I really tried to enjoy this book, I really did, but unfortunately, I didn't. It was too slow to start and I couldn't find interest in who murdered the student or why she was found hanging from a tree. This was just not in my taste. I sat the book down for weeks and picked it back up and it still did not interest me. The blurb gave the illusion that this book would be a thriller that would have me hooked... That was far from the truth.

#GoodGirlsLie -This is J. T. Ellison's best book to date, in my opinion.
Make no assumptions and take nothing for granted. when reading this book. If you think you have it solved, think again. It was masterfully written.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all.

Oh Boy, this was a fun book. I was definitely into it, and then about halfway through, it became completely unputdownable. Ellison did a great job with this psychological thriller that takes place at an all-girls boarding school in rural VA. The opening scene is definitely grabbing, and I was pretty much hooked into this story instantly. The more we learn about Ash Carlisle, the wilder the ride gets! This is a tough one to review, as there are a lot of fun twisty surprises that are revealed throughout the story, so I don't want to give anything away!

I am giving my honest review in exchange for being able to receive an ARC of this author's newest novel. I was excited to read this one because I loved Ellison's other novels so much! This one was good, but it could have been better if the pacing were a bit faster throughout the storyline. I feel like this novel lacked in some details regarding the characters, but I did find myself wanting to see what happens at the end.

It kills me to NOT give a JT Ellison book 5 stars... truly. She is one of my favorite authors and all of her books have been absolutely fantastic. But this one fell short. I really loved the idea... I loved how the characters developed and I loved the setting. The pacing killed it though. The beginning was slow, and the ending was very rushed. The epilogue seemed too convenient. The writing wasn’t as compelling as her recent novels, Tear Me Apart and Lie to Me.
I liked this. I would give it 3.5/5 stars. If this was a novel from a debut author, i would give an additional star. But JT had already set the bar high. Too many red herrings, too many clues given to the reader, and not the enough heart.

I have never read a book by JT Ellison that I didn't like. I struggled with this one. The writing style seemed a little different, or maybe I interpreted it that way because it took place in a boarding school, which to me spells young girls and they are also not my forte. I do understand that the synopsis said it would take place in a boarding school, but I am so enamored of JT I thought it wouldn't matter. There were plenty of twists, turns, red herrings, and a fantastic twist at the end, I did not see. Thank you for the arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own and unsolicited.

The "good girls" who attend the elite prep school called The Goode School go onto great things. However, not everything that goes on there is good. There is a suspicious death followed by one young woman being found hanging from the school's entrance gates, an apparent suicide. What is the real story behind these deaths and does new student, the enigmatic Ash Carlisle, have anything to do with it?

Ash reinvents herself when she travels from Oxford to the Goode School in Virginia. Although it's clear she is lying about many things and hiding others, I like the character and was hoping she wasn't behind the deaths. The Goode School is actually full of mean girls and I didn't care for Ash's roommate Camille or her suitemate Vanessa. Becca Curtis, Ash's mentor, is a hard character to figure out. I understand she feels she can't be her true self without being judged by her family and friends, but if this is someone we're supposed to care about, her mean girl tendencies and hazing antics should have been toned down. I also had mixed feelings about the Dean who obviously cared about her students but goes overboard on strictness regarding Internet access and mobile phone usage, while turning a blind eye to drug use, bullying, and hazing.

The atmosphere throughout the book is creepy with a Gothic feel because of the age of the school buildings, hidden tunnels, and ghost stories the students tell. The book has flaws, with unrealistic details and situations. However, it's a suspenseful book with memorable characters, both good and bad. There is a lot of drama and misdirection before all of the secrets are revealed, some I guessed and some I didn't. I really enjoyed the epilogue of this book. It not only gives updates on a few of the main characters, but new drama also unfolds leading to a satisfying conclusion.

