I think this book was about 100 pages too long. What starts off as an intriguing mystery devolved into a slightly less interesting family drama.

I love this author, so I hoped to love this one, but I think her Naturals series is stronger.

Yes to all the of dishonest debutantes! Sawyer is bribed to participate in deb season by her grandmother, perhaps as a way to right past wrongs. She gets by, but is again dragged into more secrets, despite having enough of her own. The book sets up a sequel, which promises more intrigue.

crazy to me that this author went on to write The Inheritance Games because this book didn't seem complete to me.

Thanks to NetGalley / Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

I liked the premise of LITTLE WHITE LIES, but found the book itself frustrating. The idea of an unlikely debutante was appealing. And I felt like the author did offer at least some insight into the rituals and routines of the cotillion set. I didn't expect that I'd be craving more cotillion and less mystery, but that's what happened.

The mystery of Sawyer's paternity along with the theft of the necklace wasn't enough to hold my interest so I found myself skimming instead of appreciating the story. The book could have been shorter and still attracted its audience.

I really wanted to like this book. It seemed like it had it all to be set up like a Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars drama filled book, but I just couldn't connect with the main character. There wasn't enough lead up to her living with these rich people and I wanted more intrigue overall.

This one took a little while to ramp up, but it became a pretty fun and twisty story that centered female secrets and relationships.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the original YA mystery novel writer (at least for me). I started reading her books several years ago when I was a teen. In fact, she started my fascination with true crime. I'm loving her new books. I really like this book, but it isn't one of my favorites over all!

I loved Little White Lies! This was such a fun take on the proper Southern lady/debutante idea, I was so entertained by the hijinks these ladies got up to.

Not interested past the first three chapters, just didn't capture my attention.
I wanted to dive headfirst into this world, but there was just a lot lacking.
It may appeal to a younger demographic a bit more than it seemed it ever would to me

This is the second time I have attempted to read this book. Jennifer Lynn Barnes is one of my favorite authors and I was sad when the first time I tried to read this book , I couldn't get into it. I think it was just one of those moods last year. So I decided to try again and I loved this read. I couldn't put this book down. It was fun and snarky and exciting and a bit troubling. I really enjoyed this read.


Sawyer has grown up with just a mom. For her entire life she didn't know who her family was on her moms side and had no clue who her father was. Then one day her maternal grandmother shows up and whisks her away to a new world. A world for spoiled rich kids, scandals, debutantes, and a world that just might have her father. She is on a mission to discover who her father is when instead she discovers her cousin is holding another teen hostage. From that point on Sawyer's life will never be the same.


This book was really good. I really loved it. I found the setting to be interesting and fun and of course the writing was well done. The characters were great and the story was just unforgettable for me.

I didn't quite know what to expect from this read and didn't know how I would feel about a story set in a world of debutantes and spoiled kids. Seems a little too angst and not really for me. But I love the author. I have enjoyed so many of her other books. This book didn't disappoint. I am not sure what the highlight for me was but it had to be the story and the humor that as unique and kind of messed up or the characters who were so flawed but I just loved every single one of them.

I didn't mind the setting as I thought I would. It was done well and most of it was set with the debutante ball and parties in the background. The story and characters were center ring and it was just so much fun.

I loved so many of the characters its really hard to say who was my favorite. On gut feeling I am going to say it was Sadie Grace. She was so smart yet so dumb. She was sweet but had her jabs. She was loyal without fault. I just adored her.

All the characters just owned my heart and were so unique with such an expressive voice that I couldn't help but love them even when they were making the worse choices. The kids in this book were not good. They weren't necessarily bad either. The adults were more on the villainous side, the kids were just trying to survive the cruel world they lived in.

I also loved the friendships that were built in this book. Some of the relationships I wouldn't have never seen forming such a Strong bond. But they did and those really are my favorite kinds of books.

There really wasn't romance in this story which to me was just a fresh of breath air. I really do love books more on family and friendship. I just love those type of bonds. This book had both.

The story was more of a who done what. Its told in little snippets of the presence but mostly the story is told in parts of the past bringing out more of the story telling what really happened and why. So for most of the story I didn't know where it was headed, except that they all end up at the police station for some reason. IT was great.

I wouldn't call this contemporary or thriller. It's hard to classify. Its a little chic lit and a little mystery and a little but of dark comedy. It really was great. I am excited to read the next installment which I already have on audio. YAY.




Just a fun and exciting read.

If you are familiar with Jennifer Lynn Barnes and The Naturals series, you may be surprised by Little White Lies. Yes, there are plenty of twists and turns that lead to unexpected surprises, but it also doesn't feel as well thought out as The Naturals. That could be, however, because you're dealing with Debutantes. Despite feeling a bit rushed at times, I enjoyed the witty characters and crazy antics. It was a fun read that I didn't expect to lead to a second book. But now that I know the story continues, I will likely keep reading to see what trouble these girls get into, and how they dig themselves out of it.

I read Jennifer Lynn Barnes other books and enjoyed them. I'm not sure if it's the subject matter, but I found this one much more difficult to get into. I purchased it for our library, because I do think the teens will enjoy it.

The first book I've read by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. It has a fun premise of a mystery during a debutante ball! Sawyer is a fun and sassy heroine. This story is based on mystery and shenanigans!

