bookshelfbytori's Reviews (66)

 The Better Sister By Alafair Burke 

4.5 out of 5 stars 

I read this book in February after meeting Alafair Burke and in preparation for The Better Sister to be released as a TV show on Prime Video. This was my second book by Alafair, and I have to say, I’m hooked. 

In The Better Sister, Chloe and Adam are living their best lives. They are both well respected in their fields, Chloe working in publishing and Adam working as a lawyer, while also raising their teenage son, Ethan. Something that is rarely spoken about is Chloe’s sister, Nicky – once married to Adam and the actual mother of Ethan. Unfortunately, the two sisters are estranged, but not for the reason you’re thinking. Now, years later, Chloe and Nicky are thrown back together in the wake of Adam’s murder. 

This book is a domestic noir with a fascinating plot that keeps you interested – so much so I finished it in a single day. Alafair achieves this through multiple POVs and perfectly timed reveals that will have you second-guessing who deserves to be “the better sister”. I love how Alafair stays true to her background as a lawyer and keeps everything realistic regarding legal procedures while still building tension and leaving clues for the reader to predict what happened. To say I’m excited for the on-screen interpretation is an understatement. 

If you haven’t read anything by Alafair Burke, I highly recommend starting with The Better Sister. 

Originally posted to BookshelfbyTori on Instagram! 

 The beach? ✔ Champagne? ✔ A thriller about old friends, secrets and lies? ✔

Four high school friends decided to reunite about 20 years apart for a 40th birthday celebration. They meet in Cape Cod at a beach front cottage for some relaxation. But, after 20 years, a lot can and has changed between the four old friends. Mori is an erotica novelist, Remi owns a gym, Avery is a stay-at-home mom on a farm in Iowa and Calista is an English Teacher not too far from her childhood hometown. Each of them is harboring a secret, each secret more deadly than the last.

I absolutely loved the setting and wished I was lying on the beach in the hot sun while reading this. Lie in the Tide is a wild ride, keeping on the edge of your seat with several twists throughout. Just when you think you have figured it out, Danvers pulls out another twist, which will have you thinking long after you’ve read the last page. I found some of the dialogue clunky and forced between the characters. Additionally, some choices of characters made me frustrated, causing me to scream at my kindle.

I definitely recommend this book if you enjoy friendships that unravel with one innocuous white lie.

Favorite Line: “But that’s how the brain of a writer operated. Taking things as far as they could go on the page, so as not to lose the reader. Keep them reading long into the night until their eyes were practically bleeding.”