Review: Lies You Wanted to Hear by James Whitfield Thomson

Lies You Wanted to Hear by James Whitfield Thomson
Published by Sourcebooks Landmark on November 05th 2013
Pages: 416
Source: Borrowed from the Library
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My Rating:

A deeply moving, beautifully-written picture of how the smallest crack in a relationship slowly, over decades, becomes a canyon too wide to bridge.

When Lucy meets Matt on a blind date, Matt is instantly hooked; he sees Lucy as the fun, sexy, and wickedly smart girl of his dreams. Although she’s still getting over an old lover, Lucy is won over by Matt’s sweet, thoughtful nature. But 20 years later, alone in an empty house trying to imagine the lives of her two young children, Lucy comes to realize that the little lies you tell can create more damage than the truth you’re hiding.

 
I never would have picked this up had I seen it in stores but after seeing Estelle’s review on it, I knew I had to read it. I’ve slowly teetered away from adult fiction in recent years, but this sounded like just the book I would need to get me back into reading it!

I liked and disliked Lucy and Matt equally at different parts. I loved that I didn’t like one character more or less than the other and just when I thought I would hate another character, they did something that was redeeming. James Whitfield Thompson does an excellent job at character building. I felt like I knew both main characters, the children, their friends, personally while I was reading. I could completely understand both of their reasoning for things, and then on the opposite vein, feel completely for the person they were doing it to. It’s so easy to like AND so easy to hate the main characters, it’s a weird situation that I can’t explain to anyone that hasn’t read the book I don’t think!

Lies You Wanted to Hear is written in three books, in alternating perspectives between Lucy and Matt. The narrative and style reminded me a lot of Gone Girl, and I enjoyed that fact because it really keeps you on your toes. As it’s written in alternating perspectives, nearly ever chapter leaves you at a part where you want to rush through the next chapter to get back to that character but by the time you get to the end of that chapter you feel the same way! It’s a really refreshing style because the story never feels stagnant.

The story itself is remarkable. It’s the absolute perfect book for a group read because there are so many opinions and talking topics that can come out of it. The story spans over thirty years and the alternating chapters really help to bring the story together.

The only reason why I am not giving this 5 complete stars is because I wanted a bit more for the ending and I would have liked another chapter from Lucy’s perspective. I also was slightly disappointed because I had read a number of reviews that made it seem like there was a huge shock factor in the book, but I didn’t get that at all. Granted there were several times where I had “WTF” moments, but everything made sense with the story and there wasn’t a massive twist.

Overall, Lies You Wanted to Hear is a fantastic debut novel from an author that I will definitely be watching out for! Highly recommend this one if you are looking for an adult read that will keep you on the edge of your seat and really make you think.