Someone Had to Do It

by Amber Brown, Danielle Brown

SOMEONE HAD TO MAKE HIM PAY. SOMEONE HAD TO TAKE HER DOWN.

Brandi Maxwell is living the dream as an intern at prestigious New York fashion house Simon Van Doren. Except “living the dream” looks more like scrubbing puke from couture dresses worn by hard-partying models and putting up with microaggressions from her white colleagues. Still, she can’t help but fangirl over Simon’s it-girl daughter, Taylor. Until one night, at a glamorous Van Doren party, when Brandi overhears something she shouldn’t have, and her fate becomes dangerously intertwined Taylor’s.

Model and influencer Taylor Van Doren has everything…and is this close to losing it all. Her fashion mogul father will donate her inheritance to charity if she fails her next drug test, and he’s about to marry someone nearly as young as Taylor, further threatening her stake in the family fortune. But Taylor deserves the money that’s rightfully hers. And she’ll go to any lengths to get it, even if that means sacrificing her famous father in the process.

All she needs is the perfect person to take the fall...

Genres: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Suspense, Adult

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 27, 2022

About the author

Amber and Danielle Brown both graduated from Rider University where they studied Communications/Journalism and sat on the editorial staff for the On Fire!! Literary Journal. Following their degrees, they pursued a career in fashion and spent five years in NYC working their way up from interns to assistants to then managing their own popular fashion + lifestyle blog. Amber is also a screenwriter, so they currently live in Los Angeles, which works out perfectly so Danielle can spoil her 30 (and counting!) plant babies with copious amounts of sunshine.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

All right, this book is realistic thriller, approaching to micro aggressions, racism, betrayal, exploitation, hypocrisy at the fashion industry with fresh and honest look!

In the beginning it took a lot of time to get into the story and connect with the characters. It’s obvious I was on team Brandi: she was aspiring intern who is dreaming to climb the corporate ladders at fashion industry, working as an intern and only Black girl in Manhattan fashion house.

She loves her job, even though her job title includes cleaning hard partying models’ puke stains from the designer clothes and dealing with, racist, condescending comments of her colleagues. She also loves her boyfriend. So it seems like she’s living a dreamy life and now she’s invented to a famous fashion mogul Simon Van Doren’s private party but unfortunately she hears something very very inappropriate from Taylor: the famous IT Girl she’s admiring, who is also the daughter of Simon!

Taylor is trapped because she’s so close to lose her inheritance if she cannot pass her drug test. Her father dearest is about to marry a girl at same age with her!

After eavesdropping something she shouldn’t have, Brandi finds herself as person of interest of Simon’s murder and it seems like there is enough evidence to put her behind the bars. How will she prove her innocence? How will she save herself from the trouble she’s get in?

The beginning of the book was a little slow burn. You have to be patient to get used to characters and their relationship dynamics but at the second half, pacing quickly picked up and mystery immediately hooked me up. I couldn’t stop reading!

It was meaningful, strikingly powerful read about racism and dark face of fashion industry! Highly recommended to the thriller readers!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone Had to Do It is a fast-paced and compelling debut thriller from author duo Amber Brown and Danielle Brown.

Brandi Maxwell, a young Black woman aspiring to work in fashion, did not grow up with vast amounts of wealth. So when she lands an internship at Van Doren, a high-fashion company, she thinks it will be a stepping stone for the rest of her career. Although Brandi mainly does grunt work, like cleaning vomit from dresses, Brandi believes it is going well. That is until HR informs her she needs to start fitting in with the “culture” of the company.

Then there’s Taylor Van Doren, a spoiled, drug-addled style influencer and daughter of Simon Van Doren. Taylor’s father has threatened to donate her trust fund to charity if she doesn’t clean up her act within six months.

When Brandi and her NFL boyfriend Nate attend a party at Simon’s house, Brandi is excited to meet Taylor. And she hopes she can convince Simon to choose her for the company’s upcoming trip to Milan. But Brandi accidentally overhears something she wishes she could forget. Not long after that, her life starts to fall apart.

This wild thriller follows Brandi and Taylor’s POVs. It is a popcorn read, replete with plenty of chaotic scenes that sometimes border on absurdity. It has been a while since any characters have frustrated me as much as these characters did. Although, the story is entertaining if you go along with it.

It also discusses white privilege, entitlement, racism, and microaggressions.

