This novel kinda reminded me of Paper Princess by Erin Watt with the poor, orphaned high-school girl suddenly whisked away to live in a McMansion and go to an elite school inhabited by powerful, wealthy, entitled assholes. And considering that book is one of my top favorite guilty pleasure reads of all time, it was for sure a good premise for Wicked Liars to start off with.

I mean, there were some differences, like Jazz having a younger sister she felt responsible for, and the fact that her estranged father was the one to claim custody of her. Also, while there was someone who hated Jazz living under the same roof as her, it was not the eventual love interest like in PP, but her Regina-George-level mean-girl step-sister, Peyton.

On the other hand, everything was an outrageously caricatured version of some stereotype or another, or exaggerated and over the top, in true K-drama makjang style, which was where the guilty pleasure of it all came in. There were exaggerated plots, dramatic characters, scandalous affairs, revenge, and illicit and illegal activities. Truly, it was a treasure trove of craziness.

But I didn't like how the supposed street-smart FMC was conveniently dumb and daft to suit the needs of the plot. Subtle, this book was not. So obvious things just flying over Jazz's head turned out to be quite annoying. Also, this book made me seriously doubt if I knew the meaning of certain words. Like for example, how is it physically possible for someone to run the bridge (aka the bony part) of their nose along the nape (aka the back) of another person's neck while standing in front of them? Am I crazy? Has the meaning of body parts changed in the last decade and I somehow missed it? I don't think the side of the neck has a specific term to describe it IT'S CROOK!, but someone should let Laura Lee know it's definitely NOT "nape" so she stops misusing it.

Oh, well, at least all the hate-fuelled lust was fun and entertaining.