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Lies Like Poison

Chelsea Pitcher (Goodreads Author)

3.39 · Rating details · 835 ratings · 189 reviews

Riverdale meets Kara Thomas’s The Cheerleaders in this electrifying, twisted thriller about estranged friends who reunite when someone commits the murder they’d planned—but didn’t go through with—and leaves one of their own to take the fall.

Poppy, Lily, and Belladonna would do anything to protect their best friend, Raven. So when they discovered he was suffering abuse at t ...more

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Published November 10th 2020 by S&S/McElderry (first published September 3rd 2020)

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· 835 ratings · 189 reviews

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Nov 29, 2020 Tomoe Hotaru rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, mystery, meh, coulda-been-better, fiction, young-adult

29 Nov. '20
Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.

A quick read with easy prose. Excellent blurb. Made the book sound 100% much more intriguing than it actually was. Sadly the plot itself was weak and hinged upon many conveniences designed specifically by the author:

(1) The most useless police force in town
From the unsolved robbery of Raven's biological mother, to the now murder of his step-mother. The police have been a negligible force, entering the story only when the plot requires it to be rel ...more

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May 18, 2020 Nenia Campbell marked it as to-read · review of another edition

This sounds like everything I want

Ahhhhhh

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Oct 24, 2020 Angela Staudt rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I really enjoyed this book much more than I was expecting. I loved how it was based around this mystery of who murdered someone, but also about four queer best friends who would do absolutely anything for each other. We have Belladonna, Poppy (Jack), Lily, and Raven who we get a perspective of and for the first half of this book they are completely unreliable characters. So, you don’t know who to believe and who is actual Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I really enjoyed this book much more than I was expecting. I loved how it was based around this mystery of who murdered someone, but also about four queer best friends who would do absolutely anything for each other. We have Belladonna, Poppy (Jack), Lily, and Raven who we get a perspective of and for the first half of this book they are completely unreliable characters. So, you don’t know who to believe and who is actually telling the truth. Lily’s mom married Raven’s dad and she is the evil stepmother in everyone’s eyes. Even her own daughter Lily can’t stand her mom. One day Belladonna, Jack, and Lily come up with a plan to kill her because she is slowly killing Raven. They don’t go through with it and quit being friends because of it. Later in life, the step mother is killed and it is with the flower Belladonna, which was part of the plan years ago. Belladonna is accused of murder and the friends have to come back together and solve who really murdered the stepmother.

While this was focused on the murder mystery, it also dealt with mental health and had such amazing queer characters with huge depth to them all. We see them overcome what society expects them to be and being their own person, and they all have a story to tell in this book. I had so many emotions while reading this because I became connected to all of the characters and felt for what a horrible life they have all had growing up. How they rely on each other for strength to get through their toughest days. It was a very powerful book and the characters were all so deeply written.

I loved how atmospheric this book was and how we have so many different perspectives that it is a whirlwind to read. You can’t trust a single character in the beginning because all of their whereabouts the night the step mother was murdered contradict each other, and they have all have secrets to tell. I seriously was shocked with all the twists and have to admit this was a really good YA thriller. I didn’t expect who the killer was, and it completely made sense. It wasn’t someone who would have been unbelievable, and I like when thrillers have a realistic ending. ...more

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Sep 04, 2020 Sasha Zatz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbtq, ownoices, own-and-read, sapphic-books, pridebooktours

