I chose to read this book as I had heard about it over the years, and the story and title caught my interest.

I enjoyed reading about the family politics of the Sinclair family; how the aunts and their children compete for approval and inheritance.

Cadence was a fabulously unreliable narrator, only feeing us bits of the story at a time, and often contradicting herself. This made it impossible for me to see the twist that was the ending.

An enjoyable book with a unique writing style.

I first read this book when it was originally released, just as the hype for it was building and I could not put it down.

It’s evident from the very beginning that there is more to this tale than meets the eye. The way this is slowly revealed had me gripped. I recommend to read this one with as little knowledge going into it as possible. Don’t try and find a more detailed synopsis to see if you think you will like it, just go along for the ride.

Book Review
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Young adult fiction, psychological thriller
Author: E. Lockhart
Format: Digital

We Were Liars is a mysterious young adult novel about a wealthy family who spends every summer on their private island. The story focuses on the main character, Cadence, who suffers a head injury during one of the summers on the island - leaving her with little to no memory of that fateful summer holiday. And the next time Cadence visits the island, things are very, very different and she has to try and remember why.

This book is quite a page-turner. It’s not deep or thought-provoking but it did entertain me highly. It kept me intrigued and guessing all the way through. The ending was shocking and one that I never saw coming, (big kudos to the author). I usually get the outcome correct, but not this time!
As the Protagonist slowly remembers more and more details of the mysterious summer when she suffered her head injury, it is nearly impossible to put the book down.
That said, the story of We Were Liars may have been intriguing, but the content was not very substantial and lacked teeth.
However, if you are looking for a book that is just entertainment and won’t make you think too much, this is the book for you.
If you are looking for an exciting mystery novel with depth, morals and substantial substance, I would say look elsewhere.

All-in-all, I enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to Family of Liars: the prequel to We Were Liars of Liars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who have provided me with this copy. This is my own voluntary and honest review.

A brilliant book. Full of twists and turns, drawing on fairytales we know and using them to make you question everything. Be ready with tissues at times, and when all the pieces come together, you’ll be amazed!

This book was packed full of suspense, and I was instantly gripped, can’t wait to read the next one.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Excited to read this prequel…. Well written, with a plot and characters that haunt you long after you've finished. Immersive, suspenseful and humane, this is a novel to savour. This book transported me to another world… A beautifully written page-turner ... When you've finished reading you'll be desperate to pass it on…..

Marmite…
A modern, slickly simply told suspense. A family, an island, a vacation, a mystery. Lives of unparalleled, glamorous, hedonistic luxury and then…an accident. Intriguing and intense. A marmite book. The reader will love it. The reader will hate it.

We Were Liars is a story that every reader should read at least once. And when people say it's better you know nothing before going into this book, they weren't lying.

I was very skeptical about this book, i didn't think it was one for me but when i saw it in Waterstones and saw how thin it was and read the premise i decided to give it a go and boy am i glad i did!

I personally loved this story, i consumed it within a day, because i wont lie- i was addicted. The writing is so haunting and beautiful, i really just couldn't get enough. The tension is rife throughout the whole book. It's suspenseful and whilst reading We Were Liars i felt totally blinded because i had no idea where the story was taking us and had no clue where the author was taking us.

The day i read this book i spent in a horrible mood, honestly i was shocking. I told my sister that i thought it was the book that was making me feel depressed, not because of what was happening but because of the writing that was so haunting and eerie, it was laced with tragedy, you knew nothing about the plot but the whole story had a layer of sadness even in the good parts.

I clicked on at one part as to what was happening, i figured it out but even figuring it out didn't help with the bombshell of an ending. We Were Liars is a strange haunting story with such a unique writing style that's in equal parts addictive and tragic.

We Were Liars, will fuck with your mind, tear your heart out and leave you feeling empty inside. So would i recommend it? Yes. Yes i would. Who would i recommend it to? Everyone who reads. Not only because it's a great story, but because of what this story does to you. The feeling it creates, it will cause emotional turmoil and give you a story so haunting and epic it's something every book lover should experience at least once.

Review also available on http://walnutwolf.blogspot.co.uk/

I really wanted to like this book because I had heard great things about it and there were some elements that I liked such as the suspense of the novel and not really knowing what was going on. The writing style just made it really hard going for me though, I found it hard to read and while I think usually it would have been a real page turner it did take me longer to get through than I would have liked, even the twist at the end wasn’t enough to give it more stars.

I read this book a few years ago not long after it first came out and was instantly gripped. I loved how the characters were written and I remember reading it in one sitting.

