Book Review: Tell Me Lies

Synopsis (taken from Goodreads):

Lucy Albright is far from her Long Island upbringing when she arrives on the campus of her small California college, and happy to be hundreds of miles from her mother, whom she’s never forgiven for an act of betrayal in her early teen years. Quickly grasping at her fresh start, Lucy embraces college life and all it has to offer—new friends, wild parties, stimulating classes. And then she meets Stephen DeMarco. Charming. Attractive. Complicated. Devastating.

Confident and cocksure, Stephen sees something in Lucy that no one else has, and she’s quickly seduced by this vision of herself, and the sense of possibility that his attention brings her. Meanwhile, Stephen is determined to forget an incident buried in his past that, if exposed, could ruin him, and his single-minded drive for success extends to winning, and keeping, Lucy’s heart.

Alternating between Lucy’s and Stephen’s voices, Tell Me Lies follows their connection through college and post-college life in New York City. Deep down, Lucy knows she has to acknowledge the truth about Stephen. But before she can free herself from this addicting entanglement, she must confront and heal her relationship with her mother—or risk losing herself in a delusion about what it truly means to love.

Tell Me Lies: 3/5

Let me preface this by saying I know there are a lot of mixed reviews of this book floating around out there. I think this a book that is going to affect everyone who reads it differently – luckily, I’ve never been in a relationship with someone like Stephen DeMarco, but I still found a lot of things in the book relatable.

I thought the college setting/campus life descriptions were spot-on. It’s undeniable that both main characters are just awful and I didn’t feel much remorse for Lucy, but I did appreciate the little bit of growth she showed during the last several chapters. and I have been keeping up with it each Thursday but it didn’t even cross my mind that it was a book until a few weeks ago. The show is the reason I decided to read the book – I wanted to see how they compared to each other. Not to spoil anything for anyone who wants to read the book, but they are veryyy different. It should also be mentioned that Lucy has an eating disorder and it’s a big thing in the book, but the show completely glosses over it. So far, I have liked the changes that have been made for the show.

Overall a quick & easy read!

Have you read this or watched the show? I’m really curious to hear some other thoughts!