Like Like Poison was a twisted contemporary fairytale with exciting twists and centring around the friendship between four kids who would do anything for each other.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was an exciting thriller with four queer main characters, a m/m and f/f romance and discussing abuse, trauma and other topics. It was full of exciting reveals, morally grey characters and most importantly queer found family!!
The first two thirds of Lies Like Poison, were a little messy. The pac Like Like Poison was a twisted contemporary fairytale with exciting twists and centring around the friendship between four kids who would do anything for each other.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was an exciting thriller with four queer main characters, a m/m and f/f romance and discussing abuse, trauma and other topics. It was full of exciting reveals, morally grey characters and most importantly queer found family!!
The first two thirds of Lies Like Poison, were a little messy. The pacing and reveals were kind of disjointed, and I wasn’t fully enjoying it. But the last third really saved the book, where it got so exhilarating and full of reveals I didn’t expect!! This was where we really saw the soft queer found family content I had been craving, and more of my favourite characters. I really wish the whole book had been more like the last third.
I think I would have preferred this book if Belladonna was the main character rather than Jack. She had the most distinct voice of the three, and I adored her badass and witchy vibes, plus she’s a bisexual icon. I do feel all of the characters could have done with a bit more depth, but I did really like them. Belle who is ruthless and fiercely caring, Jack who is protective and loving, Lily who is badass and learning to love herself and Raven who they would all do anything to keep safe.
The writing is stunning at times, and very poignant. It gave the whole book a lot of atmosphere, and I loved how Lies Like Poison had fairytale aspects and hints woven among the twisted and murderous plot. The tangled storylines were super intriguing, and I really like the unreliable narrator aspects, where characters keep things hidden even when it’s their POV! This takes skill to do and I enjoyed how there were was constantly threads niggling at the story until it came together at the end. It was an intense story with many interconnected parts including flashbacks, confessions and secrets, twists and turns.
A favourite aspect of mine was how the theme of being caged or trapped was one we could see in every character’s storylines in the material plot also tie into the characters being queer and their journeys with that. Their identity’s as queer aren’t super discussed apart from Jack’s, which is great cause it’s just like “we’re here, we’re queer, we might have committed murder”, but there is a lot of subtext. I felt the story was woven with queer coding and with overall themes that are inextricably linked to the queer experience.
One thing that I did not like was how Jack being a trans boy was almost a plot twist. I already knew as the author told me the rep in the book, and I found that this being a surprise wasn’t great.
Some aspects of Lies Like Poison felt rather unrealistic but the magical atmosphere makes the whole book feel a little out of this world, so while fans of a grounded mystery may not love this, readers who prefer something fabulist and mystical with thriller aspects are sure to fall for it.
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I was going to give this 3 stars when I was 2/3 in bc the pacing and reveals were kinda disjointed and it was all a bit messy but the last third saved the book, it was wonderful and exhilarating and exciting and full of reveals and I finally got the lilybella content I needed, and it was so soft and found family-ish MMMM I would have given the last third five stars!!!!
overall I really enjoyed this, it was an exciting thriller with 4 queer main characters, a m/m and a f/f romance, discussing abuse and with exciting reveals, morally grey characters and most importantly QUEER FOUND FAMILY >>> ...more

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Oct 31, 2020 M. [storme reads a lot] rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, netgalleys, contemporary, ebooks, lgbtqia-books, netgalley-2020-challenge, thrillers-and-suspense, blog-tour

Another book tour book. Review coming soon.

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Dec 04, 2020 Paula Phillips rated it liked it · review of another edition

Years ago there were three best friends and a stepsister - Poppy, Raven, Belladonna, and Lily. Poppy and Bella both cared deeply for their friend Raven and then when tragedy struck and he lost his mother, they thought he would be happy - that was until he got an evil stepmother Evelyn and then a stepsister Lily. The stepsister was a little odd but not as bad as Raven's stepmother whom Poppy and Bella were convinced she was abusing and trying to get Raven to kill himself. During this time, the th ...more

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Jan 13, 2021 Yna the Mood Reader rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, mystery-thriller, friendship, girl-power, lgbt-rep, mental-health, romance-subplot, disappointing, disturbing-and-triggering-themes

“The wickedest monsters know better than to leave footprints.”

~ Full review to come. ~

☁ THE CRITERIA ☁

🌼 Blurb:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Main Character:⭐⭐☆☆☆
🌼 Significant Other: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
🌼 Support Characters:⭐☆☆☆☆
🌼 Writing Style:⭐⭐☆☆☆
🌼 Character Development:⭐⭐☆☆☆
🌼 Romance: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
🌼 Pacing: ⭐⭐☆☆☆
🌼 Ending: ⭐⭐☆☆☆
🌼 Unputdownability: ⭐⭐☆☆☆
🌼 Book Cover:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

☁FINAL VERDICT: 2.45/5 ☁

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Nov 30, 2020 Leah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, young-adult, read-2020, love-and-stuff, listened-on-audio

❐ Overall Rating 2 | Narration 5
❐ YA Mystery
❐ LGBTQIA

How can a book have such wonderfully atmospheric narration and rate so low with me.??? Good question. I wanted to like this and I really tried to do so but it missed the mark for me, story-wise. I really found most of the story to be rather unbelievable and very reminiscent of the show Riverdale...basically a hot mess.

