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Better Than Revenge
Win a free print copy of this book!
11 days and 07:50:48
10 copies available
U.S. only
*** PRE-ORDER THE THRILLING BOOK FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR BEA FITZGERALD NOW ***
Nadine Heywood is determined to be the best actress in the world.
Getting into London’s top drama school is just the first step. But there, Nadine comes head-to-head with Harper Moore. Beautiful, brilliant, effortlessly charming, she is everything Nadine isn’t. And immediately Nadine see’s her as more than just her competition.
As their worlds collide against the glitz of Hollywood, they can no longer keep their rivalry private. Splashed over the tabloids, Harper and Nadine are the public’s favourite celebrity feud.
But as the stakes get higher, they start to realise there is more to their passionate hate than meets the eye…
***
Nadine Heywood is determined to be the best actress in the world.
Getting into London’s top drama school is just the first step. But there, Nadine comes head-to-head with Harper Moore. Beautiful, brilliant, effortlessly charming, she is everything Nadine isn’t. And immediately Nadine see’s her as more than just her competition.
As their worlds collide against the glitz of Hollywood, they can no longer keep their rivalry private. Splashed over the tabloids, Harper and Nadine are the public’s favourite celebrity feud.
But as the stakes get higher, they start to realise there is more to their passionate hate than meets the eye…
***
Hardcover
First published July 2, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
June 28, 2026
Better Than Revenge is a YA fantasy romance with Greek mythology elements. It follows a girl who is determined to get revenge on the people who wronged her, and she basically gets pulled into this bigger world with gods and messy relationships while she’s trying to go through with it.
As things go on, her revenge plan doesn’t really go the way she expects. Everything gets more complicated, especially with the people around her and a romantic storyline that ends up affecting her choices more than she wants to admit. It turns into more of a story about consequences and realising revenge isn’t as satisfying as it seems at the start.
I liked the idea behind it and the mythology side of things was interesting. The way it tied into the main story worked well in places, and I thought the message around revenge and emotions was done well enough.
The writing style is easy to get into and I flew through it pretty quickly. That said, I did feel a bit disconnected from the characters at times, which made it harder for me to fully invest in the emotional side of the story. Some parts also dragged slightly for me.
I gave this 3 stars because I liked the concept and there were definitely parts I enjoyed, but overall it didn’t fully pull me in the way I was hoping. I think I just needed a stronger connection to the characters and their relationships for it to really land for me. Still, I can see this working really well for readers who enjoy Greek mythology retellings and YA fantasy romance with messy, complicated characters.
Overall, it was an enjoyable enough read with an interesting premise, but it just didn’t completely click for me personally.
Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Publishers, and author Bea Fitzgerald for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Publishing date: July 2nd 2026
As things go on, her revenge plan doesn’t really go the way she expects. Everything gets more complicated, especially with the people around her and a romantic storyline that ends up affecting her choices more than she wants to admit. It turns into more of a story about consequences and realising revenge isn’t as satisfying as it seems at the start.
I liked the idea behind it and the mythology side of things was interesting. The way it tied into the main story worked well in places, and I thought the message around revenge and emotions was done well enough.
The writing style is easy to get into and I flew through it pretty quickly. That said, I did feel a bit disconnected from the characters at times, which made it harder for me to fully invest in the emotional side of the story. Some parts also dragged slightly for me.
I gave this 3 stars because I liked the concept and there were definitely parts I enjoyed, but overall it didn’t fully pull me in the way I was hoping. I think I just needed a stronger connection to the characters and their relationships for it to really land for me. Still, I can see this working really well for readers who enjoy Greek mythology retellings and YA fantasy romance with messy, complicated characters.
Overall, it was an enjoyable enough read with an interesting premise, but it just didn’t completely click for me personally.
Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Publishers, and author Bea Fitzgerald for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Publishing date: July 2nd 2026
Want to Read
January 1, 2026so what im hearing is... hot toxic sapphic rivals 😝 gimme.
April 22, 2026
Oh my! I was left a bit breathless by this super near-masterpiece! Transitioning (I have discovered) from her usual mythological retellings, Bea Fitzgerald has delivered a searing, contemporary exploration of ambition and obsession that feels both dangerously modern and timelessly operatic.
The intensity of the enemies-to-lovers dynamic is superb! The rivalry between Nadine and Harper isn’t just a plot point, it’s a visceral, all-consuming force. Their evolution from drama school competitors to global tabloid sensations captures the thin, electric line between hatred and desire with incredible precision.
But Ms. Fitzgerald also delivers an incisive critique of celebrity culture. She brilliantly portrays how the public consumes female feuds, showing how Nadine and Harper are both victims of and players in a media landscape that demands their destruction for entertainment. And both women know it and use it. There’s a layer of intellectual depth, when you sit back and think about it, underpinning this high-stakes “game.”
Prose, narrative structure (I loved the clever documentary excerpts), and pacing are flawless. The writing is sharp, witty, and deliciously nasty, maintaining a tension that never wavers. I found myself increasingly hooked as the stakes escalated from the classrooms of London to the glitz of Hollywood. This is a bold, addictive, and expertly crafted story that explores the lengths one will go to stay in someone else’s orbit. Easily one of my favorite reads of the year.
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy the glitz, the plotting, and the blood in this ARC!
The intensity of the enemies-to-lovers dynamic is superb! The rivalry between Nadine and Harper isn’t just a plot point, it’s a visceral, all-consuming force. Their evolution from drama school competitors to global tabloid sensations captures the thin, electric line between hatred and desire with incredible precision.
But Ms. Fitzgerald also delivers an incisive critique of celebrity culture. She brilliantly portrays how the public consumes female feuds, showing how Nadine and Harper are both victims of and players in a media landscape that demands their destruction for entertainment. And both women know it and use it. There’s a layer of intellectual depth, when you sit back and think about it, underpinning this high-stakes “game.”
Prose, narrative structure (I loved the clever documentary excerpts), and pacing are flawless. The writing is sharp, witty, and deliciously nasty, maintaining a tension that never wavers. I found myself increasingly hooked as the stakes escalated from the classrooms of London to the glitz of Hollywood. This is a bold, addictive, and expertly crafted story that explores the lengths one will go to stay in someone else’s orbit. Easily one of my favorite reads of the year.
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy the glitz, the plotting, and the blood in this ARC!
July 28, 2026
oh but there just really is no better way to realise you're actually in love with your fiercest hollywood sapphic diva rival with whom you've been obsessed for almost all of your life and hate oh so passionately than to be helping her hide her husband's body (whom she just murdered btw cuz of course) is there? no but it all seriousness this was everything you could expect in a truly captivating read- juicy campy perfectly paced with the messiest characters possible who have toxiest relationship ever so that you just simply cannot look away and even if the start is a bit slow(ish) it does pick up from the midpoint on and boy does it worth it in the end (it's not the high literature but it's just so much fun!! and easily bingeable)
July 31, 2026
I lesbodramma, quelli belli. Queste due davvero si fanno le peggio cose (ma roba veramente pesa, rega, non i dispettucci perché da bambina mi hai tirato le trecce). Inizia tutto perché Nadine becca Harper a sparlare di lei con le sue amichette, sbattendo sul tavolo il trauma che lei le aveva confidato, e da quel momento in poi è un crescendo di tensione.
Mi è piaciuta molto la struttura a documentario intervallata dalla prima persona di Nadine (è lei che ci racconta la storia, ed è una voce narrante di cui non sei nemmeno sicura di poterti fidare del tutto, eppure le credi lo stesso senza esitazioni). Non ho capito la scelta di narrare gli ultimi 2 capitoli in terza persona, è stato un grosso what the fuck che per me ha reso il finale un po’ underwhelming, ma a parte questo, è davvero un libro pazzesco.
È trash, eh, ma è comunque un libro potente, da cui non riesci a staccarti e alla fine ne diventi ossessionato più o meno quanto Nadine e Harper sono ossessionate l’una dall’altra.
Credo che al momento sia la miglior lettura dell’anno.
Mi è piaciuta molto la struttura a documentario intervallata dalla prima persona di Nadine (è lei che ci racconta la storia, ed è una voce narrante di cui non sei nemmeno sicura di poterti fidare del tutto, eppure le credi lo stesso senza esitazioni). Non ho capito la scelta di narrare gli ultimi 2 capitoli in terza persona, è stato un grosso what the fuck che per me ha reso il finale un po’ underwhelming, ma a parte questo, è davvero un libro pazzesco.
È trash, eh, ma è comunque un libro potente, da cui non riesci a staccarti e alla fine ne diventi ossessionato più o meno quanto Nadine e Harper sono ossessionate l’una dall’altra.
Credo che al momento sia la miglior lettura dell’anno.
