Adored the first book, but unfortunately, I didn’t engage with this next installment. I don’t post negative reviews, so have declined comment.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Full review available on my blog and Goodreads (linked below), as well as on Amazon.co.uk.

My thoughts

I believe this is my first ever review of a book that I didn’t finish. I made it 24% of the way through this book before it became too unbearable to continue.

I read Unrivaled, which I got from the library, last year, and I finished it but gave it one star. This book was worse! So slow that at the 24% mark, nothing had actually happened. No likeable characters, no interesting plot, nothing worth reading about. It’s really a cliche, poorly-written cross between Lauren Conrad’s LA Candy trilogy and the cringiest episodes of 90210 (season one, anyone?). Even the character of Madison sounds like a cheaper version of Madison from LA Candy – same background, same motives, everything.

The other characters, such as Aster and Layla, are terribly boring and unoriginal. Everyone is a copy of a character from another book or a TV show, and the whole book is a bundle of bad tropes.

Tommy was the absolute worst character in this book. He’s incredibly misogynistic and full of himself, and everything that comes out of his mouth is a tired cliche. I didn’t understand the point of his character. He’s also very aphobic – at one point he mentions that he hasn’t slept with anyone since arriving in Los Angeles, and compares this to “living like a monk.” Pass. He also tells himself that he “deserves a threesome” because of this, and chooses two women that he sees and plans to ask them. That was far as I got before I had to stop reading.

Overall, this book is very cliche, poorly-written, misogynistic, and aphobic, and I didn’t enjoy it in the slightest.

Final thoughts

Rating: 1 star

Recommended for: If you enjoyed Unrivaled then go for it, but personally this book wasn’t for me and I don’t recommend it.

Blacklist is the second novel in the Beautiful Idols series which follows a group of young adults as they embark on a new party promoting career for one of LA's biggest club owners. It started as a competition to promote his clubs and win a huge pot of money, but it turned into something much darker.

Unrivaled is the first book in the series and focuses on establishing the characters as they fight their way through the competition. Full of glitz, glamour and LA nightlife, the first book is fun and enjoyable, and ends on a cliffhanger that had be dying to read Blacklist.

Blacklist picks up where Unrivaled left off and furthers the storyline in a way that is gripping, enjoyable and makes me really really want to read the final instalment of the trilogy. To give a synopsis of this second book would spoil the first so I won't, but this series is definitely worth starting. The second book took on a darker turn and although it furthered the storyline, it didn't answer as many questions as I had hoped it would, meaning I NEED the third book in my little hands asap! Alyson Noel, touché.

Blacklist is the second book in the Beautiful Idols YA series about shallow fame seekers fighting to win a coveted job in Los Angeles. See my review of Unrivalled if you want to catch up quickly.

Starting exactly where the first book left off Madison Brooks is still missing and the weight of evidence seems to be pointing to an abduction or, more seriously, murder. Aster has been jailed and is facing charges of first degree murder.

The only thing that kept me reading was the faint hope that there might be some clue as to what had happened to Madison. There is not one likeable character between the covers of the book. Male model and surf dude Mateo constantly making the wrong choices. Guitar hero Tommy is desperate to make a name for himself before he reveals himself to father Ira. Spoilt princess Aster brought down to earth with a bump in prison. Layla dithering between her blog and her job.

Ultimately this is all a bit unsatisfying in that the plot doesn’t move on dramatically from what we learnt in the first book. We discover a bit more about Madison and a lot of beautiful characters pout and whine but nothing really happens. Like all trilogies you have to wait for the final book for any of the threads to be resolved.

The best thing about Blacklist is that if you punch all of the chapter headings into Apple Music or Spotify you can create yourself a pretty kickass playlist. So load up the music on your phone and lay back in the sunshine and suspend all rational sensibilities while you read the book.

Supplied by Net Galley and HQ in exchange for an honest review.

UK Publication Date: Apr 4 2017. 448 pages.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy to review.

I have read the first book- Unrivalled, and found myself really like the plot. Since the last book ended with a big cliffhanger, of course I had to continue on with Blacklist. A lot of the mysteries which happened in the last part of the previous book, slowly started to became clearer, or at least gave readers some feed for new thoughts.

This book is full of mystery, a good who-done-it sort. It definitely gave me the creeps at some parts. I loved that! The problem only gotten bigger for the characters. Because of this book I was definitely kept up until late night. It was hard to leave the chapters!

I thought the characters had a bit of identity crisis. Layla, mainly. In Unrivalled she was tough and brave, but she wasn't so much in Blacklist. She was more cowardly. Madison Brooks too, she confuses me.

The romance didn't amuse me in this book. At all. In fact I hated it. The interactions between the pairs were repetitive, which I found very boring. Although I was glad that Aster and Ryan seemed to have gotten closer- "properly" this time. Ryan is actually a decent guy.

Overall this book is a great contemporary- mystery read. I enjoyed reading it. It is a huge bummer that it'll be a while until the next sequel! THE CLIFFHANGER! I really need the next book now!

Blacklist, the second book in Alyson Noel’s Beautiful Idol’s series is even more addictive than the first. It’s a fast paced and enjoyable read and there are plenty of reveals and twists to keep you hooked. With another cliffhanger ending I will definitely be looking out for the third and final book in this trilogy.

