What do you think?
Rate this book
We Were Liars #3
Rozpadliśmy się
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Young Adult Fiction (2025)E. Lockhart, autorka fenomenu Tiktoka, zekranizowanej powieści Byliśmy łgarzami i jej prequelu Rodzina łgarzy powraca z nową książką! Gotycki vibe, rodzinne traumy i miłość balansująca na krawędzi. Rodzina, która wciąga w swoje kłamstwa jak narkotyk.
Zaproszenie zmienia wszystko. Matilda nagle odkrywa, że jej ojcem jest ekscentryczny artysta malarz Kingsley Cello. Kiedy dostaje od niego propozycję spędzenia lata w nadmorskiej rezydencji, czuje, że to szansa, by go poznać i wreszcie zrozumieć samą siebie.
Brzmi jak zapowiedź wymarzonych wakacji!
Na miejscu jednak zamiast ojca czekają na nią: Meer – brat, o którego istnieniu nie miała pojęcia, Brock – upadła gwiazda dziecięcych filmów i Tatum – dziki outsider, który zrobi wszystko, żeby Matilda zniknęła z ich dziwacznego schronienia.
Ojciec jest wciąż nieobecny, a na powierzchnię zaczynają wypływać coraz bardziej niepokojące tajemnice. Okazuje się, że wizyta w Hidden Beach to jest nie wakacyjna przygoda, tylko rodzinna gra o przetrwanie. Bo wszyscy tu kłamią, a przeszłość nie pozwala o sobie zapomnieć.
Czy Matilda odnajdzie ojca? Czy zdąży poznać prawdę, zanim Hidden Beach ją pochłonie?
Zaproszenie zmienia wszystko. Matilda nagle odkrywa, że jej ojcem jest ekscentryczny artysta malarz Kingsley Cello. Kiedy dostaje od niego propozycję spędzenia lata w nadmorskiej rezydencji, czuje, że to szansa, by go poznać i wreszcie zrozumieć samą siebie.
Brzmi jak zapowiedź wymarzonych wakacji!
Na miejscu jednak zamiast ojca czekają na nią: Meer – brat, o którego istnieniu nie miała pojęcia, Brock – upadła gwiazda dziecięcych filmów i Tatum – dziki outsider, który zrobi wszystko, żeby Matilda zniknęła z ich dziwacznego schronienia.
Ojciec jest wciąż nieobecny, a na powierzchnię zaczynają wypływać coraz bardziej niepokojące tajemnice. Okazuje się, że wizyta w Hidden Beach to jest nie wakacyjna przygoda, tylko rodzinna gra o przetrwanie. Bo wszyscy tu kłamią, a przeszłość nie pozwala o sobie zapomnieć.
Czy Matilda odnajdzie ojca? Czy zdąży poznać prawdę, zanim Hidden Beach ją pochłonie?
320 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2025
1756 people are currently reading
50539 people want to read
About the author
E. Lockhart
33 books17k followersE. Lockhart is the author of Again Again, Genuine Fraud, We Were Liars and Family of Liars, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and several other books. Whistle: A New Gotham CIty Hero is a graphic novel. We Were Liars is also a TV show on Prime Video, June 2025. We Fell Apart, book 3 in the We Were Liars universe, publishes November 2025.
website: www.emilylockhart.com
Instagram, Threads & TikTok: elockhartbooks
website: www.emilylockhart.com
Instagram, Threads & TikTok: elockhartbooks
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,937 reviews
October 26, 2025
With only days left until the We Were Liars series hits Prime Video, I couldn’t resist diving back into the Sinclair universe by picking up the third installment—and what a gripping return it was. While the first book sparked fierce debate among readers, with both passionate fans and vocal critics weighing in on its shocking twist, this newest entry carves out its own compelling mystery with a more subtle but still powerful punch. I do recommend reading the earlier books first to fully appreciate the rich web of Sinclair family references, especially the tragic fire that casts a long shadow over this story—but if you choose to jump in here, you’ll still find plenty to hook you, even if a few puzzle pieces feel missing.
Set just five days after the infamous Sinclair house fire, this novel follows 18-year-old Matilda Avalon Klein, a quietly resilient teen preparing to start college and design 3D games. She lives with her mom’s ex-boyfriend, Saar—the only stable adult in her life after her mother abandons her (yet again), this time fleeing to Mexico City and washing her hands of parenting altogether. When Matilda receives an unexpected email from legendary artist Kingsley Cello claiming to be her father—and inviting her to his coastal home on Hidden Beach—she’s skeptical, but curiosity and longing win out.
Upon arriving, she’s driven by a moody, unwelcoming young man named Tatum and quickly learns Kingsley is conveniently away in Italy, with no clear return date. The only person who seems to be expecting her is Meer, Kingsley’s son and Matilda’s half-brother, who is overjoyed by her arrival. In sharp contrast, Meer’s mother June is frosty, strict, and clearly unaware of any invitation.
Joining the household are Brock, a former child star in recovery from addiction, and—surprise—Tatum, who turns out to be a permanent fixture in the house, bearing more responsibility than any teen should. Matilda is soon swept into the group's strange but captivating world—trespassing in empty homes, picnicking, and playing experimental games on the eerie island—all while June enforces strange rules, confiscates their phones, and feeds them a strict, herbal-laced diet. Mysterious locked rooms in the house and unsettling truths about her father’s past only heighten Matilda’s curiosity.
To complicate things further, Matilda is being watched—by Holland, a queer member of the Sinclair family with a hidden agenda and secrets of their own. As Matilda begins to uncover pieces of her father's past, she starts to realize that this house, and the people in it, are far more dangerous and fragile than she imagined. The truth she’s chasing could destroy everything.
Overall: I think this might be my favorite book in the series so far! The atmosphere is rich with tension, the mystery unfolds at a satisfying pace, and the romance—especially the slow-burn enemies-to-lovers arc—adds emotional weight. I genuinely considered giving it five stars. However, there’s one distressing scene involving animal harm that deeply affected me and pulled my rating down a notch—I truly wish that chapter hadn’t been included. Still, this is a raw, emotionally charged, beautifully written story that captures the essence of a deeply dysfunctional family on the edge of unraveling. If you're a fan of intense, slow-burn YA dramas with a haunting edge, this one is well worth your time—whether you’ve followed the Sinclairs from the start or you’re stepping into their world for the first time.
A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books / Delacorte Press for providing me with a digital review copy of this unforgettable YA mystery in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
instagram
facebook
twitter
Set just five days after the infamous Sinclair house fire, this novel follows 18-year-old Matilda Avalon Klein, a quietly resilient teen preparing to start college and design 3D games. She lives with her mom’s ex-boyfriend, Saar—the only stable adult in her life after her mother abandons her (yet again), this time fleeing to Mexico City and washing her hands of parenting altogether. When Matilda receives an unexpected email from legendary artist Kingsley Cello claiming to be her father—and inviting her to his coastal home on Hidden Beach—she’s skeptical, but curiosity and longing win out.
Upon arriving, she’s driven by a moody, unwelcoming young man named Tatum and quickly learns Kingsley is conveniently away in Italy, with no clear return date. The only person who seems to be expecting her is Meer, Kingsley’s son and Matilda’s half-brother, who is overjoyed by her arrival. In sharp contrast, Meer’s mother June is frosty, strict, and clearly unaware of any invitation.
Joining the household are Brock, a former child star in recovery from addiction, and—surprise—Tatum, who turns out to be a permanent fixture in the house, bearing more responsibility than any teen should. Matilda is soon swept into the group's strange but captivating world—trespassing in empty homes, picnicking, and playing experimental games on the eerie island—all while June enforces strange rules, confiscates their phones, and feeds them a strict, herbal-laced diet. Mysterious locked rooms in the house and unsettling truths about her father’s past only heighten Matilda’s curiosity.
To complicate things further, Matilda is being watched—by Holland, a queer member of the Sinclair family with a hidden agenda and secrets of their own. As Matilda begins to uncover pieces of her father's past, she starts to realize that this house, and the people in it, are far more dangerous and fragile than she imagined. The truth she’s chasing could destroy everything.
Overall: I think this might be my favorite book in the series so far! The atmosphere is rich with tension, the mystery unfolds at a satisfying pace, and the romance—especially the slow-burn enemies-to-lovers arc—adds emotional weight. I genuinely considered giving it five stars. However, there’s one distressing scene involving animal harm that deeply affected me and pulled my rating down a notch—I truly wish that chapter hadn’t been included. Still, this is a raw, emotionally charged, beautifully written story that captures the essence of a deeply dysfunctional family on the edge of unraveling. If you're a fan of intense, slow-burn YA dramas with a haunting edge, this one is well worth your time—whether you’ve followed the Sinclairs from the start or you’re stepping into their world for the first time.
A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books / Delacorte Press for providing me with a digital review copy of this unforgettable YA mystery in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
December 27, 2025
"𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓
𝑺𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓"
⚠️ Spoiler Warning ⚠️
This review contains spoilers.
This book was… okay. 😐📖
I came in craving drama, complex relationships, and secrets—and yes, those elements were there—but I honestly expected more, especially when it comes to the plot twists. That might be on me, since I’m used to E. Lockhart–style twists that are usually subtle but still impactful. Still, I was hoping for something stronger 👀
The beginning felt very ordinary. Nothing was obviously wrong at first—just a group of boys spending time with a new girl. And honestly, it made sense that they wouldn’t tell her everything; they barely knew her and didn’t know her intentions, But later on… when certain things were revealed (things I wasn’t even excited to uncover), I wasn’t surprised at all. I truly expected better than that 😕.
Matilda… sometimes I understood her, and other times I just went “why?” 😅
I felt sorry for her—her mother left her, she never knew her father, and she longed for a family 💔. So when her father sent for her, she rushed to him, hoping for something she had never had. Things didn’t go the way she wanted—not even a little. Her father never really wanted her, yet she still mourned his death. How do you grieve someone you never knew, who abandoned you despite knowing you existed? That made her feel quite naive to me.
On top of that, she kept inserting herself into things that didn’t concern her—telling June what she should do and how to behave with her son 🙄. I really dislike that type of character.
As for Meer, Brook, and Tatum—I honestly didn’t understand them at first. They felt strange and boring in the beginning 😐. But once everything became clear, the misunderstanding around them faded.
Saar was hands down my favorite character 🫶🏻
That final plot twist? I saw it coming from the very beginning, The moment I didn’t find the family heiress listed on the family tree page, I knew. And it was confirmed when they talked about the Cinderella painting—it was obvious
One thing that did catch my attention, though, was when Meer messaged Mirren, Johnny, and Cadence. Both Mirren and Jonathan replied, saying that Cadence was living in her imagination now… yet Cadence only lost her mind after Mirren and Johnny died 🤯. That detail really stood out to me.
In the end, Matilda got what she always wanted:
a family, a brother, a lover, and friends 🤍
Overall, it wasn’t bad, but it didn’t fully deliver on the drama and twists I was hoping for ✨
╰┈➤ˎˊ˗ 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝✨
Only here for the drama 👀
𝑺𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓"
⚠️ Spoiler Warning ⚠️
This review contains spoilers.
