The Lies We Conjure follows sisters Ruby and Wren after being offered a job impersonating an old woman’s grandchildren at a fancy dinner party in a haunted mansion. It’s an easy yes for the girls as they need the money for college. But when someone is murdered at the dinner table and the party guests are revealed to be witches, the sisters realize they are in way over their head. And might not make it out alive.

I’m a sucker for any comp title for Clue or Knives Out, and this was executed so well! I had such a fun time reading. The vibes were so good and I loved the murder-mystery aspect with witches—it made for a fun thriller. I also loved that they were locked in the Manor. There is such a tense atmosphere and trying to guess who the killer is hooks you really fast though it did feel a tad slow at times. But it was still a very entertaining read!

I thoroughly enjoyed the cast of characters. I love a good sister story and Ruby and Wren were so lovely. Wren is a little too impulsive and I loved that Ruby reeled her in and had more of a level head. They complimented each other so well. Auden was so great and I loved him and Ruby together. They make such a good couple and the progression of their relationship was so well done. Evander and Winter were so good too and honestly, all the characters are so distinct and their choices were really believable. The whole cast is really good and easy to learn who is who. I really enjoyed the ending and the last chapter especially. It was so sweet!

Overall, if you love Knives Out and witches, this is the perfect book foe you!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Lies We Conjure releases September 17, 2024

2.5

During a shift at the renaissance festival, twin sisters Ruby and Wren are approached by a woman who wants them to impersonate her granddaughters at a dinner party.

Before the guest even get to the midpoint of their meal, Ursula Hegemony, the High Sorcerer of the Four Lines, dies, and the manor goes into immediate lockdown.
If the guest do not follow through with the requests in Ursula’s will to identify her murderer as well as locating the four master relics all within three days, they will be stuck in the manor forever.

With comps like <I>Knives Out</I> and <I>The Inheritance Games</I> but with magic, this had everything to be my next five-star read. Unfortunately, I found the story to be excruciatingly long-winded, and it was hard to believe that none of the heirs questioned Ruby and Wren’s lack of magic or knowledge of the Four Lines.
The whodunnit character reveal was obvious from the get-go. I personally think there should have been some more complex twists incorporated to really shock the reader and add more depth to the magical world — what if instead of being two random girls from a festival, Wren and Ruby really were witches and had their memories wiped?!

Know what’s better than Knives Out? Knives Out with WITCHES. I love both fantasy and mystery so learning that Sarah combined both in The Lies We Conjure had me immediately interested. The book was well written and had many twists I didn’t see coming, including the ending. The pacing was on par and I liked having the perspective of the outsider and the insider.

Thank you NetGalley and TorTeen for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Tor Teen and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Super exciting! Ruby and her sister Wren are approached by an older woman, Marsyas. She will pay them to pretend to be her granddaughters at an upcoming party, since they really do look similar. Ruby is uncomfortable with the idea but before she can object Wren accepts. Seen as how they need the money Ruby reluctantly goes along with it. Auden’s magical family and the other three family lines are coming together and for the first time in ten years the Blackgate sisters have come back. He never got along with Liliana (Ruby), but he’s surprised at how different she is. Then the hostess dies. Before Ruby and Wrens eyes magic is revealed exposed. They are trapped on the grounds with witches, in order to survive they have to hide their identity and figure out who the murder is. The catch is they only have three days to do so. But Ruby and Wren are out of their league. Ruby teams up with Auden to help solve the mystery. But as the two grow closer can she hide her secret from him? And with more bodies dropping who can she and Wren trust? A locked murder mystery with the added elements of an intriguing magical system that will have you turning the pages! Charming, mysterious, with a touch of romance! Highly recommend this magical whodunnit!

Unfortunately, this wasn’t it for me. I love a good murder mystery and treasure hunt, which this book had. But ultimately, neither of those aspects of the book surprised me.

2.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t it for me. I love a good murder mystery and treasure hunt, which this book had. But ultimately, neither of those aspects of the book surprised me.

None of the reveals in this book had me shocked, I predicted most of them, honestly. It almost would have been more interesting if Ruby and Wren actually WERE Lavinia and Kaysa with their memories altered. And the murderer? I knew it right away. There was really never any other option simply because so many of the characters were written to be liked, and those we didn’t like had been killed.

The murderer, while having understandable motives, was so one-dimensional and ultimately cringey.

Lastly, in terms of character development, I really feel like there wasn’t any for any of the characters.

Very much just a letdown of a book for me, sadly.

This book is described as "Knives Out meets The Inheritance Games with magic" and that is a perfect description and doesn't disappoint!!

Ruby and Wren are sisters that have been hired by a woman to pretend they are her granddaughters at a formal dinner. Once they arrive the hostess is murdered, their "grandmother" disappears and they realize magic is real and so are witches.

