Review - The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew

Title: The Big Lie

Author: Julie Mayhew

Pages: 368

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Release date: 27th August 2015

Blurb from Goodreads:

A shocking story of rebellion and revelation set in a contemporary Nazi England.

Jessika Keller is a good girl: she obeys her father, does her best to impress Herr Fisher at the Bund Deutscher Mädel meetings and is set to be a world champion ice skater. Her neighbour Clementine is not so submissive. Outspoken and radical, Clem is delectably dangerous and rebellious. And the regime has noticed. Jess cannot keep both her perfect life and her dearest friend. But which can she live without?

THE BIG LIE is a thought-provoking and beautifully told story that explores ideas of loyalty, sexuality and protest.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Bonnier Publishing and NetGalley*

3/5 stars

Jessika Keller lives in an England where Hitler won the Second World War.

Jess is a good girl who works hard and is a talented ice skater.

Her best friend and neighbour, Clementine, says and does things that she shouldn't - things that could get Clementine in trouble.

Jess has worked hard to have the perfect life but is it more important to her than her best friend?

Will Clementine's rebellious streak rub off on Jess?

The Big Lie was an interesting read.

The idea of an alternate modern England under the Nazi regime was intriguing. It was weird to think of Churchill as the baddie.

There were some LGBT themes and I thought that they were handled well.

Jess was a likeable protagonist and I felt sorry for her - I don't think she'd ever realised just how controlled her life had been.

I had mixed feelings about Clementine - I liked that she was willing to stand up for what she believed in but sometimes she wasn't very nice to Jess.

The plot was good but I felt that the pacing was a bit off.

I liked the writing style but I did get a bit confused by how vague some things were.

I wasn't gripped but I wanted to keep reading.

Overall this was an enjoyable, unique read.