| Title | : | This Is Why We Lie (Inkyard Press / Harlequin Teen) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1335452753 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781335452757 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | First published September 21, 2021 |
When Jenna Dallas and Adam Cole find Colleen O’Dell’s body floating off the shore of their coastal town, the community of Gardiners Bay is shaken. But even more shocking is the fact that her drowning was no accident.
Once Jenna’s best friend becomes a key suspect, Jenna starts to look for answers on her own. As she uncovers scandals inside Preston Prep School leading back to Rookwood reform school, she knows she needs Adam on her side.
As a student at Rookwood, Adam is used to getting judgmental looks, but now his friends are being investigated by the police. Adam will do whatever he can to keep them safe, even if that means trusting Jenna.
As lies unravel, the truth starts to blur. Only one thing is somebody must take the fall.
This Is Why We Lie (Inkyard Press / Harlequin Teen) Reviews
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It’s well paced,captivating , intriguing and solid YA mystery, whodunnit thriller centered around the murder of Colleen and the possible culprits.
Two narrators are the ones who have found the body of Colleen; Jesse and Adam.
The impactful opening starts with Jesse’ serene early photo shooting routine at Rookwood Beach. She hears Adam’s scream for help. He’s in the water, soaked to the thigh, legs tangled in gushing net and seaweed, carrying a body in his arms: a girl whose skin turned purple.
Adam performs CPR, shouting at Jesse to call ambulance but nothing he’s done works because the girl is already dead and she’s Jesse’s senior classmate Colleen O’Dell from Preston Prep School: a school for privileged young ladies.
Adam Cole is a part of Rookwood boys clan : a school for problematic boys with troubled pasts. All of them messed their lives by involving into something shady like drugs, anger management problem. Actually one of them is presumed killer of his parent!
Adam still suffers from troubled past in farm and befriends Max Grayson and Tommy Drummond who are also fighting against their own inner demons but it seems like they are not doing a great job. Their paths are already crossed with Preston girls.
Super hot Max seems like dating with Serena who was once upon a time best friend of Jesse and Hollie. But it seems like our bad boy Max plans to use Serena as a ticket to the freedom. He wants to seize her trust fund as an opportunity for his way out of the miserable hand he’s dealt with.
But Colleen who became one of the best friend of Serena also starts lurking around Rookwood cabin to hang out with boys, threatening them to tell everyone their dirty secrets. He might be also dating with Max behind Serena’s back! Did one of the boys kill her or could Jesse’s best friend Hollie who had a big fight with Colleen at lunch in front of the entire classmates be the one who may have hurt her? Or was Serena out for revenge who found out Max and Colleen’s secret meetings?
Or could be Adam who keeps secrets from Jesse, lying her about how he knows Colleen?
It was fast, riveting reading. I couldn’t guess the culprit but I didn’t much care what was happening around spoiled girls and troubled boys so much! But it was still fun to read!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions. -
**3.5-stars rounded up**
Gardiners Bay is your typical isolated community by the sea. It's full of secrets, lies, deceptions and murder.
Partly kidding, but you can picture the scene. In Gardiners Bay, there are two different schools that play an enormous role in this drama, Preston Prep School for girls and Rookwood Reform School for boys.
On a quiet morning in the Bay, Jenna Dallas is out taking scenic photos when shouts for help from the beach draw her attention. She finds Adam Cole, a Rookwood boy, pulling a lifeless Colleen O'Dell from the surf.
Colleen is a popular Preston Prep girl and Jenna is shocked to see the state of her classmate. Pulling herself together, Jenna is able to call 9-1-1 and emergency services soon arrive.
Unfortunately, Colleen doesn't survive and both Jenna and Adam are brought in for questioning. To the teens, the whole situation seems cut and dry. Adam noticed Colleen's body floating and pulled her from the surf, Jenna came upon them both and called for help.
For the police however, it's not that simple. Colleen's death was no accident and a full-blown investigation begins.
