Review: Lies I Told by Michelle Zink

Lies I Told

Author: Michelle Zink
Series: Lies I Told #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA Contemporary
Format: ebook
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Source: egalley received from publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 3.5 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***

Synopsis from Goodreads:

What if, after spending a lifetime deceiving everyone around you, you discovered the biggest lies were the ones you've told yourself?

Grace Fontaine has everything: beauty, money, confidence, and the perfect family.

But it’s all a lie.

Grace has been adopted into a family of thieves who con affluent people out of money, jewelry, art, and anything else of value. Grace has never had any difficulty pulling off a job, but when things start to go wrong on the Fontaines' biggest heist yet, Grace finds herself breaking more and more of the rules designed to keep her from getting caught...including the most important one of all: never fall for your mark.

Perfect for fans of Ally Carter, Cecily von Ziegesar, and Gail Carriger, this thrilling, high-stakes novel deftly explores the roles of identity and loyalty while offering a window into the world of the rich and fabulous. 

My Review:

This book was so entertaining! I picked it up and didn’t put it down until I reached the very last page. I was tearing through the book, desperate to know what was going to happen with the biggest heist Grace’s family has ever pulled off. This life that they live is insane. I can’t imagine having to move every few months or even weeks because your family is busy stealing from the neighbors. Crazy.

I felt really bad for both Grace and her brother Parker who were kind of thrown into this life and not given much choice. I think that Grace definitely had blinders on for the whole book. She loves her adoptive parents and doesn’t really see how they are using her and Parker to succeed at their heists. But I also appreciated her loyalty and it was easy to see why she was so accepting of her parent’s lifestyle. I enjoyed watching her figure out right from wrong throughout the book. Grace is definitely not perfect, she’s flawed and she certainly hasn’t figured it all out by the end. But I think that she started asking the right questions and I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do next.

Parker was a really interesting character. I loved the brother-sister relationship between the two. Parker was very protective of Grace and I LOVED that. I always wanted an older brother who could protect me and stand up for me so I instantly fell in love with Parker. He was a very dark character and he definitely has some demons from his past that are still haunting him. I really want to learn more about him and I hope we do in the next book.

The romance was the one thing that I’ll complain about. I didn’t care for it at all. It moved way too fast for me, there was no chemistry between Grace & Logan and I just didn’t really care about them. I feel like their relationship was rushed for the sake of the heist, which would have been okay, had Grace not been totally enraptured with the guy. I think it might have been better had Logan been the only one with such strong feelings.

But aside from that tiny complaint, I really enjoyed this book. The plot was interesting and exciting. The family dynamic was unusual and unique. I think it’s going to get even better as the series goes on. There is a cliffhanger ending just to forewarn you. I didn’t even realize that this was a series until I reached the ending and immediately went to Goodreads to confirm that I wasn’t about to be extremely pissed. If you like mystery/thriller type contemporaries, I definitely think this one will be for you. The whole concept of grifting and conning people out of money was fascinating and I can’t wait to see where the series is going to go.

Have you read this book? What did you think? Were you fascinated by the family relationship? Did you love the brother-sister relationship between Parker and Grace?