This was such a fast paced and enjoyable read! I loved the mystery and the relationship between the characters.

I have a harder time with YA thrillers (and honestly some adult thrillers, as well), but I was really hoping to love this one because of how original it sounded, but I thought it was a bit bland and didn't have too much going on for me to keep engaged.

I was really looking forward to reading this book due to its summary. Unfortunately, it missed the mark in my opinion. I was expecting the book to be more of a mystery/thriller, but it was more of a YA contemporary book. Don't get me wrong I love a good YA contemporary book, but was looking forward to an edge of seat thriller. This book had more of a focus on relationships between the characters. And asks the question: "How much is too much?" And "How far is too far?" Note this book does have trigger warnings and does have a dark tone to it.

'The Best Lies' is an electric YA thriller that will have readers on the edge of their seat until the very end. I'm a huge fan of this genre, so I immediately knew I had to read this as soon as possible. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but this book went above and beyond anything I could've thought. There was nothing I didn't like about this story. The main character, Remy, is incredibly realistic and complex. We learn about her life in extreme detail, and since the story is told in the first person point of view, from Remy's perspective, we get an inside look at everything she's thinking and feeling, her hopes and dreams, her fears, her memories, and so much more. I felt immediately connect with Remy right from the start of the story. The other major characters, especially Elise and even Jack, were also well rounded and had a realistic draw to them. The more minor characters were somewhat stereotypical, but the author gave them their own realistic problems and issues to deal with throughout the story.

The plot was seriously intense. The description tells us that Remy's boyfriend Jack gets killed my her best friend Elise, but we don't know why. Was it an accident, like Remy believes? Was it on purpose? If Elise murdered Jack, what was her motive? We also know from the description that Remy and Elise have a very unhealthy friendship. Which is pretty much the understatement of the year. As I read Remy's story, I could see this toxic attachment begin and build between the two of them. They would say crazy things like they were soul mates. It definitely seemed way off to me. I don't want to go into much more detail because I don't want to have any spoilers, but I will say that things go from bad to worse to outright crazy. There were quite a few times when I was thinking WTF?? I had a few theories going on in my mind during the story, but only one of them turned out to be right. It was a huge roller coaster of a story, and it stayed that way until the very end. Which is probably why I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting - I just had to know what was going to happen.

The writing was fantastic and I loved everything the author did. Especially using the first person POV - which is a huge deal for me with any book. Also, the alternating timelines - from present to past - wasn't confusing at all. It all basically takes place in the span of a year, so you can tell from the dates at the beginning of the chapters when it was happening. Eventually, the past catches up with the present and then we just have the one solid timeline. This was a really fascinating and disturbing read - and I can't recommend it highly enough to fans of YA mystery, thriller, contemporary fiction, and even romance.

The obsessive friendship of two girls takes a turn when a boy ends up killed. Its told out of sequence and with unreliable narrators that really keep you guessing about what actually happened up until the end. One of the best books about toxic friendships I have read.

Lyu's portrayal of obsession, abuse and an incredibly toxic friendship are SO good. You feel like you're wathcing a train wreck but all you can do is keep reading.

There are possibly triggering content (abuse, suicide, arson, murder).

Sarah Lyu’s exciting debut The Best Lies opens with a death and a police interrogation. Remy Tsai’s boyfriend Jack has been shot dead, and the police are trying to get to the bottom of what happened. All they know when the story opens is that the shooting took place at night in Remy’s best friend Elise’s home, Remy may or may not have been present, and it was Elise who pulled the trigger and ended Jack’s life. Was it murder? Was it self-defense?

This is one of those books where I can’t say much at all without spoiling it, but I will say that I loved the opening. The tension of the interrogation scene, coupled with finding out that such an awful thing had happened, immediately drew me in and had me wanting to know more.

I found Remy to be a tremendously sympathetic character. She’s an emotional wreck when the story opens, trying to wrap her head around the fact that the boy she loves is gone and that her best friend is the one who took him away from her. I can’t even imagine being in that kind of situation and the author does a wonderful job of showing us just how emotionally spent Remy is from the ordeal. Remy also comes from a home where her parents scream, fight, and threaten divorce constantly, so for Remy, it hurts all the more to have lost Jack, who was the one bright spot in her life. Her emotional state makes her a somewhat unreliable narrator, which adds yet another layer to the story. Can we trust anything she is saying about that night?

I didn’t like Elise as much as I liked Remy, but I still thought she was an interesting character. I had sympathy for her because she comes from an abusive home, but at the same time, I found some of the things she does to be somewhat juvenile and I sometimes wondered what Remy saw in her. She does have what I’d consider to be a magnetic personality though so I’m thinking that was part of the allure.

The author also drew me in with the way she lets the story unfold. The story is presented to us in two timelines, one in the present and one in the past. In the present timeline, we are following Remy in the aftermath of the shooting as both she and the police try to make sense of what happened that night. In the past timeline, we get to see how Remy meets both Elise and then Jack, and how their relationships evolve over time and how we end up where we are in the opening scene of the book. Lyu seamlessly weaves together these timelines into a complex and intricate story that is not just a crime thriller but that also explores what happens when friendships take a dark turn.

The Best Lies held my attention from start to finish as I waited with bated breath to find out the truth about what happened that night. The story is both suspenseful and heartbreaking and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries and to anyone who gravitates to stories that deal with grief. It’s a dark read but, at the same time, an emotional one.

3.5 stars! A powerful, chilling story about toxic relationships. Would definitely recommend to those who enjoy YA mysteries.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy of this book!

