Oh, I love J.T. Ellison and couldn't wait to read this book. I have read most of her prior books and was looking forward to this one. She has such a way of writing that pulls you into the story and doesn't let you go until the last word and this book is no exception. I like books about girls and sororities and this book checked all those boxes.

The characters on the whole aren't very likable but I don't have to have a character to root for or to like in order to enjoy the book. I like a book full of twists and turns and I don't want to be able to guess what is happening next and this book was that for me. I didn't like all the cussing but that is just a pet peeve of mine. Some of it seemed unnecessary. I thought the characters were very well written and it was just a good book overall.

***I received an ebook copy from the publisher at no cost***

If Gossip Girl and Cruel Intentions got together and had a child, Good Girls Lie would be it.

J.T. Ellison wastes no time putting readers on an emotional roller coaster with this book. I was fully invested by the time I finished the first chapter. There are so many twists and turns throughout the book, you never know what’s going to happen. That’s what I loved most about it: the author kept me guessing, right up to the very end.

Ash is the new girl at the Good School, a well-known and highly esteemed boarding school in New England. She’s transferred in from England, and it doesn’t take long for the school’s most elite girls to make her the target of their torment.

This book had all the aspects of the whole YA boarding school type book that I like. There are secret societies, which the dean turns her head the other way from and the girls all hope for an invitation to join. The school itself is older and a bit creepy, with different areas that are “off-limits” and have an eerie feeling to them. There are stories about awful things that took place years ago on the campus and in the town. The school had its share of bad publicity under the previous dean and the current one works hard to keep the girls in line and the scandals at bay.

Except Ash brings scandal with her. Someone has to keep the Dean busy though, right?

I want to keep this review spoiler-free, so there won’t be many plot details. I will say the plot itself is unique. I had no idea what was coming next while I was reading. I’d go back and think about what had happened up to that point, formulate a theory, and then boom, two pages later my theory was shot. The author nailed the mystery/suspense in this one for sure.

There were two things that made this a four versus five-star read for me. One, the characters were hard to relate to at times, which made it difficult to form a solid connection with them. Two, I had a tough time following the dialogue and who was who at times as well. However, neither of these ruined the book for me and I was still able to appreciate the author’s attention to detail and world building.

This book was an easy read. It’s vivid, so I felt like I was in the world alongside the characters. And as I mentioned before, the plot was unlike any story I’ve read. Ellison hooked me and kept me on the line for the duration of the book and, although I was completely surprised by how things ended, it felt like the perfect ending.

Four stars to this book!

I was hooked on this story from the very first creepy, shocking sentence. If I had picked this book up in a bookstore and read that sentence, there’s no way I could’ve left without buying it. It was suspenseful and eerie and everything I want in a thriller.
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The setting is an elite, all-girl boarding school with such a high-pressure environment that it seems more like college than high school. The school’s network of old buildings and various tunnels and stairways made things even creepier.
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Throughout the book it feels as though almost every character is shady or has something to hide. As the tension built and things became more sinister, I didn’t know who could be trusted. And I love that in a thriller!
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The ending was chilling and could not have been better. It made my head spin! I highly recommend this book for thriller fans!

Good Girls Lie
A Novel
by J.T. Ellison
3 ⭐⭐⭐
464 pages
I think I am one of the few in the world who didn't like this book. I love this author and was so excited to get an arc of this book. Part of my problem was I didn’t find any of the characters very likeable. And for a thriller it was very slow. It didn't keep my attention at all. I kelpt putting it down and reading something else. Another issue I had was I found it very confusing. So much of it was just so unbelievable. I was also able to guess all the plot twists and the ending. I read tons of thrillers and it is very hard to find one now that I can't guess. The descriptions however were very well done and I was able to picture everything perfectly.This was one book I was glad to reach the end of. I really need to try harder to not finish books I don't like. Looking forward to the next book this author writes. Hopefully it will be one I can get into. This book just was not for me.
Many thanks to the Publisher , the Author , and NetGalley for a ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own. As always if you like the book you read please take the time to leave a review for the author in places like goodreads & Amazon. It does not have to be long. Just a few sentences saying you liked the book will do. Authors really appreciate every review they get !

