You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
At this point, I'm really pretty much just reading every single book that Jennifer Lynn Barnes is writing - simply because even though I may not love every single one of her books, she's definitely crafted some books that I've really adored and the premise of her books are always really intriguing and sound promising. With Little White Lies, it's got everything in it that I could possibly like: family drama and estrangement, debutante season and a fish out of water scenario and then finally, secrets involving the upper crust of society? It all sounds great.
Sawyer Taft has always accepted that her only family is her mother, whom she loves deeply despite her mother's slightly flighty tendencies. She's certainly not expecting her maternal grandmother to suddenly show up at their door asking Sawyer to participate in their debutante season with a six-figure contract and a chance for Sawyer to figure out the mystery of her paternity. Sawyer has always wondered about the man that fathered her and has always been told by her mother that she was kicked out of the house because of her pregnancy. Yet, Sawyer's grandmother isn't exactly what Sawyer expected either. Lillian Taft is tough but pragmatic and life with the Tafts isn't exactly a hardship, although Sawyer does have to undergo an obligatory make-over in order to make it for the debutante season.
Despite the sterling image that's presented to the external world, however, there are plenty secrets in their society and Sawyer finds herself embroiled in most of them. While her paternity was already a mystery that she intended to solve, Sawyer now discovers that there's much more going on as the girls that Sawyer befriends have their own problems and secrets, which could extend all the way up to the parents involved in the debutante season.
Little White Lies has an interesting structure because it kinda jumps forward and back between the present and the past, when Sawyer first arrived for her debutante season. I've seen some mixed reviews regarding this conceit but I found that it worked for me, because what Barnes has really excelled at (I find) is mystery-thrillers and this adds some tension to the story. In the present, we are told that four teenage girls have been put in the lock-up of their local police station but the only cop on duty isn't sure about what's going on and why they've been put into lock-up. In the past, Sawyer slowly starts to uncover some of the dark underbelly of their pristine society. Of course, what the book is sold on is the secret of Sawyer's paternity.
I kinda thought that the book could've been slimmed down a little bit, as the plot definitely started to meander a little around the midway point. But overall, I'm interested to find out how Sawyer intends to deal with the truth around her paternity and in the sequel [b:Deadly Little Scandals|43661348|Deadly Little Scandals (Debutantes, #2)|Jennifer Lynn Barnes|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1548496085s/43661348.jpg|67930599].
Sawyer Taft has always accepted that her only family is her mother, whom she loves deeply despite her mother's slightly flighty tendencies. She's certainly not expecting her maternal grandmother to suddenly show up at their door asking Sawyer to participate in their debutante season with a six-figure contract and a chance for Sawyer to figure out the mystery of her paternity. Sawyer has always wondered about the man that fathered her and has always been told by her mother that she was kicked out of the house because of her pregnancy. Yet, Sawyer's grandmother isn't exactly what Sawyer expected either. Lillian Taft is tough but pragmatic and life with the Tafts isn't exactly a hardship, although Sawyer does have to undergo an obligatory make-over in order to make it for the debutante season.
Despite the sterling image that's presented to the external world, however, there are plenty secrets in their society and Sawyer finds herself embroiled in most of them. While her paternity was already a mystery that she intended to solve, Sawyer now discovers that there's much more going on as the girls that Sawyer befriends have their own problems and secrets, which could extend all the way up to the parents involved in the debutante season.
Little White Lies has an interesting structure because it kinda jumps forward and back between the present and the past, when Sawyer first arrived for her debutante season. I've seen some mixed reviews regarding this conceit but I found that it worked for me, because what Barnes has really excelled at (I find) is mystery-thrillers and this adds some tension to the story. In the present, we are told that four teenage girls have been put in the lock-up of their local police station but the only cop on duty isn't sure about what's going on and why they've been put into lock-up. In the past, Sawyer slowly starts to uncover some of the dark underbelly of their pristine society.
Spoiler
Namely, the girls come up with a plan to take down a corrupt politician, who has caused a hit-and-run and covered it up. Oh and the politician's daughter is the mastermind behind the plot to take him down.Spoiler
I found this part of the story to be a bit meandering and found it ludicrous that nobody would just come out and tell Sawyer who her father really is.I kinda thought that the book could've been slimmed down a little bit, as the plot definitely started to meander a little around the midway point. But overall, I'm interested to find out how Sawyer intends to deal with the truth around her paternity and in the sequel [b:Deadly Little Scandals|43661348|Deadly Little Scandals (Debutantes, #2)|Jennifer Lynn Barnes|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1548496085s/43661348.jpg|67930599].
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
4.5
I loved this. It was exactly what I wanted at the moment and I flew through it.
I didn't have too high expectations for this when I started it, but this exceeded the ones I had. I loved the characters and character development. I also really liked the fact that there wasn't a romance barely even at all. Usually, I love a good romance in any book but I feel like it really worked for this book to just not have one. Although I hope that in the second one we might get some action on that part.
I will also say that this book reminded me a lot about Pretty little liars which I also love so maybe it was expected that I would like it.
I loved this. It was exactly what I wanted at the moment and I flew through it.
I didn't have too high expectations for this when I started it, but this exceeded the ones I had. I loved the characters and character development. I also really liked the fact that there wasn't a romance barely even at all. Usually, I love a good romance in any book but I feel like it really worked for this book to just not have one. Although I hope that in the second one we might get some action on that part.
I will also say that this book reminded me a lot about Pretty little liars which I also love so maybe it was expected that I would like it.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No