It's always interesting to read a book a few years after its initial hype train has left the station, and I think in this case, that was a positive for me. Luckiest Girl Alive apparently was hailed as a fresh new Gillian Flynn esque new Gone Girl, primarily due to an unreliable and unlikeable female narrator who might have done something horrible in her past. Although I might have been aware of that marketing push when I added the book to my TBR, it's been several years since then and when I picked it up this month, I was blissfully ignorant of the Gone Girl comparison. 
 If you go into this novel expecting THE NEXT GONE GIRL :O omg so surprising! So nuanced! then you'll probably be disappointed, and you can read any of the myriad of negative reviews for this book to back that feeling up. But if you just take Luckiest Girl Alive for what it is -- a slow burn thriller with an unlikeable protagonist with a dark past -- then I think you'll enjoy the book far more. 
 Our main character is TifAni FaNelli (having listened to the audiobook, I was unaware of this horrendous spelling), a rich white bitch (her words) living in New York City TM, engaged to a wall street guy and one of the lead writers and editors for The Women's Magazine (i.e. Cosmopolitan). Her life should be perfect. She should be happy. But there's also something lurking around the edges regarding her past. People will hear where she grew up and ask "Are you THE TifAni FaNelli?? Oh... you've come so far! Look how accomplished you are now!" The story of 29 year old Ani and 14 year old TifAni intertwine throughout the book until the reader finally understands the full scope of what is in Ani's past, what exactly happened when she was a teenager and how that has shaped her into the woman we currently are seeing through Ani. 
 First things first: Ani is incredibly unlikeable. I was attempting to explain this book to my husband and he could not wrap his head around why I would want to spend so much time with a main character who is so horrible. Ani is obsessed with status; all of her life decisions after high school have been based around this image in her head of what success and happiness is. She must exude the sense of wealth and prestige in NYC without looking like she's trying too hard. She must land the perfect guy, the man whose last name will show that she's finally made it. She looks down on others and is so constructed and fake that it's infuriating. And yet I loved reading her point of view. Since she is our POV, you see the conflict as part of her knows that her shield of status isn't making her happy, that everyone she has surrounded herself with would hate the "real" her and that she could be happier than this, all the while outwardly she's still making these decisions that are doing nothing but strengthen that shield, trapping her inside it. Be aware though, if you're looking for a dramatic change in her worldview by the end of the novel, you'll be left disappointed. It has aspects of a redemption story, but Luckiest Girl Alive really isn't about Ani making a dramatic change and learning to love and accept herself. It's instead simply asking the reader to understand the path that led her to this moment, to see her mistakes and negatives but to contextualize them as you learn about her life. Does this in the end justify her actions? That'll depend on the reader. For me, I don't condone her actions, but I couldn't help but feel immensely sorry for her. 
 The main thing I was disappointed about was a lack of details regarding certain plot elements. The entire novel has an air of mystery to it. Characters will reference events that the reader doesn't know yet, and no one is truly a reliable source. Perception is a key theme in this novel and you'll get multiple people approach Ani and reference The Event that occurred, some with sympathy, some with rage at her. Eventually the pieces fall into place and the reader pretty much knows what has happened, but there were still pieces I felt were missing. After finishing the book, I realized I had wanted to watch the fictional documentary they had filmed (Ani is participating in a documentary regarding The Event in present day), wanted to see the narrative in correct order, but I... can't do that. The novel is over. There's no documentary to actually watch and so I'm left somewhat frustrated. 
 If you enjoy stories with unlikeable female protagonists with an air of mystery, I think this is a good book for you. Ani isn't the most complex character ever, but there's more to her than simply a rich white bitch. Just maybe don't expect GONE GIRL 2: THE RETURN OF AMY in this novel.