This book was… okay. 😐📖
I came in craving drama, complex relationships, and secrets—and yes, those elements were there—but I honestly expected more, especially when it comes to the plot twists. That might be on me, since I’m used to E. Lockhart–style twists that are usually subtle but still impactful. Still, I was hoping for something stronger 👀
The beginning felt very ordinary. Nothing was obviously wrong at first—just a group of boys spending time with a new girl. And honestly, it made sense that they wouldn’t tell her everything; they barely knew her and didn’t know her intentions, But later on… when certain things were revealed (things I wasn’t even excited to uncover), I wasn’t surprised at all. I truly expected better than that 😕.
Matilda… sometimes I understood her, and other times I just went “why?” 😅
I felt sorry for her—her mother left her, she never knew her father, and she longed for a family 💔. So when her father sent for her, she rushed to him, hoping for something she had never had. Things didn’t go the way she wanted—not even a little. Her father never really wanted her, yet she still mourned his death. How do you grieve someone you never knew, who abandoned you despite knowing you existed? That made her feel quite naive to me.
On top of that, she kept inserting herself into things that didn’t concern her—telling June what she should do and how to behave with her son 🙄. I really dislike that type of character.
As for Meer, Brook, and Tatum—I honestly didn’t understand them at first. They felt strange and boring in the beginning 😐. But once everything became clear, the misunderstanding around them faded.
Saar was hands down my favorite character 🫶🏻
That final plot twist? I saw it coming from the very beginning, The moment I didn’t find the family heiress listed on the family tree page, I knew. And it was confirmed when they talked about the Cinderella painting—it was obvious
One thing that did catch my attention, though, was when Meer messaged Mirren, Johnny, and Cadence. Both Mirren and Jonathan replied, saying that Cadence was living in her imagination now… yet Cadence only lost her mind after Mirren and Johnny died 🤯. That detail really stood out to me.
In the end, Matilda got what she always wanted:
a family, a brother, a lover, and friends 🤍
Overall, it wasn’t bad, but it didn’t fully deliver on the drama and twists I was hoping for ✨
╰┈➤ˎˊ˗ 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝✨
Only here for the drama 👀
November 16, 2025
On a journey to discover her true heritage and meet the father she never knew, Matilda finds a world full of secrets, a brother, a step mother and an absent father. She is told her father is away on business as he is a famous painter. Catchy storyline but this one was not as deep and soulful as Lockharts other books. Still enjoyable.
March 9, 2025
already know this book will be five stars. ready to emotionally destroy myself all over again
December 2, 2025
Starting immediately after the events that transpired at the end of We Were Liars, We Fell Apart introduced me to a whole new motley crew of characters. Running the gamut from unlikeable and irksome to root-for-able and endearing, I quickly got pulled into their odd, little world. With a seriously dysfunctional family dynamic amidst a found family vibe, the emotion flowing off the page was just as palpable as the foreboding. You see, I could sense the layers of mysterious secrets and lies throughout the course of the novel. Just out of reach and only vaguely implied, no matter how hard I tried to figure it all out, I couldn’t put the pieces together in time. So it was one heck of a surprise when the truth was laid at my feet during the emotionally charged climax right at the end. Poignant and raw yet also somewhat abrupt, the ending wrapped it all up with a nice little bow.
The pace and the timing of the climax were also my biggest pet peeves, though. For a good 80% of the novel, it was a long, slow burn without much suspense. More of a twisted family drama, this YA novel lacked the depth that I found in We Were Liars despite the fact that I truly loved all of the characters. From Matilda’s forceful personality to Meer’s sweet nature, I easily got swept up in their lives, including a blossoming enemies-to-lovers romance that I didn’t see coming. That being said, I felt that the sinister feel was sorely missing this time around. On top of that, as much as I loved the characterizations, I should’ve been far more suspicious of some or all of them as the plot rolled along. In spite of that, though, I found myself fully immersed in this truly messed up family of outcasts thanks to E. Lockhart’s original, poetic style that was both evocative and lyrical. Rating of 3.5 stars (upgraded).
NOTE: While this was technically book three in the We Were Liars series, it can easily be read as a standalone thanks to the plot line, which was only loosely related. Just be aware that there are plenty of spoilers, so don’t read this one with the intention of going back to read the first two books later. Also, there are scenes involving animal injury and death. While not graphic, if this is a huge issue for you, you might want to skip reading the book.
SYNOPSIS:
A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts.
A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.
A fiery, addicted heiress.
An irresistible, unpredictable boy.
A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.
Welcome back to the Sinclair family.
They were always liars.
Thank you to E. Lockhart and Delacorte Press for my complimentary copy of the special edition copies of the entire We Were Liars series. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: November 4, 2025
Content warning: animal injury/death, drugging, dementia, forced captivity, drowning
The pace and the timing of the climax were also my biggest pet peeves, though. For a good 80% of the novel, it was a long, slow burn without much suspense. More of a twisted family drama, this YA novel lacked the depth that I found in We Were Liars despite the fact that I truly loved all of the characters. From Matilda’s forceful personality to Meer’s sweet nature, I easily got swept up in their lives, including a blossoming enemies-to-lovers romance that I didn’t see coming. That being said, I felt that the sinister feel was sorely missing this time around. On top of that, as much as I loved the characterizations, I should’ve been far more suspicious of some or all of them as the plot rolled along. In spite of that, though, I found myself fully immersed in this truly messed up family of outcasts thanks to E. Lockhart’s original, poetic style that was both evocative and lyrical. Rating of 3.5 stars (upgraded).
NOTE: While this was technically book three in the We Were Liars series, it can easily be read as a standalone thanks to the plot line, which was only loosely related. Just be aware that there are plenty of spoilers, so don’t read this one with the intention of going back to read the first two books later. Also, there are scenes involving animal injury and death. While not graphic, if this is a huge issue for you, you might want to skip reading the book.
SYNOPSIS:
A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts.
A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.
A fiery, addicted heiress.
An irresistible, unpredictable boy.
A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.
Welcome back to the Sinclair family.
They were always liars.
Thank you to E. Lockhart and Delacorte Press for my complimentary copy of the special edition copies of the entire We Were Liars series. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: November 4, 2025
Content warning: animal injury/death, drugging, dementia, forced captivity, drowning
December 1, 2025
the WE WERE LIARS series will always have my heart, i love these characters and settings and plots so much. i’m so happy E Lockhart brought us back to summer 15 🩷😭🌊
also this is one of the prettiest books you’ll buy all year!! the sprayed edges! the map! the family tree! obsessed 💫
your questions answered:
- yes this can be a standalone
- yes this makes way more sense if you read WE WERE LIARS first
- yes if you don’t read WWL first you’ll have major spoilers
- this takes place right after WLL ends… it takes place the same summer. right after it all goes down… iykyk 🔥
- the setting is the same kinda—it’s the island/beach across from Beechwood
- all new characters, same island, same summer. all somehow connected… 🤐🤐🤧
- the author wrote this while on set for the WWL prime video show. she felt like the story wasn’t over and you can tell!
i enjoyed it so much! the first half was kind of a slow build and more fam drama / found family vibes. the second has more “thriller” vibes and a lil romance.
i looooved how this became interconnected to WWL. it happens late in the book but was a very fun twist!!
i’ll always love the liars and love how the author emulated some of that in here. while idk if this was as “strong” as WE WERE LIARS for me, i still liked it. it was just different! it’s not centered around a big mystery. instead you have a girl who never met her dad but then she gets an email asking her to come meet him on his private beach and it turns out he’s a famous and VERY RICH artist. but when she arrives, he’s not there 👀
this is a good blend of YA, mystery, romance, famdrama, finding yourself/found family vibes and a fun continuation of the WE WERE LIARS universe. this would be VERY fun to see played out in the series 🎬🎬🎬
also this is one of the prettiest books you’ll buy all year!! the sprayed edges! the map! the family tree! obsessed 💫
your questions answered:
- yes this can be a standalone
- yes this makes way more sense if you read WE WERE LIARS first
- yes if you don’t read WWL first you’ll have major spoilers
- this takes place right after WLL ends… it takes place the same summer. right after it all goes down… iykyk 🔥
- the setting is the same kinda—it’s the island/beach across from Beechwood
- all new characters, same island, same summer. all somehow connected… 🤐🤐🤧
- the author wrote this while on set for the WWL prime video show. she felt like the story wasn’t over and you can tell!
i enjoyed it so much! the first half was kind of a slow build and more fam drama / found family vibes. the second has more “thriller” vibes and a lil romance.
i looooved how this became interconnected to WWL. it happens late in the book but was a very fun twist!!
i’ll always love the liars and love how the author emulated some of that in here. while idk if this was as “strong” as WE WERE LIARS for me, i still liked it. it was just different! it’s not centered around a big mystery. instead you have a girl who never met her dad but then she gets an email asking her to come meet him on his private beach and it turns out he’s a famous and VERY RICH artist. but when she arrives, he’s not there 👀
this is a good blend of YA, mystery, romance, famdrama, finding yourself/found family vibes and a fun continuation of the WE WERE LIARS universe. this would be VERY fun to see played out in the series 🎬🎬🎬
November 1, 2025
Matilda has received an invitation to meet the father she never met! She has been waiting for this her entire life. When the invitation arrives, she learns that he is Kingsley Cello is a reclusive artist! She has been invited to spend the summer at his seaside home! She is curious, happy, and intrigued. When she arrives, she is met by many people at the home, but none are her father. She meets teens and young adults around her age, one being her long lost brother, a child star, and a person who wants her gone. It won't all be fun in the sun, as Matilda tries to connect with her peers while trying to learn more about her father. When she is not swimming in the sea, she is swimming in a sea of secrets!
I had both the book and audiobook versions of We Fell Apart. While I enjoyed the narration, I found the book to be a slow burn which I struggled with. What i did enjoy was the setting, the atmosphere, and some of the characters. I read the first book in this series, did not read the second, and I am not sure if missing the second book in the series affected my enjoyment of this one. I read this as if it were a stand-alone novel. I did enjoy the quest for the truth, but unfortunately, this one didn't quite work for me.
There were some enjoyable parts, but the slow burn aspect, affected my enjoyment of the book. Others are enjoying this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well.
Thank you to Bonnier UK Audio | Hot Key Books, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖
I had both the book and audiobook versions of We Fell Apart. While I enjoyed the narration, I found the book to be a slow burn which I struggled with. What i did enjoy was the setting, the atmosphere, and some of the characters. I read the first book in this series, did not read the second, and I am not sure if missing the second book in the series affected my enjoyment of this one. I read this as if it were a stand-alone novel. I did enjoy the quest for the truth, but unfortunately, this one didn't quite work for me.
There were some enjoyable parts, but the slow burn aspect, affected my enjoyment of the book. Others are enjoying this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well.
Thank you to Bonnier UK Audio | Hot Key Books, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖
Read
July 24, 2025should've ended after we were liars
November 18, 2025
If E. Lockhart ever stops writing books in this world, I'll be one very unhappy camper.
They're all so easy to read, I love the way she connects past threads to form a new mystery. At this point though, I'm not sure how much further the world could expand, it seems like every angle was covered.
I wasn't huge on the romance this time around, Tatum was honestly kind of a jerk, but everything else was grand.
As for the mystery, I couldn't tell what was going on until a few chapters before it was revealed, and even then, all of Matilda's theories seemed plausible, I loved exploring them with her.
