This book was messy in the best way possible; not in writing, but in the way the characters acted! I had such a fun time on this messed up, fast-paced ride! I need to check out more from this author ASAP!! I really enjoyed the narrator of this audiobook as well.

4.5 stars

If you’re looking for a fun, twisty thriller that pieces itself together with dual timelines, police interviews and multiple POV’s this is the one for you! It’s one that captivates you from the beginning and is impossible to put down.

Scarlett and Pepper are best friends. They are involved in an accident that leaves 2 of their classmates dead at their big senior picnic. The police interview everyone there and Scarlett and Pepper lie to stay out of jail.

Shortly afterwards, Pepper takes off to NYC and is never heard from again. Until now. 22 years later her daughter shows up with shocking news. First, Pepper is dead. Second, she is looking for her dad and believes it is someone from their senior class.

Scarlett is living her life with her husband and son. Zoey, Pepper’s daughter, showing up looking for answers is turning her world upside down.

The suspense will keep you up reading, the character development is amazing. There are extremely likable characters among extremely unlikable ones.

Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for an audio copy of this book.

For more of Angie and Lauren’s book reviews, please follow us on Instagram: @BluejackBookGirls

5 out of 5 stars. This book was perfection. It’s one of those books I’m going to re-read in the future because it was so good. It made me feel all the feels and Pepper. Oooohhhh Pepper. The hatred I felt for her was unreal. You know it’s a good book when you think about it for days after and want to know more about the characters’ lives. Loveeeed this. I will be devouring everything by this author from now on.

I listened to Jaime Lynn Hendricks newest release A Lovely Lie in two days! Total binge worthy book with lots of great twist.

Book Blurb - 1999: The night of their senior picnic, Scarlett Russo and her best friend Pepper were involved in a car accident that left two of their classmates dead. Afterward, they lied to the police, protecting each other from the consequences. Then Pepper left town and Scarlett never heard from her again…

This is just the beginning of this gripping thriller! If you like novels with deceit, complex relationships, suspense, secrets, and unexpected twists, this is the book for you!! It will keep you captivated from beginning to end.

Love audiobooks? The narrator is fantastic!!

Thank you to #NetGalley, #RBMedia for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

Wow. Absolutely jaw-dropping wow. This was my first read from Jaime Lynn Hendricks, and it will not be my last. It is the perfect summer thriller!

Zoey wants to know who her father is, and she doesn't have a lot to go on. She is studying to be an investigative journalist, and she uses all that she has learned so far to search for answers. Zoey heads to Florida to talk to her Mom's high school best friend Scarlett.

Here is where I want to say so much, but the twists and turns in this book come so fast that you will almost miss them. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the story's main characters, and the chapters flashback between the present and senior year of high school for Pepper and Scarlett. Also, this story focuses on a car accident on the night of their Senior Picnic, and each chapter ends with an interview that tries to piece together what happened that night.

This book was a wild ride in the best way. There are so many secrets, and there is a twist in the middle that made me want to pull my car over to process. In addition to that twist in the middle, there are many more throughout the story. Just when you think that you have figured it out, something else happens. This is one of the best thrillers I have ever read. The chapters are fast and short, and the reader has very little time to catch their breath. I listened to the audiobook for this one, and I highly recommend it. Hillary Huber does a wonderful job not only with the story, but the voices of the characters. I loved every minute of this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the opportunity to listen to this one. It is out now, and as I have already said, it is the perfect summer thriller. I highly recommend this one!

Wow! I did not know where this one was going. Just when I through I had things figured out, Jaime Lynn Hendricks threw in another twist!

I thought this was a great twist on the classic “grad night” horror/thriller scenario. Not only are you, the reader, trying to figure out what happened all those years ago, but you’re also trying to understand how these MCs can live with themselves. Each one may have aged out of high school but they never really left it behind, which was so interesting.

I really liked the multiple POVs and thought that the narrator did a fantastic job of bringing each personality to life.

This was my first read by this author but it won’t be my last. I’m officially a fan!

Thank you to NetGalley, HighBridge Audio and Jaime Lynn Hendricks for an early review copy. These are my honest thoughts.

