I really enjoyed this book so much! I could not put it down and read it in one sitting!! I would definitely recommend this book to all my family and friends!

almost 3 stars. I think I said in my review of Missing Clarissa that the series has A Good Girls Guide to Murder vibes, and I definitely think that's still true with The Other Lola as well. Part of this story is about dealing with the repercussions from book 1 (so I would recommend reading Missing Clarissa first), with both girls essentially vowing to end their "careers" as amateur sleuths. But of course, if that was truly the case, we wouldn't have book 2. It's important to remember that these books are truly YA, which means that the characters are meant to act like teenagers. I think sometimes I forget that when I'm reading YA, but teenagers are irrational and emotional and confused and dramatic, and that is definitely Cam and Blair. I appreciated their friendship, but I felt at times that the mystery took a back seat to the teenage drama. And let's face it... I read this book first and foremost for the mystery. I also felt a little unsatisfied with how things ended. This felt a little slow and a lot predictable, so ultimately, enjoyed book 1 more. That said, I would definitely read more books featuring Cam and Blair (especially since I really did enjoy book 1) and I'd be curious to see them solve more mysteries. Thank you so much to Jones, Wednesday, and Netgalley for the ARC (and gifted copies) in exchange for honest reviews.

This young adult novel is the second in a series and is a little different than the first one. The first one introduced us to Cam and Blair and was a good mystery with teen amateur sleuths. This novel is more about characters than an actual murder mystery. In a sense, it was a sort of coming of age story with Blair especially struggling with navigating her future. There is also Cam struggling in her relationship with her love, Sophia, now across country at university. And then there is Mattie, a non-gender teen.

I am not into personal teen development as much as a well defined mystery so I found myself skimming a bit. I did appreciate the twists giving revelation as the plot came near the end. The resolution was a bit of a surprise and perhaps out of sync with the rest of the plot. This is a novel for teens interested in relationships more than young people solving a murder mystery. It would be of particular interest to teens concerned with gender issues.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

"Nobody in this world can keep a secret, if the right person knows how to look."

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Missing Clarissa, so I was excited about this one. The first one centered on a podcast but this one is more about the fallout from the podcast in the first book. It's more angsty teenage drama in the first half of the book. This was a much slower burn than the last book and we don't get much movement until the last 25% or so of the book, which I found frustrating. There weren't a lot of clues to follow, so we got more of a character-driven book overall. The conclusion of the story was sad, but it was satisfying. I like the characters and their dynamics a lot, so I will certainly be picking up any future books in this series.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

After reading Missing Clarissa, then seeing this I knew I had to read it.

I love a nice thriller book, the twist and turns the guessing then changing your mind and so on and Ripley does a good job of all those things.

This book happens after Missing Clarissa but it also felt like a little bit of it's own book as well. You see more growth in the characters we saw in the last book as well as meeting some new ones.

Ripley also writes such diverse and unique characters that you just want to know more about.

I can't wait to see what comes out next.

I enjoyed reading this for the exploration of Blair and Cam's interpersonal relationships and self-exploration, but I was disappointed in this sequel. The actual mystery isn't fleshed out, and the revelation feels half-hearted and rushed. There are also a few aspects that don't make sense; it seems like Ripley Jones just threw them in there without storyboarding or planning.

I'd still recommend this for a quick read and continuation of Blair and Cam's stories, but the first book is much better.

Cam and Blair love to solve mysteries together. They recently solved one, and was catapulted to instant fame! Mattie has heard about this dynamic duo and asks them to solve her sister's disappearance. Lola suddenly shows up after years. Mattie questions this "sister". Everyone thinks it truly is her, but she doesn't think so.

I loved this book! 5 stars!!!

Many thanks to Net Galley for an honest review.

This ya mystery thriller follows Cam and Blair after their cold case podcast went viral. With a reputation for investigating, Mattie reaches out to the duo for help. Mattie’s sister Lola went missing years ago but she has shown back up mysteriously saying she was kidnapped. Mattie doesn’t believe that there sister is who she says she is. Mattie is convinced that Lola is here for other reasons and is determined to find her. Cam and Blair unsure of what to think try to help Mattie out in the investigation.

This was an entertaining story as far as the thriller goes but felt like I was missing something. This may have to do with the fact I hadn’t read Missing Clarissa this one wasn’t listed as a sequel on Goodreads so didn’t realize the first book would be referenced so much. I was still able to follow but there was a lot of referring to the other book by this author. I feel like this also left be at a disadvantage when it came to the characters as it felt like they were more developed in the authors previous book. The writing was fast paced entertaining and I would be interested in reading more from this author but I would pick up Missing Clarissa first. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for a honest review.

