I rated this 3 stars, though honestly it felt closer to a 2.25. I really enjoyed the cameos from the original series—it was fun to see familiar faces again and to notice the little connections to the earlier books.

Where it fell short for me was in the overall tone. This one read much more like a YA novel than her first two, which carried more depth and maturity. The plot felt a bit meandering, and at times the characters came across as whiny, which made the story drag.

That said, it wasn’t a bad book. I can see it appealing more to readers who enjoy YA-style storytelling. For me, though, it didn’t quite measure up to the standard set by her earlier novels.

From the minute the book opened, I was trying to figure out the twists in We Fell Apart, but I failed miserably. I loved that the book compliments We Were Liars, but can be read completely as a standalone novel, too. When the main character is invited to visit her estranged father, a quirky artist, on a New England island for the summer, she's hopeful that she will get the answers and forge connections about her past. Instead, the experience brings more questions. Every single time I thought I had figured out what the twist was, E. Lockhart made a fool of me again. It was delightful.

༘ ೀ⋆｡˚ We Fell Apart ~ by E. Lockhart ˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚

I am always intrigued and moved by the writings of E.Lockhart. When I first read “We were Liars” I immediately flew through those pages like never before amazed by how brilliant and beautifully written it was.

This is a new story about the Sinclairs, but not in the way you think - It takes place the same summer of the house fire. Matilda receives an unexpected invitation from her father in which she has never heard from before. She travels to his home and her and her three newfounded friends go on a quest. Meeting her father Kingsley Cello for the first time, but the question is - will she have the honor in meeting him? Does he even exist? And are any of the people on this island even real? Can she escape this place that may become her new home? In the midst of all of these questions and mysteries, along the way Matilda finds love - not in the best way, but one that she discovers to be true unlike her relationship before coming to her father’s home. All of these questions leave her feeling lonely and empty. But with the help of her friends they answer each of these questions leaving you (the reader) turning every page with such a profound feeling of wanting more until the story is no more.

My rating ~ 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When I first read We Were Liars several years ago, I remember being so, so captivated by it. I sort of went into this one expecting the same level of captivation, so maybe it's my fault that it didn't quite hit that mark. I only liked about half of the characters I think I was supposed to like (obviously, I didn't like June but like.... Matilda.... Pretty sure she's written to be likable but she just felt sort of 'pick me'.) I feel like the book started off pretty strong but then started to really drag and the plot became super predictable. By the time the end arrived, I was READY for it to be the end, you know? I honestly would've preferred the romance side plot had been cut entirely because I feel like the book would've probably been stronger without it.

When I found out that E. Lockhart was releasing this book, I was hesitantly excited. “It wasn’t as good as the first book” is a real thing however, not in this case! We Were Liars, We Were Family and We Fell Apart all have their own vibes and even the writing style is a bit different in each book to stay true to the personality of the book, which I love. We Fell Apart felt more like We Were Liars in regards to vibes but the storyline is truly unique.

Matilda ventures to Hidden Beach to meet the father she’s never known and discovers she also has a brother who is desperate to get to know her. She begins to feel as though there are dark secrets on the island and she is torn between leaving the people she was living just fine without before and staying to dig up the truth. Lies are told. Threats are made. None of that scares Matilda away. Through cryptic messages and a little snooping, Matilda discovers the truth of what is really going on at Hidden Beach, but is it too late to help her father?

I love the moments of book crossovers that are mentioned in this book. You don’t have to read the other books to enjoy this book, however, I strongly encourage you to read them first. It makes the ending hit so much harder.

E. Lockhart’s writing style and plot twists never cease to amaze me. I am incredibly honored to have been selected as an ARC reader for this book. Thank you @netgalley for sending me a copy of this book!

This book started out about a super weird family?? Cult?? I was having one of those major wtf did I just read moments with this one. By the end I was so glad I stuck with it though. The plot was so intriguing and I loved how it tied back in to the first novel. I felt bad for Matilda never getting the chance to know her real dad, but adored her relationship with Saar and was glad she realized he didn’t have to be blood to be her father figure. I thought everyone’s endings were so perfectly sculpted.

I read this without reading the first two but I felt I was still up to date in the story I don’t feel I was missing much. I did enjoy the suspense in the book and the plot twists did it for me I enjoyed the book.

Getting the ARC for this book prompted me to finally read the first two which had been sitting on my shelf for a while - and i am so glad i finally read them! This was my least favorite in the series, but still entertaining. I was happy to see everything kind of "wrapped together." There was a good mystery aspect of it and i liked that this book was a bit more out there.

——3⭐️

I would like to give a huge thank you to NetGalley, E. Lockhart, & Delacorte Press for providing me with an eARC of We Fell Apartin exchange for my honest review.

➼ I was excited to go back into the world where Beechwood exists. E. Lockhart always has a way of creating an atmosphere that feels haunting and beautiful at the same time. However, the pacing here was uneven, with certain sections feeling slow, and the plot itself leaned toward the predictable. While I enjoyed the setting and some of the more emotional moments, the story overall didn’t capture me the way I had hoped.


