Book Review: One of Us Is Lying

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Released: May 30, 2017

Read: May 2017

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Format: ARC, 368 pages

Series: Stand-alone

Description from Goodreads:

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.

Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. 

Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. 

Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.

Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.

And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app. 

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who's still on the loose? 

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

Review: 
    One of Us Is Lying was simply amazing! It got my attention from the very first page and continued to hold it throughout the entire novel. The author, Karen M. McManus, did a great job of hiding who the true killer really was, and only hinted it in at the very end. Usually with books where the point of view rotates between characters, I enjoy one perspective more than the others and look forward to that one in particular. But that didn't happen with One of Us Is Lying; I wanted to know more information about each character equally. This created a very enticing read and I can't wait for more people to read it!

Favourite Quotes:

• " These murder club meetings are becoming a regular thing. We need a new name, though."
• "It concerns me you're avoiding a promise not to murder me."
• "I don't know why it's so hard for people to admit that sometimes they're just assholes who screw up because they don't expect to be caught."
• " I guess we're almost friends now, or as friendly as you can get when you're not one hundred percent sure the other person isn't framing you for murder."
• "We could be surrounded by walking dead in the zombie apocalypse and she'd look for the bright side."

Rating: 8.5/10

Recommended if you like: thrillers, murder-mysteries, high school dramas, the Breakfast Club, Pretty Little Liars

Keep flipping pages,
Lauren

Book Review: Baby Doll

Baby Doll by Hollie Overton

Released: July 12, 2016

Read: August 2016

Publisher: Redhook

Format: ARC, 281 pages

Series: Stand-alone

Description on Goodreads:

Held captive for eight years, Lily has grown from a teenager to an adult in a small basement prison. Her daughter Sky has been a captive her whole life. But one day their captor leaves the deadbolt unlocked.

This is what happens next...

...to her twin sister, to her mother, to her daughter...and to her captor. 

Review:

    When I first read the inside description of Baby Doll, I expected that the kidnapper would get away with it. I thought it would be a simple novel about how Rick still finds ways to torture Lily even after she escapes, but I was mistaken. It's about the aftermath of Lily's eight year long disappearance, from the perspective of Lily herself, her twin sister, her mother, and her abuser. It's unique reading from Rick's point of view specifically. The way he says that Lily is in love with him gives you a glimpse of the madman he truly is. And the fact that no one knows how crazy he is, no one can see behind his cool and easy-going bravado, shows just how calculatively evil he is.

    The story itself wasn't as thrilling or scary as I hoped, but it was an enjoyable one-time-read that was very informative. I didn't realize just how much one person could effect so many lives, for better, or for worse.

Favourite Quote:

• "Sleep consumed her, a dark, voracious, and winged thing stealing her away from the crushing weight of her failures."

Rating: 6.5/10

Recommended if you like: subtle thrillers, reading the thoughts of a psychopath, reading the aftermath of depressing events, twins, reading about kidnapping

Keep flipping pages,

Lauren