Tell Me Lives by Carola Lovering
When I read that this has been compared to the Luckiest Girl Alive and Jessica Knoll and Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler, I knew I would love it!
Here's the Synopsis: A thrilling, sexy coming-of-age story exploring toxic love, ruthless ambition, and shocking betrayal, Tell Me Lies is about that one person who still haunts you—the other one. The wrong one. The one you couldn’t let go of. The one you’ll never forget.
Lucy Albright is far from her Long Island upbringing when she arrives on the campus of her small California college, and happy to be hundreds of miles from her mother, whom she’s never forgiven for an act of betrayal in her early teen years. Quickly grasping at her fresh start, Lucy embraces college life and all it has to offer—new friends, wild parties, stimulating classes. And then she meets Stephen DeMarco. Charming. Attractive. Complicated. Devastating.
Confident and cocksure, Stephen sees something in Lucy that no one else has, and she’s quickly seduced by this vision of herself, and the sense of possibility that his attention brings her. Meanwhile, Stephen is determined to forget an incident buried in his past that, if exposed, could ruin him, and his single-minded drive for success extends to winning, and keeping, Lucy’s heart.
Alternating between Lucy’s and Stephen’s voices, Tell Me Lies follows their connection through college and post-college life in New York City. Deep down, Lucy knows she has to acknowledge the truth about Stephen. But before she can free herself from this addicting entanglement, she must confront and heal her relationship with her mother—or risk losing herself in a delusion about what it truly means to love.
With the psychological insight and biting wit of Luckiest Girl Alive, and the yearning ambitions and desires of Sweetbitter, this keenly intelligent and staggeringly resonant novel chronicles the exhilaration and dilemmas of young adulthood, and the difficulty of letting go, even when you know you should
I completely devoured this book! It's the kind of story you talk about with your girl friends. If you have a book club that likes to drink wine, this is THE BOOK you need to read together. Pop some Rosayyyy and let the gossip begin! It's the most relateable book I have read in a long time. It's honest and unapologetic and I love the attitude and spunk of the characters.
This won't take a lot of brain power so to me, it's a great book to pack in your beach bag. You'll recognize a lot of different versions of a 25 or 30 year old you, because every woman goes through some of the emotions that Lucy goes through. And for a summer read, you know you have something a little steamy, so this book has that covered too!
Thank you to Atria books for my copy #partners
