Ultimate Blog Tour Review: Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

Hey everyone!
Today is my stop on the blog tour for Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, and I am excited to be sharing my review with you all.

A massive thank you to @The_WriteReads, and @penguinplatform for allowing me to be a part of the tour, and for providing me with a beautiful copy of the book, in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Blurb:

An intense high-stakes story about five friends and the deadly secret that could send their lives up in flames, perfect for fans of Karen McManus and E. Lockhart.

In Gap Mountain, California, everyone knows about fire season. And no one is more vigilant than 18-year-old Hannah Warner, the sheriff’s daughter and aspiring FBI agent. That is until this summer. When Hannah and her best friends accidentally spark an enormous and deadly wildfire, their instinct is to lie to the police and the fire investigators.

But as the blaze roars through their rural town and towards Yosemite National Park, Hannah’s friends begin to crack and she finds herself going to extreme lengths to protect their secret. Because sometimes good people do bad things. And if there’s one thing people hate, it’s liars.

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My Review:

I have been really enjoying YA thrillers recently, so I jumped at the chance to be on the tour for Lies Like Wildfire. The book blurb sounded exactly like the sort of book I would enjoy, but after finishing the book, I can honestly say that the blurb doesn’t even do this book justice. This was everything I had hoped for, and so much more!

The story immediately gets off to an exciting start. The opening chapter hints at what is to follow in the story, before jumping back to five weeks earlier when the story really began, and more importantly, to how the wildfire really began! It instantly has you hooked, and once this book sinks it’s claws in to you, it certainly does not let you go.

The Monsters are a very interesting group of friends. They almost seem like they are each too different to even be friends! However, each Monster seems to take on their own role in the group, and they certainly all have their individual positive qualities that they bring to the table. They also each have their own negative qualities too though, and because of these, I’m not sure how I felt about any of them really. Did I actually like any of them? I don’t know, but what I do know is that Jennifer Lynn Alvarez did a brilliant job of creating each and every one of them, and in a way, I kind of feel like they were written in a way that we’re not supposed to be sure on whether we like them or not! Hannah was clearly trying her best to keep the group together, but I don’t necessarily think that was a good thing, because it seemed to cause more harm than good, and she made a lot of extremely questionable decisions along the way.

The wildfire itself was completely devastating, and completely out of control. It is crazy to think that such a small action/accident can lead to something so destructive and catastrophic, but that really is all it takes. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to live somewhere where this is a real possibility, and I can’t imagine the amount of pain and heartbreak that people who do experience this sort of thing must have to go through. The thought of losing your home, and everything you own, is something that I can’t even begin to understand. It’s completely life changing, and horrific. Plus, on top of that, the possibility of losing people that you love as well, it’s incomprehensible, and I think the author did a fantastic job of portraying that in this story.

This book is such a wild ride, and you’ll experience a rollercoaster of emotions along the way. By 50 pages in, I was in tears! There is so much action, and so many different things happening in the story, you really have no idea what is coming next. It’s exciting, thrilling, and total edge of the seat reading. From the moment I started reading, I just couldn’t stop, it was impossible to put this book down! The ending was completely unexpected, and also extremely satisfying. It seemed like the perfect way to wrap up an incredible story.

Lies Like Wildfire is one of my favourite books of 2021, and definitely one of my favourite YA thrillers that I have ever read. I loved this book so much, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. EVERYONE NEEDS TO PICK UP THIS BOOK! This was my first time reading anything by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, but it certainly won’t be my last!

I give Lies Like Wildfire a very easy 5 star rating!

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About The Author:

When I’m not writing, you’ll find me galloping my little black mare through the foothills of Sonoma County or teaching free creative writing workshops to kids and adults at various branches of our local library system. 

The Healdsburg Literary Guild selected me as their 2019/2020 Literary Laureate for my work in building literacy in my community. It is an honor I hold dear. I am also the current SCBWI Sonoma County Coordinator and a volunteer on the Sonoma County Library Advisory Board.

I live in Northern California with my husband, three children, and more than my fair share of pets!”

YOU CAN FIND JENNIFER HERE:
Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, GoodReads, YouTube, Pinterest

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