3.5/5 stars. This book is about three sisters who only had themselves to count on growing up. Now, after living apart for years, they are getting back together for the wedding of one. As with any family, there is plenty of drama. There were also some quirky secondary characters that enhanced the story.

The destination wedding in the book takes place in a castle. There was lots of description and history given, which was very interesting. I had more trouble connecting to the characters than I did the castle. I found the first half of the book to be kind of slow, but the plot picked up in the second half.

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley or the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House - Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

And honestly? I should have DNFed this. I don’t know if it was my mood or the fact that I’ve been in a bit of a slump or if the book was just not for me, but it took forever to read. The writing was too much telling instead of showing, which drives me nuts, and also made the story drag.

There was clearly something about it that intrigued me because I pushed through, but I wish I hadn’t because I also didn’t like the ending. It lost all momentum with major events happening off page, and then everything wrapped up too neatly to be realistic. Overall, not a book for me.

Lovers and Liars is out tomorrow

Three estranged sisters come together for a wedding and all are hiding secrets. The book follows the mess and drama as they all navigate being together at a castle for the wedding, trying to hide their respective secrets and process their childhood trauma. I didn't find the characters particularly likable, however there was a good amount of (big) drama that keeps you engaged and it's a fast read. Definitely perfect for an escape.

Thank you Penguin Random House Audio for providing this gifted audiobook, I loved it! Lovers and Liars is the perfect beach read.

Lovers and Liars is a lighthearted novel about three estranged sisters who come together for their youngest sister's wedding at an English castle in the countryside. The Peacock sisters were bonded closely as children but have long drifted in different directions. Now in their late thirties, they are well into adulthood. After grieving her departed husband for ten years, Sylvie, has found a vibrant love with Simon, a kindred spirit whose family owns a grand castle. Emma, the middle daughter, is married with two sons, living the life that was expected of her except for one thing. She was roped into a MLM and has put her family into financial turmoil unbeknownst to her devoted husband. Cleo is headstrong and career-driven, but not satisfied by her social life. She's no longer invested in her relationship and is in love with her best friend.

The Peacock sisters were so close as children because they needed respite from their narcissistic, mercurial mother, Donna. They each had a different relationship with and reaction to her parenting. Understandably, they're still trying to recover from and make sense of their tumultuous childhood. The characters are really well drawn and individual, and I loved the atmosphere of the expansive, beautiful castle and its grounds. It's very much a story about second chances. The sisters have a second chance to grow closer and relationships have the possibility of breaking or getting stronger. I listened to the audiobook, which was well-narrated by Nora Roux Meckel and Sarah Beth Goer. This was such an enjoyable novel. Pack this one in your beach bag!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

What is it about weddings that brings out the worst (and sometimes the best) in families? Sylvie's getting married to Simon at his family castle (I know!) and her sisters, Cleo and Emma, as well as their mother, are there to, well, see her married (maybe) and work out their own issues. Because each of them has a secret and each of them tell this story. It's really about family, about learning about and leaning on one another. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I love books about sisters—Lovers and Liars has that! Emma, Cleo, and Sylvie have a strong bond, but they also have their secrets and these secrets impact their lives and relationships. However, the constant shifts in perspective, overall pacing, and the delivery of some plot devices were a little strange. This was also quite trope-heavy. However, it takes a lot of skill and finesse to have a book with such heavy topics and themes be funny and light most of the time—Amanda Eyre Ward truly shines in that aspect.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

Emma, Cleo, and Sylvie are three sisters who each have secrets that are really messing up their lives. I really wanted this to give me good vibes about sisters and how they could work through their issues and be happy in life. I read this and at the end of it knew that I did not like these women very much.
When I got to the end, I was very certain this is a book that won’t be with me long. I felt like the author put words in a sack, shook them up and dumped them out with hopes they would all land into a likable book.
Thank you NetGalley, Amanda Eyre Ward and Random House Publishing Group for the book Lovers and Liars. This is my personal review.

I grabbed this book without even reading what it’s about based on the sunny yellow cover and trio of redheads. It ended up being such a cute book! In New York Times bestselling author Amanda Eyre Ward’s Lovers and Liars, three sisters reunite for a destination wedding at an English Castle.

The book centers around three sisters, their parents, and the men in their lives. It’s the night before Sylvie Peacock’s wedding when the book opens, and she can’t sleep. Sylvie is an introverted librarian who has been widowed for ten years. Her first wedding was simple—she’d worn a sundress and sandals and carried a bouquet of wildflowers. It was also perfect. Now, she’s getting married to a wealthy British photographer named Simon at his family’s ancestral castle in the English countryside. She can’t help thinking of her sisters and her late husband. And so she writes a note:

I’m sorry. Simon. I’m going home. It’s over.