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. I also liked that they story was told from Ruby and Auden's POV. It allows the reader to learn about the history of the witches and the conflict between the families from Auden's POV.

This book is YA but it doesn't feel that way with the storytelling. If you are looking for a fun thriller just in time for October then grab this one!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

Wow! This book did not disappoint. Two sisters who unknowingly get involved in a dangerous dinner party with four magical families. They didn't expect that they would be fighting for their lives and falling in love. Great story. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A very entertaining combination of all my favorite elements: murder mystery, scavenger hunt and magic! Ruby and Wren are normal teenaged sisters who receive a strange request, they need to pretend to be an old lady’s grandkids at a fancy dinner party. Weird but easy, right? Think again, someone is murdered, the rest of them are trapped and there’s the teeny, tiny issue of the rest of the guests being witches. When the old lady disappears, the sisters are stuck trying to figure out how to maintain their cover, how the magic world works, whodunit, why, how and, oh yes, also hunting for magical artifacts. The chapters are told by Ruby and Auden, a member of one of the magical families. I have to say that I had the wrong idea from the beginning. The actual reveals were not the most surprising, as the plot only had a few possible outcomes, but it was the “how” that was unexpected. I liked the characters as well. Ruby and Wren are not really con artists, they never knew how serious their role was. Auden and the rest of his magical family are well written, and I enjoyed the subtle humor. I loved the setting, the scavenger hunt and the last part was very suspenseful. Enjoyable.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Tor Publishing Group.

As others have said, this is very much a 'witchy Inheritance Games' book, with fun/goofy names and even a romance plot thrown in. The stakes are high, and the plot is intricate. I think these locked-room mysteries don't really work for me anymore, but this is certainly a fun enough spin on the genre. I can see so many people losing it over this book, particularly in the fall.

I thought this was a unique book for sure with both superntual vibes and witchy vibes. I also really liked the clue vibes infused in this read, I one downside to this book is the amount of characters in thigs read and also because we had only two POV characters so many of the characters did not feel that developed and along with that the magic system felt a bit simple!! but i found it to be a quick read!! def a unique type of read!

Dark fantasy readers, this one is for you. Melding a bit of the dark-magical family trope with dark academia, The Lies We Conjure is a locked-rooms type mystery with murder and magic and horror. Wren and her sister Ruby are hired by a woman to impersonate her estranged granddaughters at a family function, but when they arrive, the host falls dead and their employer vanishes, leaving behind the corpse of their driver. The sisters realize that they've been set up--and that the family surrounding them have strong magical powers and are in a war to take control of the family power. Slowly, they make allies and put the pieces together, and manage to survive. The (many) characters are not evenly fleshed out, but Henning does try to work against stereotypes with the large cast. Much of the magic itself is interesting and original, and readers will like the resourceful protagonists.

Oh my goodness what a great YA book! I’m getting to the point where YA can be very hit and miss for me but I thoroughly enjoyed The Lies We Conjure. The plot kept me interested and I really liked the characters. I think this will be a popular one!

Huge fan of both Knives Out and Inheritance Games so this was a must read for me. There was some good drama and twists that had me needing to find out how it all ended.

I wanted to read this book for 2 reasons: I have loved Sarah Henning's YA contemporaries and "Knives Out with magic" intrigued me. I'm glad I stepped out of my normal contemporary romance world and gave this book a try. I loved how it was set up and how the story developed. The characters and the mystery were a lot of fun. My only issue with this book is that the pace slowed down a bit too much at times. It took me a while to get through it because of that, but I still enjoyed what was happening and the way things worked out.

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=4 | 😘=2.5 | 🤬=3 | ⚔️=4.5 | 14+

summary: two sisters are asked by a mysterious old lady to pretend to be her long lost granddaughters for a few hours at a party; a murder, a disappearance, and the sisters are stuck pretending to be someone they’re not in the midst of a magical murder mystery

thoughts: really, really loved the first 75% of this!—complicated family drama, secret identities, locked room mystery, witches, all good things! I’m not totally sold on the ending; it was a little tropey in a way that didn’t fit with the clever genre-bending vibes of the first part of the book, but overall this was pretty great. yes. 🙂‍↕️

This was a fun murder mystery read. It was a fun twist with the addition of witches. The sisters bond was nice to read about

I really struggled with what to rate this one. Overall I enjoyed the story but it didn't wow me. It's been compared to Inheritance Games but with witches which I can see the comparisons but Inheritance Games had much better writing. I struggled to really connect with any of the characters. The magic system was a bit confusing and I think would have been better with more explanation. There were some contradictions and things that happened that left me questioning things. I also could have done without all the curse words, it took away from the story in my opinion. .

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun ride - definitely witchy Inheritance Games meets Knives Out. Some graphic violence throughout, and I did guess the ending twist but it was still a great read!