Trust Me, I’m Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summer Blog Tour

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Publication: October 14, 2014

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Source: Author/Publisher

Fans of Ally Carter, especially her Heist Society readers, will love this teen mystery/thriller with sarcastic wit, a hint of romance, and Ocean’s Eleven–inspired action. Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average. But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal.

Trust Me, I’m Lying  was a fun adventure. It did remind me a little bit of Heist Society being that they are both young con artists in their own right. 

Julep (which is she tells us is not even her real name) pulls off pretty schemes for the students of a upscale high school that she attends. I liked seeing the different cons she pulled off for people. And the reasons behind her actions. It’s obvious she has a real knack for what she does, plus she has the help of her friend Sam, who is a hacker. There were  a few times that I started to get concerned for her pulling off stunts on school grounds, especially since the Dean seems to have it out for her.

I didn’t really  get the relationship with the boy, Tyler.  I know he is supposed to be a love interest for Julep,  but I didn’t understand why she was including him in the beginning. She was basically letting some strange hot boy all into her life, without really thinking of the consequences. For someone who is such a great con artist, who can handle a job without letting her emotions affect the endgame, it was just a little weird. 

I did like  the story-line and Julep. She is very smart and gifted at spinning tales. Among other things. The mystery was well played out. The pace of the story was quick, and there were several twists and turns to keep the reader guessing.  If you are a fan of teen thrillers and mysteries, then Trust Me, I’m Lying will provide you with a much needed fix.

RATING: 4 out of 5.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mary Elizabeth Summer is an instructional designer, a mom, a champion of the serial comma, and a pie junkie. Oh, and she sometimes writes books about teenage delinquents saving the day. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her daughter, her partner, and her evil overlor–er, cat. TRUST ME, I'M LYING, a YA mystery, will be released by Delacorte in Fall 2014.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: http://www.mesummer.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6925957.Mary_Elizabeth_Summer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mesummerbooks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryElizabethSummer

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mesummer/

Tumblr: http://maryelizabethsummer.tumblr.com

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We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Publication: May 13, 2014

Publisher: Delacorte Press

A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth.   We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.  Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

We Were Liars was one of the top books I have read so far this year.

I don’t even know how much to say because I don’t want to spoil the story. It’s one of those books were you will want to discover every twist, every secret, every lie for yourself.

So what can I say about it?

I loved the way it was written and I loved Cadence and all of the different characters in the story. This is a melodramatic tale that’s also a bit dark and twisted. Revolving around a wealthy and prominent family who clearly doesn’t love each other completely without reservation. They hide behind their wealth, wide smiles, immaculate clothing, and glittering jewels.Did I mention the lies and the twists?

We Were Liars is an achingly beautiful and clever story that lingers well after the last page. I was taken in from the first chapter. It’s the perfect summertime book. Read it, enjoy it, and see for yourself how good this book is.

RATING: 4½ out of 5.

**I received this book on behalf of the publisher in exchange for nothing but my honest opinion. Thank you.**

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Book Review: Spies & Prejudice by Talia Vance

 

Publication Date: June 11, 2013

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Synopsis: Fields’ Rule #1: Don’t fall for the enemy. Berry Fields is not looking for a boyfriend. She’s busy trailing cheaters and liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the affairs she’s sure all men commit. And thanks to a pepper spray incident during an eighth grade game of spin the bottle, the guys at her school are not exactly lining up to date her, either. So when arrogant—and gorgeous—Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her “nothing amazing,” it’s no loss for Berry. She’ll forget him in no time. She’s more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother’s death. But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her investigation, always getting in her way? Is he trying to stop her from discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat? And why can’t Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes? With a playful nod to Jane Austen, Spies and Prejudice will captivate readers as love and espionage collide.

Strawberry Fields (Berry) is somewhat jaded when it comes to love and relationships. All thanks to her job as a Private Investigator at her father’s business.  Being a teenager has its advantages, since most people tend to overlook them and her, which make her perfect for the job.  She is tough, sarcastic, smart, and guarded. And I liked her personality a lot.  

She ends up meeting Tanner, the potential love interest while on a stakeout with her best friend Mary Chris. Their feelings for each other seemed to take root pretty quickly, so I wasn’t 100 percent believing in their ‘love’. But aside from that, I was able to enjoy book.

The characters were pretty unique and fun to get to know. I liked the mystery aspect of the story, more than the romance part of the story. The questions revolving around Berry’s mother’s death and the possible connection with Mary Chris’s dad was an interesting twist and I wanted to keep reading to discover all the answers.

As far as retellings go, this is the first Pride and Prejudice retelling I have ever read. I absolutely adore Pride and Prejudice and pretty much all Jane Austen novels btw. The characters in SP had their own original personality with a little from PP thrown in. I wasn’t in love with it, but I still enjoyed it. Spies and Prejudice is a cute, quirky, and entertaining summer read.

 

Rating 3½ out of 5.

**I received this book on behalf of EgmontUSA in exchange for nothing, but my honest opinion. Thank you.**

  

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This is W.A.R. by Lisa Roecker & Laura Roecker

Publication Date: July 2, 2013

Publisher: Soho Teen

Synopsis: This is W.A.R. begins with a victim who can no longer speak for herself, and whose murder blossoms into a call-to-arms. Enter four very different girls, four very different motives to avenge Willa Ames-Rowan, and only one rule to start: Destroy James Gregory and his family at any cost. Willa's initials spell the secret rallying cry that spurs the foursome to pool their considerable resources and deliver their particular brand of vigilante justice. Innocence is lost, battles are won—and the pursuit of the truth ultimately threatens to destroy them all.

This is W.A.R. had a good beginning that grabbed my attention. It starts off with Willa Ames-Rowan drowning in Hawthorne Lake on the night of July 4^th.

The story follows four of Willa’s friends as they attempt to avenge her death. They are pretty confident that they know James Gregory is the one who is responsible for their friends’ death. I was wondering how are they so sure it was him so quickly?

And since the Gregory family is loaded, the words consequence and punishment have little to no effect on them. This is where Rose, Lina, Madge, and Sloane come in with their own definition of justice.

They are an interesting group of friends, all different in personalities, but with a common goal they try to work together, though not always smoothly. It was nice to see them want the supposedly bad guy pay for what he did, but some of their revenge ideas should not have even been thought of…

And I have only one word for anyone who willingly, yes willingly takes a date rape drug, just because they felt like it.

STUPID.

Was it a bit over the top? Yes.

Did the storyline border on the unbelievable/crazy at times? Yes.

Is it amazing literature that made me feel differently about the world around me when I finished reading it? Nope.

It is what it is; a fun and crazy story that was a decent diversion from the real world this past weekend.  I had hoped that I would like it more than I did, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. The characters were ok, but I found myself not caring too much about them by the end. Revenge and being able to get away with practically anything if you are rich enough are the main themes in this book that readers on the younger end of the YA spectrum might be interested in.

Rating: 2½-3 out of 5.

**I received this book on behalf of Soho Teen in exchange for nothing, but my honest opinion. Thank you.**

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