An incredibly readable and well paced YA mystery. There are a lot of excellent topics in this one around gender, true crime as an obsession, trauma, family, and more- and I'd love to see more from these characters.

I wanted to read a mystery, not constant political and social shaming. This is not the proper platform for pushing agendas. It's never long after they get back to learning more about Lola that something compels the lead characters to go off on another "woke" tangent. I couldn't enjoy the story at all because of this.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an electronic advanced readers copy of this novel.

Recovering after the trauma and notoriety of uncovering the mystery of the local missing girl (detailed in Ripley Jones' Missing Clarissa), Cam and Blair are trying to just have a normal senior year in high school. But Cam is having nightmares about what happened to her, and Blair is unsettled about her future. Enter Mattie, a 14 year old student who approaches the friends about looking into her sister's disappearance (and re-appearance years later). Even though her family accepts Lola as the lost girl coming home, Mattie is suspicious and adamant that she isn't her sister. Blair is eager to investigate, as she's been approached by a New York publisher who is interested in a book proposal. Cam is more reluctant as she doesn't want to get pulled into another dangerous situation, but she is determined to support Blair.

The Other Lola is a well-written and entertaining sequel to Missing Clarissa, which I also enjoyed. It was nice to revisit this world and find out what the girls were up to after solving the Clarissa mystery. It's fun, yet emotional and serious, all at the same time. I liked that the girls had grown up a little from the last book yet are still trying to figure out their place in the world as they turn into adults. I hope that Ripley decides to continue their story!

I loved Missing Clarissa.

With that said I wanted to LOVE this book. I liked it but not nearly as much as the first book.

Cam and Blair were NOT the same Cam and Blair from Missing Clarissa. There was so much self doubt and hiding from one another. They were not in sync like before. I wanted book 1 and their experiences to bring them together not be the cause of their divide. I know in real life this happen and it just is but I just hated this for them.

Why is Luke so likable?? I did not want this story line for him.

Also what? Rich families. The worst.

This one though was okay just not what I was expecting. and slow.

It took me so long to read this book. I did enjoy it for the most part while I was reading it, but I just never felt pulled to pick it back up every time I put it down. I think it's because there's weren't enough hints along the way for the mystery. I didn't feel like I was solving it and figuring out the clues, it was just a big giant "who knows?" I had no idea what was actually going on and so it wasn't until the very end when finally things got revealed that the story got very interesting for me. I did love all the characters and I really appreciate the critique of true crime and thrillers in general consistent throughout, as well as the realistic portrayal of the trauma and terrible consequences that come from that kind of stuff happening to you in real life. So I liked it overall, but the pacing was really slow for me.

Ripley James brings back two characters that I fell in love with, Cam and Blair, in the first book Missing Clarissa. I definitely do recommend reading that first because it adds to some character development for several characters.

Cam and Blair think they are finished Sleuthing until Mattie shows up and begs for their help. Mattie's lost sister, Lola, has returned, and to say the least.... there is something going on in this family. Mattie explains their theory, but Cam and Blair quickly find themselves looking deeper into this case to help their friend.

This book is really unique. I like that it had some lgbt characters. Also, I loved getting to know Cam and Blair even more. But, the storyline moved a bit too slowly, and the end was a bit anticlimactic. Otherwise, I did enjoy this.

Out March 12, 2024!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

The Other Lola is the follow-up novel to Ripley Jones's previous book - Missing Clarissa.

"After Cam and Blair solved the mystery of Clarissa's disappearance, they vowed never to do it again. Until a freshman, Mattie Brosillard, shows up and asks them to help find her sister, Lola, that's been missing for 5 years. Except that her sister has suddenly reappeared claiming she finally escaped from a kidnapping but with little memory of what happened. Mattie is convinced that the girl claiming to be Lola is an imposter. Everyone but Mattie believes it's her. Cam is adamant that she will not help but Blair has some other reasons to look...some she doesn't want to share. Who is Lola?"

This is YA and reads like YA. The story takes a little to get going. There are the typical communication issues you see in YA - no one talks - so there are several issues that could be prevented if people just had a conversation.
The big reveal at the end is good and Brad saves the day. It's nice to see a Hero Brad even if there are passive/agressive comments about him all through the book. "...who cares what Brad needs." "For a quiet loner..." "Brad...in his sad and lonely exile surrounded by guns."
There's one thing throughout about the way a character is addressed that was confusing as a reader. It was often difficult based on the context to figure out who the author was talking about.

Good pick if you're looking for a YA mystery.

The Other Lola is a lovely mystery solved by two teenage girls who are best friends. I would put this in my classroom library.