❐ Libby Listen through my Library
❐ Length ➯ 7H 54M

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Oct 19, 2020 ~Madison rated it did not like it · review of another edition

one of the worst books I have ever read :/

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Dec 28, 2019 여리고 marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, 2020-releases

Continue to grace us with this kind of stories, Ms. Pitcher! <3

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Nov 09, 2020 Sarah {The Clever Reader} rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5 Rounded to 4 Stars

Four friends, one person dead, and a recipe of murder. Chelsea Pitcher’s new YA Mystery Lies Like Poison will keep you on your toes.

This mystery is told in 4 POV’s. When Poppy, Belladonna, Raven, and Lily plan the murder of Raven’s step-mother three years earlier they’d never thought it’d actually happen. So much has changed in three years and now all of them are suspect.

The pacing was a little slower than I was anticipating and the plot was confusing for the first half of ...more

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Aug 24, 2020 Karen Barber rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: august2020mmc_yabuddyreaders, netgalley

What a tangled web of lies and deceit these pages revealed...thank you to the publishers, Simon Schuster, and NetGalley for letting me read this prior to publication.
Poppy, Lily and Belladonna are our focus for this story and everything hinges on their relationship to Raven, their best friend. It isn’t immediately clear how this group formed or the reason for the dynamics between them - but we know they have a shared history, and would do anything to protect each other.
Our story opens with a bod ...more

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Sep 03, 2020 Evidently Bookish rated it liked it · review of another edition

provisional rating: 3.5 stars? might change to 4 after some contemplation. loved the queer rep ofc but the plot wasn't the strongest, a bit predictable for my tastes. the writing is gorgeous at times - crushingly poignant - but the characterisations fall flat for the majority of the book. full review to come. ...more

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Aug 29, 2020 Chloe⛅ rated it really liked it

Triggers: loss of a parent, mention of neglect, abuse, mentions of self harm and wanting to commit suicide, inpatient treatment, substance abuse, being kicked out for being gay

“The wickedest monsters know better than to leave footprints”

Okay I definitely wasn’t planning on reading this book all in one go but I could not put it down, I was intrigued from the start and just had to know what happened and I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed it.

I thought the characters were so complex and interes ...more

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Sep 11, 2020 Kathy rated it did not like it · review of another edition

It took three months to receive but I understand the circumstances. Quite possibly the worst book I have ever read. It was supposed to be for young adults, 14 and over. The story was way too weird for any age group. It was a murder mystery. By the time I finished, I couldn't care less who did it. The characters were hidious. I hated everyone in this book. I won't even pass it along to others. Maybe just put it in a Little Library. ...more

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Nov 15, 2020 PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps rated it did not like it · review of another edition

DNF

I don’t know what LIES LIKE POISON was pretending to be, but it missed the mark by a long shot for me. Chelsea Pitcher’s blurbs always sound more interesting than my enjoyment of them.

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Nov 08, 2020 Brianna:) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-with-cool-covers, anticipated-2020

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC!
I’ve read very few murder mystery books, despite having a decent amount on my TBR. “Lies Like Poison” was fantastic! I enjoyed how the author used flashbacks as a way of displaying the characters’ relationships. Lilly, Belle, and Jack each had their own reasons for wanting to murder Raven’s grandmother and it gave depth to the story.
My favorite character was probably Poppy, who goes by Jack and uses female pronouns. She was quirky but ...more

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Aug 28, 2020 Bex rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I was really excited to read this book, having read Chelsea Pitcher's previous mystery novel. She has an amazing ability to come up with fascinating plots built around great concepts, and this is really indicative of that.

