This book hit the ground running from the start and didn't let up right at the end.
It's ultimately the story of a bunch of friends known as "the crew" who, as children, made promises to stay together, loyal and honest. The together has almost been achieved with only Ruby having left their childhood small-town of Chatwick, literally getting out of Dodge at the earliest opportunity to first go to college and now being settled living and working in New York. She has had little to do with her previous life back in Chatwick in the 10 years since she's been gone.
As for the loyal and honest, well, at this moment, the jury is still out on those two.
But, as with all people running from their past, it does have a tendency to catch up with you as Ruby discovers when she is reluctantly forced to go back home for the funeral of one of the crew, Danny. To say she is nervous reconnecting with people she has had pretty much nothing to do with for 10 years is a bit of an understatement.
After said funeral, Danny's mother gathers the Crew and their partners together in the basement of her house. She then reads a letter from Danny where he confesses to a crime, a deep dark secret he has kept for years. She goes on to hand each member of the Crew an envelope, explaining that it contains a similar deep, dark secret of their own and, under instruction from a letter from Danny, suggests that they fess up to the group what is contained in their envelope. Hinting that if they don't, secrets have a habit of coming out of the woodwork...
Well, this book has a bit of everything. As well as the usual trio of secrets, lies and duplicitous behaviour, we also have betrayal and a whole host of other shenanigans going on.
It also contains quite a few of the hard hitting topics, drugs being probably the least of those so it really isn't for the faint-hearted. I won't list the others here as I feel it would be a bit spoilery to do so in case it makes you start looking out for them!
We flit about in time too, as we learn more about the characters in the present day, we are gifted glimpses into their pasts to flesh things out. One of the things that really impressed me about the characterisation in the book was the development of all the main character from childhood to present day. We also switch POV quite a bit as the story is told by several of the main characters in turn. This I found quite easy to get to grips with as each individual character was very well defined and so they were easy to differentiate.
The story itself is gut wrenching and heartbreaking at times but uplifting at others so, it remained in balance, and never quite crossed the boundary of being too heavy and dark. The way the author writes meant that even though I was reading some sometimes really nasty stuff, there wasn't a time when it completely overwhelmed me and I remained feeling safe throughout. Especially at the end; I felt safe and very satisfied.
All in all a good solid read that kept my attention nicely throughout. I believe I have read somewhere that this is a debut book. That fact, if it is right, has me even more impressed and I really can't wait for the author's follow up book.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book was an easy read that captivated me from the start. There are parts that are super tragic and emotional but the hard parts were executed really well. While there are really dark themes at play here they never over power the important messages of friendship and love. The secrets aren't all that hard to figure out, so those looking for a true suspense/mystery may not be thrilled. However I really enjoyed the mix of semi suspenseful with a really powerful story of friendship.

Told from different perspectives and different time time periods, Friends and Liars, was wonderfully written.  The character development was excellent, and the mystery of what each characters secret was kept me turning the pages.  This was a highly addictive read from this debut author and I look forward to more from her.

Friends and Other Liars... I know what you're all thinking. Another book with "LIE" in the title?!

Friends and Other Liars is about a "crew" that consist of Ruby, Murphy, Ally, Danny, and Emmett. The crew has grown up together in the small town of Chatwick. The crew has all stayed close together except for Ruby who escaped the small town after high school.

Fast forward 10 years, Ruby receives a phone call from a fellow crew member Ally who tells her that one of their friends Danny has committed suicide. Ruby, grudgingly, returns to her small town that she wanted to leave behind forever.

Ruby and the crews have a small surprise waiting for them by their fellow crew member Danny. Danny has left each of them a letter which contains their deepest and darkest secret. Even though Danny is no longer alive, the letters contain threats that their secrets will be revealed to everyone regardless if they fess up to their secrets or not.

Sounds pretty juicy and gossipy right?!

What I liked about this novel: the dual POV which alternates between past and present. Ironically, I was more entertained with the past storyline then the present day. I felt like the present storyline was dragging a little and was a tiny bit repetitive.

Characterization was pretty well developed in this novel as well so kudos to Kaela. So, I felt like this was a bit of a strange love story ish tied to small town drama and gossip. I felt like the character focused more on Murphy and Ruby which I didn't really like.

And, can I just say... Murphy you are a serious self-centered ass! lol. He made me so mad in this book!! GRRRR.

Overall, this book was entertaining. Not my favorite but glad I have been introduced to this author.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for my honest review.

