I enjoyed this book, it was easy to read and held my attention. I will be reading more from this author :)

A tense, well-crafted courtroom thriller that had me gripped to the page- Your Word or Mine centres around a historic rape case where the defendant was found not guilty, and a present-day case, in which the previous defendant is now a victim of a stabbing. The victim in the historic case has the chance to get to know her erstwhile attacker, to try and get some closure and justice for what happened to her all those years ago.
Obviously a book like this comes with lots of trigger warnings so its not suitable for everyone but bearing that in mind, a well plotted and tense story.

If you enjoy legal thrillers , this book is a definite must for you. Lots of twists and I loved it. Highly recommended
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

Description 🔖

Ava Knight is a successful young criminal prosecutor and she’s a stickler for rules. That goes out the window though when she picks up Lily Hawthorne’s case. She’s a troubled fifteen year old who stands accused of stabbing powerful hotel magnate Michael Osborne.

It seems like a cut and dry case but Ava suspects something that nobody else does; Michael is lying. The reason she thinks this is because eighteen years ago, Ava was a victim in court following a brutal attack. The defendant was found not guilty. His name was Michael Osborne.

Way back then, it was Ava’s word against Michael’s but now there is another young girl in court, how far will Ava take it to make sure that her word is believed?

General Thoughts 🤔

Ever since I read When They Find Her by Lia Middleton I was excited for her to release more books. Fast forward to now and I was over the moon to get an ARC for Your Word or Mine. Thankfully, I was by no means disappointed and loved this book too. I think I may have been craving a thriller without knowing it and this book came along to satisfy my craving at just the right time.

It also helped that the subject matter of this story played into one of my truest fears; false imprisonment or being falsely accused of something. I think it’s truly petrifying to think that you can be a victim, do all of the right things, go through all of the pain a court trial can bring and still end up not getting justice. I think it’s equally frightening to be accused of something that you did not do and have nobody believe you. I can’t imagine how lonely it must feel, but this book certainly did a great job of making me experience what it might feel like.

Characters 👫👭👬

I thought that Ava was a very admirable main character. She didn’t always go about things the right way and ended up getting herself into some situations I wouldn’t fancy being in, but she had all of the best intentions. On top of that, I thought it was impressive that after all she had been through in her teen years, she had managed to move on and make a great success of her life.

My heart broke for Lily. Bluntly put, she didn’t have a childhood. Just when she thought she’d gained a best friend that she could trust and depend on, that all got messed up through no fault of her own. I thought that Lily was incredibly brave and she was one of those characters I’d love to read a spin off about.

Writing Style ✍️

Again, Lia Middleton came through with the tension. There were entire scenes of this book where I was holding my breath. The feeling you sometimes get where it feels like someone brushes past the back of your neck? I had that multiple times.

She had me screaming at the characters at some points and wanting to give them a huge hug at others. The characters in this book all felt real and I felt their pain and their bravery whilst I was reading. I love that this author chose such a hard hitting subject matter and I think she covered it fantastically.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

This book came along at the perfect time for me. Just when I wanted to cosy up and dive into a story that would have me turning the pages frantically trying to unearth all of the secrets, along came Your Word or Mine. I hate the thought of not being believed but it’s what added to the tension and the angst I felt whilst reading. A great thriller from a great author.

Absolutely loves this book. Defined for fans of twisty legal thrillers, with fiesty main characters. So many lines are crossed in this amazing thriller. Best I've read in a long time xx

A couple of chapters in and I was absolutely hooked on this one. A fabulous and intense thriller that kept me guessing the whole way through. Told from the points of view of Ava and Lily this plot is full of twists and turns and lots of tense 'what's going to happen next' moments.
Superbly written and free flowing with an ending I really didnt see coming. The twists were hidden extremely well and jumped out on me when I least expected them.
Your Word Or Mine has everything I love in a great thriller and I will really look forward to reading more from Lia Middleton.

This book is not a thriller but more a legal drama involving Ava/Belle and Lily against the man who,had assaulted them both. I couldn’t quite get past how Ava behaved as it seemed so unlikely for a legally trained person. Putting at risk the very outcome she was looking for. However if you can put up,with the subject matter it’s a good read

Just as I thought I had figured the plot out along comes another twist. Well written and keeps you on edge. Hard to put down book with great discription all through it Great plot and good twists.

My introduction to this author and WOW. It is soooo good, a must read for anyone who enjoys a good thriller. Fast-paced, suspenseful, and scarily believable.
Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph Penguin Random House for the ARC.

What a gripping read! Having loved Lia Middletons last book this was on preorder for me and it didn’t disappoint. It’s dark, triggering in places and one of those books where you really aren’t sure who to trust. And even though I figured out one of the twists there was a huge shocker that I hadn’t seen coming-a true jawdropper of a plot twist that I absolutely loved! Highly recommended!

