The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning? Lowkey obsessed. The mix of small-town secrets, witchy vibes, and messy friendships had me hooked. It’s giving mysterious, it’s giving drama, and the twists? Chef’s kiss. The atmosphere was so on point, I could practically feel the tension in the air.

Some parts felt a little predictable, but the strong characters and spooky energy totally made up for it. If you’re into witchy thrillers that keep you guessing, this one’s def worth your time.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book - definitely a fun YA feel to it. I did find it hard to keep track of all the characters and their magical abilities so a family tree of sorts would have been useful. Overall enjoyed the book and would press it into middle grade/high schoolers hands for spooky season!

"Thirteen witches, a locked-room murder, and two non-magical sisters trapped in a deadly whodunit" I'M SOLD!

OMG this was a house full of witches meets The Inheritance Games. What a fantastic and inventive idea for a story. I really enjoyed this one, loved the characters and would recommend it in a heartbeat.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A fun murder mystery featuring witches, imposters, and a deadline to solve everything or be trapped forever.

I had a good time reading this. The alternate points of view were cool, because we saw things from both an outsider's perspective and from someone with magic who knew the history of the families. There were also some twists I didn't expect and watching Ruby and Wren struggle to stay in character while people kept dropping dead kept my anxiety going.

The reveal at the end wasn't much of a surprise unfortunately, but I kind of think it wasn't supposed to be and it was more about the journey there. I did hope things would go in another direction, but it was still a nice read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for the copy.

Sarah Henning gifts readers with a fantastic literary experience in THE LIES WE CONJURE. Beautifully written and simply unputdownable, I fell headfirst into this gripping magical mystery. Ruby and Wren were the perfect focal points for a story that unfolds at a breakneck pace. Perfection.

What an incredibly fun and unique book! I am huge fan of "locked room" mysteries, think "And then there was none," and this delivered with the witchy twist! I found myself immediately intrigued, as it starts off strong right away and goes in directions that I never saw coming. At first, I was a little confused by the different guests and how they were all connected but it slowly started to make sense in my mind, and I was so anxious that the sisters were going to be discovered and have fatal consequences. This would be the absolute perfect book for someone who is trying to read more fantasy but is a big fan of mystery books and thrillers!

Straight up, I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery, who dunnit story with a dash of witches.

The Lies We Conjure is a story of two mortal sisters, paid to dress up, pretend to be an eclectic woman's granddaughters, and attend dinner at the town's mysterious and possibly haunted estate. The sisters find themselves lost and confused as the hostess dies, and they are abandoned by their "grandmother." They learn quickly that magic is real, are now trapped on the estate with a bunch of witches, and one of them is a murderer.

I don't think that synopsis of beyond Knives Out X The Inheritance Games really does the book or the plot justice. Lies We Conjure is very much a mystery thriller with power as motive for killing. It was a little gruesome at some points, but overall it was a very age appropriate YA. I do wish that there was a little more information and development on the "relic." However, I thoroughly enjoyed this paranormal thriller. It kept me guessing until the end. A book that had me thinking "I know this character has a huge role, but I am really not sure how they did it." It's rare that happens for me! I do recommend this book for a quick and fun read. 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley, Tor Publishing Group | Tor Teen, and the author for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting to social media.

Knives out but with magic is the perfect way to describe this action packed YA novel by Sarah Henning!

This story follows Ruby and Wren who get themselves invited to a dinner party pretending to be two people they’re not, only for it to turn into a magical murder mystery after the host is killed.

I loved the characters especially our narrators, Auden and Ruby. All of the characters felt very well thought out despite it being a big cast. Each had their role to play. I enjoyed learning more about them as the story progressed and secrets came out.

The plot was really engaging with twists and turns throughout. I think it all flowed well including the switching of points of view which helped fill the reader in without too much info dumping. I thought the action was well paced and by the end I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out how things would play out. As someone who doesn’t typically read mysteries, I think the blend of that genre and fantasy was done really well and in an engaging way!

