Lost in Pages

“I guess we’re almost friends now, or as friendly as you can get when you’re not one hundred percent sure the other person isn’t framing you for murder.” 

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I feel as though I should preface this review saying that I very rarely stray away from fantasy. And if I do, it’s usually for something dark and twisty. Thrillers are the only way I venture anywhere near contemporary, which is why I was more than happy to pick up One of Us is Lying. It’s marketed as Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, which strikes me as something I will love since I dedicated seven years of my life to PLL. #bitter

However, it was a little more Breakfast Club and way less Pretty Little Liars. 

The book revolves around the death of Simon. During detention one day, Simon has an allergic reaction and dies. And all the sudden the four students in the room with him are the suspects. These, of course, include a brain, a princess, a jock, and a criminal. Are you getting some serious BC yet?

However, there are strange things going on with these four students. For instance, they’re all in detention because a teacher found cellphones in their backpacks during class that didn’t belong to them. Then there’s the coincidence that Simon had queued up a post on his gossip app with rumors tied to each student. Oh, and then the strange Tumblr posts that keep popping up from the “killer” taunting the students. Now you get the PLL vibes, right?

This story is interesting. It was slow moving for me in the beginning but it picks up midway through. And I was totally invested in a couple ships.

However, it was lacking more of the thrilling aspect. The book focuses so much on the day-to-day lives of each of the four students. At one point they start ignoring the Tumblr altogether. They aren’t taunted or haunted by anything other than what the media is saying or what the cops are deciding to follow up on next. Like I said, it was a lot more Breakfast Club than Pretty Little Liars.

So, why am I still giving this book 4 stars despite the blah aspect? Exactly what I said in the beginning, contemporaries aren’t my thing unless they are seriously dark and twisty. And this book is a good book. It’s just not my kind of book.

Chances are if you read contemporaries and enjoy mild thrillers then you’ll love this book. The plot twists and the ending are very well done. And like I said, I was invested in the romance aspect.

So yeah, I would definitely be handing it 5 stars if it upped the “A” aspect some. I need more thrills in my thrillers. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it because I would still recommend it for those who enjoy contemporary thrillers.