Would I Lie to You?

This is a debut and one that I immediately fell for as I began reading. The pages flew by as I read this over the course of one day. The author made it so easy to submerge me into the life of Faiza's life.

Faiza is a character who is so desperate to fit in, no matter the cost. This isn't really a problem until her husband Tom loses his job. Their savings have been decimated as Faiza gets sucked into keeping up with the elite mums at school. Wanting to be one of the clique. Not wanting to be on the outside, to be part of a group and to feel as good as those around her.

Initially, I couldn't understand why Faiza would want to be part of this group of upper-class mothers until I got further into the story. I started to understand her upbringing and the reasons behind her spending. Faiza is a Pakistani Muslim, she is in a multicultural marriage and has three children. She, as many other parents stay at home, runs the house, looks after the children and her husband works long hours to provide for them. They do have a lavish lifestyle and not wanting others to notice the lack of money Faiza does what she can to keep the charade of "being fine" going as long as she can.

The author has brought many things to this story, money worries that lead to marriage problems, arguments, stress and keeping their heads above water. Having a change of roles for the parents was such a good route to go down, but then this route turned dark and highlighted other issues. Being a woman working in a high powered city job has a whole set of other problems.

This is a brilliant story, one that had me engrossed from start o finish. It has such good pacing to it and it reflects the spiral and panic as Faiza tries to keep juggling various problems. Cultural differences become a problem and Faiza is not the only one to notice this, rather than confront it head-on, the author uses Faiza to approach this in a different way. There are several eye-opening moments in the book and not just the more obvious ones either.

This is a great read and I am really looking forward to reading more by this author. This is one for readers who like contemporary fiction, family life and relationships. It is one I would definitely recommend.

⭐️ rating: 4.5
📖 genre: women’s fiction
#️⃣ pages: 416
🍾 pub date: July 8, 2021
Read this if you like: Kiley Reid, Celeste Ng, multiple POVs, family drama, suspense

THE QUOTE:
„The last thing you need to hear when you’re waiting to get Botox at a Harley Street clinic, is that your husband may be about to lose his job.”

THE STORY:
Faiza has strived to fit in all her adult life. It took a few years, but all those Wimbledon mothers who used to mistake her for the nanny finally treat her as one of their own. But then her husband Tom loses his job in finance, and Faiza starts to unravel – because she secretly spent all the money Tom had put aside for emergencies, and in less than two months, they’ll be bankrupt. What’s left but to lie, and try and get the money back?

WHAT I LOVED:
The pacing! The story is told in „how many weeks before the money’s gone“ time. Basically, a countdown to ruin. We follow Faiza not only as she worries about her husband and her children, but also in all her attempts to pull money from *somewhere* so she doesn’t have to tell Tom the shameful truth. And I swear my pulse skyrocketed each time one of Faiza‘s safety nets disappeared. My heart ached for Faiza: it was awful to see how one lie can spiral out of control and shake a family to its core, and even sadder to see how Faiza is trapped in her own lies and incapable of seeing the truth.

We also get to experience all the unconscious bias and very blatant racism that Faiza encounters during her attempts at saving her family, and also that her own children encounter, being biracial - and I loved to see south asian culture and relationship written in a believable and interesting way. It reminded my of „Such a fun age“.

IN A NUTSHELL:
This was a page-turner of a book: it had tension, it had DRAMA, it had compelling dialogues and characters (although I found myself frustrated with Faiza’s naivety towards the end) and some twists and turns that will keep you glued to the page.

It’s heartfelt, compelling, and funny and I definitely recommend adding „Would I lie to you“ to your summer reads.

Would I Lie to You by Aliya Ali-Afzal

Faiza has built a lovely life for herself, her husband Tom, daughter Sofia and 2 sons Ahmed and Alex, with a house in Wimbledon, private schools for the children and all of the trappings of middle class success. In her efforts to hide her roots, fit in with the school mums and for her family to be accepted she has secretly spent their £75,000 emergency fund, so when Tom is made redundant from his job she has to act fast to avoid being found out.

What an excellent book - so many plot twists and turns, all handled expertly by the author. Faiza's situation keeps going from bad to worse as she has to tell more and more lies to cover her deception. Some very important themes covered in the book too and again the author deftly weaves them into the story. A real page-turner, I could hardly breathe for the last part of the book! Very highly recommended.