July 2, 2026
would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book
ohhh man i tried to like this book but the two main characters didnt have anything appealing about them and how they treated people.... and that has to be the sign of a good writer ....
this one had my hackles rising everytime i would have just avoided these people in real life.... as life is to short to be stuck with people like this
i know others will love this story
ohhh man i tried to like this book but the two main characters didnt have anything appealing about them and how they treated people.... and that has to be the sign of a good writer ....
this one had my hackles rising everytime i would have just avoided these people in real life.... as life is to short to be stuck with people like this
i know others will love this story
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5 stars rounded up
Oh this was just deliciously twisted in its toxic glory!
I loved this addictive drama so much, I devoured it in a day and a half. The structure centered around a documentary that was made around a murder case kept me glued to the pages and on the egde of my seat as the rivalry between the two stars built and escalted to new lows and the stories they spun fromthat. And by the time I got to the actual murder, I was picturing everything except that.
A gloriously fun read!
*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Oh this was just deliciously twisted in its toxic glory!
I loved this addictive drama so much, I devoured it in a day and a half. The structure centered around a documentary that was made around a murder case kept me glued to the pages and on the egde of my seat as the rivalry between the two stars built and escalted to new lows and the stories they spun fromthat. And by the time I got to the actual murder, I was picturing everything except that.
A gloriously fun read!
*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
March 8, 2026
3.5. I’ve written a review before saying something very much along these lines (although comparing two different books), but I need to do it again here: If you read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and said to yourself, “You know, this is great and all, but juuuuasst a little too understated and subtle for me….”
(I know! — said no one ever! lol)
… then this is The Book For You!
This is Evelyn Hugo Extra: Now, with more obsession, deception, manipulation, toxicity, rivalry, envy, and repressed sapphism! It does have all the other Evelyn Hugo Hollywood type stuff as well, including lots of film premieres, awards shows, and vivid descriptions of late 90s/early aughts evening gowns. But it’s basically Evelyn Hugo if there were two of them and they were both bunny boilers fixated on one another. From the moment they meet, these starlets, Harper and Nadine, just don’t know whether they want to kill one another or … you know … fold towels together. Fetch the newspaper together. Let’s say, French braid one another’s hair.
You have to just accept certain levels of hyperbole and suspend your disbelief with this book, just as with Evelyn Hugo. Everyone and Everything is The Most, Forever, period.
The comparison to Evelyn Hugo is also apt because this book really is more of a literary fiction than a thriller, as it may appear from the cover and title. It may be an extremely over the top, dishy, campy story, but the author can write.
Now, I must admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Evelyn Hugo either, and so I found this book a little superlative and drawn out and exhausting as well, but I know most people adore Evelyn and so I think many will really love this one too. I really hope they give it a try!
My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Sourcebooks/Landmark for the ARC of this book, expected for release on August 18, 2026.
(I know! — said no one ever! lol)
… then this is The Book For You!
This is Evelyn Hugo Extra: Now, with more obsession, deception, manipulation, toxicity, rivalry, envy, and repressed sapphism! It does have all the other Evelyn Hugo Hollywood type stuff as well, including lots of film premieres, awards shows, and vivid descriptions of late 90s/early aughts evening gowns. But it’s basically Evelyn Hugo if there were two of them and they were both bunny boilers fixated on one another. From the moment they meet, these starlets, Harper and Nadine, just don’t know whether they want to kill one another or … you know … fold towels together. Fetch the newspaper together. Let’s say, French braid one another’s hair.
You have to just accept certain levels of hyperbole and suspend your disbelief with this book, just as with Evelyn Hugo. Everyone and Everything is The Most, Forever, period.
The comparison to Evelyn Hugo is also apt because this book really is more of a literary fiction than a thriller, as it may appear from the cover and title. It may be an extremely over the top, dishy, campy story, but the author can write.
Now, I must admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Evelyn Hugo either, and so I found this book a little superlative and drawn out and exhausting as well, but I know most people adore Evelyn and so I think many will really love this one too. I really hope they give it a try!
My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Sourcebooks/Landmark for the ARC of this book, expected for release on August 18, 2026.
June 27, 2026
ARC Review: Better Than Revenge by @chaosonolympus published by @penguinbooksaus @bookmarked and supplied by @netgalley
Release date: 7 July 2026 (AUS/UK)
18 August 2026 (USA)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Toxic queer Hollywood actresses with a rivalry that spans over a decade, that’s what you are getting with Better Than Revenge and I are it up!
Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore first meet at a British acting school in the early 90s and immediately a rivalry is established. This will follow them for years to come, from London to Hollywood, movies to awards and all the tabloid media that follows. But how much of this rivalry is true and how much is orchestrated to boost both of their public personas?
Throw in a murder and one actress turning to the other for unexpected help and you get this gripping story that keeps you engaged from start to finish. This story is mostly told from Nadine’s perspective while being interspersed with interviews from documentary and tabloid headlines.
I love Bea’s Greek mythology retellings but now I can’t wait to see more of this genre from her 💜
Release date: 7 July 2026 (AUS/UK)
18 August 2026 (USA)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Toxic queer Hollywood actresses with a rivalry that spans over a decade, that’s what you are getting with Better Than Revenge and I are it up!
Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore first meet at a British acting school in the early 90s and immediately a rivalry is established. This will follow them for years to come, from London to Hollywood, movies to awards and all the tabloid media that follows. But how much of this rivalry is true and how much is orchestrated to boost both of their public personas?
Throw in a murder and one actress turning to the other for unexpected help and you get this gripping story that keeps you engaged from start to finish. This story is mostly told from Nadine’s perspective while being interspersed with interviews from documentary and tabloid headlines.
I love Bea’s Greek mythology retellings but now I can’t wait to see more of this genre from her 💜
May 18, 2026
°❀⋆ Better Than Revenge .ೃ࿔*:･
★ ★ ★ ★
‘"Harper Moore and Nadine Heywood? It was always going to end like this: with a body buried six feet under.”'
‘Thelma and Louise meets the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, a book about two actresses whose infamous rivalry has a body count.’ That’s Bea Fitzgerald’s own pitch for this book, and if that didn’t immediately intrigue you as it did me… we clearly don’t have the same taste in thrillers. Because that sounds EXPLOSIVE.
I love a thriller (or any book really) that centres around an elite sport or industry – for instance, I devoured the Favourites last year and it even made it onto my favourite books of the year. If, like me, you loved the Favourites, then I think you’d also love Better Than Revenge. Instead of the world of ice dance, we’re focusing on the equally cutthroat Hollywood. Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore’s rivalry first began when they met as teenagers at a London drama school. What started as vying for the same parts and envy coupled with insecurity has since snowballed into a decades-long feud that has kept the tabloids on their toes. From slandering each other in the press to bar brawls, it seems there is nothing Nadine or Harper won’t do to one-up the other.
The writing is so fast-paced and addictive – I felt like I would blink and I’d read 100 pages – with Nadine’s perspective interwoven with interview transcripts. It’s also deeply rooted in 90s pop culture from style and the dawn of the digital age to what the characters are listening to (Britney Spears, of course) and who’s dominating the headlines that week, which is an aspect of the book that I loved!
I did think the book leaned into some of its more hyperbolic moments, resulting in it feeling almost a bit melodramatic at times. It takes a while for the thriller aspect to kick in, but the ride there is so enjoyable that I had no complaints. Watching Nadine’s stratospheric rise to the top and Harper’s gritty ascension to fame, watching their rivalry play out on screens and behind closed doors was so fun.
If you’re someone who has been begging for the return of true enemies-to-lovers – I’m talking they can’t stand each other at first (and for a long time), look no further. Nadine and Harper’s relationship walks the line between love and hate very tenuously at times, and is so incredibly toxic! I also can’t help but think that this book would be the perfect remedy for a reading slump, as I could not put it down.
Thank you to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for the digital ARC – Better than Revenge is out July 2nd
★ ★ ★ ★
‘"Harper Moore and Nadine Heywood? It was always going to end like this: with a body buried six feet under.”'
‘Thelma and Louise meets the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, a book about two actresses whose infamous rivalry has a body count.’ That’s Bea Fitzgerald’s own pitch for this book, and if that didn’t immediately intrigue you as it did me… we clearly don’t have the same taste in thrillers. Because that sounds EXPLOSIVE.
I love a thriller (or any book really) that centres around an elite sport or industry – for instance, I devoured the Favourites last year and it even made it onto my favourite books of the year. If, like me, you loved the Favourites, then I think you’d also love Better Than Revenge. Instead of the world of ice dance, we’re focusing on the equally cutthroat Hollywood. Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore’s rivalry first began when they met as teenagers at a London drama school. What started as vying for the same parts and envy coupled with insecurity has since snowballed into a decades-long feud that has kept the tabloids on their toes. From slandering each other in the press to bar brawls, it seems there is nothing Nadine or Harper won’t do to one-up the other.