Publication date: 2/1/18

Posted to GR: 1/26/18

"The trouble is, if a person has no hope things can get better, there’s not a whole lot anyone else can say to change that."
Danny, Ruby, Murphy, Ally, & Emmett... the original crew! They grew up together, went to school together, got into mischief together, confided in each other, and then... 
ONE OF THEM COMMITS SUICIDE. 
Danny lived a very hard life. He experienced things at home a kid should ever experience. When times got really tough, he ran to Ruby and Murphy. They took care of him when he needed help. But...they didn't tell anyone. They kept a secret. Now they wonder if telling someone 10 years ago, when it mattered, would have saved his life!
Things got too hard to deal with, Ruby leaves Vermont and runs off to NYU, never looking back. She walked away from the "crew", just like that! Until...
10 years later, She receives word that her very best friend, one of the crew, is no longer alive. Gone forever. Everyone knew Danny had problems. Everyone knew he never got help. But no one did anything about it. Was it their job though? 
So, Ruby heads back to Vermont. She never expected what she got when she arrived! Danny left everyone a note, demanding they make their darkest secrets known to each other. 
"Just remember that all things done in the dark have a way of coming to light. If you don’t tell each other your secrets, you never know how, or when, I might have arranged for them to come out."
The next few days, secrets are revealed but the crew soon realizes that some secrets are lies! Ruby spends the days after Danny's funeral trying to make sense of it all at the same time trying to keep her own secret safe! 
"Nobody’s judging you, because either way, what you’ve done says more about the kind of person you are than anything that comes after.”
As this story unfolds, you will grow close to these characters, their past and their secrets. You won't believe their secrets and how they reveal themselves. We loved this story! It's like "One of Us is Lying" meets "Thirteen Reasons Why"! BRAVO for Kaela Coble! 

About Kaela

Kaela Coble is an author of women’s fiction, represented by Stephanie Kip Rostan of Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency. Her first novel, FRIENDS AND OTHER LIARS, will be published in February 2018 by Sourcebooks Landmark. It is available as FRIENDS AND LIARS in the U.K., published by Altantic Corvus.
She is also passionate about helping people to develop professionally, whether that be as a writer or in any other career. This enthusiasm for career development led her to launch a coaching business in 2016. She is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer through the Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches.
Kaela earned her B.S. in Communications and completed a short stint as a copywriter before becoming disillusioned with the marketing of cloud solutions and “sustainable” chemicals, switching to assistant work to free up creative energy for her true passions. She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association as well as the League of Vermont Writers, and is a graduate of the Womentoring Project. She is also a voracious reader, and hopeless addict to bad television and good chocolate. She lives with her husband in Burlington, Vermont, and is a devoted mother to their rescued chuggle, Gus.
Buy Kaela's book here

“All things done in the dark have a way of coming to the light.”


It’s been ten years since Ruby has seen any of her old friends, “the crew”. But when she comes back for Danny’s funeral, old memories come back to haunt her. She’s torn between resuming her comfortably solitary life in NYC or rebuilding relationships with the people once closest to her. The secret she’s been harboring makes that decision even more difficult.


“We’re only as sick as our secrets.”


Ruby isn’t the only one who’s been hiding things. And Danny isn’t letting anyone off the hook. In the letters he’s left behind for each of them, he instructs: reveal your secrets to each other, or let them be exposed publicly in a trap he’s set. As lies build on lies, the truth — quietly, slowly — rises to the top. Friendships are tested, relationships challenged. Can they each get passed the individual revelations and reunite to honor Danny’s life, a life cut too short? Or will “the crew” be crushed by the burden of their secrets?



The different viewpoints and suspense of lies exposed at just the right time kept this novel on my mind even when I wasn't reading it, trudging impatiently through my day until I could get back to the story. Though there are many secrets and lies festering beneath the surface, this story isn’t as dark as I had initially expected, but rather is full of heart and love. Despite huge betrayals and memories teaming with teen angst, this motley crew never stoops to pettiness. They have real affection for one another. And that makes each of them extremely likable characters, no matter how large their flaws may be. Though sometimes the group had a real Scooby Gang vibe going on, the plot and emotions were all too real. It felt like such an accurate portrayal of that time in my own young life that it was almost disturbing.


Part of me wishes that Danny's death would have been given a little more weight. Suicide deserves some unpacking. Apart from the prologue and epilogue, we only ever saw him from a distance. That said, I respect that portrayal and the author's decisions especially because, all-in-all, she managed to take the current epidemic of opioid overdoses plaguing our country and portray it in a way that wasn't preachy or trite. Anything more may have ended up feeling too heavy. In the beginning, I worried this would be just another “adultier” 13 Reasons Why, but it became so much more than that. It didn’t leave this reader feeling completely hopeless in a cruel, cold world, but rather content and hopeful that the bonds we form can withstand much more than we think if we only give them a chance.


