3.5- I’m so bummed I can’t rate this higher. This was gripping and twisty, but I’d argue maybe a bit too twisty. The unreliable narrator structure here is convoluted to keep you from knowing how it will end, but it also keeps you from knowing what the hell is happening as it’s unraveling. Kind of confusing, and there’s a couple of things that never really get explained which add to the confusion. Plus this girl just cannot catch a break like the number of terrible things that happen to her is so beyond implausible. 

This really sucked me in though, and I loved the slight horror aspect with some of the dream states - really unexpected and eerie. Definitely see why people rave about this book - it was intriguing and intense. I just felt like some of the plot points could have been more carefully wrapped up.

not a thriller expert here but the book was filled with so many cliches it felt unbelievable or too much to me at a certain point, there can only be so many sociopaths in the same story. but pushing past credibility, following the story and trying to predict the twists was still fun to do.

Title: Sometimes I Lie
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." 

The more I think about this book, the angrier I get. While I didn’t predict the spoiler

the journals were Claire’s, WTF

I did predict that the driver would be who it was. Meh.

Hm

The characters can’t be described as lovable but are certainly engaging. Some of the plot twits are predictable, but are still enjoyable and others are very unexpected.

I enjoyed following the trio of timelines and the short chapters. The plot is unlike anything I’ve read before and well worth the read.