Lies Like Poison follows four... acquaintances, who's relationships are really too complicated to be called friends! There's Raven, the prince in need of saving; Belladonna, the wild and unruly witch; Lily, the princess who's own need for saving goes overlook; and Jack (or Popp I was really excited to read this book, having read Chelsea Pitcher's previous mystery novel. She has an amazing ability to come up with fascinating plots built around great concepts, and this is really indicative of that.

Lies Like Poison follows four... acquaintances, who's relationships are really too complicated to be called friends! There's Raven, the prince in need of saving; Belladonna, the wild and unruly witch; Lily, the princess who's own need for saving goes overlook; and Jack (or Poppy), the knight trying to save the day. Once upon a time, three of the four had a scheme to kill the evil stepmother, and set Raven free. That was four years ago, however, and it never panned out. It should have been long forgotten about: except that the one trace of it was never destroyed, and when Raven's stepmother is killed in a fashion eerily similar to the old plan, that trace looks like it might bring one, or even all, of them down.

As I said in the introduction, this is a really fascinating plot: it's really clever, and very compelling. There were loads of twists, and it really highlighted how great the 'unreliable narrator' device can be, especially when there are multiple points of view. All of the characters had their own storylines, their own histories, their own things to contend with, which was great. Despite there being four main characters, it felt like each was given ample space and time for the reader to get to know them. I also adored how queer it was!! I felt that Jack's character was, for the most part, developed and explored really well in regards to their gender. Something that really strikes me about this is how talking about Jack's gender identity being a journey that the book encompasses doesn't feel like a spoiler. This is how it should be! Except in rare cases, gender identity and coming out shouldn't be a plot point or shock reveal, and Lies Like Poison really demonstrated how this can be done well.

I think my main criticism of this book is that it was quite confusing, and hard to follow at times. The beginning especially sets up a lot of mysteries, and there's lots of foreshadowing and questions that are raised. This is great in terms of creating an interesting narrative that draws the reader in, but I also lost track of what it was I wanted to know, and what the various mysteries going on were. Although, for the most part, I really liked the way Jack's gender identity was explored, I do feel a bit icky about their old name being a major plot point. In practice though this was handled fairly well, and trans experiences aren't a monolith- for some trans people, their old name isn't a massive thing, and that's completely fair! There is also a point where Jack is kind of outed? Which wasn't great, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that bit. Also the 'I've always known' narrative can feel a bit harmful at times, but again, there are positives to it too I think (as in, the narrative can often- and did in this- border 'oh I've always known' and 'I've always known you for you', if that makes sense). There was some interesting eating disorder rep that I don't personally feel able to comment on, but would be interested to see other reviews and opinions of.

Overall, I think this is a really strong book (I actually preferred it to Pitcher's first!), and I'm really excited to see what this author brings out next! ...more

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Sep 27, 2020 Mridu aka Storypals rated it really liked it · review of another edition

THIS WAS GOOD.

Let me write a better review, give me time because at the moment i just cannot type :(

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Dec 30, 2020 Kiele McKinney rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: almost-favorites

This book was so good. Absolutely amazing. I was expecting to like it, but this definitely exceeded expectations. The characters were fabulous, and so was the plot.

Jack. I didn't know how to feel about Jack. She was good at times, and I loved her relationship with her brothers. She was a good character, but she got on my nerves at times. At the end, when they were starting to figure things out, I started to like her more and more. I was actually convinced she was the one who had done it up until ...more

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Aug 30, 2020 Lucsbooks rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"Lies Like Poison" reminded me of a mix of a Sherlock Holmes short story I read a while back and The Haunting of Hill House only YA and much, much, much gayer.
At one point I hated and distrusted every single one of these characters and I mean that in the best way possible. The way the Chelsea Pitcher was able to create believable relationships between people that had reasons not to trust each other, hurt each other, and had to pick and choose who to save, who to lie to, who to trust was a deligh ...more

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Jul 28, 2020 Lu rated it really liked it

Shelves: in-english, earc, drammatic, love-story, lgbt, trigger-warnings

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. Thank you, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and Margaret K. McElderry Books, for the chance to read Lies like Poison.