#GoodGirlsLie #NetGalley

This thriller kept me guessing til the very end. If JT Ellison knows anything it is how to weave an interesting thriller. Less one star due to a kind of convoluted ending, but all the bones are are in place for an entertaining read.

At an elite boarding school for girls everything should be perfect? Should it not? After all this school is known for preparing the girls for a life of achievement, But lies and secrets rule the after school hours until a new student starts to understand the traditions and the consequences of not following them.

Good Girls Lie was my first JT Ellison book to read, and I really enjoyed it! The story takes place in an exclusive all girls boarding school on the East coast. I didn't find the book to be complicated or suspenseful, but it was a nice little mystery. The twist was not surprising, but I didn't mind that. I enjoyed the character development, and there were folks that I was rooting for throughout the book. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

In J.T. Ellison's Good Girls Lie, you'll be hooked on the first page and can't put it down until the end. It all started for Ash Carlisle, a new student to join the Goode All-Girl Academy in Marchburg, Virginia. She came from her posh London home to get the education she deserved and needed from her trouble home. When she joined the ranks of the sophomore, it made everyone curious about her and why she fled England. Her first days were troublesome when everyone teased her and gave her a hard time. But she kept a dark secret that no one should know when she stayed there for her education. Ash had trouble making friends and even her room mate Camille had kept her distance from her, being secretive and distant. But when someone found her dead body on the ground, it made everyone suspicious of her, even the cops and Dean Westhaven. Lo and behold, when she's tapped by a secret society of senior students, she becomes friends with Becca Curtis who had a secret of her own to keep. There's some kind of fascination with her that made her want to get closer to her. But Ash's world is about to come back down and turn dangerous and deadly, when the truth could come about her and her true identity. In the end, she would have to free herself and expose the secret before someone like herself would get her in the crossfire of her worst enemy... someone close to her who would do anything to get her own way... even commit murder.

Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison was definitely a twisted book. This book had all kinds of twist and turns crazy things thrown at the reader.
I liked this book but I did not love this book. I did not connect with the characters as much as I wanted too. Maybe it was the age of all the characters that got to me. This felt more like a young adult book too me then an adult book.
Overall, it was a good book but not what I was expecting so I am giving this book four out of five stars.

I am a big J.T. Ellison fan, she has not done me wrong yet. Her books are interesting and accessible. This book was much different than others I have read by her though, and whew it’s a doozy! You know the whole book something more is going on than what is on the surface, and when the twist is gradually revealed, it is so satisfying. One thing I love about this author is that she doesn’t wrap up the ending super quickly after the reveal like many mystery/thriller authors. She lets the wrap up breathe and reveal even more to the reader. I normally don’t like books that don’t end how I want them to, but I wasn’t even sure what I wanted for the ending of this one, and perhaps that’s the best part.

Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison is a page-turner, wild ride of a book with not nearly as much teenage drama as I was expecting it to have. At 458 pages it is not a short book, but the pages will fly by and you won't want to put it down.

When I started reading Good Girls Lie I had no idea I would read it in one day, but that is exactly what I did. Short, punchy chapters really make the book fly by, and I was also a big fan of the chapter titles. Ellison's writing style in this novel was really unique as well and I loved it. I already enjoy her books, but there was definitely something even more great about this one and I liked it even more than Tear Me Apart.

I really liked the setting of an all-girls boarding school and even though I was expecting tons of teenage angst, that's not really what I got. There is plenty of drama sure, but overall the feel was more suspenseful than angsty to me. I don't think there are really any huge surprises in Good Girls Lie but it was a fun, solid thriller and I absolutely loved the ending.

Song/s the book brought to mind: Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish

Final Thought: If you decide to read Good Girls Lie (which I highly recommend doing) then you are going to be in for a treat. It was highly addictive, and a lot of things I want in a thriller. There is suspense, drama, mystery, promises of ghosts, dirty deeds, and so much more! I love the things that come out of this author's mind and I already can't wait for her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I honestly wasn't crazy about Good Girls Lie.

