Author: Katie Dale
Release Date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Pages: 384
Source: Copy provided by publisher
Overall: 3 Stars
Summary:
The first time Lou meets tall, dark, and handsome Christian, she knows he's hiding something. Why does he clam up every time she asks about his past? Why doesn't he have any family photos, and why does he dye his blond hair black?
When his house goes up in flames, his motorbike is destroyed, and Lou helps him flee for his life, Christian's terrible secret is finally unveiled to the world—and it seems everything he has ever told Lou is a lie. Can what the media are saying about him really be true? Should Lou trust him? Or is she in terrible danger?
Christian isn't the only one keeping secrets, however. For his chance meeting with Lou was no accident...
As lie follows lie, nothing is as it seems, and soon Lou finds herself ensnared in a web of deceit, her loyalties torn, her emotions in tatters as she faces a heart-wrenching dilemma: should she shatter the lives of those she holds dearest, or betray the guy who, against all odds, she's fallen in love with?
My Thoughts:
In Katie Dale's Little White Lies, Lou is living under an assumed name to escape the notoriety now associated with her family. She tells herself that it would be smart to not attract attention, but barely over a week at university, she already disregards her own advice. Instead of keeping her head down, Lou finds herself crushing on Christian, a handsome man who frequents the coffee shop she visits on her runs. Yet, despite their flirtations, Christian always seems to keep his distance...
There was just something about Lou that I didn't like. For the most part, she seemed spoiled and selfish to me, like everything had to be about her. Even when she was being nice, I still couldn't give her the benefit of the doubt. Partly, it's because she's keeping secrets of her own, but really, I think that's just part of her personality. She says she's changed from the private school girl she used to be, but I didn't believe her. Lou's cousin is in a coma and her uncle is in jail, but we don't know why, only that she feels guilty about it. She thinks she knows everything, but she knows nothing, or at the very least, only one side of the story, and it's a harsh awakening when the truth begins to emerge.
I would've thought that after having the public judge her family so critically, she would be more careful to not treat others the same way, but this wasn't the case. Lou was quick to jump to conclusions, but couldn't see the answers staring right back at her in the face. I think it was supposed to help add mystery and tension to the novel, but all it really did was make me dislike Lou.
There are so many secrets and lies that are slowly unraveled in Little White Lies. It isn't until halfway through the book that you begin to have a sense of the traumatic event that happened in the past which tore Lou's family apart. And then, suddenly, everything explodes in your face and you're left to pick up the pieces. Lou and Christian are connected to each other in a way they never could've imagined when they first met, and it tears her world apart all over again.
Katie Dale's Little White Lies is a look at the failings of the judicial system and how people slip through the cracks, not getting the justice they deserve. Despite the otherwise really interesting and thought-provoking events that were occurring, my difficulty to connect with Lou dampened my interest in wanting to finish the novel. It's a slow-burn melodrama that requires a certain amount of patience, but I did think it was worth the struggle to finally receive those answers in the end.
Thanks so much to Random House Canada for providing this review copy!
