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xoaditi's review against another edition
4.0
some problematic themes about borderline personality disorder, but overall a good read. i found myself rooting for the characters. Great epilogue.
hollidayreadswithme's review against another edition
3.0
Good Girls Lie is a book about a girl who goes to a new school in America after his parents have died. She struggles with fitting in and making friends, with basically no delay the bodies start stacking. People start dying and it’s starting to feel like this Goode school is cursed.
The premise is amazing. I’ve always been a sucker for private boarding school stories. I loved Dead Poets Society, but this book left me wanting. Not more, but something else entirely. This had a lot of potential that due to the pacing and the constant soliloquies that the reader is subjected to, it seemed to fall flat. It took me about a week to finish this book because I didn’t feel the book pulling me back in. Halfway through the book, I figured out the twist and spent the rest of the book waiting for the rest of the story’s adults to catch up. And boy did they struggle! It was painful and frustrating to have them be so dimwitted.
This story reminded me of Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart. There were portions of the book that felt outdated, even as they were referencing pop culture references. One reaction, in particular, didn’t make a lot of sense. One thing that struck me was the use of “two point three kids and a dog” even though it might be statistically accurate, it sounded clunky, especially because I knew that it as “two point five kids and a dog”.
The plot was literally all over the place. There was so much going on and so many characters that it didn’t feel cohesive. The story itself lacked a universal motive, a push to the finish line. The big payoff. I wasn’t rooting for anyone; I didn’t feel like the characters were fleshed out enough because the majority of the book told the story instead of showing it. The best thing that the book had going for it was the relationship between Dean Westhaven and her mother. It was complex and was shown instead of explained in soliloquy.
The epilogue saved the majority of the book. Because even though I didn’t care for the summation and HEA at the end of the book for some of the characters, I was interested to know what happened to our main protagonist.
With all of that in mind, I will have to give this a 3-star rating.
Thank you to Harlequin Mira and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.
The premise is amazing. I’ve always been a sucker for private boarding school stories. I loved Dead Poets Society, but this book left me wanting. Not more, but something else entirely. This had a lot of potential that due to the pacing and the constant soliloquies that the reader is subjected to, it seemed to fall flat. It took me about a week to finish this book because I didn’t feel the book pulling me back in. Halfway through the book, I figured out the twist and spent the rest of the book waiting for the rest of the story’s adults to catch up. And boy did they struggle! It was painful and frustrating to have them be so dimwitted.
This story reminded me of Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart. There were portions of the book that felt outdated, even as they were referencing pop culture references. One reaction, in particular, didn’t make a lot of sense. One thing that struck me was the use of “two point three kids and a dog” even though it might be statistically accurate, it sounded clunky, especially because I knew that it as “two point five kids and a dog”.
The plot was literally all over the place. There was so much going on and so many characters that it didn’t feel cohesive. The story itself lacked a universal motive, a push to the finish line. The big payoff. I wasn’t rooting for anyone; I didn’t feel like the characters were fleshed out enough because the majority of the book told the story instead of showing it. The best thing that the book had going for it was the relationship between Dean Westhaven and her mother. It was complex and was shown instead of explained in soliloquy.
The epilogue saved the majority of the book. Because even though I didn’t care for the summation and HEA at the end of the book for some of the characters, I was interested to know what happened to our main protagonist.
With all of that in mind, I will have to give this a 3-star rating.
Thank you to Harlequin Mira and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.
wordsbetweenlines's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I love dark academia novels. There is something about rich kids in private schools and people dying. Also psychological thriller are my fav kind.
So I really enjoyed this. It was a bit long for a YA book but it worked well for me doing the audio.
txpamcakers's review against another edition
4.0
Audible was good. Darker than I normally like, and even though I figured it out, I was still entertained.
bookph1le's review against another edition
1.0
This book started out on a promising note, and even though I was getting whiplash from the characters' vast numbers of inconsistencies, I was enjoying reading it up until about 50% through. Then things started to get more and more ludicrous until they landed straight in stupid soap opera territory.
