It was an interesting book, the storyline and all the drama was intriguing but I do think a majority of the suspense was pretty predictable. The only thing that wasn't was her friend who reappears at the end. If there were more phone calls then maybe that could have been better tied in but it really just felt thrown in there. Kind of unnecessary because it wasn't expanded on enough in the story.

I like the premise but I think this should go through another round of revisions before publishing.

This book was a fabulous read! Super character development, I really fell in love with the main character. The twists and turns had me gasping and at the edge of my chair until the very end! Easy to read and enjoy! Excellent writing, everything was answered and tied up into a neat little bow. Highly enjoyable!

Thank you Netgalley for my ARC of this book! All my Lies is a twisted fast paced thriller. Sloan was easy to relate to and the prologue had a twist I never seen coming!

While I think it's amazing for a writer to finish a book, let alone become a published author, I cannot in good conscience recommend this book.

First, the premise of this book has already been done in "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang. I wouldn't be surprised if Lamarr actually used it as a reference guide for this book.

Second, the writing is lazy and the research is sloppy. For example, the FMC has a cat and apparently thinks feeding it a bowl of milk is what one does for a cat - fun fact, cats are lactose intolerant, you do not feed them a bowl of milk. A lot of telling, minimally showing... and repetitive telling at that.

Third, the FMC is not likable whatsoever and not in a guilty-pleasure "Real Housewives" or "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" sense. I was rooting against her the entire time. My favorite character was Moo, the cat.

I am honestly a bit surprised that an editor didn't take this back to Lamarr more for rework because it really needs a lot of polishing and originality added to it.

I’ve read two other books by Nelle Lamarr and really enjoyed them! This one was not quite as good as the other two, but still definitely worth reading. I saw the twist coming early in the book, which is ok, but I do love when a twist blindsides me. It also felt a little bit repetitive.

Thank you to NetGalley, Nelle Lamarr, and Inkubator Books for this ARC!

Well, this had an intriguing premise, I love a great stolen-manuscript thriller.

The book started off well, though a bit rushed, but I didn’t mind it at the beginning. However, while how the plot was going to unfold was a bit predictable, that wasn’t my biggest issue. What really made the book feel lackluster was the writing.
The repetition in the main character’s internal dialogue was frustrating. It felt like in every single chapter I was reading “I’m lying, I’m a liar” all over again, to the point where it became tedious. We get it, the character is a thief, let’s move on to the next thing.

While the short chapters are great for pacing normally, that alone couldn’t save the story when the protagonist’s thoughts were cycling through the same points over and over again.

Ultimately, All My Lies had a strong concept, but the execution fell flat.

A lie might hurt, but the truth can kill.

All I ever wanted was to write a bestseller. And now, finally, I’ve done it. People ask me how, where did I get my inspiration?

But I can never tell them – because I have a secret.

No one knows what I did. Not my beloved husband or my busybody mother. And nobody can ever find out—it would destroy my career and I'd lose everything. Including my precious baby.

Then the threats begin.

The ominous emails, the sinister letters, and the chilling gifts left outside my door by someone who knows the truth. Someone who’s stalking me and wants to make me pay for my sins. I must do whatever it takes to silence them.

They say you’re only as good as your last book. I know you’re only as good as your next lie.

I took a long time to decide on my rating for this book. I was stuck between 2 and 3 stars. So, I made a pros and cons list:
Pros:
- Short chapters
- It has a cat named Moo
Cons:
- The plot dragged out even though it has short chapters
- The FMC is one of the most annoying characters I have ever come across
- I predicted literally every twist in this book, it’s like the author didn’t even try to hide it.
- Plot holes
- Repetitive writing, I get it she’s clumsy and she’s using her left hand.

So, in the end I decided on 2 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher and author for this ARC. All my lies releases 20 February 2025.

Thank you to Inkubator Books, Nelle Lamarr, and NetGalley for the copy of All My Lies.

I didn’t know what to think going in to this one but then I really got sucked in and it was fabulous! So many twists and turns and I loved it every step of the way!!

Oh, I really wanted to enjoy this one. I really did. The premise was great. The execution was kinda meh. Ms. Lamarr had a decent start to the story. Towards the middle of the book began to lose interest and found myself zoning out. I started trying to speed through to get to the end. I did feel that the ending was better than most of the book. Unfortunately this was too little, too late to save the book for me. I will also add the author throwing in a WTF twist at the end/epilogue was wild, kinda reminiscent of a Kiersten Modglin type twist that just made me more irritated than if she would have just left it out.

This review is made possible by an ARC of this novel that was graciously provided by NetGalley. All reviews are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator books for providing me with an ARC to review this book

After reading the synopsis I was really interested in the premise of this book. However I found myself bored and let down. I found the FMC irritating and almost DNF'd it a few times.

All My Lies follows a best-selling author and the dark decisions she made to achieve her lifetime goal of writing a successful novel.

But now she’s receiving sinister letters, emails, and threats. All because of her secret. Will she silence this stalker before everything comes crumbling down? Or will she lose everything?

All My Lies starts off with a troublesome scene for the prologue, and then immediately changes direction to focus on Sloan, the female protagonist (FMC). We’re introduced to a caricature of an older, wealthy, accomplished author as her wretched boss. (The purple prose is intentional here.) And it doesn’t take long for tragedy to strike, much to the benefit of Sloan.