If you decide to pick this up, be aware that it spoils what happens in We Were Liars, because they're happening almost at the same time, so if you haven't read that, go pick it up. Unless if you're fine with spoilers, that is.
They're all so easy to read, I love the way she connects past threads to form a new mystery. At this point though, I'm not sure how much further the world could expand, it seems like every angle was covered.
I wasn't huge on the romance this time around, Tatum was honestly kind of a jerk, but everything else was grand.
As for the mystery, I couldn't tell what was going on until a few chapters before it was revealed, and even then, all of Matilda's theories seemed plausible, I loved exploring them with her.
If you decide to pick this up, be aware that it spoils what happens in We Were Liars, because they're happening almost at the same time, so if you haven't read that, go pick it up. Unless if you're fine with spoilers, that is.
June 22, 2025
╰┈➤ 3.75 ✩
.ೃ࿔*:
➤
this book follows maltida going to hidden beach (same area as the sinclairs and very recent after the...tragedy ! yay! after she discovers who her father really is and he invites her there. there's a lot of secrets and all in all a lowk boring plot ?
.ೃ࿔*:･
➪ 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭
my main beef with this book is the plot. because we have this entire mystery of her and her father and his secrets and everyone "knows" him because he's a famous artist, she gets an invite from her father (kinglsey) to come and visit him because he wants to meet her. so she goes because her mother sucks as a parent and you know what, why not?
she meets meer, who...is her long lost brother!! yeah her father is a real upstanding guy. who knows how many siblings she has she doesn't know about im negl. meer just wants to meet his half-sister and have a sibling relationship with her. she also meets brock who is a former child actor going through it and tatum.
honestly tatum pissed me off. you know what, i didn't like a singular character in this book. tatum pmo because he did. he's a jerk and i said it. this man was rude almost 24/7 and played part of it off "im just like..testing you"
so we have tatum (the love interest), brock (the broody), and meer (the brother) and maltilda.
where's her dad in all of this you ask?
oh yeah, HE's NOT FRICKIN THERE. YEAH NO THE UPSTANDING JERK COULDNT EVEN SHOW UP FOR HIS DAUGHTER. Yeah stellar guy, what a role model.
so while maltilda is trying to get to know these strange people better, with meer's mother (kingsley's housekeeper) being sus as hell, and things being hidden and people keeping secrets more than you know, we follow the book for however many pages.
to say that i was a little bit bored is an understatement. i read this before bed and i fell asleep--. but i digress. i pegged the plot twist so fast into the book i almost was hoping she'd spin it a different way that when i got to matilda figuring it out, i was like "dang gurl you slowww" but no, i think it's semi obvious.
.ೃ࿔*:･
╰┈➤ side note, remember i said i hated every character? i take that back, as i was writing this review i remembered Saar, who is an upstanding citizen and more of a dad and parent that matilda has ever known. this man (was her mom's ex boyfriend) literally HOPPED A PLANE TO COME AND SEE MATILDA BECAUSE SHI WENT DOWN!? HELLO!? respect to him, he actually cared about her unlike other people
.ೃ࿔*:･
➪ 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬
the summer on the island around rich (or not actually) kids and secret vibes deffo hit! i totally think we still have lockhart's siganture style in this novel and her writing is not for everyone but it's one of the reasons i like her writing. in a bookstore you could pick up a book and be like, yup this an e lockhart novel. and i love that.
but i wasn't left with that same feeling that i had with we were liars. and why i'm comparing it is because it's set in the same world, it's a week (i think?) after cady and her familiy's aftermath, everyone is talking about that incident!
the ending is very e.lockhart style though i think it had more...depth than the entire novel? like the ending was happy! like we were liars was not happy at all, nothing happy about that. but the ending is why i'm giving it that extra .75, i liked the wrapup.
╰┈➤ all in all, if you are looking to pick up this book and think you might enjoy it after this review, just know you are in for a book with a confusing/ m but slow burn filled romance / mystery nce with a lot of secrets and lies.
༄
╔═════════════☆♡☆═══════════════╗
thx to netgalley + the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review !!
╰┈➤ full review to come soon
pre-review somehow i got the arc of this and i still dont know how
.ೃ࿔*:
➤
i read we were liars this year and completely devoured it and the family drama of the Sinclairs so I was incredible pumped to see this in my inbox one morning.
like me? Getting an arc of a book I was so excited for and recently had previous works from the author? Dream come true!
this book follows maltida going to hidden beach (same area as the sinclairs and very recent after the...tragedy ! yay! after she discovers who her father really is and he invites her there. there's a lot of secrets and all in all a lowk boring plot ?
.ೃ࿔*:･
➪ 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭
my main beef with this book is the plot. because we have this entire mystery of her and her father and his secrets and everyone "knows" him because he's a famous artist, she gets an invite from her father (kinglsey) to come and visit him because he wants to meet her. so she goes because her mother sucks as a parent and you know what, why not?
she meets meer, who...is her long lost brother!! yeah her father is a real upstanding guy. who knows how many siblings she has she doesn't know about im negl. meer just wants to meet his half-sister and have a sibling relationship with her. she also meets brock who is a former child actor going through it and tatum.
honestly tatum pissed me off. you know what, i didn't like a singular character in this book. tatum pmo because he did. he's a jerk and i said it. this man was rude almost 24/7 and played part of it off "im just like..testing you"
so we have tatum (the love interest), brock (the broody), and meer (the brother) and maltilda.
where's her dad in all of this you ask?
oh yeah, HE's NOT FRICKIN THERE. YEAH NO THE UPSTANDING JERK COULDNT EVEN SHOW UP FOR HIS DAUGHTER. Yeah stellar guy, what a role model.
so while maltilda is trying to get to know these strange people better, with meer's mother (kingsley's housekeeper) being sus as hell, and things being hidden and people keeping secrets more than you know, we follow the book for however many pages.
to say that i was a little bit bored is an understatement. i read this before bed and i fell asleep--. but i digress. i pegged the plot twist so fast into the book i almost was hoping she'd spin it a different way that when i got to matilda figuring it out, i was like "dang gurl you slowww" but no, i think it's semi obvious.
.ೃ࿔*:･
╰┈➤ side note, remember i said i hated every character? i take that back, as i was writing this review i remembered Saar, who is an upstanding citizen and more of a dad and parent that matilda has ever known. this man (was her mom's ex boyfriend) literally HOPPED A PLANE TO COME AND SEE MATILDA BECAUSE SHI WENT DOWN!? HELLO!? respect to him, he actually cared about her unlike other people
.ೃ࿔*:･
➪ 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬
the summer on the island around rich (or not actually) kids and secret vibes deffo hit! i totally think we still have lockhart's siganture style in this novel and her writing is not for everyone but it's one of the reasons i like her writing. in a bookstore you could pick up a book and be like, yup this an e lockhart novel. and i love that.
but i wasn't left with that same feeling that i had with we were liars. and why i'm comparing it is because it's set in the same world, it's a week (i think?) after cady and her familiy's aftermath, everyone is talking about that incident!
the ending is very e.lockhart style though i think it had more...depth than the entire novel? like the ending was happy! like we were liars was not happy at all, nothing happy about that. but the ending is why i'm giving it that extra .75, i liked the wrapup.
╰┈➤ all in all, if you are looking to pick up this book and think you might enjoy it after this review, just know you are in for a book with a confusing/ m but slow burn filled romance / mystery nce with a lot of secrets and lies.
༄
but this love is an everyday magic, i share it with a person who sees the bringer of madness
༄╔═════════════☆♡☆═══════════════╗
thx to netgalley + the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review !!
╰┈➤ full review to come soon
pre-review somehow i got the arc of this and i still dont know how
October 20, 2025
One thing is for sure, this author really knows how to bring you in with her creative writing! This is the third book in the “We Were Liars” series. The first and second book in the series were great as well. I found this novel to be extremely entertaining! It gives off dark, gothic thriller vibes and even had a twist that I had no idea was coming. The characters were strongly developed throughout the story, lovable and diverse. My favorite character was definitely the protagonist, whose name was Matilda.
She ends up receiving an invitation to meet her estranged Dad, who is a reclusive artist. She travels and arrives at a hidden beach and weird things start slowly unraveling. It is mysterious, emotional and tense! If you love reading a slow burn mystery romance that is in the young adult genre, this one is for you! Be sure to read the trigger warnings. Overall, I give this book a 4 out of 5 star rating!
Thank you to NetGalley, author E. Lockhart and Random House Children's Books | Delacorte Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is set to release on November 4, 2025!
She ends up receiving an invitation to meet her estranged Dad, who is a reclusive artist. She travels and arrives at a hidden beach and weird things start slowly unraveling. It is mysterious, emotional and tense! If you love reading a slow burn mystery romance that is in the young adult genre, this one is for you! Be sure to read the trigger warnings. Overall, I give this book a 4 out of 5 star rating!
Thank you to NetGalley, author E. Lockhart and Random House Children's Books | Delacorte Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is set to release on November 4, 2025!
July 2, 2025
A girl devoid of daddy issues received an email enticing her to begin having some daddy issues.
I was so excited to read this book it was the only thing I did all day. This book is a stand alone with some references to the happenings in “We Were Liars.” I loved how this book kept me hooked and came full circle. I feel like the author left nothing out and wrapped up all loose ends perfectly.
If you found the some of the artsy type insufferable before this book you’ll really find them completely unendurable after this. A few of the dialogues between the characters were rushed and confusing. The short chapters were nice and the book kept me interested while the ending tugged at my heartstrings.
Thank you NetGalley, Random House Children's Books and Delacorte Press for providing me with a digital copy for review.
I was so excited to read this book it was the only thing I did all day. This book is a stand alone with some references to the happenings in “We Were Liars.” I loved how this book kept me hooked and came full circle. I feel like the author left nothing out and wrapped up all loose ends perfectly.
If you found the some of the artsy type insufferable before this book you’ll really find them completely unendurable after this. A few of the dialogues between the characters were rushed and confusing. The short chapters were nice and the book kept me interested while the ending tugged at my heartstrings.
Thank you NetGalley, Random House Children's Books and Delacorte Press for providing me with a digital copy for review.
November 15, 2025
1⭐️
ARC Review
I think it might be time for me to resign myself from this series…😮💨😮💨😮💨…
Where to begin…Where to begin…Where to begin…
We Fell Apart is truly a dedication to readers who have fallen in love with both We Were Liars and Family Of Liars. This book is also a dedication to individuals who have fallen in love with the arts (painting and drawing) as well as those who fancy video games. And finally, this books is dedicated to those who love the summertime and often pray that they will be free of responsibilities and hope to fall in love with themselves, other people, and the world around them. While this dedication is not a bad thing or idea, We Fell Apart is not and will not be for everyone who reads it. And unfortunately, I am one them.
Let me take a moment to back up for a second. When I first requested We Fell Apart, I was prepared for my request to get denied. But, just in case I was wrong, I decided to both purchase and read We Were Liars and Family Of Liars before hand. And nope!!! I did not enjoy either book. First off, between BookTok, Bookstagram, and GoodReads, way too many spoilers occurred for We Were Liars. The more spoilers I saw, the more my joy and interest for We Were Liars depleted. I rated We Were Liars a 3⭐️ experience not because I enjoyed it but because I know that others really liked the book and I did not want to hurt anyone’s feelings. With Family Of Liars, something completely different happened. While I did come across some spoilers (very few surprisingly), I just could not bring myself to enjoy the story. In Family Of Liars, The Sinclair Family were far more worse before they got married and started adding their children into the mix. Oooh and let’s not forget how racist Harris Sinclair was in both We Were Liars and Family Of Liars. Given this awful experience, I rated Family of Liars a 2⭐️ read. Both books were just not for me. And now that I have read We Fell Apart, I can officially say that this entire series and maybe E. Lockhart, as an author, just might not for me.
