I enjoyed this one very much and devoured it in less than a day. Ellison delivers an above-average thriller with a tremendously interesting setting and characters with complicated motivations and interactions. I appreciate all of the insight we were given to even secondary characters. It’s nearly perfectly plotted and would make a good choice for readers of Ruth Ware or Louise Candlish.

Even though I figured out one of the main twists fairly early on, I still enjoyed the rest of this book immensely. I feel like the end was slightly rushed and didn't leave me completely satisfied, but I still liked it.

My fourth Ellison book and let me tell y'all. I just love her. Her wicked mind, the crazy stories she comes up with and the ease in which it is to read her writing. Take all those things and add it in with a boarding school/secret society-esque type story and I am here for it for every page.

I'm completely torn with this read. I was intrigued enough to continue page after page but it wasn't until around the 300 page mark that it really captured my interest. The pages leading up to this gave me no clue to what was actually going on. There are different POVs throughout the read and sometimes it's difficult to determine whose mind you're in with each chapter.... when I got toward the end, I understood why. However, it still was a bit eyebrow pinching.

Once a couple reveals came about, I unfortunately wasn't exactly wowed. It wasn't quite what I was expecting yet wasn't really a surprise either. There is one part in the epilogue that did make me smirk and I was pretty happy with it. I dunno you guys.

Was I entertained? Yes, I was. I think had it not taken 300 pages to fully capture my attention, I may have liked this one more. Ellison is a favorite author of mine. So far Lie to Me is my favorite of hers but each book I've read has made my thriller heart happy. This is still a fantastic thriller read and I appreciate where Ellison was taking us readers. I just wish I had bonded with this story earlier than I did.

I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed Good Girls Lie.
After the devastating loss of her parents, Ash Carlisle leaves her home in England to attend a prestigious all girls’ boarding school in the United States. Goode comes with all the typical high school drama but there is more lurking behind the corners of this historic school. Ash tries to keep her head down but when her roommate dies horrifically, Ash knows there will be n escapade from her past.
I was highly engaged on this story. It’s not your typical boarding school story o even a boarding school thriller. Each chapter egged me on trying to guess what each character was hiding. I loved guessing even when I was wrong and loved, even more, the twist I never saw coming. I was disappointed that in the end, the story ended so quickly from its build up. Luckily, each character is given a conclusion keeping from pesky loose ends that annoy me so as a reader.
The writing isn’t overly complex but J.T. Ellison manages to give the overtures needed to keep the reader engaged. The only true issue is that the perspectives and narration changes between chapters in a jarring way. The goal is clearly to hide certain aspects of the characters and keep the reader from knowing everything at once, but there is one perspective in particular, that causes me to stop reading because it clashes and I have to realize it’s an entirely different narration even though it’s so close to another.
Good Girls Lie is more than just your typical girl’s boarding girl story. Packed with deceit and twists, Good Girls Lie is t3ense story about indemnity and the way we react to our environment.

I received an ARC from the publisher; all opinions are my own.

GOOD GIRLS LIE by J.T. Ellison is a standalone suspense/thriller that kept me turning the pages quickly until the very last page. I would think I knew what was going on and then, BAM, I was so wrong and another tiny reveal would send me off on another tangent.

The Goode School is a premier private boarding school for females only in the tiny town of Marchburg, Virginia. It is for the best, brightest, elite daughters of the rich and prestigious. All the girls are prepared for brilliant futures and all the girls must follow the school’s code of honor and never lie.

There is a new girl this year from Oxford in the sophomore class, Ash Carr. Recently orphaned, Ash is still being admitted by the dean, Dr. Ford Julianne Westhaven on scholarship as she waits for her settlement. Ash learns many of the girls know how to pretend to follow the rules and secret societies add to the potential of tripping Ash up and her personal secret being discovered.

When a student is found dead, rumors spread and it becomes increasingly difficult to tell who is telling the truth and who is telling a lie. How far will girls from the Goode School go to hide their secrets?

