The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning

e-Audio, 15:06:30
Narrated by: Barrett Leddy & Kristen DiMercurio
Release Date: September 17, 2024
Published by: Books on Tape (Tor Teen) 
Read from: September 20-23, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received an ALC from the publisher via this app. This did nothing to influence my review)
Content Warning: Blood, Death, Violence, Murder, Suicide, Alcohol, Domestic Abuse, Vomit, Injury/Injury Detail
For Readers Interested In: Fantasy, Witches, Suspense, Thriller, YA

   Knives Out meets The Inheritance Games with magic in this standalone supernatural thriller by Sarah Henning: thirteen witches, a locked-room murder, and two non-magical sisters trapped in a deadly game of Clue

     Ruby and her sister, Wren, are normal, middle-class Colorado high school students working a summer job at the local Renaissance Fest to supplement their meager college savings.
     So when an eccentric old lady asks them to impersonate her long-absent grandchildren at a fancy dinner party at the jaw-dropping rate of two grand―each―for a single night… Wren insists it’s a no-brainer. Make some cash, have some fun, do a good deed.
     But less than an hour into the evening at the mysterious Hegemony Manor, Ruby is sure she must have lost her mind to have agreed to this.

*MY THOUGHTS*

As someone who isn’t a huge fan of fantasy, I am absolutely shocked to say how much I enjoyed this. One of my favorite movies the other year was Knives Out. So when I saw this was comped to that, I HAD to get my hands on it. And sure enough, this is exactly what I got.

One reason I’m not a huge fan of fantasy novels is the magic systems are never explained well and if it is, it’s info-dumped. It’s always weird. But this one is actually done really well. They really show their powers before they explain them and then when they explain them, it’s because the MC is reading a book. And call me weird, but I loved the fish out of water, just dropped into this magical world vibe. It made them stronger in my eyes. Because you did this with these kind of people and still made it? Beast.

The romance was just ok. I know it had to be there to push some plot points, but I guess that’s why I didn’t actually click with it. It felt a tiny bit forced. Maybe that was just because I KNEW what it was doing? But still I just didn’t buy into it. I knew that they were falling for each other because they would need someone on their side. And I’m just going to tell you here to read it so you can see if he does.

Now this book is comped to Knives Out and Inheritance Games and those are two of my favorite things. I just KNEW this wasn’t going to be true. But as it turns out, it was definitely exactly that. It left me wondering if there was going to be a sequel, even after this first one closed so well. So basically I’m going to be sitting here a year from now trying to see if there’s another one and can I get it lol

The only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars is the characters. We don’t get to know really any of them. And even tho this is Dual POV and we’re in their heads, we only know small bits of them, one side is trying to help her and someone else survive and the other is trying to catch a killer. It’s quite the story.

This book is good and very surprising. I enjoyed the twists and turns. There’s so much happening that when the twist comes you will be caught off guard. Or at least I was lol I had forgotten that I was supposed to be looking for that thing. I was too busy trying to make sure that they found something that would help them against magic.

If nothing else, I can definitely say this book made me realize that I need to start reading the synopsis lol I added this to my TBR because of the cover, and I’m glad I read it because here we are a year before the next ToB and I already have a confirmed one I want to add to it.

Overall I give this