I really enjoyed the Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and Little White Lies continues in a very similar vein. Like Rachel Hawkins' Rebel Belles, the setting of this book is predominately the debutante-laden South, but where Belles was flavored with a hint of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lies is spiked with Gossip Girl and Veronica Mars.

I am totally the type of reader that can usually guess the end of mystery books, but I didn't see the final two or three twists of this one! Also, this book steered clear of one of my least favorite con/mystery story tropes. Too often (yes, including Ocean's Eleven and Holly Black's White Cat) the only reason the ending is surprising is because the hero/narrator deliberately didn't tell us the key to the whole thing, which they secretly did offscreen. Barnes avoids this by using two timelines-- one story unfolding the night of the Debutante Ball and another starting nine months before that and slowly working forwards to that night. Excellent!

A huge thank you to Disney for approving me for this review copy on NetGalley.

This book was flat out entertaining.

Personally, it felt like a Lifetime movie to me. It was so dramatic and at times, ridiculous but so much fun. I was hooked from the first pages and I could not stop reading at any chance I could.

However, I did feel that the story felt like it dragged out some plot points for longer than it should have and just dropped some plot points that I would have liked to see more of. I felt that Campbell’s character was a bit confusing in the middle of the book as her actions and attitude kept completely changing. I also wish we could have gotten to see more of a positive relationship between the girls that wasn’t based on alibis.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in this story. I thought the main core cast was very strong and I hear that there is a sequel to this that I am extremely excited to pick up. This book was a lot of fun and I cannot wait to see what happens next!

https://thebroadwaylibrarian.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/little-white-lies-by-jennifer-lynn-barnes/

If you get to the end of the arc and it ends in the middle of a sentence, redownload the file and it should be corrected! It's not meant to end that abruptly.

Like all Jennifer Lynn Barnes books, I was instantly hooked on Little White Lies. I always get super invested in her characters and the plots are super fun as well, so it's the best of both worlds. Sawyer was a really interesting character and I liked the way she interacted with the world. I especially loved the friendships (or almost friendships) that develop throughout the book. For a minute there I thought we were getting a really one dimensional look at someone, but luckily that wasn't the case. Also! For those who don't like romance, Sawyer doesn't have a love interest. The constant "three weeks later" etc. time jumps were a little annoying to me - that's just a personal pet peeve of mine in books. It didn't really take away from the plot, it just happened every other chapter. The flash forwards were interesting though and only a little confusing at times because of the formatting of the arc. Speaking of the formatting though, sometimes sentences would be missing pretty significant chunks. I could piece together the info from context clues, but it was slightly annoying. This is obviously an issue with the arc itself, not the finished book.

Sawyer has been taking care of her mom for her entire life. Living above the bar where her mother works, Sawyer has been managing their finances since she was nine, supplementing their income with her wages from a nearby mechanic shop. When the grandmother Sawyer's never met shows up unexpectedly and offers her five hundred thousand dollars if Sawyer spends the next nine months as a debutante, Sawyer can't pass up the opportunity.

As Sawyer dives deep into the high society life that her mom left--scandalized by her pregnancy, she discovers that she's not the only potential scandal in their community.

I loved the small reveals that happened throughout the entire book while waiting for the big mystery to be solved at the end. Definitely more accessible to girls, unlike Barnes other books that have wider appeal. Full of girl drama that many students will love, even if they can't relate to the idea of a debutante.

Thank you net galley for an advanced reader copy of this book. Jennifer Barnes latest is a fantastic read with twists and turns up until the last page. I loved the setting of the modern debutante south, adored the main character Sawyer Ann, and all the supporting characters. The plot developed moving backward with events leading up to the debutante ball trying to reveal layers of family secrets. This was a great read and I will continue to recommend and read novels by this author. Five stars!!!!

Am I angry enough at the ending that I won't read the next book? Or am I curious enough about how Barnes will start the sequel to pick it up? Precise writing, decent character building (many characters and I can keep them apart in my mind), format improves the book with its flashback and increasing timeline. Not a huge fan of making the characters, especially Sawyer, good at all the things. Some convenient plot jumps.