This is a tightly plotted and fast-paced thriller that kept me guessing. I do not normally read YA books, but this has so many threads of murder, sex, hazing and secrets that I was just pulled into the story and kept forgetting how truly young the characters were. The characters are fully fleshed out and memorable as the story progresses and you learn their secrets. I loved the epilogue which was another great twist to the story.

I highly recommend this thriller and will be looking for more books by this author!

4 out of 5 stars

I would like to thank Netgalley and Mira books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I discovered J.T. Ellison in November of this year and have become a fan of hers. I was super thrilled to be able to read this new book which will be released on December 30,2019.

In the small town of Marchburg, Virginia there is an elite girl's school where only the best of the best attend. One October morning a girl is found dead, hanging from the gates. We flash back to August when Ash arrives from England. The Goode school is a whole other world from what Ash is used to. With judgmental and snobbish girls, secret societies and the honor code, as well as being in a new country she wonders how and if she will survive.

J.T. Ellison is really good at slowly revealing secrets and characters true personalities and this novel is no exception. She leaves you interested in where the story line is going. This is a fun, twisted novel that I would suggest you pick up!

Here I go again with another 3-star rating...


WAIT!

That's not bad, it means I did like the story, but I wasn't totally riveted in certain reading times or surprised by the twists. Goodreads doesn't appear to appreciate half stars and neither do some of my reviewer buddies. Just for the sake of argument, this read is one that had me feeling a bit indecisive.

What I did like:
1. Call me strange but I like the whole private school setting with secret societies and nasty mean girls. That is, in the fictional world sense.

2. I love characters with secrets. The more desperate and despicable, the better. This book doesn't disappoint.

2. The sit up and take notice beginning really caught my attention and terrified me. The ending matched it perfectly.

3. The cover, I chose this book based on the cover and never read the synopsis. I went in blind

What I didn't like.

1. Although the majority of the story is told from the enigmatic Ash who is the new student hailing from England and arriving in America, the author starts popping in other perspectives and it didn't work so much for me. The senator character (yucky!) The sheriff's niece (important to the investigation-yes, but she seemed filler-ish. )

2. There was a lot of building towards what would take place and my interest waned a bit in some chapters.

3. I had hypothesized a major vein of the plot and was disappointed when I was proven correct. Even more so when I factor in, I didn't read the synopsis prior to my reading.


Thanks to HARLEQUIN-Mira for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.







Goodreads review published 18/12/19
Publication Date 30/12/19

Good Girls Lie was a great quick and easy read. I felt like I read it before and knew what was going to happen, so I’m wondering if there is already a book out there with the exact same plot since the pub date on this is in the future? Either way, I did enjoy it despite it feeling so familiar. Unfortunately, I can picture these mean girl characterizations and actions happening in real life, though hopefully not to the degree it was in the book. It horrified me to see anyone manipulated and treated the way these poor characters were, but I also think it is important for people to realize that bullying and hazing, at any degree, is so real and trending and often leads to such emotional stress and many times suicide. The author did a great job capturing the roller coaster of emotions felt during the push and tug relationships and it was easy to feel my own personal emotion about it while reading. Though some parts seem a bit unrealistic or unlikely, they added some flavor to the story or helped spice the personality of some of the characters, it worked. I really liked this book.

If you know me, you know I love mysteries set in boarding schools. They are generally off the mark of what boarding schools are actually like, but they are the kind of thing I imagined them to be when I was a teen. Everyone is so rich and nasty to each other and then, boom, murder!

This was a fast-paced story that kept me guessing and actually did a good job of actually portraying private school life.

Thank you for my ARC, Net Galley and Harlequin! It’s YA fodder that is good for my soul! I will share this with my 16 year old, too (with her own copy).

A book about an all-girls boarding school and murder. What could go wrong? This book comes out December 31st, 2019! Make sure to pick up a copy of this book. It had me hooked from the start and I finished it as quickly as I had started it.

