Review: The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

  Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their tiny cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. The games ended when Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin in the dead of night. The last she--or anyone--saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the New York art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings--massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. The paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale. When Francesca implores her to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor, Emma sees an opportunity to try to find out what really happened to her friends.

Yet it's immediately clear that all is not right at Camp Nightingale. Already haunted by memories from fifteen years ago, Emma discovers a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting mistrust from Francesca and, most disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian left behind about the camp's twisted origins. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing threats from both man and nature in the present.

And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale, the more she realizes it may come at a deadly price.

My Review: 5 Stars

I usually read YA, but I decided to venture into adult mystery/thrillers, and I will definitely be reading more of these in the near future.  I saw that this book had really good reviews, so I ended up buying it, and I definitely did not regret this purchase.  I ended up loving this book a lot.  There were several twists and reveals that I did not see coming, basically up to the last page.  Once I really got hooked in, I was invested in the story and the characters.  I also realized that it's been a long time since I wrote a review on this blog, and when I finished this book, I immediately wanted to write my thoughts into a review, so this should help get me back into reviewing again.

Emma was our narrator and I really liked her character.  It was hard to know if she was a fully reliable narrator, since she didn't necessarily fully have her grip on sanity since the incident that had happened 15 years before.  I felt bad for how much the event had scarred her and wanted her to be able to find answers to help her through her trauma.  I didn't know if I should trust everything that she knew and didn't know, but I still loved her a lot as a character.

Vivian was an interesting character.  I can't say too much about her because I don't want to spoil anything, but she was complex and her motives for things were complex.  And she was not always likable but sometimes it was easy to get wrapped up into younger Emma's narration and like her.  Natalie and Allison were much less developed than Vivian but you still got some glimpses into who they were.

Some more interesting characters were the family members of the people who run the camp.  The camp director is a woman named Franny and she has two adopted sons who also work there, Theo and Chet.  Theo is a likeable character, and very friendly and welcoming to Emma upon her return, despite the fact that he definitely has a reason to be mad at her, as she accused him of the crime many years before, and he suffered much because of this.  I mostly trusted him throughout, and I definitely didn't want him to be involved in any of the crimes.  And of course, I will not say whether or not trusting him was a good or bad idea.  The camp had this atmosphere of something secret about it that the family may or may not be hiding.  It seems like Franny may not want Emma to dig deeper into these secrets, so is she hiding something terrible?

I think my favorite characters other than Emma were Miranda, Sasha, and Krystal (probably in that order).  They were the three teenage girls who older Emma had to stay in a cabin with.  I really enjoyed seeing her form friendships with them and genuinely caring about them, despite the fact that she was originally disgruntled about having to live with the campers for 6 weeks.  And they clearly cared about her too and I think that was something that Emma needed after what she's been through.

If you like mysteries and thrillers, read this book. I was originally unsure if Riley Sager's other book would be something that I would like, but after this one, I think I may have to read it. 

Katie 

2017 End of Year Book Survey

This is a survey done each year by Jamie from the Perpetual Page Turner.  I won't be answering question on the survey, but I will pick and choose ones that I like to answer.

Number Of Books You Read: 57
Number of Re-Reads: 3
Genre You Read The Most From: Contemporary YA

Best Book You Read In 2017?

I think Emery Lord's 2017 release The Names They Gave Us is probably my favorite book that I read this year.  I read it twice within the year and there are several parts that I have reread other times since then.  I love the relationship between Lucy and her parents as they deal with her mom's illness.  I love the friendships she forms at camp as well as the slow burn romance with a guy there.  I just all around loved everything about this book.

Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas was surprising in a plot twist way.  It was a very good mystery book that I enjoyed reading.

I think A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo also fits in this category because I was surprised by the epilogue and I'm still not fully sure what the truth was in this book.

Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?

I really enjoyed Sandhya Menon's first book When Dimple Met Rishi, and her next two books that have been announced both sound really good so I'm glad I discovered her books.  I look forward to reading her 2018 book and her 2019 book.

Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

I mostly stuck to my favorite genre which is contemporary.  I did read The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee which was historical.  Though I don't know how much it counts as out of my comfort zone since it had the character development and everything else that I typically enjoy about contemporaries.  I didn't really read any sci-fi or fantasy this year which is more out of my zone.

Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus was not necessarily action-packed, but I could definitely call it unputdownable.  I read most of it on an airplane ride and didn't put it down much at all.  It was a great mystery told from the perspective of four different characters who were all well developed.

Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

I would really like to reread They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera since it was a really wonderful and emotional book with great characters.  I have to make sure I do that when I'm prepared for it though, since it definitely is a sad book that you need to be emotionally ready for.

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

I really like the cover of The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord or They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera.  Both of these covers had colors that I liked.  And the books were just as good, probably better, than the covers.

Most memorable character of 2017?

