I really liked the narrator. She had a great tone and speed throughout the book. She did a great job at making her voice different for each character without it being ridiculous. It definitely enhanced the read for me.

The book itself was wonderful! It was a slower burn but I love the going back and forth in timelines. You get little snippets here and there to help you try and figure out what’s happening. The characters are all so interwoven in their drama and their high school to adulthood lives, it’s fun to follow along with.

Thank you NetGalley, Highbridge Audio, and Jamie Lynn Hendricks for the early release of the audiobook!

I really enjoyed this chaotic, fast paced, morally questionable thriller. I enjoyed the dual timelines, many povs, police interview format, lies, drama and infidelity. I am an avid thriller reader and often predict twists/endings which was the case for this book but didn't mean it wasn't well written.

3.75/5 stars rounded up to 4 for NetGalley

Content Warnings
Graphic: death, toxic relationship, gaslighting, grief, infidelity, bullying, car accident, injury, abortion, alcohol, blood, drug use, miscarriage, murder, pregnancy, toxic friendship, violence and vomit
Minor: rape and sexual assault

Not my cup of tea. Trite. Somewhat predictable. Unlikeable characters. Needs more depth. Try again please.

Secrets, lies, drama, loathsome characters, brilliant storyline - what’s not to love?

Told in duel timelines with a mixture of police interviews thrown in, we follow a tragic incident from 1999 to someone looking for answers in the now.

Highly addictive and totally entertaining, this is one of those books you pick up that you will not want to out down.

Huge thanks to Highbridge audio for my ALC. The narration by Hillary Huber was top notch - I could not stop listening. Highly recommended.

The plot is east to follow and the character development is great. WOW! Such a great read. I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jaime Lynn Hendricks & Highbridge Audio for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

This book was getting a lot of buzz, so I was glad to have an early listen. Unfortunately, for me, it didn’t live up to the hype.

We follow, mainly, Scarlett who shares a deadly secret with her high school best friend Pepper. Twenty years later, Pepper’s daughter shows up out-of-the-blue to inform Scarlett that Pepper recently died & to also harass her about the secret they were keeping. She threatens to figure out what the secret is and to out Scarlett.

This was a so-so thriller. I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters & the twist ending was predictable – most of it. There was one particular twist that was a little bit of a surprise, but not earth shattering.

The pacing moved quick enough, but overall, it lacked originality. I read 400+ books per year (you read that correctly – not a typo) & 70% are thrillers, so I’m a tough critic for this genre. It wasn’t “bad,” but I will have forgotten about it as soon as I finish typing this review.

the narration of this audiobook was excellent!!! easy to follow. great plot and overall very well done!!! highly recommend!!!

While I did guess the whole plot from the beginning, I enjoyed the storytelling and characters. Even if I enjoyed not liking the characters. I really liked the way it was written in different timelines and pov’s. The narration definitely added to the story.

Wow, this book hooked me in from the very beginning and kept me hanging onto the edge of my seat the entire time. Loved!

This was phenomenal!! I absolutely loved the character development and their dynamic. This was my first by Hendricks but certainly won’t be the last.
The narration by Hillary Huber was perfect for this book and she kept me engaged and waiting for more.
Thanks to Highbridge Audio for my copy.

There was a lot of drama happening here; a lot of deplorable characters and childish antics. These people hadn’t changed much from teenagers 20 years before to nearly 40.

20 years ago there was an accident that left 2 high school peers dead. Pepper and Scarlet have been keeping a huge secret about that night. Then Pepper leaves town for NY, never to be seen or heard from again.

20 years later, Scarlet gets an unexpected visit from Pepper’s daughter. She’s in town to find out who her father is and learn more about the accident from 20 years before. So we get a few different pov’s from that night and different secrets from each person involved.