After numerous Preston Prep girls report a viscious verbal altercation happening between Colleen and Jenna's best friend, Hollie, just hours before Colleen's death, the police begin to consider Hollie their prime suspect.
Jenna knows Hollie is innocent. There's no way she would have physically harmed Colleen. In order to help her friend, Jenna begins an investigation of her own.
Her investigation has her digging through all the dirt of not only her own school, but also Rookwood. Thus, she ends up growing closer to the mysterious, Adam. A fact she's not complaining about.
Y'all, I thought this book was a ton of fun. The narrative alternates between Jenna and Adam, as well as including flashbacks for both characters and some really engaging mixed media aspects.
I felt this format kept the story moving forward at a nice steady pace throughout. Great choice by Lepore. I love an amateur sleuth trope, so it wasn't necessarily surprising that I enjoyed this.
I am also a huge fan of over-the-top drama. Hidden secrets and dirty laundry coming to light, I can't resist it. This story somehow brought the same level of drama as every season of The O.C., Beverly Hills 90210 and Pretty Little Liars combined!
That's a real feat. There were plenty of twists, turns, red herrings and reveals. I suspected everyone at one point or another.
In the end, Lepore wrapped it up nicely and I was quite satisfied with it overall. It reads extremely quickly. Once you get into, it's hard to peel your eyes away from the trainwreck!
If you are a fan of YA Thrillers such as
This Is Our Story,
People Like Us or
The Cheerleaders, you should definitely give this one a shot!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I look forward to reading more from Gabriella Lepore! -
This Is Why We Lie by Gabriella Lepore is a young adult thriller. The story in this one is told with dual narration by Jenna Dallas and Adam Cole who discover the body. It is also one that takes place in a current timeline with also flashing back to the before timeline. This is also a book that has things like news articles, police interviews etc mixed into the story.
Jenna loves taking in the scenery in Gardiners Bay at dawn just before the morning light comes and the day starts. Out taking photos once again Jenna believes she is all alone but she then hears a call for help. Rushing over Jenna comes across Adam pulling a body from the water and when she gets closer to help she sees it’s someone she knows, Colleen O’Dell, who also attends Preston Prep School with Jenna and Jenna fears Colleen is beyond help.
Soon Jenna finds herself being interviewed by police as it seems Colleen being in the water was no ordinary drowning but possibly murder. When Jenna’s best friend becomes a suspect in the death Jenna knows she needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Colleen. Jenna suspects that the boys at Rookwood, a reform school, may know more than they are telling since Colleen regularly attended parties there.
Boy those city planners in Gardiners Bay really needed to rethink the decision to have a girls elite prep school so close to the boy’s reform school but of course then we would not have this YA thriller. This Is Why We Lie moved a little slowly for me a couple of reasons. First, I had a bit of trouble connecting to the characters with this one and it took a while to get to know them. Then I also felt the flashing back could have been done in a little better fashion to make it flow better and make it clearer when/where parts are taking place so in the end I’d rate this young adult thriller at three and a half stars.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit
https://carriesbookreviews.com/ -
**4.5 stars
Thank you to Inkyard Press for sending me an ARC of this book!
I’m a huge fan of murder mysteries and this one quite literally was hard to put down. At first I was unsure how I felt about the writing style, as it was doing more telling instead of showing. But as the story progressed, I really enjoyed how it was structured and written. I thought the plot twist was great, even though I wish it would’ve gone a different way. Perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying!! -
Once again in another episode of ‘pop culture ruins YA thriller’.
I have no stink eye over pop culture in books but when your girlfriend’s squad figures out who you’re cheating with from an INSTAGRAM POST, you are cancelled, buddy.
There is a gnawing guilt whenever I give books a 1 star. YA thrillers are my personal guilty pleasure. I know I’m going to hate most of them yet I read them with almost a biblical devotion. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find more Karen McManus in there. I’m not too eager to join the “YA thrillers suck” bandwagon and I’ve read quite a number of good YA thrillers that could sate my ceaselessly displeased heart.