The story moves back in time two months as Sylvie is preparing to tell her sisters Cleo and Emma about her wedding. The sisters used to be so close, but they aren’t anymore. Emma still lives in Montana where they grew up. Cleo lives in Brooklyn and never has time to talk. When she can’t reach either sister, Sylvie debates calling her mother, Donna, though conversations with her mother always leave her feeling unhappy.

Cleo is married to a criminal defense attorney and she certainly has her own share of relationship issues. In the wake of Sylvie’s news, Cleo decides to look into Simon’s past and make sure Sylvie has thought through her decision to marry someone she’s only known a short time. Emma is deeply in debt, and she’s been doing her best to hide the situation from her own husband. Cleo and Emma may care about Sylvie, but they aren’t exactly beacons of healthy relationships themselves.

The changing perspectives from each of the three sisters kept the pace lively. I never got bored with any particular storyline because they all interwove together and I got to know all three sisters well. This may be a book about a wedding on the very surface, but it’s really a story about a family—every dysfunctional part of it. And did I mention the lies? There are so many secrets and lies going around in this book just waiting to be exposed.

Though the sisters have their own flaws, a lot of their issues as adults seem to be in part due to growing up with their narcissistic mother, Donna. Each sister took on a different role. Cleo is the protector, shielding her sisters from everything she can and going overboard to make sure they are ok. Emma is desperate to be loved, needed, and accepted. She’s terrified of someone turning away on her, which leads to many of her challenges in her relationship. Sylvie has learned to disassociate as a form of self-protection. This has it’s advantages in the moment, but causes all sorts of problems long term.

Though the issues sound heavy, this was overall a light and fun read full of heart. It can be an emotional roller coaster at times, but trust me when I say that you will be happy with the ride and where you’ll end up. This is a book about women and for women. I won’t spoil the ending but the theme rounded out perfectly with the final chapters. None of the sisters are perfect, but by the end you’ll love them—flaws and all.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.

Lovers and Liars
by Amanda Eyre Ward (Goodreads Author) 31534634
Katherina Martin's review May 10, 2024 ·
bookshelves: read

This is not my favorite book by this author. She has written better books. This is about three sisters who had a narcissistic mother (their words-not mine, but I agree) which created a closeness between them as children. This closeness was lost as they became adults. The secrets they kept from each other made them avoid each other's company. The book was okay, but just too long and redundant. We learned what the secrets were but the book didn't seem to be any closer to ending. This was a complimentary digital arc that I received from Ballantine Books and NetGalley. This review is my own opinion.

The Peacock family is a whole new level of dysfunctional. When sisters Chloe, Emma, and Sylvie are reunited in England for Sylvie's wedding they bring with them the effects of childhood trauma and devastating secrets. Living with a narcissistic mother and father who chose denial over the truth has damaged the Peacock sisters and impacts their relationships with each other and their romantic partners. Lovers and Liars examines the complicated relationships as each sister searches for healing.

The cover would lead you to believe that this is a lighthearted and whimsical book, but the issues are heavy and, while humor is utilized effectively throughout the story, it deals with serious topics. The author uses each sister's voice to illustrate how their shared upbringing affected them differently. It's not always a comfortable read, but it does draw you in with the hope that the sisters can repair some of the damage they carry into their adult relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballentine Books, and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I was gifted a digital ARC of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was really excited and then disappointed by this read. I loved the idea of one story from the perspective of three different siblings, but there were a ton of literary allusions and references thrown in that I put way too much weight on as clues and foreshadowing that led nowhere. All three sisters have secrets and we know all of the secrets within the first fifty pages of the books. They may just not know amongst each other. I kept waiting for a shocking reveal or a crisis of some sort that never came. It was almost missing a reveal. I would have rather heard these secrets hinted at in part and then revealed at the end but we already knew everything that was going to go down and then there were a few could have been big things thrown out towards the end in the last 15% of the book that went nowhere. While the characters may have been interesting, though lacking some development in why we should be rooting for them or not, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, which it never did and I wasn’t quite sure the goal or ending I was reading towards. It was like I picked up a book that described a few weeks of a random family and then let them be as they were to keep going on with their lives now that we’re no longer flies on the wall.

