A story filled with unreliable narrators, secretive characters, a dual timeline and lots of surprises along the way.
I did figure out some of the twists, but others caught me by surprise. And while I enjoyed the book, I found myself feeling slightly miffed by the ending. However, overall this was a great read and I look forward to exploring more from this author.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 👏

Well that was fun ! This was my first time reading this author and will not be my last!

A Lovely Lie is a fast paced read that hooks the reader right away and keeps us gripping the pages to the very end!!

I couldn't imagine living with a dark secret for 25 years, constantly having to retrace my steps and thoughts so I don't slip up, and that's exactly what happens in A Lovely Lie .

The story bounces back and forth between two time lines and multiple characters and I must say I thought the author did an excellent job of this and was so easy to follow and not confusing at all.

Zoey has found a letter in amongst her mothers belongings and the letter leaves a lot of unanswered questions , and with Zoey's mother now dead, ...Zoey wants answers and the only way she can get answers , is to go to her mothers hometown where Pepper grew up 22 years ago.
The only problem is Zoey doesn't know who her father is so she has two missions to conquer and she'll do what ever it takes to get to the bottom of them.

This story is full of unlikeable characters , filled with lies, narcists, drama, twist after twist , and a crazy ending I did not see coming!

I really think fans of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife , The Girls Are All So Nice Here and The It Girl will absolutely LOVE A Lovely Lie .

Thank you Netgalley , Penzler Publishers and Jaime Lynn Hendricks for this digital ARC .

Something happened at the senior picnic years ago and Zoey is determined to find out the truth! Pepper and Scarlett were best friends and involved in a car accident during the picnic and they never revealed what happened. Zoey is Pepper's daughter, her father's identity is still a mystery.

The night after graduation. At something called senior picnic. He was killed in a car accident. An accident. The cops questioned almost everyone the next day. No one should've been driving. Two people were killed.

The story is told in past and present. The interview the day after the senior picnic is all the questioning from detectives. Split in parts 1, 2 & 3. Also, there are conversations between Pepper (the mom) and Zoey (the daughter) six weeks prior.

Pepper dated Vince in high school, Scarlett is now married to Vince. Vince and Scarlett did not have a traditional boy-meets-girl-and-they-fall-in-love-and-start-a-family story. They weren't "in love" in the sense that love moves mountains. They enjoyed each other and share a love for their son, Luke. Does Vince still love Pepper? Who is Zoey's father?

These questions are answered as the story unfolds and truth are uncovered.
Complex Feelings, Past Events, and Consequences! 3.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 5/28/24.

Rich in unreliable narrators and multiple POVs, this book is going to keep you guessing as you read! Hooked from the first page, I was determined to figure out who did it and why - before we reached the end. The storyline was well thought out and the characters’ backstories were all super interesting and engaging. This book will arrive just before summer begins - and what better way to start off the summer than with the senior picnic?

Special thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley & Penzler Publishers, Scarlet, for an eARC of A Lovely Lie by Jaime Lynn Hendricks! Jaime is one of my favorite authors, so as soon as I got this approval I did 2 things. 1. Screamed and 2. Dropped everything I was doing to read this juicy novel!

I LOVE alternating POVs and timelines, and Hendricks expertly weaves together the two to make this a book that's easy to read in one sitting. 1999 - Scarlett and Pepper were involved in a car accident that left two of their classmates dead. They lied to the police about their involvement, and Pepper went MIA when she left town.

Now, 22 years later Scarlett is enjoying her life in Florida with her husband and teenage son. That is, until Pepper's daughter shows up unannounced, eager to dig into the past. What really happened 22 years ago? Can it stay hidden longer?

I won't say more in the synopsis because I do think that it gives away a large chunk of the plot and some twists! Go into this one blind and you won't regret it. Such a page-turner and one that I'll be recommending to everyone. 4.5 stars!

Twenty-two years ago something tragic happened at their senior picnic. Scarlett promised to never speak of it again. Until Pepper’s daughter shows up at Scarlett’s work asking for helping finding out who her father is. Scarlett’s number one suspect? Her husband who was Peppers high school boyfriend. Now everything Scarlett holds dear is about to be derailed. Will she keep Pepper’s secrets or will she confess to what she witnessed that night?