I picked up This Is Why Lie from Instagram and was rigorously attracted by the interview transcripts and newspaper clippings. Those things are my undoing. But what I get instead is a very unenjoyable resolution, bland characters, and a little suspense that doesn’t improve at some point.
The writing is… okay, I guess. Mediocre. I think the author should accentuate on describing the characters’ feelings and intents because I feel it extremely lacking. I read 300 pages and yet the characters are still so… unknown to me. And for a YA thriller, there are too much dialogues and less anxiety over the murders. It’s basically dialogue after dialogue and then there are random parties thrown in and then more talking.
The chapters are short, which is a style that puts a cool cloth on my molten brain and while I’ve seen YA thrillers achieve a feat in similar style, this book fails to bring the suspense it needs to rouse my intrigue. Another good thing is that the author used her chances to discuss the murder on most of the book, something that other authors toned down in favor for other subplots (I mean, this is a MURDER. It should be ALL YOU THINK ABOUT). But even though this is the case, it doesn’t have that drive that prompted me to ask more questions. Perhaps it’s the word choices. Perhaps it’s the characters. I don’t know.
The killer reveal is what vexed me the most. I am a fan of unpredictable answers but I am not a fan of killers that are so unknown to the main characters as if they are substitute players in a hockey game. I thought this is a rule of thumb. NEVER DO THAT SHIT. So when it was revealed that the killer is the person that I felt ”if the killer is you, I’m 1-starring you” about, that was the point I realized this book is over for me. Even though they weren’t so unimportant like the security guy that had one scene whatsoever, they are just some… random person.
I also don’t like the mainstream turn of events such as “MC gets kidnapped and therefore reveals killer”. It’s such a conventional climax akin to starting a book with the MC waking up. It’s not wrong but it had been done so many times before like laundered bedsheets.
I thought that this book had a clear shot for 3 stars if only the killer reveal had been done more cleverly but apparently it didn’t. -
3.5 stars
An angsty and compulsively readable YA thriller, Gabriella Lepore's This Is Why We Lie is also a story about secrets, friendship, and chosen family.
It was an early morning taking pictures at the beach for Jenna when a cry for help shattered the peace and quiet. She sees Adam, a student at nearby Rookwood School, trying to pull a body out of the water. It’s the body of Colleen, a classmate of Jenna’s at her all-girls’ prep school.
It’s not long after Colleen’s body is found that accusations fly, and Jenna’s best friend winds up in the hot seat. She’s convinced that her friend is innocent, but will the cops—including Jenna’s aunt—believe it? Jenna is determined to do a little investigation of her own.
Meanwhile, Adam worries that suspicion will turn to him and his friends. As students at what is ostensibly a last-chance school for troublemakers, they’re used to being blamed for things. But whether or not one of them is guilty, they’re determined to protect one another, and keep their secrets protected as well.
As people start acting stranger and stranger, no one is sure what to think, and when another incident occurs, Jenna is more determined than ever to figure out the truth. But as she and Adam grow closer, she has to worry if her feelings might be blinding her to the real perpetrator.
There’s a lot going here, but This Is Why We Lie moves quickly and Lepore throws in a few twists. I was pleased that she didn’t make one particular character the villain or have them fall apart completely—DM me if you’ve read the book and I’ll share what I mean.
All in all, this was a compelling read!
See all of my reviews at
itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at
https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/. -
It’s no secret that I’m 58 years old and love to read young adult stories! THIS IS WHY WE LIE is the first book I’ve ever read by Gabriela Lepore and it definitely won’t be the last. The twists and turns keep coming and I had to know how it was going to end! Every time I thought I knew where this story was going, a few pages later, Ms. Lepore threw me for a loop and I knew I was wrong! I knew I was going to love this story just by the description. I kept trying to figure out who the killer was but each and every time, I was so wrong! Plan on not getting much sleep until you finish this suspenseful story!
