I've been a huge fan of Allie Therin's ever since being lucky enough to read an ARC of Spellbound, which was one of my favorite books of 2019. I loved the Magic in Manhattan series and was excited to see what was next from Therin with Liar City.

Liar City has the same great writing, interesting world-building, and likable cast of characters that make a reader want to tear through the book in a sitting or two. Overall, I did really enjoy this read, and I'll continue to read the series as it comes out, but there were a few nonsensical/unrealistic things that brought down my rating to a 3.5 (rounded up because I did enjoy the read and I'm also trying to be sensitive to the genre... this is urban fantasy/paranormal romance, after all).

1) The way empaths act isn't consistent and doesn't always make sense. Being averse to violence, especially seeing it first-hand, definitely makes sense. Being avid rule followers, even if doing so has no positive or negative impact on another human being (e.g. street parking in a fire hydrant spot), makes.... no sense.

2) On that note, I do like Reece as a character, but his insistence on being sarcastic 100% of the time not only doesn't make sense (see point #1 above), it's also often times extremely dumb, and as a reader, it's a little annoying.

3) This book takes place in the modern day. There is no way some 20-something rogue agent would be able to insert himself into every single one of these situations without even flashing a badge. Even if everyone knows his name or moniker or EVEN HIS FACE, there are 300 million people in the US. This is the age of hacking and identity theft. NO ONE is going to usher in Agent Grayson on his word alone.

I'd say Grayson having no feelings but is clearly starting to develop some fondness and beyond for Reece is another unrealistic trope, but this is a paranormal romance series and I'm actually here for that :)

So a few complaints that were frustrating to encounter as a reader, but if you're willing to go in with a minor willing suspension of disbelief (required for most urban fantasy, tbh) and ready to get attached to some more fictional characters, I'm sure you'll like Liar City a lot!

Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

Finished this book in literally a day and I'm REELING EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO READ IT IMMEDIATELY I'M OBSESSED WITH THE WORLD AND THE CHARACTERS AND THE EVERYTHING

Reece is an empath, one of the very (arguably unfortunate) few with the ability to 'read' peoples' feelings with a touch - a group of people being persecuted in this alternate current day USA much in the vein of the X-Men. Grayson is an "empath specialist" who manages to terrify every single person around him except Reece (who should probably be terrified by him, but who has basically zero survival instinct). Serial murders ensue, Grayson and Reece both get involved, as does Reece's overprotective sister, and various misadventures proceed to happen while the ticking clock to even more massive destruction slowly runs out.

I have been a massive fan of this author's work since I discovered the Magic in Manhattan series last year, and I absolutely was not disappointed with LIAR CITY. The character dynamics between Reece and Grayson were a little on the trope-y side but I mostly mean that in a good way because the tropes were used to realistically maintain tension between the two. While many books with queer characters focus on found family (and we love it), it was really great to see a strong family relationship between Reece and his sister. Overall, this is a masterfully told story that manages to trick the reader in to predicting twists - and than adding an additional, bonus twist you never saw coming. The focus is on the action and mystery rather than romance; even the villains have an incredible amount of nuance.

Although I'd recommend this mostly to adults who are aging out of the "new adult" range, I would also argue that this is a strong crossover title for teens looking for a more mature Cassandra Clare type read, especially any Magnus/Alec shippers.

This book kept me up until 4.45am because once I started reading it, I simply couldn't stop until I knew what was going to happen to Reese, his half-sister Jamey and the mysterious Evan Grayson.

And one thing I can tell you is that never, not if I'd sat and thought about it for yonks, would I have come up with this ending.

It's a trilogy, so of course there's ends left open and this one has no romantic relationship between Reese and Evan yet, but you can feel the palpable tension and mysterious connection which grows between them.

The murder mystery element of this paranormal is really clever and creepily disturbing, Allie Therin has a fantastic ability to take something commonplace and switch it into something deadly.

There'll be no spoilers here though, you need to experience this book alongside Reese and Jamey as they get dragged into the seriously scary world of The Dead Man.

There's also a side order of sarcasm, snark and spikey banter between Reese and Evan each time their paths cross and while Evan's Dead Man status makes him impossible for Reese to read, it's pretty obvious to me that the sparks are there to completely ignite a fire that's unlikely to ever burn out.

With some fabulous side characters including Jamey, her boyfriend Liam, Evan's Medical Examiner colleague, some really horrible villains - and a serial killer that actually raises an element of sympathy - this opener delivers on all fronts.

Honestly the only thing I didn't like about reading this book is how long I'm going to have to wait to get the second one!

I am so in love with this alternative reality Seattle that Allie has created and the fascinating characters she's populated it with.

Thank you Allie Therin and NetGalley; I got to read the ARC of this novel!

Wow. My ideal story type is worldbuilding via characters and plot, and Therin never disappoints. Great characters, unpredictable action, really creepy bad guys. I am very curious how this series will turn out, and must wait to find out! Which is exactly what book 1 is supposed to do.

Amazing.