This was honestly such an interesting book. I was absolutely thrilled to receive an early copy and could not wait to start it. It didn’t disappoint either! This book combines some of my favorite things: magic and mystery.

Grey is such a cool FMC who is coming into her powers and hoping to solve the mystery of her best friends death when she returns to her hometown for the summer. Her characters determinations and POV during the investigation was so much fun to experience. I also really appreciated the detail that the author put into the side characters and the magic system. I instantly fell in love with Honey and definitely felt a found family trope in this book.

I enjoyed the writing style of Ginny Meyers Sain so much and I would definitely recommend this read📚. I did not see that ending coming but I was so integrated into this book I finished it in a day!

I would like to thank PRH International for providing the review copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The story followed Greycie who went back to La Cachette as she tried to unravel the truth behind the disappearance of her best friend Elora. As she dig into the case, she realized everyone was keeping something from her, even those who she supposedly knew inside out. Not only that, she suddenly saw flashes or visions of events that might actually be clues about the night Elora went missing. In addition to that, there was this blue-eyed stranger she spotted one night whom nobody seemed to know.

First of all, I loved the setting. The mood for a creepy, atmospheric small rural town full of psychics and mysteries was established really well. The vivid descriptions made it easy for me to visualize the places that were relevant to the plot. The story itself was suspenseful, and it kept me guessing until the very end. It blended thriller elements as well as some supernatural things. I read this in one sitting, but most of the time, the pacing was quite slow. There was also a love triangle trope present, which some reader might actually like. Lastly, I liked the last part. The plot twist at the end, and the truth behind the flashes and visions was well-thought. That was really unexpected.

The characters were diverse and interesting, especially the Summer children. Although each was included in some scenes, there weren’t enough chances to get to really know them. Relationships between the characters had a huge role in making the plot more intense and emotional especially in this kind of story. I preferred to feel the chemistry and emotions through scenes and dialogues instead of explicitly being told.

The author’s writing style was so easy to ease into. The words flowed naturally, and the tone and atmosphere were consistent throughout the novel. This is her debut novel yet she already did a good job. I’m sure she would be able to create more promising works in the future.

Overall, Dark and Shallow Lies was a YA mystery thriller set in a small town full of secrets which people rather buried deep.

CW: murder, drowning, arson, mentioned physical and emotional abuse, strangulation, self-harm, incest (step-siblings)

𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙇𝙞𝙚𝙨 tells about a teen girl who looking for her mysterious missing bestfriend in a small town.
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🌟 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
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"We all have one twin soul out there in the world. People say the moment you meet your twin flame is ths moment the earth beneath your feet begins to shift."—Chapter 3
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Starting with Grey, a teen girl who came back to her hometown and found her bestfriend disappear. With her curiosity and unacceptable feeling, she searched information about her.
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I like the writing style and can't believe it's a debut novel. It's a captivating story from the first chapter. I also like how Author describes the setting place and add some folklores in the story.
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For the characters, I love Zale, a mysterious guy. I think he needs more attention. 🥰 And the last, since it's a thriller book, I have my guess who did this, and you know what.. I'm wrong. 😂 I didn't see the twists coming and  it surprises me. 🙈
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Overall, this book has an magical story and perfect for paranormal thriller fans. If you're looking forward for dark young adult book, twisty, and standalone, you can try to read 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙇𝙞𝙚𝙨.

I loved this eerie story. Perfect to read during the fall months. This debut novel was a complete page turner that I did not want to end.

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing an earc.

This book was everything! It has mystery, magic, friendship, love, it gives you goosebumps and it scares you. This is the story of a girl who disappears from the bayou, a town full of psychics. Grey, her twin-flame, comes back to her town and she is determined to find out what happened to her best friend. The past is connected to the present and you, as the reader, have to look in the minds of the townspeople, because they know more than they seem.