THIS IS WHY WE LIE is a quick read and unputdownable! Jenna attends Preston Prep School and Adam attends Rockwood Reform School. Jenna is down by the beach taking pictures when she sees Adam struggling in the water. As she goes over to help him she sees its a body he has in his arms. It is one of her classmates, Colleen. Once she gets back to school she learns that one of her friends, Holly, is the prime suspect. If you are looking for a great story with lots of mystery and heart to pull you out of your book slump, you can’t go wrong with THIS IS WHY WE LIE. I’m so excited to read more by Gabriela Lepore as I have a few of her older books to still read.
The twists and turns in THIS IS WHY WE LIE are going to keep you up late into the night trying to figure out how this perfect story is going to end. Once you start reading, trust me, you aren’t going to be able to stop! If you haven’t read Gabriela Lepore, you are really missing out! Every single time Ms. Lepore publishes something new, I am going to want to have a celebration. I can’t wait to read more of her books and fall in love with every single word and all of her characters. THIS IS WHY WE LIE is exactly why. Hang on tight as you are reading! It’s a crazy and thrilling ride. When everything is finally revealed, well, you won’t believe it!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading THIS IS WHY WE LIE As Adam begins explaining things to Jenna, things seem to make more sense to her and have her questioning what really happened to Colleen. There is so much going on in this story, but Ms. Lepore does a wonderful job of weaving all the pieces together. All of the characters will have you feeling sad, then happy, and then yelling on the same page. More than once I wanted to be in Gardiners Bay with my new found friends! Once you finish devouring this story, you are going to want to tell everyone you know about this emotional and heartbreaking story!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Inkyard Press through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. -
A mystery/thriller told from two POVs, Adam and Jenna. Twists and turns to figure out who killed Colleen.
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I feel like this has been coming for me for a while now, but I just find myself struggling with YA in different genres more and more. First romance, and now thrillers, fantasy still seems to be okay on occasion. But yeah. Shame!
This was a good old whodunit but I just found myself not caring in the slightest. Sure, I wanted to know who'd done it, but I didn't care about the build up. I wasn't particularly bothered about any of the characters other than Adam and even then, I wasn't too invested. The minute Jenna pieced together who'd done it, I figured it had to be one of two people and I was correct. But otherwise, nice plot twist. Generally, it was okay, but not a new favourite. -
So much love! Read this! It was a real ride of a whodunit. I went back and forth with my suspicions and was totally wrong in the end! I'm looking forward to more...
Summary: When Jenna and Adam find a body washed up on the shore in their coastal town, they are caught up in the investigation and must piece together their memories to solve the mystery. -
Mystery surrounding an all girls school and the boys reform school across town. This book will keep you guessing until the end.
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This is a fast-paced and gripping read. The characters felt so real to me and I was swept up in their journey. Full of twists and surprises, I didn't see the ending coming. Would recommend to fans of Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson.
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A bland and unremarkable story. I didn't expect anything from reading it either.
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This is Why We Lie offers a run of the mill YA mystery. Seaside town is rocked by the death of a girl from the rich preparatory school found by a classmate and boy from the ‘other side of the tracks’ if you will. It reads quickly but doesn’t have much in the way of new content.
I really enjoyed the storytelling here. Not only do we have one of my favourite elements, dual persepctives, but we also have mixed media elements such as interview transcripts and text threads. This made the story really interactive and helps you understand the cast of characters even though you’re only seeing it from our two protagonists.
This YA mystery gives you the information as our characters get it so you’re able to make informed guesses as to who is responsible for the death, which is great, because while you can guess it, it isn’t super obvious from the very beginning.
I will say This is Why We Lie has the classic case of the kids probably need to talk to the adults a little bit more and let them handle things but loyalty plays a big part for most of the characters so while frustrating it is believable to an extent.
ARC provided by the publishers through Edelweiss for an honest review -
This wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either. The story was all over the place and it just felt messy in general.
