I have never heard of Megan Lally before and now that I have I don't think I will forget her name because this book was pretty good. I liked it.

I could not put this down! It was an intriguing and engrossing mystery right from the start. There were small clues I initially glossed over that suddenly made sense later on.

What a ride! I tore through this in 2 days. A fast-paced, gripping thriller with powerful emotional stakes and a likable cast.

A well written YA thriller and pretty solid debut. Some plot holes for me in Mary’s POV with Wayne but nothing too major. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my first ever ARC!

This story grips you right from the start!

It begins with a teen girl waking up in a ditch on the side of the road with no memory of who she is or what happened to her. After a passing police officer finds her and takes her to the station, a frantic man shows up at the police station claiming that her name is Mary Boone and he is her father - and he has all the documentation to back it up. Next we're introduced to Drew, another teen who is under investigation for the disappeance of his girlfriend, Lola, who has been missing for five weeks. Drew is on his own mission to find Lola, not only to clear his name but to bring his girlfriend home.

The dueling POV's make this book a rollercoaster of emotion as Drew deals with accusations and his own guilty conscious and Mary tries to piece her memories back together and discover who she is. I spent the entire book thinking I knew what was going on only to have my jaw dropped by the twists and reveals in the last couple chapters.

5 stars, definitely recommend! This debut definitely puts Megan Lally on my radar in the future!

A teenage girl wakes up on the side of the road with no memory of how she got there or what happened an officer passes by and sees her and takes her to the police station. Not long after a man comes in saying he is searching for his missing daughter. He presents the officer with her birth certificate, school ID and shares photos of her on his phone.

When Lola exits Drew’s car after an argument, she walks off never to be seen again. The whole town including Drew’s friends and the sheriff think that he had something to do with her disappearance and thinks he killed her. To prove his innocence he does everything he can to find her and bring her back.

This book pulled me in from the beginning. I enjoyed the dual POV and the timeline kept me in suspense. I loved the emotional side of the story with Drew trying to clear his name and feeling guilt for leaving Lola to walk home alone and Mary trying to remember her life before the accident and who the man who claims to be her father is. The plot was predictable but the story was intriguing and kept me reading until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and SourcebooksFire for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book:
THAT'S NOT MY NAME by Megan Lally (Out Dec 26. Thanks Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the ebook)

Review:
5 ⭐ I'd give it 10 if I could.

First, I want to start my saying that I can't wait to have a physical copy if THAT'S NOT MY NAME so I can read it again. Oh my gosh, it was amazing. The description, the words, I could just picture everything as I was reading. There was not moment that I wanted to put this book down---it was like I wasn't even reading anymore. The book isso fast-paced and so on point  THAT'S NOT MY NAME was everything I thought it would be and more. The emotion of the characters(Drew as he tried finding Lola, Mary as she realized she wasn't Mary and eventually realized who she was) was spot on, and I felt everything they did. This book was full of so much suspense, and so many twists and turns. Like, I was shocked especially when Officer Bowman turned them away. But I was the most shocked at the ending. I gasped, like seriously..I almost cried  Another author who's going to be an instant buy.

What I Liked About It:
*Everything

Dudes. This is a cool, freaking book! Like, I can already think of 7 or 8 kids to whom I will be recommending this one! It’s edgy and exciting (and, ya know, it’s no small feat to make writing exciting) and a righteous twist or two make it that much better! I was fully invested throughout and to the very last sentence. And I love that it’s a standalone read. There are too few of those out there, yet it’s what I need for the library. Thanks, Megan Lally and NetGalley. 💜📚

The night that Drew breaks up with Lola is the night that she goes missing. The local sheriff is convinced that Drew knows what happened to Lola and has focused his investigation solely on Drew. Months go by and Drew is convinced that the only way to clear his name is to find Lola himself. In a parallel story, a teenage girl wakes in a ditch apparently the victim in an accident. Found by a young local officer, she can't remember her name or anything about her life. Told in alternating chapters, Drew's and "Mary's" stories will intertwine in a surprise ending that will break both Drew's and reader's hearts. This one will fly off the YA shelves!

Overall this story was a three star book for me.
I took a chance with this one because I don't usually like young adult books specifically in the the thriller/horror genre but the synopsis was too interesting to pass up. I felt like this was good but not anything I haven't read before. I also found it hard to connect with the characters but again, I don't usually read this add group. Would recommend for anyone who does love young adult thrillers.

