A review by ladywestfall
Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

5.0

"People think that good and bad are opposites but they're wrong, they're just a mirror image of one another in a broken glass."

Woah. Woah! This book was so amazingly written! It was smart, intriguing and mind boggling. It kept me on the edge. I don't read much psychological thrillers but damn, I think I should more often. I enjoyed this a whole lot though I've felt so cheated most of the time! I do not know whose words to trust at all. Amber or Claire's? It was all so confusing but I love that all the important events were broken down into pieces and all my initial questions were answered. (Was it?)

Spoiler

There were a lot of twists in this book. And when I said a lot, I MEANT A LOT. I never saw all of them coming! All the characters tend to lie so that doesn't surprise me. But the best twist for me was Claire! When Amber said that the diary was Claire's, I was like, WHAT? 😳 I literally had to go back to some chapters especially the diary entries and looking back, I realized how foolish I was. Was it only me though? I just assumed the diary entries were also Amber's as she was supposed to be the main protagonist but I was so, so wrong. Reading the diary again in Claire's pov did make more sense. And also the secret about Claire killing her parents! I'm like, wait—WHAT? There were a lot of times I just shake my head, reading, because of all the madness.
Amber and Claire are both interesting characters. I love the dynamic of their personalities. Claire was a controlling freak who always wants everything in her way. Amber has full of anxiety and she lies, though I'm not sure if she was even aware of it. I enjoyed being in Amber's head too but all the lies, damn all the lies, I couldn't even trust everything I've read or what the truth was even after reading the book. When everything has been laid out and everything seems to have an answer, I remembered, Amber is a liar and I'm like, okaaaaay. And then I didn't even want to figure it out anymore.
I don't know if this looks sadistic or what but I love Amber's last hurray at the end. Amber poisoning Claire and her husband and taking away her children, blaming everything to Madeline. It was such a smart move though. The plan was well-thought. This was her way of getting justice to everything that happened to her and getting back the life that was stolen from her. I just kind of didn't get what happened with Edward. Did he really get away? What's with the blood and the burned skin? 🤔🤔
I can't even figure out who the real villain was. Was it Claire? Edward? Madeline? Or Amber? Maybe it was all of them. Maybe each of them were a villain of one's character.

Also, the ending!!! Of course the ending just have to add another twist! The bracelet from when they were kids was brought in with the wine and I'm like, HOW? I thought it was gone! Who put it there? Was it Edward? Or Claire? But she's dead...aren't she? Or maybe Amber lied about that too. Who knows? She did end the story, saying: "Sometimes I lie." 😱

Way to confuse my already jumbled brain! 🙄