I loved Missing Clarissa, so I was really excited to see Cam and Blair again and continue watching them grow up. We also get a whole new friend in this novel, Mattie, who is just as tough and smart and lovable as our original heroines.

“Nobody in this world can keep a secret, if the right person knows to look.”

Mattie’s sister Lola went missing one night, and stayed missing for four years. And then one day she reappeared. Mattie’s mom andLola’s twin brother have accepted that’s this girl is Lola, but Mattie has not. Mattie thinks the girl is an imposter, and she wants help from Cam and Blair to find out what really happened to her sister.

This book felt less about the mystery, and more about the relationships and that was ok, I was here for it. The storyline was so unique and engaging that I was dying to find out what happened and if Lola was actually Lola, or someone else. And the ending was impressive.

I hope this isn’t the last time I get to meet up with Cam and Blair and Mattie because I am now thoroughly invested and I know they must have more adventures heading their way.

Another thing that would be super cool was if Cam and Blair went on a road trip to meet up with Iris and Ogilvie from The Agathas because I feel like they could girl detective the shit out of some cold cases .

The follow up to Missing Clarissa, a YA thriller.
🎙️
Can and Blair broke their small hometown’s legendary murder mystery a few months ago and now things are different for both girls. Blair has an offer to write a book if she can just get Cam on board with doing another podcast investigation. Cam is adamantly against, as she’s been suffering from PTSD ever since their brush with death. But when Mattie knocks on their door asking for help, the girls can’t refuse. Mattie’s sister, Lola, went missing five years ago and was never heard from since. Only now Lola’s back and Mattie is convinced their sister isn’t who she says she is. As the girls get deeper into this case, they learn that the stakes are even higher than before.
🎧
Fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and The Agathas will enjoy this follow up to one of my favorite YA thriller books that I’d read in a while. For me this one lacked a little something that the first novel had. It’s always hard when writing sequels to murder mystery books when everything is wrapped up in book 1. Still, a solid title in the genre.

CW: drug use, death, catfishing, child abuse, homophobia, adult/minor relationship (mentioned), panic attack, PTSD, transphobia, religious bigotry, bullying, alcohol

3 ⭐️

This was such a good story! I didn't realize it was a follow up story until I was a chapter or two into it. I loved the way the story unfolded and how we got to the heart of the mystery in the end. So clever.

Missing Clarissa was a great book so I had high expectation. Those expectations were met and exceeded my wildest dreams! This thriller was FANTASTIC! My love for Ripley Jones cannot be understated!

While I really flew through Missing Clarissa, this one just sort of missed the mark for me a bit. I liked how we pretty much picked right up from the last book and got into a new "case" if you will. I found the mystery to not be really that truly mysterious, however, and then it just turned sad. The story was truly a very slowwww burn. I thought that the inclusion of characters we met in the first book to be fun, and appreciated the new characters, it was just a bit much to keep track of everybody at time. I also found this edition to be a bit more slow than Missing Clarissa. Truly, Brad is the underrated star for me. I love his relationship with Cam and Irene. While I did enjoy it, I just think it had much more potential and fell a bit flat for me. I do think that if there are book in this series in the future I will still read them, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

Student written review

Blair and Cam work on another case after promising they would never return. Mattie's older sister Lola goes missing, and when she returns, Mattie doesn't believe it's her. The Other Lola, despite being a realistic book about two best friends and their lives was underwhelming.

Blair and Cameron are back! They are one year older and one year ... wiser?

Cam is still traumatised from last years adventure. She is having nightmares that wake her up screaming, and panic attacks seem to happen out of the blue, but the humiliation of talking about her feelings is still something she is trying to figure out how to deal with. Sophie is across the country at college and Cam can't help but feel like things are changing.

Blair has realised that she wants to be in the spotlight again, that she did a good job last year and when the offer to write a book comes along, it almost feels too good to be true. But does finding her next story mean she will do whatever it takes, even if that means ignoring the human aspect?

I really enjoyed being back with our ladies. They are still the funny quirky girls we love and this year they have almost swapped roles. Blair is the one leading the charge and Cam is holding back and afraid of repeating her previous mistakes. We are introduced to a new character, Mattie, and they help the girls learn more about good stories to tell and stories that aren't ours to tell. Mattie is such a cool person who will not take no for an answer and might even manipulate people to get what they want.

I love Ripley Jones' writing style and hope I get to read more in the future!

I loved Missing Clarissa so I jumped on this. And then I didn’t like it :(

It felt like it was a continuation of Missing Clarissa and I didn’t remember all of the details or who people were. I felt like this dragged on and just didn’t have much of a payoff.

