As much as I wanted to read this book when I was first granted access via NetGalley I never managed to get round to reading it. I have now gone back through and read the Synopsis and found that now this book is just not for me and will not be reviewing. I want to thank the publisher for allowing me to have access to the book but due to my tastes changing in reading this book no longer appeals to me.

This book made me feel a lot of things. I lived in California for several years and one summer was within a national forest, so this really got to me. I also loved the way the story was put together - jumping between past and present. Giving just enough detail to make you breathless then swapping back to explain how they got to where they are. I'd love more stories in this style!

Hannah, Drummer, Mo, Luke & Violet decide to spend their last summer before college, together at the Gap Mountain, a small town in California. A mountain range with a lake & surrounded by woods. Everything’s going smoothly, until one of them accidentally starts a fire – a wildfire.

As the investigation into arresting the person responsible for the wildfire continues, one of the five friends is killed. The lie that began as a cover-up for the wildfire continues to inflate and spread. Was the secret that tied them all together, now the cause of the death of one of their own? Was all their lying worth it?

The part of the book that describes the wildfire, the destruction it causes and its investigation is so well researched. I found that part of the book very informative. The second part that focuses on the murder investigation was equally compelling to me.

The plot develops at a decent speed in the first half gaining momentum in the latter. The characters are perfectly suited for the young-adult genre in terms of their thought process. The language is lucid & easy to understand.

All in all, I enjoyed it!

An interesting and intriguing read which kept me gripped from the start, will definitely look out for more from this author

Well this book is a bit of a departure for me, because I never read YA, not since I actually was a young adult anyway! But I do love a good thriller, and I couldn’t resist the sound of the thrilling plot of this one. In actual fact, I think this book would appeal to any age, it’s just so good.

What a shocker of a book this is, I was absolutely consumed by it right from the start. I’ve witnessed a gorse fire once, and the speed of how fast a fire like this spreads, and the noise and flames from it, are truly scary. But this is on a whole different level. It’s cataclysmic and it feels heart-poundingly real.

The first half of this book is about the fire, and the events surrounding it, and the pace is so fast and furious. I just flew through the pages. The second half is about what happens next, and this is so twisty and thrilling.

Everything about this book, from the totally realistic characters, to the descriptive passages and the compelling plot make it feel almost movie-like, and I didn’t just read this book, I felt and experienced it. It’s a real rollercoaster of a ride, and I think it would make an amazing movie or TV series.

Completely unputdownable and addictive, this is one that no-one should miss. Can’t recommend it enough.

It starts off with a bit of fun the group will be going to college so they all have time to hang out.
Something really bad happens while they are hanging out, the worry the truth will come out is making the group anxious.
This book was a great read! really had you on your toes and made you want to read more.

Lies Like Wildfire will burn a path through your TBR right to the top. With an intense plot that has you nervous and on edge, leaving you with sweat beading on your forehead and clammy hands.

The five friends known as the Monsters will have you thinking about this book after you've put it down. An accident that causes a wildfire leaves miles of burnt and smouldering nature, destroyed houses and fatalities. Layered with secrets and lies, the story takes a dramatic turn and the secrets intensify when someone goes missing. Will these friends crack under the burden of their lies and secrets, or will their secrets fall to the bottom of Gap Lake, never to be discovered?

With rich descriptions that had me smelling the pine trees and smoke as well as seeing the sunlight glitter off Gap Lake. The ending left me shocked, it was the opposite of what I expected. Alvarez is a brilliant writer, allowing the reader to follow the clues but then throwing in a major twist, it's like being splashed in the face with ice-cold water. This is a gripping, YA thriller mystery you have to read. If you liked Dark and Shallow Lies or any books by Karen M. McManus, you will love this.

