Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Sometimes I Lie

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.

Content Warnings

stregatto's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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.

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

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."

Content Warnings

hxlleann's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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meredithwheeler's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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ruxandramirbauer's review against another edition

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tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

As the plot twist is revealed about 75-80% into the book, it just left me in a state of confusion for the remainder of the pages. And not like a good confusion, like a mathematical equation confusion.

This was a light “psychological thriller”… In quotation marks because I wasn’t really drawn or intrigued as much as with other thrillers.
Unexpected plot twist(s) for sure, but not super excellent book.
Not a bad read though.

Content Warnings

ebbys_library's review against another edition

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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

3.5

this reminded me of none of this is true, in that you never figure out what is the truth and who to believe, which just makes you think a lot. that made it an enjoyable story for me. but the very graphic sexual assault was just not needed and gross and i did not like it being added.

Content Warnings

colossuscrunch's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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