The Faithfuls by Cecilia Lyra (Review by Lisa Albright)

5 stars

Have you read a book lately that totally enthralled your mind, captured your heart, and left you feeling like your emotions have come full circle?? That was this book for me. What a rollercoaster of a ride and I did not want to get off! The plot is so well-written and paced perfectly. The characters are all likeable in some way, yet each one has their negative points too. The descriptions are so imaginative it played like a movie in my mind’s eye. This is an author that makes you want to read every single thing they’ve written and will write in the future.

I did not expect to be so caught up in the scandal and the cleverly woven stories that kept me guessing. And I also did not expect the author to message with me as I desperately tried to figure it out. That was such a fun and unique experience! I picked up on a few things, but missed a couple of others and was left with a delightful feeling of satisfaction and surprise. All I could think was that I wanted to do it again.

The character development in this book was fascinating. I loved getting to know them all and learning their motivations and backgrounds. There seemed to be heroes and villains lurking in everyone and part of the fun was figuring out if they were one or the other or both. The author did an amazing job of giving them their distinct personalities and having them grow as a person yet stay true to their character.

I love that it was written in 3rd person with multiple viewpoints. I feel like that gives me better insight into the characters, but enough detachment to the story that I can make the mental leaps to better try and solve the puzzle presented. I enjoy being an observer and following the clues to try and put the big picture together. And it all came together in a way that I didn’t expect, but left me smiling and knowing that I just read a five star book.