I received this book from NetGalley, through the courtesy of Harlequin/Mira. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! I found it easy to read, mysterious and thrilling. The idea that terror is lurking at a prestigious boarding school was a great lead into this thrilling and mysterious novel. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Dark and twisty, just how I like it! I will say the second act dragged quite a bit, so the ending felt rushed, but I’m really glad I stuck with it. Could have done with a bit more fleshing out in the ending, but otherwise I was really happy with the journey this took me on!

I really liked this book. I couldn’t put it down. The twists kept coming and I was pleasantly surprised by the ending.
Ash has lost her parents and just wants to be able to get an education and get into the best college so she can make a life for herself so she enrolls in the Goode School, an all girls bordering school. But, day one she catches the attention of the top girl at the school, a senior, Becca. Becca takes Ash under her wing and invites her to eat with her, which is a big deal for sophomores. Ash’s roommate Camille is especially envious of the attention the senior is showing Ash as her sister was the top girl last year. Camille warns Ash that Becca is just using her but Ash doesn’t know who to trust.
There is also the headmistress Dean Ford who has taken a special interest in Ash and is trying to mentor her and help her heal. Dean Ford is running the school the best she can but she turns a blind eye to the initiations into secret clubs and alcohol, smoking and drugs that are going on in Goode School.
Ash changed her name and came to the school for a fresh start and to keep a low profile but there are some things about this girl that just aren’t adding up.
Will her past come back to haunt her? Will she be able to make it through school with her head down to get the education that she so desperately craves?

I have mixed reactions to Good Girls Lie. I found it lacking in places but in other areas I was engaged and keen to see what happened next. Parts of it were clever, weaving in pieces of information which clicked later on. I had an ah-ha moment close to the end, but spent much of the story a bit confused with the different characters.
Ash was a new English girl to the Goode Academy, but how much can she be trusted? She seems to have more than her fair share of family and friends around her die - is Ash responsible? As the story unfolds it's clear Ash is keeping a secret, as are the other girls, and even the Dean of the school has her fair share of secrets. Things become clearer as the story goes on and it definitely gets more interesting at the end. The epilogue ended the story out nicely.

I’m a sucker for boarding school books - I was addicted to Mallory Towers when I was a child haha. So anytime I see a book with this premise I’m straight on it.
I liked the way it was used in this book. It was a little slow at times BUT the ending saved it. A good book with potential. I will read more from this author.

Good Girls Lie is a book about a girl who goes to a new school in America after his parents have died. She struggles with fitting in and making friends, with basically no delay the bodies start stacking. People start dying and it’s starting to feel like this Goode school is cursed.

The premise is amazing. I’ve always been a sucker for private boarding school stories. I loved Dead Poets Society, but this book left me wanting. Not more, but something else entirely. This had a lot of potential that due to the pacing and the constant soliloquies that the reader is subjected to, it seemed to fall flat. It took me about a week to finish this book because I didn’t feel the book pulling me back in. Halfway through the book, I figured out the twist and spent the rest of the book waiting for the rest of the story’s adults to catch up. And boy did they struggle! It was painful and frustrating to have them be so dimwitted.

This story reminded me of Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart. There were portions of the book that felt outdated, even as they were referencing pop culture references. One reaction, in particular, didn’t make a lot of sense. One thing that struck me was the use of “two point three kids and a dog” even though it might be statistically accurate, it sounded clunky, especially because I knew that it as “two point five kids and a dog”.

The plot was literally all over the place. There was so much going on and so many characters that it didn’t feel cohesive. The story itself lacked a universal motive, a push to the finish line. The big payoff. I wasn’t rooting for anyone; I didn’t feel like the characters were fleshed out enough because the majority of the book told the story instead of showing it. The best thing that the book had going for it was the relationship between Dean Westhaven and her mother. It was complex and was shown instead of explained in soliloquy.

The epilogue saved the majority of the book. Because even though I didn’t care for the summation and HEA at the end of the book for some of the characters, I was interested to know what happened to our main protagonist.

With all of that in mind, I will have to give this a 3-star rating.