DNF at 30%. I really liked Missing Clarissa so was looking forward to this one but this story just didn’t work for me. It is very slow going and at 30% I feel like I’m slogging through it. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook and audiobook to review.

I'll be happy to review this book once At Martin's Press acknowledges the boycott and responds properly.

The storyline for the second book in the podcast series just didn't hit the mark for me. The way the writing is done wasn't enjoyable to read. Some of the storyline is cliche or something I have read before and predictable. There wasn't any wow moments that impressed me as a reader.
I feel this book is better for the younger adult readers/reviewers.

The Other Lola continues the story of Cam and Blair's journey into the heart of small-town mysteries. As they struggle with newfound fame and the consequences of their first investigation, they are drawn back into the world of secrets and mystery when Mattie seeks their help to find the truth about her missing sister. Amidst tension and personal struggles, the story unfolds with increasing suspense, keeping the reader hooked until the very end. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this author.

Voluntarily reviewed after receiving a free copy courtesy of NetGalley, the Publisher, and the author, Ripley Jones.

My favorite part about this story was Mattie. They were a great character from the very start. I liked the investigative process but wish it unraveled a little sooner. I also wish I had reread Missing Clarissa before hand! It would have been a much more pleasurable read if I had that fresh in my memory.

In this spin off of Mossing Clarissa we rejoin Cam and Blair. This time they don’t have a podcast, but they do start looking into a case when Mattie Brosillard approaches them about her sister who has just returned after being missing for five years. Together, the three of them look into Lola’s disappearance and return uncovering secrets that might have been better left undisturbed.

When I picked up this book I just knew it was by the same author and Missing Clarissa not that it had some of the same characters, so I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading. I enjoyed this book from the very beginning and was pulled into this new story, even though the podcast angle was gone in this book. I really like the characters of Cam and Blair and how they feed off of each other and drive the story. The mystery in this book kept me guessing until the very end and the twists and turns it took kept me interested. Some of the new characters weren’t my favorite, but I didn’t enjoy the addition of Mattie. Overall, this was an entertaining read that held my interest the entire time. If you are looking for a good YA thriller, I think this one is worth a shot!

I loved Missing Clarissa and was really excited to get a chance to read an advanced copy of The Other Lola. Ripley Jones does not dissappoint with imaginative and thrilling storytelling!

I love the connection to Missing Clarissa and that we got to see more of the character's growth throughout this novel. An intriguing story that kept me invested until the very end.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. It makes sense to read the author's other book on these characters first before reading this one. I liked the character development and growth between the two books.

Warning! Although it does not list it as part of a series online, this book is the second book to Missing Clarissa and really needs to be read after the first book. It is a separate mystery, but the characters are already fully fleshed out and dealing heavily with the trauma they went through, solving the mystery of what happened to Clarissa.

I really love the characters in this story. They are so well-developed and intriguing. Unfortunately, the plot was a little thin for a full mystery. Whether the girl who went missing is actually the same Lola who returned five years later is an intriguing idea for a mystery; there weren't enough twists along the way to keep my attention. I guessed most of it from the beginning and got a little bored midway through. The characters were interesting enough that I enjoyed the story, but I was reading mostly to see what they would plan out and not to figure out the mystery. I do think that the writing in this series has dramatically improved for this book, even if the mystery wasn't as great. I hope Ripley Jones writes another story with these characters, just with a more fleshed-out mystery plotline like in Missing Clarissa. With these characters, the improvements in her writing, and a great mystery, these books could easily become one of my favorites.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks so much to netgalley and St. Martins Press for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book is the sequel to missing Clarissa. I enjoyed that book and the podcast elements in that one. Unfortunately, I don’t think a sequel was needed.

I didn’t finish this book. I didn’t like the characters or the new mystery. I didn't feel invested in the story or the characters.

I know others who loved this one so I think I’m just too old for this one. It felt very young to me.

“Lola was gone before she ever went missing.”
Here are reasons to read the YA Mystery book:

Sequel - In this sequel to Missing Clarissa
Returned - Beth and Cam are approached by Mattie with a wild story about how her missing sister Lola, has returned. But the problem is, it’s not her.
Investigation - Despite the fact that everyone else including Mattie’s family doesn’t see the difference, Beth and Cam attempt to understand why Mattie thinks this Other Lola is not her sister at all.

While it is not technically required for you to have read MIssing Clarissa in order to read this book, I recommend that you do. Beth and Cam are still reeling and recovering from what happened in that book and it’s important for context. Check your triggers for this book as well because the topics involved may be sensitive. To be honest though I didn’t enjoy the middle part of this book very much due to the extra stuff around Beth and Cam not really communicating. But the mystery of Lola is very interesting and the outcome was also pretty unexpected.