This book just wasn’t for me. DNF at 30% I felt like it was very character driven which for a thriller I think it needs to be more plot driven. The characters weren’t very likeable and fell into a very stereotypical category for example:

Bi character - a cheat
Asian character - uncaring/unfeeling

There was also some fat shaming.

I couldn’t get into the story properly because of how problematic I thought some of it was.

Sadly this was a big miss for me. The characters were all stereotypes and not really likeable. The story was quite weak and the ending was just terrible. I felt it was such a promising idea but just wasn't executed well.

3-4 stars! This was a pretty good YA thriller! I think that the writing was good, especially when it came to the characters and had it focused a bit more on the plot, it could’ve easily been a five star read! Overall, I do think it was quite fast paced, chilling, with some fun twists! I found some parts to be unputdownable and others a bit hard to get through, but think many will truly enjoy this book; especially if you like some of the well known ya thriller authors! I think most will get something out of the story, whether it be the elements the thrill seekers want or just a really well character developed story!
Will make sure to buzz around platforms and use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!

Easy read apart from not liking most of the characters but I suppose that’s quite realistic!

A pleasant read with not too much thinking involved, felt a bit rushed towards the end.

A fun and easy story to read.

The story is told from different points of view, but they are all involved in the death of their teacher. Each character has their own personalities and not all of them are very likable.

A good story, 4 stars.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Five Little Liars is a YA novel, set around a group of students who are taking a summer psychology class. Some of them are acquaintances, but none of them are actually friends, and some of them are complete unknowns. The class is being delivered by an extremely strict professor, who seems to revel in making them all suffer. When he suddenly dies, they get rid of the body and formulate a plan to avoid suspicion, but will they be successful? Or is one of them going to crack?

This is a decent read that rattles along at a good pace. The characters are ok, maybe slightly on the stereotypical side, but I feel that the author has made a good effort to break each character out of their usual mould. There are a lot of twists to this story, and I did enjoy the read, but I’m not sure if it’ll stand out as being particularly memorable in the future. Worth a look if the story sounds interesting to you!

Well, where do I start?
I absolutely loved this book from
Start to finish. Once I had got to grips with the characters it was an easy read, but I found it was tricky to get to know them at first. I did, however, really want to know what happens.
The first 25% of the book seemed a bit slower than the rest, but I knew something big was coming, I could feel it in every page!
A highly gripping read for Young Adults and Teens.

I was really excited when I was accepted for this book but for some reason I just couldn’t connect with the story line and the characters. I found it more for teenagers and found that I just couldn’t enjoy it. I do believe this book would be more enjoyable for teens so I guess I’m maybe to old for this . I’m not going to give this review a bad star rating as I feel it’s more just not a book for me but would recommend for teens.

I want to thank netgalley , the publisher and author for this e-arc and my thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book really drew me in and I must say it was a really good read. It was a very slow start but the writing style kept me coming back for more and my goodness it left me wanting more.

A good thrilling fun read that I would definitely recommend to fans of Holly Jackson.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK Children's for this arc of this book.


This was a very fast-paced teen thriller, page-turner
The story was told in multiple POVs, all the students taking a college-level summer psychology class in high school..... read to find out more

4 Stars- fast pace teen thriller with page turners and twists loved it

Although I had an interest in this book it wasn't one I was dying to read. It was on my radar, and the plot sounded interesting enough to want to pick it up but I didn't expect to enjoy it that much, especially after some mediocre YA thrillers. I just expected it to be more of the same.

However when I did pick it up I flew through the whole book in a day. This book is so entertaining, in a completely guilty pleasure read kind of way and I enjoyed every minute of my time with it. The story is told in multiple perspectives which I am usually not too keen on. I find it tiring and annoying trying to get into the flow of one character to be thrust onto the next one just when I was beginning to settle in. But after a few chapters I got used to it and it was fine. It benefits the story to be told in multiple perspectives, being able to see the story unfold with different eyes is really fun.