Okay. So. Lowkey. I was kind of excited to read We Fell Apart in its beginning stages. One, I managed to start this book and read 30% of it before I ran across a spoiler. And two, no matter how much these books don’t work for me, the spray edges of each book are ABSOLUTELY stunning in my opinion. I know that spray edges are in right now and some people are getting tired of seeing them but not me. I have come across several books this year with beautiful spray edges and this book, let alone series, is one of them. Now, if I feel this way about the outside of this book then how come I didn’t enjoy the inside? Well, here goes nothing:
Flaw #1: The Storyline. There is very little I can say about the storyline without spoiling the book so, I will say this: Because reading about video games and painting aren’t my thing, this storyline quickly lost me. While I have nothing against video games themselves (all things Mario and Grand Theft Auto are my thing) nor do I have anything against paintings, I am just not good at enjoying books that make these two creative art subjects front and center. The more they were described and discussed, the more I just wanted to speed up the audiobook and get this story over with. The storyline for We Fell Apart only works for those who can stomach or enjoy these subjects.
Flaw #2: The Characters. Okay, Similar to We Were Lairs and Family Of Liars, the main characters in We Fell Apart were just boring and awful. Matilda, the FMC, came off as needy, judgmental, argumentative, and loud. Meer, although 18, appeared to be a 15 year-old boy who had no purpose in the world other than to be taken care of by Brock and Tatum. Brock, who didn’t feel like he added much to the story, was just there to me. Although this wasn’t true in the end, everyone took advantage of Brock because he was rich and very relaxed. Brock had trouble saying no to Meer and that was the worse part of his personality. It annoyed me so much. And then there was Tatum. Tatum, who was mean for no reason and demanding, also came off as the caretaker of the house. His attitude in the first several chapters was so unnecessary and I was so close to throwing my kindle across the room every time he spoke to Matilda. We Fell Apart marks my second book in a row where a brooding MMC wasn’t fun and sexy. This type of MMC just really annoys me and keeps me from enjoying his presence. Oooh, and let’s not forget about June and Kingsley Cello. June, the only parental figure around this summer, was rude and just UGH!!! Because she is bored with her life, she became a very neglectful parent. She constantly got mad at Matilda for even existing when it was Kingsley’s fault for Matilda even being born. I will never understand why women get mad at the children when extra material affairs happen. This attitude is so played out and children deserve so much better. There isn’t much to say about Kingsley Cello. He appears in the book for about 5 minutes (a slight spoiler.)
Again, if you’re a reader who has enjoyed The We Were Liars series then We Fell Apart will mostly likely appeal to you. There is also a slim chance that even if you didn’t enjoy We Were Liars and Family Of Liars, you might actually come to like We Fell Apart more those other the two books. As of right now, I can see myself resigning from this series. I have yet to fall in love with any of the characters or the storyline in each book. As of right now, I am okay if E. Lockhart doesn’t write another book in this series. And, as I write this review, I am wishing E. Lockhart nothing but the best in all of her future endeavors, especially her writing career.
Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for granting my request of an Advance Reader’s Copy in exchange for my honest and personal opinion!!!
ARC Review
I think it might be time for me to resign myself from this series…😮💨😮💨😮💨…
Where to begin…Where to begin…Where to begin…
We Fell Apart is truly a dedication to readers who have fallen in love with both We Were Liars and Family Of Liars. This book is also a dedication to individuals who have fallen in love with the arts (painting and drawing) as well as those who fancy video games. And finally, this books is dedicated to those who love the summertime and often pray that they will be free of responsibilities and hope to fall in love with themselves, other people, and the world around them. While this dedication is not a bad thing or idea, We Fell Apart is not and will not be for everyone who reads it. And unfortunately, I am one them.
Let me take a moment to back up for a second. When I first requested We Fell Apart, I was prepared for my request to get denied. But, just in case I was wrong, I decided to both purchase and read We Were Liars and Family Of Liars before hand. And nope!!! I did not enjoy either book. First off, between BookTok, Bookstagram, and GoodReads, way too many spoilers occurred for We Were Liars. The more spoilers I saw, the more my joy and interest for We Were Liars depleted. I rated We Were Liars a 3⭐️ experience not because I enjoyed it but because I know that others really liked the book and I did not want to hurt anyone’s feelings. With Family Of Liars, something completely different happened. While I did come across some spoilers (very few surprisingly), I just could not bring myself to enjoy the story. In Family Of Liars, The Sinclair Family were far more worse before they got married and started adding their children into the mix. Oooh and let’s not forget how racist Harris Sinclair was in both We Were Liars and Family Of Liars. Given this awful experience, I rated Family of Liars a 2⭐️ read. Both books were just not for me. And now that I have read We Fell Apart, I can officially say that this entire series and maybe E. Lockhart, as an author, just might not for me.
Okay. So. Lowkey. I was kind of excited to read We Fell Apart in its beginning stages. One, I managed to start this book and read 30% of it before I ran across a spoiler. And two, no matter how much these books don’t work for me, the spray edges of each book are ABSOLUTELY stunning in my opinion. I know that spray edges are in right now and some people are getting tired of seeing them but not me. I have come across several books this year with beautiful spray edges and this book, let alone series, is one of them. Now, if I feel this way about the outside of this book then how come I didn’t enjoy the inside? Well, here goes nothing:
Flaw #1: The Storyline. There is very little I can say about the storyline without spoiling the book so, I will say this: Because reading about video games and painting aren’t my thing, this storyline quickly lost me. While I have nothing against video games themselves (all things Mario and Grand Theft Auto are my thing) nor do I have anything against paintings, I am just not good at enjoying books that make these two creative art subjects front and center. The more they were described and discussed, the more I just wanted to speed up the audiobook and get this story over with. The storyline for We Fell Apart only works for those who can stomach or enjoy these subjects.
Flaw #2: The Characters. Okay, Similar to We Were Lairs and Family Of Liars, the main characters in We Fell Apart were just boring and awful. Matilda, the FMC, came off as needy, judgmental, argumentative, and loud. Meer, although 18, appeared to be a 15 year-old boy who had no purpose in the world other than to be taken care of by Brock and Tatum. Brock, who didn’t feel like he added much to the story, was just there to me. Although this wasn’t true in the end, everyone took advantage of Brock because he was rich and very relaxed. Brock had trouble saying no to Meer and that was the worse part of his personality. It annoyed me so much. And then there was Tatum. Tatum, who was mean for no reason and demanding, also came off as the caretaker of the house. His attitude in the first several chapters was so unnecessary and I was so close to throwing my kindle across the room every time he spoke to Matilda. We Fell Apart marks my second book in a row where a brooding MMC wasn’t fun and sexy. This type of MMC just really annoys me and keeps me from enjoying his presence. Oooh, and let’s not forget about June and Kingsley Cello. June, the only parental figure around this summer, was rude and just UGH!!! Because she is bored with her life, she became a very neglectful parent. She constantly got mad at Matilda for even existing when it was Kingsley’s fault for Matilda even being born. I will never understand why women get mad at the children when extra material affairs happen. This attitude is so played out and children deserve so much better. There isn’t much to say about Kingsley Cello. He appears in the book for about 5 minutes (a slight spoiler.)
Again, if you’re a reader who has enjoyed The We Were Liars series then We Fell Apart will mostly likely appeal to you. There is also a slim chance that even if you didn’t enjoy We Were Liars and Family Of Liars, you might actually come to like We Fell Apart more those other the two books. As of right now, I can see myself resigning from this series. I have yet to fall in love with any of the characters or the storyline in each book. As of right now, I am okay if E. Lockhart doesn’t write another book in this series. And, as I write this review, I am wishing E. Lockhart nothing but the best in all of her future endeavors, especially her writing career.
Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for granting my request of an Advance Reader’s Copy in exchange for my honest and personal opinion!!!
November 23, 2025
I spent most of the book repulsed by the filth main characters lived in. Can’t quite fathom how 5 grownups couldn’t manage to clean up after themselves (and their dog).There was always someone walking barefoot too, and I just couldn’t help shuddering. But 2 stars are for the last 1/4th of the book - cringe romance and pseudo depth. The book felt incredibly insincere and lacking heart I expect from E. Lockhart.
PSA - If you are an animal lover, you should consider skipping this one.
PSA - If you are an animal lover, you should consider skipping this one.
June 25, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an ARC for review
I really wanted to love this book, but I think it's time for Lockhart to step away from the Sinclair family. I loved We Were Liars when it first came out, but this just felt like it was stretching too far to connect to that story and neither one was stronger for it.
The characters really didn't resonate with me. Mirren, Gat, Johnny, and Cadence all read pretty young in their book, too, but the cast in this one feels all over the place. Meer and Brock could easily be aged down to about 12 without issue, while Tatum might as well be in his 30s. Beyond one or two traits tied to that, none of the characters feel fleshed out; largely, they just do whatever is needed at that moment to preserve the mystery or occasionally move the plot. June actually does disappear for a significant chunk of the story and only reappears to be a villain when the plot has stalled for too long. The romance is a particular casualty of this, coming across forced and disingenuous.
The writing style didn't quite land for me either. In We Were Liars, the pseudo-poetry makes sense for Cadence's narration. She's a hyper-privileged, arguably pretentious rich girl. Matilda, on the other hand, is an unmoored gamer. Giving that exact same style of storytelling to Matilda just doesn't make sense. Why would she describe people the same was as Cadence? Gat being "enthusiasm and strong coffee" feels intentional and unique; Cadence using the same structure to identify the boys and Holland feels out of place.
The mystery itself left a lot to be desired. There's no real tension driving the story - Matilda doesn't need anything specific from her father, there's no ticking clock (since her looming college semester is largely ignored), no reason at all for urgency (something that is driven home by the fact that Matilda gets no answers and just chooses to stay at the castle). "What happened to Kingsley" is a question the book wants us to ask, but it also doesn't matter much to the majority of the story.
A good twist recontextualizes the story - discovering the truth of Cadence's injury in We Were Liars changes the whole story we thought we knew. Here, though, finding out the truth doesn't change anything.
Ultimately, I don't feel like this book captured the magic of its predecessor. It doesn't have much to say, and it doesn't offer much in the way of shiny distraction from that fact.
I really wanted to love this book, but I think it's time for Lockhart to step away from the Sinclair family. I loved We Were Liars when it first came out, but this just felt like it was stretching too far to connect to that story and neither one was stronger for it.
The characters really didn't resonate with me. Mirren, Gat, Johnny, and Cadence all read pretty young in their book, too, but the cast in this one feels all over the place. Meer and Brock could easily be aged down to about 12 without issue, while Tatum might as well be in his 30s. Beyond one or two traits tied to that, none of the characters feel fleshed out; largely, they just do whatever is needed at that moment to preserve the mystery or occasionally move the plot. June actually does disappear for a significant chunk of the story and only reappears to be a villain when the plot has stalled for too long. The romance is a particular casualty of this, coming across forced and disingenuous.
