Years have passed since high school, but this group of friends can’t seem to shake it off. 2 of them got married to each other, 2 died, 1 went MIA…but the past is coming back to haunt them. What really happened the night their friends died?

This was an intriguing domestic-y type thriller that kept me engaged throughout. I especially enjoyed the ending.

Hillary Huber was a great narrator and fit the part perfectly.


You won’t regret reading this one!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Highbridge Audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this suspenseful thriller that held my interest from start to finish. The ending is perfect and everyone gets their just rewards!!
The narrator was excellent!

Fans who love Shari Lapena, Lisa Jewell and Michelle Campbell will deliciously devour this great read!

I liked how it was written- Short, descriptive chapters, clearly identified POV and a timeline that bounces between present day and 1999. There’s enough intrigue to keep things interesting.
Hillary Huber’s narration of the audiobook is well paced and clear. Her pleasant voice is very easy to listen to. I liked it!
Thank You to NetGalley, HighBridge Audio and Jaime Lynn Hendricks for the opportunity to listen to and thoroughly enjoy the audiobook version of this ARC.

🎧Song Pairing: I Had Some Help - Post Malone ft Morgan Wallen

💭What I thought would happen:

Anyone else getting a Jeepers Creepers vibe from this 😂

📖What actually happens:

Scarlett has a visitor, her high school best friend’s daughter who also may be her husband’s bastard child. Oh and she’s annoying AF.

Zoey wants to know who her father is and what happened 20 years ago that made her mother flee

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

This one had a very All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda vibe except no missing girls 😂

Some characters grew on me but originally I wanted to wood chipper them (yes I turned that into a verb)

I liked it? I liked parts. The ending is out for debate in some aspects. I listened to this while road tripping in a storm so it very much had an ambiance 🌧️

Read if:
🥔You’ve drank too much vodka
😉Love daddy issues
🩷Love to hate characters

Thank you Netgalley, Jamie Lynn Hendricks and High Bridge Audio for the audiobook! A highly entertaining narrating by Hillary Huber. A twisted thriller that had me hating certain characters but then liking them at the end and transferring that hate to the ones who deserved it! The past will always come back to haunt!

The story is centered around Scarlett Russo and the secrets she kept buried with her old high school best friend Pepper. Scarlett has long since moved on from her senior year secrets with her husband Vince and their son Luke. However, when Pepper's daughter shows up asking for answers, specifically trying to get to the bottom of something she has always wondered, Scarlett's life begins to unravel. Pepper has died and her daughter Zoey wants to know what Pepper was hiding from her. As Zoey begins to dive into her mother and Scarlett's lives, Scarlett begins to wonder how long she can keep up the charade. What happened at their senior picnic that Scarlett wants to keep buried at all costs?

This book was so juicy and fun. I had such a blast getting to see Scarlett and Pepper's journey as teenagers and I loved to hate almost every single person here. This is juicy juicy JUICY fun. A LOVELY LIE is the perfect popcorn thriller to dive into when you are looking for something fast-paced. This will be the PERFECT beach read this summer!

Not really sure about this one. I liked that it was a super quick listen with good narration. However, it reads like YA, the cast of unlikeable "adults" in the room do not act like mature adults, it's predictable and the ending was rushed. Overall, I can't see myself remembering this one too long. Thank you to HighBridge Audio, Jaime Lynn Hendricks, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a wild ride.
The night of their senior picnic, two classmates were left dead following an apparent drunk driving accident. Little did police know that there were many secrets from all parties involved that night. Following the investigation, best friends Scarlett and Pepper moved on with their lives. Scarlett went on to college and Pepper seemingly disappeared.
One night Scarlett meets Zoey Wilson- and instantly in shock as not only does she find out Pepper is dead, but she also had a daughter. Did I mention that Zoey is potentially the daughter of Vince, Scarletts husband? Zoey has questions and she is demanding answers, but everyone is hesitant to tell the truth.

This was a really quick read for me. The suspense kept me hooked and intrigued for what was next. This easily could have been a 5-star read for me however the ending felt rushed which was a bit disappointing. I'm also not the biggest fan of multiple POVs when it feels like the story is being repeated.

I listened to the audiobook of this and felt Hillary Huber did a great job with all of the povs and first-person narrations. She was able to achieve the appropriate emotions with each character perfectly.

Thank you Jaime Lynn Hendricks, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite books I’ve read so far this year! The twists were known but still thought out so well! Highly recommend

After reading and loving I Didn’t Do It, I was happy to see the author has a new book coming out. The author has a fun writing style and her humor is clever throughout the book. Hilary Huber is one of my very favorite voice actors and she is perfection in this audiobook production. There’s plenty of drama here and the twists are great. Buckle your seatbelt if you have to “like” the characters, because you won’t!