Ava Knight is a prosecutor who has achieved a lot of things in her career despite being a victim of a brutal sexual assault in her teenage years that almost tore her life apart. When she meets fifteen-year-old Lily Hawthorne, accused of stabbing an older man in cold blood, she can’t view the case in the way that others do. Because the man Lily stabbed is Michael Osborne, the suspect who was acquitted of assaulting Ava all those years ago. Now Ava is driven to find out the truth and help Lily, even if she has to risk everything.

This is a slow-burning legal thriller with interesting characters. I found the protagonist, Ava very complicated because she takes some incredible risks to find out the truth, even putting herself in danger in certain scenes. This builds tension as the reader wonders what will happen if she gets caught. I warmed to the vulnerable Lily, whose story is told in flashbacks as we see how she tries to find the family that she lacks by befriending Michael and his daughter.

The pace of this book picks up in the second half, when some of the secrets are revealed and things get serious for Ava. I particularly enjoyed the courtroom scenes, where the author’s knowledge of the legal system is evident in the detail.

This story was packed full of twists, many of which I didn’t see coming. I thought it dealt well with emotionally difficult subjects such as rape and sexual assault. The plot also reflects the nature of the flawed British legal system, in which rape victims are often not believed.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, especially if you like character-driven stories.

Your Word Or Mine penned by Lia Middleton had this reader guessing throughout the tale. Ava Knight is a young barrister for the Crime Prosecution Service. She is in court prosecuting teenager Lily Hawthorne, for the stabbing of a man. Ava recognises the victim as Michael Osbourne, the man who raped her when she was 14yo but was cleared in the subsequent trial.

Intricately plotted, I couldn't put this one down! The characterisation is terrific, all of the people having been well-formed. Highly addictive, the reader gets chapters from eighteen years ago interspersed with the present-day happenings. Some of the passages make for tough reading and the parts told from Lily's point of view are similarly shocking. With chilling undertones and a worthwhile denouement, this is a terrific pacy thriller. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Penguin Michael Joseph via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

This is a stellar psychological thriller featuring a flawed but sympathetic main character.
‘Your Word or Mine’ really made me think about what I’d do if I were in Ava’s position.
The character of Lily was well-written and made me consider the issues around vulnerable young people - particularly those in the care system.
There were scenes in this novel that genuinely had my heart racing. I was fully invested and the tension was perfectly executed.

A good but hard read 📖 Rating 3.5 stars

I’m struggling a bit with my thoughts on this book. I did enjoy it and the storyline was interesting enough to make me want to read the whole book, but I didn’t find it gripping enough to make me want to pick up my kindle every chance I got. Please don’t get me wrong, it is a good story and extremely well written, but I think I just found it a bit of a hard read and it felt quite lengthy too, so at times I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere with it. I thoroughly enjoyed this author’s first book, so I think I had high hopes for this one. It is very different to her first book though.

Ava is a legal prosecutor and she heads to court to work on a case where a man called Michael Osbourne has been stabbed by a 15-year-old girl, Lily. He claims she had a crush on him and when he rejected her she lashed out, but when Ava sees who the man is, she knows he’s lying. The reason she knows this is because he was the man who raped her when she was just a teenager herself! After her ordeal, Ava changed everything she could about her appearance and even changed her name (she was previously known as Annabelle). Certain Michael does not recognise her now, Ava decides to worm her way into his life as she’s determined to prevent him from ruining another girl’s life.

The chapters are narrated by both Ava and Lily and we also revert to the past at times so we know what happens when Ava was Annabelle. I did like both of these characters and I was rooting for them all the way, praying that Michael wouldn’t get away with things again.

I would say this is more of a slow-paced story, everything plays out gradually. There are a few twists later on in the story and I have to say I didn’t guess them beforehand so that’s always a bonus for me. I feel like there is a lot of information in this story, possibly too much, hence why I feel it is quite lengthy. Sometimes a description of something or a situation would fill one page, this is possibly why I struggled with this book at times.

The author’s experience in the legal industry shines through in this story, they say to write what you know and that’s clearly what Lia has done here, although I’m not sure what happened would really happen, but that doesn’t overly bother me, I quite like things that are a bit far fetched.

I have seen nothing but rave reviews for this book so I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority with some of my thoughts, so please do read this book if you like the sound of the blurb and definitely if you’re a fan of legal thrillers and don’t mind something a bit slower paced.

Thank you so much to Lia Middleton, Penguin and NetGalley for my copy of this book.