The writing is so fast-paced and addictive – I felt like I would blink and I’d read 100 pages – with Nadine’s perspective interwoven with interview transcripts. It’s also deeply rooted in 90s pop culture from style and the dawn of the digital age to what the characters are listening to (Britney Spears, of course) and who’s dominating the headlines that week, which is an aspect of the book that I loved!
I did think the book leaned into some of its more hyperbolic moments, resulting in it feeling almost a bit melodramatic at times. It takes a while for the thriller aspect to kick in, but the ride there is so enjoyable that I had no complaints. Watching Nadine’s stratospheric rise to the top and Harper’s gritty ascension to fame, watching their rivalry play out on screens and behind closed doors was so fun.
If you’re someone who has been begging for the return of true enemies-to-lovers – I’m talking they can’t stand each other at first (and for a long time), look no further. Nadine and Harper’s relationship walks the line between love and hate very tenuously at times, and is so incredibly toxic! I also can’t help but think that this book would be the perfect remedy for a reading slump, as I could not put it down.
Thank you to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for the digital ARC – Better than Revenge is out July 2nd
July 17, 2026
Very fun!! This is a well crafted story and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The documentary parts were such a fun addition, I love mixed media so this worked like a charm for me lol. Both Nadine and Harper are SO messy and toxic and so entertaining. I definitely recommend this as a fun read this summer!
July 19, 2026
I LOVED this so so much, the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a long time. I hadn’t heard of this book or author before when I picked it up and I’m SO glad I did. Such a fun storyline, mixed media 4 life.
July 29, 2026
“That rivalry – the mystery of it? Friends one moment, enemies the next? They're shrouded in so much gossip and rumor... Who doesn't want to know the real story of how the Hollywood It Girl and the Greatest Actress of the Age came to blows?"
Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore have been obsessed rivals since drama school. As they begin to make names for themselves in Hollywood, they tear each other apart with abandon, becoming the most famous rivals of their era. But could it be their obsessive hatred towards each other is hiding something more? And what happens when their rivalry turns deadly?
Better Than Revenge was such a good time. Reading this book with its wild twists and turns, its often despicable and deliciously horrible characters, and its juicy drama was like reading a gossip magazine (in the best possible way). But while Fitzgerald delivers a sometimes campy story of fame, obsession and a delightfully toxic sapphic love story, she also infuses her story with depth and interesting, moving themes. Through this wild tale, Fitzgerald explores, among other things, living with and recovering from addiction, the invasiveness of modern media, and the dehumanisation and objectification of female celebrities. I thought she captured especially well how brutal it can be to live in the spotlight when every heartbreak you experience, every wardrobe malfunction you suffer and every move you make is recorded, dissected and roasted; you seize to be a multifaceted person and become an object, a symbol, something everyone wants to own. The book obviously centres, above all, on women's experiences in the public eye – the characters talk about how women simply aren't allowed the same complexity as men, how women's appearances and weight are scrutinised in a way men's aren't, and how women are sexualised in a way men aren't. One storyline also deals with this idea that women are expected to want motherhood and domesticity, and how rejecting those things can be seen as almost a betrayal of their gender, a sign of deviance, something the public should punish a celebrity woman for. Nadine's narration really captures how lonely this kind of life can be, surrounded by people but still without many people you can truly trust with your secrets. The book explores many a dark theme, so if you are sensitive to stuff like depictions of abuse, addiction, abortion and eating disorders, I'd give this book a skip, though I'd say Fitzgerald deals with these themes with honesty and care, and doesn't include them in her story just to shock.
The premise of this book is so much fun. Obsessed rivals in late-90s and early-2000s Hollywood tearing each other apart while also crushing on each other without realising it? One of these women coming to the other, covered in blood, asking for their help? So good! And though the fun of the dynamic did fizzle out a bit for me at the end when they I did enjoy their story from beginning to end. I loved the structure, with Nadine's narration paired up with transcripts of the documentary Nadine is taking part in about the truth of her feud with Harper. Nadine's narration clashes with what people say in the documentary, and these contradictions made the book really fun to read: everyone is biased and everyone sees this feud differently and everyone has a reason for why they say what they say. When you realise Nadine is My love for this structure took a slight hit when it was revealed that The murder side of this book was way smaller a portion than I anticipated. For the most part, this book feels like a literary historical novel about fame, rivalry and toxic love. You know from the beginning that someone dies, but getting to actually see it happen takes a long time. I didn't mind that in the end. I mention it here just so you don't pick this book up expecting a really high-action thriller.
Nadine and Harper were both fun characters, even though they both do really nasty things. I like a messy, complex character! I liked Nadine's drive and her ambition, her love for cinema and her wanting, at the same time, to be this commercially successful award-winning icon and a true artist. It was fun seeing her go from this reclusive acting student to this cinema superstar – she changes a lot, but at the same time, she does not. Even when she becomes famous, she is the same girl who refused to trust anyone and who was desperate for someone to see them after a childhood spent with emotionally distant and cold parents. It was fun following her as she learns to navigate fame and Hollywood, struggles with her reputation (I especially felt for her when she talks about how much it angered her that the thing people remember best about her breakout role was not her acting or her complex character, but how good her tits looked in a jumpsuit), fumbles and remakes herself, and tries her best to She was a really great and engaging narrator, and I appreciated just how subjective and biased she was.
Harper was an intriguing character, because we don't get to know her as closely as we do Nadine and we only see her through the eyes of others. But because she is quite open and she has a tendency to deal with her issues and pain by joking about it and, in that way, taking control of it, you do get to know aspects of her. I liked how this book showcased different types of bad parents – Nadine's ignore her and Harper's mom uses her for clout – and how these kinds of childhood wounds can leave different kinds of scars. I liked Harper's brashness, her shamelessness and her scheming. Like Nadine, she is delightfully ambitious. One thing I especially liked about her was that she embraces being a terrible person in a way Nadine cannot, not for a long time. Harper has no qualms about doing shitty things and admitting she is being shitty, which I kinda loved about her. It was also fun seeing this woman who shines in the limelight, charms everyone despite the scandalous rumours that surround her and dominates the mind of her sworn enemy become undone by
The side characters were all solid. You have the loyal friend for many years, Ivan, whose brilliant screenplay launches Nadine's career (also, that scene when ), and the flamboyant, funny but proud fashion designer, Amos, who There's Ruchi, Nadine's badass PR person who has so much shit to deal with but still remains a loyal ally and someone who is both friend and colleague to Nadine. Whenever Nadine messes up, and boy does she mess up, Ruchi is never Nadine's first boyfriend, Oisín, was a great depiction of a very specific type of man – the type who is all Joel Ingram, a football sensation turned celebrity boyfriend, was also a great depiction of a very specific type of guy, the kind who Though most of them are not named and they appear, for the most part, as this swarming group, the book also depicts the paparazzi in a really intriguing way: they loom everywhere and are a constant threat, always looking for the most scandalous scoop and picture they can find. I can't imagine what it would be like to live under the kind of scrutiny Nadine and Harper face, the kind of scrutiny I know actual celebrities live with on the daily.
The dynamic between Nadine and Harper was a ton of fun. I love a messy, toxic, obsessive queer dynamic, and I like reading about relationships where the people involved make each other worse in a way that neither can resist. There is no doubt Harper and Nadine are toxic and bad for each other, but it's this that makes reading about them so much fun, so much so that when their dynamic becomes slightly less horrible when they , the book became slightly less fun to read. I loved seeing the origins of their rivalry in drama school, and how it was all born out of both genuine reasons, like , and really petty, childish reasons (they truly act like kids, at school: they sabotage, fight, bitch and seek to disrupt the other to get ahead). The obsession was also really well depicted – Nadine says that "No one else’s love was as delicious as Harper’s hatred” and Harper threatens her with a smile, saying: “One day you’re going to thank me for all that I’ve done for you. You’re going to grovel. Even if I have to force you on your knees myself.” It was delicious reading about all the different ways, big and small, that they torment each other over the years: in school, Nadine , and in Hollywood, Harper spreads rumours of Nadine having an STD and charging crystals in her vagina. They make fun of each other on red carpets and Nadine even There's also this wonderful sense that neither of them can handle anyone else hurting their nemesis: only they can torment each other, no one else is allowed to do so. Who doesn't love a dynamic built around this need for someone to see you and only you, to know that you occupy this person's mind and that you are the thing that their world revolves around? As Nadine puts it: “All this to say, before Harper Moore took full rein over my life, I was brilliant. I was dedicated. But my god, I was boring. Everything was dull before Harper.” I kept wondering, as I was reading, why Nadine would I also loved this quote from Nadine after Harper
Better Than Revenge was a fun romp set in glamorous Hollywood and its dark underbelly, and it centered around a truly delightfully horrible pair of women who truly deserve each other (cause they are both so terrible) but who you still root for, despite their less than charming behaviour and personalities. This book had a few hiccups, but I still enjoyed it and flew through it. Bea Fitzgerald has impressed me with both her Greek myth reimaginings and her standalone adult novels, and I will keep reading whatever she publishes.
Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore have been obsessed rivals since drama school. As they begin to make names for themselves in Hollywood, they tear each other apart with abandon, becoming the most famous rivals of their era. But could it be their obsessive hatred towards each other is hiding something more? And what happens when their rivalry turns deadly?
Better Than Revenge was such a good time. Reading this book with its wild twists and turns, its often despicable and deliciously horrible characters, and its juicy drama was like reading a gossip magazine (in the best possible way). But while Fitzgerald delivers a sometimes campy story of fame, obsession and a delightfully toxic sapphic love story, she also infuses her story with depth and interesting, moving themes. Through this wild tale, Fitzgerald explores, among other things, living with and recovering from addiction, the invasiveness of modern media, and the dehumanisation and objectification of female celebrities. I thought she captured especially well how brutal it can be to live in the spotlight when every heartbreak you experience, every wardrobe malfunction you suffer and every move you make is recorded, dissected and roasted; you seize to be a multifaceted person and become an object, a symbol, something everyone wants to own. The book obviously centres, above all, on women's experiences in the public eye – the characters talk about how women simply aren't allowed the same complexity as men, how women's appearances and weight are scrutinised in a way men's aren't, and how women are sexualised in a way men aren't. One storyline also deals with this idea that women are expected to want motherhood and domesticity, and how rejecting those things can be seen as almost a betrayal of their gender, a sign of deviance, something the public should punish a celebrity woman for. Nadine's narration really captures how lonely this kind of life can be, surrounded by people but still without many people you can truly trust with your secrets. The book explores many a dark theme, so if you are sensitive to stuff like depictions of abuse, addiction, abortion and eating disorders, I'd give this book a skip, though I'd say Fitzgerald deals with these themes with honesty and care, and doesn't include them in her story just to shock.
The premise of this book is so much fun. Obsessed rivals in late-90s and early-2000s Hollywood tearing each other apart while also crushing on each other without realising it? One of these women coming to the other, covered in blood, asking for their help? So good! And though the fun of the dynamic did fizzle out a bit for me at the end when they I did enjoy their story from beginning to end. I loved the structure, with Nadine's narration paired up with transcripts of the documentary Nadine is taking part in about the truth of her feud with Harper. Nadine's narration clashes with what people say in the documentary, and these contradictions made the book really fun to read: everyone is biased and everyone sees this feud differently and everyone has a reason for why they say what they say. When you realise Nadine is My love for this structure took a slight hit when it was revealed that The murder side of this book was way smaller a portion than I anticipated. For the most part, this book feels like a literary historical novel about fame, rivalry and toxic love. You know from the beginning that someone dies, but getting to actually see it happen takes a long time. I didn't mind that in the end. I mention it here just so you don't pick this book up expecting a really high-action thriller.
Nadine and Harper were both fun characters, even though they both do really nasty things. I like a messy, complex character! I liked Nadine's drive and her ambition, her love for cinema and her wanting, at the same time, to be this commercially successful award-winning icon and a true artist. It was fun seeing her go from this reclusive acting student to this cinema superstar – she changes a lot, but at the same time, she does not. Even when she becomes famous, she is the same girl who refused to trust anyone and who was desperate for someone to see them after a childhood spent with emotionally distant and cold parents. It was fun following her as she learns to navigate fame and Hollywood, struggles with her reputation (I especially felt for her when she talks about how much it angered her that the thing people remember best about her breakout role was not her acting or her complex character, but how good her tits looked in a jumpsuit), fumbles and remakes herself, and tries her best to She was a really great and engaging narrator, and I appreciated just how subjective and biased she was.
Harper was an intriguing character, because we don't get to know her as closely as we do Nadine and we only see her through the eyes of others. But because she is quite open and she has a tendency to deal with her issues and pain by joking about it and, in that way, taking control of it, you do get to know aspects of her. I liked how this book showcased different types of bad parents – Nadine's ignore her and Harper's mom uses her for clout – and how these kinds of childhood wounds can leave different kinds of scars. I liked Harper's brashness, her shamelessness and her scheming. Like Nadine, she is delightfully ambitious. One thing I especially liked about her was that she embraces being a terrible person in a way Nadine cannot, not for a long time. Harper has no qualms about doing shitty things and admitting she is being shitty, which I kinda loved about her. It was also fun seeing this woman who shines in the limelight, charms everyone despite the scandalous rumours that surround her and dominates the mind of her sworn enemy become undone by
The side characters were all solid. You have the loyal friend for many years, Ivan, whose brilliant screenplay launches Nadine's career (also, that scene when ), and the flamboyant, funny but proud fashion designer, Amos, who There's Ruchi, Nadine's badass PR person who has so much shit to deal with but still remains a loyal ally and someone who is both friend and colleague to Nadine. Whenever Nadine messes up, and boy does she mess up, Ruchi is never Nadine's first boyfriend, Oisín, was a great depiction of a very specific type of man – the type who is all Joel Ingram, a football sensation turned celebrity boyfriend, was also a great depiction of a very specific type of guy, the kind who Though most of them are not named and they appear, for the most part, as this swarming group, the book also depicts the paparazzi in a really intriguing way: they loom everywhere and are a constant threat, always looking for the most scandalous scoop and picture they can find. I can't imagine what it would be like to live under the kind of scrutiny Nadine and Harper face, the kind of scrutiny I know actual celebrities live with on the daily.
The dynamic between Nadine and Harper was a ton of fun. I love a messy, toxic, obsessive queer dynamic, and I like reading about relationships where the people involved make each other worse in a way that neither can resist. There is no doubt Harper and Nadine are toxic and bad for each other, but it's this that makes reading about them so much fun, so much so that when their dynamic becomes slightly less horrible when they , the book became slightly less fun to read. I loved seeing the origins of their rivalry in drama school, and how it was all born out of both genuine reasons, like , and really petty, childish reasons (they truly act like kids, at school: they sabotage, fight, bitch and seek to disrupt the other to get ahead). The obsession was also really well depicted – Nadine says that "No one else’s love was as delicious as Harper’s hatred” and Harper threatens her with a smile, saying: “One day you’re going to thank me for all that I’ve done for you. You’re going to grovel. Even if I have to force you on your knees myself.” It was delicious reading about all the different ways, big and small, that they torment each other over the years: in school, Nadine , and in Hollywood, Harper spreads rumours of Nadine having an STD and charging crystals in her vagina. They make fun of each other on red carpets and Nadine even There's also this wonderful sense that neither of them can handle anyone else hurting their nemesis: only they can torment each other, no one else is allowed to do so. Who doesn't love a dynamic built around this need for someone to see you and only you, to know that you occupy this person's mind and that you are the thing that their world revolves around? As Nadine puts it: “All this to say, before Harper Moore took full rein over my life, I was brilliant. I was dedicated. But my god, I was boring. Everything was dull before Harper.” I kept wondering, as I was reading, why Nadine would I also loved this quote from Nadine after Harper
Better Than Revenge was a fun romp set in glamorous Hollywood and its dark underbelly, and it centered around a truly delightfully horrible pair of women who truly deserve each other (cause they are both so terrible) but who you still root for, despite their less than charming behaviour and personalities. This book had a few hiccups, but I still enjoyed it and flew through it. Bea Fitzgerald has impressed me with both her Greek myth reimaginings and her standalone adult novels, and I will keep reading whatever she publishes.
May 2, 2026
Wow what a story. The storyline of two rivalry actresses making it in Hollywood with a mysterious plot unravelling. The tension and the obsession between Nadine and Harper had me hooked. This book reminded me of the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo but with a more thrilling and mysterious take on the story.
I really enjoyed the structure of it switching between timelines and the present day timeline being in a more interview style and getting a glimpse into how other characters perceived the unravelling of events. It felt like watching a documentary of the two characters stories.
The dynamic between the two characters is so toxic and tense but sooo entertaining. It explores what people are willing to do in order to make it big in Hollywood and the environment in which evolves around the industry.
The story had me constantly engaged with well written characters and amazing writing brought to life with the events that occurred. I had no clue where the story was gonna lead to and that was such a strong element of this book. I didn’t know what to expect. There was so much depth built upon the story and characters personalities, it made the story even more rich in excellence.