I think there could have been more character development, especially with Nate. He felt like a shell, a shell that was too easily swayed.

If books had movie ratings, this one would be rated “R” for nudity and sexual themes. It is extra heavy on the spice.

I will definitely keep an eye out for more books from this author duo.

3.5 rounded up.

Thank you to Graydon House for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

[Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay I really love a fantastic debut!! This my friends is a 🔥 🔥🔥 debut if I ever saw one!! Pub date is tomorrow 12/27!!

Why is this so fab??? High fashion 👠👜👗.. NYC…. Influencers…. drugs… sex…and.. MAYBE MURDER?!😳🤫

Brandi has fought for everything she has had in life… so landing a intern position at the hottest fashion house in NYC.. was beyond her wildest dreams… but she did it!! 🙌🙌 👗👠👜❤️ #teambrandi ❤️

My heart sank as Brandi was informed… she did not fit in with their culture… umm WHAT? 😠 After coming in before dawn… working late ⏰ into the night… doing the Starbucks runs🏃‍♀️ ☕️… scrubbing 🧽👗 Vomit 🤢 off of couture… with not a single complaint! Not a good fit? 🤔🤯 Perhaps it was more to do with her name was not Buffy… carrying a Birkin..👜… living off daddy’s allowance?🤷‍♀️

Let’s just say… things got very interesting after Brandi lost her job… 😳… Secrets… Secrets and more secrets… the rich…💰…and powerful … are NOT playing! 😳

This book was FUN!! Twisted and dark… drugs… sex… and fashion??! Sign this girl up!! 🙋‍♀️ A total page turner!!! Fantastic debut!! 👏👏 Congratulations to @amberanddanielle on a stellar thriller!! Thank you @amberanddanielle @graydonhousebooks for this gorgeous gifted copy!! 🥰🥰🥰

[Jonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

the setup…
Brandi Maxwell is a student at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) and an intern at the Simon Van Doren fashion house. Even though she’s working like crazy, Brandi doesn’t look like the mold of the other girls and staff. She wants to be included in Simon’s upcoming Milan trip though and when her star football player and legacy boyfriend Nate Robinson volunteers to reach out to Simon’s it-girl model daughter Taylor for help, it makes a difference. She facilitates a meet with Simon who is impressed but Brandi later overhears Taylor and her friends plotting something sinister. Her life gets forever linked with Taylor’s and not in a good way.

the heart of the story…
I liked Brandi’s heart as she beat incredible odds to end up with that internship. She’s young, an orphan, beautiful and obviously talented but being Black in a world of highly privileged young White women presents unique challenges as well. I admired her relationship with Nate who is following in his famous football father’s legacy but is successful in his own right. Taylor, however, is pretty damaged but is infamous as an influencer, too. She feels entitled to a trust fund her father won’t release until she has a clean drug test, which is more difficult than it sounds given her lifestyle. Their relationship fractured when her mother died and she wants her money now. We see the depths of her depravity masked behind a beautiful veneer that she uses with the public, police and friends and against the unsuspecting Brandi, who is no match for Taylor…until she was.

the narration…
This wasn’t my first experience with both narrators so their stellar performances came as no surprise, one of the reasons I wanted this story on audio. Shayna Small made me believe her as Brandi and Brittany Pressley was delicious as Taylor. If you have a choice, listen to this book!

the bottom line…
This was no ordinary tale of duplicity as it took quite a few bends leading up to a surprise conclusion. I really thought Brandi was no match for Taylor and Nate’s wavering drove me mad. The authors finely portrayed the imbalance between the privileged powerful and those with less means and standing. That power leverage was often subtle but also included those less influenced by it, able to see it through clearer lenses. Brandi sometimes did things that were ill advised but that seemed realistic. One thing was for certain, I was always off balance because despite some predictable paths, that road would suddenly shift off that beaten path. This was one interesting ride and quite the page turner. I got more than I expected in this debut novel and highly recommend the audio version.

Posted on Blue Mood Café

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was largely unsuccessful to me and I had quite a few problems with the book including:

-There was a weird sexist comment made within the first couple pages of the MC, Brandi’s, internal monologue

Of course, if it had been a girl caught on camera with everything exposed, it would have been a crime against humanity and all the #MeToo enthusiasts would have rallied around her.

