“Catcalling me was a mistake that most of the customers and mechanics at Big Jim’s Garage only made once”

Dear diary,

This book has a curveball every twenty pages! Scandals after scandals unravel, but which of them are real and which ones are based upon little white lies?

Sawyer is an eighteen-year-old working as an auto mechanic and living with her mom. Her cardinal rule is don’t expect to get surprised and thus avoid being let down. So naturally, the last thing Sawyer expects is a visit from her estranged grandmother, offering her half a million to participate in debutante season. Her first instinct is to use some unladylike language and downright refuse. However, she then realizes that her grandmother’s deal might help solve the biggest mystery of her life—her father’s identity. So she braces herself and signs the nine-month contract.

Soon she’s hurled into the high-society world of etiquette, brunches, deb balls, dress fittings, and whatnot. Once she moves into the family estate, she lives with her aunt, uncle, and their daughter Lilly. The last thing she expects to find is friendship. But as she’s drawn into a group of debs with their own scandalously dangerous secrets, she soon realizes the truth about her father is only one of the shocking secrets buried deep in this world of opulence. And no one can hide secrets better than debutantes and squires.

I love how layered the plot of the book is; the end of every chapter hits hard. The way each character’s life and story is unraveled in a way that’s not complicated but equally developed is very skillful writing. I also really like how Sawyer turns out to be a person who’s very protective of her family after only being with them for a few months.

At certain parts of the book, however, I did feel like the buildup and extra drama were a bit unnecessary, but otherwise, it was a book that had me at the edge of my seat!

The biggest question is, why does no one want Sawyer poking her nose into her own past? What could have possibly happened that even half of society doesn’t know?

read-o-meter rating: 4.2/5

Age rating: 14+

Until next time… dear reader of my book diary:)