Three and a half stars. Basically this is a Southern debutante Gossip Girl mystery that is a fun read if you are ready to suspend disbelief and are fine with flashbacks, inconsistencies, and implausible situations. This book reminds me more of The Squad series and is less like her recent series The Naturals and The Fixer, which I prefer. I would much rather read another Fixer novel than the next one in this series.

I have enjoyed Jennifer Lynn Barnes' work since the days of The Squad. This title didn't disappoint though I was hoping for a little more emotional depth.

This was a really well written, quick read. It's an inside view of southern debutante balls and culture from a girl who definitely did not grow up in this world. I've always lived in the south, and have a friend from grad school whose grandmother put her in the debutante circuit, so I'm familiar and bemused by the whole idea of debutantes. I loved Sawyer, who dished out a bit of reality to the rich debutante girls. While debutantes are at the center of the story, the actual mystery is the identity of Sawyer's father and what the slightly diabolical Campbell is up to. The supporting characters all have strong personalities and add to the book. There's also a nice juicy ending that I did not see coming. Overall, a really enjoyable book. I'm hoping there will be more books in the future with this cast of characters!

This book ends in the middle of a sentence. One of the reasons I slowed down on reading YA, my preferred genre for most of my twenties, is that I got sick of books that didn't tell a complete story. Don't get me wrong, I love a good series or trilogy, but each book should resolve something, even if it sets up what is coming next. A lot of things were set up, but I don't actually think much was resolved.

The structure also didn't work for me. There was no need to flash between the police station and the story - the police station stuff wasn't really dramatic enough. It felt a little more like failed comedy?

Things I did like: the setting. It was believable that Sawyer would accede to her grandmother to try to find her father. Lillian was an interesting character. I was interested in the family dynamics. No one else really felt like a full character though.

I want to know what happens next though, so hey!

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is sort of a "will they-won't they" type author for me. She's got a great mind for thrillers but this is only the second book I've read from her. Her first The Naturalists was okay. I liked it, but I found it considerably lacking in both the overall characterization and the romance. But, I'm happy to report that Little White Lies is an absolute gem of a thriller that I couldn't help but devour in one go.

Sawyer Taft is an eighteen year old auto mechanic with a flaky mom dealing with enough financial trouble to just hang over her head. And when her wealthy grandmother shows up unannounced, baring a contract guaranteeing a half a million dollars for college on the condition she return to her home to participate in this years debutante season, Sawyer finds herself immersed in a world of false pleasantries and plastic smiles.

I think the best thing about this book is the setting. Barnes did a superb job at creating a glittery, Southern debutante world that is as black as sin beneath its cheery visage. The culture and the tradition that has been baked into these girls is strong and I appreciated how much effort and research it must have taken to capture that feeling like a photograph. Barnes' writing style is detailed, but also simple. It never gets too complex, even when the mystery aspect really began picking up speed.

This is a well paced book, but it does get...boring at parts. This is a long book and while it goes by fast, there are sections of this book that drag because there's just so much stuff that happens. And some of it, I hate to say, isn't that important. There's two big mysteries going on, the mystery of Sawyer's father and what Campbell is up too. And while the latter is certainly complex, the former gets almost too much mystery. There are four suspects for Sawyer's father and the mystery of that is so drawn out and so boring because it's the first person you think it is. It's not surprising, it's not a huge reveal, it's just a by-product of reading too much of the genre and knowing the tropes. But the entire mystery is given so much undeserved weight that it feels bigger then it should be.

That being said, this makes for a good thriller for people who aren't necessarily into murder mysteries. While that aspect was surprising to me, I thought for sure this was a murder mystery when I started reading, it didn't dampen my enjoyment. Maybe one day I'll go back to Barnes' other works, but for now Little White Lies is enough for me. It's fun, it's enjoyable, and the plot is spectacularly thrilling.

I will read anything this lady writes. It is all fantastic. The Naturals is still my favorite but I did love this book as well. I was a little disappointed because I think the ending is cut off but other than that it was a great read. I couldn't put it down, read the whole thing in about a day and a half. I loved the mystery and intrigue. I thought most of the characters were relate-able. I didn't love the back and forth with present day and flashbacks because it was a little confusing at first but in the end she won me over with the non-linear story telling.