Thank you to Net'Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed Would I Lie To You although I sometimes groaned with frustration with Fazia, the main character, who just kept getting further into deep water with her husband Tom, through lying constantly.

Fazia is of Pakistani origin and the scenes with her parents were warm and amusing, some of the best in the book. But since marrying Tom and moving with their children to posh Wimbledon in southwest London she has been playing keep up with the yummy mummies to the extent that she has blown their life savings. When Tom loses his job she does everything she can think of to prevent him finding out they have no money to fall back on while trying to maintain face with her friends and family.

I read this book in two sittings and if you want something lighthearted Would I Lie To You does the job while illustrating that lying gets you nowhere except deeper in trouble. Many thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the opportunity to read and review this book.

An interesting and tense read with characters we can all either identify with, or know. I struggled to put this book down as I had to know what was going to happen next, and there were many twists and turns.

Faiza’s life seems perfect, a lovely husband, 3 great children at private school, nice home in Wimbledon….. but when her husband suddenly loses his well paid job and the family need to rely on their savings, which Faiza has spent to ‘keep up with the school gate Jones’s’, her life goes into free fall, as she has to find a way to replace the money….fast!

This book covers racism, sexism, adult bullying and suicide in a very gentle way, but it definitely makes you think about how awful peoples friends and work colleagues can be and how tragic toxic friendships are.

But it also shows how strong good friendships are and really brings home the fact that we should always be true to ourselves and not be someone we are not in an attempt to fit in.

A great read, thank you.

Any reader who enjoys intelligent, emotionally resonating psychological fiction could do worse than consider alumni of the Curtis Brown writing courses. Among these alumni whose novels I have devoured in recent years are Jane Harper, Clare Pooley, Kate Hamer, Laura Marshall and Jessie Burton. Joining their works on my Kindle now is Aliya Ali-Afzal’s debut novel entitled Would I Lie to You? Its charismatic protagonist Faiza has worked very hard to build a comfortable life away from the South London area where she grew up. Now, however, she is in a desperate situation: when her husband Tom is unexpectedly made redundant, he expects to fall back on the family’s emergency savings. Little does he know that Faiza has secretly spent each of the £75,000 he thought the family had in the bank. Spirited, resourceful Faiza, however, has hatched a desperate plan to keep her secret under wraps….

Faiza is such an endearing character that it is hard to believe at times that she is a fictional construct. A highly recommended, thought-provoking novel from a fresh voice in contemporary fiction. Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for granting me access to a free ARC in exchange for this honest and unbiased review.

I have never read a book that represented me SO INCREDIBLY well.. I'm not even joking, I have actual tears in my eyes from all the emotion i feel, about being properly represented DOWN TO THE T.

Here is a book about a Pakistani Muslim woman, who is in an interracial marriage, struggling with money, culture, identity.

Her surname is Saunders. Her husband is white. She has 3 children, 2 with modern names for our culture and one VERY common Muslim name. She struggles with money.

I AM A SAUNDERS!! my husband is white.  I have 2 children, whom i both named with very "fusion" names because my husband's family didnt understand or couldn't pronounce the names I had wanted. I am also very bad with money.  This book is about me. I am Faiza. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

I honestly have never related so much to a book before. There are a few things that don't match up,  like Faiza has an occasional glass of wine, so I can't say that it's a positive Muslim representation.... but then again, there are Muslims who drink alcohol, so its actually very realistic and honest.

The writing is IMMENSELY good. Very powerful and i found myself completely drawn into it. I read it over a few hours, SUPER ANXIOUS just needing to know what happened next.

Every single character was written well. I had NO IDEA what was going to happen, i mean the odds were NOT in Faiza's favour at all. I also really loved how the story changed halfway through, showing working mums and all the struggles.

There's a lot to unpack here. Racism, people making comments that they don't think hurt, but it does, mixed race children, different cultures, working mothers, BUT ITS SO GOOD and i highly recommend

I feel blessed after reading this book. I stayed up late to finish it and it was so worth it. The writing is fast paced, so you'll never want to stop. Even when I had to stop reading, my mind was always going back to the book. I love the characters. The plot twists were well placed and properly resolved, the dialogue is so vivid, you can almost hear them.
This novel has the right amount of tension to entertain. I can't wait to recommend this novel to everyone and their mommies.

unexpectedly sweet, romantic, eye opening and all this with everyday racism woven beautifully in. One of those unputtdownable books that you're willing to read late into the night!
After spending the (large) emergency savings, her husband losing his job and all the usual scary bills piling in, Fi spends the six weeks before the end of her husbands redundancy pay out desperately working to find the money. Only no-one can do that in six weeks and we live her despair as deadline day gets closer and all her precious family and friend relationships start to unravel. Five stars from me.

