Tell Me Lies is not your typical romance novel, not even close. It’s an intense exploration of a twisted relationship between two people who have no business being together. Reading it is like watching a car accident, it’s sickening, devastating and makes you feel gross even looking at it but you CANNOT help but stare.

This is told from both Lucy and Stephen’s viewpoints and starts in 2017 then switches back to 2010 and works it’s way forward until the timelines merge. This was a super compulsive read for me and it’s because it was so relatable it was almost uncomfortable. I feel like anyone who has dated the wrong person could relate to this one, especially if you’ve found yourself in a toxic relationship, it’s hits close to home especially as Lovering has created these characters whose anxieties, fears and issues are so easy to understand. Stephen is a total nightmare, a real prick and seeing his lack of emotion or care for others feelings was no less interesting for me than seeing inside the mind of a serial killer. Lucy, oh broken little Lucy frustrated me to no end because you just want her to stop obsessing, realize her self worth and never speak to Stephen again, but I couldn’t get mad at her because I’ve been her. For a book where not much happens besides these two having an on and off again relationship I was wholeheartedly invested and surprisingly hooked.

Read this if you want a realistic “romance” with manipulation, deception, betrayal and too many lies to count. Don’t pick this one up if you want a feel good romance, despite it’s pretty little cover the inside is dark as hell.

Tell Me Lies in three words: Twisted, Dark and Obsessive.

Narcissistic and sociopathic men always manage to see which women are their easiest prey. They don't even have to really be anything completely horrible - no physical abuse, no kicking kittens, just there on the spectrum... doing everything on their terms. And it seems completely logical to them. What the author does here is put us right into the mind of one of these men and one of the many women he's preyed upon. The thing about men like this is that they feel no guilt, they have no true feelings and it's just a means to their own end. Do what society expects - get married, have kids, be proper on the surface but yet underneath all of that is someone who constantly wants more. He will always get tired of whoever he is with - finding some reason to cheat, move on or even get them back. Cat/Mouse.

Women with anxiety and low self esteem are somehow pulled right into their orbit. Changing the way they live their life, postponing or canceling plans they otherwise wouldn't have - some affecting their lives dramatically. This man becomes their world.... and he knows it.

The thing about this book - it's SO REALISTIC! I'm equally pissed off at both Stephen and Lucy. I've been Lucy. I've dated Stephen. I've seen friends also go through these toxic relationships. And unfortunately, there is NOTHING you can do but let it run its course and hopefully lessons will be learned on the other side.

I did get extremely frustrated with the repetitiveness of their actions. HOWEVER, this is pretty much as real as it gets. Those panicked and anxious feelings... how things seemingly change over night and for no reason at all. The promises, the lies... and deep down you know... you just don't want to know.

The ending also fell a little flat for me. Again though, this is just life. Unhealthy, toxic, in your face LIFE. Women - my advice to you, and to myself, don't change who you are or your trajectory in life for anyone. There IS someone out there who will love you for you. Don't compromise your integrity, your self worth or your heart for someone who clearly won't do the same for you.

Brilliantly written and all too realistic.

It's obvious from the reviews from others that this is a book that you definitely take sides on - you either love it, or you hate it. Count me in the second category.

When a novel is character-driven, and you don't like ANY of the characters in the book, you know you're in trouble. I'm putting this one down to an unfortunate waste of my time. Better luck next book!

Because opinions are so polarized about this book, you'll just have to decide for yourself whether you want to read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Carola Lovering's first novel concerns the life of a young woman named Lucy and her first experiences with love. Like so many, Lucy has a lot to learn about what love is and what it isn't. As she strikes out on her own, leaving her East coast life for a West coast college, we learn that she is fleeing a secret about her home life that has been haunting her for four years. It's easy to blame everything that happens next on that secret and its impact on her life, but it's too easy. As Lucy meets Stephen, a young, slightly older man, early on in her first days at Baird College, she is swept up in a completely new lifestyle of partying, drugs, and sex that will unravel her life as she knows it.

This story is a coming of age tale for Lucy, who will face secrets, lies, and emotional distress over the course of the story, covering several years of her life. Her story will be recognizable to so many young women today. Everyone has dated a guy similar to Stephen, or knows a friend who did. The story will infuriate you as you silently plead for Lucy to get a clue about what is going on and get her life together, but it feels true to life.