➼ I would still recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the first two books!

I’ve talked to a lot of people who read We Were Liars, and the general consensus was always “I hated it until that major plot twist came up!” Personally, I love E. Lockhart’s writing- I always get so caught up in the way she writes. It adds so much to the stories of these dysfunctional yet intriguing characters. I went into Family of Liars with high expectations, and they were well met! A truly captivating story of another piece of the Sinclairs’ lives. I adored it, and can’t wait to see what comes next!

This book is part of the We Were Liars series. It isn’t about any of the characters from the other two books tho. I was a little disappointed about that. The story itself was good. It’s a coming of age book in a way. I didn’t love it as much as We Were Liars, but to be fair nothing will ever beat that twist. Overall, I enjoyed it.

Ive heard lots of mixed reviews for this author but personally I'll read every book! Such a great story!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC opportunity!

This is part of the We Were Liars stories, but follows different people, which I enjoyed. I will say it fell a little flat compared to the other two but its still a good continuance of the stories.

Everyone in this is flawed, and almost gives a broken feel. Its a great story, but in an almost sad way.

Thank you NetGalley for this amazing read! This book felt special because I have students that have read the other two Liars books and I am so excited to share this with them in November! This book is fast-paced and hooked me right from the start. Even though this book can be read as a standalone, there is so much more depth to the story knowing the story of the two other books. Seeing how all the puzzle pieces fit together made the Liars story come full circle for me! Highly recommend!!

The story centers around Matilda Klein, a young woman whose estranged father, a famous artist, Kingsley Cello, invites her to visit. She leaves the West Coast, traveling alone to visit him on an island in Martha’s Vineyard. Matilda finds herself in his home, a strange atmosphere with stranger characters, but no Kingsley.

It took a while for me to figure out the connection to We Were Liars and the Sinclair family. The story takes place only days after “the fire” on a neighboring island to the Sinclairs’ home. I longed for the prose and signature style of Lockhart’s exquisite writing, only to find it in bits and pieces.
The book dragged on a bit; further development of the characters and more alignment with the Sinclairs would have kept my interest and strengthened the storyline. I ended up feeling satisfied, but it wasn’t what I had hoped for.

We Fell Apart is the third book in the We Were Liars trilogy, the perfect trilogy for people who love rich people drama (it's me I'm people).

I really loved the first two books so I was super excited for We Fell Apart and it did not disappoint. I love Lockhart's writing style and storytelling! This book is rich in tension and the mystery unfolds deliciously. The vibes are absolutely immaculate. The only downfall of this book was that the ending felt rushed, a couple extra chapters would've helped the connections made feel more plausible. Tatum and Brock also didn't feel distinct enough to be 2 separate characters but overall I would recommend!

This was loosely connected to We were liars but followed different characters. It's a coming of age story and even though I don't like it as much it was still a good read. I think a young adult audience would really enjoy this.

Thank you to Netgally for the opportunity to review this ARC.

I expected this to be great, and it was. Matilda was a fantastic protagonist to follow, as she searches for the family she never knew. I loved the setting, this isolated castle on Martha's Vineyard -- such a very cool place. All the musings on art and gaming were insightful. I had a lot of theories on how this would tie into We Were Liars and I was mostly wrong, haha, but I love the way it ended up all tying together. My only complaint is it wasn't longer as I wanted to spend more time in this world with these people.

Flew through this one! Loved the parallels with we were liars, but enjoyed exploring new characters even more. That plot twist!!!

Actual: 3.5⭐) I remember reading Lockhart's WE WERE LIARS years ago - like, back in uni - and loving it (despite it being a bit convoluted if you really think about it/"pull a thread' hard enough lol). And, with that said, a big reason as to why I enjoyed these novels as much as I did is because of Lockhart's writing style— a style in which still rings true today/here. WE FELL APART is propulsive in its prose and [mostly] relentless in its pacing, creating an atmospheric treat for us as readers that is easy to become immersed in and filled with suspense and mystery. Our FMC though, Matilda, admittedly isn't the most...... likable character lol.... which, while I could understand some of her plight based off my own personal experiences in my life/past, she definitely gave off Cool/Not Like Other Girls™ that read at times more than a little pretentious and grating. 🥴 However, I can appreciate how WFA felt different [in a good way!] from the previous books in this series - the second in which I didn't particularly care for at all tbh - while also still, as I mentioned earlier, remaining true (&/or perhaps arguably marking a "return") to Lockhart's signature form. I was entertained the entire time, despite some of my gripes, so at the end of the day I can still say I had fun. Because of the genre(s) this book falls under, I obviously will not spoil anything here, but definitely would recommend if you enjoy stories written through a poetic lens, unreliable &/or non-linear narrators/timelines, and unexpected twists (the ending isn't as ~crazy as its predecessors, though I'm sure it will still be rather divisive)!