Review: Don't believe the lies
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 08 31, 2013
We meet Phoebe, the heroine, as her lie-detecting abilities are starting to finally awaken. Her sisters have had powers since they were infants (seeing the future and healing), but for some reason it's taken Phoebe this long to come into hers. Yet the powers in this story felt more like an afterthought. The book came across as a harlequin romance with cliche teen events and a side note for awareness of the signs of abusive relationships. Some of the cliches were: hating school, cursing, fighting jealous ex-girlfriends, unchaperoned parties, under-aged drinking, making out with a "hot" boyfriend, etc. The foul language used was unnecessary, and showed how very uneducated the characters were.Phoebe was not a very likable MC. She lied a lot, so apparently her "truth telling" ability doesn't apply to herself. Her relationship was baseless - no grounds for love were explained other than he was 'hot' and flirty. She blamed others for her own faults and didn't take responsibility until it was forced upon her. Maybe that makes her more human, but when I read, I'd rather a main character I can believe in. With Phoebe, I wondered how she even had friends being so spiteful. Especially considering one didn't need lie detecting powers to see the truth about the guy her friend was with. It was obvious from the get-go.Although she says she & her sisters are triplets. The way they are portrayed, they come across as being different ages in different grades, since they're never really seen together. Also stated was that her sister Lily had been dating for 4 years. Her dad actually allowed them to date since they were 13? I find that hard to believe.Sadly the plot is threadbare, grasping for drama, and contains way too much normalcy to be called "different." From the preview I read of the sequel, told from Lily's point of view, that looks much more enjoyable than the first novel.Note: I won a free copy on Library Things for a review.