Nina is going to need money a lot of money. And what also doesn't help is that the police show up at her house for reasons unknown. They must have caught on to what she's doing. She needs to do a job, a big one and no where near LA. That's when she informs Lachlan of Vanessa Liebling, the Instagram IT that she has been following who recently left NYC to stay at her old family estate of Stonehaven in Tahoe.
You know those gorgeous girls on Instagram who wear the gorgeous clothes and perfect bodies and have the fabulous friends and are always going on the exotic trips? That's Vanessa. You know the ones I'm talking about. The ones who lives look perfect. The one whose lives you envy and think that if you just had their money, your life could be as easy and carefree as theirs? Yea, that's the one.
Only Vanessa hasn't been posting much of the glamourous lifestyle and more of old, dingy mansion that she has been staying at. Her family's Tahoe estate of Stonehaven. In my mind, I picture Stonehaven to be so dark, and built of old big stones, like something of the dark ages. She starting to lose some of her thousands of followers, but why is Vanessa not doing the glamorous lifestyle? Who would ever want to give that up?
Turns out, Vanessa is very lonely. Many years ago, 12 to be exact, Vanessa lost her mother to suicide when she jumped in Lake Tahoe and weighed herself down to drown. To top it off, a few weeks later, her brother Benny got instiutionized and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now, when father dies, she uploads an emotional picture to her Instagram , causing her fiancé to break it off with her.
Now you may ask, How do these 2 worlds collide? Its more complicated than you think. You know those 12 years ago when Benny (Vanessa's brother) got instiutionized ? Well, during a time when Lily promised Nina a normal life away from cons, they lived in Tahoe and Nina and Benny were best friends. Only difference between them, is that Benny came from a wealthy family, and Nina, coming from a single mother home, did not. They started a relationship and the last time Nina and Benny were "together" Benny's father pulled Nina out of bed, mid thrust (how embarrassing) and completely naked and told her she will never be good enough and that she needed to stay away from Benny. This eventually drove Nina and Lily out of town.
Nina was heartbroken. Her life was starting to be normal. The Lieblings ruined her life and a chance to live normal. She held on resentment for a long time. So, given the opportunity now, she was going to get her payback.
When Vanessa loses pretty much everyone in her life, she went back to Stonehaven and starts renting out the cottage that is on the estate to people. Tahoe is such a tourist attraction so she is bound to have a lot to people looking to getaway and an added bonus is they can keep her company and she can show them around Tahoe. Her next tenants are young couple Ashley a yoga instructor and Michael a Portland professor taking some time off to write a book.
Here's the catch though. Ashley and Michael are really Nina and Lachlan. What goes on next will start blowing your mind and like I said earlier, the slow burn to get here is totally definitely worth the wait.
SPOILERS AHEAD...….
If you haven't read this book and still want to, STOP READING!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!
So, when "Ashley" and Michael started renting out the cottage, of course their main goal was to rob the safe that Nina was told by Benny when the were teenagers had at least a million dollars inside of it. Their first step was to befriend Vanessa and get inside a lot of the main rooms to set up secret cameras. This was almost too easy since Vanessa is very lonely. She almost has no family left, since both of her parents are passed and her brother is intuitionized and her fiancé broke up with her.
The couple get her to invite them to dinner to get to know each other better, but of course they have other plans for the meal. But plot twist, Vanessa has plans of her own. Almost instantly after meeting them , she has an instant attraction to Michael and plans to try and take him for herself. They are both diabolical.
And guess what Vanessa does...?? She puts Visine her Ashley's drink to get her to get sick so that she can have some alone time with Michael. Ashley gets sick almost instantly and goes home, but that gives Michael the perfect opportunity to get the cameras out and Vanessa gets her wish and gets her alone time with Michael. Michael pulls off his mission after getting a little tipsy and arriving back late. And they find where the safe is.
Ashley asks for a do over on dinner now that they know where the safe is and come up with a plan to get into it. Everything goes according to the plan , but once she gets in the safe, guess what??? Its EMPTY!!
