I loved missing Clarissa buy for me the other Lola fell flat. I felt like there wasn't enough to keep me interested and the story line was lacking. After the reveal I struggled to finish.

I really enjoyed Missing Clarissa so I was very excited to read this second book about Cam & Blair. It seems they’ve had a bit of a role reversal after the events of the first book. Cam is now more reserved & cautious while Blair is more pushy and confident in her abilities. Mattie is a fun addition to the characters and she convinces Cam & Blair to help her prove her long lost sister is not actually her sister. The unravelling of the mystery was fun and I thought the ending was great.

Thanks to NetGalley & Wednesday Books for a copy of this book,

Jones' reluctant teenage investigators are back at it with a case that neither truly wants but they're too nice and still dealing with the trauma and the aftereffects of solving a decades-old cold case to say no.
Mattie Brosillard's beloved sister Lola disappeared without a trace five years ago and no one seemed to care. Now, someone who looks like her is back. Mattie's mom only cares about what others see and this Lola is the perfect daughter, so she's not looking beyond the surface. Lola's twin, Luke, spends his life stoned and trying not to think or feel, so he just accepts whatever's happening. But Mattie is sure that the doppelganger will know where Lola is, so they ask Cam and Blair to help them prove it. It's a twisty case where no one wants to speak and those that should know or care don't seem to want to do either. Cam and Blair are still reeling from everything that their podcast unleashed on them and their loved ones. Blair's family is even more standoffish, leaving her with no direction and zero emotional support. Cam is dealing with some major PTSD but unwilling to give therapy a try despite heavy nightmares and panic attacks. Neither is fully into finding answers, but Mattie quickly finds a spot in their hearts and what started out as a quick favor quickly turns into a puzzle missing way too many pieces.

I really like the fact that Jones wasn't afraid to show that the heroic thing the girls did came with a very heavy price both mentally and emotionally. These are not the carefree girls that started looking into a cold case on a whim, but they're still the girls who cared when no one else seemed to and that's why they help Mattie even when everything in them is telling them it's not a good idea to do so.
This case didn't keep me guessing as much as the previous book, but it got me way more invested into every single person it touched. Jones' writing breathes life into the characters so that the reader can't help but want to know what happened and will happen to the different people introduced.


Happy thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the engaging read!

The Other Lola is the follow-up to the young adult mystery novel Missing Clarissa. In this book amateur sleuths and high school seniors Blair and Cam are pulled back into another local missing person case.

When fifteen-year-old Lola Brossilard disappeared from her own house party five years ago no one searched that hard for her including her own family. She was considered a trouble maker and a drug user and running off wouldn’t be that out of character. But now she’s back and her little sister Mattie isn’t buying it. They (note: Mattie uses they/them pronouns) were only ten when Lola disappeared but they know that this person is not their sister and enlists local teen crime solvers and former podcasters Blair and Cam to figure out where the real Lola went. Blair and Cam are still dealing with the trauma and notoriety around the Clarissa case and are reluctant to jump back into crime solving. But Blair has been offered a book deal by a New York publisher and Cam is having a hard time saying “no” to young Mattie. Soon they are both questioning Lola’s ex-boyfriend, best friend, twin brother and law enforcement in the hopes of getting to the bottom of where Lola went. But the other Lola isn’t going anywhere and someone wants them to stop asking questions.

This was another solid mystery and thriller by Ripley Jones. I loved the idea of a “changling” or a “cuckoo in the nest” plot with both the reader and the characters unsure of who exactly this Lola is and if she could possibly be a fake. I also enjoy Cam’s relationship with both Blair and her mother Irene and all of the banter that comes with it. The descriptions of Washington are very spot on and add to the overall mood of the story. This was a solid young adult mystery and I look forward to reading more from Ripley Jones.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Five years ago Mattie’s older sister Lola went missing, and out of the blue someone claiming to be Lola is trying to come back into Mattie’s life. Everyone in Mattie’s life including her older brother and mom believe Lola is back but Mattie knows that this stranger isn’t her sister and that’s when she decides to ask Cam and Blair for help, after all they did solve a case before.
After what happened in Missing Clarissa when Cam and Blair solved the case of Clarissa and shot themselves to fame, they declared they would never do another podcast or solve another case. When Mattie comes to them asking for help Blair is more willing to accept the case but Cam is very adamant she wants no parts of this. We see that the aftermath of the last case really took a toll on Cam, she has nightmares and she realizes that the people closest to her could have gotten hurt, and even worse there’s a whole bunch of internet trolls who keep coming for her and Blair. Cam is sticking to her guns in this book, and at some points her attitude about it is kind of off-putting but I understand where she’s coming from, but because of her attitude I found myself enjoying Blairs POV more. In the last book we saw Blair was the reluctant one but in this book she takes more of a lead. Blairs motivation for solving this case comes from the fact that a publisher from New York called her about a book deal and Blair needed a story and Mattie came at the perfect time. Both Blair and Cam don’t exactly believe Mattie because her story does sound far fetched especially because when Lola went missing Mattie was a little kid so how good is her memory about what happened that night. Cam and Blair are cautious about how they approach this case, they know for sure that their won’t be a podcast but they’re also not sure about what danger is involved. Mattie was an okay character she annoyed me more often than not. I thought of Mattie being more of a hinderance than an asset. Whenever Blair and Cam would suspect someone Mattie would kind of freak out and say no that person couldn’t have done it because they were always nice to me, I just thought she let her feelings dictate what was actually logical.
I found myself enjoying this book a lot more than the first, and I think it’s because in Missing Clarissa they really didn’t know what they were doing with solving mysteries or even starting a podcast. In this book it seems a little more cut and dry, interview people that were with Lola the night she went missing and try to figure out what happened that night. I did like the story and seeing the character development that both Blair and Cam had. The Other Lola is actually a pretty good book and its not often that someone comes back from going missing and isn’t actually the person they’re claiming to be but it does happen so it wasn’t a crazy idea that I couldn’t believe. I think the best thing about this book was that Lola wasn’t immediately accused of being someone else by Cam and Blair but they did have their evidence first.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot! I will say that I think Missing Clarissa needs to be read first just so you can have the background knowledge about why our characters are the way they are now. I truly believe that this book was better than the first and I definitely recommend it!

I loved the previous book so had to read this one. My issue from the beginning is why not just do a DNA test. If we did that there would be no book. I did enjoy the story but in today's age we would have just done a test.

After Cam and Blair solve the mystery of what happened to Clarissa, it seems to have pushed them apart instead of closer together. Mostly because Cam feels so guilty for all of the hate she and Blair have received from the news, the town, and just everyone that feels the need to share their opinion. So when Mattie comes to her with a mystery of her own she needs solved Cam is hesitant, but Blair is all in. Blair has a secret of her own and this case will be perfect for it.
You see Matties sister disappeared years ago, and while everyone thought she was just a runaway (except for Mattie) she has returned with a crazy story that nobody seems to question. Except Mattie, who knows that despite all the evidence to the contrary this girl is not her sister and she needs Cam and Blair to help her prove it.

I enjoyed this sequel to Missing Clarissa. I though the mystery was well played out, and the POV from "Lola" had me going back and forth to wether she was the real deal or an imposter. I love Cam and Blairs friendship thats more like family, despite them having drifted a bit a part after the after affects of thier last investigation. I thought there were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing about Lola's identity and what happened to her the night she disappeared. I also really love Cam's mom and her boyfriend Brad!? They are really there for the girls including Mattie, and everytime Brad was cooking it made me hungry! lol.

I am excited to read whatever else this author comes out with!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ripley Jones for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Other Lola coming out March 12, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I received this directly from NetGalley. I really enjoyed the first book. I thought it was a fun mystery, so I was really looking forward to this sequel. Unfortunately, this book did not work for me at all. I didn’t care for the new characters and the main characters felt different. It just felt very different from the first book. Instead of a murder mystery, it felt like a social commentary on society. Every little thing was a big deal and felt too political. I just couldn’t get into it. It wasn’t fun.

An incredibly readable and well paced YA mystery. There are a lot of excellent topics in this one around gender, true crime as an obsession, trauma, family, and more- and I'd love to see more from these characters.

I wanted to read a mystery, not constant political and social shaming. This is not the proper platform for pushing agendas. It's never long after they get back to learning more about Lola that something compels the lead characters to go off on another "woke" tangent. I couldn't enjoy the story at all because of this.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an electronic advanced readers copy of this novel.

Recovering after the trauma and notoriety of uncovering the mystery of the local missing girl (detailed in Ripley Jones' Missing Clarissa), Cam and Blair are trying to just have a normal senior year in high school. But Cam is having nightmares about what happened to her, and Blair is unsettled about her future. Enter Mattie, a 14 year old student who approaches the friends about looking into her sister's disappearance (and re-appearance years later). Even though her family accepts Lola as the lost girl coming home, Mattie is suspicious and adamant that she isn't her sister. Blair is eager to investigate, as she's been approached by a New York publisher who is interested in a book proposal. Cam is more reluctant as she doesn't want to get pulled into another dangerous situation, but she is determined to support Blair.

The Other Lola is a well-written and entertaining sequel to Missing Clarissa, which I also enjoyed. It was nice to revisit this world and find out what the girls were up to after solving the Clarissa mystery. It's fun, yet emotional and serious, all at the same time. I liked that the girls had grown up a little from the last book yet are still trying to figure out their place in the world as they turn into adults. I hope that Ripley decides to continue their story!

I loved Missing Clarissa.

With that said I wanted to LOVE this book. I liked it but not nearly as much as the first book.

Cam and Blair were NOT the same Cam and Blair from Missing Clarissa. There was so much self doubt and hiding from one another. They were not in sync like before. I wanted book 1 and their experiences to bring them together not be the cause of their divide. I know in real life this happen and it just is but I just hated this for them.

Why is Luke so likable?? I did not want this story line for him.

Also what? Rich families. The worst.

This one though was okay just not what I was expecting. and slow.

It took me so long to read this book. I did enjoy it for the most part while I was reading it, but I just never felt pulled to pick it back up every time I put it down. I think it's because there's weren't enough hints along the way for the mystery. I didn't feel like I was solving it and figuring out the clues, it was just a big giant "who knows?" I had no idea what was actually going on and so it wasn't until the very end when finally things got revealed that the story got very interesting for me. I did love all the characters and I really appreciate the critique of true crime and thrillers in general consistent throughout, as well as the realistic portrayal of the trauma and terrible consequences that come from that kind of stuff happening to you in real life. So I liked it overall, but the pacing was really slow for me.

Ripley James brings back two characters that I fell in love with, Cam and Blair, in the first book Missing Clarissa. I definitely do recommend reading that first because it adds to some character development for several characters.

Cam and Blair think they are finished Sleuthing until Mattie shows up and begs for their help. Mattie's lost sister, Lola, has returned, and to say the least.... there is something going on in this family. Mattie explains their theory, but Cam and Blair quickly find themselves looking deeper into this case to help their friend.

This book is really unique. I like that it had some lgbt characters. Also, I loved getting to know Cam and Blair even more. But, the storyline moved a bit too slowly, and the end was a bit anticlimactic. Otherwise, I did enjoy this.

Out March 12, 2024!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

The Other Lola is the follow-up novel to Ripley Jones's previous book - Missing Clarissa.

"After Cam and Blair solved the mystery of Clarissa's disappearance, they vowed never to do it again. Until a freshman, Mattie Brosillard, shows up and asks them to help find her sister, Lola, that's been missing for 5 years. Except that her sister has suddenly reappeared claiming she finally escaped from a kidnapping but with little memory of what happened. Mattie is convinced that the girl claiming to be Lola is an imposter. Everyone but Mattie believes it's her. Cam is adamant that she will not help but Blair has some other reasons to look...some she doesn't want to share. Who is Lola?"

This is YA and reads like YA. The story takes a little to get going. There are the typical communication issues you see in YA - no one talks - so there are several issues that could be prevented if people just had a conversation.
The big reveal at the end is good and Brad saves the day. It's nice to see a Hero Brad even if there are passive/agressive comments about him all through the book. "...who cares what Brad needs." "For a quiet loner..." "Brad...in his sad and lonely exile surrounded by guns."
There's one thing throughout about the way a character is addressed that was confusing as a reader. It was often difficult based on the context to figure out who the author was talking about.

Good pick if you're looking for a YA mystery.

The Other Lola is a lovely mystery solved by two teenage girls who are best friends. I would put this in my classroom library.

DNF at 30%. I really liked Missing Clarissa so was looking forward to this one but this story just didn’t work for me. It is very slow going and at 30% I feel like I’m slogging through it. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook and audiobook to review.

I'll be happy to review this book once At Martin's Press acknowledges the boycott and responds properly.

The storyline for the second book in the podcast series just didn't hit the mark for me. The way the writing is done wasn't enjoyable to read. Some of the storyline is cliche or something I have read before and predictable. There wasn't any wow moments that impressed me as a reader.
I feel this book is better for the younger adult readers/reviewers.

The Other Lola continues the story of Cam and Blair's journey into the heart of small-town mysteries. As they struggle with newfound fame and the consequences of their first investigation, they are drawn back into the world of secrets and mystery when Mattie seeks their help to find the truth about her missing sister. Amidst tension and personal struggles, the story unfolds with increasing suspense, keeping the reader hooked until the very end. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this author.

Voluntarily reviewed after receiving a free copy courtesy of NetGalley, the Publisher, and the author, Ripley Jones.