Book Review: Lies Like Poison by Chelsea Pitcher

This book review is so late but there’s a reason for that. I thought I was getting it in a book box and then I didn’t so I finally made myself sit down and read it. And wow. I started it late one night. And finished it in one session.

It was that good.

Lies Like Poison follows four teenagers: Belladonna, Jack, Lily and Raven who a few years before had made a plan to kill Raven’s step-mother with flower petals in her tea. But they don’t go through with it. A few years later she’s killed with belladonna in her tea and now these four have to find out what really happened.

This book is pretty short but with a queer main cast and fairy tales vibes throughout, I wasn’t able to put the book down. It was dark and my god do you feel bad for these teenager’s upbringings. You get flashbacks into their past and you may tear up every now and then. But it all makes the bonds they’ve built make sense. Though I couldn’t say that I actually liked Lily or Belladonna, I did emphasise with them and to me that means they were so well written.

I’ve seen some reviews say that they didn’t like that Jack’s trans-ness was a plot twist but, honestly? It was obvious that he was at least non-binary if not trans from the first time he was mentioned. So it didn’t really feel like a plot twist. Just a storyline that was revealed later and since it can be hard for some people to come out, that makes sense.

I will say that who the killer turned out to be was kind of predictable. As the plot unfolds some details come to light and well, it’s just obvious who the killer is. Even if you don’t find out until right near the end.

But I loved the found-family aspect, the queer characters and I just found this book so easy to read and so enjoyable.

I’m so glad I finally read this book.

5/5 Stars

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