Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!

I was so excited to get to read the arc for this because I loved the first two Liars books so much, and I am constantly sharing them with students and discussing the way Lockhart writes these beautifully tragic stories that suck you in. We Fell Apart is no different.

This book, however, was its own special addition to the Liars world. Although this book can be read as a standalone, completely understandable without the context of the other two books about the Sinclair family, I would recommend reading them first. I think the context of those books adds a layer and depth to this story that wouldn’t be there without the knowledge.

I am not one for poetry, in fact it’s always my least favorite unit to teach, but the style of writing here that interweaves poetry with prose was so beautiful and captivating. The characters are all artists of some kind in their own form and the writing matches with that. I couldn’t put this down, and it’s already a quick read.

I also really loved all the references and callbacks to famous literature (no spoilers which).

I enjoyed this book a lot! It’s important to know that this is in the same universe as We Were Liars. While not a direct sequel, it does spoil the ending.
This book felt like more of a psychological read for me rather than a mystery. Like Housmaid or similar books. I really enjoyed the characters as well.
Thank you to Delacorte Press for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Calling all fans of We Were Liars and YA family drama lit - I could not stop reading this book! Matilda is getting ready to go to college when, all of a sudden, she receives an email from her famous/eclectic/recluse of a father (who, by the way, she has never met), saying he wants to meet her. She hops on a plane to visit him at the 'castle'...which is kind of derelict... And he's not there... This book won't be out until November, but you will be glad to know that it is available for pre-order now! Consider it a gift to your future self!

Holy atmospheric, Batman. In the Sinclair universe and prepping to have a conversation about the books and series, I had it on my list to read and felt a pull once I started to read through to the end because everything is just so sus from the start with Matilda- a girl whose mother always chases men everywhere and anywhere. Matilda decided to stay in California with her mom's second to last man, Saar, for the stability before finishing her high school career and because he was a caring father figure when she never had one and Mom decides to move to Mexico City in another male pursuit. But now the draw to the island on the opposite side of the country because she receives an email from her famous father asking her to come and with the promise of a painting. But really, she just wants a connection. When she gets there, he isn't there, but there is her half brother and his mom and two other teenage boys. It's also about a week after the shocking deaths at the Sinclair compound.

It's windy, twisty, and desperately creepy.

“Hate is very hard to undo.”

“You can let go of the idea that the world owes you stability. When you do that, you stop being angry, because you have no expectations.”

Matilda grew up with a flighty mom who was known for being an artist’s “muse”. She grew up moving schools and meeting new men constantly, as her mom would, “follow her heart.”Matilda decides to stay with one man her mom was with named Saar after Matilda’s mom moves to Mexico without her.

She stays for him, her friends, and her boyfriend.

Until she gets broken up with, loses all her friends, and her biological dad tells her to come visit in a small town because he has a painting for her.

She goes to Hidden Beach, which is across the way from Beechwood (We Were Liars references ATE in this book).

