Was very excited to read this book, had heard good things. Was definitely a fun read, would recommend to someone looking for an escape.

Are You Sara? definitely keeps you guessing throughout as you try to determine which Sara was targeted. Both Saras were relatable and likable characters. The book just didn’t pull me in and make me want to see it through.

Saraswati “Sara” is a law student who is in her final year of law school. One night while working at the local bar Gavin’s, she finds a woman passed out in the bathroom whose clearly had to much to drink, Sara helps the girl outside and finds out her name is Sarah as well. As they wait outside for their respective Ubers the two Sara’s strike up a conversation. Once the Ubers show up the each go their separate ways, and not until Sara is let out in a neighborhood that is not hers, does she realize what may have happened. Sara realizes they each got into the wrong Uber. Sara begins the walk home, and after coming upon her house, she sees a string of police cars. Sara runs to the front of her house, and sees Sarah dead at her doorstep. Sara has a lot of secrets, and she wonders if she was the actual intended target. As Sara tries to keep her secrets, and solve Sarah’s murder at the same time she finds herself falling behind in school, and digging a deeper web of deception around her life.

The suspense of the who done it was interesting, but the main character Sara was a bit annoying, and honestly the other Sarah was just as bad in flashbacks. Sara made so many mistakes that it is hard to believe she was a law student in their final year. The things this character did make it hard to believe she was a law student at all.. I think there needed to be more accuracy with the knowledge a law student would have.
As a Black woman I also didn’t care for the Black female professor. Black people are not a monolith, but there are cultural things that another Black person just knows someone wouldn’t do. For one Black people (especially women) don’t use the term “C U Next Tuesday”, we just don’t refer to the female anatomy with that word. Most Black women would not allow their child to be as disrespectful as this one was, Black parents are known for discipline and definitely when it comes to adults. There’s no way a Black woman would allow a young college girl to walk home at night alone and especially after a murder in their area. In addition a Black woman definitely wouldn’t cook food in front of someone and not offer them a plate. I honestly feel like this was originally a white character and trying to be inclusive the author was told to make the character Black or the author did it to make her book seem diverse but it makes me question how many Black women she really knows. I’m all for diversity in books, but it needs to be authentic. I don’t want a Black character just for the sake of having a diverse book and the person writing really doesn’t understand the culture. If you’re not a Black person and are going to write a character either get a Black person to help you (proofread) or just don’t do it. It’s actually more offensive to have a character that is not authentic than it is to just not have a BIPOC character at all.

Thank you Scene of the Crime and William Morrow Books for this ARC

I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller. Lots of layers to this one. Mistaken identity? Maybe, but Sara Bhaduri is an excellent character and I really enjoyed her arc. I look forward to more by this author.

Are You Sara starts out with a bang! I loved the pacing and it was a quick read. Highly recommend adding to your TBR.

Sarah Ellis is found passed out in the bathroom of a local dive bar thats near her University, when bartender Saraswati “Sara” Bhaduri is sent into the bathroom by the owner to “deal with” her. Sara helps Sarah out the back door of the bar where both of their Ubers are waiting. Both named Sara and Sarah they don’t think twice and get into their separate cars. When Saraswati wakes up in the backseat of her uber and it has reached the destination, this is when she realizes she had gotten into the wrong Uber , because looking around she knows she doesn’t live in the wealthy neighborhood where the car has stopped. Broke and not able to afford another car back to her own apartment she walks home, shes horrified to see police lights and the crumpled, murdered body of the other Sarah laying on her front step. The police immediately assume the other Sarah was in the rougher neighborhood instead of affluent one, because she was trying to buy drugs she was known as partier and a bit wild. Saraswati “Sara” knows not all as it seems, and begins to wonder if she was supposed to be the victim they had gotten in the wrong cars and she was found dead on her steps, The storyline is told from alternating timelines-the first is the POV of the surviving Sara as she investigates the crime, we soon realize things she did some shady things to gain money for tuition for law school, and the second POV is the backstory of the victim Sarah which begins three years ago until the fateful night of the Murder. The story will keep you guessing!

Excellent thriller involving dual timelines. I loved it! I read it basically all in one sitting, I didn't want to put my Kindle down. Don't start this one before bed.

Such a fascinating concept that executed so well. Also using this as a place to show my support for the Harper Collins union. Thank you to Harper for the gifted ARC my honest review.

Working at a bar, UK law student Sara Bhaduris takes a ride share home with a very drunk Sarah Ellis. Each gets off at the other's stop and Sarah is murdered - but who was the target?

Readers gradually learn of a dark secret in Sara's past. Fortunately she is very smart and very tough when she needs to be. She sorts her own problem and finds out who killed Sarah and why.

This is an absorbing read, with a final, powerful twist in the ending.

This was quite a really dark read and I was surprised at where the story went. I wasn't a huge fan of Sara, but I did enjoy watching her try to figure out if she had been the target of the murder, and the twists were great. This book would make a perfect book club read.

I did this one on audio, I planned to read it, but the audio was fairly short so I ended up listening to the whole thing. This was different than I had first expected. I thought this was gonna be a thriller centered on being trapped by an Uber driver, but instead it was more an alternating timeline/POV mystery.

