A review by katieb94
Lie With Me by Philippe Besson

emotional lighthearted sad fast-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

3.0

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this in exchange for and honest (but late) review. I do feel I wasn’t the right audience for this book however, it was a queer coming of age story and I really couldn’t connect with the characters at all. 

I’m also not sure if it’s semi-autobiographical or not. 

Another issue I have is with the layout, I just get confused by novels that don’t have speech marks for anything spoken. Even though it was indicated I still
got lost. 

The main part of the story is told to use by the writer/narrator as he tells us about his relationship with a boy, Thomas, whilst at high school- including the details of their sex lives too. I liked this part of the book best and seeing their relationship develop was nice to read.

It felt very obsolete though when it came to their adult hood. They drifted away, didn’t contact each other and it isn’t until the narrator meets Thomas’ son that we have any idea what happened after.

It takes a surprisingly sad turn towards the end that I didn’t see coming and there’s no direction it’s going to happen. 

3/5 stars.
Sweet little queer romance book. 
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