The book was more than i expecting. I really loved some of the characters, i felt pity for some of them. Some of the betrayals and the secrets are more darker than it seems, the lies come to the surface and you can trust no one. I loved the bayou vibes, the atmosphere was so perfect, the way the town was described was so detailed that i thought i was there. I felt the rain and the wind and every emotion. Everything about this book held me captive until the last page.

I had some theories about who the killer was, what happened with Elora or who is telling the truth, but in the end, i was so so surprised. I did not expect that plot twist. And i loved it more. Loved the paranormal and the supernatural vibes too.

Overall, this book is perfect for October, It's spooky, mysterious, and if you like people with mystic powers, this is for you. The book comes out on September 7, and you have to check it out!

I’m not sure what’s spookier; the unexplainable circumstances around our main character’s best friend Elora’s disappearance, the obtuse comments from all the dozens of psychics in this Louisiana bayou, or the literal storm on the horizon. (Or maybe I’m pushing up the creepiness of the storm because of Hurricane Ida’s monstrous damage to the homes and livelihoods of so many people.)

Grey spends her summers on a tourist island off the coast of Louisiana, a “self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World.” But this summer is different because 6 months ago her best friend disappeared, and no one knows exactly what happened to her. Grey starts searching for answers and only gets more questions, although as she begins to discover secrets and acknowledge hard truths, they may be more horrifying than she’s ready for. The biggest question and truth of all: is Elora dead and gone for good, and did someone kill her?

This gothic horror started almost too slow for me, but about a quarter of the way through it really snagged my attention and didn’t let go. It’s suspenseful, emotional, and absolutely enthralling. The writing really makes you feel sweaty and hot, like you too are in a swamp dying of heatstroke and swatting mosquitos away while monsters prowl around you in the dead of night. For those of you who bemoan them, you should know there is technically a classic YA love triangle, but since there’s a whodunnit quality around whether we like the potential love interests, I personally forgave the author for the inclusion.

If you read it and especially if you like or love it, I’d recommend looking up mutual aids for the Louisiana bayou since their Hurricane Ida recovery will be a long and hard process.

I loved the mystery surrounding this small town in Louisiana. I want to visit it and feel the magic that is there! We are introduced to Grey, one of our main characters, who believes that she has no magic or abilities. When she comes back to her hometown of La Cachette, she can't believe her best friend, her twin flame, has disappeared and that no one knows what happened. As our story unfolds, we see that Grey can see the past and future, yet she can not piece together it all. Finally, feelings will come up with one of the Summer Children named Hart. Grey learns that everyone has secrets, and it is going to take some digging in and not give up to find the answers that she wants to uncover, even those close to fifteen years old. I have to say the way the author described Zale's accent I loved is sweet tea and gumbo. I have never heard anyone describe an accent, and I felt this author had it on point. At times this book seemed slow at getting to what was going on, but overall it was one that I devoured in two days. I felt I was there with Grey trying to figure out who killed Elora, and I kept thinking it must be this person. It just seems plausible, only to get to the end and be totally wrong. I should have put two and two together, but I didn't. I do wonder about Wrynn and what she truly saw. She mentioned she saw the raugarou, but I am not sure how she got that really idea. Unless the person that might have gotten Elora looked like the raugarou.

"The dead? They lie. Just like the rest of us."

Dark and Shallow Lies is the debut novel by Ginny Myers Sain. I couldn't put this book down! This book was eerily fantastic. It gave me the "frissons!"

It all starts when one of the Summer Children go missing. No one knows what happened to her, which is incredibly odd as she disappeared in the one place you can't hide secrets, La Cachette, Louisiana. La Chachette is a very small town, and is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World. 17 year old Grey spends her summers there with her Grandmother, and the other Summer Children. They're all connected in a special, magical way.

When Grey returns she's determined to find out what happened to her twin-flame, Elora. There is no sign of her and no one seems to know how she disappeared. This YA Thriller is a book you won't want to put down. It kept me guessing until the very end.