The story is told from Lucy and Stephen's point of view, alternating chapters and flitting between the early 2010s and present day. The story is broken into four parts, although they are not particularly distinct from each other. If you're looking for likeable characters, this novel is not for you. You may pity Lucy, but you probably won't think highly of her for most of the book. While Stephen is clearly the villain, Lucy certainly has her faults. Lucy's musings on love serve as an interesting contradiction to Stephen's thoughts on relationships. The juxtaposition is very reminiscent of predator-prey relationships.

This story won't give you the warm and fuzzies, but the lessons it imparts are important. This was a good debut for this author, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her work in the future. That being said, with its emphasis on sex and drugs, this book will not be for everyone. I would recommend it to those who like their women's fiction gritty and raw and want a focus on the strength of women's friendships.

Put simply, Tell Me Lies is about a boy and girl in a very toxic relationship. But of course, there is so much more to say about it.

This book follows Lucy as she navigates college and post-college life. It is told in dual POVs and dual timelines, but surprisingly (and thankfully) it was not difficult to follow. She has a bit of a fraught relationship with her mother due to something that happened when she was a teenager (Lucy deems it the “Unforgivable Thing”). She leaves her hometown in Long Island to attend a small college in California. This is where she meets Stephen.

Stephen, also from Long Island, is confident, arrogant, and cocksure. He has issues with his mother as well, who suffers from Bipolar I, and his relationship with his father is more one of pity than love. When Stephen sees something he wants, he goes after it and doesn’t stop until he has it. Even if that means hurting people along the way. And soon, that want becomes Lucy.

For me, it didn’t take long to see that Stephen is not a good guy. He is not just manipulative, secretive, and insensitive, there is something seriously wrong with him. But all Lucy sees is a charming, attentive guy who is a bit chubby but who she also has insane chemistry with. And so begins their extremely toxic relationship.

Lovering did a great job weaving these two characters and their lives together. The two timelines were easy to follow and the dual POV was incredibly captivating and enthralling. There were some surprises along the way, but due to knowing both characters’ POVs as a reader, it gives insider knowledge which caused me personally to yell out loud at them many times.

There is a lot of drug use in this book. I don’t know if I’m just naive, but I kept wondering if this portrayal was an accurate one of college life. Do college kids do hard drugs like cocaine this often? If so, that’s crazy and they should definitely stop. I know drinking is prevalent, I did go to college, and maybe I just didn’t surround myself with people who were into drugs, but it was pretty shocking reading the extent of these kids’ casual drug use.

In addition to that, it was difficult to read at times. Being inside both of these characters’ heads wasn’t a picnic and made me extremely uncomfortable at different points of the book. I read a lot of romance and things frequently get steamy and explicit. But honestly, this was explicit in a way that made me uncomfortable to read. Mostly because I knew how Stephen was viewing those interactions vs how Lucy saw them. It is a testament to Lovering’s writing that she made me have such a visceral reaction to her words so many times.

It had a bit of a psychological thriller feel to it, even though I wouldn’t classify it as one necessarily. Not only is Stephen playing with Lucy’s mind, he plays with the reader’s as well.

Also as a side note, for me, there is a clear villain in this book and that is Stephen. You are not supposed to like him. That is one of the whole points of the story in my opinion. Even though her friends tell her many times, Lucy has to figure out on her own that Stephen is a horrible person with serious problems. I don’t want to give anything away but I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to figure it out pretty quickly what he is.

Like I said, this story is about a toxic relationship and those involved are seriously flawed.

Even though I would have liked a bit more comeuppance for a particular character at the end, as it felt a little bit anticlimactic to me, I would still highly recommend the book.

(Because this book is so visceral and in a way graphic, there are some potential trigger points that you may want to be aware of. I’ll put those below.)

