League of Liars

Astrid Scholte

YA Fantasy Thriller

In this fantasy thriller, four teens charged with murder and the illegal use of magic band together to devise the ultimate jailbreak. Perfect for fans of Six of Crows and How to Get Away with Murder.

Ever since his mother was killed, seventeen-year-old Cayder Broduck has had one goal–to see illegal users of magic brought to justice. People who carelessly use extradimensional magic for their own self-interest, without a care to the damage it does to society or those around them, deserve to be punished as far as Cayder is concerned. Because magic always has a price. So when Cayder lands a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to apprentice under a premier public defender, he takes it. If he can learn all the tricks of public defense, the better he’ll be able to dismantle defense arguments when he’s a prosecutor. Then he’ll finally be able to make sure justice is served.

But when he meets the three criminals he’s supposed to defend, it no longer seems so black and white. They’re teenagers, like him, and their stories are . . . complicated, like his. Vardean, the prison where Cayder’s new clients are incarcerated, also happens to be at the very heart of the horrible tear in the veil between their world and another dimension–where all magic comes from.

League of Liars is a dark and twisty mystery set in a richly-drawn world where nothing is as it seems, rife with magic, villains and danger. 

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

“Justice is an illusion. A mask we wear over our grief. Take off the mask, and the pain is visible for everyone to see.”

3 out of 5 stars (3 / 5) This book is described for lovers of Six of Crows and How To Get Away With Murder. I don’t agree with either of those but that’s why I picked it up!

Teens are charged with murder or illegal use of magic and devise the ultimate heist to get out of jail.

It focuses quite a bit on a courtroom drama and an attempt at being an intricate heist, but it doesn’t flow well. The heist almost went off too easily and didn’t get my adrenaline pumping. I think my biggest complaint was actually the characters. I prefer very character-driven stories and these characters had no impression on me whatsoever. They each had almost the same backstories (I need some variance here) and it became quite repetitive. Nobody stood out to me as anybody I should care for or pay attention to. 

I think part of the story’s demise was how it was presented. Instead of experiencing backstories or big moments, we instead hear about them being referred to. Instead of feeling the deep emotions of the experience, it comes off droll and unimportant.

The magic system felt quite a bit unfinished. I didn’t have enough information for what was a very large part of the story. I had questions that weren’t answered or weren’t answered fully. I never felt invested sadly, but it was a quick read with a great premise. And can we talk about that cover? Stunning.

General content summary: Minimal language, a young woman is accused of starting a fire that killed 300 people, a young man is accused of using magic to kill his father, teens drink alcohol, a young man stabs a young man, young children watched their parents bleed to death, a young woman is accused of killing her brother, large winged creatures, a man dies from magic that makes him shrivel and his eyes pop out, kissing.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

The book releases February 22, 2022.

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*