Monday 14 January 2019

5* BOOK REVIEW | 'Little Liar' by Julia Gray

Hey guys and happy Monday! Today I am excited to be sharing with you a review of a book I read recently, that I feel has been in my TBR pile for the longest time! I didn't really know what to expect when I first picked this up, as I feel like the blurb doesn't give too much away... however before long I was totally gripped, and I couldn't put it down.

Little Liar follows Nora Tobias, who tells a lot of lies. Some are smaller, some are big, some are so big they threaten to collapse everything around her. When Nora meets Bel, older, more tumultous and perhaps even a bigger liar than she is, Nora is introduced to a whole new London, and the glitz and unpredictable glamour of the acting world. But soon things begin to spiral dangerously out of control, and there isn't a lie big enough to help Nora get out of this one...

I was kindly sent Little Liar by Andersen Press in exchange for an honest review :) 

Intrigued? Check out the blurb here...


Nora has lied about many things. But has she told her most dangerous lie of all?

There’s a new art assistant at Nora’s school, and he’s crossed a line. Nora decides to teach him a lesson he won’t forget.

But not everything goes quite to plan, and Nora needs an escape. She befriends the rich and talented Bel, who longs for a part in a remake of a famous film. Bel is unpredictable, jealous and crazy, but she opens up a new world for Nora, and that makes her irresistible. 

As events start to spin wildly out of control, Nora must decide where her loyalties lie – and what deceits she can get away with.

I loved this book. Right from the beginning I got swept into Nora's narrative and, to be honest, I couldn't get enough. She's not a morally sound character, not by any means, but she is complex and interesting and real. I was rooting for her the whole way throughout the book, even when she was being less than decent. There were just so many layers to her character that everything that happened was suprising, and overal made this book a complete joy to read.

I thought all the other characters were also really well developed and facinating in their own right. I particularly liked Nora's relationship with her mother. I haven't really seen a dynamic like theirs in any YA novel before. There were so many mysteries that Nora revealed to the reader gradually throughout the book, which basically kept me on tenterhooks the entire time. We only really find out the truth about Jonah Trace gradually, as if Nora herself doesn't want to tell us what happened. This layering of the narrative was so effective, and made the story so much more exciting to read, for me. 

The chaos really starts to errupt when Nora meets Bel, and this felt to me like part two of the book. This was the part of the book that was very tense, and I just had a feeling throughout that something was going to happen. If you've read Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart, you will definitely love Little Liar. I loved the psychological aspect, and Bel is just such a brilliant character. Everything about the second half of the book was so unpredictable and compelling. The ending of the book was so well thought-out and brought everything full circle for me, but at the same time it was not simply satisfying. Gray has concocted an absolute corker of a psychological YA thriller, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!


Check out Julia Gray here: http://www.thisisjuliagray.com



Until next time :)

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