5/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, publisher Sourcebooks Landmark, and author Kaela Coble for the advance review copy of this novel. Special thanks to Liz Kelsch with the Friends and Other Liars PR Team for reaching out about an author Q&A, which I look forward to posting on the Grey Kat Reviews blog, following my in-depth reaction post with spoilers.

It took a while to really connect with this book. It didn’t quite grip me as I hoped it would. The basic storyline had a lot going for it with characters that you could really feel for but I felt that it took way too long to build up to anything, that focusing too much on the younger “them” made the story lines of the “older” them feel rushed and that parts of their stories when older had holes in that weren’t fully explained or explored.
Was hoping for a huge thrilling twist at the end but for me personally it just didn’t have that oh wow! No way! Moment

Friends and Other Liars by Kaela Coble begins with the death of Danny. His friends are back home at Chatwick for his funeral when they are informed that he left letters for all of them. As the blurb reveals, the letters contain secrets. You see, Danny had dirt on everyone and so he knew some of the secrets that they were keeping from each other. These are the letters that he left behind for his friends.

The story is narrated by different characters. Ruby is the main narrator but a number of chapters are told from the POV of the other characters. In addition to the multi-narrators, the story alternates between the past and the present. It might seem like a lot was going on but this didn’t affect the flow of the narrative. I was still able to keep up with everyone and I enjoyed the different POVs.

I really liked this book and read the first half pretty fast. However, my reading slowed down during the second half. The pacing in the book remained the same but I was dealing with different emotions that made me want to go through the story a bit slower. I loved the past narrations in the story. I really liked the group of friends despite how flawed they all seemed. However, I was also moved by the present narrations which I could relate to. The fact that life happened and the friends grew apart. I have lost touch with so many friends along the way so this book brought up memories, mixed emotions and a whole lot of regret.

The author did a great job in crafting the characters. Each one of them was unique and I enjoyed getting to know them through the chapters. I also loved the setting. Chatwick is a small town where residents love a good gossip and everyone knows everyone. It is also the kind of town where most people don’t leave. I really enjoyed this setting and its people. I loved the imagery of the touristic sites and how the residents were protective of their town.

Friends and Other Liars by Kaela Coble is a book that I didn’t want to end. I wanted to stay with the characters and continue getting to know them. I was so invested in their stories and was sad when I finally had to turn the last page. This was an addictive, immersive narrative and I enjoyed every single page. I can’t recommend it enough.

A group of childhood friends gather 10 years after high school at one of their funerals. "The Crew" is Danny, Ruby, Murphy, Ally, and Emmett. They have fallen out of touch over the years, but come together at Danny's funeral. Danny has left a sealed envelope for each of his friends containing their biggest secrets. He wants them to tell their secrets to each other, or they risk a more public outing to occur if they don't come clean on their own.

Told from multiple points of view, but mostly from Ruby's POV. The story is also told with multiple timelines, current day and flashbacks from their younger years.

Friend drama. A light, entertaining read that kept my interest. I was curious what everyone's secrets would be, though they were not hard to guess. I read this on vacation, and it was a good choice for a vacation read.

Ruby and her friends are reunited in their hometown after their school friend Danny commits suicide. She hasn't' seen them for years and can't wait to get back to her life in New York. After the funeral Danny has a surprise for them all... letters containing their darkest secrets and telling them to confess to the others otherwise the truth will find another way out.

This was an easy read book, with characters you hated and felt sorry for at the same time. Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest opinions.

I really enjoyed the mystery and suspense in this novel. The character growth and relationships were fulfilling. Would definitely purchase for myself or a friend!

This book wasn't my cup of tea. It didn't seem compelling to me. The highs should have been higher and the lows should have been lower. I didn't feel for any of the characters. The secrets could have been a little more dramaic and the whole person dies and leaves secrets behind for their "friends" reminded me of Pretty Little Liars. The ending was ok and the epilogue was nice but this just didn't strike my fancy.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This book really surprised me. The chapters change perspective between the past and present views of a group of friends from high school. Somehow, even though half the book was told from the hormone raging perspective of teenagers, this book did not have a Young Adult feel. The trading of time really built layers to the story, and I really enjoyed it.

I would love to read another from this author!

