Realistic events, raw emotions, PLL vibes, and a bucket full of heartache!





Friends and other liars is a story that kept on touching my soul week after week. Actually, whenever I remember Ruby and Murphy's story, my heart still aches a bit.

This is a story that focuses on different types of relationships, putting a magnifying glass on every nitty gritty. All of which were very realistic, and not sugar coated.

It is written from the perspective of multiple characters, and it switches between past and present tenses. It is a contemporary Adult novel that left me pondering for weeks.

It has some PLL vibes because the beginning and ending of this book are told from the perspective of a dead person, Danny. It is also filled with some interesting juicy drama and plot twists!

Sometimes being deeply in love with someone, who also love you a lot, isn't enough to make a relationship work. Sometimes we get blinded by our own problems, that we tend to overlook all of the hardships scarring our loved ones from the inside out.

Sometimes we take the easiest way because love isn't as simple as ABC. I mean, theoretically, it is. However, it isn't the same if we are talking about creating a healthy relationship in reality.

Sometimes we feel used, so we give ourselves a free ticket to use others and break their hearts.

There might not be an I in Crew, but aren't selfish acts hiding in the corners of our existence?

These are all things that are brilliantly discussed in this book. It moved me; it woke me up.

I received a review copy in exchange with an honest review.

This breakout book is a simmering mystery that explores how long-held secrets can eat away at relationships, even ones built with the strongest of foundations.

The book features richly drawn characters who are multi-dimensional and relatable despite (or due to, I suppose) their human flaws. The story centers on Ruby, who left her down and out hometown of Chatwick to pursue a fancy education at New York University and an exciting life in New York City. When Ruby gets a call that her friend Danny has died, she reluctantly returns to Chatwick and is forced to face her high school clique known as "the crew."

Danny, who died of a heroin overdose, has left envelopes containing the crew's deepest, darkest secrets. Danny requests that the crew reveal their secrets in front of one another. Ruby and the crew either put off Danny's post-mortem request or craft a lie to cover up the true "secret," which leads them all down darker paths. Soon, more notes from "Danny" appear in the crew's mailboxes, cars, and workplaces, leaving the crew unhinged. What does Danny know, and how does he know it? Will their secrets come to light, and if they do, will the crew lose their jobs, their families, and their relationships with one another? 

I really enjoyed the relationship between Ruby and Murphy, and it brought me back to the days I was in high school. Murphy was Ruby's best friend growing up. Eventually they developed feelings for each other, which lead to heartbreak and tears when Ruby decided she wanted to leave Chatwick for college. I empathized with Ruby because I, too, left my hometown where I knew everybody in order to start anew in college in a big, bustling city. It meant leaving behind friends and unrequited relationships, and coming back to town is always a bit awkward and uncomfortable because of it. Coble really captured the spirit of what it is like to desire someone who isn't willing to follow you on your adventures after high school, someone who wants to stay put and take pleasure in the normalcy of small-town life. 

Thank you to the author, Kaela Coble, the publisher, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of Friends and Other Liars. I look forward to seeing what Coble writes next!

I started this book with some expectations. And they were all met but in a way I had not expected. I expected the secrets to be really more evil but in bargain , the way it impacts the people close to the person and the person's life is so amazingly captured in the book. I hated some characters ,empathized with some and in the end , I fell in love with each one of them. That's how this book hooks the reader and make you feel concerned. Beautiful story. Tragic ,but so full of real wise words.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book - all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Friends and Other Liars is such a fast paced, easy and absorbing read, I just could not put this down.

Ten years after Ruby leaves her hometown behind, determined to set out to live a bigger life, she finds herself heading back for the funeral of one of her best childhood friends. Danny was one of their original "crew" of best friends growing up - but now Danny is dead by suicide, and he has left letters for all of them behind, demanding that they begin revealing their deepest, darkest secrets to each other - or he will do it for them from beyond the grave.

This story is excellently crafted - absolutely none of the secrets were easy to guess, and the twists kept coming right to the very end. I loved the characters themselves as well; any book that has me fully invested in the outcome of a characters story is a win for me. I burned this book in one sitting, as I just HAD to know what was going to happen next. I could, and would, happily read book after book about this particular group of friends, I can imagine the endless drama and adventure this group could get into.