For the audio version, there are two main narrators. They sounded different enough that it was easy to keep them apart. I got a little lost in the story, I felt like there was a lot of layers/details to the story. For the most part though I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to @harperaudio @williammorrowbooks for my copies!

Unfortunately, I have been locked out of my netgalley account for a few months and was not able to see which books I had on my list or even know to check if they downloaded properly, in order to properly read and review. I do apologize and am doing a 3 for neutral. Will update once I’m able to obtain a copy and read!

Are You Sara? is a story about two women named Sara/h whose lives become tragically intertwined after a chance meeting. Sara (Saraswati) Bhaduri is working at a bar at closing time when her manager orders her to check on a girl, Sarah Ellis, who has passed out in a drunken stupor in the rest room. The two Saras hit it off, get a little high, and talk a bit before they both call rideshares to take them to their respective homes. Sara B. falls asleep on her ride home, and when she wakes she realizes she is in the wrong neighborhood. She must have gotten in the wrong rideshare. When she makes it back to her own apartment, she discovers it lit up by police and Sarah E. dead on her doorstep. So is it a case of mistaken identity or was Sarah E. the intended victim? They both have some shady back stories so it could go either way.

The story is told from alternating timelines that fill the reader in on the two girls’ personalities. It’s well written, but it reminded me of something that would be made into a Lifetime movie. It’s a bit YA. The author though does a good job of keeping you guessing which Sara was the intended target that kept me turning pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for providing me an eGalley.

Are You Sara? explores social class, mistaken identity, expectations, and revenge. I liked the premise of this book. Oddly enough, I liked the unlikable characters. Sara “Saraswarti”’s perspective is dangerous and the choices she makes make the reader want to shake her. Sarah Ellis’s perspective surprised me on how YA her side is leading up to her murder (not a spoiler since it literally says in the summary). I kept switching from the physical book and the audiobook. The only thing that annoyed me with the audiobook narrator was that she was mispronouncing some of the Indian names which drove me nuts. Overall, I’d rate this 3.5 but rounded up to 4 stars on GoodReads. I’d recommend picking this one up!

A fast paced read that preyed on a lot of my biggest fears! Two women get in rideshares, but one gets killed and it looks like it was not by accident. There were some fun reveals-and some plot twists I saw coming- but overall entertaining and I would try this author again.

Thanks to Scene of the Crime for an advanced copy of Are you Sara? This book started out very intriguing for me but as it went on it started to fizzle out and I kind of lost interest in it. I appreciate the copy to read and i would for sure pick up something else from this author in the future.

Are You Sara?

I am going to start out with a PSA...

You need to read this book slowly. This is not the kind of book you can rush through or not pay attention or you will miss something.

S.C. Lilli has put together a very intricate and detailed storyline that will have you thinking the entire time.

The plot is told from dual points of view as well as dual time lines, flashing from past to present. There is no way you will be able to figure out if it was an intentional murder or a case of mistaken identity. The twist was one I did not see coming and I am usually pretty good at figuring things out around the midpoint. I enjoyed the sense of mystery and following along with Sara and her amateur detective skills.

All in all this is a nail biting thriller that will have you thinking about what actually happened long after concluding. I am interested to see what S.C. Lalli comes out with in the future and would recommend Are You Sara to anyone who enjoys a thrilling murder mystery.

3.5/5

Are You Sara? by S.C. Lalli had a very strong start, and overall, it was a book I was really into. I loved that it began with murder because frankly, those are my favorite types of books, and I really enjoyed the switches between Saraswati “Sara” Bhaduri and Sarah Ellis' viewpoints. The characters aren't likable, but that didn't stop me from finishing the book in one sitting. I loved the way Lalli's writing pulled the reader in, and I was anxious to learn which Sara(h) had been the real target of the murder. I think the biggest thing that really deterred me from loving the book was Sara and how one minute she was making incredibly stupid decisions, and the next she was trying to be some sort of hero.

This was actually a really dark read at its core, and I ended up being quite surprised at where the story went. One especially great thing about Are You Sara? was the audiobook which is narrated by Shiromi Arserio & Kristen Sieh. I thought they did an excellent job with their respective characters and really got across both of their personalities. Even though I wasn't a huge fan of Sara, I did enjoy watching her try to figure out if she had been the target of the murder, and the twists were great if not a little sad as well. It also helped that this was a true thriller unlike the last couple of books I have read recently and there was plenty going on to keep me interested. This is also a great book to use as a discussion read for a book club and believe me when I say it will give you plenty to talk about!

Thank you to the publishers for my complimentary listening and reader copies of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I liked this one! I wasn’t as invested in the characters, but still really enjoyed it! I enjoyed the twists and turns too!

Sara works in a bar, one night Sarah if found passed out in the bathroom. Sara wakes her and gets her outside. They hit it off. They both call for a ride share but as luck would have it, they end up in the others ride. In the morning Sarah is found dead on the doorstep of Sara's apartment. It was an interesting read and little slow at times, but I found it interesting enough to keep reading. The story alternates between the current time and the history of both girls.