This comment was made in reference to footage of her bf naked going viral on the internet. So, footage of your bf naked goes viral, why does that mean you need to undermine a mvmt about sexual trauma survivors coming forward. And is the author saying that women who have naked pictures/videos of them leaked on the internet get treated better, bc I can find a million situations where that’s the exact opposite. Really nasty comment made early on that should have led me to DNF then and there.

My other gripes with the book:

-There were too many sex scenes and overall horniness. I get that the author was trying to make this book more of a gritty sexy drama about the fashion industry but the execution was just not there. For instance, I did not buy Brandi and Nate’s “love” connection as anything more than two people who like to have sex with each other. Nobody in this book had a personality outside of being horny.

-Nate, Brandi’s bf, did not feel like a fully realized character or real person. Besides his dad being an athlete, we don’t know anything about him, causing his character to read very flat all the way till the end.

-Taylor is another cartoonishly evil white character. She even refers to herself as “the Joker” at one point.

…like she’s The Joker and I’m Batman. She still doesn’t get it. I’m the fucking Joker. I will always have the last laugh.

*rolls eyes to the back of my head*

We have to do better than writing mustache twirly villains in 2023

-Since the novel is dual POV b/w Taylor and Brandi, we’re essentially in the mind of the “villain” the entire time and know exactly what she’s up to at all times. So when Brandi starts discovering all the “evil” things that Taylor is up to in her POV, readers have to rehash what we’ve already read from Taylor’s perspective, consequently eliminating any sense of mystery in this novel.

-Plot is flimsy and filled with cliches like who gets money based on the will of a rich man.

While there are some surface level attempts at discussing racism and privilege in the modeling and fashion industry, this did not make up for a novel that had a weak plot, unlikeable/flat characters, and lacked mystery/intrigue.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now THIS is a popcorn thriller at its best! SOMEONE HAD TO DO IT is the debut novel is sister team Amber and Danielle Brown, but I am praying to everything that this won't be their last! This story invites readers into the underground secrets of the Fashion Industry. Specifically, between one woman's journey as a Black woman trying to overcome the hurdles set in front of her and a privileged white woman who is taking advantage of that vulnerability.

Brandi Maxwell is working at fashion house Simon Van Doren and is dating a professional sports player, Nate, who is head over heels for her. Brandi wants to extend her internship into something more and Nate is happy to help as he has a history with Simon's daughter, Taylor. After Nate sets up an introduction, the two women forge a dangerous and chaotic path to get what each of them want. With Taylor igniting conflict at every turn, Brandi must decide what the best path forward is, especially when the motives of the people around her aren't quite what they seem.

This book is so much fun and also so powerful. You'll get the glitz and glam you were expecting, but you'll also see the racism and micro/macro aggressions thrown so casually to Brandi. The story is hard at times to read, but very important for readers to listen. That being said, this book is juicy AF! I had such a fun time and I finished this book in two sittings because it was just so much fun. As I mentioned earlier, I really hope these two authors continue writing, because I want more!

[Rashawnda · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the outside looking in, one would safely assume that Brandi Maxwell is living the dream. She had an amazing job at a NYC fashion house and is dating NFL superstar Nate. The lie detector however has determined that this dream life is a lie. As one of if not the only black woman working for Simon Van Doren, she’s constantly met with micro agressive behavior, underlying racism and discrimination hidden in plain sight.

While confiding in her boyfriend, she mentions a sought after internship to Paris and since Nate has the inside connection, he agrees to put in a good word so that she’s in rooms necessary to accomplish her dreams. Baby if this is what “help” or “putting in a good word” leads to then I can do bad all by myself!!! During an event, Brandi crossed paths with Taylor. A blonde hair blue eyed entitled witch that literally turns her life upside down in a matter of DAAAYYYSSSSS!!!! Brandi!!!!!! How were you this gullible?!?!

****POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW****

I found myself toggling between a 2 and 3 star rating for this story and it’s not because the story wasn’t good enough but as an educated black woman reading a book written by other black women, I found this story to be a bit offensive. The way black people were depicted in this story was crazy and it’s disappointing that this is what the authors think of us. Nate and Brandi were definitely giving “if I only had a brain”.

If Nate knew about Taylor’s character and who she was at her core, why would he reach out to her for help with Brandi’s internship?! He knew she was trash from day one!! So reintroducing her into his life was a red flag itself!