I’m not the right reader for this quasi-romance, rom-commish, family dysfunction novel about the three Peacock sisters and their toxic mother. Having just read another family dysfunction novel, featuring two sisters and their toxic mother, it struck me that bad mothers abound and the bond of sisterhood, even when stretched out with dysfunction, will somehow save us. This one moves at a clip, stuffed with descriptions of a British castle, along with the menus of the youngest Peacock’s wedding weekend, handsome prince with money that is dirty, though he had nothing to do with why it is dirty, and a pet peeve of mine, name-checking other novels in its pages, name-checked by the youngest Peacock sister, the young widow Sylvie, who is about to be married, but still pining her dead husband, and is a librarian. And this is the second novel I’ve read in short order where a main character is a librarian, a profession utilized I guess as character development, shy-ish, bookish, good. Though not for me, others will likely find it a fun read.

Thanks to Random House and Ballantine and Netgalley for the arc.

4 stars
This book is a perfect representation of the difficulties of familial relationships as well as the strength of sisterly bonds. The book follows Sylvie, Cleo and Emma as they reunite for Sylvie’s wedding. They have each had their own experiences with trauma which includes the difficult relationship with their mother. We get a glimpse at each sister’s journey to untangle the lies and complicated feelings that come along with our relationships with our family. I really enjoyed the relationship development between the sisters. It can be so easy to feel stuck as the person you grew up being when it comes to being around your family. This story shows the sisters overcoming these preconceived roles to grow closer with and trust each other. The bond between sisters is unlike any other and I really enjoyed how this story showed the work each sister did on their own but also on their relationship as sisters. I also enjoyed the setting in a quirky castle in England. The author used humor to keep the story lighthearted and fun even when dealing with very heavy topics.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for an advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest review!

I enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed the sisters and their stories. All of them were shaped by their upbringing and how terrible their mother was and is. Each one has their own way of dealing with this and the way they interact in relationships. The characters still seemed a bit surface level and like we could have dove even deeper but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. Interesting read, and I would recommend it if you are looking for a bit of an escape.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, and I give my review freely

This was a surface-level good book. I would have appreciated a deeper dive into all the characters and their motivations, or at least all the sisters. Everyone felt like a bit character, and even the main characters of Silvie and Simon didn't have a lot of depth. BUT it was entertaining, and heaven knows there was a lot going on to keep you entertained.

Three sisters, all shaped by their narcissistic mother in their own unique way, face facts at the destination wedding of the youngest. It's Sylvie's wedding - her second wedding after her first husband died. But is she ready? Cleo, the oldest and a successful defense attorney, seems to have it all together - but does she? And Emma, the middle, had put herself and her family in so much debt in an effort to prove she is worthy of love. Everything comes to a head at the picturesque English castle where they all must face themselves and each other, and the secrets they've been keeping. Great family dynamics and drama!

This was a nice family dynamic story with a few situations that were over done and I didn’t like some of the characters. Overall it was a quick read. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

Lovers and Liars by Amanda Eyre Ward is a riveting family drama about the Peacock sisters! These sisters were raised in a dysfunctional family and are now adults dealing with their own dysfunctional behaviors. The characters are well-developed and the reader can't help rooting for each one to overcome their issues! A good portion of the book takes place in a rundown castle in England. Ms. Ward does an excellent job of describing the scenery! I loved this book and highly recommend reading it! Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Publishing for the ARC!

Slyvie, Cleo, and Emma are three estranged sisters that are brought back together when Slyvie invites them to her wedding at a castle. Each chapter switches POV between the three sisters and each sister is dealing with her own troubles. When the sisters arrive at the wedding they fall into old patterns of supporting each other and protecting each other, especially from their mom.

There are certain things about this book I enjoyed. I liked the sisters and I wanted to keep reading to see how each one of their situations was going to turn out. I absolutely couldn’t stand their mom, but that was on purpose. I honestly had a hard time with some of the storylines seemed stagnant at times but overall not a bad read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

Thank you, NetGalley and Randon House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this advanced reader's copy. I read this author's 2020 book, The Jetsetters, as it was picked by Reese Witherspoon for her Book of the Month May pick. I really enjoyed that story, so I was excited to get a chance to read her new family drama. This book does not disappoint. Talk about family drama! All the sisters have their own issues, Sylvie, Cleo and Emma. The sisters are getting together for Sylvie's wedding, at the castle estate of the man Sylvie is marrying, Simon Rampling. Of course, their mother shows up and then things come to a head. There are some funny parts and there are some ridiculous parts, but overall, this is a an easy and fun read.