An easy read with an interesting storyline. Had to suspend disbelief at certain points but proved an enjoyable distraction

I did not enjoy this book. I thought the writing was clumsy, the fairytale theme did not fit with the real world thriller it was also trying to be.
It really frustrated me with the suspension of disbelief needed for the judicial system in this book. Being arrested because of your name or because you burnt clothes is ridiculous. As is 17 year olds being arrested without a single adult needing to be present at any point.
This either needed to be a fantasy and follow the fairytale theme, or a thriller with a proper respect of police procedure.
Unfortuntatly just not for me.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This book had an interesting premise, and had a potential to be really good. However, I decided not to finish the book because the writing was not for me. It is reminiscent of other books that have proved to be well-liked, thus it really is just my preference when it comes to how the writing approaches the narration.

When I first started reading this book I was convinced I would be giving it 4 or 5 stars. I loved the atmosphere with the flowers and the fairytale vibes. I enjoyed all the characters and I thought it read like an old Point Horror book of which I am a sucker for.

But then midway through, I kind of forgot what was going on and the timeline was hopping all over the place. I still think there's a great story in there but it didnt really live up to the premise.

This is a wonderful YA novel that really has you intrigued from the start. The characters were unique and each had their own motives, and the ways in which this affected the plot was brilliant. Every character in this book is detailed and believable, and as the story begins to unfold it is completely unexpected.
A very enjoyable read.

Lies Like Poison’s strengths really lie in its complex, core cast of characters, who form a tangled sort of found family. There’s so much to be said about LGBTQ+ found family and how it shows that you can form your own supporting community around you.

Pitcher weaves a dark sort of modern fairytale throughout the story, which pays homage to the grim roots of the original tales that have now been sanitised and romanticised in modern media. Here, this is no Disney cartoon, tapping into heavy topics and delving into the dark recesses of the human psyche. It maintains the edge of the original tales, while also ensuring that it stays fresh and modern. Pitcher delivers a tale for now, where the heroes make their own destiny and the princess doesn’t necessarily have to end up with the prince.

This was a unique YA thriller in the way that Pitcher blended fantasy and reality, to the extent where the line was often blurred. By deftly combining the two, it gives the whole book this mystical quality that lends itself perfectly to the fairy-tale vibe. Her writing is lyrical but never feels fanciful, rather elevated and fascinating. I enjoyed how she used multiple perspectives so we could gain an insight into each of these complex characters and their interwoven relationships, but it is also told through the third person, so there’s always this slight sense of alienation and therefore a little less trust.

From the start, you are instantly intrigued and want to discover more of this elaborate tale. Teasingly, Pitcher slowly gives you pieces of the wider story through some tiny hints and details that will later be devastating. There’s layers and multiple strands to the story and indeed several mysteries to solve.

Lies Like Poison is a serpentine story that will keep you under Pitcher’s spell.

I found it really hard to get into this book. I found the overall characters to be slightly dull, and the plot just didn't keep me engaged, which is a shame.

I could not get into this book at all I tried and I really didn’t like it at all difficult to read confusing and couldn’t relate to characters. Not for me, sorry!

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure this book is what I expected but I ended up enjoying it! At first I think I was expecting a little more straight up murder mystery, maybe with a little friendship stuff. And it’s more the other way round!

While this was confusing at first, I think it made a better book overall - especially in the second half. The first has two much of the author trying to use past secrets to confuse you, but then tells you about them soon after! That works better if they last longer.

Aside from that though, the secrets, trust and friendships here are pretty well done. It is a little frustrating when they don’t trust each other, but you can sort of see why and it does get sorted. This makes the contemporary elements nice and grey and dark, especially with the theme of murder (and play-witches) in the background.

The mystery itself is pretty well laid out, I had a couple of suspicions, but it left it all a bit up in the air really well until the last moment, which made the suspense work. I did see a couple of the side plots coming but not the main one.

I liked that the book has a trigger warning for child abuse at the start too! Normalise this please publishers! I’d like to expand for gaslighting, mental manipulation, and terrible parenting. That last one isn’t a standard one, but all the parents here get that label!! We also get some lovely lgbt+ rep, with a lesbian relationship, a gay one just starting and a character coming out as trans. I largely thought it was good rep, but the book is sometimes a little confused by names and genders, so I didn’t know how good that was. Generally, it is done by what the characters as a whole know, but I would have perhaps liked to see the character in question use their correct gender throughout - especially as in the first section another character makes a point of noting gender! So the trans rep is nice for coming out but perhaps a little sensitivity reading is needed to tidy it up? I’d love to see a trans persons thoughts on how it was handled.

Overall I liked the contemporary elements more than the mystery, which is unusual for me, but that’s the way this is written. It’s certainly a nice quick read and something I think could work for a lot of readers! 3 stars.

When I first requested this, I didn't realise it was the same author who wrote a book I DNF'd last year. However, that soon became clear as this wasn't for me either. The folklore and fairytale aspect of this book didn't work for me; this book wasn't what I expected it to be and the ending was a cheesefest

A brilliant YA read, a mixture of fairy tales, murder, mystery and true love. I loved how the plot unravelled and had you questioning all of the characters motives. Each of the characters were so different and believable each with their own traumatic background that intertwined with each of their friendships.

