Title: Tell Me Lies
Author: Carola Lovering
Atria Books | ISBN: 9781501169649 | On sale: June 12, 2018 | 384 pages | $26.00
eBook: Atria | ISBN: 9781501169663 | On sale: June 12, 2018 | 384 pages | $13.99
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.
Lucy knows there’s something about Stephen that isn’t to be trusted. Stephen knows Lucy can’t tear herself away. And their addicting entanglement will have consequences they never could have imagined.
Alternating between Lucy’s and Stephen’s voices, TELL ME LIES follows their connection through college and post-college life in New York City. With the psychological insight and biting wit of Luckiest Girl Alive, and the yearning ambitions and desires of Sweetbitter, this keenly intelligent and staggeringly resonant novel chronicles the exhilaration and dilemmas of young adulthood, and the difficulty of letting go—even when you know you should.
A complimentary copy was provided by Atria via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Tell Me Lies by Carola Lowering is a tale of deceit, premeditation, suffering, and acceptance. It is told in dual POVs.
Lucy Albright starts college in California away from her parents specifically her mother. Lucy doesn't get along with her mother since an incident which occurred when she was younger. After it, she started calling her mother by her first name and wanted nothing to do with her.
In college, Lucy immediately starts making friends and is enjoying her new found freedom. She's drinking alcohol, experimenting with drugs and attending parties. It is at one of these parties where she first meets Stephen. At first, she wants nothing to do with him since he's not her type but soon she's falling for his charm and charisma.
Stephen De Marco is a serial dater. He enjoys having a girlfriend but being faithful is not in his repertoire. He has a wandering eye and when he sees beautiful, thin, and long-legged Lucy, he knows he must have her. He plans his every move learning everything he can about her in order to win her. What follows is nothing but pain for Lucy for years to come.
I won't deny it, I'm so frustrated after reading Tell Me Lies. I wanted to punch Stephen so bad. What a douchebag! Yes, I know there are plenty of "Stephens" out there in the world but I have no idea why he was able to seduce Lucy in the first place and then kept her going for years! He was a sociopath without remorse or conscience.
I can't say I like Lucy either. She blamed her mother for years but she was not any better. She was full of bad decisions even in the present. She was dating someone who was not worth it and she knew it. She still had problems with her self-confidence and self-respect. I felt like she didn't learn anything from her heartache.
One thing I can't forgive is that Lucy figures out a secret which Stephen is keeping for decades and she does NOTHING with this information. It wouldn't have been about revenge but providing closure instead.
Cliffhanger: No
3.5/5 Fangs
Advance Praise for TELL ME LIES
“Passion, friendship, heartbreak, and forgiveness ring true in Lovering's debut… a fast-paced ride through hookups, breakups, and infidelities fueled by alcohol and cocaine, and with oodles of sizzling sexual tension… There are unforgettable beauties in this very sexy story.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Tell Me Lies is as dark and daring as it is absorbing. I found myself immediately drawn into the desperation and misguided obsession of young love. Who hasn't, at one point, fallen this hard and gotten this lost? Carola Lovering has created something unexpected and original, yet deeply familiar.”
—Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
“Riveting. With Tell Me Lies, Carola Lovering has given us a keenly observed, no-holds-barred examination of the mistakes we make under the guise of love. If you've ever fallen for the wrong person—and let's be honest, you probably have—this book is for you.”
—Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding
“Tell Me Lies is a daring coming of age tale from a fresh new voice. This unvarnished look at both sides of a toxic romance is as resonant as it is harrowing, with characters so finely drawn they’ll linger in the imaginations of readers long after the final page. This book is unflinching, unforgettable, and unputdownable.”
—Andrea Dunlop, author of She Regrets Nothing
“Ever wondered what that bad boyfriend was really thinking? You’ll find out in Carola Lovering’s addictive debut. For fans of Jessica Knoll and Caroline Kepnes, Tell Me Lies is a devastatingly accurate portrayal of a toxic relationship. Once its hooks are in, you'll have no choice but to tear through every page.”
—Georgia Clark, author of The Regulars
Carola Lovering attended Colorado College, and her work has appeared in W Magazine, National Geographic, Outside, and Yoga Journal, among other publications. Tell Me Lies is her first novel. She currently lives in Brooklyn.
Website: www.carolalovering.com
Twitter: @carolatlovering
Instagram: @carolatlovering
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