The Birthday Girl: A Novel

by Melissa de la Cruz

In the thrilling, suspenseful new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz, all of Ellie de Florent-Stinson’s secrets come to light in one eventful evening full of twists, turns, and surprises.  
 
Before she became a glamorous fashion designer, Ellie de Florent-Stinson was a trailer-park teen about to turn sixteen. But a night of birthday celebration doesn’t go exactly as planned and descends into a night she’ll never be able to forget.
 
Now, on the cusp of her fortieth birthday, it appears Ellie has everything she ever wanted: a handsome husband; an accomplished, college-age stepdaughter; a beautiful ten-year-old girl; adorable and rambunctious six-year-old twin boys; lush, well-appointed homes in Los Angeles, Park City, and Palm Springs; a thriving career; and a dazzling circle of friends.
 
Except everything is not quite as perfect as it looks on the outside—Ellie is keeping many secrets. But hiding those skeletons has a cost, and it all comes to a head 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 Ellie’s life begins to crumble. 
 
Beautifully paced and full of surprises, The Birthday Girl is an enthralling tale of a life lived in shadow and its unavoidable consequences.

• ISBN10: 1524743771
• ISBN13: 9781524743772
• Publish Date: 6 August 2019
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 25 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: E P Dutton & Co Inc
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781524743772

Reviews

[Baroness Book Trove]

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.

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.



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!

This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a ChapterI received this book for free from Dutton in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.





I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up The Birthday Girl by Melissa de la Cruz. For the past year or so I've really been leaning more towards mysteries and thrillers. This one definitely fit the bill!

The Birthday Girl was told in a past versus present format which I am a sucker for! 24 years prior is the story of Leo and Mish and the present is told by Ellie. Both timelines revolve around important birthdays.

The timelines also differ in that the storyline featuring Leo shows us a girl who loves her people deeply and wants the best for them. The timeline with Ellie shows us a woman who is just plain mean. Maybe that isn't fair but it's my review and therefore my perspective. Ellie is a strong woman but she has a ton of demands and the way she demands is what makes her mean.

The two timelines tell us about two different birthdays and their outcomes. As the story progresses the intensity of the unknown end really starts to ramp up. I am genuinely trying to find a way to explain myself here but it was just an increasing sense of dread.

I won't give the ending away here but suffice it to say that things got very interesting towards the end of the book and I couldn't put it down! I'll definitely be picking up any mystery/thriller/suspense novels Melissa de la Cruz chooses to write!