My biggest beef about mysteries and thrillers as a genre is they rely way, way too much on tired tropes and stereotypes and twisted, acrobatic plots to do their job. This book did all of those things. This bothers me because it's manipulative, and I don't think it's good writing. If the only way you can keep me turning pages it by performing trick after trick, I'd rather you go back to the drawing board and work on the basics.
Now, I know that sounds harsh, and it will sound contradictory when I say that I don't have a problem with books like this existing, and it's certainly valid if people want to read books like this. Not everything has to be highbrow literature, nor do I want it to be. There is nothing at all wrong with books that are purely fun, the same way there's nothing wrong with popcorn action movies. My problem stems from the way the publishing industry works. It takes innovative, interesting books and then tries to replicate them over and over again, ad nauseam, in an effort to rake in that sweet, sweet cash. This practice spoiled the young adult genre for me, and now it's starting to spoil the mystery/thriller genre for me. The problem is, when you photocopy a copy of a copy of a copy, the quality deteriorates. It's the fast food-ification of book publishing, and I really, really hate it.
So what is so bad about this book? Well, read beyond the tag only at your own peril, because I am about to give away pretty much every plot twist in the book.
- I mentioned the inconsistencies of the characters. For a specific example, take Ash/Alex. She tells the reader early in the novel that she's going to lie low because she has secrets she needs to ensure don't come out and what does she do? She gets sucked into the school popularity contest and begins to revel in it. Then she vows she's going to keep her head down and stop drawing attention to herself. Then she draws attention to herself. Then she vows... You get the idea.
- Just go write your novel, Ford. Why are you even here? And leaving your safe unlocked? Seriously?
- Don't these people have lawyers? Don't their lawyers advise them not to say dumb things that could implicate themselves or the school? In fact, don't these lawyers advise them not to talk to the police unless they're present? They need new lawyers.
- Way to Sherlock Holmes your way to the truth, Kate. Also, she's suspended because that makes her seem tough. Also, she calls into question the quality of an investigation overseas and the UK cops are all, "Oh dear! Thank you, clever American, for saving us from ourselves! We're ever so grateful!" Sure.
- Ash (the real one) kills Becca because why? Because the plot wants to make her extra psycho, I guess. Because she's a 16-year-old master criminal, yet not smart enough to commit a murder that's just going to threaten her entire house of cards.
- Becca makes zero sense. Zero. First, the book makes her out to be a sociopath, I guess to confuse the reader about who the actual villain is. But she's actually sweet! Until she isn't. And she's vulnerable! Until she isn't. And she loves Ash/Alex. Until she doesn't want anyone to know about them. Not to mention that her relationship with Ash/Alex is the most messed up, toxic relationship I've read about in some time. Pure romance, everyone!
- Why is the secret society thing even in this book? Because it's about a prep school, and secret societies are required in books about prep schools? Because the author wants another handy device to use to make Becca's character even more inexplicable? Who knows!
- If you don't know the Ash/Alex is an impostor before you're, like, 10% through the book, you may not be paying enough attention. The hints, they are heavy and abundant.
It probably goes without saying that I won't be reading another of this author's books. They are definitely not for me. In the meantime, while I wait for the next Tana French, I'll continue my desperate search for more authors like her. To that end, I may want to wise up and stop reading American mystery/thriller authors altogether, because the more I read of the genre, the clearer it becomes to me that what's published in the UK, Australia, Ireland, and the U.S. under the mystery/thriller banner are very different animals.
My biggest beef about mysteries and thrillers as a genre is they rely way, way too much on tired tropes and stereotypes and twisted, acrobatic plots to do their job. This book did all of those things. This bothers me because it's manipulative, and I don't think it's good writing. If the only way you can keep me turning pages it by performing trick after trick, I'd rather you go back to the drawing board and work on the basics.
Now, I know that sounds harsh, and it will sound contradictory when I say that I don't have a problem with books like this existing, and it's certainly valid if people want to read books like this. Not everything has to be highbrow literature, nor do I want it to be. There is nothing at all wrong with books that are purely fun, the same way there's nothing wrong with popcorn action movies. My problem stems from the way the publishing industry works. It takes innovative, interesting books and then tries to replicate them over and over again, ad nauseam, in an effort to rake in that sweet, sweet cash. This practice spoiled the young adult genre for me, and now it's starting to spoil the mystery/thriller genre for me. The problem is, when you photocopy a copy of a copy of a copy, the quality deteriorates. It's the fast food-ification of book publishing, and I really, really hate it.