The writing style didn't quite land for me either. In We Were Liars, the pseudo-poetry makes sense for Cadence's narration. She's a hyper-privileged, arguably pretentious rich girl. Matilda, on the other hand, is an unmoored gamer. Giving that exact same style of storytelling to Matilda just doesn't make sense. Why would she describe people the same was as Cadence? Gat being "enthusiasm and strong coffee" feels intentional and unique; Cadence using the same structure to identify the boys and Holland feels out of place.
The mystery itself left a lot to be desired. There's no real tension driving the story - Matilda doesn't need anything specific from her father, there's no ticking clock (since her looming college semester is largely ignored), no reason at all for urgency (something that is driven home by the fact that Matilda gets no answers and just chooses to stay at the castle). "What happened to Kingsley" is a question the book wants us to ask, but it also doesn't matter much to the majority of the story.
A good twist recontextualizes the story - discovering the truth of Cadence's injury in We Were Liars changes the whole story we thought we knew. Here, though, finding out the truth doesn't change anything.
Ultimately, I don't feel like this book captured the magic of its predecessor. It doesn't have much to say, and it doesn't offer much in the way of shiny distraction from that fact.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2025
As a fatherless girl who's now in her twenties (but has understood that it won't ever stop hurting), I feel entitled to say this was bad and a little offensive, too.
It’s no secret I haven't enjoyed Family of Liars either, but I must say that it’s for completely different reasons in comparison to this novel.
This was just… boring, forced to the point of stupidity, not surprising at all.
I guess we could find a pattern between the three novels, as in starting strong with big expectations and reaching half of the book already disappointed.
For example, I loved the first connections with We Were Liars , and if they had stopped there it would have been even greater because, something that started as a recap, soon became a very unoriginal plot. I mean, how many times can you keep exploiting a story (without success)?!
But here, cherry on top, the narration could only be described as pretentious — something very similar to bad poetry, if you allow.
The worst part, yet? Matilda herself.
Listen, I get it. I was that girl, I might also still be that girl, but someone who’s waited all her life to finally have a paternal figure to fix that missed piece of her, someone so eager to know her father that just accept and instantly love someone else who had the privilege to experience that life with him, someone who's so blind by that stupid etiquette that doesn't see what she has in front of her… she’s never angry, not once.
She has waited eighteen years and he still doesn't show up? It’s okay, she can wait for him.
She gets to know the people who grew up with him around? Why would she ask them questions, it’s not like she would have wanted a dad growing up.
And with all that happened, it’s not like she could react in any way, it’s not as if she had the right to react.
↠ 2 stars
Thanks to Random House Children’s Books, Delacorte Press and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
It’s no secret I haven't enjoyed Family of Liars either, but I must say that it’s for completely different reasons in comparison to this novel.
This was just… boring, forced to the point of stupidity, not surprising at all.
I guess we could find a pattern between the three novels, as in starting strong with big expectations and reaching half of the book already disappointed.
For example, I loved the first connections with We Were Liars , and if they had stopped there it would have been even greater because, something that started as a recap, soon became a very unoriginal plot. I mean, how many times can you keep exploiting a story (without success)?!
But here, cherry on top, the narration could only be described as pretentious — something very similar to bad poetry, if you allow.
The worst part, yet? Matilda herself.
Listen, I get it. I was that girl, I might also still be that girl, but someone who’s waited all her life to finally have a paternal figure to fix that missed piece of her, someone so eager to know her father that just accept and instantly love someone else who had the privilege to experience that life with him, someone who's so blind by that stupid etiquette that doesn't see what she has in front of her… she’s never angry, not once.
She has waited eighteen years and he still doesn't show up? It’s okay, she can wait for him.
She gets to know the people who grew up with him around? Why would she ask them questions, it’s not like she would have wanted a dad growing up.
And with all that happened, it’s not like she could react in any way, it’s not as if she had the right to react.
↠ 2 stars
Thanks to Random House Children’s Books, Delacorte Press and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
July 24, 2025
ESP:
Gracias netgalley por la copia avanzada!
Cuando se anuncio este libro dije ????? ok, par que necesitamos otro libro de we were liars? Creo que ese libro jamás debió dejar de ser un autoconclusivo, pero con la expansión de la serie con la precuela, habiendo ya leído este puedo decir que encaja muy bien con esta nueva historia que la autora ha alargado.
Para mi, el corazón de esta ahora serie recae en los Sinclair, porque al final del día, por más misterios y por más plot twists que haya, esta es la historia de una familia complicada, envuelta constantemente en tragedia por más que la quieran escapar. Son problemáticos, son privilegiados, son nefastos incluso, pero son familia al final del día, y eso es lo que me encanta de We Were Liars y de la precuela. Entonces cuando vi la sinopsis de este pensé que no había cosa más innecesaria que hacer algo dentro de este mismo mundo pero con otros personajes. Pero saben qué? Me calló la boca.
Este libro encaja con todo lo nuevo. Pensé que se sentiria de más, ya arrastrando algo que se debió dejar hacer mucho, pero al final terminé apreciandolo por lo que hizo. No hizo de más y tampoco lo siento como que intentó ser cosas que no es. Nos dió la pieza faltante para terminar de conectar los punto, considerando que gracias a todo lo nuevo que aporto la precuela es que este puede existir.
Los personajes no son igual de entrañables que los Sinclairs, ni igual interesantes, pero tienen cierta armonía en conjunto que funciona para ellos. El cambio de escenario por algo más tétrico con el castillo igual me gustó, pues aunque si es distinto a Beechwood, se siente que está dentro de la misma linea.
Al final me gustó. Disfrute de los guiños narrativos y los hilitos que tiene E.Lockhart en los tres que los une de cierta maneras (como lo es todo este aspecto de tener ficción dentro de la ficción, como lo son los cuentos de Cady, los retellings de Carrie y ahora las pinturas de Kingsley) y, más que nada, de como este si se siente como el cierre de la historia. Esperemos que asi sea, porque todo se resuelve de manera buena y deja la historia en un muy buen punto para descansar.
ENG:
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for providing me with an advance copy to review!
We Fell Apart was a release I was very intrigued in. Ever since the announcement I kept thinking to myself: "A new We Were Liars book? For what?"
For me, the heart of We Were Liars falls on the Sinclairs. This is a story about a broken family, since generations past, entangled with tragedy no matter how much they try to escape it. At the first I side-eyed the synopsis a little bit. I didn't understand the need to have a story set in the same world if we weren't following at least a known character. But you know what? I like being proved wrong. And, at the end, this book ended up having something special.
One of my biggest fears was that this book was going to feel unnecessary to the We Were Liars universe. Even though I still wish that the story would've stayed as a standalone, after reading Family of Liars as well, We Fell Apart fits pretty nicely with the rest of the series. It did what it was supposed to do and gave us the last piece in the extension of the whole Sinclair saga. There was a line in the prequel that kept bothering me because I felt that something was missing, and here it finally is.
Matilda and the rest of the characters aren't as captivating, mysterious or even messy as the core Sinclairs, but they have this harmony that work really well for them. I liked the change of setting, bringing more of an eerie vibe with the whole castle and isolated beach. And the mystery was really well executed for me, keeping me interested until the end.
It didn't overstay its welcome, which I appreciate, and also didn't try to do something completely different. From the writing style to having its little quirks like the fiction-in-fiction aspect that all the books have had (Cady's fairytales, Carrie's retellings and now Kingsley's paintings), We Fell Apart feels like the true conclusion to the story. So long, the Sinclairs.
Gracias netgalley por la copia avanzada!
Cuando se anuncio este libro dije ????? ok, par que necesitamos otro libro de we were liars? Creo que ese libro jamás debió dejar de ser un autoconclusivo, pero con la expansión de la serie con la precuela, habiendo ya leído este puedo decir que encaja muy bien con esta nueva historia que la autora ha alargado.
Para mi, el corazón de esta ahora serie recae en los Sinclair, porque al final del día, por más misterios y por más plot twists que haya, esta es la historia de una familia complicada, envuelta constantemente en tragedia por más que la quieran escapar. Son problemáticos, son privilegiados, son nefastos incluso, pero son familia al final del día, y eso es lo que me encanta de We Were Liars y de la precuela. Entonces cuando vi la sinopsis de este pensé que no había cosa más innecesaria que hacer algo dentro de este mismo mundo pero con otros personajes. Pero saben qué? Me calló la boca.
Este libro encaja con todo lo nuevo. Pensé que se sentiria de más, ya arrastrando algo que se debió dejar hacer mucho, pero al final terminé apreciandolo por lo que hizo. No hizo de más y tampoco lo siento como que intentó ser cosas que no es. Nos dió la pieza faltante para terminar de conectar los punto, considerando que gracias a todo lo nuevo que aporto la precuela es que este puede existir.
Los personajes no son igual de entrañables que los Sinclairs, ni igual interesantes, pero tienen cierta armonía en conjunto que funciona para ellos. El cambio de escenario por algo más tétrico con el castillo igual me gustó, pues aunque si es distinto a Beechwood, se siente que está dentro de la misma linea.
Al final me gustó. Disfrute de los guiños narrativos y los hilitos que tiene E.Lockhart en los tres que los une de cierta maneras (como lo es todo este aspecto de tener ficción dentro de la ficción, como lo son los cuentos de Cady, los retellings de Carrie y ahora las pinturas de Kingsley) y, más que nada, de como este si se siente como el cierre de la historia. Esperemos que asi sea, porque todo se resuelve de manera buena y deja la historia en un muy buen punto para descansar.
ENG:
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for providing me with an advance copy to review!
We Fell Apart was a release I was very intrigued in. Ever since the announcement I kept thinking to myself: "A new We Were Liars book? For what?"
For me, the heart of We Were Liars falls on the Sinclairs. This is a story about a broken family, since generations past, entangled with tragedy no matter how much they try to escape it. At the first I side-eyed the synopsis a little bit. I didn't understand the need to have a story set in the same world if we weren't following at least a known character. But you know what? I like being proved wrong. And, at the end, this book ended up having something special.
One of my biggest fears was that this book was going to feel unnecessary to the We Were Liars universe. Even though I still wish that the story would've stayed as a standalone, after reading Family of Liars as well, We Fell Apart fits pretty nicely with the rest of the series. It did what it was supposed to do and gave us the last piece in the extension of the whole Sinclair saga. There was a line in the prequel that kept bothering me because I felt that something was missing, and here it finally is.
Matilda and the rest of the characters aren't as captivating, mysterious or even messy as the core Sinclairs, but they have this harmony that work really well for them. I liked the change of setting, bringing more of an eerie vibe with the whole castle and isolated beach. And the mystery was really well executed for me, keeping me interested until the end.
It didn't overstay its welcome, which I appreciate, and also didn't try to do something completely different. From the writing style to having its little quirks like the fiction-in-fiction aspect that all the books have had (Cady's fairytales, Carrie's retellings and now Kingsley's paintings), We Fell Apart feels like the true conclusion to the story. So long, the Sinclairs.
Want to read
September 26, 2025After reading/loving We Were Liars & Family of Liars
I feel that Beechwood Island is kinda like "Murder House"
You know, from AHS..