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On a bit of a YA Thriller buzz at the moment, I decided to read This is Why We Lie by Gabriella Lepore. This book starts with two characters Jenna and Adam who both happen to be at the beach. Jenna taking photos when she hears Adam calling for help and in his hands is a dead body. The body turns out to be a girl from Jenna's school and someone who was a close acquaintance and in her friends' group - Colleen. She has been murdered and now Jenna's group of friends and best friend Hollie is one of the main suspects. Both Jenna who attends Preston High which is a wealthy school and Adam who attends the Rookwood Reform school know there is more to the story and someone in their group of friends is responsible but who? All Jenna knows is that Hollie didn't kill Colleen and that she suspects Max who is one of Adam's friends. In This is Why We Lie we will join Jenna and Adam on their journeys of trying to protect their friendships but also their search for the truth. But what will happen when Jenna's main suspect and Adam’s friend Max end up dead? Is someone trying to keep the truth a secret and willing to kill for it? Find out in this good YA thriller read - This is Why We Lie by Gabriella Lepore. -
You can also read my review here:
https://devouringbooks2017.wordpress....
Review: 4 Stars
I picked up a copy of This is Why We Lie because I’ve really been enjoying YA thrillers lately. There were a few things about this book that really intrigued me, but the boarding school setting for delinquent boys was a big draw for me. I didn’t really know what to expect going in, but I was in the mood for a thriller so I thought I’d give it a shot. I did not expect to love this book nearly as much as I did. This Is Why We Lie was a really fast paced read with a compelling plot.
I didn’t realize that This is Why We Lie was told in mixed media format. I really love mixed media books and have been a huge fan of them ever since reading Sadie. This is Why We Lie includes police interviews, newspaper articles, text messages and more. The mixed format really helps bring the whole story to life. I also really enjoyed all of the flashbacks because they really helped give a sense of the characters pasts.
The plot was really great. It kept me guessing right up until the very end. The pacing was really fast and kept me reading late into the night. The story included both Jenna and Adam’s points of views and the chapters would end on cliffhangers, which made me eager to get back to one point of view or another. I did find the motive behind the murder a little hard to believe though, but other than that I really enjoyed the entire book.
This is Why We Lie was a fast paced YA thriller that was told in mixed media format. I devoured the book in a less than two days in the middle of a very busy week. I really enjoyed this book and loved how it kept me guessing. I really got sucked into all the drama and tore through the book very quickly. I would recommend this to fans of YA thrillers, mixed media books and fast paced mysteries. -
It was an early morning taking pictures at the beach for Jenna when a cry for help shattered the peace and quiet. Adam, a student at nearby Rookwood School, is seen attempting to rescue a body from the river. Jenna's all-girls prep school classmate Colleen's body has been discovered.
It’s not long after Colleen’s body is found that accusations fly and Jenna’s best friend winds up in the hot seat. Jenna believes her friend is innocent, but will the cops, including her aunt, trust her? Jenna is determined to do a little investigation of her own.
Meanwhile, Adam worries that suspicion will turn to him and his friends. They're used to being blamed for things as students at what is essentially a last-chance school for troublemakers. But whether or not one of them is guilty, they’re determined to protect one another and keep their secrets protected as well.
No one knows what to think when people start acting differently, and when another incident occurs, Jenna is more determined than ever to figure out the truth. However, as she and Adam become closer, she begins to wonder if her emotions are blinding her to the true offender. -
That was a suuuuuper quick YA murder mystery. It’s told in an interesting way with interviews, texted conversations, newspaper articles, and such. The story moved along at a quick pace, and there were plenty of twists. My one gripe is that the two narrators occasionally sounded similar in spots. But that’s my only real complaint. If you like YA mysteries and thrillers, you will probably enjoy this one.
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2.5/5
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*3.5*
This is a perfectly readable thriller. Nothing particularly memorable about it, although it is entertaining the entire way through. It reminded me of those YA thrillers published during the 90s, since it had that same campy feel, even if it’s set during a modern age.