Ava Knight, a brilliant young prosecutor, always follows the rules. Until she meets Lily Hawthorne – a troubled fifteen-year-old, accused of stabbing charismatic hotel magnate Michael Osborne in cold blood.

From the outside, it seems a tragic, hopeless case. But Ava suspects something everyone else does not: MICHAEL OSBORNE IS LYING.

Because eighteen years ago, Ava was brutally assaulted. She identified her attacker; the case went to trial. But the jury let him go. His name? Michael Osborne

Back then, it was Michael’s word against hers. She did everything right. But he still went free. One mistake ruined their lives!

Now another girl’s future hangs in the balance, how far will Ava go to be believed and finally get justice?

“To spare the guilty is to injure the innocent”

Publilius Syrus
I love the way this story unfolds with little snippets of revelations dropped along the way, piquing your curiosity – only to be picked back up further into the story expertly. The way the story is told leaves you constantly wanting more, even if it’s just for clarification on a point you can’t help wondering about.

(For me it was about what happened to her dad)

This book spoke to me on a personal level, especially Ava’s inner monologue. The characters were well developed and the plotline was cleverly written.

The short chapters that were told from alternating POV’s really helped with the building tension and suspense, as does the countdown that we get from Lily’s perspective that begins six months before the attack that lands her in this mess.

I love legal thrillers and this happens to be one of the best that I have read in a long time, it was fast-paced, scarily believable and tense and emotional throughout! This is the first time that I’ve read anything by Lia Middleton but she will now be added to my MUST READ list of authors!

Here are a few quotes from Your Word Or Mine that I loved:

People remain silent all of the time. Keeping the secret truth close to their hearts, away from judging, disbelieving eyes. The truth will out is a fallacy. The truth can remain buried forever.
What most people don’t understand… Not guilty does not equal innocent.
Fight or flight. The basic human responses. But people forget that there is a third response to fear… Freeze.
The feeling of being completely alone, nobody understanding – nobody believing. Sometimes, in a crowded courtroom, I wonder: If I screamed now, would anyone hear me? Can anyone see me?
Now, everyone sees Ava Knight, the advocate who speaks her mind and is straight to the point. Confident. But she’s a lie. Inside, I’m still Belle. Sad. Alone. Angry.
Just like so many pieces of me, it was irretrievable. Lost.
My thanks to the author and Penguin Random House for my advance copy to review via Netgalley.


Four fast paced stars

The story itself was quite intense and kept you interested, the subject matter may be challenging for some.
It’s not something I would generally read but it was a nice change to have something less frothy if you want a more involved read.

The author's first book, When They Find Her, was one of my favourite reads of last year and wow her second book is equally as stunningly brilliant and completely unputdownable. I absolutely loved it.

The story centes around Ava, a young prosecutor for the CPS. When she takes on the case of a young girl, Lily, accused of the attempted murder of a man, Ava soon discovers that the man is non other than the same person who raped her when she was 14. And was acquitted. When Lily pleads guilty, Ava is sure there must be more behind her actions and embarks on a desperate dangerous journey to uncover the truth.

I cannot say enough about how much I loved this book. The powerful prose, the faultless intricate plot, the realistic believable characters that made you feel their every emotion along with them, the twists, oh the twists! I felt like I was holding my breath at times whilst reading, yet could not stop turning the pages.

The courtroom scenes were expertly portrayed, the author's background as a criminal law barrister shines through here.

This review comes with the highest recommendation. I could go on, but basically just read it. Immediately! And then read Lia's first book straight afterwards!

Thanks to the author, Lia Middleton, publishers Michael Joseph Penguin Random House and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is an emotion rollercoaster, the author really makes you feel for the character.

The multiple points of view are well done and keep you guessing. The subject matter is hard but we’ll handled.

Read if you like legal thrillers.

This was a good read, and for the most part I enjoyed it. I did struggle to pick it up after I set it down, and found it unrealistic (I work in a solicitors office) that the main character didn't declare that she had a conflict regarding the case. I think that maybe marred my reading enjoyment but overall, it was a good read.

I love a legal thriller, and I loved Lia Middleton's first book, When They Find Her so this was always going to be a must read for me. It proved to be a veritable page-turner, with compelling characters and an absorbing plot - and I loved it!

Ava Knight is a barrister working for the CPS - and when she is asked to get involved in the case of a young woman, Lily, accused of stabbing a man, she discovers to her horror that the victim is a man who raped her as a teenager but was found not guilty when the case came to court, due to police errors.

Ava has since reinvented herself, and changed her name, but she is determined to help Lily - who has pleaded guilty - at whatever cost to herself.

This is a compelling read told across a dual timeline and from the perspectives of Ava and Lily. Middleton combines strong characterization with a hard hitting plot that keeps you on your toes and keeps you turning the pages right to the end.