This narrator is one who I really like. I love her simplistic style and how she brings each character to life. she made this an enjoyable reading experience because there were a few times I wanted to stop listening. Why? It seemed repetitive and childish. I kept thinking, get to the point already. I could see the end coming and found it a little laughable.

However, it was a very lite and easy read which was what I needed at the time.

Pepper and her friend have a hidden secret and her daughter uncovers a letter that has more questions than answers. While Zoe digs for answers her mother and best friend do their best to keep the past in the past.
I loved the narrator of this audiobook and the past and present transitions were done smoothly. I couldn't wait to finish it!

What a crazy delicious story. I loved how intricate the story was. Pepper was a piece of work let me tell you. Very psychotic and self serving. I like how it ended up ending even though it didn’t end exactly as I would have hoped bit still good

Twenty Two years ago Scarlett and her best friend Pepper were involved in some kind of accident, that same night, two teenagers lost their lives. Were Pepper and Scarlett involved?
Scarlett's world is turned upside down when Peppers, now grow daughter arrives in town looking for answers.

Man, this author knows how to write an obnoxious character.
This was a twisty little mystery, that while the major points of the story were predictable, some little bits of the story succeeded in catching me off guard a couple times.

I listened to the audio book of this and the narrator did a really good job

I was actually surprised that this was not a YA book. I really enjoyed it, but it seemed more ‘innocent’ than some of the other YA mystery murders I have recently read. I like that the book was so focused on the strong female friendship: it was a little predictable, but still enjoyable.

When a group of friends get together the day after graduation an accident happens. But was it truly an accident? Now the friends are in their 40’s and the truth starts to spill out. A great audiobook with twists throughout.

A Lovely Lie is a slow burn in all the best ways! Scarlett Russo has long buried secrets with her old high school best friend Pepper. Scarlett has moved on and is now married with a son. However, when Pepper's daughter shows up asking questions, Scarlett is put into quite a predicament.

This book was such a fun read!. I really enjoyed the story. A Lovely Lie is the perfect little thriller for folks looking for a fast, fun summer read!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the audio ARC of this book.

Lesson learned: do not allow yourself to be anyone's second choice! Some people peak in high school and that can affect those closest to them. Scarlett is trying to make things work with her cheating husband- mainly for the benefit of their son. However, when Zoey, her high school best friend's daughter, shows up in their small town, Scarlett realizes she has more to lose than her marriage. At first meeting, Scarlett comes off as weak and incapable of standing up for herself, then you learn what a great mother she is and, in more ways than one, her son is her salvation.

3.5/5 stars rounded up

Thank you HighBridge Audio for the advanced listening copy!

SYNOPSIS -- A twenty year old secret, dead teenagers and a secret baby. What could go wrong? Scarlett Russo has spent the last twenty-two years forgetting about the night of her senior picnic, when she and best-friend, Pepper, were involved in a car accident that killed two of their classmates. Having not talked to Pepper since that night, she's shocked when Pepper's daughter, Zoey, now twenty-one, shows up with a cryptic letter and news of Pepper's recent death. Suddenly all the memories and accompanying secrets are starting to bubble up. Can Scarlett get to the truth before Zoey does? Or, more importantly, before the police?

This book was a total mixed bag! I really enjoyed the premise and thought the story was super fast-paced. Hillary Huber is a fantastic narrator, and I always enjoy listening to the book she reads. I loved the timeline jumps and the pacing between these; it added a ton to the dimension of the story and had some great parallels. While there were some good twists, I predicted one of the major ones, which is always disappointing to me. The characters were, overall, super unlikeable and I wasn't really rooting for anyone, just wanted to find out the secrets.

Also, major nit-picky point, but why did Scarlett have to say "my boy" so many times?! Those repetitions always get me on audio and I could NOT let it go lol

Overall, pretty fast paced and interesting story, just lacking a bit of "wow" factor.

I liked the pace of this. The characters were meh to me, besides Pepper being someone I could picture and understand. For some reason I want onboard for the ending.