Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

After getting into a lot of fantasy, it took me some time to get into this book, but once I got about 50% through, it had my full attention. The first twist was not was I was expecting at all, and the second twist was what I wanted it to be all along. The ending left me a little disappointed, but overall I really enjoyed this story!

I don’t think this one was for me. Kit Frick is a great author and her writing is fantastic. I just found the plot didn’t hold my attention and was kind of muddled. There were twists, but they didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat wanting more. I also didn’t really connect with the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had a lot of fun with this one – the end GOT me, and I will say usually, it's fairly hard to fully get me! The one thing flag I have is that the plot did feel a bit meandering, especially in the middle of the book, which made it just a bit harder to focus. But all in all, very fun reading experience – feels like a Euro summer version of "When We Were Villains." I wish they were releasing it this summer, instead of December, because I think it would be a GREAT beach read.

Goodreads post: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7626188389

BookTok post: https://www.tiktok.com/@lucy_readss/photo/7512160055777561899?lang=en

3.5 ★
Friends and Liars was an okay read overall, with a bit of a rocky start. The beginning felt slow and didn’t immediately pull me in, which made it hard to stay engaged at first. But once the story found its footing, the pace really picked up—and I flew through the rest.

Kit Frick does a good job weaving suspense and drama into the story, especially once the twists start rolling. The tension builds steadily, and by the halfway point, I was fully invested in the characters and their secrets.

It’s not the most unforgettable thriller I’ve read, but it definitely had some solid moments and a strong finish.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Thanks for opportunity to read this ARC. Loved the setting of Lake Como and the ties to Hollywood that mirror similar stories at this time. Could have picked up a little quicker. I thought I had it all figured out, they saved one surprise.

Now this book was so twisted and screwed up I loved it! Rich people always get what they want right? Well this author proves that no matter how rich one is, your sins will catch up with you. Think P-diddy. This was a page turner that I couldn’t put down. I will be reading more from this author! Thank you for the advanced copy!

I’d rate this book 3.5 stars for the following reasons:

⭐️⭐️⭐️½

This thriller blends old secrets, revenge, and a haunting mystery. The setting is stunning and the tension builds well, but the characters lack depth and some twists are easy to see coming. Still, it’s an entertaining read about friendship, betrayal, and the price of buried secrete

As a longtime fan of murder mysteries, I can confidently say this book delivers the kind of twisty, jaw-dropping moment that every reader hopes for. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, the story pulls the rug out from under you in the best possible way.

The story is told through multiple POVs, which really helped build tension and give insight into the different characters’ motivations. It added some nice variety and kept things moving. One of my favorite parts was the complicated friendship between Clare and her friend group. There’s something oddly fun about watching a friend group slowly unravel. By the end, it becomes clear just how toxic Clare really is (no spoilers, but… iykyk).

That said, the book did get a bit crowded with characters. While it’s clear the intention was to throw readers off the trail, at times it felt like a few too many players were involved. It slowed the pace down here and there and made some parts feel a little repetitive.

Still, It’s packed with suspense, layered with secrets, and just when you think you’ve figured everything out…bam! The real twist hits, and it’s nothing like what you expected. That moment alone made the entire read worth it.

In this twisty thriller, a group of friends reunites at a luxurious Lake Como villa to celebrate the life of Clare Monroe, who supposedly took her own life there on New Year’s Eve 2019. Five years later, they’re drawn back—each holding a dark secret tied to Clare, and each receiving mysterious threats that hint her death might have been murder, not suicide.

Told through multiple POVs and shifting timelines. I felt like there was a lot going on with characters at times but I also think that’s to try to throw you off.

The book wasn’t my favourite but it wasn’t the worst either. I just find that mystery/thrillers haven’t been as enjoyable lately. I like to think “what did I just read” or just really think about it after and this didn’t do that for me. Just a middle of the lane book, but sometimes those books are needed.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

I wanted to like this one. I hadn't read Kit Frick before, but the blurbs and covers are always intriguing, so I decided to give this one a try. Unfortunately, despite that promise here, I just couldn't find my way into the story. I think I may not just be a good fit for Frick's writing style...

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the advance ebook.

It’s been five years since heiress Clare Monroe tragically died on New Year’s Eve at her family’s opulent Italian palazzo. Since that time, her college friends have harbored a dark secret—their lies and betrayals led to Clare’s untimely death.

What happened that fateful night was a horrible accident, but Luca, Harper, Sirina, and David are guilty, nonetheless. And their desperate decision to conceal the truth destroyed their once-close bond.

Now, the estranged friends are each the recipient of an invitation from the Monroes to return to the lakeside palazzo for a long-overdue memorial for Clare. Accepting the Monroes’ invitation means playing with fire, but they can hardly refuse.

Luca, Harper, Sirina, and David have barely settled into their idyllic accommodations on Lake Como before someone at the memorial party begins targeting them. Haunted by little “gifts” left in their rooms, taunting notes, and the unshakable sense of being watched, it soon becomes clear that someone on the guest list knows the whole truth about the night Clare died—and the secrets her friends have been keeping. Nothing is as it seems at the palazzo on the lake, and under their tormentor’s vengeful gaze, their secrets—and their lives—are in danger.