Grey learns throughout the book that the past can come crashing into the future. Grey has so many questions that need answers, will she be able to find them before she's the next to disappear? Dark and Shallow Lies is filled with suspense, a bit of magic and a dash of lust. It checks off everything you need for a good Sunday read!

Thank you to TBR and Beyond Books, NetGalley and Ginny Myers Sain for an advanced copy of this book.

Dark and Shallow Lies is one of my favorite reads of 2021. If this isn’t on your radar it really should be. It was dark, atmospheric, eerie, and full of amazing characters. This is the perfect book for fall and you can’t convince me otherwise. I can’t believe that this is a debut because from the very first page I was intrigued and couldn’t stop reading. The setting is what really had me hooked, the author wrote such vivid descriptions of La Cachette, Louisiana that it felt like I was there and could picture exactly what this town of 106 living souls looked like. A town that is forgotten about when it isn’t tourist season, a town full of secrets, a town where murders go unnoticed.

Grey, the main character spends every summer in La Cachette with her grandmother and her best friend Elora. This summer is different though, Elora has been missing for six months and no one knows what happened. She disappeared into thin air and was never seen again. La Cachette is home to a lot of psychics, but not a single one has a clue what happened to Elora. Grey is spending the summer figuring out where her best friend; her twin flame went, but it seems like everyone knows a secret or two in La Cachette and they don’t want to be uncovered. Not to mention the boy in the storm with the icy blue eyes that Grey has never seen before this summer. Does he have something to do with Elora missing?

I fell head over heels in love with Dark and Shallow lies. The small town vibes, the mysterious characters full of secrets, and the hint of something supernatural. I was guessing until the end what was going on and even when I thought I had solved the mystery, I realized I was so far off. I loved how atmospheric this entire book was, the writing was perfection and had me captivated from the start. Dark and Shallow lies is full of secrets, betrayal, and lies.

I can’t recommend this book enough!

If you’re looking for a supernatural thriller to spice up your to-be-read stacks, Ginny Myers Sain’s debut, Dark and Shallow Lies, delivers atmospheric suspense and a breathless sense of foreboding.

“The dead? They lie. Just like the rest of us.”

Set in a small, swampy island town full of psychics and buried secrets in the bayous of Louisiana, La Cachette is the ‘psychic capital of the world.’ It’s also home to Grey, who spends the school year at boarding school in Arkansas. In February, Grey’s best friend Elora went missing. Now, six months later, Grey is finally home for the summer (staying with maternal grandmother, Honey) and determined to find out what happened to her twin flame: was it boyfriend (Case), an out-of-town stranger, or a shape-shifting monster called the rougarou?

In a town full of psychics, how can no one know what happened? The answer, someone does; they’re just not telling. In La Cachette, everyone has a strong psychic ability, from hearing the voices of the dead to being in two places at once. Everyone but Elora. At least, that’s the way it used to be. Because ever since Elora’s disappearance, Grey (named by her deceased mother for the color of her aura), has been getting visions — visions of Elora in her last moments.

While Grey helps out at her grandmother’s bookstore/ psychic center (the Mystic Rose), she reconnects with what’s left of the Summer Children (ten kids born between the vernal and autumn equinox to eight different families). At least, the seven who are still alive. Elora’s presumed dead. Twins Ember and Orli were found drowned in a pond more than a decade earlier. Being one of the Summer Children is not good for your life expectancy. However, the Summer Children (of whom she’s closest to Elora’s step-brother, Hart) aren’t very forthcoming with information. In La Cachette, everyone has secrets; the boardwalk isn’t the only thing that’s slowly rotting. I had theories. I thought I had the mystery all figured out. I did not. Oh, the plot twists.

There is plenty of eerie to go around. The mysterious practically seeps through the pages of this YA mystery — and the swamps of La Cachette. A town right on the banks of the mighty Mississippi, which regularly floods and is thus entirely built on stilts. The setting, in a word, is breathtaking. And also so powerfully developed that it becomes a character of the story, presenting opposition (and danger). You don’t wander the swamps after dark. There are snakes and a place called the gator pond, with resident Willie Nelson. Plunge into the river and risk being swept away.