Brandi and Nate did not use BASIC critical thinking skills when it came to the 5 W’s of who set her up. Did we check the date on the NDA against the photos taken?! Nate KNEW when Brandi sent him the nudes so did we not put two and two together?! How was this coke head outsmarting everyone in the book?!

Why would Nate believe ANYTHING Taylor told him regarding Brandi without trusting her first. The woman he loved and planned to marry. But the cheating ex that has proven time and time again that she’s trash has her word held as if it were gold. Like not a single fact was checked but conclusions were consistently jumped to.

And please don’t get me started on that bs job offer at the end of the book from the same company that both publicly and privately humiliated her at every twist and turn! As if the slap in the face wasn’t hard enough throughout the story, let’s hit her from the other side😒

The only minor shocker was Simon’s girlfriend being involved. 🙄 Outside of that the story was extremely predictable.

If you’re looking for a book that makes black people look dumb while being outsmarted by a white woman then this is the book for you. Otherwise pass. Because even with this storyline the authors could’ve at the VERY least made us look like we had intelligence larger than a pea.

[Chrissana Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brandi es de esas protagonistas moralmente incorrectas qué acabas adorando. Ricos, poder, racismo, asesinato ... Dan lugar a un gran thriller.

[Ms. Woc Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....

[ᒪᗴᗩᕼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4¼⭐

MOODS
➨ Thriller
➨ Sexually Explicit
➨ Debut from a BIPOC sister writing duo

WHAT YOU GET
➨ Gaslighting, Murder, and a little bit of fashion
➨ With a few characters that you will love to hate
➨ Little to No mystery…but it does have a twist

Overall, this was good, despite the overabundance of sex scenes that felt out of place in a thriller. I liked the heroine even if she was a tad naive. I wholeheartedly hated the characters that deserved the hate, especially Taylor. But seriously, this bitch went from “my Daddy’s going to take my inheritance away” ⇦said in an exasperatingly whiney voice…straight to “I’m going to kill him”, with almost no qualms once her friend suggested it.

NARRATION=🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️/5
📣 Shayna Small was perfect for the voice of Brandi and Brittany Pressley slayed as the easy-to-hate Taylor.

Total Score 8.07/10 | Opening-8 | Characters-9 | Plot-7 | Atmosphere-8.5 | Writing Style-7.5 | Ending-8.5 | Overall Enjoyment- 8

[Joana ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ate this up.

A fun, juicy, drama-filled debut that manages to be grounded and address countless issues, such as white privilege, classism, the judicial system, microaggressions, racism and much more.

The perfect balance of twisted and soapy.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not really sure what to categorize Someone Had To Do It as, it was quite spicy which I expected from the dedication, and it was a really slow burn where you know most of what is going on thanks to being in both Brandi and Taylor's viewpoints. There was a nice pretty twist at the end that I wasn't expecting, and lots of drama that isn't always just 'rich people' drama either. Amber and Danielle Brown created a storyline that was rooted in reality, and I was really impressed with the way the book flowed. They took what they knew about the fashion world and added in issues with the justice system, abuse, and even more tough subjects and created this book that I didn't want to put down despite the slow pacing. I got lost in this world, and I loved Brandi's character with all of her scrappiness. Taylor's story was really tough for me, and while I didn't like her as a person, her life was not as perfect as one would think from the outside which made me empathize with her. Just a little.

I LOVED the audiobook for Someone Had To Do It and I am so happy with the choice to have Shayna Small & Brittany Pressley as the narrators. I love Pressley and am also quite fond of Small as well, and together they were something to be reckoned with. Small voices Brandi while Pressley narrates Taylor and they both brought a lot to the story and the characters, so I would definitely recommend going audio for this one. I don’t think I would have normally enjoyed so much sex in a book, but it wasn’t done in a gratuitous way and oddly enough it felt like it fit with the story perfectly. I feel like my only small disappointment was that it wasn’t more twisty, and really the only way that would have happened would be to take away one of the viewpoints. The pacing will probably be way too slow for some readers, but I encourage you to stick with it because the payout in the end was worth it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Talaya Francois · Rating 1 out of 5]

