I loved the drama and juicy secrets that A Lovely Lie was full of. The way it unfolded: with Zoey showing up at Scarlett and Vince's door with the news that Pepper had died, and how all of the secrets came out from there...it was very well told! While the actual events of the past didn't shock me, certain things did. I really enjoyed the ride. Looking forward to more by this author!

A Lovely Lie combines twists, drama and multiple points of view that all come together for an entertaining read. Lots of characters to hate that make you want to read the story to see if they get what they deserve!
Thank you to Penzler/Scarlet and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this one in exchange for my honest opinion.

I personally believe that Jaime Lynn Hendricks is a very underrated thriller author. I have never been disappointed by any of the books I have read by her. In this book we follow two different timelines trying to figure out how they connect to each other. We don't know the entire book who we can trust and who we can't. Small town vibes, well developed characters, drama, I did not see the twist coming and I am so glad I didn't. I will continue to pick up any book that Jaime Lynn Hendricks writes and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Thank you to Penzler Publishers | Scarlet and Netgalley for this ARC!

I found this book to be very fast paced, which I enjoy as it help to keep my attention. I really did not like any of the characters at the beginning of the story but found myself liking a few as the book went on. Some of them were just absolute bat shit insane, which makes me wonder if there are real people out there that I know that are secretly like that?

If you are looking for a binge worthy book A Lovely Lie is for you!

4 stars!

“Can I get you a drink? Water, juice…*𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩*!?” 😂🤣😂

“Ugh. Being raised by a narcissist has rubbed off on me in the worst way.”

This is one of my favorite books of the year. A really fun domestic suspense mystery with tons of secrets.

The book was full of characters that were well developed. The book was full of flawed characters that you love to hate and protagonists that you’ll cheer for.

The story was so perfectly paced. There were twists & turns and they flowed so well. It felt like I was not reading at all, more like watching a movie play out in my head. It’s my fav thing when an author writes something where I’m THAT invested.

Read this if you:
✨live for dual POVs
✨love a good narcissist
✨grew up in the 90s
✨geek out over sarcastic inner monologues

𝐉𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐋𝐘𝐍𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐒 has solidified her status on my #autobuyauthor list.

Many thanks to @NetGalley and Penzler Publishers, Scarlet for the gifted eARC to read and review!

Meh. This one was hard to rate. 3.5/5 probably.
I was intrigued by the story, and I really enjoy this narrator. I really wanted to see what happened, even though I called the twists almost immediately.
However, it felt entirely too long and I hate the cheating trope. I hated every character in this story and I definitely hated 98% of the ending.
But again, it's really hard for me to get invested in an audio book, so I am pleased to have been able to finish it.

I loved this book. Jaime Lynn Hendricks is an auto read author for me. I loved the snark and toxic female friendship. I thought this was engaging and the twists were great.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5/5

Scarlett and Pepper’s lives are forever altered by a tragic car accident during their senior picnic—a crash that left two classmates dead and haunting questions unanswered. After the incident, Pepper disappears from Scarlett’s life, while Scarlett tries to move on. More than 20 years later, the mystery of that night resurfaces, forcing Scarlett to confront the secrets and lies she thought were buried.

This is a well-crafted, suspenseful thriller that kept me guessing with its twists and turns. The pacing is steady, and the tension builds nicely as Scarlett unravels the truth. While I would have liked a bit more character development, the plot was engaging and kept me invested until the final reveal.

Recommended for fans of thrillers packed with mystery and unexpected turns.

Thank you #NetGalley, #ALovelyLie & Penzler Publishers for the ARC. My review is voluntary.

I wasn’t prepared to read this one so quickly! I could not put it down. The characters are vile, the storyline is not believable and the plots has holes but guess what? It is so entertaining that I did not care! This one is addictive and I can’t recommend it enough!

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Hilary Huber does a great job with the narration on the this book! She was clear and concise and after you learn all the main characters names and backgrounds, it makes it easier to keep everything straight. I kinda saw some of the twists coming but there were other large ones that I didn’t. It’s basically about a group of friends in a town trapped by its past secrets. I would definitely recommend if you like psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators and lots of drama!

GREAT read - loved the characters, setting, writing style. Fast paced - kept me guessing.
Highly recommend!

This was a decent read. I thought it was going to be more thriller, but in my opinion it was more of a drama. The plot I saw coming and was not in a shock factor. I think it all fell a bit flat for me and there was content with no meaning which leaves you a bit unnerved. I don't recommend this one at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for this ARC!

I hate to say that this wasn’t my favorite book by Jaime. I’ve read her back log and I really love her other domestic thrillers.

A Lovely Lie has plenty of twists and is FULL of drama, but ultimately the story fell flat for me. Once you find out the big twists, the story just seems to repeat itself til the end.

Not my favorite by Jaime, but I will continue to read her books!

“I reconciled that night long ago, when the choice I had was college or jail for accessory to murder.”

I had enjoyed Jaime Lynn Hendricks’ book I Didn’t Do It, which, though that book had quite a bit of swearing, I thought there were some redeeming parts. So I was looking forward to this book.

Unfortunately, this one had way more swearing and sexual content without any of the redeeming parts.

This book followed the popular trope of ‘something bad happened back when we were in school and someone died but we promised never to talk about it until we’re adults and a stranger starts digging and asking questions and now we have to talk about what really happened back then.’


Most recently I read Only If You’re Lucky which also released this year and they are pretty similar stories actually. Same unbelievability about what teens are capable of doing and keeping a secret and somehow not being affected by any of it. Also both have a duo of: narcissistic best friend and best friend who would do anything for their popular friend because they can’t afford to lose their friend’s love and attention.