The book was told from too many points of view for my liking. It also jumped time periods frequently. 2.5 out of 5 ⭐️

WOAH. Talk about a murder mystery. Four friends attend a memorial week for their friend Claire and upon arrival find out they’re being blackmailed.

This book started out kinda slow but about the time they started realizing someone outside their circle knew of their secrets I was hooked. A plethora of suspects with just enough motive kept me guessing the entire time. There were a few unexpected moments that had my jaw on the floor. But the ending?!? Never seen a twist done so well and so unexpectedly.

I appreciated the several POVs giving the entire context. I could feel the anxiety of each character and as a mom, Harper’s hit me the hardest.

While I loved this book and gave it 5 starts, the beginning was somewhat repetitive which is why it took until the blackmailing started to really get me invested in the story.

Overall I loved this book and will be looking into other works by Kit Frick!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this for an honest review!

Claire invites her friends to a New Year's Eve celebration in 2019 in one of her parents many estates, which happens to be in Italy. Unfortunately, everyone doesn't survive the night. Five and a half years later, the ones who survive are invited back for a memorial. Things quickly escalate once everyone arrives, and nobody is sure of who they can trust.

This is told from different points of view, and goes between two different time frames. The beginning starts off slowly, but quickly picks up speed in the second half. There are lots of different characters, and I didn't feel overly drawn to any of them. I did not have this figured out correctly in advance,but everything does come together neatly in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I requested this because I love Kit Frick, and this gave me vibes of her most recent YA novel, except with adults…which is really what I wanted from The Reunion anyway!

The titular friends (and also liars) are gathering at a fancy Italian villa to celebrate the life of their friend Clare Monroe. Five years earlier, New Year’s Eve 2019, the group were on a vacation to Clare’s family’s villa in Lake Como when Clare seemingly committed suicide. The other 4 friends haven’t really spoken much since then (Covid and lockdown effectively cutting them off from each other anyway), but they all have their reasons for wanting to go back to the scene of Clare’s death.

Of course, each friend is harboring a Dark Secret, which is tied to Clare, and which a mysterious “someone” is threatening to reveal if they don’t show up and then play along. There’s Harper, who was once Clare’s closest friend, who is hiding a secret from her husband that she’s worried will destroy her marriage. There’s David, now a sought-after film director whose secret could blow up his career. There’s Sirina, a struggling actress, whose secret could blow up not just her career but her whole life. And finally there’s Luca. He’s basically been a kept boyfriend for the last several years and he mostly jumps at the thought of a free Italian vacation (also, no spoilers, but his secret is extremely lame compared to the other 3).

Once they arrive at the villa, they start getting “gifts” and threatening notes - it seems like someone on in the family knows all of their secrets, and they *also* seem to think that Clare’s death wasn’t a tragic accident OR a suicide - she was murdered.

It’s sort of Christie-esque, since we’re trapped in a villa with a limited number of suspects (I keep wanting to say “on an island”, but they’re at Lake Como and I honestly have no idea how big it is!). There’s the expected - “It must be one of us” moment, but luckily they don’t do the thing where they all turn on each other. The other thing I appreciated is that they aren’t keeping these secrets from each other. The night Clare died (although at this point they didn’t know she was dead yet), they all spilled their secrets to one another. Even though it takes a while for the reader to find out everything, I appreciated that these characters don’t do that annoying thing where they just talk *around* whatever Big Something they’re hiding. It’s an enjoyably twisty ride in a fun setting!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!

Multiple POVS told through wealthy college friends and dual timelines set at an Italian villa, where one of the friends has died.

This was pretty creepy, psychologically. A group of 4 friends is invited to a memorial for a friend that died the last time they were on holiday together at Lake Como. They all have secrets they are hiding. And none of them was very nice to this friend that died. They were either using her outright for her money and privilege, or they did unforgiveable things to betray her. And this doesn't even give away spoilers. Imagine what the actual book is like. I have Lake Como on my list of potential travel destinations, so it's also on my radar for book settings.

Loved the story of the five friends and the memorial get together for one of them that reveals secrets and lies. Clare Monroe died five years ago and each of the other friends feels responsible somehow for her death. Was is suicide, an accident, or something else? The Monroe family are all equally fascinating characters.

The twists in the plot toward the end of the plot are riveting and the book is an exciting and compelling read. Very enjoyable.

Messy friends, mystery and different timelines? Say less. The twist at the end surprised me and I was sucked in the whole time

I found this novel really gripping, the author’s tone really made every sentence exciting and the ending left me really intrigued. The characters were not “flat” in the sense that they had multiple layers and depths to them. I believe that Kit Frick will see alot of praise for this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve enjoyed other books by this author so was excited to read this one. It was just ok- kept me reading to see what happens but I wasn’t terribly emotionally invested.