For this to be a pro-black book, it’s awfully anti-black. For this to be a thriller, this was one hell of a disappointer. There was absolutely no suspense or mystery. This was a melodrama that was miscategorized.
How did the author write the protagonist more hateable than the antagonist? What a failure of a book. Brandi has no backbone. She’s also not that smart and constantly makes poor decisions. “I’m not some battered princess who can’t do anything for herself,” she said. Uh, yes you are. And she depends on Nate for everything even though she “tries” not to. She’s just weak, constantly self pitying, and pathetic. If I was white I would love this book because it makes black people seem gullible, stupid, easy to oppress, and fragile. Also, the book is pro-police. Yay slave patrols!
It confirms white strength and inadvertently reinforces white supremacy because the white characters-although cruel-are all smarter and stronger than the black characters. The ending is unrealistic and rather miraculous. It doesnt add up either and seems rather whimsical.
If you’re black I don’t recommend you read it. This book was a waste of money and I’d actually like a refund.

[shauna · Rating 1 out of 5]

What in the gossip girl fan fiction did I just read. I should have DNFd this at my first eye roll, around 10% in.

I do not understand all of the 4 and 5 star reviews. This novel was riddled with cliches and over the top theatrics. If it weren't for the overly explicit (and unnecessary) scenes, I'd be convinced this was a YA book because the writing was absurd and juvenile. The entire time the reader was being told what was happening rather than being showed, and I just don't find that acceptable for an adult novel.

I was in the mood for a fast paced thriller and this just was not even close. It was slow moving with a subpar twist and a truthfully banal plot. I could see this making a decent TV show on the CW now that Riverdale is over... The drama was HIGH with this one. And not in a satisfying way.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audio and really liked that there were 2 different narrators reading for the 2 perspectives. You know you are into a book when you are making faces and shaking your head throughout. I even found myself talking to the characters like I'm going to change the story lol. Brandi was likeable and had me rooting for her. Nate was a sweetheart but I wanted to shake him at times too. And my face stayed scrunched when Taylor was on the scene. There were a few parts where things played out differently than I thought which made me enjoy the book more being thrown in a loop. This is one of those stories where you (as the reader) already "kind of" know who did it but you are seeing how things play out when someone else is framed for it. Good suspenseful read. I'd read more by this duo or even if they put out work separately.

[Demetrius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone Had To Do It: A Noval is a great audiobook to listen to while relaxing around the house. Someone Had To Do It is full of lies, deceit, betrayal, and MURDER! If you are interested in this, I suggest you listen.

A solid 4.5⭐️

[Stacy40pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone Had to Do It by Amber Brown and Danielle Brown. Thanks to @graydonhousebooks @htpbooks @netgalley for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Brandi is just an intern at a prestigious fashion house but she is willing to climb the ladder, despite the racism she experience from her white colleagues. When she overhears a conversation she shouldn’t have she becomes linked with the owner’s spoiled, it-girl daughter.

Wow, I sped through this one in a matter of hours. I could not put it down. It is so suspenseful and you will be so frustrated, so angry. You’ll have to keep turning the pages to see how it turns out and you are more and more shocked as time goes on. I loved the diversity aspect and how racism within power structures plays a role. This was definitely one of my favorite reads this year!

“In the streets, you have your guard up. You know what to look out for, what to pay attention to. This world is different. Everyone is beautiful. The vultures are hard to see.”

Someone Had to Do It comes out 12/27.

[Laura Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sitting here wondering why it took me so long to read anything from Amber and Danielle Brown! For this being their debut, wow! The fact that they wrote this together, makes me love this even more. The story was so Interesting, and had me pulled in right away. I love Brandi and Nate, and as much as Taylor is an absolute monster, you get pulled in to her character and actually feel for the girl. It takes really good writing to be feel bad for the villain. The ending of a book is a huge selling point for me, and they nailed it. I am really looking forward to getting more from Amber and Danielle. I will be impatiently waiting to see what they come up w it next. If you have not read Someone Had To Do It, I would definitely recommend this book.

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4 stars The first half of the book was okay but about half way there were quite a few credibility issues. Still it was interesting enough to finish.

[Angyl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not quite the shocking, twisty thriller I was expecting it to be, but it stands up as a riveting drama with realistic situations and characters.