The beginning was too slow and without much of a story. To me, none of the characters were likable.

Let's meet the cast of women:

First, the novel starts with the introduction of a teenage woman from London, Ash Carlisle. She's starting a new school year in a well-known boarding school for young girls, Goode School. Ash is hiding something. Something painful and most likely deadly.

Second, there is Becca Curtis, a senior who is most of the time a mean girl. She's abusive but at the same time very lonely. Her mother is a senator who has never behaved warmly towards her.

Third, there is Camille Shannon, who’s Ash's new roommate. A girl who cries at night but won't tell Ash why.

Lastly, we have Ford Julianne Westhaven. The Dean of Goode School who has inherited the job as part of her family's legacy but who dreams of becoming a writer and moving to New York City.

When one girl appears to have committed suicide, Ash becomes a suspect. Dean Ford wants to believe Ash's innocence but when more clues point to Ash, she doesn’t know what to believe until a second girl is found dead.

I had issues with the behavior of the girls and their decisions. I found the mystery to be lacking.

I’m sad this one didn’t work for me. I had high hopes. :(

Cliffhanger: No

2/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Harlequin-MIRA via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely a twisty, dark tale that does an excellent job of grabbing ahold of you early with the vivid description of a mutilated teenage girl hanging from the front fence of the prestigious all girls high school academy, The Goode School. A story that starts out with a vicious murder is sure to be a good one. A young Ash, looking to start over after a family tragedy comes to the small town of Marchburg, Virginia. Starting as a sophomore in the elite private school, she immediately feels out of place among the privileged girls of high society. Ash soon finds her stride, and things seem to be going fairly well for her. That is until her roommate takes a nosedive off the bell tower. Consumed in the scandal, the Goode School and it’s administration try desperately to quell the tide of misfortune, but in a world where everyone seems to have skeletons in the closet, one dead student is just the beginning. This story reads through really fast and is a lot of fun. There is a secret competition it seems among the characters for who has the most secrets, and many of these characters are deviously damaged. There are a lot of moving parts in the story and I did get slightly lost in certain parts. Found my way back easily enough as I continued reading. A recommended read. Review posted to Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon.

For me, Good Girls Lie began slowly and a little confusingly. The reader is thrown into the world of the Good school, an exclusive boarding school for girls. Ash, a British import, has enrolled for her first year, after surviving a horrific tragedy,
Let’s just say there were so many plot twists I was dizzy by the end! Despite the slow start, I loved this book in the end.

My thoughts are varied on this one! I liked it but didn't love it. I felt like it had moments where there were so many unbelievable things happening then other things would happen that would keep me coming back. Good but not great!

Such a great book full of suspense, plot twists, and endless drama! Exactly what a MYSTERY thriller should be all about. JT Ellison has an effortless style of writing that just makes you stay turned and want to keep turning the pages without a pause. This is my first J.T. Ellison book but not my last that's for sure!!

I loved this book! I am all about any book involving secret societies, boarding schools and rich teens! Especially when a mystery is thrown in! Read this book ig you like twists and turns!

Wow so this was a new book for me and I debated for so long if I was going to read it or if it was going to be too YA for me and I am so glad I did.. this is a great book and I have added this author to my must reads because it is amazingly well done.. I loved all the twists and turns. There is so many different twists and turns all laced together!

This book was GREAT! Of course, why would that surprise me as I have loved every JT Ellison book I've read. The setting of this book was the first thing that drew me in. It reminded me of a big castle- almost like Harry Potter. I can relate to things the girls went through and the feeling of trying to fit in. The character development of the characters was thoughtful and gave me a sense of how the characters are in the book. The twist at the end was very unexpected but you see clues about it throughout that I didn't even think of.

This was such an awesome book! I had no idea who did it and the ending was so shocking! A girl I follow on Instagram loved this book as well and I loved hearing her thoughts on it! One of my favorite types of books to read are prep school books and this one did not disappoint. The beginning pulls you in immediately and I loved that about the book. It was a little hard to follow who was talking, but that may have just been me! Totally recommend!