..Where dead never really gone...
If you die in there.. you live in there forever...
It's like also Hotel, 1984's Summer Camp from the same show, American Horror Story..
BUT this isn't a horror story , it's summer, family, romance ... nostalgic a bit kind of story... tangled mostly with fairy tales... Twisted Fairy tales.. and that's just a ... Lie.
Can't wait for the upcoming Lie
Mohammed Arabey
29 July 2025
I feel that Beechwood Island is kinda like "Murder House"
You know, from AHS..
..Where dead never really gone...
If you die in there.. you live in there forever...
It's like also Hotel, 1984's Summer Camp from the same show, American Horror Story..
BUT this isn't a horror story , it's summer, family, romance ... nostalgic a bit kind of story... tangled mostly with fairy tales... Twisted Fairy tales.. and that's just a ... Lie.
Can't wait for the upcoming Lie
Mohammed Arabey
29 July 2025
November 10, 2025
*Thank you so much to HotKey for sending me an ARC of this!*
As a We Were Liars girlie, I am so sad about this rating!! I was so excited to read this book, but now I just feel like this universe just didn’t need expanding any further. This was such a useless addition to the canon. And despite it being said you can read them as standalones, it gives major spoilers for the first two books which I found odd. It was too convoluted in terms of making references to the previous books and Beechwood island which we didn’t really need.
When I tell you nothing happens in this book… nothing happens. It is extremely dry, deeply unthrilling, and I didn’t at all care for the central ‘mystery’. Where was the deceit and the lies and the intrigue of the first few books? Where was the atmosphere and untrustworthy characters? It just did not have the same vibe at all, and never managed to build suspense or grip me in any capacity. I found myself not caring, and it was so dry I was actually bored. I just kept waiting for something to happen, and it never did. It had a great set up for some dark and gritty goings on, but we never utilise it.
The signature e.lockhart quirky style of narration didn’t seem to fit this novel at all, it just felt tired and overdone. The writing was extremely off, and did not feel up to the standard I was expecting. I have no idea why the book was split into nine different ‘parts’, it felt like it was just done to bulk out the pages. It’s such a short book it didn’t actually give itself time, so everything felt very superficial and overdramatic. I had a similar problem with her previous novel Again, Again where it felt like she actually had nothing to say but was still writing for the fun of it. If you don’t have a full book in you… maybe put the keyboard down.
I felt extremely detached from the characters, and I think it’s because they were extremely cardboard and void of personality. I couldn’t have cared less about them, and there was no effort to distinguish the three boys from each other really so it became confusing. It was so flat, and they had the weirdest dynamics ever considering they had just met. Falling in love with a boy you barely know, and also saying you love your brother and calling him ‘pookie’ when you only found out he was your brother five minutes ago. I don’t know, this whole book just gave me the ick.
The ending was the best bit of the book, and to be honest if the rest of it was written with such emotion and softness it would’ve been a more pleasant experience. I’m so sad We Were Liars has been associated with this hahaha.
As a We Were Liars girlie, I am so sad about this rating!! I was so excited to read this book, but now I just feel like this universe just didn’t need expanding any further. This was such a useless addition to the canon. And despite it being said you can read them as standalones, it gives major spoilers for the first two books which I found odd. It was too convoluted in terms of making references to the previous books and Beechwood island which we didn’t really need.
When I tell you nothing happens in this book… nothing happens. It is extremely dry, deeply unthrilling, and I didn’t at all care for the central ‘mystery’. Where was the deceit and the lies and the intrigue of the first few books? Where was the atmosphere and untrustworthy characters? It just did not have the same vibe at all, and never managed to build suspense or grip me in any capacity. I found myself not caring, and it was so dry I was actually bored. I just kept waiting for something to happen, and it never did. It had a great set up for some dark and gritty goings on, but we never utilise it.
The signature e.lockhart quirky style of narration didn’t seem to fit this novel at all, it just felt tired and overdone. The writing was extremely off, and did not feel up to the standard I was expecting. I have no idea why the book was split into nine different ‘parts’, it felt like it was just done to bulk out the pages. It’s such a short book it didn’t actually give itself time, so everything felt very superficial and overdramatic. I had a similar problem with her previous novel Again, Again where it felt like she actually had nothing to say but was still writing for the fun of it. If you don’t have a full book in you… maybe put the keyboard down.
I felt extremely detached from the characters, and I think it’s because they were extremely cardboard and void of personality. I couldn’t have cared less about them, and there was no effort to distinguish the three boys from each other really so it became confusing. It was so flat, and they had the weirdest dynamics ever considering they had just met. Falling in love with a boy you barely know, and also saying you love your brother and calling him ‘pookie’ when you only found out he was your brother five minutes ago. I don’t know, this whole book just gave me the ick.
The ending was the best bit of the book, and to be honest if the rest of it was written with such emotion and softness it would’ve been a more pleasant experience. I’m so sad We Were Liars has been associated with this hahaha.
September 6, 2025
Summary
Matilda Klein receives an unexpected invitation to meet her estranged father, Kingsley Cello, a renowned but reclusive artist. She travels to Hidden Beach, a secluded seaside estate, hoping to connect with him and uncover her roots. Upon arrival, she discovers Kingsley is absent, leaving her to interact with three enigmatic individuals; Meer, Brock, & Tatum.
﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒
My Thoughts
I was excited to go back into the world where Beechwood exists. E. Lockhart always has a way of creating an atmosphere that feels haunting and beautiful at the same time. However, the pacing here was uneven, with certain sections feeling slow, and the plot itself leaned toward the predictable. While I enjoyed the setting and some of the more emotional moments, the story overall didn’t capture me the way I had hoped.
﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒
Release Date 🗓️
November 4th, 2025
﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒
I would like to give a huge thank you to NetGalley, E. Lockhart, & Delacorte Press for providing me with an eARC of We Fell Apart in exchange for my honest review.
﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒
Follow me on my socials ↓
Instagram
Medium
Matilda Klein receives an unexpected invitation to meet her estranged father, Kingsley Cello, a renowned but reclusive artist. She travels to Hidden Beach, a secluded seaside estate, hoping to connect with him and uncover her roots. Upon arrival, she discovers Kingsley is absent, leaving her to interact with three enigmatic individuals; Meer, Brock, & Tatum.
﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒
My Thoughts
I was excited to go back into the world where Beechwood exists. E. Lockhart always has a way of creating an atmosphere that feels haunting and beautiful at the same time. However, the pacing here was uneven, with certain sections feeling slow, and the plot itself leaned toward the predictable. While I enjoyed the setting and some of the more emotional moments, the story overall didn’t capture me the way I had hoped.
﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒
Release Date 🗓️
November 4th, 2025
﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒
I would like to give a huge thank you to NetGalley, E. Lockhart, & Delacorte Press for providing me with an eARC of We Fell Apart in exchange for my honest review.
﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒﹒⟡﹒
Follow me on my socials ↓
Medium
November 4, 2025
Matilda receives an email from her "unknown to her" father, with an invitation to his home at Hidden Beach. Turns out he is a world renowned artist. Matilda jumps at the chance to know family as her mom has left to be with her new boyfriend. Matilda is greeted by her half brother Meer and his two friends, Brock and Tatum. As the weeks go by and her father is still nowhere to be found, she begins to search for answers. What she finds is that everyone here is lying.
*Do not do something crazy like read this book before the other two, it is full of spoilers*
The first book in this series is We Were Liars and when I tell you I was obsessed with it, its an understatement. I was completely immersed in the nightmarish fairy tale. An incredible book, go read it. The second, Family Of Liars, was okay. A watered down version of the first that lacked the edginess and depth I was expecting. Now that brings us to the third, We Fell Apart. Although, it is better than the second, it still does not compare to the first.
"Beneath my surface there is darkness and strength. Maybe madness. But maybe magic."
Matilda is smart, passionate, and a supernova of a girl. I liked the energy and force she brought to every situation. The paintings were dark monstrosities. Fictional depictions of a disturbing family history. I wanted more of it, I wanted to be consumed by the nefarious and the sinister. I wanted to feel more suspicious of the characters and their intentions.
We Fell Apart was okay for me, it may have been my own unrealistic expectations that led me to a 3.5 star rating. I did enjoy it but would have liked it even more if it leaned further into chaos.
*Do not do something crazy like read this book before the other two, it is full of spoilers*
The first book in this series is We Were Liars and when I tell you I was obsessed with it, its an understatement. I was completely immersed in the nightmarish fairy tale. An incredible book, go read it. The second, Family Of Liars, was okay. A watered down version of the first that lacked the edginess and depth I was expecting. Now that brings us to the third, We Fell Apart. Although, it is better than the second, it still does not compare to the first.
"Beneath my surface there is darkness and strength. Maybe madness. But maybe magic."
Matilda is smart, passionate, and a supernova of a girl. I liked the energy and force she brought to every situation. The paintings were dark monstrosities. Fictional depictions of a disturbing family history. I wanted more of it, I wanted to be consumed by the nefarious and the sinister. I wanted to feel more suspicious of the characters and their intentions.
We Fell Apart was okay for me, it may have been my own unrealistic expectations that led me to a 3.5 star rating. I did enjoy it but would have liked it even more if it leaned further into chaos.
December 28, 2025
This could’ve been an email.
July 28, 2025
I enjoyed the first book. The second book was okay, so I really wanted to check out the third book to see how the series continued. I enjoyed this one as well, a bit suspenseful, and the wondering the mystery surrounding her father. While this takes place in the same timeline (and WILL spoil the first book if you haven't read it yet), I felt like this one felt a bit different than the others. I actually like that about it! It had some good twisty moments as well. The ending was nice, though I know some people complain about it. I enjoyed how it ended.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and Delacorte Press to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and Delacorte Press to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.