The interrogation transcripts, text messages, and newspapers clippings throughout were a nice addition to the format and sequence of events, and they were quick and easy to read. My biggest complaint with this book is that it hardly takes any risks. It’s just…painfully average. Even the revelation of the killer felt a little safe. However, the last 100 pages are a step-up from the rest. Super fast-paced, with just the right amount of cliffhangers and surprises. Overall, I think this book is better suited for fans of lighter, cozier mysteries. Three and a half stars for its fast pace, twists, and mostly compelling plot. -
3.5⭐️
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First of all, thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for approving my request and sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.
Oh, how much I liked this mystery YA!
It's dawn on a late September morning - Jenna is on the pier taking some photos for her portfolio when she hears a voice calling for help. Once she rushes to the beach, she recognizes Adam carrying in his arms the dripping and lifeless body of a girl, Colleen.
Jenna and Colleen went to school together, although it can't exactly be said that they were friends; Adam is a guy they know relatively.
But everyone's lives are more connected than they can imagine - and gossip certainly doesn't help. Nor does the quarrel that Jenna's best friend Hollie had with Colleen the day before she died with the whole student body as witness.
Jenna, however, is convinced of Hollie's innocence and is ready to bet everything on the Rookwood guys - Colleen wasn't as innocent as everyone is painting her: she liked to party and never missed the parties organized by the Rooks.
Everyone has a reason to lie: Jenna, Hollie, Adam, Jenna's other friends from Preston, Adam's friends.
But what they try to protect by lying is only about them or could it also be about hiding a murder?
I really appreciated the double point of view: Jenna's takes us to an all-girl school attended by rich girls, where Jenna is only there because her mother made money with her travel blog and was able to send her there while leaving her to live with an aunt; Adam's takes us almost "next door" to Rookwood - a school where troubled kids with a messed up past are given a second chance to straighten their lives instead of going to jail.
Jenna and Adam aren't exactly friends, but they know each other: Jenna's other best friend, Serena, is dating one of Adam's best friends, Max. Jenna has been to Rooks parties a few times, but they've never been her "scene" and she never trusted the boys of that school too much.
But now they have to work together, still it's hard to stop lying - especially when you're trying to find out what the other person knows without revealing what you know instead. While Jenna is determined to exonerate Hollie and is convinced that the boys knew Colleen more than they let on, Adam is willing to do anything as long as the cops stay away from him, Max and Tommy.
We discover their personalities little by little and I liked Jenna in particular because I saw myself in a few of her characteristics: she’s always the one who tries to mediate, to see the good in a situation and to justify people – I’m mainly talking about friendships, when she tries to never speak ill of anyone especially following Serena's abandonment in favor of more popular girls like Imogen, Brianna and Colleen.
Adam, on the other hand, is a victim of circumstances and a past that hasn't done him any favors. The Rooks are his brotherhood, Max and Tommy are his family – he’s loyal to the impossible.
The flashbacks - although at times I would have liked to have a temporal location that would make them immediately clear - help to reveal what we have lost in the lives of the characters before meeting them on the beach, shed light on some dynamics and reveal how the protagonists came to be what they are.
I had no idea who the culprit was until I was practically at 90% of the book - only then did I start putting the pieces together and remembering some details that I had read previously and that the author has placed in strategic places.
It has great pacing, captivating writing that intrigues the reader, and the chapters - interspersed with message exchanges and police interrogation transcripts - are short, just the right length to make you say "just one more" and suddenly you find yourself reading half of the book.
I liked the way friendship is portrayed and I liked especially how none of the female characters is a cliché in itself - even Colleen, who sometimes resembled the mean girl with the things she used to say and the way she seemed to behave, had a good side and cared about Serena in her own way.
Too bad for the ending which is a bit rushed - we are told what happens and not shown, so an extra chapter would not have hurt to see the consequences on all the characters involved and not just on some of them (and not even that much).
