Day’s YA: THE LIES WE CONJURE

THE LIES WE CONJURE by Sarah Henning
9781250841063
9/17/2024
Tor Teen
Ages 13-18

E-galley available on Edelweiss and NetGalley

Ruby and Wren are two normal sisters trying to make some extra money for their college fund, so they spend their summers working at the local renaissance festival. While working, they are approached by an odd old lady who offers them two grand each to impersonate her granddaughters at a fancy dinner party being held at the infamous Hegemony Manor. It seems like an easy way to make some money, so they accept. But soon after their arrival, things take a turn. Their host, Ursula Hegemony, is dead, their fake grandmother is missing, and it turns out that all of the other party guests consist of four families of powerful witches, all of whom have no idea the sisters are imposters—and Ruby and Wren are desperate to keep it that way. Now the gates are locked and the group has been tasked by Ursula to solve her murder and the clues she left behind in three days, or the whole lot of them will be trapped in Hegemony Manor for eternity.

Filled with juicy family drama, witchy magic, and twisty mysteries, this fantasy has all of Sarah Henning’s signature style and relentless pacing, in an accessible standalone book. The dual points-of-view alternate between Ruby and Auden, Ursula’s grandson, giving readers both an outsider’s and an insider’s perspective on this complicated group of witches and their history. The worldbuilding transported me to the mansion and its ten thousand acres of land, and the plot kept me guessing even when I thought I had figured it out (I had not). Fans of whodunit mysteries like Clue and Knives Out, witchy stories like OUR CROOKED HEARTS by Melissa Albert, or puzzling tales like THE INHERITANCE GAMES by Jennifer Lynn Barnes will be captivated by this spellbinding novel.

Happy Reading!
<3 Emily

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