July 13, 2025
thank you netgalley and penguin random house for this arc in exchange for an honest review!
i. characters
ii. plot
iii. setting/world building
iv. romance
v. writing style
| 2.5⭐️ | 13+ |
i. characters
matilda matilda didn’t really impress me too much. i kind of felt like her interests (like video games + design) were there just to be there, because she needed a hobby. matilda felt pretty bland and more like a self insert character than an actual, sound main character.
tatum i mean.. i didn’t love him, but i didn’t hate him! i predicted from pretty early on what tatum’s role was in matilda’s story, and i guess he served his purpose. tatum was your typical brooding, moody love interest, so if you’re looking for that, then you’d love him!
kingsley hollllyyyy crap!! what can i say!! the signs for his plotline were there, and i had my suspicions, but kingsley truly surprised me!
junei haaatted june man 🤦♀️🤦♀️ there’s nothing i could say, she’s truly the worst.
brock brock was fun! i liked his character and i think was written pretty well.
meer guys i love meer sm🥹🥹. he’s actually such a cutie and im so glad that he got to meet and bond with matilda because he truly deserved it.🤧
ii. plot
this just kinda felt like something i’d watch on tv or read in a ya book, which i guess this was… yk what, scratch that. nvm. the plot wasn’t that unique but i think it was executed fairly well. it went in a direction that i think not a lot of people would expect, and i think the pacing was great!
iii. setting/world building
i did not expect this to take place, like, during we were liars! i honestly really liked that aspect and i think the little easter eggs were properly placed so they didn’t feel like too much.
iv. romance
did this book really need romance? of course not. but the romance that was there was… okay, i guess? i wasn’t really attracted to either of the characters and i preferred the familial relationships that were blossoming on the side.
v. writing style
when i read we were liars, i thought the writing style was great, but now looking back on e lockharts writing with a more critical eye, some of the line breaks and the “poetry” vibes feel a bit overkill. however, i can really tell that this is lockhart’s personal style, and i love when an author has their thing and sticks to it. i definitely know that there’s some people out there who may adore her writing, and that person isn’t me, but that’s okay!
preread thank you to netgalley and penguin random house for this arc!! i absolutely loved family of liars + we were liars and i can't wait to get back into this world 💗💗🫶
prereview rtc
November 16, 2025
SPOILERS WITHIN
let me start by saying that matilda is one of the dumbest protagonists i have read in a very long time. not once does she display the most basic critical thinking skills, even in situations that are so obviously suspect and dangerous, which made it hard for me to care at all.
the characters are flat to me. meer is the odd kid. tatum is the 'was rude once because he has a tragic backstory' character. brock is so forgettable that if he wasn't on the page i didn't remember he was even there. june is an almond mum who is super suspicious and off. none of these characters have depth. matilda supposedly loves video games, but aside from a few mentions when the plot needs her to remember she likes them, it's never mentioned.
she receives an unverified email from someone claiming to be the father she never met, asking her to come visit him alone, and pay her own way. she gets there, and immediately (while vomiting in an airport bathroom), two random girls give her their phone number and want to hang out. they are not mentioned again, nor do they appear again, until the plot decides one of them is needed for exposition to happen.
once arriving at her father's home, said father is nowhere in sight-- but there IS a boy about her age who says he's her half brother and dad is definitely coming back soon, for sure. i am somewhat baffled matilda takes meer's word for it as well. she JUST met him, but wholeheartedly believes he is her brother and begins mourning a childhood she never had with him? why?
shortly after arriving, and meeting a few more characters, matilda passes out- and wakes up to find her devices have been taken. WHY WAS THIS NOT A RED FLAG. she should have left IMMEDIATELY. the circumstances are already weird, and now these people she has NEVER MET have gone through her things, WHILE SHE WAS UNCONSCIOUS, and TOOK HER ONLY COMMUNICATION TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD. in what universe would it be a good idea to stay? for all she knew at that point, these people could have been extremely dangerous! i understand the desire to meet family, especially after a lonely childhood with a flighty mother, but even so it is basically inviting bad things to happen to stick around.
her mother's story constantly being called 'kind of feminist' or 'putting herself first' bothered me. there is nothing feminist about dropping every aspect of your life to centre everything around a new man every few weeks. isadora jumps from new lover to new lover so fast it gave me whiplash. yes, women should be allowed to do so, HOWEVER. when doing so is constantly disrupting the life of your young daughter, who you drag right along with you, and giving her no sense of security or stability, it is downright irresponsible.
i found the lack of hygiene gross. the dog crap on the floor that no one picks up, the dirty dishes and rotting food left around, the state of the pool... i understand this is meant to show that things aren't all as they seem, and that rich people expect others to pick up after them, but still. my god. describing flies buzzing around the inside of the house and crusty old dishes that are days old until tatum or matilda cleans them... jesus.
i couldn't stand the forced 'enemies to lovers' with tatum. yes, he is rude to matilda at first, but when the gang decides to sneak over to beechwood island in the middle of the night, all of a sudden he has a 180 personality flip and is telling her stories about the dog. even so, she repeatedly thinks he is 'the worst' and 'terrible' and 'irritating.' why? he doesn't seem to be all that bad, aside from a rough introduction, but then he acts like?? a fairly okay person?? it was very tell, not show. matilda TELLS the reader he's an arse, but never do his actions after the beechwood scene SHOW that. it just seemed like the author wanted us to think 'awwww grumpy x sunshine d'awwww' without actually delivering.
speaking of beechwood-- first of all, i thought the scene where the gang goes over there to explore was not needed. it was just fanservice for those of us that enjoyed the previous books, and an excuse for tatum to freak out about the burned down house so he can explain his parents died in a fiery car wreck. i found it grotesque that these characters were talking about how kids died there not even a week before, but then they were laughing and playing on the abandoned tennis court, not far from where they KNOW 3 teenagers burned to death. LESS THAN A WEEK BEFORE.
which brings me back to holland, the girl from the airport who was forced into the scene randomly. she reappears about halfway through the book at mr cello's front door, asking to come in. matilda puts together that she only wanted to meet the famous artist, not to be her friend- and then treats it like a huge betrayal. friendly reminder, they met and spoke ONCE. if the author had made them form some kind of friendship in matilda's time on the island, i would have maybe cared about this more. holland says she figured out matilda was related to kingsley cello because.... she looks like the model for one of his famous paintings? do i have that right? that is COMPLETELY idiotic. in her one moment of intelligence, matilda points out that makes no sense. and not only that, when holland admits she would have found a way to/in the house even if matilda had never come, she still lets her in. this is DANGEROUS! super-fans of famous people who go out of their way to find where they live are DANGEROUS. because again, she does NOT KNOW holland outside of their airport interaction. for all matilda knows, she could be here to do serious harm to a famous artist she at least seems to have a parasocial interest in.
and then this turns into an excuse for holland to trauma-dump (read; exposition dump) to a girl she barely knows that she is related to the sinclair family- that her second cousins, as well as 'this boy that was their friend' (direct quote, page 145) were killed in that fire less than a week ago. i will keep hammering in how recent that tragedy was, because the way she speaks about it is so flippant and completely with at odds with how the scene is written. it SEEMS like she's in mourning, and rightfully so, but she talks about it like she doesn't care. it's all very weird.
when they were at beechwood, matilda randomly falls and cuts her hands. after returning home, june inspects her injuries, tells her she was a nurse so she can handle it, and jabs matilda with a syringe that she claims is an 'anti-biotic.' matilda immediately passes out, has a weird hallucination, and then wakes up hours later. why she still has not left at this point is completely beyond me. she was obviously just sedated by a woman she DOES NOT KNOW WELL and has actively behaved borderline hostile to her multiple times. GIRL. LEAVE.
she still does not leave later when tatum tells her 1) he knew she had been drugged but never said anything because he trusts june and 2) that june LIED ABOUT BEING A NURSE. i can suspend my disbelief for most books to an extent, i understand why up until now matilda might have found reasons to convince herself to stick around, but at this point, i can't. this is just stupid. matilda is stupid. the second she found out she was lied to and had something injected in her that she did not consent to, she should have gotten out of there. i also didn't like this line: "Matilda," says Tatum. "Don't blow this up into-" (page 157). this is his response to her RIGHTFULLY being extremely angry finding out about the sedative and june lying. excuse me? she should have blown up even more, actually!
when matilda finds one of kingsley cello's sketchbooks, she finds a newer drawing in the back of a chomping plant from luigi's haunted mansion, done in sharpie. she immediately assumes meer drew it, because 'there is no way kingsley could have known about that haunted mansion level before i came here.' because apparently, matilda is the only person on the planet who has ever played that game, and unless it is one of the shoehorned-in scenes where she talks endlessly about video game levels and everyone around her politely pretends they're listening, it is impossible for anyone else to have heard of any aspect of it. it was such idiotic reasoning, but of COURSE she was right.
after this, meer randomly gets some poultry. this is because in a scene a few chapters earlier, he decides he likes chickens and for some reason buys a 'grab bag' of assorted baby farm birds-- even though no one takes care of the dog or picks up the house, he's CERTAIN he can care for some MORE animals. would you like to guess how that ends? tatum is the only person with common sense, telling everyone they don't need more responsibilities and that they should take the baby animals back. but no, the dog violently kills all of them except for one duckling. at least they have the sense to give the duckling to a teaching farm where it will be safe. halleluiah for small miracles.
also randomly, tatum gets tickets to a band he and matilda like. this is to show romance, or so i am told. there is an entire half a page dedicated to them being at the concert. wow. a scene so short and forgettable i needed the book open in front of me as a reminder it exists.
i feel this review is long enough that you get the point of why this is a one-star for me. in the end, the twist is eveyrone was committing elder abuse essentially, and that kingston cello was actually kincaid sinclair, making matilda one of the sinclairs. this felt shoehorned and lazy. kingston dies, meer is left everything, and i don't care about anything else that happened. i think tatum and matilda are a horrible pairing, i think everyone in hidden beach except matilda is awful, and i think matilda is an idiot who should have ran as fast as she could after her first hour there.
it's not often i dislike a book so much that i have to write an essay about it. this was not worth my time.
let me start by saying that matilda is one of the dumbest protagonists i have read in a very long time. not once does she display the most basic critical thinking skills, even in situations that are so obviously suspect and dangerous, which made it hard for me to care at all.
the characters are flat to me. meer is the odd kid. tatum is the 'was rude once because he has a tragic backstory' character. brock is so forgettable that if he wasn't on the page i didn't remember he was even there. june is an almond mum who is super suspicious and off. none of these characters have depth. matilda supposedly loves video games, but aside from a few mentions when the plot needs her to remember she likes them, it's never mentioned.
she receives an unverified email from someone claiming to be the father she never met, asking her to come visit him alone, and pay her own way. she gets there, and immediately (while vomiting in an airport bathroom), two random girls give her their phone number and want to hang out. they are not mentioned again, nor do they appear again, until the plot decides one of them is needed for exposition to happen.
once arriving at her father's home, said father is nowhere in sight-- but there IS a boy about her age who says he's her half brother and dad is definitely coming back soon, for sure. i am somewhat baffled matilda takes meer's word for it as well. she JUST met him, but wholeheartedly believes he is her brother and begins mourning a childhood she never had with him? why?
shortly after arriving, and meeting a few more characters, matilda passes out- and wakes up to find her devices have been taken. WHY WAS THIS NOT A RED FLAG. she should have left IMMEDIATELY. the circumstances are already weird, and now these people she has NEVER MET have gone through her things, WHILE SHE WAS UNCONSCIOUS, and TOOK HER ONLY COMMUNICATION TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD. in what universe would it be a good idea to stay? for all she knew at that point, these people could have been extremely dangerous! i understand the desire to meet family, especially after a lonely childhood with a flighty mother, but even so it is basically inviting bad things to happen to stick around.
her mother's story constantly being called 'kind of feminist' or 'putting herself first' bothered me. there is nothing feminist about dropping every aspect of your life to centre everything around a new man every few weeks. isadora jumps from new lover to new lover so fast it gave me whiplash. yes, women should be allowed to do so, HOWEVER. when doing so is constantly disrupting the life of your young daughter, who you drag right along with you, and giving her no sense of security or stability, it is downright irresponsible.
i found the lack of hygiene gross. the dog crap on the floor that no one picks up, the dirty dishes and rotting food left around, the state of the pool... i understand this is meant to show that things aren't all as they seem, and that rich people expect others to pick up after them, but still. my god. describing flies buzzing around the inside of the house and crusty old dishes that are days old until tatum or matilda cleans them... jesus.
