This was okay for me. It started out a bit confusing for me and then switched back and forth between the main character’s current predicament and the circumstances leading to it. I felt like the story dragged too much for me. There was lots of story telling by the characters that to me, was boring and not necessary to the movement of the story. I kept wanting to get on with the story and what happened. I made myself plug through to the end, which was okay for the wrap up. At least by the end, there was explanation and satisfying to the plot.

This one was just kind of mediocre, had a few good twists, I wish I had liked this one more.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

This book follows Jan who goes on a reunion holiday. Five years she went on holiday with her then-boyfriend Marcus. Whilst on holiday they befriended another two couples and spent the rest of the holiday together. Five years later and Jan is invited to a reunion. The holiday seems to be going well but one day Jan wakes up chained in a dark room. The story has alternating chapters of Jan's imprisonment and her holiday.

I really enjoyed this. The story had me hooked quite early on and I wanted to find out more. The main character is not particularly likable and has a tendency to lie which makes her an unreliable narrator. The tension starts from the start as the characters seem to be very awkward around each other and there seems to have been something that happened between them.

I thought that the mystery was well developed and kept me interested until the ending. I did not see the ending coming and I thought that it was concluded well. I am looking forward to reading more from the author in the future.

I took a chance on Lies That Bind Us because thrillers are not my normal genre. I AM SO HAPPY I DID! This book literally had me dreaming about the plot. (I don't want to give out spoilers)
Jan and her group of friends are on a reunion trip and though they have been friends for years it turns out they don't really know each other at all.
Lies That Bind Us had me hooked from the first page and never let go. It penetrated my dreams and dominated my thoughts during the day when I couldn't read it. I will forever be a fan of Andrew Hart because of this book. Thank you to @netgalley and @lakeunionpublishing for the copy to review. This book is out and available at all book dealers so RUN and grab yours now.

Thank you so much for this ARC.

I wanted so very much to enjoy this book, especially with the Crete backdrop. Unfortunately, I found this very slow and hard to get through.

This book has such an interesting premise, one that made me excited to dive in. I had no idea where the book was going to end up, especially given the tenuous nature of the relationships at hand. I felt like the author did a great job developing each character and their relations to everyone else involved. There were some twists thrown in that I did not expect, but I definitely kept coming back for more. I would recommend this book to a friend for sure!

This was definitely a book I wanted to like more than I did. The premise, while it sounded intriguing, only seemed to lead into a rather contrived story with characters that I found to be rather boring. It's definitely not something I can honestly say kept my interest for very long and was difficult to get through.

The Lies That Bind Us by Andrew Hart

Publication Date: June 1st, 2018. Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

When Jan flies to Crete for a much-needed vacation with friends she met there five years ago, she expects a relaxing vacation, despite the fact that her ex-boyfriend, Marcus will be there. When she awakens in pitch darkness, chained to a wall, she can’t remember how she got there. All that she knows is that whoever is keeping her here against her will must be coming back.

I wish I had enjoyed this book more than I did. The title and subject matter were intriguing but I couldn’t quite get into the story. The tension seemed contrived and the writing was not what I expected. I didn’t mind the main character. Though she is unlikeable, she at least has remorse for her actions and a level of self-awareness that most unsympathetic characters do not have.

Thank you to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

Grade: C

This story hooked me very quickly. Great story-line, lots of drama, suspense and intrigue.

I was given a copy of Lies That Bind Us by Andrew Hart for an honest review.

Wow! I didn't see that coming. Really enjoyed this book and a little bit of Greek mythology and history. What a warped group of "friends"! Everything feels out of whack from the beginning.

The back and forth in the chapters from the beginning of the trip to being held prisoner was handled well.

As you experience everything through one character's eyes, and the fact that she is an habitual liar, makes things interesting. You don't know whether Jan is lying to save face, because it has become such a habit that she can't help herself, if there is some underlying reason why she can't tell the truth, or if she has convinced herself that life is really this way. (Growing up with a friend who lied constantly...and about such simple things, like which way did she drive when she came home from school, was intriguing. I never understood the need to lie just for the sake of lying.)

You have your suspicions about who the guilty party is and you wonder about who the characters really are. You just don't think they are who they appear to be. They are definitely good at putting on a good act...pretending to be someone/something in front of others.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is great!

Jan actually told more lies than I had expected. I felt sorry for her as she faced the consequences of her lies - people around her slowly starting to lose faith and struggle to believe in whatever she says.

