ARC REVIEW: We Told Six Lies – by Victoria Scott

Title: We Told Six Lies
Author: Victoria Scott
Genre: YA, Mystery, Romance
First published: February 5th 2019
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Finished reading: January 16th 2019
Pages: 352

“Ask for things. Small at first, and then larger. Return the favor. This, and face time, are what connect humans more than anything else.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Entangled Teen in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

There was just something about the cover and the blurb that drew my right in, and combined with the fact I’ve been neglecting my YA mysteries I knew I had to read We Told Six Lies immediately. It might have been that I had set my expectations too high or that I simply read too much of the mystery genre, but unfortunately I can’t say I was impressed by the story in the end. The first thing that stands out is that We Told Six Lies is in fact more of a romantic drama with an unreliable narrator rather than a proper mystery read. Sure, the mystery around Molly’s disappearance is there, but it isn’t what the story focuses on… No, We Told Six Lies is mostly about Molly and Cobain (what’s with all those strange names anyway?), their relationship both between them and with others and basically how messed up both seem to be. I don’t mind an unreliable narrator when it’s done well, but I felt the technique here mostly just gave us cliches and predictable twists rather than that suspense and intrigue I was hoping for. The fact that I couldn’t care less for the main characters didn’t really help either… The story starts out slow, stays that way during most of the plot and only in the end brings out the fireworks. Predictable or not (I did see most of the ending coming), at least it was more entertaining to read than having to deal with Molly, Cobain and the huge amount of sexy scenes this story has (too much for a YA story if you ask me). All in all not the experience I was hoping for, but I guess fans of more romantic mysteries who don’t mind cliches and unreliable characters will probably have a better time with We Told Six Lies.

Cobain tries to keep to himself, knowing that bringing attention to himself will only make the bullies notice him. He was doing quite well being invisible, until the day Molly arrives at his school. Somehow, Molly does see him and doesn’t shy away as most others. He can’t stay away from her and it’s not long before they are together… Then something happens, and Molly disappeared. Has she run away or is something more sinister at play? And why are the cops only looking at Cobain?

I had high hopes for We Told Six Lies, but sadly I can’t say this story lived up to expectations. Part of this feeling has to do with the fact I was expecting a mystery, not a romantic drama with two unlikeable main characters I couldn’t care less about. Sure, at least Molly wasn’t ment to be likeable in the first place, but it’s hard to stay invested in a story when you can’t stand the main characters. The amount of sexy scenes and (romantic) cliches were likewise a huge turn off. Sadly, the plot was quite predictable as well… The writing does flow well and the story reads superfast. The right person will probably enjoy We Told Six Lies better than I did.