I wanted to like this one as much as I adored Missing Clarissa but it wasn’t it for me! I think I was confused for a while maybe because it’s been a year since Missing Clarissa but I also just thought the plot was a bit weird. I love clues and suspects and high school small town murders and true crime podcasts and everything so I loved Missing Clarissa but I just don’t buy someone coming back to their family and people not knowing whether it was their daughter who went missing or not.

This one was great! We're back with Cam and Blair. They are not a bit older and have a bit of PTSD after their last case. Both of them are still sorting through what happened in book 1 and how it's changed their lives.

Cam is still herself, just a bit more reserved. She is learning to look at big-picture a bit, instead of just rushing in. She's thinking through consequences and what she wants from her life. No more Podcasts for her! And Blair is looking at everyone else planning for expensive colleges trying to figure out what her next step is, since she doesn't have the money for college. Neither one of them see it coming what another girl in this small town comes to them with an accusation - my missing sister just came back. But this person who came back, she's not really my sister.

It's explosive. Cam and Blair start out with secrets and the beginning is a bit of a slow burn. It does speed up, as the mystery unfolds. Even though I guessed this one right from the start, I really liked exploring the aftermath of a true crime podcast getting a huge following and what that did to their lives. I also liked that they still had to juggle real life in between, as well as their personal relationships. Cam and Blair also had some unresolved issues and I loved seeing them grow as they sorted it all out.

All in all, this was a good mystery but, really, it was another visit with 2 characters I love, doing the thing that I loved for them the most - helping someone else sort a mystery in their life. I don't know if we'll get another one, this one felt like a bit of a goodbye, but if we do get another book, I'd absolutely be first in line to read it. I love this set of characters and this world the author has created. I highly recommend starting with Book 1 if you haven't (Missing Clarissa) and then moving right on to this one!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I just finished The Other Lola by Ripley Jones and here is my review.

When Mattie shows up asking Cam and Blair for their help… They don’t want a repeat of what happened after their podcast of Clarissa. Cam can’t believe it when Blair hears them out. Mattie explains that her sister went missing 5 years ago without a trace but then shows up out of nowhere 2 weeks ago but Mattie is certain it isn’t really her.

After meeting Lola, Blair and Cam both think Mattie is mistaken but Blair can’t help wondering where Lola was all this time and why she’s come back now. Cam wants nothing to do with this, putting the two girls at odds with each other for the first time and the list of secrets between them growing.

I loved Missing Clarissa. I was so excited to get this book and catch up with Blair and Cam. The two girls were still dealing with the fall out from their podcast about Clarissa and the PTSD that Cam is hiding from Blair.

The idea that Mattie didn’t believe Lola was her missing sister was amazing. Everyone else was convinced but Mattie wasn’t having it. The more Blair found out about Lola, the more she found a young girl who was desperately unhappy. She was on hard drugs before she went missing so Mattie not feeling connected with this sober Lola seemed logical but Blair needed to find out why Lola was missing for so long, where she was and why she had come back. I needed to know all these things too.

I loved all the characters but Cam’s mom Irene is my favorite. The plot was exactly what I needed and I loved how it all wrapped up! You really don’t need to have read the first book to read this book but it is so worth reading them both back to back. This is my kind of YA book.

5 stars! I cannot recommend this book more!! Thank you @wednesdaybooks and @netgalley for my gifted copy!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was absolutely sucked in to Ripley Jones' Missing Clarissa last year and highly recommend it. The Other Lola is a follow-up to that book, focusing again on Cam and Blair, who get involved in solving a mystery.

Sadly, I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as I enjoyed Missing Clarissa. First off, it's a slow read; it took me a week to get through this book, when normally YA books or thrillers tend to have me breezing through them. The story is slow to unfold and slow to progress; I really didn't feel like Cam and Blair were doing any investigating until halfway through the book. Second, you really need to read Missing Clarissa to get the backstory on Cam and Blair because their characters are not fully fleshed out in this volume. Third, the resolution and solution to the mystery was a bit predictable. Maybe it's because I've read a lot of mysteries, maybe because the book is geared towards a younger crowd, but you'd have to be pretty clueless to not guess how this book ends.

One shining spot in the book is Mattie, the non-binary teen who asks Cam and Blair for help. They reminded me so much of my youngest child, sure of themselves, yet trying to fly under the radar in a small town until they can get the heck out of there. I did find it a bit unrealistic that everyone who encounters Mattie uses the correct pronouns, because that has not been our child's experience, but yay for representation!