Beautiful Lies

Beautiful Lies was a complete mind confusing mystery straight fr

Beautiful Lies was a complete mind confusing mystery straight from chapter one! I don’t know any other way to explain it but to say WHAT??!!?? Rachel and Alice, identical monoamniotic twins, take readers on a really crazy adventure that never fails to throw twists and turns right in your face!

Rachel and Alice are identical monoamniotic twins which mean that they shared the same amniotic sack while they were in their mother’s womb. Apparently this type of twin is very rare and back when doctors didn’t know much about it, very few survived. That’s not too hard to wrap your head around because you can google it and read all about it. But then the reader is hit with the fact that the twins claim they share physical sensations such as pain. So when one twin is chocking the other twin chocks as well even though nothing is obstructing her airway. It’s a pretty interesting concept and it plays out really well in the book! Beautiful lies really reminded me of that really weird Lindsay Lohan movie I Know Who Killed Me. Even though the story lines are completely different, both sets of twins experience their sister’s physical sensations.

Although Alice and Rachel are identical, it turns out that their personalities are completely different. Rachel is the straight-A honors student who dresses conservatively and never breaks the rules. Alice is definitely the rule breaker. She struggles to pass her classes, breaks curfew and throws all of her energy and emotions into her art. I had the most difficult time keeping up with the flash back parts of the book. The littlest thing would trigger Alice’s memory and without warning the reader would be thrown into a memory that would last for pages! I sometimes forgot what was happening in the present time. I also got the implication that there was a history of mental illness in the family so I was never really sure if things were imagined or if they were real. The scene in the barn was the most bazaar for me. Alice is convinced her sister is bound and gagged in the hay loft and truly believes that she watched Rachel pull one of her own teeth out. Then suddenly Rachel is gone and when Alice goes back to the house, it’s like it never happened. Super weird!

In the end, I still don’t really know what happened! Were some of the characters real or imagined? I don’t know. Was it Rachel or Alice who was kidnapped? I don’t know. Was Alice seeing ghosts? I don’t know. Do the twins have special powers? I don’t know. I’ve struggled over the rating but I’ve decided to give Beautiful Lies 3 hearts because I was left with so many unanswered questions. If you’re looking for a good mindf**k, then this book is for you!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Beautiful Lies will keep you guessing from beginning to end. Thi

Beautiful Lies will keep you guessing from beginning to end. This was the first book I have ever read by Jessica Warman, but it definately won't be my last. This is a story I had a hard time putting down. It kept a steady pace, while not making you think that it's too much for the story.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Unique and Engaging... Was almost impossible to put down.

After reading Between, I knew I had to read Warman's other books. Similar to Between, I found it impossible to put this book down! Every time you think you have everything figured out, something happens that changes it all. I love that the story was real and didn't have a unrealistic ending. The concept of the book was unique and engaging. I was not disappointed

Whenever I've read and enjoyed a book by an author before, I dev

Whenever I've read and enjoyed a book by an author before, I develop expectations for any books of theirs that I may read in the future. Since I had read and enjoyed one of her other books, Between, I figured Beautiful Lies would be another book I'd enjoy. Unfortunately, that's not exactly what happened.

Beautiful Lies started out strong. After the big twist is revealed, a few chapters in, it's downhill from there. I feel like there should have been a change in the narrator's tone once the twist was revealed. Since there wasn't, it was confusing and I found myself rereading parts of the book to understand what was going on. The book ended up being more complicated than it could have been.

The ending was a big disappointment. It felt like such a letdown compared to the rest of the book. While I was reading, I kept waiting for that ah-ha! moment where everything made sense and the book went from just alright to amazing... but it never happened. It just... ended and left me very unfulfilled.

2.5 out of 5 stars

I pretty much have all of Jessica warmans books after reading be

I pretty much have all of Jessica warmans books after reading between and beautiful lies was not an acception the book kept my guessing the whole time after her sisteer rachel dissappeared he whole time as rachel was giving her clues in her dreams during the book i felt like alice lost and confussed thinkin and suppecting everybody but the nice cute neighbor named sean ! He even fooled me the whole time but thatone day she came home and tj sean her uncle and auntie waiting for her and her said some words to her lime he was a differnt person i still did not think it was him until she saw they meys her twin keys 
 on his chain and put two and two  together and it was him her sister told her to find the monkey and she did he nearly killed her but she got away trying to get help for rachel but it was too late ! I felt her pain losing her sister that way "and i highly reccomand everybody to read this because you wont stop quessing until you see at the end the truth !

recommend

The story can be confusing at times, until you realise which sister is being written about. The ending was strange and had to be reread.
it was a bit repitious and boing.

I wasn't completely in love with this book, but on the other hand, I had to know what happened.

This book kept me guessing, I sure can say that. There are so many factors, and I am not really able to trust any of the information given to me.
I felt like I knew where the missing twin was several times, and where something was off, but I never could piece everything completely together.
I think that Jessica Warman was very brave with the ending, and at first I thought it was opposite of what she intended, but I think that I am okay with it. It's definitely not wrapped in a pretty little bow, but the storyline is tied up and the sorrow is laced with sacrifice.
I wasn't completely in love with this book, but on the other hand, I had to know what happened.

Warman has written a great Young Adult psychological thriller.

Warman has written a great Young Adult psychological thriller. Alice and Rachel are twins, but twins that are so identical that no one can tell them apart. They have a special bond, too. If one is hit, the other feels pain. This phenomenon is how Alice knows that her sister is in danger. Rachel disappears and Alice begins experiencing pain. Who can Alice trust? She keeps her sister’s disappearance a secret and searches for the abductor.
Beautiful Lies confused me at times and I am still figuring out the story right now, even though I finished the book. Despite this, I definitely enjoyed reading. I loved the plot twists and turns and reading about the bond between Alice and Rachel. This book will be loved by teen readers and anyone who likes mystery.
The only complaint I had while reading is that the narrator is not someone you can trust. I will not spoil any of the novel, but thought that readers should be warned. Alice is not a girl who always speaks the truth. Beautiful Lies was a wild ride and earns four out of five stars.

This book made me feel like I was going a little crazy while rea

This book made me feel like I was going a little crazy while reading. It’s an intriguing read, and while I’m not sure that I loved the book when all was said and done, I definitely had a heck of a time reading it.

Rachel and Alice are identical twins — so identical on the outside (though personality wise they couldn’t be more different) even those closest to them have never been able to tell them apart. The bond between them goes beyond just sharing identical looks. Each of them can feel the other’s emotions and physical pain, almost as if they’re experiencing it first hand. When Rachel goes missing, Alice knows she’s still alive, but when she begins to experience physical pain and emotional trauma, she knows Rachel is going through something horrific and she needs to find her before things get worse. The problem is no one seems to want to help her — not her family, or the police, so it’s up to Alice to find Rachel herself.

There are quite a few other things I could say here, but I won’t for fear of giving away some of the plot points. I will say that this one kept me on my toes through the entire book, even though I had an idea of what was really happening. I had my suspicions about the villain early on, so when they were revealed I wasn’t totally surprised, but along the way I did second guess myself a few times.

I really enjoyed Ms. Warman’s writing style, and overall the story was great, though I felt some of the twists/reveals felt a little contrived (but that’s just me). I won’t lie, there were times when this one made my brain hurt, but in the end it was a satisfying read. I would highly recommend it to someone who enjoys intricately woven plots, and well-crafted characters.