“You can let go of the idea that the world owes you stability. When you do that, you stop being angry, because you have no expectations.”
The invitation is unexpected, but welcome. After her high school graduation Matilda is feeling even less moored than usual. Her mother is still living abroad with the latest artist who thinks she is his muse. Matilda is still in California living with her mother’s most recent ex. Dumped by her own boyfriend, abandoned by the friends who were actually just his friends, Matilda is ready to take any diversion for the long summer ahead of her before starting college for video game development in the fall.
That such a diversion comes in the form of an invitation from the father she’s never met and the promise of one of his paintings is too much to ignore. Kingsley Cello is an extraordinary talent in the way that all of the men her mother chooses are. He is also a mystery to Matilda–one she is desperate to solve as she tries to understand herself.
Arriving at Hidden Beach on the East Coast is not the warm reunion Matilda expects. Her father is nowhere to be found. But Meer, a half-brother she never knew about, is there and eager to meet Matilda and make up for their years apart. Kinglsey’s wife is remote. The house is derelict. Brock–a former child start at the house seeking reinvention–and Tatum–a brooding presence as desperate to get away as Matilda was to arrive–seem more welcome in the family home than Matilda herself feels.
The longer she stays at the beach house, the more questions Matilda has. As the days bleed into weeks, Matilda digs deeper into Hidden Beach’s secrets including the buried truths at the heart of her family’s past and the lies they’ve all been telling to protect those truths in We Fell Apart (2025) by E. Lockhart.
We Fell Apart is the third book in Lockhart’s blockbuster Liars series which begins with We Were Liars (read my review) and includes the prequel Family of Liars. This book includes massive spoilers for We Were Liars and should be read after to avoid them and better understand how this installment relates to the series as a whole.
Returning to the rich world first introduced in We Were Liars, Lockhart once again explores the intersection of art and family as well as the complicated choices we make in service to both. The shifting narrative and sprawling estate immediately evoke a gothic sensibility as Matilda tries to understand what brought her to Hidden Beach and how to tear herself away as the answers she seeks continue to elude her. Themes of obligation, love, and found family further define the story as Matilda begins to understand that some bonds are stronger than blood or biology simply because the people involved choose to make it so.
Like other installments, this book is best enjoyed knowing as little as possible giving readers space to unravel the mysteries of Hidden Beach alongside Matilda. Part mystery and part coming-of-age story, Family of Liars is an ambitious beach gothic that is as insightful as it is cutting.
Possible Pairings: The Leaving by Tara Altebrando, The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson, All the Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry, Chime by Franny Billingsley, The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough, All Fall Down by Ally Carter, The Graces by Laure Eve, The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle, The Girl You Know by Elle Rose Gonzalez, The Careful Undressing of Love by Corey Ann Haydu, And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard, The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen, Liar by Justine Larbalestier, A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry, The Weight of Feathers by Anne-Marie McLemore, The Cousins by Karen M. McManus, Madapple by Christina Meldrum, The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan, Pretending to Be Erica by Michelle Painchaud, Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot, I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest, Bone Gap by Laura Ruby, You Are the Everything by Karen Rivers, Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan, Gallant by VE Schwab, Saint Death by Marcus Sedgwick, The Edge of Falling by Rebecca Serle, Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood, Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford, Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma, Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten, The Space Between Trees by Katie Williams
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
Miss Print 