Potential Trigger Points
Disordered eating
Death
Cheating
Toxic relationship
Narcissism
Gaslighting

I really loved this one - it wasn't exactly what I expected but in the best possible way. It reminded me a lot of Luckiest Girl Alive, especially all the best parts. I loved the interplay between past and present and the two POV. I wasn't sure where it was going when it started and I quickly became engrossed. This is definitely one of those books that's hard to put down and is seriously a great summer read! I won't spoil you but I was deeply deeply satisfied by how this one turned out.

Tell Me Lies comes out next week on June 12, 2018, you can purchase HERE! I really liked this one and I think you will, too! I definitely recommend this one, especially for fans of Luckiest Girl Alive.

The best feelings are unexpected like that. I wake up and they were there, like snow.

Tell Me Lies is an addicting tale of a toxic relationship and the dysfunctional people involved in it.

I really liked that the story was told in alternating 1st person POV. It helped keep a good pace throughout the story and I really feel like I got to know both Lucy and Stephen. They were both awful people (though Lucy was more troubled than truly awful), but I found myself unable to put the book down because I wanted to see what happened with them next. There was one plotline that I didn’t really feel fit with the rest of the story, though. It’s something that affected both Lucy and Stephen’s youth that Lucy figures out at the end of the book kind of randomly and then nothing happens with. I thought it could have just been something from Stephen’s past without having to relate to Lucy at all and would have been a little cleaner.

Stephen was a straight up sociopath. He was manipulative and uncaring about anything but his own wants and needs. He had a total lack of empathy for others. I think what I appreciated most about this story is that he wasn’t some serial killer or something. It felt like a very real, eye-opening picture of what an average person with an antisocial personality disorder is like and how they can so casually hurt and betray the people who care about them without a bit of guilt.

Though I was invested in Lucy’s story, she was hard for me to like. I couldn’t really relate to her. Though she did witness something kind of traumatizing as a young teenager and then never discussed it with anyone for a long time, I didn’t feel like it really justified her behavior. From the outside is was also very easy to see how toxic her relationship with Stephen was and how easy it seemed to me to just remove herself from the situation, so I felt frustrated with her, even though I know things are never that simple when it’s actually happening to you.

Overall, I found Tell Me Lies to be very addictive. The dual 1st person POVs were very well done and Stephen’s portrayal as a sociopath felt realistic and informative. I think this would definitely be a good book to read if you or someone you know has been in a toxic relationship. I look forward to reading more from Lovering in the future.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

I so wanted to love this book but I was disappointed. I couldn't get into the story and the characters got on my nerves. I had to DNF about 30 percent into this read.

*Thank you to Atria Books for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

There's no easy way to put this-- I hated this book. Every bit of it. I considered DNF'ing it and not giving any feedback or reviewing but I think that would be doing a disservice to potential readers.

The Good:
The writing itself was good. I thought the book was well paced, the story flowed, and I did feel compelled to continue reading to see what craziness was going to happen next. Carola Lovering is definitely a talented writer in that aspect.

The Bad:
Everything else. The characters were awful. I know that the point was to have flawed, unlikable characters but DEAR GOD, every. single. character? I knew Stephen was a sociopath from his first chapter. I thought that I was supposed to be empathetic toward Lucy and cheering her on but she was also terrible. Every relationship was toxic, from the romantic relationship to the friendships and family dynamics.

The Ugly:
Trigger warnings for alcohol and drug abuse, eating disorders, fat shaming, mental illness, cheating, stalking, mental/emotional abuse, questionable consent, mentions of manslaughter, etcetc.

Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this novel.

I will rarely be recorded saying this, and I know I will be in a very small majority, but I absolutely hated this book. It hurts me to say something so negative about a debut novel, but I just could not feel anything but happiness over finishing this story.

In such a character-driven novel, completely loathing the main characters makes liking the book nearly impossible. The beginning of the story had its moments and I was hoping I would see something new happening, but as the story crept on, the same events continued to repeat. It felt endless. After about 60% of the way through this novel, I was so fed up with the characters, I had to start skimming. I couldn't take much more of their nonstop drivel. Sadly, the biggest thing I found through skimming this novel, was that I was still able to understand it perfectly without reading every word. To me, it shows what little substance was actually within the pages of this story.

