Lovers and Liars is the story of Emily and John and their young love for each other, and how this love is interrupted by the actions of others. This interruption then has huge consequences on their lives and the lives of others around them.

This is the first Josephine Cox book that I have read and I have heard good things about her books. I did enjoy this one, but found it only quite lightweight and not as involving and gripping as I usually appreciate in a book. I also found the characters’ actions frustrating - lots of pain and upset and mistakes and misunderstandings that could all have been solved and put right with just a few simple truthful conversations, but this never happened and instead the characters went down paths that weren’t right for them, when it all could have been so different.

The book is full of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters and their eventual reward or punishment. One memorable character is Clem, who is bad through and through and causes much unhappiness and distress. I did struggle to believe he would have been allowed to get away with so many of his evil actions, and that no-one challenged him or reported him, but perhaps this was typical of the time in which the book was set (early 1900s).

Overall this was a easy uncomplicated book to read - nice to enjoy over a cup of tea, but not too challenging or demanding or memorable.