The story follows Brandi, a black woman working in fashion. She thinks things are going well at work, though she is often degraded and assigned to meager tasks. When her boss calls Brandi aside to tell her she isn't fitting into the "culture" of the workplace, our story begins to pick up. After an attempt to connect with the man at the top, Brandi overhears his daughter, Taylor, and her friends discussing something no one should witness...
Brandi gets wrapped up in a dark world of secrets and finds herself in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with Taylor Van Doren. Can she solve the mystery with her life intact? Or will Taylor's deceptive plays bring her to the top?

For the most part, I really enjoyed this story! I found the characters of Brandi & Taylor to be extremely compelling, and I enjoyed the writing. The story flowed well, the dialogue felt true to life, and I found myself quickly invested in the drama and rapidly consuming the story. Alongside the main plot, we also see the way racism plays a role in the justice system and become witness to the many microaggressions Brandi faces at work and elsewhere in the world. Brandi is truly a main character you can root for, and the story makes you feel angry on her behalf.

The only flaw I have is with Brandi's boyfriend, Nate. I really loved their relationship and seeing them interact with each other, but Nate felt a bit flat as a character. He was easily swayed throughout the story and quick to believe others rather than his long-term girlfriend, which seemed odd to me. Also, readers be advised - there are a lot of explicit scenes within the story!

Overall, I enjoyed this one, though it was slightly different than I expected it to be. I would recommend this to any thriller lovers and especially those who look for realism, procedural dramas, and don't mind sexual themes.

[tre be · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

This was a pretty good debut thriller. Even though the main character Brandi pressed on my last nerve, I still really liked it.

It made the perfect case for why people should mind their own business before you get into some ish you can’t get out of. I was kinda glad to see things take an unexpected, change of events for Brandi since she couldn’t leave well enough alone.

So in the story you find out right away what you’re working with and the schemes set into play, then it slowly escalates from there. It was a wild and fun ride!

I was very surprised that there were so many sex scenes, unnecessarily. This is saying a lot coming from me. The story could’ve benefited more from less sex, more thrills/twists/suspense. Maybe a little more of Taylor’s sly, sneaky scandalousness! She and her friends were all sorts of horrible, and I would’ve appreciated more of their over the top antics!

The audiobook was fantastic and I have really grown fond of Brittany Pressley’s narration, she’s one of my new favorites! I hope to see more suspense thrillers from this sister-sister duo!!

[Bloomingdale Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kristina says: Inspired by their time in the New York fashion scene, influencers Amber and Danielle Brown have crafted a taut and sexy debut thriller about a young Black woman struggling to make it in a cutthroat industry.

Despite a hard childhood in and out of foster care, Brandi Maxwell is determined to fit in as an intern for exclusive designer Simon Van Doren, but she can’t shake the feeling that she isn’t welcome. On the arm of her generous boyfriend Nate, son of an NFL legend, Brandi shyly navigates a chic Van Doren soiree while wearing a lavish couture gown. But like any twisted fairy tale, a dream becomes a nightmare when Brandi overhears “It girl” heiress Taylor Van Doren plotting her father’s demise. Now Brandi is caught between speaking up or taking Taylor’s hush money. Will bribery be enough to keep her plan a secret, or does Taylor have other ways to keep Brandi from talking?

Fresh dialogue, extravagant parties, and an inside view of the glamorous lives of the filthy rich grabs the reader’s attention from start to finish into this gritty OwnVoices thriller.

[Karen Bullock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superbly written thriller that involves a social media influencer and the path she crosses with an intern at her father’s fashion industry business.
Taylor is the epitome of “crusty, affluent upper class snooty and spoiled” woman whose used to getting her way, no matter what the cost.
Taylor is after the family inheritance that her father has merciless dangled in front of her-with explicit rules on how she can obtain it. Taylor is a malicious, vindictive woman who plays by no one’s rules, but her own.
Brandi, the young girl with a hard past is finally making steps to secure her future in fashion by scoring an internship at the prestigious fashion firm. An accidental eavesdropping at a glitzy party lands Brandi into a tailspin of perverse manipulation by Taylor and her “comrades in arms”.
Blackmail, paparazzi, sociopathic behavior and manipulations are just a few issues that are stumbled upon throughout this exciting and taut thriller.
Hands down a fantastic and must have read for the end of 2022!
Highly recommend!

[Monte Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, soapy time in the best way possible, tbh.

