Book Review: The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura

Title: The Liar Society
Author: Lisa and Laura Roecker
Series: Liar Society #1
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: March 1 2011

Goodreads Summary:

Kate Lowry didn’t think dead best friends could send e-mails. But when she gets an e-mail from Grace, who died mysteriously a year before, she’s not so sure. When the emails continue, Kate is forced to confront her school’s resident druggie, a sketchy administrator, and even her own demons.

As Kate moves closer and closer to the truth, she teams up with a couple of knights-in-(not so)shining armor–the dangerously attractive, bad boy, Liam and her love-struck neighbor, Seth. The three uncover an ancient secret lurking in the halls of their elite private school with the power to destroy them all.

But the truth doesn’t always set you free. Sometimes it’s only the beginning.

My Review:

Kate's best friend died a year ago and Kate's convinced it's not an accident. Through a series of clues, she solves the mystery that involves her best friend and her private school's secret societies. Mystery is an aspect of a book I LOVE- it's something that usually keeps me reading. However, I didn't find there was quite enough suspense or guessing built in in the plot of this book. I felt like I knew the end the whole time, and for the most part I was right.

In addition, the characters felt flat to me. I never really did make sense or get to know Kate, and Liam, the love interest, was described as a "bad boy" but he never really did anything that made him seem bad. If anything, he was just this perfect, sweet guy who happened to be there for no reason at the right time just to be a perfect love interest for Kate. And Seth- he was adorable at times and I was annoyed with Kate for being annoyed with him! Don't get me wrong- I liked Liam better, but I liked Seth a lot too and I don't think Kate gave him enough credit for being her friend who was always there for her.

Even so, it was a cute, funny book with some great dialouge and situations that kept the pace going. It certainly wasn't boring or slow. The mystery, though predictable, was worthy enough to keep my attention.

I know a lot of people have simply loved this book, so don't let my review discourage you from picking this book up and trying it for yourself. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to readers of mystery and contemporary high school fiction that's not all fluff. Even so, I had high standards for The Liar Society and I don't think they were quite met.

Cover: 4/5 The pink hair is pretty cute! And I think the cover goes with the book very well. Kate has the private school uniform, and it's a mix between fun (pink hair) and dark (black background). But it's also a little boring and I might easily have passed over it in the store if not for the pink hair.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I Never Thought I Would Say This

I have a confession to make. And I'm not sure if anyone is going to read this post, or if anyone reads my blog anymore. I know it's frustrating when you're following a blogger and they suddenly stop posting. And I feel like I've really let my readers down (if I even have any anymore), so I thought I would explain the situation.

Blogging used to be a lot of fun, something I would make time out of my busy life to sit down and commit to. Even when it felt like I didn't have time, I made the time because I wanted to.

But back when I started blogging, I was a fairly ordinary boring kid with way too much free time. But now I'm moving on with my life and starting to actually DO things. I joined the track team, I auditioned for jazz choir and made it, I got my first job (lifeguarding!), and I got my own car. All in the last few weeks. Not to mention I'm going to college in a year and have been taking ACT/SAT's, planning visits, and worrying. It's not like I wasn't involved in things like this before- I've taken piano lessons for years, sang in treble choir, and I acted in the Fall school play.

But I'm just starting to focus so much more on my actual life that time to sit down and browse the internet and blogs just doesn't feel valuable to me. It used to be my release from the business of everyday life, but now it feels like it's just something I keep putting off. I procrastinate getting on my blog because I don't have anything to say.

I still LOVE reading though. Reading is still my escape- just maybe blogging isn't so much anymore. I guess I'm also getting sick of blogging making reading feel like such a chore- I have to review ARC's, I get daily review requests.... I guess I'm complaining, aren't I? So pretty much I've completely ignored by blog for the last month. (and my blog email, for the most part. I read it but haven't replied to anything in forever.)

I'm not trying to put down blogging, I just don't think it's something I can follow through with anymore. It's way too much of a chore for me, and I need to make time for the other things going on in my life.

I never thought I would say this, honestly. Up until the recent hiatuses I've been taking, blogging was my passion and escape. But now, I really think I'm just a different person. Nothing better or worse, just different.

I'm not deleting my blog or anything. I don't think I could EVER bring myself to do that. I've put so much hard work into it. And I'm not saying I'm going to stop posting, either. Summer is coming up, and even though I have a job I probably will have more time to read. I hope to continue posting reviews after I finish books because critically thinking about a book is still something I love to do, and that is really the main purpose of this blog.

So I'm not going away! But I am moving on.... I guess this is just an apology, if anyone actually reads it. I just had to say something about the way my life is going right now and the future of my blog, which looks pretty narrow.

But I love all the people I've gotten to know and amazing new things I've learned about the book publishing and writing world! And I won't stop stalking a few of my favorite bloggers because I still love to know what kinds of new books are out there. So even if I lay low on my blog perhaps indefinitely (minus hopefully occasional reviews!), I still have had a great experience and I appreciate if any of you have been there to share it with me or have been one of the MANY bloggers I admire!