I loved this book thoroughly and would recommend it to anyway wanting to read a Hollywood thriller about characters that aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.
I really enjoyed the structure of it switching between timelines and the present day timeline being in a more interview style and getting a glimpse into how other characters perceived the unravelling of events. It felt like watching a documentary of the two characters stories.
The dynamic between the two characters is so toxic and tense but sooo entertaining. It explores what people are willing to do in order to make it big in Hollywood and the environment in which evolves around the industry.
The story had me constantly engaged with well written characters and amazing writing brought to life with the events that occurred. I had no clue where the story was gonna lead to and that was such a strong element of this book. I didn’t know what to expect. There was so much depth built upon the story and characters personalities, it made the story even more rich in excellence.
I loved this book thoroughly and would recommend it to anyway wanting to read a Hollywood thriller about characters that aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.
April 4, 2026
Better Than Revenge follows Harper Moore and Nadine Heywood, who began their rivalry at drama school as teenagers. Now both successful actresses in Hollywood, they can no longer keep their rivalry private. Splashed over the tabloids, Harper and Nadine are the public’s favourite celebrity feud. But as the stakes get higher, they start to realise there is more to their passionate hate than meets the eye…
This was my first book by Bea Fitzgerald, and I ate it up! The premise of this one immediately sucked me in. I would say that this book is comparable to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and The Favourites. The mix of flashback and present day chapters, as well as interview transcripts, created great tension in the narrative. I just KNEW something was building up, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
Nadine and Harper were both manipulative, petty, and deeply flawed. It was fascinating to follow their relationship from drama students to present day in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Their interactions were filled with tension, and it was so entertaining to see their rivalry escalate and them both grapple to gain the upper hand. Their relationship was toxic and fuelled by obsession, but, GOD, was it entertaining to read about!
I’d recommend this to anyone looking for an addictive, compelling, and character driven read. Or, fans of Evelyn Hugo who want something a little more bloody!
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for providing me with an eARC. This review is being left voluntarily and all opinions are my own.
This was my first book by Bea Fitzgerald, and I ate it up! The premise of this one immediately sucked me in. I would say that this book is comparable to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and The Favourites. The mix of flashback and present day chapters, as well as interview transcripts, created great tension in the narrative. I just KNEW something was building up, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
Nadine and Harper were both manipulative, petty, and deeply flawed. It was fascinating to follow their relationship from drama students to present day in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Their interactions were filled with tension, and it was so entertaining to see their rivalry escalate and them both grapple to gain the upper hand. Their relationship was toxic and fuelled by obsession, but, GOD, was it entertaining to read about!
I’d recommend this to anyone looking for an addictive, compelling, and character driven read. Or, fans of Evelyn Hugo who want something a little more bloody!
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for providing me with an eARC. This review is being left voluntarily and all opinions are my own.
April 10, 2026
I loved this! The relationship between Nadine and Harper was so intense! They were both as toxic and obsessive as each other, i couldnt put it down because i was so invested in what they were going to do to each other next. I also loved the way it was written, a mixture of flashbacks and past tense and then the documentary style present tense made it really interesting and also built up a lot of tension. I loved how you couldnt quite tell if their rivalry was just pure hatred or if there was more to it! Definitely recommend this one its super gripping!
June 24, 2026
4.5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
“You were bored stiff. Admit it. I saved you.”
“You ruined me.”
“Same thing.”
Better Than Revenge completely consumed me. Toxic sapphic drama set in Hollywood might genuinely be one of my favourite micro-genres and having also gone through the London drama school intensity the setting of this really sucked me in to the story. Bea Fitzgerald absolutely nailed every messy, obsessive, emotionally charged aspect of it and it perfectly set the groundwork for the atmosphere of Hollywood and made it feel really authentic and believable. This is my first time reading one of her books and now I need to read all of her others too!
The dual structure of the documentary interviews alongside Nadine’s retelling of everything that happened instantly worked for me. It feels reminiscent of some of my favourite reads like Daisy Jones & The Six and The Favourites where you are constantly being fed little hints and teasers about where the story is heading. I find books structured like this so addictive because every interview snippet feels loaded with tension and you’re always waiting for the moment where everything finally falls apart, and all the pieces fall into place.
And of course knowing from the start that there has been (or is going to be?) a murder raises the stakes of the story so much. But honestly Bea could have removed that entire build up and I still would have been utterly obsessed with the rivalry and tension between Nadine and Harper. Their dynamic is toxic, compelling and impossible to look away from in the very best way. Every interaction between them felt charged with jealousy, ambition, resentment and attraction all tangled together. Neither Nadine nor Harper are particularly likeable characters (no matter how compelling I found Harper - probably because we are hearing about her from Nadine’s pov) but I was fully supportive of all of their rights and (many, many) wrongs. Women behaving badly in fiction will always have my full attention.
This book is witty, dramatic, addictive and filled with the kind of tension that makes you keep saying “just one more chapter” until suddenly it’s 2am and you’ve finished the whole thing.
“A jealousy. An obsession. A tension.”
Thank you so much to Penguin Michael Joseph for this arc - it was the perfect holiday read 💛
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
“You were bored stiff. Admit it. I saved you.”
“You ruined me.”
“Same thing.”
Better Than Revenge completely consumed me. Toxic sapphic drama set in Hollywood might genuinely be one of my favourite micro-genres and having also gone through the London drama school intensity the setting of this really sucked me in to the story. Bea Fitzgerald absolutely nailed every messy, obsessive, emotionally charged aspect of it and it perfectly set the groundwork for the atmosphere of Hollywood and made it feel really authentic and believable. This is my first time reading one of her books and now I need to read all of her others too!
The dual structure of the documentary interviews alongside Nadine’s retelling of everything that happened instantly worked for me. It feels reminiscent of some of my favourite reads like Daisy Jones & The Six and The Favourites where you are constantly being fed little hints and teasers about where the story is heading. I find books structured like this so addictive because every interview snippet feels loaded with tension and you’re always waiting for the moment where everything finally falls apart, and all the pieces fall into place.
And of course knowing from the start that there has been (or is going to be?) a murder raises the stakes of the story so much. But honestly Bea could have removed that entire build up and I still would have been utterly obsessed with the rivalry and tension between Nadine and Harper. Their dynamic is toxic, compelling and impossible to look away from in the very best way. Every interaction between them felt charged with jealousy, ambition, resentment and attraction all tangled together. Neither Nadine nor Harper are particularly likeable characters (no matter how compelling I found Harper - probably because we are hearing about her from Nadine’s pov) but I was fully supportive of all of their rights and (many, many) wrongs. Women behaving badly in fiction will always have my full attention.
This book is witty, dramatic, addictive and filled with the kind of tension that makes you keep saying “just one more chapter” until suddenly it’s 2am and you’ve finished the whole thing.
“A jealousy. An obsession. A tension.”
Thank you so much to Penguin Michael Joseph for this arc - it was the perfect holiday read 💛
July 28, 2026
"𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘳".
This was so thrilling & so full of tension between the two FMCs Nadine & Harper. If you're really into the enemies to lovers trope, I'd highly suggest picking this up!
I loved the Hollywood backdrop to this story — as someone who occasionally thinks how mad & exciting it'd be to be a fly on the wall in some of these celebrities lives, this book captures that perfectly. There's humour, tension, mystery & so much more packed into this. It had me gripped from the start. I really liked how it was laid out with chapters beginning almost like a true crime documentary where characters are being interviewed that then leads into flashbacks of the events that occurred which sometimes read like a memoir. I felt all of that was executed so well, it's what kept me hooked.
There were a few parts that were cringey to me or maybe slightly over dramatic but I can overlook them with how much I liked the vibe of the book as a whole. This was so addictive, I couldn't wait to pick it back up each night & I still keep thinking about Nadine & Harper & where they would be now. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the latter half & the ending too; I wasn't really sure what to expect but I'm happy it ended the way it did with the final twist. The characters weren't always completely likeable but I really didn't mind that, I thought it suited the plot for them to be quite flawed & complicated, they felt so real to me & I can't deny I was on their side by the end.
Overall, this was a fun read! I liked the element of intrigue & mystery that was part of the main plot, it was different to what I expected going into it but I loved that. I'd be so up for reading more by this author in the future!
Thank you Michael Joseph & Netgalley for my free eARC!
This was so thrilling & so full of tension between the two FMCs Nadine & Harper. If you're really into the enemies to lovers trope, I'd highly suggest picking this up!
I loved the Hollywood backdrop to this story — as someone who occasionally thinks how mad & exciting it'd be to be a fly on the wall in some of these celebrities lives, this book captures that perfectly. There's humour, tension, mystery & so much more packed into this. It had me gripped from the start. I really liked how it was laid out with chapters beginning almost like a true crime documentary where characters are being interviewed that then leads into flashbacks of the events that occurred which sometimes read like a memoir. I felt all of that was executed so well, it's what kept me hooked.
