Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Deadly Little Scandals (Debutantes, #2)

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

"Think of the White Gloves like the Junior League-by way of Skull and Bones?"

Reluctant debutante Sawyer Taft joined Southern high society for one reason and one reason alone: to identify and locate her biological father. But the answers Sawyer found during her debutante year only left her with more questions and one potentially life-ruining secret. When her cousin Lily ropes her into pledging a mysterious, elite, and all-female secret society called the White Gloves, Sawyer soon discovers that someone in the group's ranks may have the answers she's looking for. Things are looking up... until Sawyer and the White Gloves make a disturbing discover near the family's summer home--and uncover a twisted secret, decades in the making.

No one is quite who they seem to be in this twisty, soapy, gasp-inducing sequel to Jennifer Lynn Barnes' unputdownable Little White Lies.

Reviewed by girlinthepages on

4 of 5 stars

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Despite my saltiness about a mid-series cover change, I was excited to pick up the sequel to Little White Lies relatively soon after reading it (so refreshing to actually remember what happened in book 1, lol). I was a little apprehensive going in because even though the first book ended on a huge cliffhanger, I heard that the multiple timelines that happened in book 2 were convoluted and a bit confusing. While there WAS a lot going on in flashbacks in this book, I didn't find it too difficult to follow and the story delivered quite a few twists! Seriously, at the end they just kept coming and it was hard to keep track of who was actually related to who, lol.

Deadly Little Scandals also delivered on the Southern debutante charm of the first book, but with a more casual setting, as the story largely takes place over the summer at the lake where all of the society families vacation. There's also a whole secret society subplot that I probably could have done without but added some fun cloak and dagger vibes to the story. The novel really digs into the past of the adult characters (even more so than the teenage ones) which was refreshing and it felt like a YA book on two levels- in the present with Sawyer, Lily, and there friends, and one set in the past with young Olivia, JD, Sterling, etc. I also appreciated that while many revelations came about in this second installment and a LOT about what readers thought they knew about the characters changed, some of my favorite things from the first book stayed the same (like Sadie-Grace's pure adorable-ness and Lilian Taft being the badass she is and ultimately saving the day once again).

Overall: While perhaps containing a few too many twists, Deadly Little Scandals was a wild ride and a satisfying sequel. I actually hope there are more books in this series because I would really love to see how the characters manage the fallout of everything that happened even though the scandals are technically all wrapped up!

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  • Started reading
  • 25 March, 2020: Finished reading
  • 25 March, 2020: Reviewed