I was thankful to receive this book as an ARC but I want to be sure my review still maintains some level of authenticity. This book had a lot potential ,but I just slightly missed the mark for me. The characters had some promise, but there was something missing for me in the writing.

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

A cautionary free-verse tale that I feel like I've already read so many times before.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, albeit very late, review. I've read a handful of YA verse novels, I expected more out of this one. I believe verse is a trickier medium for fleshing out a full story. I liked where this story was heading but I wish there was more to the ending. 2.5 stars.

I was not a fan of this writing, took me awhile to get into it. I tried to read more but it was ultimately a do not finish halfway through.

This was a pretty average read. Nothing stood out to me but there wasn't anything specifically bad about it. Paige did sort of remind me of myself but only at parts (a lot of the time, I just thought she was being an idiot). Not great but not awful.

I'm not really sure what to say about this. It was written in verse. It took me less than two hours to read it. Not much happened throughout the book. Paige just went out to parties with friends and went to school. I would recommend if you want to just fly through a book to add to your reading challenge otherwise I would skip it.

A very disappointing read. I did not like this book at all, as it was nothing but hazy mockery of a girl's life. I did not enjoy reading it, and would not advise this book to readers.

It was in a way of poems and was a short read. Loved the story. About the friends and how can sometimes white lies can lead to major issues. Only thing was the end was bit sudden. But overall a good read.

The format of this book was... interesting. I have to say I didn’t really enjoy the book as much as I’d have liked. I’m thinking that maybe this is my fault, as it just feels a little too young for me. It is a young adult book, so I’m sure a younger reader would appreciate it more than I was able to. I’m so happy to have received a the complimentary eARC from NetGalley so that I had the opportunity to read it.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a review copy.
I gave this a 3.5 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed this poetry book, each poem continued the story. Some of the things mentioned in the beginning reminded me of some memories from when I was younger. Paige the main character followers what her friends were doing so their friendships wouldn’t fall apart. I tried that but not as bad as she did. She changed who she was and made some bad decisions. There weren’t any lines that stood out to me that I liked. There were some lines that did stand out to me but because I did g like the division the people made.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would in the beginning.

I haven't read many books written in verse, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much story could be told in so few words. We learn everything we would need to know about the three girls and their families through Paige's poems. We see these three sixteen-year-old girls evolve very quickly because of the pace and style of the book.

I would love more books that center around these kinds of characters. I think, especially in YA there's a lot of focus on the "good kids" and few stories about people who make mistakes, who sneak out because they want to and not because their friends are making them.

Overall, I found this book well done, interesting, and because it's written in verse, an extremely quick read. I would recommend it.

I'm sad that I wasn't able to read this book, because it was too much at the same time. I guess that his book was amazing and I would love to try and read it.
Now i will have to buy one!

Paige and her friends are high school juniors eager to become adults and finally have their freedom. As the year progresses they continue to weave a web of lies and half-truths, falling into patterns that could destroy their futures. But what happens when the lies become too much?

I was initially drawn to this book because it is told in verse, but I was instantly drawn in because of the vividness and prose. I read this book in one sitting because I found myself wanting to find out the end of Paige’s story. This story would be perfect for middle and high school libraries. Bowen packs a powerful punch in this verse story and could help teens realize the danger of peer pressure and weaving a continuous web of lies.

This book won't be for everyone. its written in verse that are kind like a poem. Its short but its about friends that tell lies about parties about bigger ones.

Overall, a good, quick teen read. I didn’t put together this was a poetry book until I started reading and that’s outside my normal style, but it was interesting. The author did a good job of telling a fairly common themed teen story using a first person perspective through poetry. It read very quickly and was appropriate for a pretty wide age range of teens.

Thanks to Net Galley and the author for an ARC that I received in exchange for an honest review.

One Too Many Lies tells the story of Paige and her friends. They're juniors and soon, they lose themselves into parties and small lies that become much bigger ones after a while.

I read this in an hour, maybe two and that was cool. it's told in Verse and I like that, most of the time. I'm not really sure I loved that poetry but it was okay.
The story had ups and downs. I didn't love the main characters but my younger self could partly relate with them.
I didn't love that all those 16 year old end up dating college guys and that nothing ever came from that big problem.
All in all, I found it to be an uneven, fast read.