However, it remains a very good mystery YA, as good as I haven't read for a long time because they always had some aspect - mystery or character - that disappointed me. This one is super approved! -
This is such an amazing mystery and thriller book! It’s a story that will keep you hooked until the end! It’s about two teenagers, Jenna and Adam, find a dead students body in the ocean. Now Jenna’s best friend is the prime suspect and must undercover which of the girls or Rockwood boys murdered Colleen.
I love to read mystery and thriller books. This one did not disappoint at all. It was well written and the author’s writing is very persuasive to keep the readers hooked into the book. I mean I finished it in one day because I needed to know who killed Colleen. Another great thing about this book is that it’s written in both Jenna’s and Adam’s POV so you can find the secrets from Jenna’s school and Adam’s. The pacing was well done in the beginning but I felt it was a little rushed towards the end. Overall the writing was well done!
I enjoyed the main characters in this book. It was nice to see a mystery book written in to POVs so the readers can figure out which person killed Colleen. Both of the main characters were great and I felt connected to them. Though I felt they didn’t have much of a huge character development because it was more of finding who the murderer is. Other then the main characters, the side characters were well done. I was all over the place with figuring out who killed Colleen because that’s how good the author’s writing is. They all had a huge involvement in the book which made the story more interesting and fun to read. There were some romance in this book but it’s not really the main factor of the story.
The ending of this book wasn’t as good as I was hoping for because it felt a little rushed though it was still a great ending since I was way off with who killed Colleen. Overall this book was really amazing with a couple of problems I had that dropped the star. I recommend this book to fans of Karen McManus and Ashley Elston. -
I am a big fan of YA thrillers/mysteries and this was another brilliant addition. The pace and style of writing helps to build great tension throughout the book. The storyline of two opposing schools with lots of hidden secrets is very intriguing and written really well
This book has two narrative voices which is something I love in a mystery so I found it totally immersive. The narrative weaving between characters helps to see the two different sides of the story and help to build suspense.
This book had me guessing the entire time and I still was unsure who was guilty right up until the reveal. I did feel the ending was a bit quick and could have been made something a bit longer but ultimately I loved reading this book and can’t wait for you guys to read it too! -
2.5 stars ,,
not one of those books i hate that i read but it just didn't click for me. a lot of the dialogue was really cringy and you could tell that it was written by a middle aged woman. also i just didn't connect with any of the characters, and the only ones i had opinions on were negative (max and hollie are so awful and insufferable i nearly cheered when max died) the killer reveal sort of came out of nowhere and felt super disappointing especially since we barely learned about imogen as a character and she wasn't in the book all that much. also it just felt aggressively cishet even though there was a gay character it was obvious that it was written by somebody who was not queer. -
Big thanks to Inkyard Press & NetGalley for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
TW: murder, attempted murder, drugs & alcohol.
I had theories during this book, and the first one made me mad because I was like, "Please say it's not gonna be this obvious?!" but it was a red herring, and then after the SECOND body was found, I had to dig in, that was what made we love this book.
The characters' background was very intriguing, the who is the murderer was done well, the tragedy and the inspection was perfect!
The ONLY downfall was how I was still able to guess the killer after my first suspect was cleared, and the fact that even though Jenna and Adam had met quite a lot, they were played off in the beginning as almost strangers when they had history, that confused me. -
This book was confusing. But also… exhilarating. My brain was moving in half-time trying to keep up with the volley of events and now I’m trying to write this review. Although it could have done without unnecessary details and teenage drama, This Is Why We Lie was captivating from start to the end. It draws readers in with a murder in the first chapter that’s backed with ‘evidence’ (interview records, texts, flashbacks) inserted strategically throughout the book. I did not suspect the murderer at all but that shows how good the storyline is. Now excuse me while I try to wrap my head around the entire case…
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3.5 rounded down because I really couldn't connect to any of the characters.
Thank you, Edelweiss, for the ARC. -
This book was CRAZY good!! 10000% recommend. This book kept getting crazier and crazier best murder mystery even topped “a good girls guide to murder”. No way you ever guess the ending of this book. You think you know it. And it changes. Soo good!!!!
