Welcome to Litsy!

The follow up to One of Us Is Lying is the perfect palate cleanser. McManus writes well for young adults, & doesn't attempt to write YA to cater to adult tastes that inadvertently insult both young & adult readers. The characterisation is believable, the pacing is generally good & the mystery is decent. In fact, the two books I've read in this series are stronger than some of the absurd & downright silly thrillers for adults that I've read.

I didn‘t like this as much as the first book but it was still a good read. I enjoy McManus books in general but I‘m not sure where she‘s going to go with the next one in this series. But I‘m about to find out.
#BookSpinBingo #RushAThon #SeriesLove2023 #SummerEndReadathon

This was an equally fast read. The new characters are a great twist to the first novel. I second guessed about a dozen times before the end, and none were who I thought it was.

Who will the #victim be? I‘ve had this book forever lol hopefully I find out this month! #scarathlondailyprompts #scarathlon2022 @Clwojick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This was interesting, but not as compelling as One of Us Is Lying. I didn‘t fall for the characters either, though I found Phoebe surprisingly relatable. The mystery was nice and twisty but overly dramatic. The twist at the end shocked me, but I didn‘t like the characters‘ reaction to it… maybe it would have worked better for me if I‘d been prepared for it? Spoilery discussion of it in comments…

P.S. This is my August #bookspin.

Took advantage of my son wanting to go in the backyard to get a few pages read in the beautiful afternoon weather!

Leaving on a jet plane ✈️ 💙
First time flying without bringing actual books…my little kindle was much easier to pack 😂

McManus‘ second book delivered! I really enjoyed the first one but it hinted at the twist a bit too early on. I did not expect the direction of this second one and thought it was much stronger. I liked that it followed a new cast of characters but the old ones made appearances and brought the stories together. I‘m excited to read the next one!

The plot was heavy on the character study and light on the murder mystery, which made it overall pretty boring. I wasn‘t a fan of the romances, especially when they, like the twist ending, come out of nowhere and don‘t make a whole lot of sense. A disappointing sequel to a great first book, despite the character cameos from Nate, Addy, Cooper, and Bronwyn.

Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/one-of-us-is-next.

Enjoyed this.
Quick, easy read and plot made me want to know who was behind everything - everything comes together quickly and neatly in the end (a bit unrealistic but true to form for this type of book) - typical teen angst and bullying and gossip but that is what makes it a good YA (I think?) -

#BookSpinBingo

Make a great day everyone 🙂

#WeekendReading @Andrew65

Reading these two books - enjoying both of them -

Make a great day everyone 🙂

#BFC2022 @wanderinglynn

Same goals as January, since that went well, 4 workouts a week and continue #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks , I am having so much fun with that.

Stay safe and warm everyone who is experiencing this winter storm ❄

Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView and @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#Two4Tuesday #ThinkPositiveBePositive

1. I would travel back in time - maybe it's not as scary, there is a known element to it 🙂
2. I originally couldn't think of any but today I remembered 11/23/63 by Stephen King

My quote isn't exactly positive, but it is funny (or so I think) - see below and make a great day everyone -

Whoa! (She‘s so good at characters and plot twists - makes these doubly awesome!)

Ready to continue the Bayview High adventures 🤗

Final book of 2021 - Book 144📚

Blew my 100 book goal out of the water!👏🏻👏🏻 Finished 128 books in 2021!

Goal for 2022 - 150💥

I always enjoy a good YA thriller! I think the first one gripped me a bit more but that could be due to the spaciness of the holidays😂

Love love love this author. This book did not disappoint. Great storyline and great characters. I hope there's more in this sequence. Great read.

Onto an easy and more enjoyable read after the Lapena. I love this author so much, can't wait 🤓

This is the second book in the series, and while I thought a second book wasn‘t necessary, I was proven wrong. This was a great fast paced read that had me wondering what was going to happen next.

It‘s good to be back in Bayview High! We get introduced to new main characters but it was also fun catching up with the original cast. I thought this sequel was just as good as the first. A fun, engrossing YA mystery.

#Booked2021 #ContainsPhotos
#SeriesRead2021

Not as good as the first in the series but still a decent pick. Finished it in a day. Wanted more believability in the characters. Also felt like there were too many characters to keep up with that we weren‘t connected enough to follow

A great sequel to One of Us is lying.
A new mystery to be solved at Bayview High. I‘m glad I don‘t live in the area! There‘s a range of new characters ranging but now there is a Truth or Dare aspect. Tell the truth and risk losing everything or take the dare and risk your life. The author has taken the time to build each character which helps the reader understand them better. It had me guessing throughout with so many twists and turns.

#twofortuesday
1. No, but I‘m a sucker for a pretty cover design
2. Not at the moment as they are all murder suspects!
@TheSpineView

Last one of my library books to finish. I read book one two weeks ago so now into the sequel.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get into this one because it's been such a long time since I read the first one, but that was a non-issue. It is a smart YA book - that is to say that the author didn't dumb it down, underestimating the target audience, as some YA authors seem to do.