One Too Many Lives is a verse poetry novel centred around a group of adolescent girls and their experiences. The novel is fast and easy to read, being a fan of verse poetry the format overall proved to add to my reading experience, however, I can imagine that it could be jarring for some readers to get into. Personally, the main issue I had with this book was how the characters were integrated into the story. Some of the characters didn’t have a satisfying ending and so by the end of the novel I felt confused about what I had just read.

The majority of the time, the novels that leave a lasting impact on me are well explained and lead me to know all the characters well and I'd befriend them in my imagination. I felt a wall drawn up between me and the characters of one too many lies which I desperately tried to climb over but couldn’t. They all just fell a little flat in my opinion.

I didn’t enjoy the novel, I felt like I had to desperately make my way to the bottom of every page to continue, which shows I wasn’t really interested in what was going. This proves I didn’t have a way of falling into the story and that I didn’t connect with the characters. The poetry was alright but wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen done better before, however, I did really like the ideas behind what was being written and personally I’d be interested in looking at more of Bowen’s work as if I had been a fan of the characters, I believe I would have loved the novel and been raving about it.

Paige along with Kate and Abby her best friends skip school where she meets Morgan at a party where they take part in drinking, trying drugs and playing party games while still having a crush at school on Alex.



Am while lying to their parents about w where they're going and staying out late after sneaking out first...



Told in verse this is a powerful tale of growing up and struggling to fit in and find love as well as acceptance with their friends about their lifestyle. As the lies build up we see how they have to deal with the consequences which teaches us the lesson about karma and never assume everything will be fine. It was hard hitting and real dealing with issues teens will probably come across.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Had this been the sort of poetry I came across in any other random book, I might not have liked <i>One Too Many Lies</i> by L. A. Bowen. I can tend to be pretty picky with my poetry, which shows in the fact that there are very few compilations that I enjoy. Bowen accomplished something impressive with her collection of poems detailing the accounts of a group of 11th grade girls as they navigate the world of adolescence.

I was quickly immersed in this world with three teenagers falling into the party scene and the habits of drinking and drugs and older boys. It was a high school I personally never experienced, but one I almost felt part of. I grew increasingly fascinated with Paige and her story and actually found myself genuinely enjoying the verse form through which it was presented.

This alone was a bit of a shock as the last book I read that functioned like this was one I did not enjoy at all.

But <i>One Too Many Lies</i> is a brilliantly woven story about a young girl struggling to find her place, developing through peer pressure and proximity from a shy and somewhat nerdy girl to one who regularly parties and nearly often into trouble with her friends. Paige’s journey in this poetry collection is brilliant and poignant in a number of ways.

I’ll say, I think the synopsis was a bit over dramatic, as was the final poem. But all in all, I really enjoyed this read. It waas fairly quick, something I was able to start and finish within the span of a single day and definitely something I would consider reading again.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. </i>

Starting the book I was a little confused, as it is only written in verse. I thought that it was only the beginning to have a different start into the story, but after not too long I noticed that the entire book is written in verse. It’s kind of like not rhyming poems telling you a story, which is actually pretty cool if you think about it. The downside is only that it is hard to connect to the characters as the book is also really short. At times it also feels quite rushed and especially the ending had me sitting there, waiting for all of my questions to be answered, as so many plot points are left not spoken of.

Due to it being written in verse and it not being very long, it also lacks depth to both the plot and the characters at times. I would have liked to not just read a story on teens that just scratches the surface, but the book being written in verse made it harder I suppose. But on the other hand did the simple writing make it easier to relate to the characters and it gives you real insight on the main character’s struggles and thoughts. I myself had some points in the book where I could see myself in the situation or the conflict and really liked that about the book. The thing was that you could understand the main character’s opinions and thoughts, but you still didn’t really get to know her and her personality.

What I also liked about the book was that the plot is realistic. It is said that the book is based on the author’s own experiences which could also explain the quick, abrupt and unsolved ending, maybe it was the same way as it had happened to the author.


In the end the plot was nice and different for a change, it was also a completely different experience for me to read a book entirely in verse, which I liked. The writing made it a bit hard to get to know the characters and the plot only scratched the surface of everything that could have developed from it.


My rating: 2/5

The book will be released on the 1st of December 2018, so if you liked what it sounds like you’ll be able to get it then.