The Birthday Girl: A Novel

A friend wanted me to read this book so we could have our own book club. As I was reading it I was wondering WHY would she think this book would interest me. Well, I realized exactly WHY at the end. We had quite the discussion. Fantastic book!

I loved this book the story was cool and I was hanging on to see what would happen next. It really was fun.

Good book

Totally unexpected ending! Great, fast read

This book is AWFUL. I really hate it when books have misleading descriptions that are nothing like the book. This book has no suspense and absolutely no thrills. There’s only one twist and you might easily see it coming and even if you don’t it’s still not worth reading. This book is one of those of new “suspense” novels that have absolutely nothing worth reading but think a twist at the end can save it. At 80% completed I was still waiting for this novel to actually become interesting.This story is told in alternating timelines chapter by chapter. There is the present where Ellie is having her fancy 40th birthday party and in flashbacks there’s the story of when she was in high school and there was a 16th birthday one night. In the present the story is mostly from Ellie’s POV with occasional chapters by her husband Todd. The present is filled with vapid people of varying degrees of wealth and success. Ellie is a fashion mogul and her husband is a former TV exec. Neither spouse trusts the other to stay faithful or to even actively parent their children. They are living way beyond their means but only Ellie seems to be stressed about the house of cards she has created. In the past the story is about two girls who are best friends and who are both living in trailers in the poor part of town. It’s annoying to watch how the mean one treats her friend and it’s equally grating to watch the other one have no back bone. Neither girl is exactly making good choices so it’s hard to watch their night unfold as it goes from one bad decision to another.Both timelines slowly move forward through both nights and I kept waiting for something to actually happen but it never does. Nothing actually becomes interesting, let alone thrilling or suspenseful. There’s no character to root for or storyline to hold your attention. The present is just a party. There’s more going on in the past but it will just make you cringe as these girls make such bad choices. This is one of those books that will have you wondering how it ever got published. I wish I had never bothered with this book but since I forced myself to finish it in hopes of something happening I’m giving it two stars. I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Birthday Girl by Melissa de la Cruz is a standalone suspense novel revolving around a woman celebrating her 40’th birthday, and another birthday celebration when she was 16 years old. This is a story of secrets that come back to haunt her, as her life in the present slowly begins to crumble.Ellie de Florent-Stinson, our heroine, is celebrating her fortieth birthday with an exclusive birthday party in her new house in Palm Springs. Ellie invites everyone who is anyone to her party and is determined to make it perfect. She seems to have it all, money, successful business, happy marriage, famous friends, glitzy life, but not is all as it seems. Things continually go wrong, such as the flowers wilting, her suspicion that her husband is having an affair, her step daughter has a secret and a major business deal could cause bankruptcy, etc. Ellie also receives a text from someone in her past, which worries her, as this person says they will come to her party, and she does not recognize the number. Who is it?We follow the two POV’s that continuously go back and forth between the present day birthday party and the same day (24 years ago) birthday celebration when she was a teenager. In the past, the story revolves around two best friends, Leo and Mish, who not only are close, but have the same negative issues with their parent, especially the fathers. Mish takes Leo out to meet friends to celebrate her birthday, and along the way they get drunk, try drugs, and crash another party. All does not end well on this birthday party fun. I will not give spoilers, so you will need to read this book to understand what happens on that day years before. This is part of the surprise twist at the end, both in the past and present.The Birthday Girl was well written by Melissa de la Cruz, but I did have some mixed feelings. It was interesting, and kept my attention; but I frankly did not care for Ellie. I found her to be not really likeable, self-centered and superficial. As for Leo and Mish, I did like their friendship, until jealousy changed everything. The ending came out of nowhere, as well as a total surprise. Overall, The Birthday Girl was a good story.

Elllie de Florent-Stinson is a fashion designer who seems to have it all: handsome husband, beautiful homes, and talented children, but appearances can be deceiving. She’s celebrating her fortieth birthday at her new home in Palm Springs. Ellie likes things to be perfect, but almost immediately things start to go wrong including a note from a friend from long ago saying they’re coming to the party.When she was sixteen, Ellie lived in a trailer part. On her sixteenth birthday, Ellie and her best friend go out to celebrate. They do drugs, get drunk, and end up at the wrong party. It doesn’t end well and has haunted Ellie.This story is told in two time lines, Ellie at forty and Ellie at sixteen. It’s primarily in her point of view with a few sections by her husband. I found the book rather slow going. The set up is interesting suggesting that secrets are about to come out, but nothing exciting happens. There is a twist at the end, but for me it didn’t save the book.I didn’t care for Ellie either as a teen or as a forty-year-old. I thought she was too involved with herself, egotistical and selfish. The other characters didn’t come alive at all. The best part of the book was the vivid description of the way the super rich live. The author did a good job with that.I received this book from Dutton for this review.