I can understand why someone may feel empathy toward Lucy, but after the fifteenth weak moment of going back to Steven, I had nothing left to give her. One of my biggest pet peeves in life or in books is indecisive people. Wishy-washy characters who waver constantly about the choices they have made makes me furious! Grow a backbone, choose something and stick by it, for goodness sake! By saying this, I'm not saying I don't understand Lucy's plight. Plenty of women experience these types of relationships with men who simply feel so comfortable to them, they can't ever seem to break away, despite how negative the relationship might be. I've experienced these feelings myself. However, I don't think the story was presented in a way to make me empathize with Lucy. I wasn't able to get in her shoes and understand her mindset enough to feel anything but contempt for her. If I could impress my will on any young girl, it would be for them to never become a Lucy.

Steven was the epitome of everything I hate in a man: semi-attractive, full of himself, the type of man who thinks the world owes him something. I feel like I can sniff out these types of men in real life and know they are the guys who sneak away for "work" to cheat on their wives or girlfriends. These guys are usually a little pudgey, or completely dumpy, but somehow have landed and continue to land stunning women. The draw women feel to these particular men makes no sense to me whatsoever, and I'm always disgusted by the slimeballs.

I also hated the characters' continuous drug use and partying. If they weren't looking to hook up with someone, they were snorting something up their nose, sometimes both. The whole story revolved around these things, rather than any exciting events. It became repetitive and boring. I know college life for many young adults includes the same subjects, but these things simply do not interest me in the least.

I really expected to enjoy this story but it was probably the biggest dud I have ever read to the end. I know many people will disagree with my review and will find Lucy a relatable character and easy to understand, but I'm not that person.

If the blurb interests you, pick this title up on June 12 or pre-order now!

It’s funny how you see the cover of a book and read the synopsis, and then conclude it will probably be a great, light, ‘beach read’ for the summer. But then you start reading the book and it is a little heavier than you thought, and then oh, well, humph, it actually is speaking to you because you can 100% relate, and so now you are getting a whole lot more out of said book than you ever bargained for. This is exactly what happened to me with Tell Me Lies, Carola’s debut novel about a girl chasing a guy that will never fully be hers, no matter what she does, or doesn’t do, and said guy takes full advantage of this fact. If you think this is something you have read before then just wait, because the author writes the story from both Lucy AND Stephen’s perspectives, which was a fresh approach and just brilliant. I did feel, however, that this dragged on a bit too long, and it became frustrating to root for Lucy, just when you think she has it together man.... But what can I say, I have been there for sure... I loved how the story wrapped itself up, and this was a truly enjoyable, although I would not say ‘light’, read!

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

You’ve heard about the “bad boys.” Maybe you’ve even dated one. We’re not talking about the risk-taking, law-breaking, thrill-riding bad boys. No, we mean the boys who break your heart. Who cheat on you, lie to you, manipulate you, and mess with your mind. These are the true bad boys, the ones you need to watch out for. The boys that should come with a warning label - “Run! Do not stop, do not look back, get as far away as possible.”

Carola Loverling’s Tell Me Lies is about one of these bad boys, and the girl who falls inexplicably, irrationally, maddeningly in love with him and his lies. The day that Lucy Albright locked eyes with Stephen DeMarco on a day trip with friends her freshman year of college, she was a goner. Stephen was not exceptionally good-looking, he wasn’t in shape, but he was oozing with a charm that Lucy found irresistible.

Soon after, Lucy and Stephen enter into a string of heady alcohol & drug-fueled relationships over the years, with Lucy never playing the part of the girlfriend, but rather the girl on the side. Stephen seems to have a lot of girls on the side actually, Lucy being only one of them, but she believes Stephen’s lies and holds onto hope that someday he will be hers and hers alone.

As Stephen strings Lucy along, manipulating her and leading her to believe they have a future, Lucy loses herself more and more in this “relationship.” You know the pattern - she becomes obsessed with her appearance, she stops doing the things she loves, she obsessively checks her phone, she believes his lies. The love that Lucy has for Stephen is dangerous and all-consuming, the type of love that’s difficult to escape and always leaves scars.

Tell Me Lies is an eye-opening cautionary tale exploring how the wrong guy can wreck you and destroy your life if you let him. Reading much like a memoir and alternating between Lucy’s and Stephen’s points of view and the past and present, the novel chronicles Lucy’s relationship with Stephen, and how he subsequently manipulates and destroys her to his own advantage.