The story is that of a typical mishmash group of characters who typically wouldn't talk to each other, suddenly thrust together where they learn more about each other and bond because of something that has brought them together (think The Breakfast Club, but where someone ends up dead). I love that trope. I love unlikely friends/people forced to work together. I ate it up. However I did feel like the characters were pretty typical and lacked a lot of development. They were cookie-cutter stereotypes with not much else going on. Even the 'evil teacher'. They were just okay, but it didn't take away from the story for me. It would have just enhanced it if they had been developed better. There was also a lack of diversity, we have Kinley who is black and Cade who is (part?)Japanese. We also have one bisexual character, but was just a typical bisexual stereotype. It also feeds into the harmful 'mentally ill people are dangerous or harmful' narrative, which I don't like.

Aside from my negatives, I enjoyed my time with this one. It was a really enjoyable read if you can look past the stereotypes and I would definitely check out what Morgan writes in the future.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a chance to read this book in advance in exchange of an honest review.

My Review

I went into this book having only the expectation of – ‘for fans of Karen McManus’. I loved her books, she certainly leads by example for YA high school mysteries like these, this is until I read Five Little Liars. I was so addicted to it that I couldn’t get enough of it.

One summer changes everything! Ivy is the former Queen Bee of the school, when her boyfriend dumped her and all of her friends. Ivy is taking the class because she has nothing better to do, although she doesn’t say that. Mattie, her next door neighbour is retaking his exam ofter he cheated at his last one, it’s the only way to go to Ivy League school. Cade, the son of so called millionaire who’s in debt, wants to keep up appearances of the family heritage. Kinley, also known as a narc, the one who aces everything, she is also the daughter of a senator. Finally Tyler, a delinquent, always in trouble with his parole officer but he wants to do something for himself for a change. Five classmates all take the Summer Psych class from hell. It holds the darkest and deadly of secrets.

So this may sound strange but this book has a YA bad-ass sexiness to it. There were bad boys and bad girls, not all by nature but most of them. I loved how something so bad, changes them but I think it ultimately showed them who they really are too. Looks can be deceiving in high school which could be the message here. Gone are the days of mysteries and good girls basically. Told through each characters POV, we see them struggle as individuals. But this pact ultimately brought unlikely friendships and relationships to story that I loved exploring. Ivy and Mattie rely on each other in more ways than one. Kinley and Tyler have more in common than their exterior characters and they were my favourite characters. Cade is the poison of the group, everything for himself and I really hated him to be honest.

The one thing that surprised me was that I honestly didn’t know how this book was going to end and I couldn’t put it down. It kept me guessing until the end. It wasn’t predictable like some YA mysteries can be for a whodunit, so I really enjoyed this angle of the plot-line. I’ve never read a book by Amanda K. Morgan and I know she has written more books which I will be reading from here on out. This is her first published in the UK and I honestly I couldn’t put it down. Her writing is simply addictive. With a diverse collective of characters, fast-paced mystery, Five Little Liars is thrilling, cunning, sexy and unputdownable. I think this could be an underrated book in my eyes, so pick it up! You’re going to love it!

Five teens are enrolled on a summer psychology course. Ivy, Tyler, Kinley, Cade & Mattie are all there for different reasons and would never normally have moved in the same circles at school: Ivy is the former Queen Bee, Kinley is the brain, Tyler is the screw-up, Cade is basically a sociopath, and Mattie is kind of non-descript. Their tutor is a nasty bully and when an incident gets out of hand, the five find themselves reliant on each other to get through it.

The story idea itself is very twisted (which I like), whilst the five main characters are all very flawed - in fact some of them don't seem to have any redeemable characteristics at all. It was fast-paced but I think this was to its detriment at times as there are story threads that aren't really fully explored, for example Cade's sister - what happened there is really only lightly touched on. The ending just seemed to happen really quickly from out of nowhere and I felt it didn't live up to the build up.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Simon & Schuster UK Children's, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Ivy, Cade, Tyler, Kinley and Mattie are all attending summer school to study psychology for various reasons - Ivy has went from mean queen bee to having no friends, Cade's father controls his life, Tyler is one more mistake away from military school, Kinley wants extra credit and Mattie cheated in an exam. The teacher, a professor at a nearby college, is nasty and seems determined to have them fail.

After a particularly tough exam and subsequent vindictiveness on Prof Stratford's part, a heated moment results in his death and the group's responsibility. The book then focuses on them as, in the heat of the moment, they decide instead of phoning for an ambulance to dispose of his body.