I really enjoyed this book. It was full of twists and turns and even though I thought I caught on to the sister switch-a-roo it wasn't what I was expecting.

However, I loved how the author kept certain details and revealed them later on and placed false suspicion on a lot of characters and I think that's what really made this book interesting. The intro showed a scene where (you thought) Ash Carlisle hung herself and throughout the entire novel I was waiting for that scene. I was waiting to figure out which sister would prevail. But, that beginning scene was so misleading because that wasn't a sister, it was someone else completely. The author does a great job of making you assume things during the book.

I think the one detail that made this book a little unrealistic was the setting. If these girls were older and in college maybe I'd find it easier for them to pull all of this off but these are 16 year old girls! I understand that both sisters had gone through some trauma but I didn't think that would result in a 16 year old going on a murdering rampage.

However, I loved how the author revealed what was going on with Becca Curtis because at the beginning, her mother sent an email to the Dean about her behavior and it made you sense that she might he unstable. Yes, Becca did have issues but it was probably because she was gay and had to cover it up. I really wish Becca and Alex could have had a chance to fix things. But this dynamic was a lot more realistic than Ash going on a murdering rampage.

The epilogue was definitely needed, but I wish, instead of 1-2 chapters of epilogue, there was another book. About the next 11 years the sisters trying to kill the other one. That could have been a great book that the author could have definitely pulled off.

I recieved this book from Harlequin from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ash is sixteen, after finding her wealthy parents, dad dead, mom dying in her arms, she wants to go away to school and find her way. Where she finds herself is at an elite all girls boarding high school in the hills of Virginia. A school with an honor code, secret societies and 200 daughter's of the rich and powerful. Ash has secrets but at that age who doesn't? And who doesn't lie? Right? Everything you'd expect from this setting is here in this story and more. This novel is fast paced with tension and suspense that builds from the start and continues to the last page. Although I had an inkling of what was to come I found plenty of twists, turns and surprises too keep me on my toes and at the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed this one and recommend it to not only the fans of the author but to those who love a good thriller full of secrets and lies and an unreliable narrator.

I have to start out by saying I love J.T. Ellison, and have loved her since the Taylor Jackson series...as well as her standalones. This book is beautifully written, but it is a really slow burn that tested my patience.

It's a boarding school mystery with high school girls as the focus, and there's more than meets the eye with each character. I'm not sure what caused my dilly-dally attitude while reading this because Ellison does a great job with the twists and leaving us with cliffhangers. Simply said, it didn't work for me as I would have expected. Still, I would call this a decent standalone from a great author if you don't expect an unputdownable.

Thank you to NetGalley, J.T. Ellison, and Harlequin/Mira for the ARC. I look to the next one.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I love J.T. Ellison's books. I haven't been reading her books very long but I look for one I haven't read every chance I get. This is definitely a twisted thriller, which is how thrillers should be. Superbly written with fabulous characters. I definitely recommend this book! Enjoy! 📚

This was my first J.T. Ellison book and I will be reading more soon .From the very start the story draws you in and keeps you on the edge of your seat.
After the death of her parents, Ash heads to a new start at the Goode School for girls . Very soon after her arrival , Ash’s roommate dies with no clues to how it happened. Ash becomes friends with the head girl ,Becca and is protected for awhile. Things should bad quickly and The Dean starts suspecting Ash is behind the trouble .
This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time .

Having not looked at what genre Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison fell under, I was under the impression I was digging in to a Young Adult Fiction novel. Boy was I mistaken, but not in a bad way.

Good Girls Lie follows a few characters at an all girls school that has a sordid past and a lot of secrets for the future. Ellison definitely wrote a story heavy on suspense and mystery, which is what it really was labeled genre wise. And thriller. From the first chapter I was totally confused on what was happening. The way Ellison wrote the story gave you just enough to enjoy the story, but kept you in the dark on what was really happening. She also offered up multiple characters you thought were the guilty party.