This is a solid 5 star read for me - and I think this will be a great read for book clubs, or buddy reads, as there is LOTS to discuss! Definitely get this one on your to-read list.

I read this book in less than 24 hours. You instantly fall for these characters. Great storytelling and you want to know what happens next. Thank you Netgalley.

“ALL THINGS DONE IN THE DARK HAVE A WAY OF COMING TO THE LIGHT”


Ruby has been avoiding going home since she left to go to college. She's used every excuse in the book, and now with her best friend Danny dies she has no choice but to finally go home. This means dealing with family issues, and seeing her first true love, and the rest of the 'crew' who she hasn't talked to since she left.



When she sees her old friends Murphy, Ally, and Emmett things have changed. Not only are Ally and Emmett now married or engaged, but their spouses are now part of the 'crew' now too. With seeing so many people that she's avoided for so long, she feels a little awkward at first, but after all the 'crew' is gathered together they have no choice but to interact with one another. This is when things get messy because Danny has decided its time for everyone else's secrets to come to light. Danny was almost always the outsider and the center of the crew all at the same time, and as they grew up and moved on, he stayed in this pattern of things that he had been into since middle school.

With each of the 'crew' members getting letters telling their secrets and with a threat that if they don't tell them in a set period of time, that Danny will make them come out anyway. This leads to some quick maneuvering on everyone's part, and some half-truths told in an attempt to make it all go away.



As for if this works or not, you'll have to read to find out.



Overall I loved this book! It's pretty little liars for grownups and I am so ready for more books like this. The tension between all the 'crew' members because of the secrets and the things that happened between all of them in high school was done so so well. I loved how things jumped around between past and present showing us things that happened and what lead up to each of their secrets. As for the relationship between Murphy and Ruby, I was kind of just meh about it, I figured out early on what was going to happen between them and what caused them to avoid each other for so long. I did love all of the friendships between the characters. No one was left out, and they all had very well developed character stories that went together, but also stood on there own. They all had family problems, relationship problems, goals, and dreams. That's something that I haven't seen so fleshed out in each character ever. Because of that, I can't wait to see more work from Coble in the future!



p.s. If you know of any other books like this one please tell me about them.

Ruby grew up in a small town. She moved away 10 years ago right after High School and never returned. Now she has to come back for a funeral because one of her old friends committed suicide. Coming home brings back bad memories. She used to be very close to her childhood friends. They promised themselves to look out for and be absolutely honest to each other. But everybody keeps a secret. Somehow Danny knew these secrets and after his death he leaves some letters for his friends. He wants them to reveal their secrets to each other or otherwise somebody else will expose them.

It took a while to get into the book. At first it is confusing with all the characters and their connections. The book is told from multiple POV and time, past and present. I must admit that I was not able to connect to any of the characters. They seem so unlikely friends. They all came from more or less dysfunctional families and that tied them together. But I thought that they were all very different I was wondering if the really still liked each other or just thought they have to stick together because of their history. They kept secrets about the most important things in their life and did not share them with one another. So I get a weird feeling about their so proclaimed friendship.

The book did not quite grip me as I hoped it would. For a long time it’s all about the complicated relationship between Ruby and Murphy and their on/off love affair. Both are back and forth all the time about themselves and most of the time they talk past one another. This part of the story was dragged too much for my taste.

This is not a bad book but it did just not grip me. I did not like any of the characters or connected to them. I also found the thing with Danny threatening his friends after his dead weird. I liked the ending, though. It is not a very twisted story but somehow honest and true to life. Just a little bit too much lover’s struggle for my taste.

