Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Family of Liars

When I reviewed
We Were Liars,
I said:
"I still have the sequel to read, and I hope it doesn't suck."
Well,
I'm glad to say it didn't!

Lockhart had a terribly doomed job here: to write a worthy new story based on the universe of a success she wrote almost ten years ago, a book that was so unique in it's style it would be hard to avenge. Thankfully, the task was accomplished, and now we have more lies to be shocked of.

I see Family of Liars as a great expansion of the first book's universe. The Sinclair family has a twisted charm to their tale that guaranteed my interest here, no matter what. You simply want to know more about them, it's undeniable. But then, what could she write? After the shocking story of Cadence and her friends, the broken family full of intrigue and ambition? We Were Liars was an ambitious story itself. I had to find out what's up with their past. Turns out, it wasn't pretty.

Now, let's talk about reading experience here. This book has less strength than it's older brother, simply because it doesn't benefit of the surprise factor. That was taken away by the first story, so it is an inevitable fragility. But I do think Lockhart handled well with this weakness, and soothed it as much as she could, which made the story still full of surprises. The characters, both old and new, were as intriguing as ever, and the plots involving the long-known family of liars were really good. I feel like the second third of the story could do with a bit more of clues and intrigue, but that's just me. Overall, the story is as well built as the first one in terms of consistency. But I do have a big caveat:

Rosemary

This could be just me playing with my frustrated expectations, but I do feel like Rosemary deserved a better plot. I mean, it's The Sinclair Family we are talking about, I don't believe she just died on an accident. Her presence could be more meaningful, specially revolving around her motives to visit Carrie. Even if she just died like that, even if this is really her only motive, to look out for her sister, I feel like this wasn't developed enough. It should be brought up more during the chapters. But sorry Lockhart, the only way to redeem yourself here is to write a third book, a prequel where we learn the origins of Harris and Tipper and how they were the real guilty ones behind Rosemary's death. You just have to do it, or I won't raise my rating on this book on my next reread.

Again, I think Lockhart gives us mystery and suspense done right. And this is a great expansion upon the first novel, maybe with a few hiccups towards the middle and in the need of a little more development here and there. It is, ultimately, worth reading if you liked the first book.

Now, how long do you guys think she'll take before deciding to write another prequel? I don't want to reread this too much before she releases it.

Content Warnings

marie_is_reading's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

safety_pin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

brookey8888's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was good. I really didn’t know what to expect when I went into this but I enjoyed it. The writing style is odd like we were liars were, but after a while you just get used to how it’s written. I honestly really like the main character and she did nothing wrong I mean she did but I forgive her. This also made me tear up at the end. I think if you enjoyed we were liars you should pick this up.

Content Warnings

ekmook's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

franchesqua_levi's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read we were liars at the start of this year, it was the book that got me out of my reading slump that lasted years, so of course I had to read the prequel.

We were liars made me cry so much and for some reason I thought family of liars was basically going to be a copy and paste of we were liars. I was so wrong. This book made me so angry with it that I wanted to toss the book across my room. For the past week, all you could hear coming from my room was, "NO" "HOW DARE YOU!!?" And a lot of screaming. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to feel something, but someone who isn't much of a crier.

I'm not vey good with trigger warnings, but I would say that some of the main ones are rape and death.

Content Warnings

criticalbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.5

Content Warnings

hayleygray's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

[Huge thank you to Hot Key Books UK for sending me an uncorrected proof of this book before the release date]

This was a long-anticipated read for me after reading 'We Were Liars' years ago and it did not disappoint!
E. Lockhart has a way of gripping readers from the very first sentence and keeping them invested in the story, the whole way through – with twists, turns, and huge family secrets being revealed throughout. 'Family of Liars' provided a sense of nostalgia from reading 'We Were Liars' but it also provided a brand new experience, simultaneously. You truly feel like a part of this disheveled family, learning about, and keeping, secrets along the way (especially, as I read the proofs before its publication date, so I had to keep the whole thing a secret!)
I highly recommend this book – but, only after you read 'We Were Liars' as it contains spoilers which are the fundamental basis to this new(ish) story!

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