Anyone who has ever fallen in love with a narcissist or sociopath will recognize the signs and tactics used by Stephen to play Lucy, make her fall in love with him, and keep her hooked. Almost painful and uncomfortable to read at times due to Stephen’s stark and blatant manipulation, Tell Me Lies is an important novel of the times, and will hopefully help readers recognize the signs and impact of a destructive love interest.

The novel also examines Lucy’s life throughout college and into her career, as well as her relationships with friends and family. Tell Me Lies is a novel about the growth and forging of a young woman, and explores themes such as forgiveness, substance abuse, eating disorders, mental health, and self-worth. Readers should not enter this novel expecting sunshine and roses. The book has a rather dark vibe, and does not sugarcoat distressing and disturbing events and situations. Much like a “Go Ask Alice” in the narcissistic boyfriend vein, Tell Me Lies is a vital read for young women and serves a much greater purpose beyond a work of fiction.

Tell Me Lies is the story of the charming but douchey guy you dated in college, or your friend dated in college, or your sister dated in college. The one who says the right things at the right time, who gives just enough to keep you coming back for more. I struggled with this book, because I really didn’t like any of the characters. Stephen is an absolute nightmare, and I wanted to shake Lucy and tell her to wake the f up. However, this is also an accurate portrayal of verbally abusive relationships. Overall, I think this book was just tough for me to read personally, but may be right for others. I tend to be pretty impacted by what I read, and this one was making my skin crawl at times.

I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy Albright leaves her friends and family in Long Island for college in California where she meets Stephen DeMarco. He's two years older, and aggressively pursues Lucy. The story goes back and forth between present and past and alternates between Lucy and Stephen's viewpoints.

At first I wasn't sure about the alternating between the two characters, but after a few chapters I knew that it had to be told that way so that the reader could get into Stephen's head and really see how manipulative he really is. Without his viewpoint, it'd be easy to think that Lucy was reading into things that weren't there or overthinking the situation. You need Stephen's side of the story to really understand what Lucy is going through during her time with him.

The character development was very strong. I felt like I really got to know the characters along the way, and my heart broke for Lucy at times. Lucy and Stephen have a tangled past that slowly unravels as you get deeper into the story. I really loved watching all of those pieces come together.

As much as I loved the parts told in the present and the parts told in the past separately, they didn't work for me together. I felt like one was an interruption to the other. I would've preferred a more chronological narrative. I probably would've given this 5 stars if the pieces had fit together better. I really loved the story and the characters, but I gave it 3 because something about it just didn't work for me.

A wonderful, intricate, realistic story! I think reading the definition of a sociopath and narcissist really hammered home the fact that even though people usually throw that word out when speaking in extremes, it really is a more common trait in the lower end of the spectrum. This story was really relatable me as I too have had the experience of being with someone like that and it truly is a harder thing to finally recognize in someone then most people would think. I could really understand Lucy’s struggle with it and as much as I wanted to smack her at times and scream wake up, unfortunately the only way to really learn is to go through it yourself and realize it on your own. This story captivated me from the beginning and I couldn’t wait to see how it played out. I really enjoyed this book and honestly wouldn’t mind seeing what Lucy got up in the aftermath of her new realizations. Great story!
* I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *

Tell me lies. Tell me sweet little lies.
We have all had those relationships where we have seen only what we wanted to see.
And the times where we have known we were being lied to, but we wanted to believe it anyways.

I requested Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering after seeing it listed for the Book Sparks 2018 Summer Reading Challenge. Though I was unfamiliar with the author, I liked several of the other authors on the list so decided to give this one a try. I enjoyed the writer's approach of telling the story of a relationship from two sides. I even enjoyed, somewhat, getting into the head of Stephen DeMarco, master manipulator. However, for me the characters we not likable. I didn't particularly find myself rooting for Lucy, the main female character. I didn't feel particularly connected nor all that sympathetic. Over and over I wanted to yell at Lucy and shake her awake. The story does act as an illustration though of what an abusive relationship looks like, which is helpful for younger readers. Because sadly men like Stephen DeMarco do exist.

