Jessie Weaver's Lie Until It's True is a gripping YA thriller that follows Amanda Pruitt, a true crime TikToker seeking redemption after wrongly accusing her sister of murder. Spending the summer at a historic, possibly haunted hotel in Colorado, Amanda aims to clear her friend's mother's name in a recent murder case. Weaver masterfully intertwines suspense, complex friendships, and a touch of the paranormal, keeping readers guessing until the final page. If you're into twisty mysteries with a modern edge, this one's for you.

Amanda has an anonymous TikTok discussing her sister's involvement in a crime, making her appear guilty. Twists continue as the friend group meets up at a hotel that may be haunted. Amanda can use her influence to help get more hotel bookings. A reality show wants to cover the story but requires Amanda to expose the truth about TikTok. And then there is a murder, more accusations, a stolen painting, a love that couldn't be. Somehow Jessie Weaver seamlessly brings all these elements together into a book perfect for mystery readers.

This was a great read for me. I really enjoyed the authors first book and was excited to read this book. I was ready to get into the read right away. It was good. It was thrilling. As with most YA thrillers, it moves at a very nice pace and never seemed to stall for me. The characters were well done. More developed than most YA thrillers. Great read. Good for a creepy vibe for the haunted season.

I’m always surprised what is considered YA. Some of the topics in this book definitely seemed more adult to me. With that being said, I really enjoyed it. There were a lot of characters, so it was sometimes hard to follow (could be because I listened to the audio version). Overall, I would definitely recommend this one!

A summer YA thriller that fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson will love.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Amanda was very unlikeable and I detested her selfishness throughout the book, but she certainly wasn't the only selfish person in the book. I'm sure she wasn't written to be likeable. So, hats off, because my reaction was quite visceral.

That being said, the story is well written and the narrative is probably something that the target audience will latch onto. It's a solid story and everything is wrapped up nicely at the end.

Good for fans of One of Us Is Lying and We Are Liars. Not super original or memorable but definitely scratches that itch. I would hand it to teen readers looking for a thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

I was not drawn in nor did it keep my interest.

Rating: 2/5

Similar to Only Murders in the Building murder, this is a twisty YA murder mystery thriller. Amanda is a Tiktokker spending the summer with her aunt who works at a creepy hotel where her childhood best friend's mom supposedly murdered a guy. Amanda and her friend she hasn't seen in a while, Vince, team up to solve the past murder and a new murder that Amanda is accused of (and maybe thinks she could have done while blacked out in a fit of rage - she's been working on controlling her intrusive thoughts in therapy). It was a little messy and based on other reviews it may have made more sense if I had read Jessie Weaver's first book Live your Best Lie. It was entertaining and I enjoyed it!

This is a fun, fast paced YA thriller which leaves the reader wondering just what makes someone the bad guy. Amanda accused her sister of murder, then broadcast the trial over TikTok. She was wrong, but now that she's got influencer status, maybe she can use it to help solve a different murder that her friend's mom's been implicated in.

Only, in trying to solve that murder, another one gets committed and Amanda becomes the primary suspect.

There's a lot going on in this book: murders and motives and a long-forgotten love story. There are also a few good twists to keep readers hanging on right until the very end.

Amanda is a TikTokker, who gained instant success by giving viewers the inside scoop on her sister's murder trial. The only problem is no one knows it's her running the account, and guilt is eating her up. When she's given a chance to appear on a reality show covering her friend's family's haunted hotel, she doesn't exactly jump at the chance because it comes with the caveat of her outing herself on TV. But then one of Amanda's friend group turns up dead, and she's suddenly the prime suspect. Now she's got a more than one murder to solve.

I enjoyed this. I think the TikTok intersessions will make this book palatable to modern teens. I thought they were at least enjoyable. I hated Cole, and didn't really care about what happened with him. There was a bit of mystery thrown in here which involved a love story and a painting. I won't give anything away, but I think I enjoyed this part more than anything else in the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. I enjoyed Reba Buhr's narration. All in all this was a good book, and I'd recommend it.

Twisty, intriguing thriller that combines two murders which may, or may not, be connected. I loved the setting (a Colorado hotel much like The Overlook of The Shining) and really enjoyed the multiple POVs from the four friends. The addition of the true crime fanatics and their impact upon those involved in the crime also added an extra element to the story. Will definitely recommend to fans of the first book or of McManus and other thrillers.

This was a fun, fast paced YA thriller with an unexpected twist at the end. I enjoyed the dark atmosphere of the haunted hotel.