“This place is a beautiful, depressing trap.”

~~~

Beautiful and depressing was a good way to describe this book. Everyone feels so broken.

It has the same ominous/mysterious characters who won’t open up, and I loved how often they brought up or tied in the Sinclairs.

Tatum and Matilda’s romance did not read well on the pages. I was actually shocked when they kissed because it felt like it came out of left field.

Overall, I didn’t care for many characters. Saar was the absolute best - he was a great father figure and so caring. I wish Matilda had really appreciated him more.

I did think Meer was a fun character, very happy go lucky and optimistic. Very much chaotic good vibes. His and Brock’s friendship was precious.

The ending was kind of a nice little bow wrapped up, but something felt like it was missing still.

***spoilers below!!!***

But I genuinely want to know why there always has to be dead animals in these books! It’s the worst! It was so graphic and gore-y, it completely ruined the reading experience for me.

Kingsley was the worst, like yea I felt bad for him a little bit but overall he sucked.

June was a weirdo and I didn’t trust her and am still iffy on her involvement. I don’t get why all the kids listened to her.

Tatum was mean and weird, Matilda was cool sometimes but other times I was tired of her.

I think it was an alright story, but pieces were missing that didn’t hit the way We Were Liars did.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to ARC read in exchange for an honest review!

This book gave me total moody summer vibes, like dark and a little bit dreamy. Matilda goes to meet her dad and instead gets dropped in a house full of secret, messy boys, and a family that is practically falling apart. It kept you guessing the whole time, kind of like the prior books.
In all honestly though, Matilda felt a little distant at times, and I wanted a little more emotion from her. But once the layers started peeling back and the lies come to light, I was hooked, nonetheless!

This was technically the 3rd book in the we were liars series, but it went a totally different direction with mostly different people. It was a little bit of a mystery and a lot chaotic. It was t a bad story, but it felt kind of all over the place and it took me about half the book to get into the story. It’s worth reading if you’ve read the rest of the series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a coming of age story for four young adults with loose ties to We Were Liars. I enjoyed the character development and the light mystery. I felt like I was peeking into the summer vacation of friends having fun, exploring and learning about life.

I would like to thank Random House Children's Books and E. Lockhart for the opportunity to read this book. I offer this honest review freely.

I picked up We Fell Apart with pretty high hopes—beachy-summer vibes—but in the end, it landed more as a solid “liked it” than “loved it.” The setting by the sea has that moody vibe that draws you in instantly. The twist at the end doesn’t quite hit you like We Were Liars, and the pacing felt a little uneven at times. Still, it was easy to breeze through, and the world of Hidden Beach is comforting in a quirky way.

The characters were interesting enough —and I found myself more invested in the atmosphere than in any single character. All told, it was a good read just not one I’d call a favorite.

The third book in the We Were Liars universe. The first novel, We Were Liars, which was adapted as a television series was followed by Family of Liars, a prequel which the series seems to be teasing as a season two. This third book is complicated <<<<WARNING: potential spoilers ahead>>>> in that the entire book seems to be disconnected to the first two only in that it takes place in the general vicinity of the world of We Were Liars 5 days after the culminating event in that book. There is a bigger tie, but that is part of the ending "twist" of this one. Otherwise, this story is very different from pampered summer families on an island. This story is much darker and creepy with some very questionable events happening throughout. A different vibe for me altogether and one that I probably would have dropped early in the book if I hadn't read the series.

We Fell Apart was an interesting book set in the same world as We Were Liars and Family of Liars. As it is set during summer 15 of We Were Liars, I would read that before reading this book as it has major spoilers. It's also helpful to read Family of Liars first as it gives some good background information. Overall, I enjoyed We Fell Apart. There was a bit of a mystery going on as Matilda travels to Hidden Beach to meet her artist father for the first time. The problem I had with it is that the book didn't have much depth. The characters felt flat, the relationships were meant to be deep but seemed so surface level, and the plot just wasn't that compelling for most of the book. A lot happens in the last 30% or so which increased my rating a bit, but I don't really feel as if it lived up to the other books in the series.

Hard to beat We were Liars for me. So nostalgic of my teen hood but this one I also really liked! Perfect for readers who enjoy emotionally complex characters, unreliable narrators, and slow-burn psychological tension.

