LIES LIES LIES
ADELE PARKS
****
Harlequin Mira have very kindly given me access to the ARC of Lies Lies Lies by Adele Parks and asked me to participate in their official BLOG TOUR! It's out TODAY (4th August) so I'll start by telling you all about the book and the author and then I'll dive in with my review.
THE BOOK
LIES LIES LIES (MIRA Trade Paperback; August 4, 2020; $17.99) centers on the story of Simon and Daisy Barnes. To the outside world, Simon and Daisy look like they have a perfect life. They have jobs they love, an angelic, talented daughter, a tight group of friends... and they have secrets too. Secrets that will find their way to the light, one way or the other.
Daisy and Simon spent almost a decade hoping for the child that fate cruelly seemed to keep from them. It wasn’t until, with their marriage nearly in shambles and Daisy driven to desperation, little Millie was born. Perfect in every way, healing the Barnes family into a happy unit of three. Ever indulgent Simon hopes for one more miracle, one more baby. But his doctor’s visit shatters the illusion of the family he holds so dear.
Now, Simon has turned to the bottle to deal with his revelation and Daisy is trying to keep both of their secrets from spilling outside of their home. But Daisy’s silence and Simon’s habit begin to build until they set off a catastrophic chain of events that will destroy life as they know it.
THE AUTHOR
Adele Parks was born in Teesside, North-East England. Her first novel, Playing Away, was published in 2000 and since then she's had seventeen international bestsellers, translated into twenty-six languages, including I Invited Her In. She's been an Ambassador for The Reading Agency and a judge for the Costa. She's lived in Italy, Botswana and London, and is now settled in Guildford, Surrey, with her husband, teenage son and cat.
MY REVIEW ****
Daisy and Simon’s marriage looks perfect from the outside, but just under the surface lurks a hidden darkness - can they keep a handle on it before it all goes wrong?
Lies Lies Lies is a rollercoaster of a book. At first I was a little put off by the constant stream of consciousness narrative but it soon got me hooked and I couldn’t put the book down. We have alternating chapters between parents Daisy and Simon which give us an interesting insight into their personalities. The first half catches you slightly off-guard as this seemingly normal tale starts to spiral out of control and Simon’s alcoholism begins to affect their marriage and their friendships. It’s a bit like reading a slow-motion car crash at times until the sudden crescendo comes to a height at around the 60% mark. Here the pace slows down but still manages to keep you gripped.
The characters certainly hold some cards close to their chest, and there are some really nice twists that I did not see coming revealed later on in the plot. The only bit about the book I didn’t think worked well was the extra small twist right at the very end (no spoilers!) which I thought muddied the waters a little too much and confused a lot of what went before it. I did feel like a lot of the plot could have been fixed if the characters had just talked to each other which felt frustrating at times but I do know that this is also realistic in some relationships as well!
Overall, Lies Lies Lies is a rollercoaster read and I recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin – Mira for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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