There were a few parts that were cringey to me or maybe slightly over dramatic but I can overlook them with how much I liked the vibe of the book as a whole. This was so addictive, I couldn't wait to pick it back up each night & I still keep thinking about Nadine & Harper & where they would be now. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the latter half & the ending too; I wasn't really sure what to expect but I'm happy it ended the way it did with the final twist. The characters weren't always completely likeable but I really didn't mind that, I thought it suited the plot for them to be quite flawed & complicated, they felt so real to me & I can't deny I was on their side by the end.
Overall, this was a fun read! I liked the element of intrigue & mystery that was part of the main plot, it was different to what I expected going into it but I loved that. I'd be so up for reading more by this author in the future!
Thank you Michael Joseph & Netgalley for my free eARC!
June 29, 2026
Review of advanced reader copy from NetGalley and Landmark
IF you loved The Favourites by Layne Fargo or Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Seven Husbands, Malibu Rising and Carrie Soto Is Back, YOU👏🏼 WILL👏🏼 LOVE👏🏼 THIS👏🏼
I’m going to start off by saying this: if you know me and if you’ve read my reviews, you know I’m a sucker for good prose. And on that note, I thought the writing was phenomenal. Fitzgerald has a way of letting a sentence carry far more than its length suggests, so the psychological weight of the story builds without ever tipping into melodrama.
This is a book preoccupied with obsession, possession and ambition, and how thin the line between them really is once celebrity culture gets involved. In other words, this book is drenched in characters and actions that are ✨TOXIQUE✨, which, for some ie. me, is a form of pure entertainment.
I did spend quite some time on this book feeling frustrated, in the most productive way, by why the FMCs keep repeating the same choices. But I think that repetition is the whole argument the author is making. Fitzgerald seems less interested in redemption than in interrogating how a person’s judgment can warp so completely under the weight of wanting something (or someone) so, so badly.
It’s an uncomfortable read, and an addictive one. The kind of book that makes you want to shake some sense into its characters while simultaneously understanding why they can’t stop.
IF you loved The Favourites by Layne Fargo or Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Seven Husbands, Malibu Rising and Carrie Soto Is Back, YOU👏🏼 WILL👏🏼 LOVE👏🏼 THIS👏🏼
I’m going to start off by saying this: if you know me and if you’ve read my reviews, you know I’m a sucker for good prose. And on that note, I thought the writing was phenomenal. Fitzgerald has a way of letting a sentence carry far more than its length suggests, so the psychological weight of the story builds without ever tipping into melodrama.
This is a book preoccupied with obsession, possession and ambition, and how thin the line between them really is once celebrity culture gets involved. In other words, this book is drenched in characters and actions that are ✨TOXIQUE✨, which, for some ie. me, is a form of pure entertainment.
I did spend quite some time on this book feeling frustrated, in the most productive way, by why the FMCs keep repeating the same choices. But I think that repetition is the whole argument the author is making. Fitzgerald seems less interested in redemption than in interrogating how a person’s judgment can warp so completely under the weight of wanting something (or someone) so, so badly.
It’s an uncomfortable read, and an addictive one. The kind of book that makes you want to shake some sense into its characters while simultaneously understanding why they can’t stop.
Read
July 18, 20263⭐️
I thought, given the nature of this book (wlw,rivals, enemies to lovers, hot women etc etc) that I would be obsessed with this book and unfortunately it didn’t hit for me…or not as hard as I thought it would anyway.
The characters at times felt a little 2d and the rivalry a little tired but perhaps that says more about Hollywood’s obsession with women at each others throats (not in the gay way) but seriously, get a room Nadine and Harper, any rivalry that last this long has surely got to be fruity.
TJR reigns supreme in this genre I think. This burn was so slow I actually had to check if the match was still lit after 300 pages.
I thought, given the nature of this book (wlw,rivals, enemies to lovers, hot women etc etc) that I would be obsessed with this book and unfortunately it didn’t hit for me…or not as hard as I thought it would anyway.
The characters at times felt a little 2d and the rivalry a little tired but perhaps that says more about Hollywood’s obsession with women at each others throats (not in the gay way) but seriously, get a room Nadine and Harper, any rivalry that last this long has surely got to be fruity.
TJR reigns supreme in this genre I think. This burn was so slow I actually had to check if the match was still lit after 300 pages.
May 17, 2026
This was FU**ING PHENOMENAL and yall need to read it. Back with a better review soon!
July 8, 2026
4.5✨ would 100% recommend you anyone who loves TJR or the favourites this was so so much fun
August 1, 2026
MAKE A MOVIE ABOUT THIS NOWWWWWWW 💳💥
So unbelievably entertaining, the two leading ladies are spectacular.
So unbelievably entertaining, the two leading ladies are spectacular.
July 3, 2026
My thoughts whilst reading:
Okay, change of pace! Toxic, sapphic Hollywood rivalry that turns deadly! Coming off the end of pride month, really, when could be better?
And perfect timing really, seeing as I’m going to a talk by Bea Fitzgerald and Jennifer Saint next week!
Honestly, I love how she structures her thrillers. Then things went dark kept moving between interrogations, archive footage of the reality show, and public opinion. Better than revenge is framed as the transcript of a true crime documentary, swapping between the history of their relationship and present day events.
I like the way that the characters are almost speaking directly to the reader (or the director, anyway).
I love how her books are always so openly queer. Right there in black and white, printed firmly on the page.
It feels like watching a car crash in motion - fated, and inevitable, and tragic, and yet you can’t look away.
Is there anything more sapphic than declarations of war through the language of flowers?? I just need them to have some fans now, to go full regency insults, spite, pettiness, and obsession.
It’s kind of reminding me of the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, of the relationship and obsession between Evelyn and Celia.
The way Nadine’s feeling at the end of act two reminds me of Taylor Swift’s quote from Miss Americana:
“You get to the mountaintop, and you look around, and you’re like, ‘oh god, what now?’… I didn’t have a partner that I climbed it with… I didn’t have anyone I could talk to who could relate to what I was… I just wondered, shouldn’t I have someone that I could call right now?”
Her parents, who never really cared anyway, are gone, she doesn’t have a partner, she has people who work for her, but she doesn’t really know who to trust, and all the while, there’s Harper. And that’s an entire vipers nest of problems.
Is it Harper’s footballer husband who ended up dead? She’s covered in blood, and he’s shown himself to be suspicious in multiple occasions.
And who do you need to run to when there’s a body you need to bury?
“I didn’t know what to do with that - with her - other than, of course, anything she needed of me.”
“It was Harper, and where her name was said, mine echoed beneath. We resounded within each other, were already stained… there was no thought there. Just instinct. Harper and everything about her—us—was impulse.”
“Only I was allowed to bring her to tears. Only I could bring her such devastation. She was mine to hurt, not whatever this was.
“I’d dropped to my knees. I’d bound my throat with that lace. I’d chosen the route that burned, repeatedly. Claimed there were no other options, but there were. There were—I just liked the way it ate through me.”
“No on else’s love was as delicious as Harper’s hatred. Her attention, no matter the cost.
“Harper was the centre of my world and those pillars I’d crafted—ones of loathing and rage and vengeance were dissolving. It was all coming crumbling down and there was only her, at the middle still.
Harper needed me. It was the only thought that could cut through.”
“I’d be perfectly fine without you.”
“You were bored stiff. Admit it. I saved you.”
“You ruined me.”
“Same thing.”
…“You’re a beautiful ruin, Nadine. I don’t want to imagine me without you or you without me. Not when what we’ve created is so fascinating. So noteworthy.”
They’re so toxic, I love them.
How do you cover up a murder? Misdirect, manipulate, draw the eye elsewhere…
And when they finally came together:
“A jealousy. An obsession. A tension.
“(One I'd been misreading for a very long time.)”
“I grasped her as I had everything I’d ever wanted—viciously and with both hands clutching tight. She drew me to her like I would have to be pried away, her body pressed against mine. Both of us clawing and desperate.
“Both determined to arise victorious.
“We kissed like it might absolve us.”
“I think we found ourselves—that terrifying, awful hunger clawing within—and a person who did not fear that depravity but rose to meet it with their own.
“A ravenous, vengeful, and utterly beautiful collision.”
This last section, after Harper was arrested, has swapped into third person from first person. I wonder why…
Ohh so that’s how the documentary came out, as a means of throwing reasonable doubt on an already deliberately woolly case. A way of shifting the narrative, giving a more convincing story about the murder, about the rivalry that has had Hollywood and the court of public opinion hooked for nearly a decade.