I stopped by my local #littlefreelibrary today. Since I‘m currently reading One of Us Is Lying, it seemed just too serendipitous not to pick up the sequel! Not too sure how much I‘ll like the first book, but if I don‘t like it I can always put this back. Unfortunately I think I may have spoiled myself by reading the blurb on this one 🤦🏻‍♀️

“People like to think they're open-minded, but if you toss a tired gender stereotype on their path they'll run with it every time.”

Absolutely CONSUMED this book! I love the characters, the setting, and the continued thriller/mystery. It‘s so fun to try and beat the characters to solving the mystery!

5✨ Whoa! How does she write so well! Both the books in this series I was on the edge of my seat with who did it? I had suspected a few things, but man so good. The “game” is back on with a deadly or relationship breaking truth or dare. What would you pick and how far will the game master go? When someone winds up dead? Nope...

After one of us is lying, I had to give the sequel a go. I honestly don‘t know how I feel, it was good but not as good as the first instalment.

Yeah finished this exciting book during the #20in4 by @Andrew65

I like this sequel to 'One of us is lying'
In the beginning it was a bit exhausting because of the many characters, but the end was all the more exciting.

Yesterday I read/heard 2:41 for #20in4
So until now my total is 3:30 😁

This was a solid sequel. I liked the new characters we got to follow and the mystery was quite good. I just wish I didn‘t realise what was going on before the end, I really wanted to be surprised. I didn‘t enjoy this quite as much as the first book but it was still a definite pick! #translatedbooks

First book for #2021 I like the two other books by Karen M. #Manus #german

So this was good, but not as good as I hoped it would be. 3⭐

I have to say, this one was not as good as the first one. I feel like is wasn't as mysterious as the first one. More filler which wasn't really needed, I wanted more game, more mystery like the first one! Also I did not like how they left the ending. I like tied up endings, which this was not. I didn't expect the ending so I will give 3.7/5 stars 😁

I really liked this one, almost as much as One of Us is Lying. The storyline of this one seemed a little weaker, once I got to the end and saw who was involved and why, but it was still a good mystery!

Another #BookSpinBingo square completed!
@TheAromaofBooks

@TheSpineView - I've completely strayed from my original goal for the #ReadYourWay Readathon, but I've been reading several books I hadn't planned to read that I'm really enjoying! I'm currently reading this one, and I don't want to put it down!

🌟🌟 — I was sadly disappointed with this one. There were too many characters for me to be invested in their drama or relationships. Without that hook, there wasn‘t the same drama or suspense as the first book. I‘ll look out for other work by this author!

That's why I'm looking forward to the #FoodandLit challenge so much 😁

Read about Ajiaco in One Of Us Is Next and now tried it for myself. It's chicken soup with potatoes and corn, originated in Colombia.

Usually, I'm not the type for soup, but this one really turned out tasty 😋

#foodandbooks

Nov #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks Also #NovelNovember readathon @Andrew65 I think this is the last book in this duology (let me know if not). It was better developed. Still a YA mystery and suspense but characters were more mature. I liked Knox character and his relationship with his sisters and family drama. Some parts were sad but with happy ending. Some twists were quite predictable but still interesting. I really enjoyed it. 3.75⭐️

Another case of “I liked the second one better than the first one“ 😄 I really got hooked, even though I kept mixing up the characters... 😅 But it's a really good YA thriller, and somehow I felt it was closer to nowadays art of living than the first one. But that might just be me. But I got to keep an eye an Karen M. McManus.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaOfBooks

It‘s a new school year at Bayview, and no secret is safe. #oneofusisnext #karenmmcmanus

Overall, I liked the first book better, but this was a solid sequel. The characters were interesting and the reveal wasn‘t a surprise exactly, but enough led up to it that it held my interest, so the story didn‘t lag and seemed to fly by. Enjoyed seeing how the gang from book one was doing also.

Almost finished before the end of #Screamathon, I wrapped up this story this morning. A fairly well done sequel, I like that the main characters from the 1st book were in this, but the plot did not revolve around them. A tad predictable, but ultimately an enjoyable quick read.

My last book for October #bookspinbingo if it can still count!

In my Halloween jammies, trying my best to finish one more book for #Screamathon tonight!

Can you believe it‘s almost Halloween? 👻🎃🦇

I hope everyone has been enjoying #Screamathon this year, I certainly have!

I have one more book I am hoping to read, but I am only starting it now, and we have a lot of family activities lined up over the weekend, so it will probably carry over into Nov.

What are your weekend plans? We‘re doing a Halloween movie night, corn maze, & candy scavenger hunt w/ a few friends in lieu of trick-or-treating.