TW; abusive relationships, beating, anorexia, suicidal thoughts

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Poppy, Lily and Belladonna are ready to do anything to protect their friend, (in Lily's case, stepbrother= from Evelyn, his stepmother, who is abusing and torturing him. So they came up with a plan: petals of lily, poppy ...more

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Aug 03, 2020 Lauren rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Lies like Poison, Chelsea Pitcher. 3/5 🥀

Poppy, Lily and Belladonna would do anything to protect best friend Raven. So when they discover the abuse he is suffering at the hands of his stepmother they come up with a poisonous plan. Petals of poppy, lily and belladonna in her evening tea will ensure she can never hurt him again. But someone gets cold feet, the group falls apart and plot becomes the past.
Three years later on the eve of his seventeenth birthday, Ravens stepmother is dead. But with o
Lies like Poison, Chelsea Pitcher. 3/5 🥀

Poppy, Lily and Belladonna would do anything to protect best friend Raven. So when they discover the abuse he is suffering at the hands of his stepmother they come up with a poisonous plan. Petals of poppy, lily and belladonna in her evening tea will ensure she can never hurt him again. But someone gets cold feet, the group falls apart and plot becomes the past.
Three years later on the eve of his seventeenth birthday, Ravens stepmother is dead. But with only belladonna in her tea only Belladonna is carted off accused of murder. Frantic, Bella reaches out to her friends, but if she didn’t who did? Someone is lying and lies are like poison.

There is always a lot to unpack with a Chelsea Pitcher YA novel. This one was coined as being for fans of Riverdale and that’s a fair comparison. Pitcher works more than just murder into her plot lines, every page drips with folklore and fairytale. I compared her last book “This Lie Will Kill You” as being Once Upon a Time crossed with Pretty Little Liars and this one for me is very much the same.

Once again these kids are like none you will ever meet, each one with a unique set of awful parents and serious issues, however, *potential spoiler ahead!* I have to applaud Pitcher for her work here with the character of Jack. It is so rare to find a mainstream YA that will tackle LGBT characters so beautifully and so delicately. The transition of Jack here was wonderful. Choosing carefully to change pronouns once the character was ready for the transition, honestly mainstream YA fiction needs more of this.

Lots and lots of red herrings, twists, dead ends and “oh it was” “oh no it wasn’t” here. Some readers I know do find the endless jumping about tiring after a while, but I was okay with it, the final villain if you will felt very bittersweet though.

A complex storyline, multiple narratives, lots of twists, beautifully handled LGBT issues and lots of fairytale and folklore make for an interesting read here.

Thanks to #NetGalley, #Simon&SchusterUK and #ChelseaPitcher for my ARC of this book. ...more

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Aug 21, 2020 Kyle rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is one of them YA books that has you guessing who did it, while trying to pin it on everyone else.

There's LGBT+ themes throughout which I think is well-written.

The plot was full of twists and turns, it will hopefully keep people guessing throughout.

It was a fairly quick and easy read for me, and I did enjoy it. This would be a good read for someone who wants an read to help them from a slump. ...more

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Sep 23, 2020 Vee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

[ARC Provided by NetGalley, my review is unbiased]
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📗 I was expecting this story to be much like the many other murder mystery books I've read, with contemporary characters and high school secrets. So I was pleasantly surprised to find this this is actually a dark, gothic story about two boys, two girls, obsession and family secrets.

📘 I really liked the LGBT rep in this story, with queer and transgender characters represented extremely well. This is as much a st ...more

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Oct 29, 2020 Bradley (AudioShelf) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I would give this book a solid 3.5 ⭐️, rounded up

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and author for an upcoming tour with Pride Tours. Got it for free in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this queer, found-family story. I loved the representation of the LGBTQ+ community. And the topics were handled very delicately and well done. I applaud Chelsea Pitcher for respecting the LGBTQ+ culture and doing her characters justice.

The story is about three teens who come up wit I would give this book a solid 3.5 ⭐️, rounded up

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and author for an upcoming tour with Pride Tours. Got it for free in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this queer, found-family story. I loved the representation of the LGBTQ+ community. And the topics were handled very delicately and well done. I applaud Chelsea Pitcher for respecting the LGBTQ+ culture and doing her characters justice.

