🎬💋 Better Than Revenge 💋🎬

• Bea Fitzgerald

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘”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 💋