I think one of the most memorable characters was Molly from The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli.  She was a very real teenage girl with real issues, and I loved getting to see the development of her cute romance.

Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?

I think The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas probably wins for this category since it really delves into issues of race and racism.

Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read? 

I have owned my copy of This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills since last fall (2016) but I didn't get around to reading it until this fall.  I'm not sure why I waited so long since it ended up being very good and I really enjoyed the characters and their friendships and relationships.  And then I followed it up by reading shortly after her 2017 book Foolish Hearts.

Book That Shocked You The Most

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas was a mystery with a lot of shocking plot twists, so I think it wins for this category.

OTP OF THE YEAR

I really loved the relationship between Eliza and Wallace in Eliza and Her Monsters.  They were both super cute and nerdy.  I loved the concept of the relationship between a webcomic writer and one of the main writers of her fanfiction.  Wallace was such a sweet guy and very good for Eliza.

This was a hard question because there are a lot of couples that I like so I'm just putting this one.

Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

I love the sibling relationships in Far From the Tree by Robin Benway.  This book was about three biological siblings who just found out about each other.  I enjoyed seeing them get to know each other and how they had some emotional connections and scenes.

I also really liked the relationship between Gabby and Ryan in Top Ten by Katie Cotugno.  Though they did consider being in a romantic relationship at some points, I still liked how the book showcased a strong (mostly) platonic friendship between a guy and a girl.

Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

This one is probably a toss-up between Adam Silvera and Emery Lord's newest books.  Since I put Emery Lord's book as the best overall, I'll go with Adam Silvera's They Both Die at the End for this category.

Best 2017 debut you read?

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas was a really good debut novel.  Obviously, a lot of people agree since it was a New York Times bestseller and a movie is being made.  

Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

I didn't read very many books that involved typical "worldbuilding" since I stuck pretty much to contemporary, but there was one book I read that was very good called Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kacynzski.  This book took place in the future and had an interesting world.

But also, sticking to contemporary, A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor had a really good setting on a deserted island.  The island was a very vivid setting that was almost a character of itself that kept doing new and unexpected thing.

Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli was a very good and enjoyable read.  There were some heavier parts but overall it was cute and had an adorable slow-build romance and I loved it.

Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

This was definitely Now Is Everything by Amy Giles because I was mad at Hadley's dad in pretty much every scene that he was in.  He was just so awful and abusive and I wanted Hadley and her sister, Lila, to be protected from him.  And I didn't like the mom, either, because she let him keep doing bad things to them.

Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)?

I don't think I can put just one book for this category, so, sorry.  Two of my top ones are both of Ashley Herring Blake's 2018 releases, which are Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World and Girl Made of Stars.  Also I can't leave out Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli.  And I'm excited for Sandhya Menon's sophomore novel, From Twinkle, With Love.  And I don't really know what Angie Thomas' next book, On the Come Up, is even about, but I'm still excited to read it.

2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I am really super excited for You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon.  That is the only 2018 book that I have ordered so far.  Another notable one is People Like Us by Dana Mele, which is a mystery releasing in February.  A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena also makes it onto my list of most anticipated.  A couple other ones on the list are Nothing Left to Burn by Heather Ezell and Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles.  I will probably be preordering some of these debuts (as well as the non-debuts) soon and will be eagerly awaiting their release dates.

Katie

January Releases I'm Most Excited For

January 2nd:
You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon - First this book is dual POV, narrated by twin sisters.  I love both dual POV and books about sisters so that's already two points in its favor.  Then it also deals with the impact of finding out that one sister may end getting Huntington's disease and one won't.  And that just makes the book sound even more amazing.  I seriously can't wait to buy myself a copy and read this.  I actually just preordered my copy on the day that I'm editing this post.  The cover is also very pretty.





January 9th:
A Taxonomy of Love by Rachael Allen - This book is by Rachael Allen and I've enjoyed both of her other two books that have been published so far.  And I'm excited for this one especially due to its unique premise of following the main characters from ages 13 to 19.  Most books don't cover this large of a scope of the character's lives, and this seems like a cool way to really show the development of them and their relationships over time.  And from the reviews I've read, it sounds like a lot of people love the characters in the book.



January 16th:
Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed - This book is about a Muslim teen who struggles with some of the expectations that are required by her religion, mostly ones related to who she can and can't date.  And when there is a terrorist attack nearby, people react by treating her badly. This sounds like a very timely and sadly way too relevant book due to things going on in the world today.



January 23rd:
Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp - I read and loved Marieke Nijkamp's first book, which was the New York Times bestselling This is Where It Ends.  So I'm excited to read her sophomore novel.  This book sounds like it should be a good mystery as well as an atmospheric book about small towns and the secrets that exist there.
Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann  - This sounds like a good and fun and cute book that is also important.  It is about a romance featuring an ace main character, which isn't something I've read very much, though I have read a couple books featuring it.



Katie