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ivykennerauthor's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, and Grief
Minor: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, and Car accident
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Author: Alice Feeney
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: March 23, 2017
T H R E E • W O R D S
Dizzying • Disturbing • Shocking
📖 S Y N O P S I S
My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:
1. I'm in a coma.
2. My husband doesn't love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie.
Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can't move. She can't speak. She can't open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn't remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Sometimes I Lie was another one of my 12 recommendations from 12 friends challenge for 2024. I didn't know anything about the plot ahead of time (other than that the person who recommended it to me absolutely loved it) and it was my first foray into Alice Feeney's repertoire, so I didn't really know what the expect.
Alternating between the present, the week prior to the accident, and a series of childhood diaries from years ago, the format really allows the reader inside Amber's mind. Alternately, it also has the ability to confuse the reader, which disrupts the flow. It also contains a cast of really unlikeable and unreliable characters. I honestly didn't know who or what to trust.
The plot if packed full of twists and turns, but for me there were a few too many twists making it seem unrealistic and as though the author was trying to pack as much as possible into one story. The ending left more questions than answers and while normally I enjoy this type of ending, with this one the ambiguous ending felt unjust.
Alice Feeney's debut, Sometimes I Lie, is a psychological thriller that is dark and disturbing. One that takes a lot of patience and attention to detail to fully grasp. While I am glad I read it, I can easily say it was not my favourite recommendation for this project. Simply put, it's a mediocre thriller that is highly forgettable.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• unreliable narrators
• diary entries as part of the plot
• psychological thrillers
⚠️ CW: infertility, pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, stalking, emotional abuse, murder, death, death of parent, fire/fire injury, car accident, medical trauma, medical content, toxic relationship, toxic friendship, mental illness, alcoholism, gaslighting, cursing, abandonment
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Nana always said that books made better friends than people anyway. Books will take you anywhere if you let them, she used to say, and I think she was right."
"Sometimes I think it's best to say nothing at all, silence cannot be misquoted."
"People think that good and bad are opposites but they're wrong, they're just mirror images of one another in broken glass."
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cursing and Abandonment
bechlette47's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
lexithelion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Abortion
OCDchelle22's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
pageafter_paige's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
elle_laine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Miscarriage, Blood, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i felt like the coma chapters were really slow and dragged for me. the twists were okay but some of them seemed so pointless. some of the twists were unnecessary and awful. it brought the book down so far for me. there was no reason for some of the book content to be in there.
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ellalafontant's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Medical content
Moderate: Cancer