Definite 4 star read.

Loved this book! I love YA thriller genre and this one was full of twists and turns. Great writing and interesting characters. Enjoyed a lot.
Thanks a lot to the publisher and NG for this copy.

This book review is so late but there’s a reason for that. I thought I was getting it in a book box and then I didn’t so I finally made myself sit down and read it. And wow. I started it late one night. And finished it in one session.

It was that good.

Lies Like Poison follows four teenagers: Belladonna, Jack, Lily and Raven who a few years before had made a plan to kill Raven’s step-mother with flower petals in her tea. But they don’t go through with it. A few years later she’s killed with belladonna in her tea and now these four have to find out what really happened.

This book is pretty short but with a queer main cast and fairy tales vibes throughout, I wasn’t able to put the book down. It was dark and my god do you feel bad for these teenager’s upbringings. You get flashbacks into their past and you may tear up every now and then. But it all makes the bonds they’ve built make sense. Though I couldn’t say that I actually liked Lily or Belladonna, I did emphasise with them and to me that means they were so well written.

I’ve seen some reviews say that they didn’t like that Jack’s trans-ness was a plot twist but, honestly? It was obvious that he was at least non-binary if not trans from the first time he was mentioned. So it didn’t really feel like a plot twist. Just a storyline that was revealed later and since it can be hard for some people to come out, that makes sense.

I will say that who the killer turned out to be was kind of predictable. As the plot unfolds some details come to light and well, it’s just obvious who the killer is. Even if you don’t find out until right near the end.

But I loved the found-family aspect, the queer characters and I just found this book so easy to read and so enjoyable.

I’m so glad I finally read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley ans Simon & Schuster for an early copy of this book.

Sadly, this just really, really did not work for me.
I'm absolutely sure that it will get a lot of hype in the YA world, because the atmosphere and extremely intricate plot will get a lot of people hooked but... not me. Nope, really not me.

It was just too much for me. Too many weird characters with names out of the ordinary, too much of a "fairy tale gone wrong" vibe, and too many plot twists.
There is such a thing as a mystery with too many mysteries, and that was one. Every single time I felt like I was getting the hang of what was happening, something new happened and I was completely lost once again. It wasn't enjoyable to me, though I understand this is what some readers are looking for in mysteries.

I also have to say I'm slightly confused by the LGBTQ+ representation. Introducing a trans character is good... Introducing him in a less "wtf" way would have been better.

All in all, a good book, but not one for me.

I absolutely adored this book. Full of twists and turns, and, most importantly, the fact that the truth is always our interpretation of events. It was unpredictable, and gloriously sneaky. Young adult thrillers and mysteries are some of my favourite books of all, and this goes right on to my top of the charts list. If you're looking for a well thought through, meticulously planned murder mystery, this book is for you.

While the cover has great pick up appeal and will likely find fans while the murder mystery/thriller genre is in vogue, this offering is pretty mediocre, Characters are 2D and plot is entirely ridiculous. Better available but will get picked up regardless

Full review on my blog October 19th.

Trigger warnings: murder, child abuse, neglect, psychological torture, disordered eating, diet control, inpatient treatment, substance abuse, mentions of self harm and suicidal ideation, grief.

The beginning of this book wasn't the best, I found it to be a bit confusing in some places and it had a confusing habit of leaping around from narrative to narrative. But then I honestly feel like I blinked and I was 60% of the way through the book and desperately needed to know what was going on. I saw a lot of the 'twists' coming when it came to the characters' sexualities and gender identities. They were well queer-coded, though it was a bit subtle. I wouldn't normally complain about that, because I love when sexuality is used super casually, but the reveal that one of the characters is trans was very sudden and felt a bit like it was being used as a plot twist. And I hate that. A POV character's identity isn't a plot twist and never should be a surprise to the reader! That being said, I'm glad this book was so fiercely queer and that the characters' sexualities and gender identities were accepted easily by the found family group.

And the found family content was *excellent*. I loved the conflict going on between them. At points I genuinely didn't know which of our main cast of characters I could trust, who had committed what crimes and who was hiding what secrets. It made for a really engaging read as I was eager to get each snippet from their perspectives so I could try and piece together the truth. It was nice too to read about a friendship group that had grown apart but was still loyal, the protectiveness of deep friendships even when separated by time and disagreements. It made me root for them more as I was desperate to see them come back together and bond.

I really like Chelsea Pitcher's writing style, and I'm always pleased to pick up another of her thrillers, they're always built around an interesting concept and I've never yet managed to predict whodunnit! I can't wait to see what comes next.

It was okay, but I wasn’t gripped and never found myself able to get into the story.

I liked the idea of the modern fairytale, and the characters were likeable, but there was just something that didn’t quite work for me. I can see people enjoying it though!

For fans of One of us is lying and Good girls guide to murder. A unique mystery that has you on the edge of your seat, with a fairy tale twist.

Poppy, Belladonna and Lily made a pact to Kill their friends evil stepmother but at the last moment one of them got cold feet.
Years later Belladonna is arrested for the murder they all planned, but only she is the suspect.