The story is about three teens who come up with a perfect way to kill their friend’s abusive step-mother. However, when the step-mother actually dies from the exact plan that these three teens came up with, they are now the main suspects in her murder.

This is a very DARK novel. If you’re easily triggered by child abuse, then this book may cause you to experience some negative emotions. However, this novel is also a beautiful story about choosing one’s own family and figuring out who you are as not only yourself, but also someone who another person can count on.

The reason I didn’t give it a solid 4 (gave it a 3.5 rounded up), is because I did feel at times the story (i.e conversations, internal thought dialogue, etc.) repeated itself often. For example, I don’t need to be continuously reminded that Belle was upset that she experienced watched Jack kiss Raven.

Another thing I didn’t love about the book was the flow of the plot. There were moments that I questioned, “well how did you get here?” (Example: one minute they are in a house, the next couple of seconds they are in a car with little to know explanation of how they got to the car. I felt like the reader had to put a lot of their assumptions into the plot, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I would just rather be shown something and not told about it).

Finally, I did not like the representation of the therapist. I’m sorry, but we have a code of ethics as therapists and even after you end a counseling relationship with a client, it has to be at least 7 years after you stop treatment to have a second type of relationship with them. I know Evelyn (dead step-mom) was evil. But I’d like the story to be a bit more realistic. Another thing about being realistic: emancipation takes a while and don’t you have to have your parents sign off on it? I could be wrong though. And another outlandish thing was that how are kids paying mortgages? But that’s beside the point.

Furthermore, I loved the ending. It was outlandish, but it’s was FUN! And it was the PERFECT way to end the story! I ended reading the book on a happy note. I would recommend this book, even with the three aforementioned things I didn’t love about it. ...more

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Nov 03, 2020 Ariel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, blog-tour, netgalley, publisher

This book was dark, and gritty, and had me hooked from the beginning. Between the lies and the secrets and the shady characters, I wasn't sure who to believe or where to look. It was captivating and revealing in so many ways.

I think what I loved most about this book was how guilty each character seemed. Each of them did have secrets they were holding onto, things they had done wrong in their lives, but finding the big secret, who killed Evelyn, was the hard part. Pitcher masked the true story of This book was dark, and gritty, and had me hooked from the beginning. Between the lies and the secrets and the shady characters, I wasn't sure who to believe or where to look. It was captivating and revealing in so many ways.

I think what I loved most about this book was how guilty each character seemed. Each of them did have secrets they were holding onto, things they had done wrong in their lives, but finding the big secret, who killed Evelyn, was the hard part. Pitcher masked the true story of the murder so well that it took the whole book to unveil all the facts and lies. I loved that it kept me guessing the whole book.

Also, part of what made this book so haunting and gritty was the difficult family situations the main characters were stuck in. Between abusive parents, absent parents, and no parents, most of the boxes were checked on "hard to live with parents". As well, a lot of the families were so wrapped up in this murder case that it made it even harder for the characters to leave behind. Although I hated to see these characters suffer so much from their home lives, it was a good look into how rough some people have it, no matter their social or economic status.

This book also consisted of lots of flashbacks. These flashbacks made things more interesting in my opinion. The author would hint towards a lie or a secret being kept, but then we wouldn't really learn about it until a few chapters later through a flashback. As well, these flashbacks ended up being the key to most problems. I loved that they served so many purposes and were weaved into the present storyline so well. 10/10 on that part.

My only negative to add is that I didn't really like any of the characters. I know they were all supposed to look guilty as if any of them could have committed the crime, and that wasn't my drawback. I just didn't get attached to any of the characters. I love it when my favorite character ends up being the murderer or my favorite character's love interest is. That's part of the fun for me, but I didn't really love any of these characters so I never really gained a favorite.

Overall, this was a solid murder-mystery that points out the importance of standing up for what you believe and making a family and future of your own.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Nov 06, 2020 Rajiv rated it really liked it · review of another edition

[Blog]::[Youtube]::[Twitter]::[Instagram]::[Pinterest]::[Bloglovin]

What a creative YA mystery this turned out to be!

