I understood then. We were a constellation.
We would always be together.

Seven Minutes in Heaven (TLG #6) by Sara Shepard | Rating: ★★★★★

I understood then. We were a constellation. We would always be together.

I was so not ready for the finale of The Lying Game but here we are. Fresh on the heels of Nisha’s untimely death, Seven Minutes in Heaven opens with Emma as she struggles through the passing of her friend and can’t help but to wonder what the girl wanted to tell her in her final hours. It sounded so urgent and as if someone wanted to shut her up, for good. Could she have somehow figured out that Sutton’s dead?

Did she discover who killed her sister?

Or who she really is?

The Mercers and Sutton’s friends now have the knowledge, as well, of the existence of a twin sister. Sutton’s parents are more determined than ever to track the mysterious girl down to complete their family–little do they know she has been living with them the whole time and their daughter was dead.

Just as Emma begins to grow more and more devastated and concerned, with only Ethan to confide in; her suspect list seems to be growing shorter. Who killed Sutton Mercer? Emma fears the only logical suspect could be Sutton’s ex-boyfriend and his temper.

Cross My Heart, Hope to Die (TLG #5) by Sara Shepard | Rating: ★★★★★

“The best you can do is be honest with the people you love and hope that they’ll care enough about you to listen.”

I’ve been sitting here for a while trying to figure out how I want to start my review for Cross My Heart, Hope to Die. I’m still horribly intrigued and HEARTBROKEN. Sara Shepard, how could you do this to me? Better yet, how can I continue to let her plots fuck me up?

If anyone knows the answer, let me know. I guess I just like the pain, he-he. Anyhow, we are nearing the end of The Lying Game series and I’m going to be so sad to say goodbye to the characters. I’m nowhere near ready, yet incredibly ready at the same time. I need answers!

Emma Paxton has transformed herself into a grand impersonator of her long lost and tragically dead twin sister, Sutton Mercer, and has been walking in the girls luxurious shoes for months. So far, she has convinced her sisters friends and family that she is Sutton; but things are growing more and more tricky.

Emma’s gig is almost up and her life is thrown in jeopardy once more–you can feel her getting closer to solving Sutton’s murder and know that things will be heating up fast. And now, a new girl at school somehow is able to see right through who she is.

Hide and Seek (TLG #4) by Sara Shepard | Rating: ★★★★★

Hide and Seek, the fourth novel in The Lying Game series, is just as fast paced and mysteriously chilling as the first of the series. Fortunately for readers, it picks up right where the last book left off and is perfect for binge reading. Sara Shepard once more makes its terror and the luxury of Sutton's life blend together in a dark and fascinating way.

There’s no path of safe return for Emma Paxton at this point, who has taken the place of her long lost twin sister to solve the teenage girls murder. In order for Emma to do this, she must put on a successful front and impersonate a girl she hardly knows. Sutton Mercer was the girl to be at Hollier High; now no one knows she died weeks prior to this.

She was no saint, she was shallow and spiteful in a way that only rich teenagers can be. It isn’t an easy front for Emma to put up, but so far so good. And with every week that passes, the further Emma dives into her sisters shoes, the higher the stakes are for her.

Emma has fooled Sutton’s family; Kirsten and Ted Mercer as well as Sutton’s little sister Laurel. She has even fooled Sutton’s friends, her classmates and secret boyfriend. Emma has become Sutton in order to bring her sisters killer to justice and risks what little she has to do so.

As a matter of fact, the only people who know her true identity are the killer and Emma’s new boyfriend, Ethan Landry.

Two Truths and a Lie (TLG #3) by Sara Shepard | Rating: ★★★★★

Picking up where Never Have I Ever left off, Two Truths and a Lie opens us up to a whole new can of mysteries and surprises. In this world, nothing is ever simple and with every answer comes a new question. You don’t know who you can trust and nearly everyone is keeping secrets. But who’s harmless and who’s a walking nightmare?

Still being pulled into a dangerous position by the hand of blackmail, Emma Paxton must successfully continue to live out the life of her twin sister, Sutton Mercer, all the while playing a twisted game with the anonymous person who killed Sutton. Emma has so far been able to impersonate her twin with grace and even has Sutton’s friends and family fooled.

The only person who knows Emma’s real identity outside of the killer is Ethan Landry, the cute and mysterious friend that Emma has sparked with from the start. Both Emma and Ethan have developed feelings for one another–but can Emma pull off having a relationship and solving her sisters murder?

Things are about to get even more complicated with the return of Sutton’s ex-boyfriend, and Madeline’s brother and Laurel’s best friend, Thayer Vega. With his return comes more memories of Sutton’s, more tension and more answers. Emma is spooked and suspicious by Thayer’s behavior more than once, and he instantly becomes her number one suspect.

Never Have I Ever (TLG #2) by Sara Shepard | Rating: ★★★★★

“My enemies are everywhere. And sometimes, those we least suspect turn out to be our biggest threats.”

Emma Paxton’s life is growing more and more complicated as she races to solve the murder of her long-lost twin sister, Sutton Mercer. Sutton’s spirit is tied to Emma’s and is forced to follow her twins every move in the afterlife; allowing her to to know the sister she didn’t know she had and longing for closure. Silently, both girls are given the chance to know each other even though death separates them.

It’s all very sad and scary but very, very intriguing.

In order for Emma to solve this unexpected murder-mystery, and get back to life as she knew it, she has had to take her twins place unknown to anyone besides the cute-and-mysterious Ethan Landry and of course the murderer.

And although Sutton is there with her in spirit, she has no recollection of what happened the night she was killed and has no way of communicating with Emma. Everything is one giant mystery for both girls and it’s surprising the way it unfolds.

Making the stakes higher than ever, Emma is blackmailed into playing a convincing Sutton–for all those in Sutton’s world, they don’t know that she is dead. And in order for the killer to get away with murder, Emma is the key to everything.

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard | Rating: ★★★★★

"I understood we used to be close. But they were like books I'd read two summer ago; I knew I'd liked them, but I couldn't tell you now what they'd been about."

In true Sara Shepard fashion The Lying Game is filled with style, wit and mystery to the highest degree. All made simple in its fast pace and entertaining tone. Armed with her easy-to-read and suspenseful style, Shepard glides through the first installment of her under appreciated series smartly and leaves readers with a heavy, dark and vivid image of what is yet to come.

Much like Pretty Little Liars, the series starts with a spooky and mysterious tone: death and possible betrayal is at a high. Sara Shepard will fuck with your mind and pull the rug out from under you every time you think you've got it solved. For The Lying Games, our narration is split into twos: Emma’s thoughts in life and Sutton’s in the afterlife. It’s a refreshing twist to her writing and Sara covers ground pretty well with both girls thoughts.

Emma Paxton is a kind, intelligent, sarcastic and down-on-her-luck teenager who is fast approaching her eighteenth birthday. Ever since her mother, Becky, left her to fend for herself at the age of five she has bounced back and forth between foster homes.