This book had so many twists and turns that I loved! Just when you thought you knew what the characters were going to do someone else jumps out and changes everything!

Pepper and Scarlett are head cheerleaders and best friends. Pepper keeps breaking up with her popular football playing boyfriend and keeping secrets. Two high schoolers end up getting killed one night at a party and Pepper decides it’s time to leave all the drama behind and move far away. She completely disappears from social media and everything though which has everyone on edge.

This book was wild!!! I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know the truth fans I love when it’s a guessing game on who could be involved and who was actually involved.

I received this book for free from netgalley and publisher in return for my honest opinion.
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If you’re looking for a book that will grab you from the very first page, keep you turning pages late into the night, keeps you making and changing predictions the entire length of the story, and maybe even make you chuckle at some of the characters’ quips and wittiness, this one is for you.

My feelings were all over the place with this one. I really enjoyed the writing style of this author. I thought early on in the story that I had it all figured out, but as I neared the final pages so much more was revealed and I enjoyed how the ending pieces everything together. One little frustration I have though is that there is one part of the story regarding Zoey- which I will not explain because I don’t want to give anything away- that was not wrapped up or explained in the final pages. I was a tiny bit disappointed in that.

This was a great read. Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Penzler Publishers for providing me with this ARC of A Lovely Lie in exchange for my honest thoughts. I am grateful for the opportunity.

This book is MESSY and the story line is all gas no brakes, there was never a dull moment. The multiple POV + two timelines made this a fun read and short chapters wooo my fav lol. This is my first by the author but I am intrigued now to look into their backlist.

This was a fast and fun read, centered on a a whole slew of awful characters! The story involves a few different primary characters, namely Zoey, who is trying to find out who her father is; and Scarlett, who is trying to create a life for herself and her family after a horrible incident that killed 2 classmates 22 years ago. Scarlett was once best friends with Zoey’s mom Pepper, who ties the whole story together. The book is told from alternating points of view and goes back and forth between past and present times.

While I mentioned above that the characters are unlikable, some of them experience real growth as the book continues so you do end up rooting for people that you initially thought were jerks. There are tons of twists in this story and most of them were a surprise to me. I really enjoyed the intermingled timeframes and went through many theories as to what happened that fateful night before I finally found out the truth. The ending of the book might not be for everyone but I personally enjoyed it and thought it was a perfect way to complete each character’s story arc.

Overall, this was a fun psychological thriller with great twists. Definitely recommend. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A mind-blowing, layer of secrets guides this tale from start to finish, along with a cast of characters that will have you wondering who you can trust. This book is perfect for psychological thriller fans who enjoy whodunnits, suspense, and imperfect characters driven by emotion. I highly recommend this one!

This was a fun one! Jaime Lynn Hendricks has an engaging, easy to read writing style that makes the pages fly by. I flew though this book in an afternoon! I did predict some of the twists, but I loved the explosive ending and didn't see it coming. There are a lot of unlikable characters in this book. Truly despicable people. Zoey was awful at first and I kept hoping something horrible would happen to her, so it was nice to see her grow. This is now the second book I've read by this author, and while I enjoyed I Didn't Do It even more, A Lovely Lie was still a highly enjoyable thriller. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of her books!

Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the ARC.

What a rollercoaster ride this was! This book kept my interest from the very beginning and I ended up reading it in one day. The twists and turns, bombshells & lies had my head spinning! This story was told from multiple POV but super easy to follow. Such a GREAT read! This was my first time reading this author and I look forward to checking out her other books! A Lovely Lie comes out on May 28, 2024 :)

THANK YOU to Netgalley, the author and Penzler Publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book had my mind going in a million directions and never did I expect what the final outcome would be. The flashbacks between past and current events was outstanding! This book is going to be a hot one this spring. And the cover is just gorgeous! I have already recommended to book friends I am in a group chat with and will definetly be recommending to all!