“The trouble is, if a person has no hope things can get better, there’s not a whole lot anyone else can say to change that.”
Danny, Ruby, Murphy, Ally, & Emmett… the original crew! They grew up together, went to school together, got into mischief together, confided in each other, and then…
ONE OF THEM COMMITS SUICIDE.
Danny lived a very hard life. He experienced things at home a kid should never experience. When times got really tough, he ran to Ruby and Murphy. They took care of him when he needed help. But…they didn’t tell anyone. They kept a secret. Now they wonder if telling someone 10 years ago, when it mattered, would have saved his life!
Things got too hard to deal with, Ruby leaves Vermont and runs off to NYU, never looking back. She walked away from the “crew”, just like that! Until…
10 years later, She receives word that her very best friend, one of the crew, is no longer alive. Gone forever. Everyone knew Danny had problems. Everyone knew he never got help. But no one did anything about it. Was it their job though?
So, Ruby heads back to Vermont. She never expected what she got when she arrived! Danny left everyone a note, demanding they make their darkest secrets known to each other.
“Just remember that all things done in the dark have a way of coming to light. If you don’t tell each other your secrets, you never know how, or when, I might have arranged for them to come out.”
The next few days, secrets are revealed but the crew soon realizes that some secrets are lies! Ruby spends the days after Danny’s funeral trying to make sense of it all at the same time trying to keep her own secret safe!
“Nobody’s judging you, because either way, what you’ve done says more about the kind of person you are than anything that comes after.”
As this story unfolds, you will grow close to these characters, their past and their secrets. You won’t believe their secrets and how they reveal themselves. We loved this story! It’s like “One of Us is Lying” meets “Thirteen Reasons Why”! BRAVO for Kaela Coble!

This book was a much different type of book than I expected, but an amazing read none the less. Initially I was going to rate it a 4, because I didn't particularly care for how it ended and wanted more to happen, with the couple, I realized it ended how life really works and I thought that earned it another star! Highly recommend!

This is a superb story with loads of drama, secrets, lies, and revelations. A solidly-told, fast-paced novel that will appeal to fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Lianne Moriarty.

This book is centered around a group of friends that grew up together in their small hometown and grew apart as they all went their separate ways . They come together again when their friend Danny commits suicide and they all go to his funeral . Danny leaves them each a letter forcing them to be honest with each other . This is told from 10 years ago and now . A great story , beautifully written , mostly about friendship . Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the e-book in exchange for my honest review .
#Netgalley #Sourcebooks Landmark

‘The Crew,’ made up of Danny, Ruby, Murphy, Ally, and Emmett, have fallen out of touch over the years but are drawn back together for Danny’s funeral. ‪Danny, who had taken the path of drug use to numb the pain brought on by the terrors in his life, commits suicide by overdose. He leaves behind a letter to his mother with a simple explanation for his actions and requests that she assemble ‘The Crew’ together to deliver one final message. Charlene does so by offering a letter Danny has written to the group collectively, as well as individual envelopes for each member containing the darkest secret they hide from one another.

‪This novel beyond its surface is deep; especially when it comes to relationships. The message was quite clear early on that people often take those in their lives for granted and this is unfortunately often missed until it’s too late. ‪ Flipping through the pages I felt constantly reminded that life isn’t perfect and what we show on the surface isn’t what always lies beneath.

The characterization and its growth were very impressive. I feel many readers would find themselves connecting to these characters. Especially since, like these characters,  most of our childhoods and beyond weren’t always a walk through the park either. Each chapter alternates between multiple points of view, from past and present, primarily through the eyes of Ruby St. James. Throughout the novel these characters go to great lengths to keep the truth from being revealed.

On the topic of their secrets, Kaela does a pronominal job of keeping these secrets wrapped up, offering them little by little until the reader reaches the largest reveal in a emotional conclusion. I would not start this expecting deep-seated, juicy, end of relationship type of secrets. While they aren’t cookie cutter, these secrets are not earth shattering either. Reflecting on it, I don’t believe it was ever Danny’s intention through his “game” to tear these relationships apart further, but to reunite them on a foundation of honesty and trust.

I was immersed in this story, fed into the drama, and could not pull myself away until I too knew what was hidden within each envelope. I did not want the story to end. I wanted to continue peering into the lives of these characters and the dynamics of their relationships. While there were no shocking twists, the latter half of this novel had me feeling so many emotions.

