20190802_183519.jpgToday I have a review of The Birthday Girl by Melissa de la Cruz, publishing tomorrow via Dutton Books!

My Thoughts:

Ellie is turning forty, and she’s throwing the party year in her Palm Springs house to celebrate. 

Ellie is one that has it all. She has the handsome husband, beautiful and accomplished children, and three homes. She’s a fashion designer and has a solid group of friends.

You know what means, though, right? All perfect on the outside, but not-so-perfect on the inside. Ellie has so many secrets. Her birthdays aren’t always happy times, like her sixteenth birthday. That’s one she’d rather forget.

On the night of her party, allllll of Ellie’s secrets come bubbling up. Everyone in her life shows up to the party, whether they were invited or not. It all falls apart for Ellie that night.

The Birthday Girl is a dramatic (lots ‘o drama!) mystery. I wondered throughout who Ellie really was and what had happened. Her upbringing was very different than her adult life. 

I found The Birthday Girl to be a taut, entertaining read, and while Ellie wasn’t the most likable of characters, I came to understand her as light was shed on her early years.

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own. 

About the Book:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Alex & Eliza comes a return to adult fiction, centered around a mysterious woman’s birthday celebration—and what it reveals about her past.

Ellie de Florent-Stinson is celebrating her fortieth birthday with a grand celebration in her fabulous house in Palm Springs.

At forty, it appears Ellie has everything she ever wanted: a handsome husband; an accomplished, college-age stepdaughter; a beautiful ten-year-old girl; two adorable and rambunctious six-year-old twin boys; lush, well-appointed homes in Los Angeles, Park City, and Palm Springs; a thriving career as a well-known fashion designer of casual women’s wear; and a glamorous circle of friends.

Except everything is not quite as perfect as it looks on the outside—Ellie is keeping many secrets. This isn’t the first of her birthday parties that hasn’t gone as planned. Something happened on the night of her sweet sixteenth. Something she’s tried hard to forget.

But hiding the skeletons of her past comes at a cost, and all of Ellie’s secrets come to light on the night of her fabulous birthday party in the desert—where everyone who matters in her life shows up, invited or not. Old and new, friends and frenemies, stepdaughters and business partners, ex-wives and ex-husbands congregate, and the glittering facade of her life crumbles in one eventful night.

Beautifully paced and full of surprises, The Birthday Girl<.i> is an enthralling tale of a life lived in shadow, and its unavoidable consequences.

Have you read The Birthday Girl, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR