Tag: Two Truths and One Liar

Review: The Summer We Forgot by Caroline George

*We received this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Darby Wallis is planning a boring and relaxing summer on Florida’s 30A. All she needs to do is go to work, hangout with her best friend Eliza Miordi and try to avoid the large amounts of tourists that take over this time of year.

But when Richard Horowitz’s, her former science teacher, body is found in the marsh, painful memories about the summer he disappeared come back. Two years ago Darby and her friend group went to a two week camp counselor training with Horowitz at Camp Choctawhatchee. But none of them remember anything that happened during those two weeks and whatever did, ended their friend group.

Morgan Rhodell and Cyrus Gunn have no recollection either, but have to being interviewed by police, are desperate to know the truth. But to find out, they have to work with Darby and Eliza, who they had a falling out with. Morgan doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s still in love with Darby. So not only does he want to solve this case, he wants to win back his former best friend.

Spooner Hudson throws a wrench in the plan when goes missing. The group questions if Spooner was behind this from the start, or if the real killer kidnapped him too. No one on the 30A is safe…not until the group get their memories back.

Wow, what an entertaining and exciting summer mystery. We liked that we got two POVs: Morgan’s and Darby’s. It kept the story interesting to see the camp and the following out from two perspectives. They were by far the best characters with the most interesting back stories. Plus, we loved their chemistry. Morgan was a total sweetheart and we cheered for him while he tried to win over Darby.

However, the side characters fell a little flat for us, especially Eliza. We had a hard time liking and trusting her. We think Darby forgave her too quickly for her negligent actions throughout the story. Cyrus and Spooner were just okay characters in our opinion.

In terms of the setting, we really liked the small beach town vibe that gets packed in the summer. It was a great setting for a murder mystery. Since a lot of town knew each other, it made it obvious that our killer was hiding in plain sight, making the situation more personal for Darby and Morgan.

The mystery started off a bit slow, but really picked up in the second half. Without giving away too much, we’ll just say there is multiple people involved and a clear reason these friends don’t remember anything they did two years ago.

Overall, The Summer We Forgot is a great summer read and you’ll be able to pick it up when it hits shelves April!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review: Two Truths and One Liar by Deirdre Riordan Hall

*We received this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Two Truths and One Liar follows six Dartmont students after their English Professor is killed. Every year Professor Groff throws a masquerade and a few elite students are invited. However, the six students get the invitation after Groff’s murder.

When the six arrive, they know something isn’t right. Someone has dirt on all of them and won’t rest until the secrets are made public. But, are any of the six the actual killer?

Two Truths and One Liar is best described as okay. Honestly, we don’t have too much to say about the book. We absolutely loved the premise, but found ourselves disappointed by the execution.

Out of all the stories, we were most interested and Caroline’s and George’s chapters. Francisca, Toshi and Fish were okay overall. We found Taz to be the most boring character of the bunch. But overall, six POVs is a lot to keep track of and we found it a bit confusing/difficult to get to know these characters well.

While the writing isn’t bad, we expected something with more suspense for a YA thriller.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