Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Review: Friends and Other Liars

Friends and Other Liars was given to me in exchange for an honest review. I was first attracted to the cover because it added to the mystery of the title but I was also concerned it might be geared to the YA genre. I do read a lot of YA but I was currently looking for something different.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that, while the characters weren't always extremely mature, they were adults living their lives, trying to find their way and put their pasts behind them.

Summary:
To all my old friends:
So here you all are. Nice to see you can show up for a person once he's dead.

When Ruby St. James returns to her hometown, it is to the grave of her old friend Danny, a member of a group that was, ten years ago, Ruby's whole world. The crew made a pact back then: stay together, stay loyal, and stay honest. But that was before all of the lies. Because even friends keep secrets. They just don't stay secret for long. Now Danny has left behind a letter for each of them, issuing one final ultimatum: share your darkest betrayal to the group, or risk it coming out in a trap he has created. When past mistakes resurface, the lines of friendship blurb, and four old friends are left trying to understand what it means to lie to the ones you love best.

The beginning of the book packs such a punch that you have no choice but keep reading to find out what other secrets will be revealed throughout the story. Once the initial hook, the book takes the reader back to the character's high school days and, little by little, their true stories are revealed. Chapters rotate perspectives and story development does take some time but I enjoy books about people and relationships so it kept me completely engaged.

The pacing was decent and as the end drew closer, the tension grew until finally, all was revealed. There was a bit of a twist as well where we weren't sure whose secret was whose. Without giving away any spoilers, I liked the way the story wrapped up in the end. It could have gone a different way and I would have been a little bit more satisfied if that were the case but I'm ok with the closing.

All in all, I really liked the book and I would definitely read other books by this author.

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