I loved this book so much!!! Tons of suspense ! I couldn’t wait to keep reading! The narrator were great too!

OH MY GOSH! What a mess!! But In the best way!! Ahh -- such an addicting story!

Thank you #netgalley and #highbridgeaudio for the arc approval loved this audiobook sooo much only took me 2 days to finish, I couldn’t put it down!

When Scarlett and her husband are haunted by something that happened in high school, a drama fest develops lol!

This story took me by surprise, I wasn’t expecting to love it so much!
So much drama and secrets unfolded from present to past and my floor was constantly dropping in surprise.

So many different twists I never saw coming.🤯

A Lovely Lie had me from the start because I LOVE dual timelines and past/present storytelling. This one features two deaths in high school (once again, I feel pretty lucky my high school wasn't that murder-y), a cover-up and consequences. Oh, so many consequences 22 years after graduation.

As an audiobook this one was perfection. Hillary Huber is a talented narrator who knows how to move a story along without ever getting in the way. She voices young, old, man and woman with great believability.

Author Jaime Lynn Hendricks only has about half a dozen books in her catalogue, but this is my third of hers and she is becoming an auto buy writer.

Highly recommend A Lovely Lie, especially as a beach read which will keep you reading.

I liked this book, although most of the characters sucked, at least initially. It felt like the author stuck to her outline, which isn’t bad, because the main plot got wrapped up without outlandish twists or things just half done. There were some minor things mentioned in the book that I wished the author had explored more.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Lovely Lie by Jaime Lynn Hendricks was a masterful tale of never escaping your past and toxic friendships. 5/5 stars!!

After an accident the night of their senior picnic leaves two of their classmates dead, Scarlett Russo and her best friend Pepper vow to never tell anyone what really happened that night. Now, twenty-two years later, Scarlett’s world is thrown on its axis when Pepper’s daughter Zoey arrives on her doorstep, wanting answers.

I love a bingy fast-paced thriller and this one was definitely that. I found myself drawn into the story almost immediately, as the author slowly unravels both the secrets of the past and those of the present. And while I struggled to connect to the characters at times, mainly because they are all pretty awful, I felt invested enough in the story to want to push ahead. This would make a fantastic summer/poolside read.

🎧 I read this one primarily with my ears and have to say, I think audio is the way to go. Hillary Huber did a magnificent job of voicing this very large cast of characters while keeping each one unique. There was never a moment I found myself unable to discern which character was speaking, a truly remarkable feat.

Read if you like:
•domestic suspense
•psychological thrillers
•ensemble casts
•dual timelines
•unlikeable characters
•bingeable reads

Thank you Highbridge Audio for the gifted copy.

Scarlett and Pepper are best friends and they are graduating in 1999 and attending their senior picnic. A serious of events occur, leading to the death of classmates and the end of life as they know it. Pepper leaves for NYC never to be seen again. Fast forward to present day where Scarlett has married her former friend (Pepper’s) boyfriend Vince and has a son named Luke. Suddenly, Pepper’s daughter Zoey arrives in town demanded to know who her dad is. Apparently, Pepper was pregnant and kept the baby after highschool. but who is the father? So many secrets and so many lies. It’s hard to trust anyone in this novel. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed listening to the audio. I gave this novel 4 stars.

A Lovely Lie is an intriguing thriller with multiple twists delivered by multiple POVs. I enjoy stories centered on the lies created surrounding a single event, and understanding why each person is compelled to keep their secrets and maintain their lies.

I listened to the audiobook which was performed by a single narrator. The narrator did a great job with this story. I am partial to different narrators for different POVs, but this book was done well. I listened at 1.75x speed (with 1.75x - 2x speed being my normal audiobook listening speed).

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for this advanced audiobook copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and HighBridge Audio for an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 5/28/24!

I really enjoyed this book! Written in multiple POVs with dual timelines, the author kept the plot interesting throughout. In the last third of the book, there were several twists, most of which I didn’t see coming. Giving this one 4 stars because I did guess one of the twists, and at times a couple of the main characters were absolutely infuriating. This was a fun listen though and I definitely will be checking out more from this author. I would recommend giving this one, but please check any relevant trigger warnings before picking it up!