They literally got away with murder - for now at least. And who knows what they’ll do next…?
I will never not devour a Bea Fitzgerald book. An absolute auto-buy author. I’ve not found a book of hers that I haven’t loved.
Okay, change of pace! Toxic, sapphic Hollywood rivalry that turns deadly! Coming off the end of pride month, really, when could be better?
And perfect timing really, seeing as I’m going to a talk by Bea Fitzgerald and Jennifer Saint next week!
Honestly, I love how she structures her thrillers. Then things went dark kept moving between interrogations, archive footage of the reality show, and public opinion. Better than revenge is framed as the transcript of a true crime documentary, swapping between the history of their relationship and present day events.
I like the way that the characters are almost speaking directly to the reader (or the director, anyway).
I love how her books are always so openly queer. Right there in black and white, printed firmly on the page.
It feels like watching a car crash in motion - fated, and inevitable, and tragic, and yet you can’t look away.
Is there anything more sapphic than declarations of war through the language of flowers?? I just need them to have some fans now, to go full regency insults, spite, pettiness, and obsession.
It’s kind of reminding me of the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, of the relationship and obsession between Evelyn and Celia.
The way Nadine’s feeling at the end of act two reminds me of Taylor Swift’s quote from Miss Americana:
“You get to the mountaintop, and you look around, and you’re like, ‘oh god, what now?’… I didn’t have a partner that I climbed it with… I didn’t have anyone I could talk to who could relate to what I was… I just wondered, shouldn’t I have someone that I could call right now?”
Her parents, who never really cared anyway, are gone, she doesn’t have a partner, she has people who work for her, but she doesn’t really know who to trust, and all the while, there’s Harper. And that’s an entire vipers nest of problems.
Is it Harper’s footballer husband who ended up dead? She’s covered in blood, and he’s shown himself to be suspicious in multiple occasions.
And who do you need to run to when there’s a body you need to bury?
“I didn’t know what to do with that - with her - other than, of course, anything she needed of me.”
“It was Harper, and where her name was said, mine echoed beneath. We resounded within each other, were already stained… there was no thought there. Just instinct. Harper and everything about her—us—was impulse.”
“Only I was allowed to bring her to tears. Only I could bring her such devastation. She was mine to hurt, not whatever this was.
“I’d dropped to my knees. I’d bound my throat with that lace. I’d chosen the route that burned, repeatedly. Claimed there were no other options, but there were. There were—I just liked the way it ate through me.”
“No on else’s love was as delicious as Harper’s hatred. Her attention, no matter the cost.
“Harper was the centre of my world and those pillars I’d crafted—ones of loathing and rage and vengeance were dissolving. It was all coming crumbling down and there was only her, at the middle still.
Harper needed me. It was the only thought that could cut through.”
“I’d be perfectly fine without you.”
“You were bored stiff. Admit it. I saved you.”
“You ruined me.”
“Same thing.”
…“You’re a beautiful ruin, Nadine. I don’t want to imagine me without you or you without me. Not when what we’ve created is so fascinating. So noteworthy.”
They’re so toxic, I love them.
How do you cover up a murder? Misdirect, manipulate, draw the eye elsewhere…
And when they finally came together:
“A jealousy. An obsession. A tension.
“(One I'd been misreading for a very long time.)”
“I grasped her as I had everything I’d ever wanted—viciously and with both hands clutching tight. She drew me to her like I would have to be pried away, her body pressed against mine. Both of us clawing and desperate.
“Both determined to arise victorious.
“We kissed like it might absolve us.”
“I think we found ourselves—that terrifying, awful hunger clawing within—and a person who did not fear that depravity but rose to meet it with their own.
“A ravenous, vengeful, and utterly beautiful collision.”
This last section, after Harper was arrested, has swapped into third person from first person. I wonder why…
Ohh so that’s how the documentary came out, as a means of throwing reasonable doubt on an already deliberately woolly case. A way of shifting the narrative, giving a more convincing story about the murder, about the rivalry that has had Hollywood and the court of public opinion hooked for nearly a decade.
They literally got away with murder - for now at least. And who knows what they’ll do next…?
I will never not devour a Bea Fitzgerald book. An absolute auto-buy author. I’ve not found a book of hers that I haven’t loved.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book had me gripped within the first few pages, and would not let go! I devoured it like it was air. My obsession with this book is only rivalled by Nadine and Harper’s obsession with each other.
The book opens with Hollywood actress Harper Moore being arrested for murder, and then the rest of the book is told in chronological flashbacks narrated by Harper’s rival, Nadine Heywood. She takes us back to the beginning of their rivalry at drama school, which quickly escalates in the height of the late 90s, early 00s paparazzi culture of Hollywood. In between these chapters, we get transcriptions from a Netflix-style documentary made after Harper’s arrest, in which Nadine and many of their other mutual acquaintances discuss the rivalry, their history, and – crucially – whether they think Harper did in fact do it.
📚Blog📖YouTube📖Instagram📚
The swapping of these two styles and perspectives was absolutely genius. Nadine definitely has her blind spots, which were filled in by some of the other interviewees on the documentary, but there were also things only she knew that we got to find out before anyone else. It was such a vivid way to experience this story.
The driving force of the book is, of course, the relationship between Nadine and Harper. They come in and out of each other’s lives, they know exactly how to push each other’s buttons, and they kept us on our toes the whole time. Because the book was told from Nadine’s perspective, we never had any idea what Harper’s motivations were, what she was going to do next, and while sometimes she acted predictably, sometimes she didn’t. Sometimes she caused Nadine to act unpredictably too, which was just as fun to read.
The third main character, as it were, is the paparazzi and the press. Both Nadine and Harper use the press to their advantage, both working together and against each other, but they are also at its mercy. They use it to get each other’s attention, or to distract from something they want buried, but they also – Nadine especially – suffer at the hands of the press. They were this looming presence throughout the whole novel, putting both the characters and the reader on edge.
This book took me on such a journey, and I loved every second of it! These characters will stay with me for a long time after reading this book, and I hope it has all the success it deserves.
I received a free copy for an honest review.
The book opens with Hollywood actress Harper Moore being arrested for murder, and then the rest of the book is told in chronological flashbacks narrated by Harper’s rival, Nadine Heywood. She takes us back to the beginning of their rivalry at drama school, which quickly escalates in the height of the late 90s, early 00s paparazzi culture of Hollywood. In between these chapters, we get transcriptions from a Netflix-style documentary made after Harper’s arrest, in which Nadine and many of their other mutual acquaintances discuss the rivalry, their history, and – crucially – whether they think Harper did in fact do it.
📚Blog📖YouTube📖Instagram📚
The swapping of these two styles and perspectives was absolutely genius. Nadine definitely has her blind spots, which were filled in by some of the other interviewees on the documentary, but there were also things only she knew that we got to find out before anyone else. It was such a vivid way to experience this story.
The driving force of the book is, of course, the relationship between Nadine and Harper. They come in and out of each other’s lives, they know exactly how to push each other’s buttons, and they kept us on our toes the whole time. Because the book was told from Nadine’s perspective, we never had any idea what Harper’s motivations were, what she was going to do next, and while sometimes she acted predictably, sometimes she didn’t. Sometimes she caused Nadine to act unpredictably too, which was just as fun to read.
The third main character, as it were, is the paparazzi and the press. Both Nadine and Harper use the press to their advantage, both working together and against each other, but they are also at its mercy. They use it to get each other’s attention, or to distract from something they want buried, but they also – Nadine especially – suffer at the hands of the press. They were this looming presence throughout the whole novel, putting both the characters and the reader on edge.
This book took me on such a journey, and I loved every second of it! These characters will stay with me for a long time after reading this book, and I hope it has all the success it deserves.
I received a free copy for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Better Than Revenge • Bea Fitzgerald
One phrase: Hollywood rivals with blood on their hands 🎬🩸
A legendary Hollywood feud. Two A list actresses. Years of obsession, rivalry, ego, gossip, and one very inconvenient body bag.
Immediately yes.
Better Than Revenge sounds like the kind of salacious slow burn suspense that lives for messy women, sharp tension, and the kind of rivalry that feels a little too intimate to be simple hatred.
Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore have been rivals since drama school, and their feud has become the kind of thing tabloids feed on. Hollywood It Girl versus acclaimed starlet. Competition, jealousy, obsession, and an endless need to win.
But after Nadine finally beats Harper in every best actress category, victory does not feel as satisfying as she expected.
Because Harper is still in her head.
Then Harper shows up at Nadine’s door covered in blood.
And suddenly the feud becomes something much darker.
I love the idea of a rivalry that has been shaped by ambition, resentment, attraction, and years of trying to outshine each other. Add in flashbacks, true crime documentary excerpts, Hollywood scandal, and two women who may mean far more to each other than either wants to admit?