“The Best Lies are at least half true, she said, like it’s just a matter of mixing paint, two different colors swirling together until no one can tell where the truth ends and the lie begins, a new color emerging.”

Remy is seventeen and has issues. Her family is constantly fighting with divorce looking increasingly likely. Worse, her best friend Elise, always a prankster, has shot and killed Remy’s boyfriend, Jack. Elise claims it was an accident, but was it?

Best Lies is a good young adult thriller about families, friendships, and love. It has the usual young adult over-the-top’ness. Despite the DRAMA of living at seventeen depicted here, Remy, Elise, and Jack always seemed like real with real motives behind their actions. The only negative was the excessive smoking done by the two girls, which may send the wrong message to teen readers. Still a solid 3 star read!

Thanks to Simon Pulse and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ohhh this book is messed up! You know, in the good way! Since the whole book revolves around the thriller/mystery aspect, I am going to keep this purposely short. Basically there are two main components: The relationships of the characters, and the unsettling mystery.

The Characters and Their Relationships: So, this is a huge part of the book. Not only do we delve into Remy’s relationship with Elise, but her relationship with her late boyfriend Jack, and her family and other friends. And of course, the effect that they all have together, because that is sort of the key. Remy and Elise found each other when they both really needed a friend. Their relationship goes through all the ebbs and flows of typical friendships, until it becomes something far more sinister (and far less healthy). And that is the basic tone of the book: how much is too much? How far is too far?

Remy’s relationship with Jack is far less complex, for the fact that it was a seemingly healthy and normal one. Through it all, she struggles to find her footing with her family and other friends. Meanwhile, Elise is struggling with an abusive relationship of her own, and things are pretty messy for everyone.

The Unsettling Mystery: Obviously, keeping this short! But as all these relationships come into focus, we start to see what everyone’s motivations seem to be for the way they’re behaving. Sometimes it’s selfish, and sometimes it’s worse. But as it unfurls, you’ll be hooked into the secrets, deceptions, and motivations that all the characters have hidden.

Bottom Line: A really intense mystery based on an equally intense series of relationships.

Riveting. Plain and simple. Sarah Lyu kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time, anticipating, breathless, what was going to happen between Elise and Remy. I watched as things devolved, tensions escalated, lies were told, and overall, exploded in the fireworks Elise tends to favor. This is my FAVORITE kind of thriller: fast-paced with enough internal monologue to help you understand the emotion, and a wild, desperate longing for a sense of justice. This is a YA KILL BILL, and it kept me glued to the pages until the very last second.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu. Remy and Elise long for love and understanding. When Remy's boyfriend Jack is shot and killed by Elise, Remy struggles to understand how it happened. This is a disturbing story of love, friendship, and obsession.

The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu (July 2)
TW: physical abuse; emotional manipulation
Overview: There's an old revolver that ruins everyone's life. Elise finds it in her deceased grandmother's attic while digging around for fireworks for prank number 1. After that, the gun rarely leaves her thoughts, and, eventually, it never leaves her side. It's the gun that kills Jack. Remi doesn't know what to do. Her boyfriend is dead, and her best friend- more than her best friend- is the one who pulled the trigger of the stupid gun that she tried over and over again to get rid of. How did it happen? How did Jack wind up dead on the floor? How did she lose everyone she cared about at once? Overall: 5

Characters: 5 This is an intense book, and the characters are no exception. Remi does her best, but she's not perfect like her brother Christian. She uses boys to forget about her parent's constant fighting, but she feels stuck. And then she meets Elise after Homecoming. With Elise's pink Cadillac convertible and cigarettes and reckless abandon, Elise rocks Remi's world in what feels like the best way. Until they become each other's entire world's and Elise becomes focused on poetic justice. Dangerous revenge.
While Remi is pretty normal but a little lost and a bit bored, Elise has deep, unaddressed issues and a long history of trauma. She's also emotionally manipulative, blurring the line between expressing her pain and twisting it for her benefit. She's terrifying, and you don't want to admit that there are people like Elise as the plot thickens, but there are. You think about everyone you've ever met who's sticky and trapping and overpowering like Elise.
Jack is the only one who breaks through the Elise infatuation in Remi's mind. Even though Jack is not toxic or manipulative, it's interesting to see how Remi's personality still makes it feel like she's falling into him and he's drawing her in. Jack makes Remi realize what's happening, but the loyalties run deep, and Jack, stepping into their messy, passionate world doesn't realize how deep or dangerous his interference is.
The family dynamics is also an amazing dive. Remi's parents are trapped in a loveless cycle of explosive fights and affairs, but ruining their perfect exterior is too high of a price to finally be free of each other. I also love the evolution of her relationship with her brother Christian, the so called "golden child".

Plot: 5 Oh my god! The twists and turns and the missing pieces and the puzzle pieces that snap together. Wow. This is a great example of a book where the timeline is all over the place, but it's controlled perfectly. Information is sprinkled in at the perfect time to make it an unputdownable thriller. I also love how each character holds one possible view that flits through your mind about the characters, so you can see how each angle would really play out.

Writing: 5 The writing style here is so voicey and atmospheric, and I love it. The story is strong and built up well. The style is distinct, and Sarah plays off unreliable narrators along with other unreliable characters to make a confusing whirlwind that is somehow perfectly clear too.
As the book says, the best lies are rooted in half truths, and the best scenes are all grounded in a certain amount of truth and honesty. This is delivered excellently.