It seems like Daddy Liebling left Vanessa broke and was on the verge of bankruptcy when he died. Was not expecting that, were you? But guess what was in the safe.....a few envelopes with a very familiar handwriting on the outside.
Letters and photos of none other than Nina's mother. In the letter, Lily is blackmailing Mr. Liebling, threating to expose their AFFAIR if he doesn't give her some amount of money. WOW...I was not expecting that. Nina, realizes after all these years that the family didn't run them out of town, but her mother had a con with this particular family and it was over. Just when she promised it was going to be different this time.
Obviously upset, she rushes out and goes to LA to get answers. That leaves Michael and Vanessa alone...…...
This is where I had my 'THIS BITCH" and "WTF" moment all in one.
The character point of view changes to Vanessa's point of view and guess what happens? This bitch MARRIES Michael.
WTFFFFFFFFFF
How the hell did that happen? I did NOT see that coming. In the upcoming days, they learn to adjust to married life. By this time, Vanessa had already learned that Ashley wasn't who she was pretending to be because she posted a picture to Instagram and her brother called her out. Vanessa told Michael what she knew and this whole time Michael acts likes he's been fooled.
Meanwhile, back in LA, when Nina confronts her mother, she comes clean about the past back when they were in Tahoe all those years ago. And something else that happens, Nina calls Lily's doctor and he tells her that Lily has been cancer free for at least a year. Her mom has been lying to her this whole time. WTFFF......who can she trust?
Remember when she left and the cops were looking for her? Well, that finally caught up to her. She goes to jail because Alexi (remember the job she was working when we originally met her) turned her in. She goes to jail for a few months because there's no money to bail her out.
Man, its getting intense for me at this point and I'm loving it. I'm here for it!!
So, back at Stonehaven, Vanessa is loving her new married life, but there seems to be a little problem. Michael seems to be a little abusive the more and more she questions him about some things. About his past, about the future. Hes very strange, but she loves him, apparently. This is where you want to scream...… "Silly girl!! You don't know him! You don't love him and he doesn't love you! Its all lust."
She decides she needs to get answers. And the only place she goes to find answers is Nina. She goes and sees her in jail and tells her everything that is going on. Nina, in turn tells her the whole plan. This is when they each realize they are both in trouble. And the straw that breaks the camels back ?? Vanessa is ….PREGNANT!!
Nina tells Vanessa to get her out of there and she can help her because Nina knows she is in more trouble than she realizes. She gets out and they break into Lachlan (Michael) apartment and guess what? The fake name he was using for this job against Vanessa is his REAL NAME. So, that means, the marriage is real and that he's entitled to Vanessa's worth because there was no prenup.
Get the hell out of here!!! They also finds stashes and stashes of money everywhere. What else is here that Nina doesn't know about?? We got to get rid of this guy, they decide. He's back at Stonehaven. They have to figure out something. They come up with a plan.
When they get back to Stonehaven, they execute their plan, but it doesn't go in the direction that they anticipate. Vanessa ends up leading them to the same boat that her mother committed suicide and Michael attacks Nina. Vanessa ,comes in clutch and beats him from behind and hits them in the head and knocks him out till he's dead.
These bitches killed him. It was either him or them. And he didn't know that Vanessa was pregnant, so can you imagine what he could've done to them. They dump in out in the middle of the lake and if he gets discovered, no one will be able to identify him because he had so many alias.
Wow....they are really going to get away with murder from the ultimate con man. Months later, Vanessa has a baby girl. She goes back to being a Instagram blogger, but this time its a Mommy and me vibe, with Uncle Benny being the photographer.
And Nina?? Well, Vanessa hires Nina to come catalog the estate to eventually start selling items inside to help pay for the upkeep since she is almost broke. The job includes room and board.
I loved this ending and I loved this book. It kept me turning the pages faster and faster. It definitely didn't turn out the way I thought it would. Any of the turns that I thought were going to happen came in different ways that I couldn't even imagine. I definitely recommend this book to anyone.
Have you read this one?? Please tell me your thoughts in the comments!
Until next time.....☮
Next Book:
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Add your comment