E. Lockhart has done it, again! With her unique writing style that pulls in the reader, this third installment weaves in the story of the tragic Sinclair family while maintaining its autonomy. Just know that there are spoilers for We Were Liars if you choose to read this novel first.

It's been over a decade since We Were Liars first came out. I remember reading it over the summer during a pretty seminal season of my early twenties. I loved the book. I loved the setting, loved the characters, loved the glimpse into the lives of an incredibly wealthy and dysfunctional family dynamic.
I felt similarly when I read Family of Liars a few years ago. It was nice to revisit the island, the Sinclairs, and see where and how the dysfunction began to take root. It was a solid prequel and a lovely tribute to love and loss and how our decisions haunt us.

Imagine my surprise when a third book in the series popped up on NetGalley. And the characters are living a life on an island adjacent to Beechwood. Sure, let's go!

Matilda Klein never met her father, famous artist Kingsley Cello, and has been longing to be seen, heard, valued, or wanted by a parental figure her whole life. So, when an email from her long-absent dad invites her to his house on Hidden Beach, she is intrigued enough to hop on a plane and take the chance.

When she gets to Hidden Beach, she's greeted by whispers of a tragedy that happened only a few days prior. A house burnt down on a nearby island and killed three teenagers. The family, the prominent Sinclairs, have since fled Beechwood for the summer leaving only ashes and rumors in their wake.

As a fan of the previous books, seeing Matilda and the boys exploring the charred remains of Beechwood, playing tennis on the courts, swimming in the pool, and walking around an island haunted by multiple ghosts was incredibly eerie and effective. What a wonderful look at not only grief and curiosity but also the entitlement of these children, who live in semi-squalor among the mansions of the Vineyard, trespassing into deserted homes, swimming in their pools, drinking their refrigerated bottled water, and walking across the ashes of a horrific accident without thought.

The themes of entitlement carry over into the book's elusive villain, Kingsley Cello. Born a Sinclair, he was disowned by his family for following his passion for art and spends the rest of his life pretending not to care all the while glancing over his shoulder at his brothers' lives from afar. When examining Kingsley's motivations for living in a way where he feels he owes no one anything, Matilda wonders why he was content to settle down and build a home with one woman and their son while completely ignoring her existence.
Matilda's mother, a flighty and boy-crazy professional groupie, makes sure that Matilda never has any stability in her life by flinging her around from place to place living man to man. She doesn't consider Matilda in any facet of their lives and leaves her to move to Mexico City with the newest love of her life, not really caring that Matilda wants to stay in California and finish her final semester of high school.
Because of this relationship with her mother, Matilda is hoping that her father is ready to show up as a parental figure for her. That maybe, by inviting her to his home and offering her a painting, he is ready to make up for lost time, get to know her, and heal the deep, festering abandonment wound left by both of her parents.

But when she gets to the island, Kingsley is nowhere to be found. Instead, she finds her half-brother Meer (short for Vermeer) and two orphaned boys who seem to call the castle home. She also finds the reigning adult of the house, June, who doesn't want her there and whose behavior is odd and unsettling. Aside from Meer, it seems like no one really wants her to spend time at Hidden Beach.

Turns out, it's because Kingsley has been on the island the whole time! He's been locked away in one of the towers because of his rapidly worsening dementia! And he didn't reach out to her at all--it was Meer because he wanted to meet his sister! And when Matilda confronts Kingsley about this, he straight up tells her that he owes her nothing, not even compassion!

It's such an interesting examination of the cycles of abandonment which Matilda chooses to break near the end of the book. I didn't like most of the characters in the novel but I don't think I was supposed to.

This was a dark twin book to We Were Liars, happening almost simultaneously with the tragic events in the original novel. The Sinclair family cannot help but burn everything down both literally and figuratively and it's up to the new generation to wade through the ashes and see if anything is worth salvaging.

I absolutely loved this book. The connections back to We Were Liars were seamless and added such a rich layer of meaning to the story.

What stood out most to me was the relationship between Matilda and Meer—their bond was tender, complicated, and so beautifully written. I loved watching how their closeness was shaped by both love and loss, and how that intimacy anchored the story. The art woven throughout the book was another highlight; it gave the narrative such depth and a unique way of expressing emotion, almost like another character in the story.

The setting was vivid and atmospheric, pulling me into this world completely. This is one of those books that lingers long after the last page, and I’m so grateful I had the chance to read it early.

