**3.5 Stars**
Keep in mind this is a sequel, and where the mystery to be solved is new, the drama and background conflict is carried over from the first novel. Overall this was an interesting sequel when it comes to terms of character growth, since I feel like this was less a mystery and more a journey of the two characters coming to terms with the fallout of the previous book as well as making life choices in general. This had a great found family dynamic to it which I am always a fan of.

When it comes to the mystery element of the story, this was a little less interesting and more messy family drama than super engaging mystery, so if you are coming here as a mystery novel look elsewhere. The nice aspect is that the mystery in The Other Lola is complete in this book, so no loose ends to make you frustrated.

I am pretty sure this duology is finished, with Cam and Blair heading off for the next steps in life, hopefully leaving behind all things podcast. I do recommend the audio where the single narrator does a great job of making both Cam and Blair feel like real people with distinct tones and speech pacing, and the voices of the side characters were well done and unique enough to always know who is talking.

I forced myself to finish this. I was hoping it might get better but it just didn’t. It was okay, but nothing like the first one and that was disappointing.. I had high expectations and the book just fell flat in my opinion 🤷🏻‍♀️

⭐️⭐️💫 (2.5)

I love this narrator, they always do such a great job! 5 stars for them!

The Other Lola by Ripley Jones is a compelling listen that kept me hooked from the start. The story dives deep into identity, secrets, and the tangled web of family dynamics. Jones does an excellent job creating an atmosphere of suspense and emotional complexity, and I found myself invested in Lola's journey as she uncovers the truth.

The pacing is spot on, with just the right amount of twists to keep you engaged without feeling overwhelmed. The characters are well-drawn and layered, making the mystery at the heart of the story all the more satisfying as it unravels. While some plot points felt a little predictable, the strength of the character development more than made up for it.

The narrator really brought this story to life, adding an extra layer of tension and emotion that enhanced the overall experience. It’s the kind of audiobook that’s hard to pause, as you’re always eager to find out what happens next.

If you enjoy a mix of mystery and drama with a focus on family secrets and self-discovery, The Other Lola is definitely worth a listen.

The Other Lola is the follow-up to Jones’ previous release, Missing Clarissa. Readers find themselves back with our main characters, Cam and Blair, who are doing everything they can to avoid the drama of their podcast and solving mysteries.

Or are they?

When the opportunity to work with Mattie on finding their sister comes about, our duo is hesitant, but ultimately can’t say no. What ensues is a delightfully tense investigation filled with humor and an amazing found family storyline.

Jones has a way with words and I’m 100% onboard to buy whatever comes next even if it’s not another Cam and Blair story (but also, I would totally love one of those!).

This book I originally wanted to read based off the cover, but I was surprised I actually really liked it. These two girls had a podcast where they would solve murder mystery's, after it goes wrong they take a break until a friend from high school come to them asking for help because her sister is missing. It was a fun read, I really enjoyed it. I would rate it a 4 stars.

While marked a sequel, you do not need to have read Missing Clarissa to enjoy this book. The duo delves into another missing girl case for the right and wrong reasons. As they get closer to solving the case, they get closer to understanding themselves. A fab blend of mystery and self-discovery. VERDICT: A solid purchase for teen libraries.

I loved Missing Clarissa, and was thrilled to read another book featuring best friends and podcasters Cam and Blair.

This book has such an interesting premise - is the girl who returned really the missing Lola? Only her sister seems to think she's a fraud - but could Mattie be wrong? The mystery is intriguing, the pacing is good. This is a solid follow-up to Missing Clarissa - not quite as good as the first book, but I still enjoyed it.

I honestly wasn’t too blown away by this audiobook. I wanted a little more substance to the story and a lot of questions were left unanswered

This was an entertaining book but it didn't stand out to me as unique or one I would remember. The narrator did a fabulous job of brining this book to life. I think I would recommend it for younger YA/middle grade readers!

Yes, this is marketed as YA but where I was entranced by the first book in this series, "The Other Lola" was a bit young/immature for my taste. I never fully got swept away into the story. I still love the podcast format and the cover, but I lost interest in the plot.

The Other Lola continues with Cam and Blair playing detective again, and although they are high school seniors this time, their characters don’t seem to have grown up at all since the last book. This sequel to Missing Clarissa had me wondering if the author had different editors for each book. The inconsistencies between the two books were hard to get over, having read them back to back. That being said, this was a decent mystery. Since their last case was solved, Blair has been approached by a writer in New York City who would like to publish the next case that Blair works on. Additionally, both Cam and Blair have been asked to look into the disappearance and reappearance of another teen. Lola went missing five years ago and has mysteriously reappeared. Mattie (they/them), Lola’s younger sibling, is convinced that the girl who returned is not Lola and wants to get the truth, so they appeal to Cam and Blair to find out what really happened. Both Cam and Blair are annoying characters, even more so in this book than the first, but if you can get past that, the mystery has enough twists to keep you guessing at the ending. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

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. I feel like the narrator really brought the story to life, though and it made the experience so much more enjoyable. 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 audio listening copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

I don't think I've enjoyed a YA mystery/suspense this much since A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. I found this one to be more on the domestic suspense side and from what I understand, book 1 was really more of a mystery with a podcast element. I definitely need to circle back and read it! That being said, I managed to follow the story perfectly fine even if I hadn't read book 1.

I love Blair and Cam. I found both their friendship and characters to be realistic and well developed for a YA read. This one started a little slow but definitely picked up! If you love a good YA suspense with some great friendships and LGBTQIA+ and non-binary representation, then pick this one up!

CW: child abuse, drug use, homophobia, adult/minor relationship, panic attacks/disorders, religious bigotry, bullying, deadnaming.

I went between the physical and audiobook for this one! The narration was great and brought the characters to life!

A big thank you to Wednesday Books for the early copy and to Macmillan audio and NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

I thought this follow up to Missing Clarissa really missed the mark. I only finished it because I wanted to find out what happened but I think this book just wasn’t for me.

The Other Lola by Ripley Jones was a fascinating listen. I looked forward to getting in my car to see how the story continued. Sadly, parts of the book were hard to follow, but overall, it was entertaining.

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.

A bit of a slow start, but once it picked up, I was hooked. A great story, with unexpected twists surrounded with messy relationships and working through feelings.

This was an advanced listening copy. I didn’t realize there was a first one in this interconnected kind of series, and I recommend reading that first. This one was so interesting and unique and the ending was so beautiful, i’m still thinking about it now!

Lola returns home after missing for 5 years, but Mattie suspects it's not really her sister. Mattie seeks help from Cam and Blair, who gained fame from solving a previous missing person case (Missing Clarissa is Book 1). Despite their reluctance, they agree to assist Mattie. As they investigate, secrets emerge, raising the stakes. The audiobook narration by Inés Del Castillo's narration is great and adds so much extra depth and charm to the story. Inés does a great job portraying the characters and really makes it feel like you're in the room with them at times. However, the pacing and focus of the actual story felt lacking, with minimal development of Lola's character. A lot of the time Lola's character really felt like a background character and we didn't really get a solid foundation on WHAT was actually going on with her. Despite this, the final chapters are gripping. Overall, it's an engaging read for young adults.

Special thanks to Macmillan Audio, Ripley Jones, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.

I enjoyed Missing Clarissa and was looking forward to this one.

The mains are the same, with a new "mystery" to solve. This one seemed to progress much slower than Clarissa, and seemed a bit more YA.

I liked that they included some more diverse characters.

This was a good read, but I really just liked the first more. I did enjoy the narration on the audio.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press for an ARC and MacMillan Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.