A clever and entertaining battle between a Gen-X editor-in-chief and a precocious millennial intern, Precious You takes a lot of the assumptions people make about both generations and flips them. None of the characters are likeable or appealing, but there is enough intrigue to keep you invested as the story hurtles forwards. It's pacey and bold. I wasn't wild about the ending, but I enjoyed getting there.

Precious You is a dark, emotional, gut-wrenching psychological thriller that is written on multiple levels. Darkness seeps through every chapter and emotional terrorism builds to an affecting conclusion, which pulls the rug right out from under you...

Katherine Ross has edited Leadership magazine for over 20 years. When the company is bought out, a new intern called Lily joins the business. Lily is not who she first seems and it’s soon clear that she has far sinister ulterior motives for Katherine. A sick and disturbing power struggle ensues, which may ultimately lead to the destruction of both women. As Katherine and Lily’s professional and personal lives are intertwined in a never ending spiral of torture, just who is Lily and why is she doing this to Katherine? As Lily’s motives are unraveled, so might the illusions of Katherine’s once comfortable life...

Helen Monks Takhar’s debut is a powerhouse of a psychological mind bender! This intelligently and lyrically written novel is exhilarating, tense, emotional and ultimately heart-breaking. At the core of the narrative is the ugly cat and mouse game between Katherine and Lily, but themes of ageism, sexism, inequality and inter-generational conflicts permeate throughout. The gradual disintegration of Katherine’s life - both at home and at work - is truly horrific and acts as a reminder that none of us are genuinely indispensable to anyone or anywhere. The breakdown of Katherine and Iain’s relationship exudes real pain, as well as a scarily plausible outcome for many relationships when Katherine is forced to live in her car. The title Precious You could easily refer to the lives of the key characters, as this novel clearly shows how quickly and easily our worlds can come crashing down, broken beyond repair forever more.

One of the real strengths here is Monk Takhar’s decision to blur the lines between an outright heroine and villain. There is a lot about Katherine that is frustrating and at times makes you question if she really has bought this all on herself, as well as allusions to something truly despicable in her past that might mean she has exactly what is coming to her. Similarly, whilst Lily is certainly reprehensible and painted as a serial “bad egg”, there’s also some sympathetic aspects to her character. She’s certainly a product of her childhood and her current circumstances, but it raises big questions about inequalities and struggles that millennials are facing daily in the real world. In the end, the reader both likes and dislikes both characters, which is a sign of truly great writing!

Precious You is a must-read for 2020. It’s powerful, relevant and deeply engaging. I highly recommend this 5 star psychological thriller!

Katherine is convinced Lily is trying to destroy her life. Heading up Leadership magazine, it all seems to unravel with her new intern's arrival. No matter how sure she is, she can't convince anyone else, or pinpoint a motive. "Snowflakes" - so says Katherine - vs Gen Xers, it's a power play of the old guard and new, of control and losing everything, of revenge 

Two women playing the highest stakes chess with one another's lives, each continuously upping the ante. It's unsettling, confusing, wild - recommend for thriller fans. The creep of You, the mental gymnastics of Gone Girl.

Thrilling, pacy and deliciously dark, Precious You is one of my favourite thrillers of the year. Cracks along at an incredible rate, switching between two narrators who are equally as twisted and obsessed as the other. I felt completely immersed in the drama, by the end I had no idea who I was rooting for. I got through it in less than a day, the perfect summer read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

This is an 'ok' psychological thriller. It sort of ticks all the boxes, but, there was just something missing for me to give it more than a 2* OK read.

The book takes us on a relationship journey, between 2 females; one, Katherine (41) a middle aged (and gosh but she's whiney) magazine editor and the other, Lily, a spoilt twenty something, poised on the brink of her career and starting off as Katherine's intern. Petty jealousy appears instantly between Katherine and Lily, but, there's also an attraction / connection. Why?

The storyline takes us on the downfall of one and the rising of the other and it's devastating effect on both their lives.

It's an easy read, albeit an uncomfortable one at times, I just didn't care enough about either character and found the storyline somewhat predictable and slow.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

This is a compelling psychological thriller that kept me hooked.

It’s a very tense read which I expect from a thriller but what makes it stand out is the other themes of the book like aging and female relationships which I related to and enjoyed reading about.

I was sadly very disappointed with this book. I struggled to start it and did not feel the end was worth the effort, not a favourite at all

This is going to be a divisive one. Perhaps a 'marmite' book where you're either going to love it and sing it's praises, or hate it. Sadly, I fall closer to the latter on this spectrum. The writing style is reminiscent of Caroline Kepnes' 'You' - all second person, all mildly psychopathic - and there's a running tonality of bitterness and pessimism, which makes for difficult reading. It takes away what could have been a cleverness about the plot - because the concept is really interesting. I just don't think it was played out well. I'm so critical of thrillers because they're so easy to screw up (and lots of them are), so it makes me sad to leave this review, but there you are.

It took me a chapter or 2 to get used to the way the book was written but once I was used to the writing, I could not put it down.
The story is told from the point of view of the 2 lead characters and very quickly I made up my mind who I was rooting for. There are a few gaspy moments and a twist that I did it see coming. I would certainly recommend this book.

Brilliantly written, the characters totally believable but oh such a negative book! Never have I read a book where I found I couldn’t find anything in any of the characters the least bit attractive! There is a bitterness about this writing, an unhappiness with life that keeps emerging from all the nastiness! I couldn’t put it down but just felt sad that at its conclusion, I just wished the author, who obviously has so much talent, could not let all this angst go and write something positive about life that would lift both her and us!