The only thing I wish this had was a master list of the characters and their families/magic lines. With how many there were it was a little bit hard to keep track of throughout.

Overall, a highly enjoyable read for those looking for some magic with their mystery! Perfect for the Fall and spooky season!

This book is such a great, easy spooky season read! It’s the perfect mash up of murder mystery, fake identity, magic and intrigue. I am a sucker for books that take place in my home state and this one did not disappoint. I loved how they used the beauty and nature of the Rocky Mountains to bring the story to life. I loved the slow burn between Ruby and Auden, it felt like the right amount of heat for who these characters are and what they were in the middle of. It was so fun to keep trying to guess what was going to happen next and being so surprised by what did happen. The mom in me loved that the whole story was firmly YA, which allowed me to share it with my teens. (They said it was “fine” but both finished it in a weekend and couldn’t put it down.)

Read this if you like:
➡️ Witches
➡️ Murder Mystery
➡️ Captive Audience
➡️ Dual POVs
➡️ Unique Magical Systems
➡️ Fake Identities
➡️ Slow Burn

⭐⭐⭐⭐

#theliesweconjure #SarahHenning #murdermystery #witches #dualPOVs #slowburn #YAreads #netgalley #arcreads

A witchy “who done it” with primarily rich privileged teens who always seem intriguing but also always seem to want to leave each other with enticing looks and sexual meanings under breath. If you were looking for a throwback Clue inspired story but with witchy teens, then you’ll likely enjoy this one.

When the 4 bloodlines of witch families reunite in the manor home of the high sorcerer but two imposters are among them; Wren and Ruby are paid to impersonate the long lost grandchildren of one of the famous bloodlines- it’s just one night right? That is until the high sorcerer Ursula Hegemony is murdered and everyone could be a suspect. But wouldn’t you suspect the imposters first?

With mistaken identity and fantasy wrapped in, this gave me feelings of “These Vicious Games” in the best way. At times, this was an emotional whiplash- going from flirty teenage eyes to immediate danger and death threats. And not always in such a smooth transition. Speaking of which, Wren for the most part was unhelpful and an irritating teenage stereotype. And I really wanted her to stop making lusty type comments so frequently to her sister’s eye roll. It was much too repetitive.

The ending went a little too James Bond, with the villain monologue before our hero. And I’m realizing that even though I liked this and I liked the style of writing, it fell for way too many book tropes and stereotypes.

The Lies We Conjure was knives out but WITH MAGIC?! Honestly all I’ve ever wanted in life. It kept me on my toes the entire time and I can only hope we dive further into this world of magic and mystery.

When I requested the book, I had a reasonable amount of hope. I did not expect it to blow my mind but I expected at least an enjoyable read. It wasn’t enjoyable is to say the least.
The writing style was very tedious to read through. The pacing was really slow and I actually did not finish it(could only read 42%) so I did not rate it on goodreads. I don’t know if my feedback is helpful or not.

This book wasn’t for me and that much was certain.

Knives Out meets The Inheritance Games in this locked room murder mystery but with WITCHES! The Lies we Conjure was perfect blend of mystery and magic for the fall season, especially if you’re looking for a fall book that isn’t spooky or a thriller!

It surely kept me on my toes for most of the book and has my curiosity piqued the entire time. I was itching to solve the murder and even though I knew who it was, I just couldn’t figure out the HOW! It was driving me crazy tbh lol. I just wish the pacing didn’t feel a little off for me. It was fun yet felt like it dragged at times. I really couldn’t wait to get to the end haha. Speaking of the end, I actually love how the story was all wrapped up. It was wholesome and didn’t leave me wanting for more like so many other endings leave me feeling.

Overall, a fun book for any time of the year but more specifically the fall season!