I didn't bother with a close reading of the synopsis before diving into this, I just vaguely understood this to be set in the fashion world with some thriller vibes. I think that's kind of all you need to know? I'll say that it's not a thriller, but it is a book packed with twists and turns and fuckery that you'll eat up if you're anything like me as a reader.

Here we are following Brandi whose life is altered forever when her path crosses Taylor Van Doren, the daughter of the founder of the fashion house where she is currently interning. The chain reaction that ripples out of a party isn't anything that I could have foreseen. Again, it's a book that leans more soapy than serious. While we understand that the stakes are high and there is a person that dies during the course of the narrative it's also a book full of unserious arguments and sex scenes that have you wondering why these characters are boning at a time like this. Like look around at your life Brandi, let's make some better decisions mayhaps.

Still. I didn't want to put the book down. It was a fun time from start to finish, even when we were thrown into Taylor's perspective and had to see her being an unhinged heiress. It was the perfect book for me to kick off the New Year with, one that I think will be especially popular when the weather is a little warmer and you need a book for your poolside adventures.

[Rae | My Cousin’s Book Club]

Really unsure how I want to rate this right now lol. I’ll be back with a review 😅

[Shameka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so glad this book is finally over. It was really not for me. This is really a 2 star read for me but I feel bad rating that low so I upped it to a 3. The writing is not bad and on the surface there's nothing that makes this any worse than 100's of other similar books floating around. My issue is with the plot, the characters (and lack of character development), and overall tone of the book.

The story is told from alternating perspectives. Taylor is a rich, spoiled heiress plotting to murder her father. Brandi is not rich (though she does have access to money through her boyfriend-which the authors casually gloss over on more than one occasion) and she is struggling to make her way in the world of high fashion which is not welcoming of people who look like her.

It's obvious that readers aren't supposed to like Taylor since she is the villain in the story, but Brandi is completely unlikable as well. I was so tired of her woah is me routine by the end considering so many of the situations she found herself in were because of her own poor decisions. Granted she was a victim but she made the situation much worse. It was impossible to root for her so when she finally got her happy ending, I simply didn't care. Her boyfriend is the son of an NFL star and has access to money. Brandi is living in his apartment for free because she has no money and no job (at least not one that pays). But when her tuition bill is due, she has too much pride to borrow money from the boyfriend that she is already living off of and instead ties herself into a murder coverup by accepting hush money and gifts from Taylor and her friends. And she did it with a smile and only cared when she discovered she was the one being set up for the murder. This is only one example of her poor choices throughout the book.

The plot as a whole was not exciting. Everything was clearly spelled out from the beginning so there was no suspense or any desire on my part to keep reading to see what would happen-I already knew. The characters are not well developed which may be part of the reason everyone was so unlikable. This is one of the books that I kept reading simply because I started it and figured I might as well finish. Like I mentioned already, if you've read one book like this, you've read this one. There's nothing groundbreaking here.

That being said I don't want to discourage anyone from reading it. Just because it didn't work for me doesn't mean it may not work for someone else.

[Wendi Manning · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the things I learned in kindergarten was “30 days has November/April, June and September. Did the authors not know that when they made Brandi’s tuition due June 31?

That was the most glaring error in what was a pretty good book. Brandi makes a major decision based off of that due date, so the editors should have double checked that the day exists.

This book is a quick, fun read with characters who weren’t particularly fleshed out. It’s a debut novel, so I’d check out their next book.

[Magen • Bone Chilling Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

For their debut thriller, I think Amber and Danielle did a good job with Someone Had to Do It. If you like Gossip Girl (but make it a murder) then you’ll enjoy this popcorn thriller. Definitely falls into the rich people problems trope, too!

This was a fast-paced thriller, but it lacked depth in the plot as well as in the characters. The characters felt very immature and petty, but that’s Gossip Girl for you. (Really wish they’d bring that series with the OG cast 😍).

Keep in mind, there may be some triggering things for people: lots of swearing, sex scenes, suicide, and drug use.

I look forward to the sisters’ sophomore novel, if they plan on writing one. I’m anxious to see them grow as writers.

[Caitlyn DeRouin · Rating 2 out of 5]

definitely had some really good insights on entitlement, privilege, and how unfair the "justice" system is but man...i hated everyone in this book

[Nella ☾ of Bookland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had me so stressed and frustrated and it was *chef's kiss.* Lately thrillers have been disappointing me, but this one snatched all my edges!