Personally, I've never had much interest in debutantes. That high society stuff is a far cry from my own world experience. I can't deny that the ins and outs of this plot are compelling, though. Barnes has woven a complex plot of family secrets and the dark underbelly of polite society. We see a group of young ladies working a plot at multiple levels to reveal a series of dangerous secrets, all while presenting a front of refinement and class.

This young adult mystery was a joy to read!
Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Group for the opportunity to read and review Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes!
Sawyer’s life hasn’t been easy. She’s eighteen and independent because she’s pretty much raised herself. Her single mother, a bit flaky but well-meaning, has never told Sawyer the identity of her father. While Sawyer’s mother is on a date lasting more than a few days, her maternal grandmother walks into her front door, introduces herself and offers Sawyer a $500,000 contract to stay with her for one year. The only reason Sawyer agrees to and signs this contract is to uncover the identity of her father; the money doesn’t hurt either. She’s never met her mother’s family and her expectations rely on her mother’s descriptions of them. The contract specifies "debutante life for a year" which Sawyer is not remotely used to but her cousin Lily helps to navigate the social life and what’s expected of a debutante. As Sawyer adjusts as a socialite, a tragic mystery is slowly uncovered and she ends up right in the middle of the action and intrigue. I love the characters and the unique personalities, as well as the story line, which made me chuckle more than once. A fun, young adult mystery, 5 stars!

This story is very much in the same vein of Pretty Little Liars meets How to Get Away With Murder but Southern. I liked the flipping back and forth between present and past timelines, but have to admit that it wasn't really the strongest story overall. I typically love Jennifer Lynn Barnes's books but this one was very middle of the road. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't one that really made me super excited to find out what happened next. I really didn't care for any of the characters at all.

Another winner from Jennifer Lynn Barnes! Set in the southern debutant scene, this mystery within a mystery within a comedy delivers page turning entertainment. I loved the stereotyped yet fresh characters and the levity of the twists. And boy, were there twists! I enjoyed each new little plot flip flop. Perfect summer read. So glad there will be more!

Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes was such a fun read. I am so excited to dive into another series by Barnes. I really enjoy the mysteries that Barnes writes. We follow Sawyer as she has been dragged into a family she didn’t know existed and is thrown into the debutante world. Sawyer’s grandmother (someone Sawyer didn’t even know existed) comes to fetch her one day to join the debutantes and in exchange for Sawyer’s corporation her grandmother will pay her.



All Sawyer wants to do is go off to a good college, so she agrees. Once Sawyer is in this world of makeup, dresses, parties, and mean girls, she finds clues about her real father’s identity and now she is on the hunt to discover who he is. Sawyer also finds friendship on this journey and a lot of very dangerous and scandalous situations. The high society men and women have a lot of secrets to hide and Sawyer is going to uncover them.



I really liked Sawyer. She is spunky and sarcastic, so definitely my kind of girl. I really loved how she inserted herself into this world that her grandmother dragged her too. I really liked how Sawyer was determined to be herself. There is a lot of growing in this book. Sawyer really discovers a lot about herself to the fact that I think she ends up surprising herself in a lot of ways. Character growth is one of the biggest things I look for in a novel. I want fantastic characters that learn from their mistakes and grow into better characters. Barnes really nailed it.



It was very interesting to get to know the different families in this book and how they were all connected at some point in the history of these people. I feel like everyone was involved in each family’s life at some point which really made the mystery of Sawyer’s dad a fun one to discover. The drama. These families have so much drama. I felt like that created a story all on its own. Reading this book was almost like watching a soap opera.



The plot was really captivating. I think there were elements of surprise along with plenty of fun. Just when you thought you knew the answer you were given to information that proved you were wrong. I found this quite interesting. Barnes was great at creating the perfect moments to reveal the clues.



I can’t wait until book two. I am so excited to dive into the lives of these characters more. I am sure there will be plenty of scandals along the way.

**Review can be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ **

Oh my geez, this is such a fantastic book! Right from the first page where four girls in ball gowns are arrested, I knew that this was the book for me. This was hysterical and intriguing and interesting and all the other amazing adjectives that I can't think of at this moment. I have always enjoyed Jennifer's books so I wanted to read this when I first discovered it, regardless of what the content was (which I had no idea). Well, let me tell you that this was the best mix of southern charm, mystery (two mysteries to be exact!) and humor. The best news I discovered after I finished reading and was in a sad, dejected book hangover, wondering how I was suppose to move on was that this is the first book in a series! There will be more Sawyer, so I don't need to move on!

"Splendid is good, good is okay, and okay and fine are horrendous."

The delivery of the story was great, starting with the perspective of a rookie cop completely in over his head with four female prisoners in ball gowns and then switching to 9 month month prior from Sawyer's point of view. The story keeps going back in forth from the police officer with his criminals in present time to all the events that occurred to Sawyer over the months leading to the present situation. It was perfect, but at this point I might be fangirling.

I loved that there was almost an instant relationship between Sawyer and her cousin Lilly. I was a little concerned that they would hate each other or there would be hostility, but that was not this book. Instead they became allies and then tentatively friends and then good friends and family and I loved watching them interact. This was a great book for female friendships, they had each other's backs and jumped right into mischief together, no questions asked. PS can I have more hysterical Boone and totally clueless sweet Sadie Grace next book??

I will say that the last third of the book took a darker more sad turn than what I was expecting. I have no idea how everything will continue and I am all twisted up in knots over what will happen to Sawyer next. That being said, I will 100% be back for more in this world and with Sawyer (who I love).