What’s more to love: the Cajun culture that runs through Dark and Shallow Lies, an unexpected love triangle, all the twists this young adult novel takes (truly an unexpected ending), magical realism (that gave me Raven Cycle series feels), themes of loss and grief receive some of the best exploration I’ve read in a YA novel, will probably make you cry.

Trigger warnings: physical abuse, murder, alcoholism, smoking, swearing, suicide.

4.5/5 stars

Happy Sunday y'all! To all of my friends in the US, woohoo! It's a long weekend! I'm definitely glad that I get an extra day off tomorrow because I have SO MANY books I need to read haha Speaking of books, today's my stop on the Dark and Shallow Lies tour by TBR and Beyond Tours (sponsored by Razorbill, so thank you to both TBR and Beyond and Razorbill!) and y'all, I cannot wait to share this book with you!!! Dark and Shallow Lies comes out September 7th, so y'all definitely need to go out and grab it as soon as you've read my review!
Dark and Shallow Lies 5/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads:
A teen girl disappears from her small town deep in the bayou, where magic festers beneath the surface of the swamp like water rot, in this chilling debut supernatural thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Karen McManus, and Rory Power.
La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.
This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World–and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey’s best friend, disappeared six months earlier.
Grey can’t believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something – her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.
When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou – a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town’s bloody history – Grey realizes that La Cachette’s past is far more present and dangerous than she’d ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn’t know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent–and La Cachette’s dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.
OMG. Like that's all I have to say about this book. This was such an amazing roller coaster. I was on such a journey with Grey as she tried to figure out who murdered Elora and as Grey started to embrace/come into her psychic powers. It was so intense, and honestly, for La Cachette being such a tiny town (I think they said that the population of the town was 106 at the beginning of the book), there were so many people who not only could have been Elora's killer, but also had so many things to hide. I love the idea of an island full of people with psychic gifts passed down through the generations and the Summer Children? I loved them too! They were so close and got even closer as a result of a double murder in their childhood (which was so creepy and added to the mystery of this book). Man y'all, Ginny Myers Sain is such a masterful writer and I felt like I was there during the entire book. And the way that she wove Grey's emotions in with the chaos of the weather at the end causing things to be a little bit all over the place, but in a really, really good way was so amazing. Dark and Shallow Lies is probably the best book I've read all year and honestly, I can't wait to read it again and recommend it to every single person I meet. You definitely won't regret picking it up. Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | Indigo | Indiebound
About the Author
Ginny Myers Sain is the author of DARK AND SHALLOW LIES, her debut YA novel available 8-31-21 from Razorbill/Penguin. Although she comes from a long line of writers, her first love has always been the theatre. She has a degree in theatre and has spent most of her career teaching acting and directing plays and musicals. Ginny currently live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her teenage son and a very cowardly doberman named Shipley. When she is not working in the theatre or writing, you’re likely to find her listening to true crime podcasts, taking pictures of alligators, eating tacos, or planning a trip to Walt Disney World. 
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Facebook

Deep in the bayou lies the little town of La Cachette, Louisiana. 10 babies born to 8 families during a summer of the same year. A town full of psychics and secrets.
Grey arrives back when her "twin flame" Elora went missing. She's been gone for 6 months and in this town of self proclaimed psychics, no one seems to know what happened to her.

Grey starts to slowly unravel the secrets and lies the town has buried. Those she thought she could trust, her "Summer Kids" friends may not be the ones to trust. A stranger with icy blue eyes comes to town and starts to help her uncover the mystery of Elora's disappearance.

I love the atmosphere of this book. I like Grey and her resolve to find the truth. Not only because it's her best friend, but that she's doing it when the last they saw each other...Elora pushed her away. This was fantastical at times with it's elements of magic and the supernatural.