This was just ok. Multiple POVs and multiple timelines usually are not difficult for me to follow, but in this case, the writing made them all sound the same which took away from the enjoyment of the story.
First timeline: 1999: high school seniors party hard and two of them die in a tragic car accident. Local police interviews the students and none of them are truthful. One of the seniors, Pepper, left the town, and her best friend Scarlett never heard from her again.
Current timeline: 20+ years later, Pepper's daughter shows up to find out about her father. Apparently her mother, Pepper, is dead and she never told her who her father was. Scarlet is married now, with a child on her own, to Pepper's high school boyfriend.
Each of these people act and talk so immaturely, and frankly rude and stupid.
Ending was rather predictable.
Easy read - perfect for a summer.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an early access to this audiobook.

*3.5 stars* In 1999 there was a terrible "accident" on the night of a senior party. Two people are dead. No one is blamed, but bff's Pepper and Scarlet know the truth (do they though?). Fast forward 22 years later and Pepper's daughter shows up at Scarlett's work, looking for answers. 1) who is her father? 2) what really happened that night?

This book starts with Scarlett's POV, and Scarlett is an idiot. She worshipped Piper as a kid, and even after radio silence for 22 years, she is still protecting her. It is interspersed with police interviews following the accident (do 18 year old's really admit how much they drink to the cops when being questioned about people's death? you'd think these kids would be terrified, but they are really just disrespectful jerks.) The book at time's also gives us the POV of Vince, Pepper's high school ex and Scarlett's husband (you read that right). We also get the POV of Pepper's daughter, who is vindictive, and Pepper herself, who is just out right delusional.

The "accident" itself was kind of interesting, but all the perspectives and overlapping dramas and the fact that everyone still acted like high school was yesterday not 22 years ago made this book read very young adult. It was a fairly entertaining read, but literally none of the characters were likeable. Overall, if you want a fun quick thriller for summer, why not give this a read? Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher's for the ARC!

I received a complimentary audiobook from RB Media and all opinions expressed are mine.

Firstly Vince is such a loser oh mayn if I ever married such a man I would have made a huge mistake.

It all began at a senior picnic in 1999 with two classmates dying and the only witnesses Scarlett and Pepper lied to the cops. But dead men tell some tales and twenty years later Pepper’s daughter shows up with questions about the accident and news about her mother’s death. All the characters in this story were messy and the wickedness of human beings well I enjoyed the read it was filled with vile characters. It’s a perfect read for fans of messy thrillers. I absolutely loved the narrator's-they kept me engaged and I just loved them.

Thank you Netgalley and HighBridge Audio for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A fun, twisted thriller that follows two friends whose past catches up to them. Scarlett and Pepper were seniors in high school when their lives changed forever. Now, Scarlett has buried the incident deep until Pepper’s daughter shows up with news of Pepper’s death. It turns out Pepper wrote a cryptic letter and now the secret may come out.

This was a fun one and an easy listen. Very twisty with unlikeable characters that you can’t look away from. Overall, an entertaining popcorn thriller.

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Definitely a must read or listen! I listened to the audiobook of A Lovely Lie narrated Hillary Huber. I definitely enjoyed the audiobook! It made for a fast and intriguing read. The narrator did a great job grabbing your attention! This book had dual timelines between when one main character was in high school and current. Along with another time line with a different character that went between past conversations with her mom and current. At times with the narration, I became confused not hearing a clear difference between characters and had to piece together who's POV I was listening too. Overall, this book had a great plot and was engaging! I would highly recommend this book!
Quick Summary: Scarlett and Pepper were best friends in high school. One night during their senior year was a terrible accident, that they lied to the police about. After that night Pepper left town, never returning, and never having contact with Scarlett again. Scarlett moved on with her life, got married, had a kid, and forgot all about the accident until Zoey shows up. Scarlett comes to find out that Zoey is Peppers daughter and she was on a mission. Who is telling the truth? Who is lying?