Sometimes I Lie

Recensie van audioboek (via Storytel)
Heel vlotte en intens geschreven thriller die ik niet opzij kon leggen. Als lezer word je continu op het verkeerde been gezet en word je getrakteerd op de ene na de andere plottwist. Enorm meeslepend en een echte pageturner.
Alleen, de plottwist op het einde was er voor mij te veel aan. Het laat het verhaal open en werpt enorme vraagtekens op alle gebeurtenissen waarvan we dachten dat ze waren opgelost. Onnodig en zorgt er voor dat de voorgaande ontwikkelingen wat goedkoop nasmaken. Maar los van die laatste pagina, heb ik deze thriller met enorm veel smaak gelezen.

I really enjoyed this mystery/thriller from start to finish. I did not expect it go in the direction it did, which makes a good thriller.

This story begins with the main character, Amber, in a coma unable to remember how she got there. She can hear everything going on around her but cannot move or speak. Through flashbacks and diary entries, the truth is slowly revealed, and it is a shocking truth.

I think I like this book so much because it's dark and disturbing. The inner workings of the Amber's mind are intriguing. The reader sees all the other characters through the lens of Amber's mind, and she admits in first lines of the book that she lies. Therefore, the reader does not know what or who to trust. Are her memories truthful? Are the other characters really how she portrays them? The author makes great use of this unreliable narrator.

Alice Feeney has proven her skill in this debut novel, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

So twisty! And as such, difficult to review without spoiling. Or am I lying? Guess you will have to read to find out. 4/5

This was a delightfully quick read, which I was in need of after hitting a small slump. I found the writing to be a bit bland to read, but I suspect that was due to the author trying to convey the lack of emotions of some of the characters. This was a good thriller, and I would have given it four stars if the ending had not left me feeling unsatisfied. I understood the twists, and I really liked the idea of them, but I think if they had been revealed more gradually (over 20% of the book versus 10%) the impact of the individual twists would have hit me more. I will say that I only saw about half of the twists coming, and even then I wasn't really sure.

A genuinely engaging and surprising read, but not a favourite of the genre so far.

I liked the twists, but just couldn't care enough to be shocked. Perhaps if I read this vs listening, I would feel different.

Quite the page turner but found a couple of the reveals a bit predictable. Worth a read if you fancy it!

Ingenious. Cleverly done misdirection, the type that had me, at the appropriate moment, put down the book, close my eyes, and rethink everything I'd read so far. (This is not a spoiler. The astute reader, picking up on the subtle “SOMETIMES I LIE” hint in the title and on page one, might already be expecting some sleight-of-plot.)

There are no sympathetic characters in this book. Nobody to root for, nobody to like. Normally this redirects a book toward my Abandoned pile, but not this time: the writing was tight, the story gripping. I also forgave the clumsy Dear Diary portions: no ten-year-old writes like that—nobody writes like that, it was just an obvious exposition tool—I chose to grit my eyes, roll my teeth, and stick with it. In hindsight, well, no spoilers but yeah, of course I get it now.

What's there to like? A lot, actually. I really enjoyed this book. Feeney has the gift of pacing: building tension, throwing crumbs, tossing in occasional small twists, perfect phrases that you know are hints but don't yet understand their meaning. She kept me curious and engaged the whole way through. Brava. I hope there's more where that came from.

WOW. I mean, wow. Amazing debut by this author and I'm SO glad to have caught this one. A story that grabs you on page one, I was literally sneaking in pages every moment I had and finished it in less than a day. I can honestly say I reached a point where everything was clear and the entire story comes together where I literally had to put the book down and rethink everything I thought I knew. Highly, highly recommended, I'll surely be back to catch more from this author!!

Quite a spellbinding read from start to finish! We are not sure how Amber ended up in the hospital in this coma , but she does admit that sometimes she lies. This was like a puzzle and I was trying to put the pieces together, but couldn't entirely trust all the pieces. Very cleverly written and I loved hearing what Amber was thinking while in this coma sizing up everyone in the room and giving us her insight. Four stars because I felt there was almost too much going on. I'm not sure how to explain it, but with all the lies I think I wanted a more defined plot line. I also was not a fan of the last few chapters.

(This review can also be found on my blog.)

This was an incredibly well-done novel that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Even though the unreliable narrator is made clear from the very start, I still had a very difficult time piecing together what was true and what wasn't. Amber's character is extremely compelling and it's difficult not to trust her.

A lot of people would think I have a dream job, but nightmares are dreams too.

The novel is split up by time periods: the coma, the week before the coma, and childhood. The chapters are carefully crafted so that just enough anticipation builds up before the time period changes and the reader is left wondering what happened. This method really works with the story, allowing us to piece together just enough for the plot to move forward while still wanting more.

There is always a moment before an accident when you know you are going to get hurt, but there is nothing you can do to protect yourself.

There were so many twists that I felt were truly surprising, I had a couple of literal jaw-dropping moments while reading. The end felt a tad rushed and I didn't quite agree with how everything went down, but overall it was a highly enjoyable read. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone interested in a good thriller.

Ooooh, this one was rather riveting.

I had to keep turning pages to discover how it would all end.

Trust me, you won't see it coming!