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A review by lemontreereads
Such a Good Liar by Sue Wallman
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
2.5/5
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thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks fire for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
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i said it was an honest review and i’ll be honest, i almost DNF’d this at about 20%, but right before i had decided yes or no, something interesting happened. every time it had been dull for a while, something would happen that made you want to keep reading. i’ll give it to the author, that’s a really good writing strategy, but i wish there was more happening.
i feel like the reveals of what happened to shannon’s mom were done well and at the proper times, but the pacing otherwise wasn’t my cup of tea. she tried for revenge the first time around the 40% mark and ended up not going through with it, and then the events just got more convoluted from there.
the slight romance in the story picked up a lot more in the last 20% but by that i mean it went from “oh he’s cute” and “he’s not as obnoxious as i thought he was” to just a random full blown make out session in his hotel room after she told him what she had done. not to mention she got the fastest solution to being wanted by the police that i’ve ever seen.
i know this genre is often known for having to suspend disbelief, but that was really hard for me. i think it’s really ironic that the whole time shannon’s mom worked for the harrington family that she was telling shannon all the awful things the girls would do and shannon constantly told her to just let it go, that she cared too much, that she was obsessed, and her mom didn’t listen. but when her best friend told shannon the same thing after her mom died, all of a sudden it’s okay for shannon to be obsessed. talk about hypocrisy.
not to mention, if your best friend, a person who is concerned for your health and wellbeing is telling you “hey, maybe you’re taking this too far, come here and we can talk and we will work through it” and you cut her off because you’re more concerned with getting revenge on two girls, no matter how awful they might be, maybe YOURE the problem.
—
thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks fire for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
—
i said it was an honest review and i’ll be honest, i almost DNF’d this at about 20%, but right before i had decided yes or no, something interesting happened. every time it had been dull for a while, something would happen that made you want to keep reading. i’ll give it to the author, that’s a really good writing strategy, but i wish there was more happening.
i feel like the reveals of what happened to shannon’s mom were done well and at the proper times, but the pacing otherwise wasn’t my cup of tea. she tried for revenge the first time around the 40% mark and ended up not going through with it, and then the events just got more convoluted from there.
the slight romance in the story picked up a lot more in the last 20% but by that i mean it went from “oh he’s cute” and “he’s not as obnoxious as i thought he was” to just a random full blown make out session in his hotel room after she told him what she had done. not to mention she got the fastest solution to being wanted by the police that i’ve ever seen.
i know this genre is often known for having to suspend disbelief, but that was really hard for me. i think it’s really ironic that the whole time shannon’s mom worked for the harrington family that she was telling shannon all the awful things the girls would do and shannon constantly told her to just let it go, that she cared too much, that she was obsessed, and her mom didn’t listen. but when her best friend told shannon the same thing after her mom died, all of a sudden it’s okay for shannon to be obsessed. talk about hypocrisy.
not to mention, if your best friend, a person who is concerned for your health and wellbeing is telling you “hey, maybe you’re taking this too far, come here and we can talk and we will work through it” and you cut her off because you’re more concerned with getting revenge on two girls, no matter how awful they might be, maybe YOURE the problem.