I love novels by local writers and adore that Kaela is a true Vermonter. It shows in her use as the setting, and in the humorous small factoids she offers (like mud season) and way she expresses how those inhabiting northern New England find maple syrup to be gold. Cause let's be honest, real maple syrup IS gold! While I know this release was a long-awaited process for Kaela Coble, I see so much success in her future.

Happy Publication Day, Kaela! You are an author I'll be keeping an eye out for and cannot wait to see what you come up with next.

3.5 star read.

I liked this book. I think I would have liked it more if we had had alternating perspectives (and more than the couple of times Steph or Allie narrate a chapter) - I think it would have helped build a little tension, and also would have tied in the story a little better. That said ...

This is the story of a group of friends, the type of friends that swear to be best friends forever, only for life to happen, events to overtake that sentimentality, and for that group to break up... That is ... until Danny dies and everyone goes to the funeral. Only, they aren't only attending the funeral to say goodbye to their friend, he arranges for each of his "best friends" to know that they have been keeping secrets, and unless they own up to their mistakes, he will haunt them from the grave (seriously - I'm making this sound way cornier than it is - trust me).

Our main character, Ruby, left her backwards town right after high school and never looked back - until she came home for Danny's funeral - and whatever Danny threatens to reveal, she isn't going to let it come out ... it sounds far more ominous than it really is. I was expecting a bit of a "I know What You Did Last Summer" type vibe, but this book, although it has a "mystery" component, is really just a novel; a book about discovering ones' weaknesses, coming to terms with ones past and little go of past mistakes. It's about the beauty and strength of friendships and how messy they can be. It's about not being the same person in your 20s as you are as a child - unless you want to be.

This book reminded me a bit of The Roanoke Girls, The Heirs, and The Nest all mixed together - a little mystery to get the characters moving, but mostly it's about them and their relationships.

A fast read for someone who likes complex and messy. Don't expect to be blown away by the secrets everyone keeps - but in this case, it's all about getting to the truth rather than trying to solve the mystery.

This book starts off in a very Pretty Little Liars-esqe way. Ten years ago, Ruby, Ally, Emmett, Murphy and Danny were best friends called "The Crew" who made a pact to always be honest with each other. Now, Ruby is forced to return home after a decade to attend Danny's funeral and confront all the issues that made her leave Chatwick in the first place. But Danny's surprise will force all of them to acknowledge that they have never truly been honest with each other.

The story unfolds in two timelines - ten years ago and now, told in multiple POVs. This gives us a chance to know the truth about what happened decades ago in small bursts and I liked the anticipation of figuring out their secrets. Ruby is kind of the main protagonist here and it was difficult to read about her struggles in teenage years with a bipolar mother and an absent father and I could empathize with her need to escape from the stifling life of her small town and get lost in a big city. Her relationships with Murphy and Danny were messy and complicated but also relatable. Ally feels like this typical small town girl happy with marrying her high school sweetheart and leading a quiet life but as the book goes on, it was interesting to see more facets of her and she rediscovering her friendship with Ruby. Murphy may seem like an indecisive coward who doesn't want to step out of his comfort zone and fight for what he wants but we later realize that there is more to him.

The characters are not all very likeable at first glance but slowly we start looking at them in a different light. But the author always keeps us on our toes - just as we start liking someone or feel like we have figured them out.. BAMMMM they go do something totally out of whack. The plot has all the entertaining elements - friendship, love, drama, secrets but also the tough topics of parental abuse, drug addiction, mental illness, murder and how all of these affect our relationships. Even though this book is essentially a mystery, I think it's most important message was that sometimes, we keep secrets from our best friends too because we want to show them only the best version of ourselves but that doesn't make us bad. This might even create distances between friends and we should probably communicate better with them because, ultimately our friends love us and only want the best for us.

I think the epilogue was a very nice touch and though the ending is tad bittersweet, it's also hopeful with a sense that everyone will be okay.

Ruby left Vermont when she went to college 10 years ago and didn't intend coming back, but when she gets a phone call to say that Danny one of the old "crew" had committed suicide she knows she will have to come back for the funeral.... but can she face all of the lies and deceit!

It seems that Danny has had the last word from beyond the grave though, he has left them all a letter containing their secrets saying that if they don't tell each other it will come out! Can they really confess all and will friendships survive the telling!

