This is definitely a suspenseful read. Immediately I was sucked into the story. Two girls both in college from very different backgrounds. Sara is a law student struggling and working two jobs. At the end of her bartending shift there’s a girl passed out in the ladies room. The girls quickly bond over their shared name. Rideshares are called. And a Sara ends up dead.

Are You Sara? draws you into the twists quickly. A female bartender tries to help out a young female patron at the end of the night and ends up in the middle of a psychological mystery. I really liked the beginning of the book and how I was immediately sucked into the story. I just felt like the story kind of slowed down and started dragging through the middle. I know the author wants to plant clues and give background but it just seemed like some of it was unnecessary to where the story went. Overall, it was interesting and kept me pretty engaged but I felt like some parts could have been cut out.

Saraswati “Sara” Bhaduri and Sarah Ellis meet at the end of the night at a bar, share a joint and hang out and mistakenly take each other’s ride home. Sarah ends up dead but Sara can’t be sure if the ride was for her and if she was supposed to be the victim instead. So begins the timelines to figure out exactly what happened.

Sara is a Bengali woman in law school. She is constantly and consistently aware of how much harder she has it in law school and in life just because she is an Indian woman. Most of her life is dedicated toward working crazy hours just to make ends meet - all while trying to keep up in law school. She is book smart and emotionally intelligent and that emotional intelligence comes into play a lot through her story.

Sarah Ellis is a 20 year old that comes from a rich family and isn’t sure what she wants to do in life.

Both their stories are told in alternating timelines and both women aren’t exactly how they are portrayed in the public part of their lives. They also aren’t the most likable characters.

The end with the murderer was a slight surprise and that was enough to get me to the end of the book. The ending was a different ending than I thought it would go.

The premise of the story is better than the execution. I really wanted to like Saraswati more but I appreciated how she was written if only because it shows how men that are portrayed the same way are considered “powerful” and “strong” and women are not usually considered similar.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this eARC. This book is available now.

They share a name. They were both at the bar. And they took each other's rideshare by accident.
When Sara finds her way home after ending up at Sarah's destination - she is shocked to find a police officer standing over Sarah's dead body. Which Sara(h) was the real target? Both have secrets. If the murderer was looking for Sara - can she help the police solve the case before she becomes the next victim?

Both women are strong and complicated characters who aren't what they seem on the outside. I enjoyed getting to know each character beyond what the outside world sees and seeing them thwart the expectations that others have for them.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

After closing, a bartender meets a very drunk college girl when the bar owner tells the bartender to deal with the woman passed out on the floor of the ladies room. They discover both of their names are Sara/h (one with an H, one without) and walk out together. Outside, they each order a ride, get high together while they wait, then accidentally get into the wrong rides.

One is well off, the other the child of immigrants struggling to make ends meet and live up to their parents expectations. One doesn’t survive the night. But which one was the killer really after?

Told from both POVs, the deceased detailing events leading up to that night, while the other speaks of what has happened since, along with a little of their own backstory. This is really well told, and kept me guessing throughout, yet still had an unexpected ending.

William Morrow & Company via NetGalley kindly provided me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Very good thriller. Good story line - surprise ending.

Two college students in the same small town meet in a strange way and one of them dies. Was it just a coincidence or did the wrong girl die?

Well written, fast read - a definite page turner.

Loved the concept for this book from the summary, and it met my expectations. Definitely held my attention, and was a fairly fast read. Won’t be the last book I pick up from this author - Enjoyable read!

Sara is a pretty common name so when an employee Sara helps a customer Sara both call for rides at the same time, neither one thinks too much about getting in the car. When employee Sara is dropped off she realizes she took customer Sara’s ride and vice versa. She heads home to find police and customer Sara dead. Was the right Sara killed?

This is a book the kept me guessing and surprised me at the end. It was told with multiple timelines which I love. In the book however I had a harder time keep the characters straight with the same name and different timelines. Overall excellent book!

t’s an epic day for bibliophiles! Not only is it Tuesday, the day when new releases show up on shelves everywhere, but it’s also National Book Lovers Day! 📚 🎉 📚

How will you celebrate? I’m going to find a quiet reading spot with my current read and take an extra few minutes just for me.

If you’re still looking for the perfect new release, let me recommend S.C. Lalli’s Are You Sara? Anyone who is a frequent Uber user will probably be doing some double-checking after reading this twisty gem of a debut. I found it to be a fresh take on the mistaken identity trope, and there’s lots of twists along the way to keep it interesting.

Thanks for the opportunity to review!
Link to 8/9/2022 Instagram post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/ChCpAYAL-0x/

A thrilling case of mistaken identity. This was a whodunnit mixed with who is she and the bigger question of “what is going on?!” Awesome book by S.C. Lalli

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"Do you ever wish you could be somebody else?" I hear her ask. I look up and find her gazing down the street.
"Yes," I say. "All the time."
"Who would you be?"

Sarah Ellis and Saraswati "Sara" Bhaduri meet one random night at the bar Sara is working at. They both order a rideshare home, however they both get in the wrong car. Sara has to walk back home after being dropped at the wrong location, where she finds the other Sarah--Sarah Ellis is found dead.
This was an intricate and suspenseful thriller! There were many subplots, but this book really grabbed and kept my attention the whole way through. This is my first book by S.C. Lalli, and I was impressed! I was trying to piece everything together as I was reading since the chapters went between Sara present day POV and Sarah's POV from the past. Loved the ending! So glad I took a chance on reading this one!

