Actual rating: 3.5 
 The Art of Lainey turned out to be a surprise favourite of mine last year so I couldn't wait to read the next book Paula Stokes had coming out, especially when it sounded like a really fun mystery. 
 For the most part, this book was a fun ride and had a couple twists that quite surprised me, but for some reason there was nothing that really wowed me. I also had a few issues with some things. The first were Max and Parvati's reactions. This mostly occurred during the beginning when things start to get a little crazy after Preston disappears and Max becomes the prime suspect for his murder. Instead of being just being honest with the police, Max decided to do the craziest things imaginable, like lying about what he knows and running and hiding. I understand that things were already looking a bit murky for him but to me, that sounds like the craziest and dumbest thing you could do. Second, the title Liars Inc., and the little business Max, Parvati and Preston were running, barely have any use in the book. I get it, people were lying the whole story, but it just felt pretty meaningless. Lastly, I didn't see the appeal of Parvati. I love the fact that she was outspoken and diverse and didn't take shit from anybody, but she was really unlikeable. She did some really shitty things and then Max just forgave her like they weren't all that terrible. Like what she did was pretty fucked up. 
 I know it sounds like I must've really disliked the book but that's not completely true. The first two points were pretty minor and I was able to get over them fairly quickly. The main character Max was also quite fun to sit along with for the ride. He has had to overcome a lot of things in his short lifetime and the lessons he learned were prominent as he tried to navigate his way through the crazy mystery of his disappearing friend. 
 I've loved Paula Stokes' first book and liked her second, so I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for her future books.