If you like teens solving murder ala One of Us Is Lying, The Legacies, Diana Urban books, etc. then I think you'll love this one too! Amanda thinks she's doing the right thing turning her sister in for a murder but when her sister is found not guilty Amanda is left to question everything. Then her friend Mallory asks her to come back to Colorado and their group of friends and use her anonymous true crime TikTok account to help free their friend's mother who has also been accused of murder and refuses to make a statement. Can Amanda find the truth? And can she handle it when she does?

I enjoyed the murder mystery elements and some of the twists and turns but parts also felt obvious to me. I did guess wrong a few times about who the murderer was and I appreciated that the author played around with Amanda's character and left a lot of grey areas -- she wasn't solidly good or bad. The rest of the characters I struggled with. Character development is super important to me and I found myself not caring about or even liking really any of these people. Even Amanda I didn't super care about, which is hard as a main character. I think some teens or people who gravitate towards plot over character will really like this one -- and overall I definitely still enjoyed it.

As soon as I heard about this book I was excited. I LOVED her first one. But while reading it, I knew it just wasn’t going to hit the same. It definitely reminded me to stop building things up in my head. It wasn’t a disappointment, but it just wasn’t what i thought it was going to be.

Especially the haunted angle. Y’all know I’m a horror girlie through and through, so I was expecting to find some of the like ghost or something. Like make it scary. But no, it was some weird like theory about slipping through time. And while it sounded cool, it didn’t really scratch the itch for the horror part if that makes sense. So because that was a wash, I was hoping for a great mystery.

And I’m glad the mystery was actually good. I loved the way it was a historical mystery as well as a modern one. It wasn’t really a great distinguisher, but it was so much fun to read. I also loved the way Weaver framed the hotel. I’m a HUGE fan of settings in books, but even more so when it’s haunted lol And this old hotel with no updated anything sounded amazing. I would have loved to go and look through the rooms and find all the connections.

The last thing I didn’t actually care for was the ending. In the last one it ended and then we find out everything we thought we found out was a lie. This one isn’t the case. And it drove me crazy. It was so like plain lol I don’t really get it I guess. The last one was SO GOOD. But this one ended and it was just done. There didn’t seem like there was actually a lie. And that was when I thought it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. I hope there’s more in this series. (Also, I listened to this, so if I zoned out and someone caught something I didn’t, please tell me. I’m still in denial that this one didn’t end the way I wanted it to lol)

This book wasn’t what I expected, but it wasn’t bad either. I wanted more than this. Even the TikTokers weren’t enough for me to love this book. I usually love social media in thrillers, but this one wasn’t as involved as the last one, so it was really just like eh for me. But even still, would I read it again? Yes. And I just might, if nothing else to see about that ending one more time lol

I read this book out order, but it is a good stand alone read. It’s a quick listen. There is a lot going on but it’s easy to follow.

This book had everything! Mystery, multiple perspectives, complex friendships and relationships, complex family dynamics, the pressure of high school and sexual assault. It did a fantastic job showing that at a certain age someone can not consent and it is assault. It felt encouraging to readers to share if that happened to them and what happens if hold it all inside. It also addressed a real issue of cheating scams in schools as well as different opportunities for teens based on their finances and connections. It held my attention the entire time and had surprises. Fantastic read. Young adults will love it and learn from it.

I always feel so guilty when I can't recommend a book. Sadly, Lie Until It's True just did not capture my attention. YA Thrillers seem to be enthralled with True Crime podcasts as part of their plot, and this book is just another example of that. I did not find the characters interesting. In fact, there were several times I had trouble identifying characters because they were so muddled and undeveloped. I hardly ever quit a book, but after trying it three times I had to give up. I not only didn't care about the murders, but will sleep soundly never knowing who did it.

I love a good YA story. I do.

This one however ran a little to juvenile for a YA. I think it was a written a little to immature for my HS readers but wasn’t captivating enough my middle grade readers.

Amanda, the mc, was way too self involved and didn’t seem to carry about anyone until she did.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Listened at 2.5x audio speed with no issues. Narrator had good pacing and inflection.

While I do NOT love the idea of yet another podcast and more internet sleuths, if I cut those moments out of the story, I enjoyed this. There seems to be a mysterious air to an old hotel in Denver. When murders start to occur, fingers are pointed. The multiple timelines keep it interesting, since there's a past and a present. The pacing is pretty solid, and the writing does a good job at narrating just enough without giving everything away. That said, many of the "twists" were pretty obvious and the internet trolls reeked of their real-life influences. Still, the ending was interesting and, upon reflection, made perfect sense, so there was a sense of satisfaction that came with the wrap up.

Overall: 4 stars (I really liked it)

**Thank you to NetGalley & Disney Audiobooks | Melissa de la Cruz Studio for the free ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**