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A review by pagesplotsandpints
Her Last Lie by J.S. Lark, J.S. Lark
3.75
<b>Read Completed 5/28/24 |</b> 3.75 stars
This was an interesting read that started off immediately with the death of Jen's son Eli, and then slipped into a little bit of more of a drama feel than thriller for a while. I was definitely interested in getting to the bottom of how he died and who killed him, and while I was curious, the pacing was still a bit slower in the middle. I did enjoy my read overall, though there were a few things that I didn't love.
Firstly, let's talk about good things, starting with the ending! That really sealed the deal for me and some of the reveals we got in the end were so wild. I loved that the author was able to slip a few more surprises in there for us, even after revealing so much already! Honestly, it made me round up this rating and leave the book at a 3.75 instead of 3.5.
I did like the characters as well. Everyone in the book is flawed but it's also not so much that it makes you hate them. They really did feel human and everyone makes mistakes. There was a clear villain in the end and you do end up hating that person, but for good reason.
The few things I didn't like did affect the reading experience, but not horribly. Like I said before, the pacing was a bit slower and more dramatic in the middle of the book. That wasn't a bad thing and it was almost more character-driven during that section, getting to really know the ins and outs of all of the families and people of the town that are potentially connected to this case. What I didn't love was the addition of extra POVs only in the very end to explain everything that happened. While I liked the ending, it felt a bit clunky to have random extra POVs just to explain how everything went down. I'm no writer, but I wish there was a way to have that more incorporated in the story... maybe include some of them at random in the middle.
I also didn't love that towards the end, Jen relied heavily on being visited by Eli's spirit/presence/memory/ghost to help her solve the mystery. He sent them a few clues in dreams and flashes and it was just odd when this wasn't a part of the book the whole way through. I had no issues with feeling him at the place where he died and feeling close to him that way, but having actual clues being sent through dreams was out of place.
This was such a random pick on Hoopla and I'm glad I read it! Aside from the things I didn't really enjoy, the author did a great job with the ending and totally floored me with some of those reveals/twists! That really left me happier with the book than I expected to be.
This was an interesting read that started off immediately with the death of Jen's son Eli, and then slipped into a little bit of more of a drama feel than thriller for a while. I was definitely interested in getting to the bottom of how he died and who killed him, and while I was curious, the pacing was still a bit slower in the middle. I did enjoy my read overall, though there were a few things that I didn't love.
Firstly, let's talk about good things, starting with the ending! That really sealed the deal for me and some of the reveals we got in the end were so wild. I loved that the author was able to slip a few more surprises in there for us, even after revealing so much already! Honestly, it made me round up this rating and leave the book at a 3.75 instead of 3.5.
I did like the characters as well. Everyone in the book is flawed but it's also not so much that it makes you hate them. They really did feel human and everyone makes mistakes. There was a clear villain in the end and you do end up hating that person, but for good reason.
The few things I didn't like did affect the reading experience, but not horribly. Like I said before, the pacing was a bit slower and more dramatic in the middle of the book. That wasn't a bad thing and it was almost more character-driven during that section, getting to really know the ins and outs of all of the families and people of the town that are potentially connected to this case. What I didn't love was the addition of extra POVs only in the very end to explain everything that happened. While I liked the ending, it felt a bit clunky to have random extra POVs just to explain how everything went down. I'm no writer, but I wish there was a way to have that more incorporated in the story... maybe include some of them at random in the middle.
I also didn't love that towards the end, Jen relied heavily on being visited by Eli's spirit/presence/memory/ghost to help her solve the mystery. He sent them a few clues in dreams and flashes and it was just odd when this wasn't a part of the book the whole way through. I had no issues with feeling him at the place where he died and feeling close to him that way, but having actual clues being sent through dreams was out of place.
This was such a random pick on Hoopla and I'm glad I read it! Aside from the things I didn't really enjoy, the author did a great job with the ending and totally floored me with some of those reveals/twists! That really left me happier with the book than I expected to be.