A chaotic page turner that kept me at the edge of my seat. A young woman's search for her father and answers about her recently deceased mother's past reveal explosive secrets.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
After a car accident where she was with her friend Pepper - two people died and secrets were kept. pepper has always been able to control her boyfriend and her friend Scarlett.
Zoey, Peppers daughter comes to town 22 years later looking for her father. She has no idea what she has stirred up in trying to find her father. The truth of the accident may come out. But when someone listening to the conversation tapes it- the truth may win!

' Trust. Funny word, trust. At this point, the word turns me off. '

Wow! What. A. Ride.

I really enjoyed this book from page one and could not put it down until I was finished!

A Lovely Lie follows a woman named Scarlett. Set in the mid to southern west coast of Florida, she works at a local hotel. One evening while on the verge of clocking out a young woman, sassy, smug and flippant approaches her and introduces herself as Zoey Wilson- daughter to Pepper Wilson.

Pepper was Scarlett’s long time best friend during middle and high school as well as part of a tragic secret that took place at the end of their senior year.

Pepper is now dead and Zoey is here for answers about her mother’s past. If that wasn’t difficult enough, Scarlett is now married to Pepper’s high school boyfriend, Vince. Scarlett wants to leave the past secrets behind her, but Zoey might not let that happen. The past and her secrets are finally catching up to the present.

This is such a fast paced thriller that I was ripping through the pages and couldn't seem to read fast enough. It alternates between the past and the present and the past feeding you breadcrumbs from the past while having you side-eye every character in the present.

I hated every character in the book when I first started reading - no one seems to have any great qualities and everyone has their own selfish agenda. But that is what made it so compelling, there was no taking sides- you just want to get to the truth!

Full of twists and turns and shocking moments! This is my first Jamie Lynn Hendricks novel and I will certainly be checking out her other work- highly recommend!

✔️Dual timelines
✔️Secrets/lies/betrayal
✔️Multiple, first person POV
✔️Unlikeable characters
✔️Page-turner

Run to Amazon and preorder this book! This was so good. Several times I gasped and my husband asked if I was ok. A Lovely Lie is a fun ride with lots of ups and downs. I loved the humor and relating with the main character. I live close to where this takes place and loved all the Florida stuff and locations. A great story with several twists and turns.

While this certainly was a thriller, it wasn't my favorite. I appreciated the alternating points of view, but wasn't totally on board with these characters.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.

What in the *fgfggfe* did I just read?! I felt as though I was taken back to my teenage self and got tangled up in this messy story of complete and utter madness!
I went back and forth with how I felt about this book. On one hand I could not put it down and the chapters were quick and left you with just enough… w…t… ** to keep reading. On the other hand this book was definitely a popcorn thriller, extremely far fetched, and 20 soap operas tied into one book. It is absolutely geared for that younger fast past thriller audience where you just want all the juicy bits and not a lot of great story depth behind it. (This isn’t a diss , to each their own!)
In high school two classmates, Chloe and Julian, are killed in a drunk driving accident…. Or … are they ? Now it is 20 years later and Scarlett has tried to move on from that night and the secrets her and her best friend, at the time, Pepper, know about it. In many ways this is easy because Scarlett has not heard a word from Pepper in those 20 years. *Enter CHAOS*
Zoey, Pepper’s daughter (who Scarlett didn’t even know existed) comes to town for answers revealing her mother, Pepper, recently passed away. She found an old letter her mother had written, but never sent to Scarlett alluding to secrets about that night and Zoey will find anyone and everyone she can for answers and she in no way does it subtly. Not only that, but she also wants to know the identity of her father. I could go on and on about the many, many different unlikeable characters along the way, the messy tangled relationships, the far fetched stories that unfold, and the constant tension and drama each chapter brings!! If this kind of book is what you are into , look no further and dive right in, but be ready for your head to spin and at times your eyes to roll … ok .. a lot of eye rolling ! I especially had an exaggerated eye roll at the epilogue of this book because it was again really over the top.

Thank you to the Author, Netgalley, and Penzler Publishers for the ARC!