With thanks to #Netgalley and #HeadOfZeus for an ARC of #wouldILieToYou by #AlyaAli-Afzal.

Faiza has an almost perfect life, that is until her husband, Tom loses his job. While Tom is happy to fall back on their savings to tide them over, Faiza has a secret… she has spent their savings of £75,000. Can she work out a way of getting the money back before Tom notices it’s gone?

This is a fast paced, well written story. Funny, real and warm, with all the loose ends tied up nicely by the end.

Aliya Ali-Afzal, is a real talent and i’ll look forward to reading her future work.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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What a brilliant debut!

The opening chapter sees Faizia at a swanky botox party full of wealthy white Londoners. Initially, I didn't know if this would be the book for me as I cannot imagine a life in which a botox party, or buying designer clothes on credit cards, is anywhere near normal. But the author did such a fantastic job of making us empathise with Faizia and understand why those things were so important to her that I totally fell in love.

At times, Would I Lie To You? has hints of Confessions of a Shopaholic with its dry witty humour. But alongside the humour, this book has so much depth and covers issues of racism, sexual assault, and mental health.

While you'll probably find yourself screaming at Faizia and her choices, you'll also cheer her on every step of the way and wish terrible things upon Julia,

Overall, this is a fantastic debut that tackles complex issues head on while remaining funny, charming, and hopeful at its core.

WOULD I LIE TO YOU is an unflinching look at how easily our lives can unravel, and a stunning story about one woman's struggle to keep her family afloat in the darkest hour. It is so tense it had me stress-eating, with twists that made me gasp out loud several times. It brilliantly captures Faiza's fierce love for her family in the face of mounting debt, racist "friends", and misogyny in the workplace. A breathtaking, tense ride and one of 2021's highlights!

I loved this book and had to keep turning the pages to find out how Faiza got herself out of the situation she found herself in. On the whole the characters were likeable and realistic, Faiza especially who had got herself into a situation and her efforts to fix it while dealing with racist “friends”, looking after her parents, trying to hide the situation from her husband Tom. I was willing her to get out of the financial mess and to cut some people out of her life.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Would I Lie to You is such an exciting read. I turned the pages quickly and couldn’t wait to get back to the book when I reluctantly had to put it down to do something else! Faiza, mother of three and married to Tom, has a terrible secret - she has spent all of their savings and when Tom loses his City job, those savings are badly needed. The clock is ticking, their mortgage and their children’s school fees need to be paid...and there is no money. My heart was racing as the deadline approached. I felt very sorry for Faiza who tries so hard to get the money back. It’s a wonderfully tense read with appealing characters and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It makes you think about what is really important in life. Five stars!

'Would I Lie To You' is a compelling read - tense, fast-paced and cleverly plotted. Aliya Ali-Afzal does a wonderful job of introducing and blending numerous important themes - financial worries affecting a marriage, racism (overt and casual) and mental health, to name but a few. I really warmed to Faiza's character and found myself rooting for her even when she took a wrong turn (as she did rather a lot)!

This book deserves all the praise and more. With thanks to Head of Zeus and NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book as it shows that everyone in society regardless of religion or culture has problems. Liked that the main character was an investment banker and also a shopaholic. Shows some serious issues in society too.

This is one of those books that looks as if it might be standard chick lit, but it’s much more profound. It deals with issues such as attitudes to race, mixed marriage, social status, the different pressures on men and women, ageing parents and friendships, as well as the value of honesty. I enjoyed it very much. It was easy to sympathise with Faiza, the narrator, and to see how she ended up in the situation that she did. The narrative voice was so authentic. I’m grateful to Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and I’ll be looking out for this author in the future.