Ooooh this one was GOOD! With everyone thinking Drew had something to do with his missing girlfriend, the guilt keeps him up at night. The plot was fast enough that it only took two sittings (it would have been one if I didn't start it so late in the evening!), and the characters were well written and developed throughout the story. There were a lot of times when the action was so suspenseful I forgot this was a YA novel - of course, there's nothing wrong with that genre, but that goes to show it can appeal to all ages! After how great this book was, I'm looking forward to Lally's future releases. Thanks so much for the ARC!

The cops think that Drew had something to do with his girlfriend going missing, he knows he was involved, but not in the way that the cops think he was. As his guilt eats away at him, Drew knows that he has to find Lola and save her and let everybody know that he is not the person they think he is. So he and his two friends do with the police department is refusing to do, look for Lola, and he embarks on a wild journey that he hopes it will end in finding Lola safe and sound. A good read with a plot twist at the end I never saw coming!

This was a SOLID ya suspense! I could have read this in one sitting if it weren't for kids. Lol

I did know what the huge twist was going to be, but it didn't ruin the story for me!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this book.

This book is not your typical story of a missing girl being abducted by a pedifile or sex trafficker. There is something more going on here. The boyfriend. Drew is the main suspect, and he is determined to find out what happened to his girlfriend, Mary.

Nothing is as it seems, and I found myself reading this fast-paced book in one sitting.

It was so riveting.

Highly recommend.

Synopsis :

"Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there—or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He's been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos.

He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says.

When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew murdered his girlfriend. Forget proving his innocence, he needs to find her before it's too late. The longer Lola is missing, the fewer leads there are to follow…and the more danger they are both are in."

When these two stories collide look out. The overall story was predictable, but it was still intriguing and kept me reading. I enjoyed this book. I'm very good at predictions, I do think this will catch so many readers off guard!

Thank you for the ARC read!

That’s Not My Name
Written By Megan Lally
Publisher Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date January 02, 2024


Ok, so YA books are not typically on my radar but any thriller will actually have me drooling and this was no excetion. The cover of the book and the blurb was all I needed to dive right in. And…..boy am I glad I did. Lally grabs you and holds on until the last page of this one. I literally could not put it down until I finished it. The twists were awesome, the authors ability to tell a story was off the charts and the build up to the mystery was PERFECT! I see that she has two more books she is working on and I cannot wait to read them. This is one that any age could read and enjoy.


A teen is found by a police officer on the side of the road bruised and disheveled. She has no idea who she is and is taken to the police station. A man who is claiming to be her father comes in frantic and holding a birth certificate, school ID, and family pictures. He claims her name is Mary.

But is that true? And if so why does she feel that there is something really wrong with all of that.

A young couple, Lola and Drew have an argument and Lola exits his car and walks away. Never to be seen again. Now the sheriff and their friends think he killed he. He has to find her before it is too late for him. He needs to clear his name and prove that he never murdered Lola.

Could the two situations be twisted together somehow? Is the foung teenager Lola? And if so what does the man who says he is her father have to do with all of this?

Well, when you get your copy you will find out the answers to all of the questions. I promise you that you will be so enthralled that you will forget who you are also. Run, run, run and get your copy on release day…..you won’t regret it.

5+++ stars

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

This was a super-quick twisty thriller that I read in one sitting. Mary wakes up in a ditch with no idea who she is. A man claiming to be her dad picks her up from the police station, but something is off about him the more time they spend together. Drew has been looking for his girlfriend for five weeks. Despite being the prime suspect, he insists he is innocent and is determined to find her.

The book stuck to a good core plot. While it was predictable as a whole, it was pieced together by two POVS in a clever way. I was never bored and kept having to read one more chapter. It leans on the “adults are incompetent and will let teenagers take charge” trope a little much, but it’s YA. I would expect nothing less.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This book sucked me in at the beginning, I loved the dual POV/timeline approach because it made the thriller aspect that much for ominous. It did lose me a bit in the middle because the high school students playing Nancy Drew seemed a little too far-fetched and almost corny...but that ending, WOW! I am so happy I stuck with the book because the twist at the end was such a great ending and I really enjoyed how it wrapped up! I think the author taking the time to focus on the emotional aspect of this plot was really interesting, I wish more of the characters had been expanded upon as I didn't feel connected to anyone but Drew.

This debut puts the 'thrill' in thriller! You'll be hard pressed not to finish this fast-paced read in one sitting.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of That's Not My Name. This dual-perspective thriller kept me on the edge of my seat until the last second. Even though the adults in this one were pretty terrible for the most part, they were also realistic. I can't say much more without spoiling things, but I will leave you with this: Read this book. You won't regret it.