Secrets and Lies by Jacqueline Green

Secrets and Lies by Jacqueline Green

Release Date - May 6, 2014

Publisher Website - Little Brown/Poppy
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 320 pages
My Rating - 3/5
**received in exchange for an honest review from the publisher**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Can you keep a secret?

Tenley Reed and Sydney Morgan have never seen eye to eye -- until now. United by a common goal, they are determined to find out who was behind their friend's murder. Joined by Emerson Cunningham, a gorgeous but troubled teen model, the girls start their own investigation. But in the isolated beach town of Echo Bay, it's hard to know who's a friend and who's an enemy.
Secrets and Lies is the second book in the Truth or Dare series -- and will keep readers in suspense from beginning to end.

You may recall that the first novel in this series, Truth or Dare, didn't quite win me over. I decided to give the sequel a chance mostly because of the bold, and intriguing ending. I did end up enjoying Secrets and Lies much more than Truth or Dare, and found myself drawn into the story in a way that I hadn't been with the first one.

The choice to kill off Caitlin, a major character, at the end of Truth or Dare injected some much needed stakes into the story. It rejuvenated my interest, and left me cautiously hopeful about the sequel. The pay off of this bold choice was peppered throughout this sequel, and it proved to be the right decision. Caitlin's story is still a huge part of the novel, even more than I was anticipating. Part of me was scared her story arc was going to be a dropped thread, but it's woven into the story seamlessly.

The stakes in this one felt higher. This 'Darer' does not shy way from violence. The tension created by this 'cat and mouse' game was palpable, and is the strongest element in the story. I felt like these girls were being hunted, and because of that I was able to immerse myself into the story.

Likewise, the reasons for the girls keeping quiet felt more dangerous too. I was not a fan of the secrets in the first novel. In the second we see that other people could be hurt by things being revealed, and that the consequences are much graver than previously thought. It made me more sympathetic to these girls, and what they are going through.

The reveals, especially about Caitlin's ties to everything, were what kept my interest. This is much bigger than first known. We find out that others are being targeted, and that it goes back much further than I expected. This widening of the 'world' in terms of who is impacted by this 'game' helped the story immensely. The explanation for why the game is still going on after the definitive ending of the first book also felt reasonable, and true because of this new information.

These girls are much more resourceful and proactive than I was expecting. They are not just sitting back and being passive about their situation. They are on the defensive. They are able to, and rather quickly, unravel some huge clues. The ending feels like a step in the right direction for them to unmask everything. This is where my only concern comes in. Series of this nature tend to go on much longer than needed. These girls are capable, and it doesn't feel realistic for this to be drawn out more than one other book. I hope the third installment wraps this up tightly, because I see potential here for the series as a whole.

These types of novel are quick, entertaining reads and this one will appeal to a very specific market. It is a case of 'what you see is what you get' and that is a good thing if you're in the mood for this type of book. If it's what you're looking for I think you'll enjoy your time spent with it, otherwise it may not hit the mark. There is plenty within the pages that left me, personally, looking forward to the upcoming installment, and all the questions still yet to be answered.

Fans of the Pretty Little Liars series should consider picking this series up. It's got all the secrets, betrayals, and scandals to keep you turning the pages. While I like this one more than the first, I am hoping for a third book that continues to improve the series the way this one did and a spectacular finish.