There was a definitive choice to go for a diary-esque style of narrative that felt forced and clunky. Sloan’s choices were questionable, and I was unable to connect with her. This is especially telling, as I am a (almost) 30 year old aspiring author – So pretty much the same as the FMC. Her language, decisions, and general out-dated-ness makes Sloan seem both older and much younger than she really is. For example, when Logan brings up trolls, she not only doesn’t immediately think of internet trolls, she doesn’t even know what they are. What millennial doesn’t know what an internet troll is?

There were a myriad of missed opportunities for the author to show and not tell. As someone who is part of the publishing industry (typesetting, developmental editing, and proofreading), the overall impression I got was that this novel could have benefited from another set of opinions before going to print. Typos, grammatical errors, and stiff writing was littered throughout, which detracted from the narrative. And as the plot thickened, so to speak, it seemed as though there was a lack of research done around legal proceedings in the publishing world. (Not to mention the glaring conflict-of-interest that is revealed.)

It’s my opinion that while the concept itself is intriguing, it ultimately wasn’t executed the way it needed to be. I know it takes so much effort and time to complete a manuscript. So kudos to the author for jumping in and giving it a go. However, there seems to be a disconnect of what the concept is and what the author wants to write. Suspense novels require characters that have depth and the overall beats of the story need to layer in a way that captures the reader’s imagination.

I want to give a massive thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for giving me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review TL;DR:
Rating: 1 / 5 stars
Strongest element: Book cover design.
Content warnings: Death, murder, blood, stalking, vomiting, child death, rape.
Genre: Suspense

A psychological thriller with short chapters, intriguing characters, and a good plot. The book is an absolute page-turner!

From the very first page, you're drawn into Sloan’s story. Written from her point of view, the book also reveals her inner thoughts—some of which genuinely made me laugh.

At some point, I had a feeling that someone was involved, and I guessed it right. But what happened next… "What the hell do you think you're doing, you crazy bitch?" 😲

I’ll give the book ★★★★ (4) stars. I really enjoyed it, it was a quick and good read, fast paced and I was curious what would happen next. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion. Would love to read more books from this author!

Thank you Inkubator Books, Netgalley, and the author, Nelle Lamarr, for an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

First, let me say I almost put this book down after the first few chapters because the plot was incredibly slow and our main character was annoying beyond belief. Sloan, our main character, is a struggling writer who works as a personal assistant to a best selling novelist. After some (very) questionable choices, Sloan achieves her dream of being a best seller, but at what cost?

We spend a majority of the book dealing with Sloan’s guilty conscience, accident prone tendencies, and ‘woah is me’ personality. In addition to dull characters, there are quite a few plot holes and parts that make 0 sense. There were 3 main turn offs for me regarding this book. 1). I figured out the big plot twist pretty early on in the book, which seemed blaringly obvious. 2). Said big plot twist took way too long to come to climax. 3). The epilogue ruined the book, it had 0 point in being written. It tied up a loose end that honestly didn’t need to be tied up.

The synopsis of the book is what drew me in, but the plot and characters didn’t come full circle for me. I skimmed a bit of this book when I wasn’t eye rolling our main character. The only reason I kept reading was due to the short chapters. I would not call this a gripping thriller nor would I classify this as anything similar to McFadden, Sager, or Jewell.

This is the first book I have read from this author and certainly won’t be my last! I loved the flow of this book and how it kept me guessing. The author did a great job with tying everything together answered all questions I had throughout the book. Definitely a great thriller that I would recommend!

What a great book! I absolutely loved how twisty and clever this one was! I was totally engrossed from beginning to end and would definitely read from this author again,

3.5 ⭐️ I was intrigued by the storyline and I found Sloan to be an interesting character. There were some parts that were a bit slow for me but overall it was a good read.

The story was somewhat predictable, but the suspense was still good! In the end, the questions were nicely tied up.

Draws you in with a mysterious prologue then sets the scene and introduces our FMC Sloan who is an aspiring author working as an assistant to a cantankerous but very successful novelist. When Sloan finds said novelist dead at her desk an opportunity that can't be resisted presents itself. Fast forward a year and Sloan is a successful author but somebody doesnt want her to succeed. We meet many interlinking characters and multiple mysteries begin to unfold. Clues were dropped along the way and are successfully wrapped up by the end. Written from the POV of Sloan, the writing style is easy to read and has elements of dark humour. The chapters are fairly short so that helps with the fast-paced feel. However please check the trigger warnings before reading!
With thanks to Netgalley and Inkubator books for access to this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC, I liked the shorter chapters but parts drug on. Overall it was an OK read but could’ve been shorter.

I didn’t love All my lies. But didn’t skip any.

What do you think of my review? Too harsh?
All My Lies Nelle Lamarr 3.5⭐️

A psychological suspense. Sloan is a budding author who worked for a difficult famous reclusive author as her PA.
Sloane eventually achieves her dream of being a best seller, but is hiding a dangerous secret.

In the beginning I felt sorry for Sloan so part of me wanted her to succeed, but that soon changed.
The author is also a romance writer and includes a romantic thread. It has short chapters which I like.

I haven’t found a book using this trope that’s really grabbed me yet. It’s original in its execution. Parts of it had me intrigued, it started really well. There were areas that I found were a bit slow going, the action bits felt a bit over exaggerated, yes there are twists, one of which I didn’t like.

This book was an easy ok read, but didn’t wow me. If you loved Yellowface, I think this is one for you.