From reading the blurb of this book it sounds write up my street, a new YA thriller. I loved everything about this book, it was so intense and I read it in one sitting just so I could find out what happened next. This book was full of fear, drama and secrets keeping the story alive.
The book follows a group of childhood friends Hannah, Mo, Violet, Luke and Drummer named the monsters who all about to spend their last summer together at Mountain Gap in California before some head of to college. They wanted a nice chilled happy summer together but what they go was terror, violence and too many secrets.
Its Fire Season and there's a fire but who started it? Hannah's dad the sheriff has to work it out and keep everyone safe. After days of fire and deaths the truth starts to come out.
There's a group of 5 who will be the first to crack. As it gets harder to keep secrets and the one of them goes missing when will the truth come out?
I loved this book from page one, it was such a me book. Kept me interested and needing to know more. A real page turner and a whole load of emotions. This book is out in September if your after an addictive and easy read!

An absolutely unbelievable tale. Nicely paced and wonderfully suspenseful. This was a riveting read start to finish.

A compulsive, intensive read for 12-17 year olds that will have their noses stuck in a book until the end.

The gang, the teenagers make up - 2 boys, 3 girls, are called The Monsters, are also out to protect each other and themselves when a huge, catastrophic, very destructive fire breaks out in a town, with the wild flames heading towards Yosemite National Park. It's pretty graphic in some places, especially with the fire, which really highlights the seriousness of the situation.

It's a dark, twisty young adult book which highlights unhealty, toxicity in some relationships between the characters. There's also the chase of future life dreams, such as teenagers wanting to become a nurse, work in criminology and more... Each is far, far from perfect. They tried to be good, but they are also far from this too as secrets are kept and many lies are told. Older teenagers and early 20 somethings will find this a gripping read as the story builds as the flames and realisation of the fire does too and there's nothing much that can be done to fan them as the gang begins to crack here and there, but Hannah tries to hold tight and keep the gang close. As the net closes in on them, one of the gang disappears, creating further speculation and intrigue.

Lies Like Wildfire is about teens, who have their whole lives ahead of them, falling apart and readers can find out how far they are willing to go in their lies, even to the most powerful of authorities in law to try and coverup their terrible secret. There's the intrigue as to whether they will eventually come good or not and what will happen to them.

I absolutely loved this. A young adult (YA) thriller full of suspense. A real page turner. Fast paced. Will they be found out? Arrested? Feel the guilt?

The story focuses on a group of youngsters known as the monsters who accidently start a huge wildfire, as soon as it started they knew they messed up big time and their lives would change forever. With many losing their homes, businesses and pets alongside several deaths this is one huge mistake.

However what made this book for me was the main character Hannah. Her dad is the head of this investigation and she feels awful lying to him and being so close to him. It’s a race to the end to see the outcome for all of the group. Personally I would be livid for them causing so much destruction but they’re only young and they knew they made a huge mistake. Gripping. Thrilling. A well deserved four stars from me.

Unfortunately this was another book that I tried to get on with multiple times and just couldn't click with. I love a good young adult thriller and mystery, but this one didn't work out for me. I picked it up so many times but sadly it ended up not being one I finished.

4☆ A Gritty and Compulsive Read

Lies Like Wildfire is a gripping Thriller that is made all the more scary because Wildfires are real and cause so much destruction and devastation it's heartbreaking.

One Summers day The Monsters, a group of best friends, start a Wildfire in innocence, that very quickly becomes out of hand, leaving behind a trail of destruction and heartache as many people were effected by the fire.
But rather than coming clean for what the group had done, they vowel never to reveal their secret.
But secrets have a way of catching up with you and so does guilt.
Can the group keep something so huge quiet or will the truth come out!

Lies Like Wildfire is a really Gritty and Compulsive read, there some really cleverly plotted twists along the way to keep you on your toes.
I really liked the suspense of watching the story unravel, trying to work out who would crack first.
So if you love YA, New Adult, Gripping Thrillers, then I highly recommend you grab a copy of Lies Like Wildfire you won't be disappointed!

Lies Like Wildfire is unfortunately one of my most disappointing releases of 2021. I was so excited to read it based on the premise, it sounded right up my street. However, weak writing and plotting let it down.

I found the characters quite unpleasant to read about, not just from a morally grey perspective as that is a trope I enjoy, but just simply their attitudes, actions and lack of remorse meant I couldn’t root for them at all. I also just didn’t care enough about them to be invested in their journey, and to hope their ending worked out okay.

