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The Birthday Girl
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
23 posts | 19 read | 9 to read
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.
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RachReads
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Mehso-so

I rated this as a "pick" for the plot twist & dual timeline. One is a memory, one is present day. Every other chapter switches between them. The last few entries threw me for a loop, wasn't expecting the story to go that direction. I gasped out loud several times. I was fairly shocked & a little confused. I ended up flipping through past pages to look for any clues to try to figure it out. If it wasnt for the shock & awe i would say this is so-so.

4 likes1 stack add
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EdnaC
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Reading this this week.

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DarkMina
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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#jumpintojanuary @Eggs

#Day 9: Birthday in the title

Haven‘t read this, but it has birthday in the title.

EadieB Looks good! 4y
13 likes1 comment
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Charityann
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Pickpick

Finished my #bookspin book. Enjoyed this one and all its twists! @TheAromaofBooks 16pts. #teamslaughter #scarathlon @Clwojick

#outstandingoctober - 9hrs. = 90pts.
#october20in4 - 9hrs. = 90pts.
#littenslisten - 8hrs. = 80pts.
Overall total - 276pts.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4y
Clwojick AMAZING! Go #TeamSlaughter!!! ☠ 4y
54 likes2 comments
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Charityann
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Clwojick Woooooohooo! 4y
39 likes1 comment
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Charityann
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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And here‘s my #bookspinbingo board. All reads for #scarathlon too! #teamslaughter🎃📚📖 @TheAromaofBooks @Clwojick @StayCurious

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Looks great!! Love the shimmer!! 4y
46 likes2 comments
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jploves2read
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
Bailedbailed

I couldn‘t even finish. I got about halfway and then decided that life is simply too short for books I don‘t enjoy. I normally don‘t mind flashbacks or switching between perspective but at least one perspective needs to be intriguing or interesting. The main character was boring and shallow. Her younger voice was only slightly deeper which makes the story even less believable. I just couldn‘t do it!

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jploves2read
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Let‘s see what this is about. Electricity is still out from Hurricane Paulette. It‘s a great time to tackle my TBR pile.

SW-T Hope you stay safe and that power gets restored soon! 4y
7 likes1 comment
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MidnightBookGirl
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Mehso-so

Slightly tipsy review of The Birthday Girl. Sigh. It was just okay. So much rich people problems and flashbacks to teen years. It only gets "good" at the end. I don't know if I would have finished it if I weren't listening to it at 2.45x speed.

Clare-Dragonfly But there was a murder, right?! 😆 4y
MidnightBookGirl @Clare-Dragonfly Yup, finally. A twofer! 4y
50 likes2 comments
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MidnightBookGirl
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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When you're hoping a murder happens soon because the cover of the book definitely looks like murder happens but so far no murder...

conorpunchbook ‘Hello, I believe I purchased a murder‘ 😉 4y
42 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Clwojick
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Current read for #BuzzwordBookathon! Really enjoying the audiobook so far🎈

78 likes4 stack adds
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Violetsunrise84
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Mehso-so

This book was okay. Don‘t get me wrong! I understood the references and was able to envision the lifestyle. I did like the flashbacks to the past , but I was not a fan of the ending. It kind of contradicted what was set up in the beginning of the story. I am rating this story three stars out of five. #thebirthdaygirl #melissadelacruz #dutton

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Violetsunrise84
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz

I‘m 48 pages in and hooked. Ellie and Todd‘s marriage is a disaster. #thebirthdaygirl #melissadelacruz

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Violetsunrise84
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz

Okay now I want to know who this mystery person is. 🤔🤔 #melissadelacruz #thebirthdaygirl

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Michelle505
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Mehso-so

I liked reading this but it was boring at times and the twist at the end with mish and Leo was good but not that interesting. This was my first book by this author and maybe will try one more.

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Izaday
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Panpan

So bummed about this book. Not really much going on. Almost like i fell into a weird paragraph with no climax or plot. Just a rambling story. I was really looking forward to this one. Oh well, will still read her other stuff

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NikkiKey94
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Mehso-so

This was an okay read. The ending made up for the rest of the book. I give it 3 stars.

15 likes1 stack add
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Lauren.Archer
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
Mehso-so

For me this was a middle of the line book. I thought it was okay and we had to wait a long time to get to the turning point of the book. The ending really saved this for me.

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guinsgirlreads
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Mehso-so

Not my favorite.. not terrible.. interesting twists but eh.

This review is about how well I function lately 😂.. sorry!

Book 10/15 #bfcr3 #bookfitnesschallenge

Emilymdxn Nothing to be sorry for! By carrying on at all when things are hard you‘re already doing amazing. Your team is proud of you whatever happens 5y
33 likes1 comment
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guinsgirlreads
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Hoping this one‘s good! 😁🤘🏻

26 likes1 stack add
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Tameeka
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Panpan

No. I‘m so disappointed. This book was a bait and switch. Imagine being in the head of a “Real Housewife” as she tries to organize her 40th birthday. If that‘s your thing, this is the book for you. Less about murder, more about climbing the social ladder.

Izaday well intuned review 5y
6 likes1 comment
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oddandbookish
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Mehso-so

I was really looking forward to reading this book. However, this book wasn‘t as good as I expected it to be.

As a thriller/mystery, the book falls kind of flat.

Overall, this book isn‘t that surprising or thrilling but still has entertainment value. It‘s a quick read, so if you want something short and entertaining to read, then go for it!

Full review: https://wordpress.com/view/oddandbookish.wordpress.com

37 likes1 comment
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anissaannalise
The Birthday Girl | Melissa de la Cruz
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Pickpick

by book's end, i was surprised by how much i enjoyed it. it started off with lots of present day, moneyed 1% angst & conspicuous consumption but the mystery of 24 years in the past kept me interested. it ended strongly & in a way i hadn't expected. this is the first i've read by melissa de la cruz.#arcs #edelweiss