"Dark and Shallow Lies": 4⭐

(Unpaid Review: thanks to @netgalley, @ginnymyerssain and the publishers for allowing me to read this eArc copy in exchange for a review.)

This was exactly what I needed to break me out of my slump! I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this one, it was so, so cool!

The author kept me on the edge of my toes every single time! I was so intrigued and dying to know more of this story! The characters were amazing and so much fun to accompany!

not my type of stuff sorry. it took me way too long to get into it. would probably be better for someone more into this genre

Thank you to @Netgalley for sending me an ARC of “Dark and Shallow Lies” to read and honestly review!✨

From its very first pages, I realized that “Dark and Shallow Lies” would be one of the books that I would not be able to put down until I got to the very end—as close to answers as possible! Indeed, within the first 50 pages, I was absolutely hooked by the eerie, unsettling atmosphere and the fascinatingly dark, mysterious town that the story took place in.

All of the characters carried their own dark secrets, and had unique traits and abilities that added to the enticing unraveling of the storyline. Grey, our main character, was a wonderful narrator and seeing everything through her eyes as she slowly uncovered the nature of her psychic capabilities and the terrifying past of her sketchy hometown, made the crimes surrounding La Cachette and the twisted connections between its citizens all the more chilling. The mystery is a tough one to get around, guaranteed to keep you thinking and wondering all the way to the books’s unexpected ending.

Sprinkled with a dose of the supernatural, “Dark and Shallow Lies” reminded me of Pretty Little Liars meets Stranger Things in a twisty book with a gloomy atmosphere, laced with secrets and mystery and finally, an utterly shocking conclusion. If you are looking for a delightfully dark book with magic AND mystery to make it to your fall tbr—well then, “Dark and Shallow Lies” might just be the perfect one. Truly loved (and devoured) every single page!

[4,5/⭐️]

Grey spends her summers in a town where everyone is a psychic but no one knows what happened to one of their own. Her best friend disappeared and is presumed to be dead. All Grey wants is to find out the truth but she uncovers a lot more than she bargained for.

The writing in this book is phenomenal. The visualizations of everything were amazing and made me feel like I was there. I love a good murder mystery which got even better with paranormal aspects at play. You don't know until the end if the killer is amongst them or potential a creature of nightmares, which really ratchets up the tension. The close relationships between all of the characters makes the betrayals hurt more with everyone having their own secret. Poor Grey just wanting to know what happened to her best friend but stumbling upon a lot more. For me, this was a 5/5. It really kept me guessing till the end with who the killer was.

If you like the idea of a town full of psychics, want to fall under the spell of a storm boy, or want to feel like everyone in your life has been lying to you, this is the one for you.

I received a digital copy of this book free from Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not really sure what to say about this book. It’s dark, sad, atmospheric, and gripping. In this book, we follow Grey as she spends her summer trying to find out how her best friend, Elora, disappeared. In the midst of this we also have romance, magic, psychics, and a hell of a ton of town secrets. Dark and Shallow Lies had a lot going on in only 420 pages and it was a ride.

My favorite thing about the book was the setting. I have read quite a few books set in small towns, but never in Louisiana. The swampy and damp backdrop did an amazing job of setting the spooky and mysterious tone for the story. The inclusion of Cajun/Creole culture into the story was really cool to read since I don’t know much about it at all. Genny Myers Sain did a great job with world building, and it sucked me into Grey’s world.

I also really liked some of the characters in the book. I can’t say who because that may or may not be a spoiler for the mystery aspect, but by the end of the book I definitely had a few favorite characters.

The mysterious aspect of the book was gripping. I NEEDED to know what happened to Elora, and as the secrets of the town of La Cachette slowly came to light, my curiosity only grew.

Something I didn’t love so much was the pacing and writing. I found the writing to be a bit more telling and less showing, and the writing was a bit plain at times. The pacing was inconsistent as well, with some parts of the story slowing down too much, but rushing towards the end. These critiques didn’t ruin my reading experience, but it was something I did notice. The characters and plot were so great that I was easily able to overlook it!