I enjoyed the other two books in this series but I think this is my favorite. An intoxicating story with original characters that all tie into the first two books. Fans will not be disappointed with this one. Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books/Delacorte Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I picked up we were liars since I heard the tv show was coming out, and I thoroughly enjoyed the universe e. lockhart created, as well as her unique writing style. I quickly ventured into the family of liars book, and again came away enthralled with the continuation of the universe. Therefore, I was so excited to find out there was a third installment coming!!

Lockhart continues to craft beautiful summer worlds, hot hazes and eerie undertones. Her interactions amongst groups of teens feel real and realized, and I am so thankful to have found her work.

I felt that the plot didn’t immediately capture me as wwl and fol did, and I was hoping for a little more upfront action. However, the psychology behind the story and its characters, as well as the conclusion, surpassed any expectations I had. I felt so intrigued by the concluding chapters in part 8. You’re left with the now-signature blend of contemplation, comfort, and melancholy that I have learned accompanies lockhart’s work. You feel for each character in their plight, and I love the level to which it connected to the previous installments in the world of Sinclairs.

While I may hold more nostalgia for the characters in we were liars and family of liars (I think that's just a time thing is all, I've known those characters longer), I found immense value, enjoyment, and perspective in this story of lost family, found family, and interwoven family.

This book is part of "We Were Liars" series, which is set basically parallel to book one, and will spoil that book. In this one, the protagonist, Matilda, is a young adult who has essentially just been abandoned by her mother, the only parent she's ever known. She's just finished high school and is looking at a long summer before starting college. Out of the blue, an e-mail arrives from Kingsley Cello, a well known artist, claiming paternity and offering a summer's lodging. After she confirms her paternity with her mother, she goes to the famous island portrayed in the earlier novels. Upon arrival she meets her half-brother, his mother, and two other young men who have are a part of Cello's world. The one elusive person is her father.
I found the novel interesting and entertaining. I do think if you weren't a fan of the first two, you are unlikely to enjoy this one. The characters do spend a lot of time ruminating and not a lot on action. I also thought it was unlikely that Matilda would have been as patient as she is - her electronics are taken away, the father remains absent, and her instant bond with her half-brother, while charming, seems a little unlikely. All of the island's inhabitants are charismatic, but pretty self-centered, and it just seems that Matilda, love starved though she might be, would be a little more guarded. However, I did like it and read it quickly enough that I was willing to look past these holes at the time. However, in writing this review, they seem glaring. I think the intended audience will be up for another Sinclair journey (or adjacent in this case). thank you netgalley for an advance ecopy in return for an honest review.

✰ ✰ ✰ .𝟩𝟧
This was good!! I honestly have a love hate relationship with her writing style, because on one hand i feel like it’s a nice break from other books’ writing styles, but on the other sometimes it really annoys me how she writes some things yk??
I really liked the way she wrote the family relationships, but there was this one character (not gonna name names but 🤨) that REALLY annoyed me, and i know that was the purpose of the character but something about it just was super frustrating, and i just didn’t like it at all!!!
Sometimes i feel like E writes characters who are really good at feeling big emotions and yet at the same time having almost no personality?? And Matilda was definitely one of them but i still enjoyed her character at times.
As for the plot twist, i so guessed what was coming, it was very predictable, i didn’t guess exactly what was gonna happen but i guessed part of it so it wasn’t super shocking.
It was really fast paced and kept me entertained and engaged the whole time! I got to about 35% and was hooked and couldn’t put it down.

Wow! I just finished this book and feel like I need to rest after returning home from a long trip to Hidden Beach!

To be honest, I wasn’t convinced I was going to enjoy this book. Having loved both We Were Liars and Family of Liars, I was disappointed to find that this book centered around different characters instead of continuing the saga of the Sinclair family as told in the first two books. I was wrong! In just a few chapters, I was again heavily invested in the characters Lockhart creates. I won’t give away any spoilers, but I absolutely loved how she wove strands of the Sinclair family and their beloved Beechwood into the story of Matilda and her quest to find the father she had never met.

I tend to agree with those who say “the book is better than the movie”. However, I would love to see this story brought to life on screen like the first book of the series. This is a wonderful story that deserves to be read, watched, and enjoyed!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.