Yeah. I’m listening.
This sounds twisty, dramatic, sapphic, and full of that “are they enemies, soulmates, or each other’s destruction?” energy.
✨ Tropes and vibes:
🎬 Hollywood scandal
🩸 body bag chaos
💋 sapphic suspense
🔥 rivals with chemistry
👑 A list actresses
📰 tabloid feud
🎭 drama school history
🔪 murder mystery
🎥 true crime documentary
💔 obsession and ego
👀 frenemies to something more
🌙 Thelma and Louise energy
📚 Read this if you like:
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes, messy Hollywood women, sapphic tension, rivals who cannot stop thinking about each other, scandalous suspense, and stories where revenge might not be nearly as satisfying as desire.
This sounds dramatic, bloody, glamorous, and deliciously messy.
#BetterThanRevenge #BeaFitzgerald #SapphicBooks #MysteryThriller #BookReview @landmark
One phrase: Hollywood rivals with blood on their hands 🎬🩸
A legendary Hollywood feud. Two A list actresses. Years of obsession, rivalry, ego, gossip, and one very inconvenient body bag.
Immediately yes.
Better Than Revenge sounds like the kind of salacious slow burn suspense that lives for messy women, sharp tension, and the kind of rivalry that feels a little too intimate to be simple hatred.
Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore have been rivals since drama school, and their feud has become the kind of thing tabloids feed on. Hollywood It Girl versus acclaimed starlet. Competition, jealousy, obsession, and an endless need to win.
But after Nadine finally beats Harper in every best actress category, victory does not feel as satisfying as she expected.
Because Harper is still in her head.
Then Harper shows up at Nadine’s door covered in blood.
And suddenly the feud becomes something much darker.
I love the idea of a rivalry that has been shaped by ambition, resentment, attraction, and years of trying to outshine each other. Add in flashbacks, true crime documentary excerpts, Hollywood scandal, and two women who may mean far more to each other than either wants to admit?
Yeah. I’m listening.
This sounds twisty, dramatic, sapphic, and full of that “are they enemies, soulmates, or each other’s destruction?” energy.
✨ Tropes and vibes:
🎬 Hollywood scandal
🩸 body bag chaos
💋 sapphic suspense
🔥 rivals with chemistry
👑 A list actresses
📰 tabloid feud
🎭 drama school history
🔪 murder mystery
🎥 true crime documentary
💔 obsession and ego
👀 frenemies to something more
🌙 Thelma and Louise energy
📚 Read this if you like:
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes, messy Hollywood women, sapphic tension, rivals who cannot stop thinking about each other, scandalous suspense, and stories where revenge might not be nearly as satisfying as desire.
This sounds dramatic, bloody, glamorous, and deliciously messy.
#BetterThanRevenge #BeaFitzgerald #SapphicBooks #MysteryThriller #BookReview @landmark
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book had me more invested in the gossip than the murder.
I picked this up expecting a thriller.
Instead, I became completely obsessed with two actresses who spent decades trying to destroy each other.
And I couldn't look away.
Better Than Revenge drops readers into the glamorous, ruthless world of Hollywood, where Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore have been locked in a feud since their teenage years at drama school.
What begins as competition for roles quickly spirals into a decades-long rivalry filled with public scandals, tabloid headlines, jealousy, revenge, and enough drama to fuel an entire season of reality TV.
The story follows Nadine's rise to stardom while weaving in interview transcripts that slowly reveal what really happened behind the scenes. Every chapter felt like peeling back another layer of celebrity gossip, hidden resentments, and career-defining betrayals.
And the 90s nostalgia was absolute perfection. From pop culture references to celebrity scandals and the early days of the digital age, this book completely transported me.
I Loved the Hollywood insider drama, celebrity rivalries, tabloid scandals and interviews with peak 90s nostalgia, toxic enemies-to-lovers tension, weaved in fast-paced, bingeable storytelling.
The thriller elements take their time arriving, but I honestly didn't mind because watching Nadine and Harper try to outmaneuver each other was entertainment all on its own.
And if you're always saying enemies-to-lovers isn't enemies enough these days...
This book understood the assignment.
These two genuinely could not stand each other.
Until maybe they could.
This is the kind of book that reminds me why I love messy women, complicated relationships, and stories where ambition becomes almost as dangerous as love.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the gifted eARC through Netgalley. All thought are my own.
Confession: I was so invested in their rivalry that I almost forgot I was reading a thriller.
I picked this up expecting a thriller.
Instead, I became completely obsessed with two actresses who spent decades trying to destroy each other.
And I couldn't look away.
Better Than Revenge drops readers into the glamorous, ruthless world of Hollywood, where Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore have been locked in a feud since their teenage years at drama school.
What begins as competition for roles quickly spirals into a decades-long rivalry filled with public scandals, tabloid headlines, jealousy, revenge, and enough drama to fuel an entire season of reality TV.
The story follows Nadine's rise to stardom while weaving in interview transcripts that slowly reveal what really happened behind the scenes. Every chapter felt like peeling back another layer of celebrity gossip, hidden resentments, and career-defining betrayals.
And the 90s nostalgia was absolute perfection. From pop culture references to celebrity scandals and the early days of the digital age, this book completely transported me.
I Loved the Hollywood insider drama, celebrity rivalries, tabloid scandals and interviews with peak 90s nostalgia, toxic enemies-to-lovers tension, weaved in fast-paced, bingeable storytelling.
The thriller elements take their time arriving, but I honestly didn't mind because watching Nadine and Harper try to outmaneuver each other was entertainment all on its own.
And if you're always saying enemies-to-lovers isn't enemies enough these days...
This book understood the assignment.
These two genuinely could not stand each other.
Until maybe they could.
This is the kind of book that reminds me why I love messy women, complicated relationships, and stories where ambition becomes almost as dangerous as love.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the gifted eARC through Netgalley. All thought are my own.
Confession: I was so invested in their rivalry that I almost forgot I was reading a thriller.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.5 ⭐️
This book gave me major The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes and since I devoured that book, the same happened here.
We know Bea Fitzgerald mostly from Greek mythology books. But it seems she's trying out other genres as well. First with 'Then Things Went Dark', a true crime thriller about reality television and now with Better Than Revenge, This is a book that can be put in various genres: crime, thriller, romance, fiction, ... it has a bit of everything and it all comes together beautifully.
In Better Than Revenge, we follow Hollywood actresses Nadine and Harper and their years long feud on and off screen. You immediately get sucked into not only this story but the rivalry between the two women. It's an all consuming kind of relationship and while the women are constantly surrounded by other people throughout their lives, the only real and constant thing they have is each other. I adored their rivalry, the tension building, the plot, EVERYTHING about this.
She also perfectly depicts a horrible reality: women will always be pitted against each other in media outlets. And it's really interesting to see how the main characters here struggle with that too. Where is the line between actually hating each other and playing a role for the cameras? Where is the line between what's real and what's pretend? Where's the line between hate and love?
The format of this book is also great. There's the actual telling of all the events that happened but between those we get excerpts from interviews. It assured that I was completely drawn into the story and had a hard time putting it down. It's one thing for an author to make you attached to characters in their story, but it's another thing when the characters are supposed to be 'real' Hollywood stars alongside icons like Britney Spears. And Bea really made me believe every word they said and everything they did. Damn!
This book gave me major The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes and since I devoured that book, the same happened here.
We know Bea Fitzgerald mostly from Greek mythology books. But it seems she's trying out other genres as well. First with 'Then Things Went Dark', a true crime thriller about reality television and now with Better Than Revenge, This is a book that can be put in various genres: crime, thriller, romance, fiction, ... it has a bit of everything and it all comes together beautifully.
In Better Than Revenge, we follow Hollywood actresses Nadine and Harper and their years long feud on and off screen. You immediately get sucked into not only this story but the rivalry between the two women. It's an all consuming kind of relationship and while the women are constantly surrounded by other people throughout their lives, the only real and constant thing they have is each other. I adored their rivalry, the tension building, the plot, EVERYTHING about this.
She also perfectly depicts a horrible reality: women will always be pitted against each other in media outlets. And it's really interesting to see how the main characters here struggle with that too. Where is the line between actually hating each other and playing a role for the cameras? Where is the line between what's real and what's pretend? Where's the line between hate and love?
The format of this book is also great. There's the actual telling of all the events that happened but between those we get excerpts from interviews. It assured that I was completely drawn into the story and had a hard time putting it down. It's one thing for an author to make you attached to characters in their story, but it's another thing when the characters are supposed to be 'real' Hollywood stars alongside icons like Britney Spears. And Bea really made me believe every word they said and everything they did. Damn!
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