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Farida Yasser

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Her Beautiful Life

by Brianna Labuskes (Goodreads Author)

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in February 2026

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Farida Yasser said: " Briana Labuskes is one of my favorite thriller authors, and this book definitely shows why.
When authors write about a current trend or movement, it usually falls flat. It's mostly the author saying, "I'm on social media, too!" When I read the synopsi Briana Labuskes is one of my favorite thriller authors, and this book definitely shows why.
When authors write about a current trend or movement, it usually falls flat. It's mostly the author saying, "I'm on social media, too!" When I read the synopsis and found that the main character was a tradwife influencer, I was skeptical because, aside from it being a rising movement, it's also quite controversial. It's one of those concepts that almost always ruffles people's feathers depending on your stance.
I think the author was smart to focus on the influencer part rather than the lifestyle. The portrayal of Catriona's aesthetic and how it's received by different demographics was done really well. The duality of it being an enchanting lifestyle while also serving as a male fantasy was handled smartly.
Moving on to the actual storyline, I think the detective's POV was completely unnecessary. It didn't add to the book at all, and considering how the book ended—or rather, how the ending unfolded—the character as a whole was redundant.
The decision to have Cat tell the story in the past and Holden in the present was great. I think overall, this is what made the twist all the more surprising and sudden.
I do agree with some reviewers that the story was progressing slowly and there were a lot of parts where technically nothing was happening. However, the writing was so engaging and the characters too interesting for me to care, to be honest. Like, I was aware that we were rehashing the same events, but I was enjoying my time and not bored. A win in my book, if you ask me.
When the plot twist was revealed, I was genuinely stunned. I don't know what I was expecting, or if I was even expecting anything, but it certainly wasn't THAT. It just took me by surprise.
Unfortunately, the high didn't last long. After the twist, it all unraveled. The author just crammed the explanation for everything into the last 20%, and it just wasn't done with the same finesse as the rest of the book. The ending bothered me to no end; it was super anticlimactic and unsatisfactory.
It all made me think that the book was written in one sitting, save for the ending, which was a shame.
That said, I enjoyed it overall. Would definitely recommend!
*I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review* ...more "

8 hours, 1 min ago · see review