Sometimes the ‘what really happened back then’ trope works for me, but it seems like most of the time youths are involved (including this one) I’m unsatisfied with the book.


The basic premise of this book was that a car accident happened the night of the senior year party that was eventually just determined to be an accident, but the detective suspected something else happened that night. Scarlett and Pepper, best friends, have agreed never to talk about it or tell a soul. Pepper leaves town that week and never comes back. Now 20 years later, Pepper’s grown daughter, Zoey, shows up on Scarlett’s doorstep with the news that Pepper died in a car accident recently. Zoey is now demanding answers about who her father is and what Pepper lied to her about from her past. Was someone murdered? Who was cheating on who? Was everyone too drunk to know anything?!


The characters in this book are all terrible. I don’t even believe the ‘characters I love to hate’ acquiescence applies here. The only good character was Scarlett’s son, Luke, but even he was a drug dealer— which by the way, is apparently supposed to be endearing because he’s doing it to help his mom get away from his dad and he’s not actually really doing the drugs.

It’s a book full of debauchery— because everyone slept around and lived their high school years in drunken stupor— that of course is going to lead to some challenges. It’s all pretty dysfunctional and the only character development I saw was that compared to some of the characters, others are all of a sudden ‘not as bad as that one.’


I also didn’t like the title- A lovely lie. Somehow the story Pepper and Scarlett determined they would tell the detectives was referred to as the lovely lie, but that adjective doesn’t make any sense and is definitely not how any normal person would refer to the lie. I’m trying to think of a better example of a lie that could be called a lovely lie and I can’t come up with anything. It’s fun alliteration, but it feels disjointed and uncreative to invest the title in and then try to cram it into the character’s thoughts throughout the book.


Another annoying thing from this book was how Scarlett constantly used the phrase ‘my boy’ in regards to her son, Luke. She says it 11 times throughout the book. It got to the point where I was convinced Vince had to not be Luke’s father. Considering all the other information we were learning about Scarlett, Pepper, Vince, and Chris, it really felt only natural that Scarlett had a child with someone else and lied about it this whole time.

But nope. She just really likes to talk about her son like an old grandpa. I don’t think it’s a spoiler, but since I wouldn’t recommend this book to you, it doesn’t matter anyway because you won’t read it.


Lastly, I just really don’t enjoy books where the mystery and lies are surrounded by drunkenness. It just feels like a lazy or too convenient way to not have to give the readers the truth or to cast suspicion on other characters. It is an unsatisfactory excuse for any sort of plot development. I don’t like those kinds of stories. Everyone’s drunk so they don’t remember everything right… just teens being teens…


Okay one more thing: shouldn’t the car on the front of the cover only have one headlight?



Recommendation

I do not recommend this book.

There’s not much to like. Unlikeable characters. Lots of profanity. Lots of dysfunction. Predictable. Not a great ending.

I can’t think of a reason for why you should read it.There are plenty of other books about lies, past or present, that are way better than this one so just skip it and move on.

If you want to try this author, try I Didn’t Do It instead. I’m not sure I’m willing to try any of her other books at this point. We might just need to part ways now.


[Content Advisory: 101 f-words; 81 s-words; 26 d-words; 15 b-words; sexual content; reference to rape; miscarriage; affair]


**Received an ARC via NetGalley**

Secrets, lies, and high school drama that all unfolds some 20+ years later. Let me begin by saying I'm glad I never went to high school with these people 🤣 That being said this was an enjoyable popcorn thriller. Thank you Netgalley and Penzler Publishers for the ARC in exchange for my review.

📱A Lovely Lie
✍🏻 Jaime Lynn Hendricks @jaimelynnhendricksauthor
🗓️ May 28, 2024

This has definitely been a Thriller Thursday read. I have been immersed in this story today. It’s full of surprises, twists, and turns. And lots of 90s nostalgia, which has been fun. I really like the flashbacks and dual timelines. The way the past was told was mainly thru police interviews after two teenagers are killed in an accident is the perfect way to bridge the present and past together. These main characters are not likable and are narcissistic, so prepare yourself to dislike them. They behave badly and yet the way the story is told you can’t help but feel empathy for them. That’s what I love about Jaime’s books - she lets me see perspectives and yet keeps me in suspense throws me for a loop or three every time.

Get this book on your preorders right now! You’ll want to jump right in as soon as it releases!

Love Jaime Hendricks and she didn't disappoint with this one. Great tension and the mystery weaves beautifully until the very end.

This was a pretty fun read that is full of all kinds of twists! I enjoyed the story being told from multiple POVs and timelines, and how they all came together in the end. It was hard to know who to trust, and by the end I was blown away at how wrong all of my guesses were. Fantastic read - definitely recommend!!

This was a very captivating read! I finished this in one sitting! I was a little annoyed by some of the characters and it took a while for things to pick up. While I was able to predict some of the twists, I definitely didn’t see the ending coming!

I will always have love for Finding Tessa, but I can honestly say A LOVELY LIE is a close second! There were so many things I loved about this story. I especially loved the dual timelines and multiple POV. The police interviews throughout really elevated the story.

Hendricks knows how to write insufferable characters, the kind that make my blood boil, and there is one in this book that tops the list (Trevor Vaughn from It Could Be Anyone will always be my number one 😈.

Ahhh, and that ending! So satisfying!

Throw this book in a beach bag, head to the nearest beach and be prepared to be thoroughly entertained.