This was a book that I had in my tbr list for a long time. Surprisingly, I didn’t know the plot and read no spoilers beforehand.

This is described as a suspense novel but I wouldn’t say that suspense is very evident. Yes, the truth reveals at the end but I didn’t feel any suspense reading it.

I didn’t guess exactly the ending but I was close enough. Regardless, I enjoyed the read. It definitely worth reading as it’s a read full of emotions and reminded me of my teen years and the magnitude of feelings at that age.

The writing didn’t blow my mind off but the plot is decent enough. It would be more of my liking if the characters were deeper and more developed. The setting obviously is a good one and I wish I could transport there!

Overall, an enjoyable, easy read.

Now that I've finished this book I just want to flip back to the start and read it all over again immediately. I am really looking forward to diving into the sequel later this year.

Thank you NetGalley and Hot Key for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. I completely understand by TikTok loves it! Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book initially when it was first published and it has stayed with me.

It is well written and pacy with an ending that I did not see coming - that twist! I am not going to spoil it, but it is the sort of book you will need to read again, immediately, so you can figure out how you did not see the ending coming!

The family in this book are hard to like. Cadence Sinclair is clearly suffering from something and has mental health issues that really seem to be being ignored. There is a secret which is slowly revealed as Cadence's memory is 'recovered and the whole story is told. The book addresses issues of sexism, racism, death, recklessness, neglect, and at times, is not for the faint-hearted.

The plot is inspired by Shakespeare's 'King Lear' and I think it would make a fascinating read for any students studying this play. However, 'We Were Liars' is very much its own story. I am delighted to see that a prequel is due to be published this year and cannot wait to get my hands on it to meet these flawed characters all over again.

I don't reread books that often (though I always want to - I mean, my mental reread list is longer than I would like to admit), so it came as a surprise when, over the last few months, I had an itch to reread We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.

Now, I first read this when the book came out back in 2014. I actually was very lucky and got a proof from the UK publisher, Hot Key Books, and I devoured it over the course of three or four days. It was an addictive read and so smart.

But I don't often reread crime or mystery novels, for the main reason that once I know the twist, the story doesn't hold the same quality or that element of fun. There are exceptions to the rule (a good example is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie), but once I knew the twist, I only really go back if I like the characters.

But We Were Liars. I remember how obsessed I got with it when I first read this and, with news that a prequel (Family of Liars) is coming out in a few months, I wanted to reread this to refresh my memory, see if it still stood up and look at the clues for a new angle.

So, shall we begin?

The Sinclair family are rich. The Sinclair family are beautiful. The Sinclair family are liars.

I think I will leave it vague as, with this, knowing less is the best course of action. Going into this blind is a good thing with this story as it's quite a subtle. At times, it feels like there's no plot at all (which is a thing I have seen on a few reviews - that this has no plot and it very "rich white problems").

But, on this reread, the book has layers. Layers I completely missed on first read. This book tackles trauma, dementia and other issues that I don't want to touch on due to spoilers.

But this reread showed that E Lockhart knew what she was doing and shows how much work to make the story work on both first read and on rereads.

This has, surprisingly, made me very excited to read Family of Liars, which is a surprise as We Were Liars works beautifully as a standalone and I'm curious to see how the prequel is going to work.

There's not much to say, but I should have reread this sooner.

I loved this book from start to finish. I loved the use of fairytales for the various situations. The short chapters made it compulsive reading and the reveal had me shook. This is my first book by this author but it definitely won't be my last.

I loved this book. There is a fabulous plot twist which I didn't see coming, and a sharply drawn cast of friends. A coming of age novel like no other.

I first read this book when it was originally released, just as the hype for it was building and I could not put it down.

It’s evident from the very beginning that there is more to this tale than meets the eye. The way this is slowly revealed had me gripped. I recommend to read this one with as little knowledge going into it as possible. Don’t try and find a more detailed synopsis to see if you think you will like it, just go along for the ride.

I read this book not really knowing much about it and I think that’s the best way to avoid any spoilers!

The story is centred around 4 teenagers who spend each summer on their grandfather’s island. Until summer 15 they have wonderful days full of fun. Then Cady has an accident and no one wants to talk about it.

'𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚜. 𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚎𝚍. 𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚗'

As we get further into the story Cady, with help from the liars (as they call themselves) tries to remember what happened two years ago in the events leading up to her accident.

I’m not going to say anymore I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. The less said about everything the better. Just go read it.

'𝙱𝚎 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘'