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.

My review is spoilery, so be warned.

It was a good enough read. And the narrator was fantastic. However, they could've skipped the whole "Lola coming back" storyline and it would have been the same. Even better actually, because honestly what are the chances of a grifter looking 100% like someone else? Nil. Mattie could've asked Cam and Blair for help finding their sister and it wouldn't have changed a thing.

Thank you to MacMillan for the audio review copy of The Other Lola by Ripley Jones. This is nicely narrated by Inés del Castillo though I think the book could benefit from mutliple voice actors to give more of a voice to the main characters. Inés del Castillo does an excellent job differentiating Cam's voice and Blair's voice so it's not a comment on the strong acting they provide!

Strong audiobook performance and a plot with a lot of potential, a really great story and also interesting ways to explore depth with Cam and Blair. What is missing for me is the tension, the suspense, the really getting drawn into the mystery itself, that never quite happens for me, things happen and there is no real sense of stylish plot development. It misses the sense of drama, the unease, and real depth of trauma that is presented but never really addressed... what makes similar series like this work (such as Good Girls Guide to Murder; Truly Devious series).

In this spin off of Mossing Clarissa we rejoin Cam and Blair. This time they don’t have a podcast, but they do start looking into a case when Mattie Brosillard approaches them about her sister who has just returned after being missing for five years. Together, the three of them look into Lola’s disappearance and return uncovering secrets that might have been better left undisturbed.

When I picked up this book I just knew it was by the same author and Missing Clarissa not that it had some of the same characters, so I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading. I enjoyed this book from the very beginning and was pulled into this new story, even though the podcast angle was gone in this book. I really like the characters of Cam and Blair and how they feed off of each other and drive the story. The mystery in this book kept me guessing until the very end and the twists and turns it took kept me interested. Some of the new characters weren’t my favorite, but I didn’t enjoy the addition of Mattie. Overall, this was an entertaining read that held my interest the entire time. If you are looking for a good YA thriller, I think this one is worth a shot!

This is a sequel to Missing Clarissa, and although you don't necessarily need to read it first (the mystery is a standalone), the characters continue and there are total spoilers for Missing Clarissa throughout the book.

Cam and Blair are finally feeling out from under the shadow of what happened with their podcast, but Cam especially is feeling a lot of panicky PTSD-like effects. When they are approached by freshman Mattie Brosillard to help with something, Blair is interested but Cam wants to stay far away. Five years ago, Mattie's sister Lola disappeared without a trace, everyone around her dismissed it as Lola running off, but Mattie doesn't believe it. And to complicate matters: Lola has recently returned. Everyone is happy to have her home except for Mattie--who thinks this "other Lola" is an imposter. Can Cam and Blair figure out if this person really is the actual Lola?

The Other Lola is a bit more of a slow burn than Missing Clarissa. The mystery to me actually took a back seat to all of the other issues going on: Cam and her relationship, Cam and Blair getting ready to graduate, Cam dealing with PTSD and not wanting to tell anyone, Blair getting approached to write a book and trying to decide about college, etc. It was nice to get closure on the characters and I don't really feel like we need another book featuring all of them again.

I listened to this as an audiobook and I felt like the "they/them" pronouns used for Mattie were incredibly overused, almost seemingly to make a point. Maybe I could have skipped over them more easily on the page, but in the audiobook they really stood out and made it confusing whether the author was referring to Mattie as "they" or Cam and Blair as "they" and there were times that both occurred in the same paragraph. Often Mattie's name could have and should have been used, but no, we had to get one more use of the pronouns in for good measure. And I felt that Blair's insta love with Mattie's brother was not believable at all. However, I am SO thankful that the narrator pronounced "Hoquiam" correctly in this book. Bravo to whoever listened to the feedback last time.

I did like the mystery surrounding Lola and the ultimate way everything was explained. I thought it was very clever and other than the semi eye-rolling climax to the story, the way things played out were fairly believable.

This was an interesting YA novel and those who enjoyed Missing Clarissa will like it for the way it wraps up the characters' stories and it may introduce new readers who want to meet the crime solving duo.

The Other Lola is a fun YA thriller that is easily bingeable. It is not labeled as the second in a series but honestly you should read Missing Clarissa first, there are so many references to it in this book that you'll definitely benefit from reading it first.

I love the dynamic YA detective duo Cam & Blair they're so much fun to follow in their shenanigans. The characters are not much developed in this novel, I think new readers starting with this one will end up not connecting to the characters. Unlike Missing Clarissa I found this one to be a little slow, I was wondering when the twists would happen.

I do believe the author tried to do too much but didn't have enough substance to make for an intriguing plot. Was it fun, definitely, was it entertaining, definitely! Do I think this follow up was necessary, not really, but I still had fun with it.

🎧 The narration by Ines Del Castillo was great, I thought she did a great job with the characters, in portraying their emotions and in keeping me invested.

✨️Thank you to @netgalley & @macmillanaudio for my free ALC in exchange for an honest review.