Hold on for one of the funniest books I’ve read in ages; Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes will have you laughing and cheering, and thoroughly entertained from start to finish.
“I’m not saying this is Sawyer’s fault,” the prim and proper one said delicately. “But.”
Eighteen-year-old auto mechanic Sawyer Taft did not expect her estranged grandmother to show up at her apartment door and offer her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season. And she definitely never imagined she would accept. But when she realizes that immersing herself in her grandmother’s “society” might mean discovering the answer to the biggest mystery of her life-her father’s identity-she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses, bigger egos, and a whole lot of bless your heart. The one thing she doesn’t expect to find is friendship, but as she’s drawn into a group of debutantes with scandalous, dangerous secrets of their own, Sawyer quickly discovers that her family isn’t the only mainstay of high society with skeletons in their closet. There are people in her grandmother’s glittering world who are not what they appear, and no one wants Sawyer poking her nose into the past. As she navigates the twisted relationships between her new friends and their powerful parents, Sawyer’s search for the truth about her own origins is just the beginning.
Set in the world of debutante balls, grand estates and rolling green hills, Little White Lies combines a charming setting, a classic fish-out-of-water story, and the sort of layered mystery only author Jennifer Lynn Barnes can pull off.
Let me start by saying this: I cannot recommend this book enough! Little White Lies is freaking hilarious. The characters are dynamic, the plot full of juicy, twisty turny gossip and lush Southern charm, and the witty prose and snarky comebacks will have you in stitches throughout. I loved Sawyer’s sarcastic, sassy attitude — and as the narrator of this crazy story, no one could have served the role better.
Little White Lies is chock-full of society family drama, and Barnes writes it in such a way to make it deliciously enticing and entirely entertaining, without letting the plot run away to complete soap opera-level cheesiness. Okay, it’s a little soap opera cheesiness — but knowingly, and executed in a smart, clever way that makes it feel fresh and original.
I loved the way she framed the story — with four debutantes in a jail cell, and one hapless officer trying to suss out what’s going on — flashing back to the moments leading up to that jail cell. I loved seeing everything come together and unfold, and the end result was masterful and wildly delightful.
Also: let’s hear it for some spunky female friendships. Not all of the main ladies in this book are bossom buddies, but their relationship as a foursome (and what they are able to accomplish when they team up) is pretty freaking awesome. And sure, some of the fellas are pretty great, too — but while there were little hints of romance and flirtation, I kind of loved that it played a backseat to what these four young women were teaming up to accomplish. Hell yeah!
And while the major plot of the book was wrapped up, Barnes has definitely left room to explore more — so I am entirely hopeful that there will be a sequel, because I would love nothing more than to spend more time with these characters, in their crazy little world. Look for Little White Lies in stores November 6th.
Novel Novice 
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