A good story working well with Danny telling part of the story and certainly a book that keeps your interest

Ruby returns to her hometown for a funeral. It's been ten years and she's avoided coming home at all costs. A childhood with family trouble, in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business....

The Crew, as they called themselves, were a tight-knitted group of childhood friends. Danny has had the hardest life of all. He's died, a victim of opiate addiction and his friends gather to bury him. What happens is fueled by Danny's pent up anger.

Every group of friends has secrets and The Crew is no different. Some secrets are bigger than others, but in the end, the truth will come to life.

This is a good character study, but much of the book is told from Ruby's view. Alternating timelines to the past and present day, we watch as Danny's web is spun.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Ruby's come back to town after ten years away (and being away was a good thing) because one of her old friends has committed suicide. The title basically tells you the plot. Danny has written letters to his four living pals threatening to reveal their secrets. Secrets and toxic lies are always the best source of plot twists. This has alternating chapters of past and present so that you might see some of the issues coming but hopefully not all. The characters are good even if the plot device is not especially fresh. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a good fast read.

This book hit the ground running from the start and didn't let up right at the end.
It's ultimately the story of a bunch of friends known as "the crew" who, as children, made promises to stay together, loyal and honest. The together has almost been achieved with only Ruby having left their childhood small-town of Chatwick, literally getting out of Dodge at the earliest opportunity to first go to college and now being settled living and working in New York. She has had little to do with her previous life back in Chatwick in the 10 years since she's been gone.
As for the loyal and honest, well, at this moment, the jury is still out on those two.
But, as with all people running from their past, it does have a tendency to catch up with you as Ruby discovers when she is reluctantly forced to go back home for the funeral of one of the crew, Danny. To say she is nervous reconnecting with people she has had pretty much nothing to do with for 10 years is a bit of an understatement.
After said funeral, Danny's mother gathers the Crew and their partners together in the basement of her house. She then reads a letter from Danny where he confesses to a crime, a deep dark secret he has kept for years. She goes on to hand each member of the Crew an envelope, explaining that it contains a similar deep, dark secret of their own and, under instruction from a letter from Danny, suggests that they fess up to the group what is contained in their envelope. Hinting that if they don't, secrets have a habit of coming out of the woodwork...
Well, this book has a bit of everything. As well as the usual trio of secrets, lies and duplicitous behaviour, we also have betrayal and a whole host of other shenanigans going on.
It also contains quite a few of the hard hitting topics, drugs being probably the least of those so it really isn't for the faint-hearted. I won't list the others here as I feel it would be a bit spoilery to do so in case it makes you start looking out for them!
We flit about in time too, as we learn more about the characters in the present day, we are gifted glimpses into their pasts to flesh things out. One of the things that really impressed me about the characterisation in the book was the development of all the main character from childhood to present day. We also switch POV quite a bit as the story is told by several of the main characters in turn. This I found quite easy to get to grips with as each individual character was very well defined and so they were easy to differentiate.
The story itself is gut wrenching and heartbreaking at times but uplifting at others so, it remained in balance, and never quite crossed the boundary of being too heavy and dark. The way the author writes meant that even though I was reading some sometimes really nasty stuff, there wasn't a time when it completely overwhelmed me and I remained feeling safe throughout. Especially at the end; I felt safe and very satisfied.
All in all a good solid read that kept my attention nicely throughout. I believe I have read somewhere that this is a debut book. That fact, if it is right, has me even more impressed and I really can't wait for the author's follow up book.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book was an easy read that captivated me from the start. There are parts that are super tragic and emotional but the hard parts were executed really well. While there are really dark themes at play here they never over power the important messages of friendship and love. The secrets aren't all that hard to figure out, so those looking for a true suspense/mystery may not be thrilled. However I really enjoyed the mix of semi suspenseful with a really powerful story of friendship.

Told from different perspectives and different time time periods, Friends and Liars, was wonderfully written.  The character development was excellent, and the mystery of what each characters secret was kept me turning the pages.  This was a highly addictive read from this debut author and I look forward to more from her.