This book started out extremely strong and had such a promising concept. As the story evolved and developed, I started to lose interest. I feel like there were too many things going on and it was overly messy. I was hoping there would be a shocking twist to bring me back in but there wasn’t. It was pretty obvious and lackluster. I found myself getting really bored during the last 20% and the climax in the book was so underwhelming. Unfortunately this story wasn’t for me.

OK so not gonna lie. I loved this one all the way up until 90% and then it started falling flat.⁣
⁣
Saraswati Bhaduri is a law student working two jobs. One night at her bartending gig, she helps a drunk woman, also named Sarah, get cleaned up and the two become quick friends. By the end of the night, they order rideshares but Sara ends up waking up in an unfamiliar part of town. On the other side of town, Sarah stumbles out at Saraswati's house and ends up murdered. Who was the target? Who killed Sarah?⁣
⁣
This book was pretty fast paced and held my attention until 90% through and the end was a S L O G. I feel like there was so much thrown at the reader in the last 10% that I just got bored. And honestly Sara was just...not a likable character by the end. I feel like Sara had 0 growth. ⁣
⁣
Overall though, this was a quick read that kept me interested (and tbh guessing until that last 10%).⁣
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ARE YOU SARA? releases Aug. 9.⁣
⁣
Thanks to the publisher and Scene of the Crime on Facebook for my advance e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Two women named Sara/Sarah get into a Ride after leaving the bar one night. One of them does not make it home alive. The story line really intrigued me and I had really high hopes for this book. I was a little bit underwhelmed when I finished as I was hoping for something more from the stories of Sarah Ellis and Saraswati Bhaduri. The dual timelines felt a little disjointed at times. A few sections seemed highly unbelievable but they did still keep me reading until the very end to find out what really happened that night and what led up to it. I should have seen the ending coming and yet, i did not, so that earned this book more stars from me.

Thank you to Netgalley, William Morrow and Scene of the Crime Reads for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

I liked the premise of this book: two women named Sara/Sarah each take a ride share, but get into the wrong car. One of them winds up dead. It starts off strong, but then it just goes downhill from there. You have a POV from each Sara/Sarah. The Sarah character made this book feel YA, which I did not enjoy. But, the ending was what really made this a 2 star book. It was just was not credible to me for the main character based on everything we had learned about her over the course of the book, and that really frustrated me. I also need to rant about the use of booze, drugs, and lack of sleep as plot devices. I feel like I have read so many books with these elements this year and it’s really getting old. I was surprised by the whodunit, so that was a plus. I actually had a totally different character pegged as the perp. It would have been interesting if it went that way, but perhaps less surprising. Overall, this was a quick read, but not very satisfying.

I was not feeling this book. It began promising, but quickly my interest dwindled. I finished it but I had to really stay on the path of reading.
I just did not connect with the plot, characters, or themes.
It was not to be for me.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Are You Sara? represents a genre shift for Sonya (S.C.) Lalli from women’s fiction to thriller, and as it’s well-executed. In fact, having had mixed feelings about Lalli’s women’s fiction, I prefer her thriller writing voice so far.
The premise is immediately eye-catching: did mistaken identity lead to the wrong Sara(h) getting murdered? Of course it’s not that simple, but given the intimacy of ridesharing apps and the fact that cases where they have led to murder aren’t unheard of, it presents a compelling start for a mystery.
As the story unfolds, it touches on important issues, like classism, racism, and sexism (especially as it influences expectations on the dating and party scene). There are some major revelations along the way, along with some red herrings, that kept me on my toes.
Sara is a compelling protagonist. She’s trying to get by, while aspiring to better herself, as she’s working at a bar (one of two jobs) at the beginning to get herself through law school. Ultimately she does get more opportunities during the course of the book, and it’s wonderful to see her thrive against the odds.
The victim, Sarah, also gets to speak her piece, contrasting many of the voices speaking about her, that she was buying drugs, or “asking for it.” Sarah comes to life in the journal entries from the past couple years prior to her death, and she’s a delightfully complex, multilayered person, who did not deserve her fate. I’m glad the book did not reduce her to a dead body solely for the sake of furthering the mystery plot.
There were a few characters and a couple plot threads that I felt could have been cut or clarified/expanded on, as they confused me a bit or detracted from the general plot. But overall, the story was compelling and moved at a consistently brisk pace.
I really enjoyed this, and would recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers.

An interesting premise, two people each getting in the wrong Uber, particularly when the other person winds up dead! Didn't figure out the ending and was even more surprised at how the last pages unfold. Nice to see an Indian main character with some glimpses into the culture.

wisty dark thriller. You think you know the characters, but then you get to Part 2. I love complex characters, and Sara is exactly that. A thriller about ambition, wealth, and dangerous desire, this was an entertaining read.

"Two women named Sara each get into a rideshare. . . but only one makes it home alive. Which Sara was the real target?

Law student Saraswati “Sara” Bhaduri holds down two jobs in order to make her way through school, but it’s still a struggle. She’s had to do things to pay the bills that most people wouldn’t expect from “a nice Indian girl.” It seems like an ordinary busy Tuesday night at the local dive bar until her boss demands Sara deal with a drunk girl in the bathroom.

The two become fast friends. Why? Because they both have the same name. And despite their different circumstances, the two connect. When they both order rideshares home, they tumble in the back of the cars and head out into the night.

But when Sara awakes in her rideshare, she finds she's on the wrong side of town—the rich side—and she realizes: she and Sarah took the wrong cars home.

With no money, Sara walks back to her apartment on the shady side of town only to discover police lights flashing and a body crumpled on her doorstep: Sarah.

Was Sarah Ellis or Sara Bhaduri the target? And why would anyone want either of them dead?"

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

A good structure and it is very nice to see that many characters that i read right now are diverse.
It was a fun read but not really a favorite.