Reviews
Foster child Emma Paxton is finally starting to get the hang of walking in her dead twin sister's shoes, even as she tries to track down Sutton's murderer. Sutton was no angel, and the pranks she and her friends pulled leave Emma with a long list of suspects. The most mysterious of them is Thayer Vega, who's currently missing, a fact which many of Sutton's friends blame on her. Emma has no idea what Sutton did that could have driven Thayer away. Until Thayer himself shows up on her doorstep. Emma begins to wonder, is Thayer back to get his revenge, or is it possible he already has? This story was much more interesting than the previous book. I liked the introduction of Thayer’s character and how it shakes up the character dynamics and storyline. Hearing about Alex, Emma’s friend from Las Vegas who knew about the twin switch, was a little jarring for me because she was only mentioned briefly in the first book and not at all in the second. This book’s storyline was much more intriguing than the second book’s, and I liked how this book deepened the mystery of Sutton’s killer. This book does depict the idea of mental illness and neurodivergence poorly (much like the Pretty Little Liars franchise), but as most teenagers aren’t educated on neurodivergence and seeing how the media and society depicts the mentally ill, certain reactions to mental illness are not surprising or unrealistic. One of Sutton’s friends makes an amnesia joke when Emma asks certain questions, and it made me think, Emma should have orchestrated an accident and faked amnesia if she wanted to ask questions about Sutton’s life so openly. I’m sure that that plan would have caused some problems of its own, and people in Sutton’s life could have just lied to Emma or taken advantage of her amnesia, but I think that if Emma had faked amnesia after pretending to be Sutton for awhile, she could have compared how people acted towards her before and after the fake accident and narrowed down her list of murder suspects. Regardless, I liked this book much better than the previous book, which felt like filler. This book made me realize how often Emma briefly notices someone watching her before they hide behind something. This also happened in the Pretty Little Liars books, but it felt more effective there. Had I been Emma in those situations, I would have chased down whoever she thought was watching her and confronted them. I’m still not sold on the Emma and Ethan romance. Emma is a moderately interesting character, but I’m not interested in Ethan as a person. I liked how this book explored the ramifications of the twin switch on Emma’s personality and character. The exploration of assuming your twin’s identity and “becoming the mask” is something that I wish this book series explored more. It’s hard to believe any of the motives for the suspects in any of the first few books because the true identity of the killer will most likely be revealed in the second to last or the final book in the series, however this book’s prime suspect was much more interesting than the suspects in the second book. Even though I feel as though the second and third books did little to advance the overall main plot, I am still interested and curious enough about the mystery to continue reading almost immediately after finishing the previous book.
I'm not sure how I feel about Two Truths and a Lie, actually. It was disappointing to me after seeing the improvement from book 1 to book 2. This was an extremely fast read for me, so pace was not a problem, but I feel like the 'formula' Sara Shepard has been using for the Lying Game series is getting old. As Sutton so nicely puts it, And with that darkness came a horrible realization: Emma and I were back to square one. (pg. 274) For these Lying Game books, the whole plot is dedicated to making one person sound like the suspect, and every single detail makes that person seem more suspicious. Then, near the end of the book, we have some wonderful revelation and discover that the person is innocent. In Never Have I Ever, it was Gabby and Lili. In Two Truths and a Lie, it was Thayer. So, by the end of the book, Emma is nowhere closer to finding Sutton's murderer. In fact, by the end of Two Truths and a Lie, we've returned to having Laurel be a prime suspect, even after she was deemed innocent in the first book. Now, I'm all for complex stories and changes and suspense, but really? The plot is starting to drag on. There really isn't much of a plot other than Emma going round in circles. I need to see her get somewhere with this mystery. Emma's relationship with Ethan isn't awww-worthy and to put it bluntly, it's quite boring. I think their friend chemistry was much better. Besides, I have my suspicions about him. She's so vulnerable around him because Ethan's the only one who knows she's Emma, but that doesn't mean she should trust him so much. Maybe he's the killer - that'd be interesting (though I doubt Sara Shepard would make Emma's new beloved the murderer; it would ruin the happily ever after that will hopefully come by the end of the series). We don't see much of Emma's inner conflict anymore either. At first, she had all these moral dilemmas about the Lying Game and whatnot, but now her 'real' personality almost never comes through. Even Sutton comments on this (though, being Sutton, she's applauding it). I feel that in the process of trying to discover her twin's killer, Emma's losing a lot of her own identity. It would be nice to see that preserved more in the next few books. Anyways. I just feel that Two Truths and a Lie displays a writing pattern that is falling flat, and the characters are just not as engaging. I'm still going to read Hide and Seek, but with lower expectations.
These are getting a bit repetitive now, I hope Shepard comes up with something original in the next book. I can't say I didn't enjoy the book because obviously I did. I just wish that the storyline with Thayer wasn't so predictable. I'll still be continuing on with this series because I really need to know who Sutton's killer is. I'm betting on Ethan.
How could she?! How?! Please, Sara Shepard, publish the books faster!!!
Emma seriously needs some backbone. she's supposed to be Sutton, Miss Queen Bee...yet she continues to let everyone talk down to her, especially Laurel. and my gosh i'm getting so sick of Laurel and her snot-nosed bratty behavior.
I am not happy with who they've pegged to be the suspect in the 4th book. LIke seriously? Also, this one was slower than the others.
The good thing about Sara Shepard's books is that she knows how to weave a good multi-book story. The bad thing about Sara Shepard's books is that they have become too familiar. At the end of this book she fingers a new suspect - and if PLL series taught me anything it's that the whole book will make it look like this new person is the killer but GASP shocking twist at the end she's not! I have 3 more books to go and I'm getting worried that, just like with PLL, the series will be too long. I'm already starting to lose interest as evidenced by it taking me 3 and 1/2 months to finish this book.
Actual rating: 4.5 This is definitely my favorite of the series so far. It really made me think a lot more, and I felt more emotion while reading it. I really don't know who to trust while reading these books. I definitely want to read the next one.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram Picking up where Never Have I Ever left off, Two Truths and a Lie opens us up to a whole new can of mysteries and surprises. In this world, nothing is ever simple and with every answer comes a new question. You don’t know who you can trust and nearly everyone is keeping secrets. But who’s harmless and who’s a walking nightmare? Still being pulled into a dangerous position by the hand of blackmail, Emma Paxton must successfully continue to live out the life of her twin sister, Sutton Mercer, all the while playing a twisted game with the anonymous person who killed Sutton. Emma has so far been able to impersonate her twin with grace and even has Sutton’s friends and family fooled. The only person who knows Emma’s real identity outside of the killer is Ethan Landry, the cute and mysterious friend that Emma has sparked with from the start. Both Emma and Ethan have developed feelings for one another–but can Emma pull off having a relationship and solving her sisters murder? Things are about to get even more complicated with the return of Sutton’s ex-boyfriend, and Madeline’s brother and Laurel’s best friend, Thayer Vega. With his return comes more memories of Sutton’s, more tension and more answers. Emma is spooked and suspicious by Thayer’s behavior more than once, and he instantly becomes her number one suspect. Continued @ BOOKEDJ.