Firstly, I enjoyed the four main characters. While Jack steals the show, I also liked Belle, Raven, and Lily. Each of them is unique in their manner. The author wonderfully highlighted the LGBT theme with queer and transgender people. It was interesting to see the characters develop over the mystery plot. Initially, it took a while for me to learn the gender role because of th ...more

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Sep 21, 2020 El Hyrst rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: w-gen-mystery-thriller, w-gen-lgbtq, z-read-in-2020, v-aud-ya, u-rep-sapphic

Full review available October 19th: https://inkandplasma.com/2020/10/19/l...

Trigger warnings: murder, child abuse, neglect, psychological torture, disordered eating, diet control, inpatient treatment, substance abuse, mentions of self harm and suicidal ideation, grief.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the eARC of this book, it has not affected my honest review.

The beginning of this book wasn't the best, I found it to be a bit confusing in some places and it had a confusing habit of leaping around f Full review available October 19th: https://inkandplasma.com/2020/10/19/l...

Trigger warnings: murder, child abuse, neglect, psychological torture, disordered eating, diet control, inpatient treatment, substance abuse, mentions of self harm and suicidal ideation, grief.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the eARC of this book, it has not affected my honest review.

The beginning of this book wasn't the best, I found it to be a bit confusing in some places and it had a confusing habit of leaping around from narrative to narrative. But then I honestly feel like I blinked and I was 60% of the way through the book and desperately needed to know what was going on. I saw a lot of the 'twists' coming when it came to the characters' sexualities and gender identities. They were well queer-coded, though it was a bit subtle. I wouldn't normally complain about that, because I love when sexuality is used super casually, but the reveal that one of the characters is trans was very sudden and felt a bit like it was being used as a plot twist. And I hate that. A POV character's identity isn't a plot twist and never should be a surprise to the reader! That being said, I'm glad this book was so fiercely queer and that the characters' sexualities and gender identities were accepted easily by the found family group.

And the found family content was *excellent*. I loved the conflict going on between them. At points I genuinely didn't know which of our main cast of characters I could trust, who had committed what crimes and who was hiding what secrets. It made for a really engaging read as I was eager to get each snippet from their perspectives so I could try and piece together the truth. It was nice too to read about a friendship group that had grown apart but was still loyal, the protectiveness of deep friendships even when separated by time and disagreements. It made me root for them more as I was desperate to see them come back together and bond.

I really like Chelsea Pitcher's writing style, and I'm always pleased to pick up another of her thrillers, they're always built around an interesting concept and I've never yet managed to predict whodunnit! I can't wait to see what comes next. ...more

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Nov 08, 2020 Paige Green rated it liked it · review of another edition

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Lies Like Poison

Author: Chelsea Pitcher

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Diversity: LGBT+ rep, transgender characters

Recommended For...: mystery lovers, thrill seekers, LGBT+ rep!

Publication Date: November 10, 2020

Genre: YA Mystery

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, dnf-ed

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Pages: 304

Synopsis: Poppy, Lily, and Belladonna would do anything to protect their best friend, Rav ...more

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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Young Adult Fantasy. Poison aspect, three sisters and ones in danger? One sister is being framed. Cover: black with 3 different flowers vertically lined up. Title: incl. Lies or Poison? Saw in 2020. [s]	7	17	Jan 09, 2021 09:08AM

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About Chelsea Pitcher

Chelsea Pitcher

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Chelsea Pitcher is a karaoke-singing, ocean-worshipping Oregonian with a penchant for twisty mysteries. She is the author of THE S-WORD, THE LAST CHANGELING & THE LAST FAERIE QUEEN.

Watch for her new YA thriller, THIS LIE WILL KILL YOU, coming December 11, 2018 from S&S/McElderry!

Agent: Mandy Hubbard

Books by Chelsea Pitcher

The Last Changeling (The Last Changeling, #1)

The Last Faerie Queen (The Last Changeling, #2)

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Quotes from Lies Like Poison

“They'll try to hurt us if we're beautiful. They'll try to hurt us if we're ugly. But you know what, baby? They're the ones who are ugly. It doesn't have anything to do with us" -Belle” — 1 likes

“The wickedest monsters know better than to leave footprints" -Lily” — 0 likes

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