I was drawn to this book based on the description of “Knives Out meets The Inheritance Games with magic”. Um, yes, count me in! I loved the idea of a locked room murder mystery with magic and witches (Hello SPOOKY SEASON!). I was not sure about whether I would find it interesting, being that it is a young adult thriller. However, based on the description and the fact that I LOVE Harry Potter (also young adult), I dove in. Also, the cover is awesome. I know, I know—Don’t judge a book by its cover—It is great though.

Overall, it was an OK read. I did not get Knives Out feels from it, and didn’t find any humor at all in it, which was present in Knives Out. I appreciated the authors descriptive world building. I did feel, however, that there was a lot of info dumping in the beginning. I also felt like the pacing was off, with some portions of the book really dragging. Also, the young romance was a huge eye roll for me, but I kind of expected that. The final “Showdown” toward the end of the book was honestly cool, and super creepy. It would probably make a cool movie, but I wouldn’t read this again. I would recommend this book to young adult readers who enjoyed The Inheritance Games series and are interested in witchy vibes for spooky season—they would probably LOVE this.

Thank you torpublishinggroup for allowing me access to this ARC via @netgalley All thoughts are entirely my own.

I enjoyed the premise of this book, and I thought that the world building was strong once the story was established. However, the beginning of the book was very abrupt, and it was hard to jump into the world of the story at the point where the author began. I would have liked to have seen more of an establishment of the characters before the invitation was given, as it happened too suddenly within the first few pages of the novel. Additionally, I would have liked to have seen more character building for the main female protagonist, as sometimes the information that we were given felt very stilted and dropped-in to the overall story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to others.

I thought this was interesting and twisty. There were some things I didn't love about it, but overall I do think it was a very solid thriller/mystery. I just think locked room mysteries are so fun. I was a little lost at the beginning, but once I got into the rhythm of it I had a good time. I do think the romance was pretty unnecessary and I spent the entire time wishing it wasn't included, but I know it's basically a pre-req for YA books now so I don't hold it agains the book.

Neither of the sisters were compelling and this book could have benefited from a worldbuilding rewrite because it had so much potential but just went nowhere.

I loved reading this book! I've really enjoyed Sarah Henning's other books, but this is the first that's been set solidly, easily recognizable as our world, but with magic. That it's a locked room mystery just added a wonderful element to the story!

Ruby is from a normal family, she's working to build up her college fund. So when she and her sister are hired to pretend to be this lady's granddaughters, well, she's sceptical, but it seems like easy money. Until the host of the gathering is murdered, and her pretend grandmother is the main suspect.

We got Ruby's perspective as an outsider, and we also got Auden's perspective, one of the Hegemony grandchildren, heir to this magic, grown up in it, and part of the reason why there's no adults from the parents generation around. A point that was pretty important to the story!

Watching as they searching for these relics, while Ruby and Wren were keeping their secret, and Auden kept thinking about Ursula's instructions to him, as things were revealed, and their time was ticking...yeah it was tense and I had such a blast reading it! And oh, that end was phenomenal!

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to read more by Sarah Henning!

This story was an intriguing mix of Knives Out, The Inheritance Games, and Then There Were None. No character is safe. The reader is left guessing who is going to come out of the lockdown alive and who is at the helm. The story is not predictable in that I was able to get some sense every now and then about what I thought could happen, but I was not always entirely correct. The evolution of the plot was well executed and the denouement satisfying.
I enjoyed the telling of the story through two points of view. The character depth was sufficient to get a good sense of personality and motivations. The side characters play a role that is just as important and the MCs and the reader can easily become attached to any of them.
Another interesting aspect of the story is the magic system and in particular, how the bodies are shrouded or frozen in time over the course of the lock down. I’m trying to parse it out, but I keep deleting my words because they give too much away. The important thing is that there is some pretty cool stuff that comes out with respect to the magic.
I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good mystery, some puzzling out, and/or a touch of the paranormal. There is also a touch of romance that you will find yourself rooting for.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an early digital copy of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.