Other readers may have a different opinion on this book. In my case, I might be just old enough to not care about the drama anymore. If you liked Sweetbitter or enjoy TV shows such as Gossip Girl or 13 Reasons Why you may enjoy this book more than I did. I will give it 3 stars because though it wasn't for me, I can see other readers enjoying it, depending upon their tastes.

Mostly underwhelming.

** Trigger warning for depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. This review contains vague spoilery stuff. **

“’He will always come back for more, Lucy. He won’t give it up until he has to.’ Dr. Wattenbarger’s words resounded in my head—he had meant them as a warning; I savored them as hope.”

Faced with the prospect of seeing her ex Stephen at her best friend Bree’s upcoming wedding*, twenty-five-year old Lucy Albright recalls their tumultuous – nay, toxic – relationship. This is a story about two shitty people and their shitty on-again, off-again courtship. Told in alternating perspectives, so we can get the full, skin-crawling experiencing of bouncing around in a sociopath’s head. (Said sociopath would be Stephen, and no, you will not find yourself rooting for him, a la Season Five DEXTER.)

I’m really not sure what to make of TELL ME LIES; it’s readable enough, though I can’t exactly call it enjoyable. Lucy is an awful person, and not in relation to Stephen. I’ve had shitty boyfriends, too, and I know all too well what it’s like to know that you’re making bad decisions, even as you make them, and commit wholeheartedly anyway. No, Lucy was terrible well before she met Stephen.

That Unforgivable Thing her mom CJ did? The one that’s teased to death and not revealed until nearly halfway into the story? It was a betrayal of Lucy’s dad and had absolutely zero to do with Lucy herself. Lucy at least acknowledges him as a fellow aggrieved party, but his suffering mostly takes a backseat to hers. It’s silly and selfish and hella immature, especially as Lucy falls back on it time and again as the reason her life went so off track. More than once I wanted to backhand her across the face while yelling “Not everything is about you!”

It gets worse as Lucy becomes enmeshed with the (probably?) emotionally abusive (manipulative, certainly) Stephen during college. The low point comes when Lucy skips her fifteen-year-old dog Hickory’s final days and euthanasia in order to meet Stephen’s family. Not at his suggestion, either; she doesn’t so much as mention it to him. Whatever shred of sympathy I felt for Lucy evaporated in that moment.

And then there’s Stephen, who was involved in a manslaughter or hit and run or whatever you want to call it, and is never punished for his role in a girl’s death, even as it kinda-sorta-but-not-really comes to light. Okay, so he wasn’t accepted to his first round of law school picks, boo hoo. How about some jail time to go with that bruised sense of white male entitlement?

While this is all too believable, it’s also deeply unsatisfying; sometimes it seems like fiction is the only universe in which men are held to account for their violence and misogyny. That Stephen is not feels like a bit of a betrayal in itself.

Basically I just couldn’t with anyone or anything.

* Though it’s wholly unclear why Stephen is even invited, let alone allowed to bring a plus one. He and Evan weren’t particularly close in college, and certainly not tight enough that Bree would feel forced to make her bestie revisit that part of her past.

Wow. Everyone will relate to this story. You've been Lucy and you probably dated Stephen once or twice in your life. I know I did. I was glued to the pages waiting to see what would happen in Stephen and Lucy's relationship. I'm not sure how I could hate a character yet root for them to work out. This book is a wild ride of emotions and I loved every second of that ride. Just WOW.

This book is crazy relatable. I think there are some experiences in this novel that many of us just cannot forget. I loved the comparison of this book to Luckiest Girl Alive. Accurate and thrilling.

This was barely an average read for me. I was initially very interested in the storyline of an ex that got away which was really a good thing. I think we all have one of those in our past. I enjoyed the flow of the beginning when we first meet Lucy in NYC but then the story takes a turn and flips back in time and it just broke up the flow for me. I really don't tend to like flashbacks so this could be why I struggled with the rest of the book. The author took us from the present potential drama to way back in time and it felt like starting over. I also felt this was overall a story about 2 people obsessed and/or infatuated rather than a love story. Stpehen's character was awful and by the end Lucy's character was getting on my nerves.