I loved how it kept me guessing the possible suspects that could have held Jan captive. The revelations at the end were exactly the reason why I've been wanting to finish the novel and convince myself that I saw it coming.


Thank you so much for allowing me to read such an awesome novel!

Definitely enjoyed this one. I liked the dreamy coastal setting, and the build up of tension was an interesting balance. Kept me up to fjnish!

Perhaps because I've been reading so many mediocre 'thrillers' lately Lies That Bind Us really didn't work for me.

The story opens with the main character, Jan, awakening and finding herself being chained to the wall in an unknown location. Her memories are fuzzy but she starts piecing together the fact that she was on a vacation, a reunion of sorts, with a group of people that she met five years ago in Crete. She doesn't know who has locked her up, where she is, or most importantly, why.

Chapters alternate between Jan recovering more of her memories in her current situation and also the days leading up to her circumstance. Here's the biggest problem I had with this book, though, I just didn't care. I never felt distressed for anyone and I never felt invested in the hope that things would all work out in a pleasant way. I love a good unreliable narrator - and Jan is revealed to be a compulsive, pathological liar - but I didn't feel any emotional connection to her or to any of the other characters in this book. Everyone had very distinct unlikable qualities about them that were too much for me to look past. That's a huge problem to have when so much of the success of a thriller, or a girl in distress book, relies on the reader feeling sympathy or anxiety or anger or literally ANY emotion other than apathy towards the main character.

The ending was predictable in how ludicrous it was. I'm tired of books like this needing to have chapters and chapters of explanation for what happened because when initially exposed, the 'reveal' makes no sense.

I received this book as a courtesy from NetGalley & the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry, but I couldn’t get past the 20% mark. The writing was mediocre and the dialogue had me continuously rolling my eyes. I can deal with some pretty meh plots but I can’t handle cheesy dialogues... I don’t know any adults that actually speak this way.



“You missed the drinkies!”


*Ex-boyfriend sees ex-girlfriend in a towel walking down the hallway*
“Hey stranger! I was just going to... is the bathroom free?”
Girl: “Yes. It’s right there.”
Guy: “Right. Cool. Ok, then. What a great place, huh?”
Girl: “Yes.”
Guy: “Gonna be fun. Us all together again.”
Girl: “Yes.”
Guy: “Ok. Well, we’ll do the reunion thing when you’re dressed, yeah? Hugs and such.”
Girl: “Sure.”
Guy: “Ok, then. I’ll see you in a few...”


“We are so white! Aren’t we just so white?”
“Pretty white.”
“Right?”
“You are so random.”
“I know, right? Seriously random.”


Weird chick (that the main chick has only just met for the first time in her life): “Do you still have that pink top that you got on employee discount?”
Main chick: “How did you know about that top?”
Weird chick: “You were wearing it in a picture.”


“God, look at this place. Is this awesome or what?”
“Pretty awesome.”
“Totally awesome.”
“Awesome. Jan?”
“Awesome.”



If you can get past any of that dialogue without rolling your eyes then you’re stronger than me. Godspeed.

A very suspenseful psychological thriller. I do not like books where women are held captive or abused and could not read those parts which was half the book. it was a hard book to get through due to the kidnapping aspect. it has some mythological aspects which were interesting.

Wow ~ this is he very grown up story of the boy who cried wolf too often ~ and it is a marvelous read. The book kept me guessing - a lot. I loved the characters - they were believable The story line - holy moly. This is must read for suspense thriller fans.
Thank you NetGalley, Andrew Hart and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book

This story of a pathological liar who reunites with friends in the Greek Islands doesn't really flow or come together. The last two chapters were the best part of the book. The mythological parallels don't really work and the suspense is lacking.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

I received this book for review from NetGalley and I couldn't wait. I found that this book, at least for half of it, tried to be like the other popular books. Let's try to add mythology and back and forth in time frames and see what sticks. At least those were my thoughts at the first half of the book. It was slow. But, I normally stick this out for awhile. Second half of the book I was hooked. You'll love this just give it a chance. It's not the best, but it's definitely worth the read. Thank you very much to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley.
An interesting book,a real page turner kept you guessing till the end although the reader can guess who the culpits are from very eatly in the book.Not very impressed with the main character,the rest of the charzcters seemed shallow but maybe this is a reflection of people that we dont like and the author tries to show it in his writting.All in all an interesting and enjoyable read.

Awesome! I highly recommend this book. Kept me guessing until the end. Would be a great beach read!!!!