Each chapter is told in 3rd person but with each of the characters being the focus. This keeps the book moving along quickly and shows how each of them are coping with the situations that arise, although they're not being completely honest with any of us.

It's a clever story, well told and I enjoyed the ending very much. I must admit I couldn't tell how it was going to end and I wasn't even really sure how I wanted it to finish!

Recommended!

#fivelittleliars #netgalley #amandakmorgan

Shared on Goodreads but syncing was unable to find my account.

This was a fast paced YA thriller. I was expecting it to be fantastic based on the plot, but found that it unfortunately fell a bit flat. I didnt like many of the characters and there were heaps of sections if the book that felt rushed. Unfortunately I didn't love this one.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

It wasn't an original premise because I've read several YA books with the same concept but the characters were interesting, I really liked Matty and Ivy. It was a short and engaging read.

A nice light read with characters who develop over the course of the plot. Each character has their own secrets and their own intentions which makes things not all as they seem throughout the book.

I really enjoyed how the plot developed and the ending! What a cliffhanger! I will definitely be recommending this book to teen readers and young adults.

If you're a fan of Karen McManus or Holly Jackon, you will absolutely love Five Little Liars.

I was hooked into the story immediately and the characters drew me in. I definitely had high expectations of this book after seeing that it was for fans of Karen McManus. I love her books and this lived up to the hype, I love a good YA murder mystery.

The story is definitely character-driven and all of the characters have their own secrets. Having one secret unite them eventually revealed their true personalities and they're definitely not as perfect as they may seem, especially Kinley. It definitely showed how people should not be judged on looks alone. My favourite character was definitely Mattie, he seemed the most affected by the events and I had a real soft spot for him. The characters are all flawed and it made them all feel far more realistic that having "perfect" students, I was glad that it was an eclectic mix.

I loved that the plot wasn't predictable, far too often I can guess exactly what is going to happen next but I can honestly say I had no idea how this book was going to end. There are some great twists and turns to keep you guessing.

My only complaint was that the only character to be openly bi is shown to be more likely to cheat. It's so stereotypical and a harmful depiction.

An enjoyable murder mystery to devour in one sitting. It's a rollercoaster of a read.

Five Little Liars had me hooked from the very first page, with a bold and gripping opening that instantly sets up the intrigue that’s to come.

I really liked how Morgan played with the Breakfast Club-esque set-up, as we explore more of our character’s twisted psyches through multiple narrators. They’re all hiding something and eventually all those secrets are going to bubble over. You know this from the very start and it makes your reading experience feel like a ticking time-bomb, leading towards an almost inevitable catastrophe. I also liked how none of the characters were overly likable, with their own deep flaws and insecurities.

Morgan pulls out some interesting twists and turns that keep you challenged throughout the story. The tension is omnipresent, but she still leaves room for character exploration and development. These two factors are always kept well balanced, as while the central mystery is explored, the individual mysteries of each character are gradually pulled back and revealed. Morgan really pushes her characters to their limits, with their guilt and secrets weighing on them until they each reach breaking point.

Without giving too much away, the core mystery was intriguing and the build-up to the teacher’s death was well-paced, just giving us enough time to expand these characters to three-dimensional, relatable people only to have all that crash away in their desperate actions to protect themselves.

However, I did have some issues with the depiction of mental illness in the story, as it just played up a stereotype. Similarly, the only non-straight character is bisexual and fills the harmful idea of bisexual people being more likely to cheat.

Five Little Liars is a fast-paced, gripping read that didn’t need to rely on the stereotypes it eventually used. That’s what frustrated me, as up until then Morgan had crafted an intriguing and interesting mystery.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest opinions and feedback.

Reminded me a lot of One of Us is Lying, and modern YA in that vein - serious and dark, and not very fun. (completely and utterly unblievable too, but I suppose that's fiction for you, haha.).

The characters were...okay. I liked that they all had a 'demon' that they were suffering with alongside the murder, but jeez, the girl getting stuck under the vending machine and all of a sudden she's unpopular...? That's ridiculous and to be honest, stupid.

Recommended for a quick read, for fans of YA murder stories, a diverse cast of characters and multiple POVs.