Review by cielosiluminado - The Lies We Steal

cielosiluminado 's review for:

The Lies We Steal by Monty Jay

3.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

2nd read:
ok so i missed them

1st read:
the beginning. sort of. it's the first book, the introduction to the hollow boys. what a story. and while i loved it in the long run, i still found some things... not right with the book.

alistair and brair. two damaged people who felt unloved and unwanted, but yet found the most beautiful match to their dark sides in each other. their love is unique.

“I’m not sure what I can give you, but whatever is left of me, whatever I have, it’s yours, for as long as you want it.”

alistair was intense, wrathful, a caveman, possessive when it came to his little thief and his boys. people fear him because he doesn't fear anything. not even death.

“I wanna know what it is that makes the shadows so great. I want you to show me.”

briar, beautiful little thief. she was so smart, strong, and sassy. her whole life she wanted to hide away and not be seen, and especially not be noticed in this new, dark town and school. that didn't quite go as... planned. when she met him, she had no option but to go into the darkness.

You don’t have to step into the light to find happiness. You just need to find the person willing to step into the grey area.

the romance was somehow both slow burn and insta-love and wanting to be together forever at the same time. they went from hating each other for most of the book to being in love almost overnight in the last quarter of the book. the sexual tension was always there, yes, but there was zero emotional connection or chemistry for most of the story.

i think my biggest gripe, and favorite part at the same time, with this book was the need to introduce everyone to understand the backstory, especially of the hollow boys. while this book was dual-POV (briar and alistair), it often felt like their friends were the main characters as well. not a bad thing but like stated earlier, a good chunk of the book was based around other people and their stories and then the last quarter of the book was solely on briar and alistair's story.

there was also so many plotlines happening at once. revenge for a girl taken too soon. golden boy's fall from grace which completely caught me off guard. and most notably, briar and alistair falling in love.

overall, what redeems it a lot was the mystery, thrill, and twists that is the story. it kept me hooked and wanting more. if you love mysteries and puzzles, this book might interest you.

Content Warnings