i couldn't stand the forced 'enemies to lovers' with tatum. yes, he is rude to matilda at first, but when the gang decides to sneak over to beechwood island in the middle of the night, all of a sudden he has a 180 personality flip and is telling her stories about the dog. even so, she repeatedly thinks he is 'the worst' and 'terrible' and 'irritating.' why? he doesn't seem to be all that bad, aside from a rough introduction, but then he acts like?? a fairly okay person?? it was very tell, not show. matilda TELLS the reader he's an arse, but never do his actions after the beechwood scene SHOW that. it just seemed like the author wanted us to think 'awwww grumpy x sunshine d'awwww' without actually delivering.
speaking of beechwood-- first of all, i thought the scene where the gang goes over there to explore was not needed. it was just fanservice for those of us that enjoyed the previous books, and an excuse for tatum to freak out about the burned down house so he can explain his parents died in a fiery car wreck. i found it grotesque that these characters were talking about how kids died there not even a week before, but then they were laughing and playing on the abandoned tennis court, not far from where they KNOW 3 teenagers burned to death. LESS THAN A WEEK BEFORE.
which brings me back to holland, the girl from the airport who was forced into the scene randomly. she reappears about halfway through the book at mr cello's front door, asking to come in. matilda puts together that she only wanted to meet the famous artist, not to be her friend- and then treats it like a huge betrayal. friendly reminder, they met and spoke ONCE. if the author had made them form some kind of friendship in matilda's time on the island, i would have maybe cared about this more. holland says she figured out matilda was related to kingsley cello because.... she looks like the model for one of his famous paintings? do i have that right? that is COMPLETELY idiotic. in her one moment of intelligence, matilda points out that makes no sense. and not only that, when holland admits she would have found a way to/in the house even if matilda had never come, she still lets her in. this is DANGEROUS! super-fans of famous people who go out of their way to find where they live are DANGEROUS. because again, she does NOT KNOW holland outside of their airport interaction. for all matilda knows, she could be here to do serious harm to a famous artist she at least seems to have a parasocial interest in.
and then this turns into an excuse for holland to trauma-dump (read; exposition dump) to a girl she barely knows that she is related to the sinclair family- that her second cousins, as well as 'this boy that was their friend' (direct quote, page 145) were killed in that fire less than a week ago. i will keep hammering in how recent that tragedy was, because the way she speaks about it is so flippant and completely with at odds with how the scene is written. it SEEMS like she's in mourning, and rightfully so, but she talks about it like she doesn't care. it's all very weird.
when they were at beechwood, matilda randomly falls and cuts her hands. after returning home, june inspects her injuries, tells her she was a nurse so she can handle it, and jabs matilda with a syringe that she claims is an 'anti-biotic.' matilda immediately passes out, has a weird hallucination, and then wakes up hours later. why she still has not left at this point is completely beyond me. she was obviously just sedated by a woman she DOES NOT KNOW WELL and has actively behaved borderline hostile to her multiple times. GIRL. LEAVE.
she still does not leave later when tatum tells her 1) he knew she had been drugged but never said anything because he trusts june and 2) that june LIED ABOUT BEING A NURSE. i can suspend my disbelief for most books to an extent, i understand why up until now matilda might have found reasons to convince herself to stick around, but at this point, i can't. this is just stupid. matilda is stupid. the second she found out she was lied to and had something injected in her that she did not consent to, she should have gotten out of there. i also didn't like this line: "Matilda," says Tatum. "Don't blow this up into-" (page 157). this is his response to her RIGHTFULLY being extremely angry finding out about the sedative and june lying. excuse me? she should have blown up even more, actually!
when matilda finds one of kingsley cello's sketchbooks, she finds a newer drawing in the back of a chomping plant from luigi's haunted mansion, done in sharpie. she immediately assumes meer drew it, because 'there is no way kingsley could have known about that haunted mansion level before i came here.' because apparently, matilda is the only person on the planet who has ever played that game, and unless it is one of the shoehorned-in scenes where she talks endlessly about video game levels and everyone around her politely pretends they're listening, it is impossible for anyone else to have heard of any aspect of it. it was such idiotic reasoning, but of COURSE she was right.
after this, meer randomly gets some poultry. this is because in a scene a few chapters earlier, he decides he likes chickens and for some reason buys a 'grab bag' of assorted baby farm birds-- even though no one takes care of the dog or picks up the house, he's CERTAIN he can care for some MORE animals. would you like to guess how that ends? tatum is the only person with common sense, telling everyone they don't need more responsibilities and that they should take the baby animals back. but no, the dog violently kills all of them except for one duckling. at least they have the sense to give the duckling to a teaching farm where it will be safe. halleluiah for small miracles.
also randomly, tatum gets tickets to a band he and matilda like. this is to show romance, or so i am told. there is an entire half a page dedicated to them being at the concert. wow. a scene so short and forgettable i needed the book open in front of me as a reminder it exists.
i feel this review is long enough that you get the point of why this is a one-star for me. in the end, the twist is eveyrone was committing elder abuse essentially, and that kingston cello was actually kincaid sinclair, making matilda one of the sinclairs. this felt shoehorned and lazy. kingston dies, meer is left everything, and i don't care about anything else that happened. i think tatum and matilda are a horrible pairing, i think everyone in hidden beach except matilda is awful, and i think matilda is an idiot who should have ran as fast as she could after her first hour there.
it's not often i dislike a book so much that i have to write an essay about it. this was not worth my time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2025
This was a let down. Nothing like the other two books in the series. I didn’t like any of the characters; the plot itself didn’t flush out well, and overall just didn’t feel as smooth/polished/purposeful as the others; it was weird; I didn’t believe what was happening or how characters felt and reacted.
—
“How can you even make that choice, to get behind a wheel when you know you shouldn’t? When you’re *everything* to somebody?”
“It feels like we live in a different world than they do. Like we’re moving more slowly, weighed down by sadness”
—
“How can you even make that choice, to get behind a wheel when you know you shouldn’t? When you’re *everything* to somebody?”
“It feels like we live in a different world than they do. Like we’re moving more slowly, weighed down by sadness”
August 9, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
3.75 ⭐️
🎥 I really enjoyed this book! It had a good romance, great characters, and an interesting premise. The way that E. Lockhart writes is just so entertaining, and this book was definitely a good beach read.
📖 I thought the plot of this book was actually very entertaining. It was immersive, fun, and exciting. It did feel a bit slow at times, but it was still really good. Unfortunately, looking back, I can’t really remember anything that happened in this book, even though I just finished it. I feel like that has sorta happened with this entire series, and in the end, the only thing I remember about the book is the ending. But from what I can remember, it was entertaining even if it was a bit boring, if that even makes sense…?
👫 Sooooo… I didn’t really like the main charcter that much. She was very… not like the other girls. I’m pretty sure that at one point she literally said she didn’t want to do something because that was too much like what any other girl might do. But other than that, she was mostly tolerable. I really liked most of the other characters though. My favorite was probably Brock because he was funny. :)
💕 Ok, at first I wasn’t sure whether I was gonna like the romance in this book. The love interest started out (in my opinion) as not being the most likable person. HOWEVER, he definitely grew on me and I ended up loving him. I was expecting more of an enemies to lovers plot though, but he sorta gave up on “hating” her after like one chapter.
😱 Ok so the plot twist in this book wasn’t as crazy as the twists in the other two books. I was a little disappointed because those both shocked me and I actually guessed this one about 40 pages into the book, however there were a few things that definitely made me think twice!
🎬 This book was definitely good and I would absolutely recommend you read it if you like the other to books in the series.
Btw, it can be read as a standalone, but it does contain spoilers for We Were Liars, just so y’all know <3
3.75 ⭐️
🎥 I really enjoyed this book! It had a good romance, great characters, and an interesting premise. The way that E. Lockhart writes is just so entertaining, and this book was definitely a good beach read.
📖 I thought the plot of this book was actually very entertaining. It was immersive, fun, and exciting. It did feel a bit slow at times, but it was still really good. Unfortunately, looking back, I can’t really remember anything that happened in this book, even though I just finished it. I feel like that has sorta happened with this entire series, and in the end, the only thing I remember about the book is the ending. But from what I can remember, it was entertaining even if it was a bit boring, if that even makes sense…?
👫 Sooooo… I didn’t really like the main charcter that much. She was very… not like the other girls. I’m pretty sure that at one point she literally said she didn’t want to do something because that was too much like what any other girl might do. But other than that, she was mostly tolerable. I really liked most of the other characters though. My favorite was probably Brock because he was funny. :)
💕 Ok, at first I wasn’t sure whether I was gonna like the romance in this book. The love interest started out (in my opinion) as not being the most likable person. HOWEVER, he definitely grew on me and I ended up loving him. I was expecting more of an enemies to lovers plot though, but he sorta gave up on “hating” her after like one chapter.
😱 Ok so the plot twist in this book wasn’t as crazy as the twists in the other two books. I was a little disappointed because those both shocked me and I actually guessed this one about 40 pages into the book, however there were a few things that definitely made me think twice!
🎬 This book was definitely good and I would absolutely recommend you read it if you like the other to books in the series.
Btw, it can be read as a standalone, but it does contain spoilers for We Were Liars, just so y’all know <3
January 29, 2026
4.5 ⭐️. I really enjoyed this entire book but I felt the climax was actually really anticlimactic. besides that, loved being back in this universe with new characters!
May 31, 2025
The book starts off really strong. The premise is captivating, and the characters introduced at the beginning are quite interesting—they make you want to know more, while also leaving you questioning their every move. The idea behind the story was great, though I’m not sure the execution fully worked for me. I started to lose interest around the middle, and while the ending was definitely intriguing, it didn’t leave me with the sense of satisfaction I was hoping for. I really liked the theme of longing for family connection and the bonds that come from it. The romance felt a bit unnecessary to me, and Saar ended up being my favorite character !!
I wouldn’t call it one of my top reads of the year, but I’d still recommend it. It might resonate with someone else in a way it didn’t for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review 💌💌
I wouldn’t call it one of my top reads of the year, but I’d still recommend it. It might resonate with someone else in a way it didn’t for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review 💌💌
July 11, 2025
A stunning companion novel to We Were Liars. We Fell Apart takes place just five days after the fire in We Were Liars focusing on a family on a neighboring island.
Matilda Klein feels unmoored. Her mother took off on a whim to follow a new boyfriend in Mexico City and she’s left behind with her quasi-step dad, Saar. Then she receives an email from her estranged father, Kingsley Cello the prolific artist, and she decides to travel across the country to see him. But when she arrives, there’s no sign of her father. There’s a strange boy who drives a cab, a recovering addict child star, a woman who makes tinctures, and best of all, the brother Matilda has never met. She adjusts to their strange way of life: no internet, health tinctures, and the like. But when will the mysterious Kingsley Cello return? What secrets is her family keeping?
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader e-copy of this book.
Matilda Klein feels unmoored. Her mother took off on a whim to follow a new boyfriend in Mexico City and she’s left behind with her quasi-step dad, Saar. Then she receives an email from her estranged father, Kingsley Cello the prolific artist, and she decides to travel across the country to see him. But when she arrives, there’s no sign of her father. There’s a strange boy who drives a cab, a recovering addict child star, a woman who makes tinctures, and best of all, the brother Matilda has never met. She adjusts to their strange way of life: no internet, health tinctures, and the like. But when will the mysterious Kingsley Cello return? What secrets is her family keeping?
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader e-copy of this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,937 reviews