A Lovely Lie is an immensely enjoyable audiobook, particularly for those who appreciate a good dose of dark humor and moral ambiguity in their thrillers. A Lovely Lie is a wickedly fun and compelling listen. Its strong narration, intricate plot, and intriguing cast of unlikable characters make it a standout in the thriller genre. This audiobook earns a well-deserved four stars for its ability to entertain and captivate from beginning to end.

I loved this weird little book so much! OMG I cannot praise the narration enough. It was perfect, as she this narrator always delivers. Love her!
The story is weird. A married woman is working when a young woman comes in. She says she is the daughter of the initial woman's long lost best friend from high school. The best friend was awful! Spoiled, pretty, and head cheerleader. She always got what she wanted.
Well it turns out the woman is married to her bestie's high school boyfriend. They hooked up after college and had a shotgun wedding because she got pregnant. It has not been a happy marriage.
Homeboy is still stuck on the ex who got away. (Seriously? It has been 22 years). He is literally the worst.
Their kid is amazing though. I loved him.
Anyway the end surprised me because who does all that?!
Loved it!

I'm kind of surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Not because I expected it to be bad or anything like that, just because I requested it on NetGalley on a whim and had zero expectations.

I really enjoyed the story, and was actually shocked enough to have to pause the audiobook a few times. There were multiple twists and turns, but everything came together in a way that made a lot of sense in the end.

The character development was also really awesome in this book. The opinion I had of some characters at the beginning did not at all match what I thought of them in the end, whether it was good or bad.

Really enjoyed this audiobook. The narrations were great, the plot had twists that I didn’t see coming. Vince was super annoying, as he should have been. Luke I wish had been a little more flushed out, but all the characters came with layers. Will definitely read more by Jamie Lynn Hendricks. Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen and review A Lovely Lie.

Rating: 4 stars!

I ate this book up in 2 days. The dual timeline and the multi-POV built the story at a rapid speed. With the shorter chapters and the building suspense of "whos the daddy?!", I had to get to the end of the book.

The final reveal to the thriller was a wild but happy ending! Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was compelling right until the end and then rushes through what should be the most interesting part. I was hooked by this multi-generational look at guilt, with multiple viewpoints and some really despicable villains.

On the night of the 1999 Senior Picnic, an accident occurred, two people were killed, and life changed for a number of classmates. All of those involved tried to leave the past in the past; Pepper moved to New York while Scarlett, Vince & Chris stayed in Florida but mostly moved on with life.... until a girl shows up on their doorsteps claiming to be Pepper's daughter and looking for answers about her father. Scarlett, Vince & Chris all have guesses about who Pepper's father is, but none of them has the whole story and what they don't know just might hurt them.

I absolutely loved this book. This is my 49th book of the year and probably my favorite so far. I love a good blast from the past plot, and I love a twisted story so this one was right up my alley. This author did an amazing job of plotting a twisty story without letting it become convoluted. Every part of the story was completely plausible and the characters all had believable reactions to what was happening to them. I also loved how there were so many different perspectives in addition to the flash backs (interviews from the day after the accident) and not a single time was I confused about whose perspective I was listening to (part of that is because in addition to fantastic writing the narration was perfection). The whole thing was written in such a masterful way that I could not pause it. If I didn't have to go to work I would have blown through this is a day. I highly, highly recommend this one for fans of Freida McFadden or Kiersten Modglin or anyone who likes a twisty quick read!

Zoey, an investigative journalism major, goes to Florida to look for her biological father. She grew up without one after her mother, Pepper, left town while she was still pregnant with her. While on this search for answers, she finds out more than she bargained for as she uncovers the truth about his identity and an accident that left two dead. The past comes back to haunt this group of friends involved.

It feels like a story inside of a story. Everyone involved were pointing fingers at each other and each POV gives clues as to who did what. The plot twists had me on the edge of my seat if I was sitting down.

The narrator of this book is Hillary Hubor. She dictated each character perfectly and had no problem transitioning from one POV to the next.

Special thanks to #NetGalley and #HighBridge Audio for the #ARC copy of #ALovelyLie audiobook. Publication date is set for May 28, 2024.

This quick listen was a 3.5/5 for me. I really enjoyed the narration and although at times it was a bit predictable the storyline was a good one.

mystery, thriller, suspense, Florida, crime, contemporary, audiobook, family, family-drama, family-dynamics, infidelities, secrets, lies, riveting***

Deadly events from graduation night come back to haunt the present 22 years later. A cast of unpleasant characters but a good investigation. Just not my cup of tea.
Voice actor Hillary Huber gives a stellar performance narrating.
I requested and received a free temporary advanced audio copy from HighBridge Audio.