Thank you to Harlequin Mira and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

After her parents commit suicide, Ash leaves England and goes to the US to attend The Goode School. She begins her sophomore year of high school at the Goode School which is a prestigious all female. Right away she is singled out by Becca, a senior, who starts giving her a hard time. She doesn't have much luck with her roommate and her friends either. She tries to keep a low profile but instead seems to be the center of attention. The book is told from multiple viewpoints and when it's Ash's voice we begin to learn snippets from her past life. This was a quick read that I could not put down. The book is suspenseful and has some twists and turns. Overall I really enjoyed this book. Thank you to Netgalley and HARLEQUIN - MIRA (U.S. and Canada) for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Quickly I realized this book is not for me.I had a really tough time following this story. I did not connect with the characters or the story line for that matter. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this complimentary book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ash Carlisle has escaped her traumatic past in England and joined the ranks of the privileged at Goose academy, an all-time rep school in the Blue Ridge mountains. When she's "tapped" to join an elite secret society, Ash starts to undergo a new kind of education. One tranquil leave no one unscathed.

Highly recommended!

Good Girls Lie – Karin Slaughter

I was fortunate to receive this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review. This review will also publish to my blog, tropicaldelusions.blog, on 30 Dec 2019.

Ash Carlisle is a young girl traveling from England to Marchburg, VA to start her sophomore year of high school at the prestigious all female “Goode School”. Having recently lost her parents to suicide, she is fulfilling her father’s wishes for an appropriate education to meet the terms of her inheritance. Upon her arrival to the school, she is immediately singled out by Becca Curtis, a senior, despite her best efforts to keep a low profile.

As Ash slowly makes the acquaintance of her instructors and her roommate, she attempts to make herself a place at the school, all the while trying to keep a low profile. Her introspection as she settles in gives you snippets of information and clues into her past life – an abusive father, an emotionally absent mother, the death of her young brother when Ash was 6 years old. Then, a teacher dies of apparent natural causes – and shortly thereafter, Ash’s roommate is found dead after having fallen from the bell tower, but no one knows if it was suicide or murder…and Ash finds herself under scrutiny...

There is so much more I could relate to this review, but not without giving spoilers into a mind-blowing novel, with a jaw dropping finish.. In fact, now that I’ve reached the end, I feel compelled to go back and start again to see what nuances I might have missed! If you’ve ever read anything by Karin Slaughter, you already know that she delivers in spades, and this book is no exception! A MUST read!!

I loved the title and the cover picture. Both caught my attention and were spot on! A small prestigious all girls prep high school is always full of "stories". Goode School, located in a beautiful small town in Virginia, has its share and more.

The first few chapters were nothing special. Once the death (by suicide or homicide) of a roommate occurs, the questions in my mind pop up and I have to find the answers!

I gave this book four stars due to the slow beginning. However, trying to determine which Goode girls are lying is a fantastic way to end a good book.

So I jumped at the chance to read Good Girls Lie as I love J.T. Ellison’s previous novels but admittedly this one fell just a tiny bit short for me.

I love the premise...rich teenage girls, secret societies, lust, urban legends & secrets with a whole lot of lies thrown in! It just seemed very trite to me at times and super drawn out and convoluted...not all all believable and honestly I was just confused - A LOT!

Overall I didn’t HATE this book - not at all and I would still read this author again (of course) but it just wasn’t what I thought it would be and I guess just not for me.

I gave it 3 stars for the solid writing - but the characters just lacked depth to me and were super annoying.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free advanced copy in return for an honest review - thanks to the author and publisher also! I would still recommend this one for a good boarding school thriller that’s not too deep- and not too hard to figure out (if you can keep track of who’s turn it is to speak)! ❤️🤷‍♀️

This book started out a really good thriller, but I will say it did drag for me in some parts. I couldn't put down the previous two books I read by J.T. Elison. This one did not do it for me, it never captured my attention and seemed very cavalier. I finally stopped reading at halfway through, couldn't finish it.