A fantastic book which is well written and completely engaging. I have been completely pulled in and kept hostage by this one.
This is unique, intriguing and one that I have devoured.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters felt like parts of my own dysfunctional family. I loved exploring and learning about each family member and watching how they tried to navigate towards one another. It was a book i read in one day due to the gripping twists and turns.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for giving me this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Very enjoyable read about people and their relationships to each other which I love.

I read this book quickly because I really wanted to know what was happening and I felt for the characters.

A great insight in to what it’s like to try and integrate in to a society.

I stayed up late to finish it and it was so worth it. The writing is fast paced, so you'll never want to stop. Even when I had to stop reading, my mind was always going back to the book. I love the characters. The plot twists were well placed and properly resolved, the dialogue is so vivid, you can almost hear them.
This novel has the right amount of tension to entertain. I can't wait to recommend this novel to everyone!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book just got better and better as the lies unravelled and Faiza found out that she had to tell more lies to stop her husband Tom from finding out what she’d gone and ruining the lives of their three children.
Emotions ran high throughout this book as I went from feeling disgust at her betrayal to pity for the way she was treated at work.
A story all about keeping up appearances and trying to juggle life and all the aspects that make it up.

Thought-provoking and brilliantly plotted drama!

Would I Lie to You? is not a typical kind of read for me, but I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to read it, because I just fell in love with it! From the moment I met Faiza I was instantly drawn to her character. She’s completely relatable, immediately likeable and quintessentially a good human being that you want to root for. Whilst she makes some truly questionable decisions, it is clear that her love for her family is pure and all-consuming. What is also clear is that she is trapped by the social circle she lives in and the circumstances of her life. This makes Would I Lie To You? richly thematic and I can fully understand the claims that this read is perfect for book clubs - there’s so much to discuss!

I really enjoyed Ali-Afzal’s writing style and I found that I was immediately drawn into the narrative. Faiza is a beautifully constructed character, with multiple layers, a complex history and both deep-rooted flaws and admirable strengths. Similarly, the cast of supporting characters are equally well developed and add a depth of realism to the plot. Faiza’s husband Tom is both a loving and idyllic husband, whilst also dealing with the mental and reputation-scarring impact of losing his high profile job. Faiza’s circle of fellow school mums are a breadth of admirable and rotten personality traits, authentically exploring the complexities of “friendships” that are somewhat forced due to circumstance. This novel is very much about Faiza’s journey: of self-discovery, her relationship (with both Tom and her true friends), her acceptance of her past and moving past her hang-ups. As a reader, we accompany her on her journey and it is truly compulsive stuff. Facing a multitude of challenges, set backs, anxiety-inducing situations and gut-wrenching consequences, I couldn’t stop turning the pages until I knew how Faiza’s story ended.

I was also kept turning the pages because this novel is full to the brim of thought-provoking themes. Ali-Afzal explores privilege, wealth, race, social standing, peer pressure, image, heritage and marriage. It’s hard to discuss all of these in a review, without giving away too much. All I will say is that all of these themes are expertly navigated throughout the plot in various ways. This novel is a rich tapestry and one that I am confident I could read again and experience it in new ways. It’s hard to believe that this is Ali-Afzal’s debut, as it is constructed in such an accomplished way. The narrative builds tension throughout, coming to an explosive crescendo in the final chapters. I didn’t know where this novel would land in its concluding chapters and there were some genuinely gasp-inducing moments. However, all of the narrative strands are woven neatly together in the end and there is a real sense of enduring hope.

I highly recommend this novel if you love depth of character and a tense but plausible plot. I can’t wait to see what Ali-Afzal brings us next!

When her husband Tom loses his job in finance, he stays calm. Something will come along, and in the meantime, they can live off their savings. But Faiza starts to unravel. Raising the perfect family comes at a cost - and the money Tom put aside has gone. When Tom's redundancy package ends, Faiza will have to tell him she's spent it all.

Unless she doesn't...

It only takes a second to lie to Tom. Now Faiza has six weeks to find £75,000 before her lie spirals out of control. If anyone can do it, Faiza can: she's had to fight for what she has, and she'll fight to keep it. But as the clock ticks down, and Faiza desperately tries to put things right, she has to ask herself: how much more should she sacrifice to protect her family?

This is a brilliant story of a woman who is trying to keep her family together but cannot face telling her husband the truth so keeps the lies going. you feel a real empathy for Faiza as it starts to fall apart I was gripped and finished the book in 2 days.