See full review at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/06/24/spooky-books-for-sunny-seasons/ ( )

Basically this book is about an obsessive friendship between two girls that goes horribly wrong. We learn in the first chapter that Remy's boyfriend Jack has been killed by her best friend Elise. A case of mistaken identity, Elise's fear of a home invasion is suspected at first as the reason but as Remy recalls the relationship she has had with Elise, the story unravels and we, the readers, can see what is really happening. The first clues are when Remy starts dating Jack and Elise happens to turn up at the same restaurant and how Elise keeps texting Remy whenever she is with Jack. As well as the obsessive relationship, Remy also has to deal with two parents who constantly yell at each other but refuse to leave and keep coming back only for the same behaviours to be repeated. Remy feels like she is not good enough for her mother and the family is split with Remy's golden child brother siding with her mother and Remy siding with her father. The book looks at how staying together for the sake of the children can actually do more harm than good and I suspected the author has perhaps had to endure something similar in their own life.

I only gave this three stars because I think the re-telling of the growth of the obsessive friendship is a little laboured and could have been rounded out a lot quicker than it was. In the end, I also couldn't warm to the main character as she seemed to be her own worst enemy and didn't learn from her mistakes which frustrated this reader, and if I don't like the person who's story is being told, then I really struggle to like the overall story. ( )

This review is based on an ARC I received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I... Don’t know entirely how I feel about this book - it was painful (it HURT, man), and I’m going to need a hot second to gather my thoughts. The Best Lies hit very close to home. It deals with themes of domestic & parental abuse and was very unsettling (and triggering for survivors). Some of the quotes though, about suffering not being romantic, just being pain... whew boy. I felt that.

”We have been sold a lie. Our parents thought nothing of hurting us in the name of love. What a thing, to learn as a child, that pain is love. That love is bruises on our bodies and scars in our minds.”


Trigger warning: parental abuse, very heavy themes of domestic violence, suicide attempt ( )