I had several issues with the writing, mostly that so many of the key plot points of the story happened totally off page, and we simply heard about them later. We missed out on so much excitement as readers by this approach, and it mostly just seemed to be a lazy way to pull off the unreliable narrator trope - just missing out chunks of time, rather than establishing our narrator as truly unreliable. It mostly just felt lazy, weak and without us actually experiencing those exciting scenes, boring.

It also felt to me that the two different halves of the story had such a disconnect that they felt like two entirely different books. The connections between the two parts were tenuous and so separate. It felt as thought the author had two separate ideas they tried to shoehorn together, and the result is a very fragmented narrative with no connection between the two halves. This left both halves feeling a little underdeveloped and in particular left the first half feeling totally pointless, rather than them being two threads of one consistent narrative.

I just wasn’t a fan of this book, unfortunately I found it to be underwhelming, with underdeveloped writing and plotting.

Loved this - excellent book where one lie just escalates and five kids ewnd up in trouble. Plus there's the environmental issue! I would read something by the author - thanks for having me on the tour

This was indeed an intense read. The ‘Monsters’ are revelling in the beginning of summer. The weather is hot, hot, hot and they’re having fun. That is until things take a sinister turn. The fear, suspicion and infighting doesn’t take long to appear after a single moment changes their lives forever. Teenagers can do stupid things. They’re pushing boundaries, making memories and believing they are the centre of the universe. It’s a natural part of growing up. In the case of Hannah and her ‘monsters’ however events take a tragic turn that result in an uncontrollable bush fire sweeping through their town and beyond. Life’s are lost and the lies begin.

The tension is palpable and if I’m honest, there wasn’t one character that I actually liked in this book but, my, did I want to find out how things ended. Relationships that felt like they would last forever are tested and the stress takes it’s toll as events spiral out of control just like the bush fire itself. The question eventually asked is how far would they be prepared to go to keep their secrets safe.

This is a YA novel and It does contain some mature content involving sexual relationships so I would recommend for 16+ or Year 10+ at the very least.

Gripping throughout! So much happened in this book, it was hard to put it down!

The characters were interesting to follow, and I enjoyed moving between the two halves of the book.

I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour organized by The Write Reads and the publisher. Thank you for this opportunity in exchange for an honest review!

Lies Like Wildfire is a story about a group of teenagers who make one foolish mistake that could ruin the rest of their lives. While drinking during a code red in California, the group accidentally starts a wildfire that sends the lives of everyone in the town into flames. Forced to keep their secret or avoid being charged with a felony, their friendship is put to the test. Can they trust that no one will confess? How far are they willing to go to keep this a secret?

I thought the premise of this novel was fantastic. Unfortunately, unlikable characters was the main reason that I couldn't enjoy it. I was not a fan of the main character at all, and the main supporting character was just as bad. A large part of the plot centers around a completely toxic infatuation/co-dependency that the main character has with her best friend, and I don't think the book did an adequate job in having either of them grow to be better people. In fact, I felt like the main character learned almost nothing from the experiences she went through.

Overall, I think this book had a lot of potential; I was just left wanting so much more.

A group of close friends are spending a hot afternoon together by the lake in California, one of the last opportunities they have to be together before some of them leave for college. As a result of an incident that afternoon a wildfire rages for days in the area, causing damage to property and loss of life. As well as providing a fascinating insight into wildfires and their management, this novel addresses many challenging issues faced by young people including loyalty, trust, loss, honesty and forgiveness. The conclusion was very unexpected.

I wasn't 100% how I would feel about Lies Like Wildfire. I love thrillers and I especially love thrillers with surprising endings. From the synopsis, I kind of figured the story would be on the straightforward side with no reason to guess what was going to happen in the plot. That's actually not even the case and I absolutely loved the story. Lies Like Wildfire has a lot more to the story other than kids starting a fire and being scared they were going to get caught. The ending has a surprise ending that I absolutely loved.

I can't wait to read more books by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez!