Sometimes I Lie
Compelling
Intense
Surprising

Sometimes I Lie A Novel

Alice Feeney2019
“If you’re looking for a Gone Girl–esque fix, then this is the book for you.” —Cosmopolitan 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 Reynolds wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move, speak, or open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber can’t remember what happened to her, but she has a sneaking suspicion that her husband had something to do with it. Or maybe her sister. Or both. Terrified and trapped inside her own body, Amber slowly begins to piece together details from her recent past. Is she in a coma due to an accident? Is her sister having an affair with her husband? What happened at work with her horrible boss? And who is the person who is silently visiting her bedside each night? “A spine-tingling psychological thriller...the joy of this thriller is separating fact from fiction. The creepy feeling at the back of your neck is 100 percent real.” —People “The twists pile up...visceral and haunting.” —O magazine
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Reviews

Photo of yena
yena @22ndcenturygirl
3 stars
Dec 20, 2024

It's a good read i guess but I don't understand the ending 😭 so many insane people on this book it makes me want to bang my head on the wall. It also has SA, it kinda soured my mood 😕 (no triggers + i still dont get the relevance of that scene)

Alice Feeney don't disappoint with revealing who's who with the POVs tho!

Photo of Jillian Roberts
Jillian Roberts@jillianroberts
3 stars
Aug 30, 2024

Interesting but slow and forgettable.

Photo of Bria
Bria@ladspter
2 stars
May 31, 2024

I just wasn't into this

Photo of blue
blue@bluelien
3 stars
Mar 16, 2024

It was a nice read but that's also all I have to say about it. It didn't leave an impression on me. And while I have some questions after finishing, I don't feel like I'd die if I don't find the answers so the impact is minimal. The book is a little bit too slow-paced in the beginning, but if you push through, the story will manage to intrigue you. I liked the multiple plot twists and the somewhat confusing ending.

+3
Photo of Syahla Aurel
Syahla Aurel@owhrel
5 stars
Jan 10, 2024

Lies form the mortar, holding the walls together. If there weren't many lies, the walls would have collapsed by now. Instead, we've built ourselves a prison. There were numerous plot twists that surprised me, probably because of the way narrative was written, which kept me guessing who the "real" villain was.

Photo of starlingbright✨
starlingbright✨@starlingbright
5 stars
Dec 29, 2023

at first it felt overwhelming and everything was all over the place but what the heck i was reading???? 5 stars period

Photo of jess larry
jess larry@hijess
2 stars
Nov 10, 2023

i officially despise back to back alternative timelines & this book just lost me idk, it just wasnt as good as i expected it to be and a LOT of things were just trop tirés par les cheveux honestly, at some point i had to violently roll my eyes it was doing too much, too many twists, too many reveals, too many turns, & those hallucinations? ass very unsatisfactory read, 2.5

Photo of Larissa Kirchberger
Larissa Kirchberger@larissasbookclub
4 stars
Oct 23, 2023

BOOK REVIEW


Sometimes I Lie / Alice Feeney

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


this was my first alice feeney and probably won’t be my last!


admittedly i felt confused and extremely unsure during the first 30% of the book, but the more i read, the more invested i was in finding out the truth and boy oh boy did this take a turn that i absolutely DID NOT expect 👀


it was so perfectly crafted, and the changing timelines between the lead up to the present, as well as the use of diary entries from the perspective of a child made this one all the more interesting as you uncovered information. i didn’t know who or what to trust in this one and it worked well for the story.


it definitely ends very ambiguously, so if you like a thriller that comes full circle, this ain’t the one for you, but it left me feeling a bit similarly to when i finished verity.


i read this one with my bestie Jam and i was glad to have someone to discuss this one with, especially the ending!!

+3
Photo of Denaiir
Denaiir@denaiir
5 stars
Oct 3, 2023

4.5 stars this was so entertaining!! The narrative goes back and forth between Now (Boxing Day and beyond) and Then (the week before Christmas.) The duelling timelines were done right and created a good pacing. And on top of that, chapters of diary entries from the 80's were included between the two timelines. I knew they were connected but I also knew there would be a twist there too, and to not trust myself at all with any of the storylines. The story revolves around Amber, a TV producer whose really struggling both in her job and marriage. And in the present, she is in some kind of coma where she can hear everything. It was so twisty and turny that it could have been too much, but it just worked. And in the distant past, we're reading a little girl's journal, which is probably connected to it all, right? The writing was so beautiful that I sometimes found myself just happy to be listening to such good writing, which hardly ever happens in thrillers where I'm normally more interested in the plot. There was an awful lot going on in terms of plot but it was masterfully done and the author knew what she was doing! I could have done without the epilogue though, not the best part of the book but eh, it was very good overall.

Photo of Patricia Nelson
Patricia Nelson@tnelson577
4 stars
Aug 23, 2023

We picked this book for book club and WOW is there a lot to talk about! Now that I've finished it, I need to re-read it knowing what I know now. If you are someone who likes plot twists you didn't see coming, this is for you! If you like twisty mysteries where you can't trust what you assume, this is for you!

Photo of Peggy Walker
Peggy Walker@lectrice93
2 stars
Aug 2, 2023

I got this book at the airport when I had misplaced my Kindle at an AirBNB. I like thrillers and this looked promising. The book wore me out, and not in a good way. The author put too much energy into confusing the reader....who was the speaker....who had an actual sister....who were the good guys and the bad guys. It really interfered with telling a cohesive story. I would not recommend it.

Photo of Alexis Donahue
Alexis Donahue@donahuealexis
3 stars
Jul 20, 2023

Eh, it was mediocre… I was kind of expecting more from Feeney.

Photo of Caitlin Moore
Caitlin Moore@readingrealtor
4 stars
Jun 14, 2023

There are 3 things you need to know about this novel. 1. Our main character, Amber, is in a coma but is able to hear people around her. 2. Amber doesn’t know how she got into the coma. 3. Sometimes, she lies. (Not a spoiler). Here’s the thing - this was twisty and a fun read, but a *few* parts of it felt too easy. HOWEVER, I really did enjoy the twists and the “Before” part of the novel mixed with the “now”. Also- there should be a noted TW for rape.

Photo of Julia
Julia@juliah
2.5 stars
May 30, 2023

Amber wakes up in a coma with no memory of how she got there. She can hear the world around her but can't speak, move, or see. The book alternates between the present, the days leading up to the incident, and childhood diary entries with the storylines eventually converging.

The premis piqued my interest, and the beginning hooked me, but it slowed down after the first quarter or so and didn't really pick back up. It had some juicy twists, but overall not very captivating, especially for a thriller. Some things were also left ambiguously, and while it seemed intentional, I would've preferred if things resolved more definitively.

+3
Photo of Jenna Pascale
Jenna Pascale @jcpreads
3 stars
Feb 17, 2023

Personally, I just didn’t love this one. While I was intrigued and always wanted to know what would happen next, it fell short for me. I understand where the author was going with the twist but it felt bland in its execution. I really enjoy Alice Feeney and her books and while I did enjoy it, this one wasn’t my favorite.

Photo of Rebecca McCombe
Rebecca McCombe@beckiscool
3.5 stars
Feb 15, 2023

Solid thriller with an unexpected childhood twist that was right up my street. Flits between past and present pretty effortlessly.

Photo of Louise
Louise @readingwithlouise
4 stars
Feb 7, 2023

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about Alice Feeney's work and seen this audiobook available on Libby so thought it was time to see for myself. This is an entertaining, fast paced twisty thriller that I ended up really enjoying! You have to suspend your belief at times especially for the ending and some of the other big reveals as they are just crazy😵‍💫 (but in the best way!) There are a few loopholes in the ending that weren't really explained e.g. the kids not being in the house when Amber done what she done & the bracelet? How, who by?? Overall a win for me & I will be reading more of the authors work in future!

Photo of Alexa M
Alexa M@alexasversion
3 stars
Feb 6, 2023

hmm not sure about this one. wasnt a big fan of the writing but it was fast paced. while i didn't see majority of the twists coming i felt they were pretty underwhelming. not bad but not the best

Photo of Alyson Schoenwolf
Alyson Schoenwolf @alwolfy1
4 stars
Feb 6, 2023

Going to need about 5-7 business days to think about this book and wrap my head around this whole entire story lol

Photo of dija
dija@dija
4 stars
Jan 23, 2023

Damn this one really messed up with my head!

Photo of Adleen
Adleen@mundanereader
5 stars
Jan 23, 2023

So good! It started really slow but everything just falls into place in the end. It involves three different timelines so it was rather confusing at first trying to connect the dots. But i am so in love with the plot twist!! Check for TWs!!!

Photo of Katelyn Sykes
Katelyn Sykes@katelynsykes
5 stars
Dec 30, 2022

Just when I think I’m starting to figure out where the story is going, Alice Feeney throws another twist in it. I really didn’t expect the story to go where it went and I loved it.

Photo of Liz B
Liz B@lizbayer
3 stars
Dec 29, 2022

Solid thriller, but not my favorite of her's.

Photo of Brooke McBride
Brooke McBride@brookeakers
3 stars
Dec 14, 2022

Amber Reynolds wakes up in the hospital. The only thing is, she can’t move, speak or open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her but they have no idea. She’s terrified and trapped inside her own body and she slowly begins to remember what happened to her.

This book was a good psychological thriller in the sense that I thought I knew what happened to Amber, but I was wrong. It kept my attention the entire time, but I felt like some of the plots fell through the cracks and she didn’t always complete each thought fully.

I don’t regret reading it, but it was definitely weird.