The story picks up pretty much where the previous book finished with superstar Madison Brooks missing and wealthy wannabe (and club promoter) Aster in jail charged with her murder. Her family have pretty much disowned her and she can’t trust the lawyers nightclub owner (and her boss) Ira has hired to defend her. It’s up to her and friends Tommy and Layla to figure out what really happened to Madison and why Aster can’t remember.

I did really enjoy the first book in this series but I have to admit that I liked the shift in direction in this one. While I liked the competition between Layla, Tommy and Aster in the first story and the change in their relationship I definitely preferred the focus on the mystery that is Madison Brooks. The book begins with a chapter from her pov so we know what happened to her but we don’t know why or who is behind it all. It makes for some addictive reading as we follow the other characters as they begin to uncover bits of her past and also try to track her down.

The author gets the pacing more or less spot on and spaces the reveals out perfectly, although I am still feeling a little frustrated. There are also quite a few suspects so it’s fun to try and guess who’s behind it all.

Like the first book the story is told from multiple points of view which is something I’m usually not too keen on but worked well here. There are some characters I prefer to others but I love how the different perspective help to slot everything together. With so many characters there isn’t a huge amount of character development and I did find myself wondering a bit about their families who seem to be largely absent or neglectful. I also had a bit of an issue with one character who had a much bigger role this time. I just didn’t find the change in him to be believable. He seemed almost like a different person, even from the start of the book to the end, and it didn’t ring true to me.

Overall therefore I’d say if you don’t look too closely or expect a lot of character development or depth it’s an enjoyable read. I know I certainly couldn’t stop reading it and I will definitely be looking out for the third and final book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all views are my own.

I've read and enjoyed quite a few books by this author, this series seems quite different to those books though. I'll start by saying that I haven't read book 1 in the Beautiful Idols series and this always makes me a little worried that there will be parts of the storyline that won't makes sense to me.

The action began straight away yet it took me a little while to build up a clear picture of what was going on. Could this have been because I hadn't read the first book and didn't 'know' the characters? I'm not sure, but whatever the reason, I still found myself hanging on every dark word and asking my Kindle all sorts of questions about the scenes unfolding in front of me (everyone talks to their Kindle, right?).

Highlighting the darker side of the glitzy LA lifestyle, I became thoroughly caught up in the character's comings and goings. The authors writing had a young feel to it but was a little grittier than the other books I've read by her. As I flipped through the pages I was gripped by the mystery of Madison's disappearance and the incidents that surrounded it. I tried to figure out who was responsible and came up with a few theories but would any of them be correct?

The story ended on a huge cliffhanger that had me yelling 'noooo' at my Kindle. I really need to know what happens next so I'll be looking forward to the next instalment and in the meantime I might go back and read the first book.

Once I became familiar with the characters I found this to be a mysterious, page-turner filled with tension, complicated relationships and secrets.

Thank you to NetGallery for providing me a copy for review!!

I was so pumped to read this after finishing the first book in the series, Unrivalled. It ended in such a cliffhanger and as soon as I finished it I started reading this one! And let me tell you, it did not disappoint! It answered all the questions left unanswered in the previous book and it become more eventful which was so much more exciting!
This instalment is mostly based on the disappearance of Madison Brooks and what the gang - Layla, Tommy and Aster, discover about Madison's secretive past. Which may I add was so exciting to find out about. I was hoping that more information about her character would be given to us in this book and I love love loved the way it was revealed.

The book definitely had more of a Pretty Little Liars feel than the previous one, I found it so creepy at points but it only made me want to read more. I also really enjoyed trying to piece the mystery together and failing hard, with every new character introduced I was so weary about them, much to how I reacted when watching Pretty Little Liars.

I was also really happy with Ryan's character in this book. You kinda get to know his story more although I have my suspicions. I still feel like there wasn't much character development, like in the first book. But Aster became more bearable. The new romance also had me excited, the way the author went about it came across really mature, which is what YA novels lack these days. Layla and Tommy stay the same, flat characters they were before, but we are also introduced to new characters. I still have my suspicions.

I think as a sequel this was a fantastic book! It delved much deeper into the story and all the things that got me really excited in the first book. Overall it was a brilliant read, I read it in one sitting and I was so absorbed in the story. I was a little bit skeptical since I've never read a book by Alyson Noël before and I've heard mixed things about her most popular Immortals series. But I was so pleasantly surprised! I love the first book and I loved the second book even more!

Its such a great and fun read if you're looking for a different YA contemporary novel, opposed to the typical ones. I cannot wait for the third book, I felt like I had it all figured out when the book ended, only to be met with another cliffhanger. (darn it)

I received this book as an early release from Netgalley.

I read the first book in this series, unrivalled, and was pleasantly surprised. Mostly because I love a murder mystery and this series was something unlike other things currently on the market.

I have to say, the second book did not disappoint!

I had been waiting ages for the second book in the series and I read it so quickly I didn't realise I had finished it until I turned the last page and was confused as to why there wasn't any more pages haha.

This story is about the disappearance of Hollywood It Girl Maddison Brooks and her checkered past. It's also about the team from the first book and their journey to discover what really happened to Maddison.

The ending was so infuriating because it felt like we were so close to a revelation and having all the answers we need! I can't wait for the third book!

I think that as a sequel, this book is really good at delving deeper with the main characters. As readers we really get to know them better and (gasp) become emotionally invested in them. I definitely have a few couples who are endgame for me!

Overall, another brilliant read - especially if you're looking for something a little different to the typical teen and YA books.