Ruby is returning to her hometown, a place she's avoided for many years with people she once called her best friends. Ally, Emmett, and Murphy still live there, holding down their positions in 'the crew,' and expanding it with their respective partners. Ruby has made herself an outsider, but she reclaims her spot to say goodbye to Danny, the fifth member. His life lost to suicide, Ruby and her friends navigate the rough waters of grief made worse by the individual letters he has left for each of them. The envelopes hold their secrets, words that could crumble their lifelong friendship. Danny is the key to the friends reconnecting again, but time and age hasn't changed how these individuals are drawn to one another, nor does it stop them from uncovering old wounds in desperation to hide their secrets.

"Each playing their part in mourning-the bereaved, the wilted, the guilty."

Friends and Other Liars is the debut novel of author Kaela Coble and the first novel to secure a spot in my Top 10 of 2018 List. Yes, it is only January 11, 2018 and I am already calling it. I was riveted by this book, unable to pay attention to anything else as I slipped into the various perspectives of the friends that make up the past and present 'crew.' Told in past and present tense, Friends and Other Liars take readers on a tragic journey through the lies we tell our friends. Spanning several years, from childhood to young adult to their twenties, we are treated to the inner thought of each member as the deal with the loss of their longtime friend Danny and the holder of all their deepest secrets. We see them relive moments from high school, times where they questioned the solidness of their friendships and times when they relied on one another so heavily they didn't realize how much they'd shared.

"Talk about secrets turning you into something dark..."

I loved each character and their individuality, each was so complex and goes through vast even further development by the end of the novel. As individuals, they might come across as boring, but they make up a very interesting group of friends. Similar to the movies we see about high school friends, there is the insecure, good looking one, the smart one, the bad kid, the jock, and finally the one that's just been there all along. Set in a small town fueled by gossip and a growing drug problem, it was obvious from the start that Friends and Other Liars was going to be dramatic. For me, the drama felt personal, my hometown very similar to that of the crew's and my experiences with loss as painful. It's a tragic novel, but written in a suspenseful way and with beautiful prose. The chapters set in the past are filled with nostalgia and the present is filled with extensive detail and mature dialogue.

"They're both really good at ignoring problems."

I often struggle with novels about the loss of a friend, I find them painful to read as they bring up personal experiences I have had. With Friends and Other Liars I found that Kaela Coble had really nailed the emotions around loss so perfectly, but she took it all to the next level with the secrets and darkness the friends keep hidden from one another. It's a dramatic book based on a horrifying matter, but it is done so very well. Kaela Coble successfully tears apart all the characters have known about their friends, about their own lives, but she sews it all back up quite perfectly. With a fantastic, well-rounded set of characters, an intriguing storyline, and a powerful epilogue, Friends and Other Liars is a must read.

I wanted a book which would take me away from my real life and allow me to immerse myself totally into its story and I proudly declare that this book accomplished that. After reading all the heartwarming books about friends in the last few days, I was so very ready to read about characters on the other end of spectrum. The not-so-good ones, the grey characters who are slightly good but largely bad. I feel such characters add spice to the story and make an interesting read.
Danny appeared to be one such character, who was wicked enough to get his friends gathered around. Post his funeral, he had a letter for each of them. We get a shock this was planed, Danny did not die of an accident, he committed suicide, and the letters each have a secret about these friends. The first opened was of Danny himself, he killed his step father...
What will the other letters contain? What are the secrets these so called best friends seem to be hiding? How do these secrets affect all of them? How did Danny know about all these secrets? The biggest of all why did Danny commit suicide? The whole book was like can opened, worms everywhere...
This is Kaela Coble's debut book, and what a fabulous job she has done. By her words, she pulled me deep into the story layer by layer. Each secret is revealed in turns, and the suspense is built till it reaches a crescendo. Kaela has done a fabulous write up of the group of best friends, the crew, who were supposed to be always there for each other at all times, but each one is the first to run away. The dynamics of this ever changing group was fun to watch.
The story is written in different POVs and in the then and the now time line. And Danny is an active force in both. In the then time era, he is in the background but yet makes his presence felt. In the now era, he is the ghost, the voice from the beyond keeping us hooked to the story.
This book is not a whodunit, though it has an atmosphere similar to that. But it is a whydunit, because the secrets hold the key, and the author Kaela has seen to it that the role of the characters unfold in such a way, that the reader can't help but be pinned to the book. Initially, I played detective and tried guessing the secrets, but I gave up halfway through and just enjoyed the book for the pure fun and suspense imbibed into its pages
Kaela has structured each of her characters around the secret, so that when revealed, it shows the layers and the depth of the character. A clever bit of writing. Kaela has seen to it that each secret is like a novella which brings its own thrills and contrivances. The book, written as a thriller, also has a surprising depth in the feelings. I thought I 'knew' this book from the blurb, but Kaela proved me wrong, the book had a surprising sentimental depth to it too. Quite a different read...
The only niggle, I had was that the book was a bit slow to start, and I wanted things happening from the get-go. And at 368 pages, it was quite a long book to read it in one sitting.
But in truth, this book was a race against time... I raced against time and against all my other work, to get to the last page to get to the TRUTH. Only the truth can set you free and in this book, that was true both for the characters and for me. I couldn't leave the book till I finished it. A Fantabulous read.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Sourcebooks Landmark and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