I found the supporting characters to be interesting and kept the story going. They brought a different angle to the story and really set the scene of what kind of environment The Goode School really housed. Ellison put a lot of layers into each character so even smaller characters had a lot of weight on the story and the overall vibe of it.

Ellison has a writing style that allowed the story to flow smoothly even though we were jumping between characters at time. My only minor upset was that sometimes it didn’t tell you who you were jumping to and it took a few paragraphs to figure out who I was reading about. Otherwise the novel was good and I had no issues with it.

This thriller is a fantastic read for anyone who is looking for a suspenseful book filled with lots of twists and turns at every corner and you will find it hard to guess the ending. I have already read one book by Ellison before and I will continue to check out more from her going forward.

Wowsa! Yes this looks like it might be standard girls-boarding-school fare that starts with a dead student hanging from the gates but it isn't. Nope. Ash enters the Goode School as a sophomore - she's from Oxford, UK and her parents have both just died tragically. She's got a lot of secrets and she doesn't want the other girls to know. Her room mate Camille also has a secret but that doesn't make her a nice person, at least to Ash. Ford, the dean of the school has a secret too. Ash manages to irritate Becca, the head girl, on her first day. Becca's got a secret too. Things start to get very wacky when it's time for the secret society Ivy Bound to tap students for the group. You know Ash is gonna be one of them. It's told mostly from Ash's point of view, although there are periodic shifts to the third person perspective of Ford, a detective, and others. No spoiler on this one, which turns on several shocking events the reader should discover their own- including one huge (huge) twist. I'll admit to being a tad confused near the very end but wow. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This is a well written page turner.

For more than half the book, this was a story of a cliche exclusive all girl's school with all that you would expect from reading a book about a cliche exclusive all girl's school. The only thing that kept me reading was the excessive foreshadowing. Obviously I knew there was a nice big twist ahead, it was the getting there that was a bit tedious. I almost wish the author could have done something like they do in court and stipulate to all the requisite exclusive all girl school cliches so we could move on to the good stuff! And when the twist finally arrived, I pretty much had it figured out. Not all the details, but it wasn't a surprise. It was good and I think worth the wait, but again, it took so long to get there!

Parts of Good Girls Lie were fantastic, really special. It had all the ingredients for a great thriller. An isolated school, friendship and bullies, mystery and drama. Sadly though, aspects of the execution fell short.

A lot of the characters were weak and the storyline predictable. The pace also seemed to be disjointed. Some parts seemed to crawl through, dragging out every single detail. Others seemed to go so fast that I got whiplash. I loved the inclusion of a little diversity and some characters were really thought through and whole.

Moments of brilliance, but overall an okay read with an additional ending that felt rushed and didn’t need to be there. There was still enough in there though to make it worth picking up.

I am honestly really disappointed by this. The story, the characters and the writing everything felt obnoxiously offbeat and I had to drag myself past the 50page mark.

First off all, stereotypical characters that are unoriginal and seemed to be taken straight out from other books and huddled together. The story is supposed to be suspenseful i know that but adding a layer to the story by working on relationship dynamics wouldn't have hurt.

Also, the writing didn't work for me at ALL. Nope. The pacing was off and it wasn't fluid enough to hold my attention for most parts.
The characters were so problematic and hollow. And it felt like the author constrained herself with only a single male character! If you read it, you will know!

WOULDN'T RECOMMEND AT ALL.

I loved the setting of this book - a school in the hills, covered in ivy, secret corridors and history in every wall and floor. It has all the ingredients of a good Thriller... Murder, rituals, secret societies and family secrets are all tangled up in this story. Woven together throughout, the secrets start to unravel towards the end as the real truth is revealed. For me it was a little underwhelming as I had figured out the plot quite early on. It was an entertaining book though and the Epilogue was fantastic - if a sequel came out I would definitely read it to find out exactly what happens next...