So what is so bad about this book? Well, read beyond the tag only at your own peril, because I am about to give away pretty much every plot twist in the book.
Spoiler
- As far, far too many of these thrillers do, this book falls back on the old "a crazy person did it!" technique. This technique should die in a fire immediately.- I mentioned the inconsistencies of the characters. For a specific example, take Ash/Alex. She tells the reader early in the novel that she's going to lie low because she has secrets she needs to ensure don't come out and what does she do? She gets sucked into the school popularity contest and begins to revel in it. Then she vows she's going to keep her head down and stop drawing attention to herself. Then she draws attention to herself. Then she vows... You get the idea.
- Just go write your novel, Ford. Why are you even here? And leaving your safe unlocked? Seriously?
- Don't these people have lawyers? Don't their lawyers advise them not to say dumb things that could implicate themselves or the school? In fact, don't these lawyers advise them not to talk to the police unless they're present? They need new lawyers.
- Way to Sherlock Holmes your way to the truth, Kate. Also, she's suspended because that makes her seem tough. Also, she calls into question the quality of an investigation overseas and the UK cops are all, "Oh dear! Thank you, clever American, for saving us from ourselves! We're ever so grateful!" Sure.
- Ash (the real one) kills Becca because why? Because the plot wants to make her extra psycho, I guess. Because she's a 16-year-old master criminal, yet not smart enough to commit a murder that's just going to threaten her entire house of cards.
- Becca makes zero sense. Zero. First, the book makes her out to be a sociopath, I guess to confuse the reader about who the actual villain is. But she's actually sweet! Until she isn't. And she's vulnerable! Until she isn't. And she loves Ash/Alex. Until she doesn't want anyone to know about them. Not to mention that her relationship with Ash/Alex is the most messed up, toxic relationship I've read about in some time. Pure romance, everyone!
- Why is the secret society thing even in this book? Because it's about a prep school, and secret societies are required in books about prep schools? Because the author wants another handy device to use to make Becca's character even more inexplicable? Who knows!
- If you don't know the Ash/Alex is an impostor before you're, like, 10% through the book, you may not be paying enough attention. The hints, they are heavy and abundant.
It probably goes without saying that I won't be reading another of this author's books. They are definitely not for me. In the meantime, while I wait for the next Tana French, I'll continue my desperate search for more authors like her. To that end, I may want to wise up and stop reading American mystery/thriller authors altogether, because the more I read of the genre, the clearer it becomes to me that what's published in the UK, Australia, Ireland, and the U.S. under the mystery/thriller banner are very different animals.
theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison is a riveting novel of suspense. The Good School is a prestigious prep for young ladies that resides in Marchburg, Virginia. This boarding school is for the intelligent daughters of the rich and powerful. They will receive a superior education that will get them into an Ivy league school and prepare them for a brilliant and influential future. But not everything is at it seems at this school. A new student arrives from Oxford, England who causes quite a stir. One student ends up dead and the truth must be uncovered. J.T. Ellison’s writing drew me into this engaging story. I enjoyed the author’s descriptive writing which allowed me to visualize the scenes. Virginia sounded beautiful in the fall. I thought the characters were thought out and developed. There are alternate points-of-view which I liked (Ash, Becca Curtis, and Dean Westhaven for example). It allows readers to view the events from different perspectives plus it keeps the tension up. Details are revealed a little at a time to keep readers guessing. Good Girls Lie is packed with secrets and deceptions. I kept trying to guess what is true and what is false. I just loved the fabulous twist. I thought the creepy aspects enhanced the story. There is a great ending where all the loose ends are wrapped up. Good Girls Lie has tradition, secret societies, hazing, deceits, clandestine relationships, jealousy and murder. As you can tell, I enjoyed reading this thrilling suspense tale. Good Girls Lie is a book that will keep you riveted until you finish the very last word.
mcoatesrn's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0