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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I much preferred We Were Liars but this one was alright I guess. All of the like bits I loved in We Were Liars was not in this.

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funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

i liked this one even bit more than the first one. the style was more polished and more beautiful, and i really enjoyed getting insight into the sisters’ dynamics. again, read this in two sittings. what the fuck. there’s something in lockhart’s books that makes them so fast to read and so addictive

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really enjoyed this book - much more than We Were Liars. It was a good holiday read and incredibly absorbing, but also pretty dark and troubling. E Lockhart's writing so skilfully conjures emotions and a sense of place, and the use of description and listing is so satisfying. I felt totally involved in the narrator's world, as her thoughts and emotions were constantly being expressed and explained. The one thing I liked less about the book was the plot twist at the end - I felt it didn't make sense and wasn't really necessary, though i guess it did add another layer to the story. Overall, this book was gripping and thought provoking and I definitely would recommend. 

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slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was garbage, but still not the worst thing I’ve ever read.

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wow. Just WOW. I loved it much more than I thought. Maybe more than the 1st one. An eye for an eye. A son for a son.
  Carrie killed Pfeff, causing his mother and father to lose their first born. And years later, she suffered from the same fate. 
I didn’t expect the twist but I spoiled it for myself anyway, it was surprisingly not shocking. She did say she was a liar. Bro and Penny. Ugh, forcing herself to be straight. Wow. The book was heartbreaking, especially considering the people they become. Which isn’t too great, but it makes sense now why they are the way they are.
BRO THE DAD HELPED THEM COVER UP THE MURDER. HE TOOK THE BOARD. Ugh Carrie is also an unreliable narrator just like Candace was. Fuck bro.
And don’t get me started on Rosemary.
She saw her for 5 summers. Her baby sister that drowned.
Ugh. I wish penny could be out. I just want people to be happy in this book, but literally no one is ever.

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dark emotional mysterious
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Having recently finished We Were Liars (which was equal parts compellingly clever and emotionally devastating) I was eager to finally delve into the prequel which follows some of the characters from We Were Liars, specifically Carrie (the oldest Sinclair sister and mother to Johnny who we met in We Were Liars) during one pivotal summer on their private island, Beechwood, in the 1980s. 

Now, I will warn that Family of Liars does open with spoilers to We Were Liars in the prologue, so I do suggest reading that before picking this up (as well as checking the TWs.)  

But if you have read it, then you’re going to love delving into more of the Sinclair family’s backstory: the tragedies, complicated family issues and secrets that shaped the lives of Carrie, Penny and Bess as adults. 

The writing is once again really compelling and I loved the emotional depth we see in Carrie who (in her grief from the tragedy that took place the previous year) feels disconnected from her family and its obsessive need for perfection. I admit, Carrie did remind me a little of Cadence (Penny’s daughter) in how jaded she is with her parents and sisters. 
 
I can’t really go into any more detail without spoiling key moments of We Were Liars. But, I will say the twists and turns encountered here didn’t shock or leave me as emotionally distraught as Cadence’s story did. What it did do however, is make me eager to see more of the Sinclair family— if only to dig up even more long buried secrets (because there’s bound to more where Harris and Tipper are concerned.)

Overall, a compelling continuation into the world of We Were Liars that explores wealth, grief, trauma, identity and addiction in such exquisitely immersive detail you definitely won’t want to put it down!  

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

Ouch I love it

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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