When Ruby left her small hometown for NYU, she never looked back. From New York to London and back to New York, for ten years she hasn't spoken to her crew. Now one of them has committed suicide and she reluctantly comes home for the funeral.

Told from multiple points of view, and time, past and present, it is full of all of the angst of high school and teenagers who are now adults but sink right back into their old roles once they are together again.

Danny has left them each an envelope with a secret that they hold. They are to share them with the group or there will be consequences. All of them have something and while some of it is just petty, some are life changing. 

They all come from pretty dysfunctional families, the only difference is to what degree of dysfunction. I really did not like Danny. He was a manipulative drug addict who should have taken responsibility for his own life. I mean come on this is ten years after high school. Why try to hurt so many people on the way out?

It wasn't a pretty story, the people were raw and human and doing the best they could with what they knew. 

All in all it was pretty depressing.

Netgalley/Sourcebooks  February 6th 2018

"All things done in the dark have a way of coming to the light"

Well my emotions are scattered everywhere. This novel made me happy, sad, mad, and frustrated all in one. I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. The author did a wonderful job at keeping me entertained and connected with each and every character.

The story goes from past and present so you can get a full sense of each character.
The crew’. Ruby, Ally, Murphy, Emmett, Danny. All best friends.

Ten years later: Now all grown up and Ruby, the only one who has left their small town, gets a call from Ally with the tragic news that Danny has committed suicide and should return home for the funeral. What they all don't know is Danny has decided to bring some hidden secrets from the dark back out into the light! Leaving each a letter containing their deepest and darkest secret, forcing them to reveal their secrets or if not the secrets itself will someone come to light on its own.

WOW! What a novel!! This had an air of mystery and some twists but also had a perfect added doses of friendship, love, betrayal, heartbreak, and the story of growing up and owning up to your past. I enjoyed this book so much.

Thank you NetGalley, Kaela Coble, and the publisher. 5 stars!!

I loved this book. I always enjoy reading books that intertwine multiple peoples' lives together and this novel pulls it off perfectly. That plus all of the plot twists led to a book I could not put down.

I enjoyed the first couple chapters of this book, but by the middle I started to feel pretty bogged down. It was dragging some and I had to put it down for a few days before I got back into it. The second half seemed to flow better than the first. Good character development. An interesting take on how decisions made early on can continue to affect people for a long time.

“All things done in the dark have a way of coming to light.”

I hoarded a chunk of vacation time all year in order to take last week off, and then pretty much proceeded to unplug from the evils of the interwebs as well after "I took a pill in Ibiza - to show Avicii I was cool." Just kidding. More like I changed from “sleeping pajamas” into “going to Wal-Mart pajamas” and plopped my fat ass on the reading chair all day. Well, that is after I made Christmas barf all over my house so my demon cat can spend the next month undecorating it for me.

Anywho(ville), vacay amounted to me cooking some decent food for my humans in order to justify all of my not going anywhere and reading a crapton of books while not reviewing any of them. (Advance apologies for the inundation you are about to receive this week.) I started my reading quest with Mt. Advanced Reader Pile in hopes of persuading publishers to not put me on the naughty list and to continue to give me stuff that I will procrastinate reading : )

Friends and Other Liars was nearly an instant request simply from the title, but then I took a gander of the synopsis and I immediately got a little blast from the past in the form of The Big Chill . . . . and not for the reason most of you would think . . . . (*cough Jeff Goldblum cough*). While The Big Chill wasn’t quite so in-yo-face about secrets of the past that letters were handed out by dearly deceased Kevin Costner (there’s a bit of worthless trivia everyone should know), Friends and Other Liars is similar in that the former members of “The Crew” have all been reunited for one member’s untimely death and the story proceeds to have very much a Big Chill sort of vibe.

This may not work for everyone as the secrets are pretty easy to figure out and it’s more than a bit “chick litty,” but it was exactly what I had my heart set on so it worked out great for me.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks, NetGalley!