Dark and Shallow Lies is a perfect summer/fall spooky read that will have you keeping one eye open when you’re sleeping! If you like small town mysteries and magic, this book is for you!

"...in the end, not everything is knowable."

Dark And Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain is a surprisingly fantastic book. I was not expecting to like this much nearly as much as I did. I was completely absorbed in the lives of Grey, her friends, and family in La Cachette, Louisiana. This is the first time in awhile where I did not want to put a book down, staying up way past my bedtime. This story kept me engaged, intrigued, and guessing all the way up until the very end. It was also very omnious reading about the impending hurricane in this book while real life hurricane Ida was damaging the same exact area. I believe this is the author's debut, and I am so excited to see what she comes up with next.

Disclaimer: The quoted text is from an advanced reader copy I received from PenguinTeen and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

"Something grabs my ankle----cold, wet, fingers--and I scream and go down hard. I hit the mud like its concrete, and it forces every bit of air out of my lungs."

Dark and Shallow Lies is a story about Gray, a teenager who goes back to her hometown to find out what happened to her best friend, her Twin Flame, Elora who went missing months ago. In her search to find out the truth, deep dark secrets are revealed which will change the way she views everything she had ever known forever.

I throughly enjoyed reading Dark and Shallow Lies, it kept me hooked from start to finish, the whole time I was on the edge of my seat as truths were revealed that really brought the pieces together.

I adored Gray's development throughout the novel, as she went from someone who was naive to someone determined to find out the truth no matter how horrible the truth is.

The plot was very interesting and intriguing, which really helped me become very immersed in the story. It definitely kept me hooked from start to finish and what i loved was that the twists in the story made the plot stronger. I loved the world development of the town but I wished we got to know more about the other summer children and what their abilities were, but the abilities we did get to know about was very fascinating and i loved how they were used in the story.

I did feel at times the pacing was a bit too fast and wished it slowed down a little to expand a bit more on what was happening, especially at the end. However, I adored the language in the story, I felt like it was very immersive.

Overall, I found it a strong read which I definitely recommend if you want a good supernatural thriller! I give this story 4/5 stars!⭐⭐⭐⭐

I want to give a massive thank you to Netgalley, TBRBeyondTours and Ginny Myers Sain for giving me a copy to review as well as allowing me to take part in this fun book tour.

You can find my Instagram post here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTVfTdpLEO9/?utm_medium=copy_link

If you’ve been around my feed for any length of time at all, you’ll know that I love a YA thriller. Young adult thrillers and mysteries are my favourite because they manage to be exciting – and thrilling – but without the so much of the intensity, and often violence, of adult thrillers. I’m fine with murder mysteries; it’s sexual violence that makes me uncomfortable. And it’s probably a good thing I’m fine with murder mysteries, otherwise I would have missed out on this gem of a book.

How do you keep a secret in a town full of psychics? Author Ginny Myers Sain said this was her main starting point with writing this book, and what a powerful book it has led to. All of the characters we meet and interact with have different spirtual skills, from psychic drawing – being able to sketch a person, place, or item that is important – to being able to be in two locations at once, the skills mix from those we hear about as ‘normal’ to those more powerful and extreme… like being able to start a fire with your mind.

Grey starts having flashes of visions, and, having previously always been the only non-psychic, she has no idea what to do with them at first. They continue the longer she stays, and become more powerful, more vivid, and more scary. All the while, she’s juggling the dynamics that are shifting beneath her like sand, and then a new stranger arrives on the scene.

This is one of those books that will get right under your skin, and make you question everything you think is real, and everything you wonder could be. It’s about searching for answers while looking for yourself, about questioning everything you’ve ever believed about the people around you – and about yourself. It’s about solving a mystery within a mystery within a mystery. Sheer brilliance, I can’t wait to see what Myers Sain writes next, because her skill with words is one you don’t want to miss out on.