I really don’t know how to feel about this book! It follows two women, Katherine, a Gen Y and Lily, a Gen X. We mainly see the world through Katherine’s eyes and she does not like Lily’s “snowflake” generation one bit! As a millennial myself, I was pretty offended at the start of the book (yes I completely see the irony!). But as I read on, I was hooked. Katherine needs to know what Lily is up to, and why she has come into her life and stirred it up. I needed to know too! This book is really immersive and in all honesty I didn’t like the way it made me feel at times, but I guess that is the marking of such a great storyteller! Dark and twisty at its best.

A gripping read that made me feel uncomfortable as I carried on through the book. I found myself shouting out loud at the main character and was absorbed fully in the story.

This was an intriguing book. Katherine and Lily alternate telling the story of two women who are out to ruin each other's lives. Lily is going all out to take over Katherine's life and Katherine is trying to out manoeuvre Lily. Lily's motives are initially far from clear. Neither Lily not Katherine are very likeable, in fact all the characters are pretty loathsome. The murder of one of the characters is frankly vile but ingenious. Would it work? Possibly as I doubt anyone has ever thought of it before.
It dropped a star over the ending and also because I did feel I was getting "preached" to a little bit with Katherine's position and her woes (feeling invisible etc). It felt slightly at odds with the rest of the book
I will give this author another go and I would recommend this book

Where do I start. It quite literally took my breath away, I had to keep reading, to attempt to read it in one sitting even though I had to keep putting it down and walking away, only to walk anxiously back to the sofa and pick it up again.

Its psychological warfare at its worst between two women one young, nubile and just starting out and the other just that side of no longer turning heads as she slides into middle age. Katherine is jaded, realising she has given the best of her years to a job that is now lack lustre. Enter Lily, Lily is everything Katherine used to be, she can actually see herself in Lily which is exactly what Lily wants as she sets out to put right a wrong.

A great idea for a story, well written, and executed., however all of the characters were extremely unlikable. All of them were fuelled by selfishness, greed, or manipulation. For this reason I did not become invested in them, and could care less what happened to them. I only continued reading to find out what happened in the end. I don't think that it is a fair representation of modern Women, and I don't believe that many readers will relate to any characters..
The language at times was a tad old fashioned, and the constant use of the word 'Snowflake'' was grinding, overused, and a little meaningless..
This tale had potential, however it missed the mark.

A twisting, page-turning read that brings the modern generational gap into focus. Katherine is a 41-year-old editor, (previously depressed and whose life hasn’t turned out how she imagined), who is thrown together with confident intern Lily, but can she be trusted? Although I wasn’t particularly enamoured by either character, I feel that this was a deliberate action as I found myself annoyed, irritated and internally screaming at them both for their inept decisions at various times. I saved reading this book until the Easter holidays as knew that it was one I’d enjoy and I’m glad I did. Perfect escapism in troubled times. Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read in return for an honest review.

Precious You is about the obsessive rivalry and ultimate revenge between a 41 year old female editor, Katherine, and a 24 year old female intern, Lily.

The story alternates between the two womens’ points of view and is full of thrilling twists and turns. It makes compelling reading and will keep you hooked and guessing till the very end.

Although this isn't the kind of book I'd normally read, it was a gripping story. The tension was maintained very well throughout although I felt at the end it all came out in a bit of a hurry! I did have a flirtation with journalism early in my career, and this book made me wonder whether I should have followed that path after all ;)

4-5 stars

There’s a viper in Katherine Ross’ nest - actually that’s not sufficiently deadly. Think cobra, black mamba, a taipan and you have the catastrophic effect that Lily Lunt has on her life. Katherine is a magazine editor, a Gen X, trying to be a bit edgy now she’s 41!! She’s suffered depression, ‘a beige cloud’ and is returning to work after a year to new owners and eager to make a good impression. She’s viewing this as a fresh start, a new order, a chance to use her experience but also to redeem herself. However, Lily, an intern at the magazine has other ideas. She’s a millennial, often termed the snowflake generation but there’s nothing of the snowflake here. She’s in the driving seat as she has the agenda, she’s written it, Katherine is clueless and so is a lamb to slaughter. Or is she??? Dragged into this dangerous game of cat and mouse are Lily’s aunt, Katherines partner Iain and Katherine’s colleagues.

The book starts quite slowly but oh boy, once it gets going it’s full throttle, hundred miles an hour of breathtaking audacity. Katherine is mesmerised by Lily and to a large extent she allows Lily to take control and so she plays right into her hands and is left humiliated, isolated and apparently left with nothing. I like the generational aspect with the sharply toned, pc, cucumber water, clean living millennial taking on the sag and the freer attitudes to most things of the Gen X. It’s a real cultural clash but as Katherine learned to her detriment never underestimate a millennial!!

This is really well written, it’s very tense at times, there’s suspense and disbelief at Lily’s and Katherine’s antics. It is compulsive reading as you want to understand why the battle is deeply personal to Lily. I though I had it figured out but nope, didn’t see that coming!

Overall, a terrific read, it’s very hard to put down and is one I recommend to fans of this genre or to anyone who just wants a really entertaining read that unfolds really well to a dramatic conclusion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQSTORIES, Harper Collins for the ARC.

It's over the top and ridiculous, but so much fun.

When revenge and ambition become twisted by an unstable personality, fun and games ensue. Katherine is an established editor of a failing magazine who has to deal with an upstart intern who just happens to be the niece of the new magazine owner. And she's an intern with an agenda.

Underneath all the plot twists and turns, there's an examination of the generation clash between traditional and the new internet generation. It's interesting, although it does give rise to a fair few stereotypes.

Overall, this was thoroughly entertaining and a good read to while away an hour or two.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.