I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Birthday Girl
by Melissa de la Cruz
Published by Dutton on August 6, 2019
Genres: Psychological Thrillers
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
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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 is an enthralling tale of a life lived in shadow, and its unavoidable consequences.
A Sweet Sixteen party twenty-four years ago changes the lives of three people.
The Birthday Girl by Melissa de la Cruz is a brilliantly written book from this author. However, it is different then what I have usually read of hers.
The Present
We start the book in the present time celebrating the main character’s, Ellie de Florent-Stinson, big fortieth birthday. We go through the whole day up to the early morning of the next day. She goes through a lot of emotions dealing with issues from her past that she does not want to remember. But she is also trying to keep what her life has become from being taken from her.
The Past
In between the present chapters, we go into the past and its a bit tricky at first. I thought Ellie was one complex character, but I ended up being completely wrong. Any person that goes through the way that Ellie, Leo, Brooks, and Arnold went through have to become different people. Especially when we learn what had happened sixteen years ago and how it affected the people around the two young girls that we’re celebrating just now.
Five Stars
The Birthday Girl by Melissa de la Cruz is honestly different than what I thought it was going to be. I devoured it when I was able to sit down long enough to. Ms. de la Cruz did an excellent job on this book. It had me on the edge of my seat in the past and present scenes. I was so invested in what was going to happen to Ellie, and I worried that everything around Ellie was going to fall apart. What an awesome job!
I am giving The Birthday Girl by Melissa de la Cruz a five-star rating and recommending it to anyone that likes Psychological Thrillers.
Book Signing
If you live in Los Angeles, Melissa de la Cruz and Zara Lisbon are going to be signing books tonight, August 16th at 7 pm. So, head on over to:
The Last Bookstore
453 S. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Birthday Girl by Melissa de la Cruz.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Melissa de la Cruz
Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.
Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.
She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.
Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).
She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge
- 2019 New Release Challenge
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