The Truth-Teller's Tale is a charming and, for the most part, sweet-hearted YA fantasy, somewhat light on the fantasy and a little heavy on the romance. It's a coming-of-age tale about two young women, Adele and Edela, sisters who are "mirror twins": one is left-handed and the other right-handed; one has a blue left eye and green right eye, the other opposite. Even their names are a mirror of the other. Most importantly, Adele is a Safe-Keeper, charged with keeping secrets anyone may tell her; E...

Talk is cheap. Especially when it comes to telling someone what is what. People lie. I've come to feel as I've gotten older that it's not good for all that much. Is it more important to be honest with everyone, or just honest with yourself (you'll learn more doing the latter)? I think honesty is overrated. There are too many layers, too many almosts to say for certain. The certainty is lying, to me. The intent behind the lie is what matters and the intent behind the truth, right? Because either

Three and a half stars. I’m not sure why I didn’t like this as much as The Safekeepers Secret. It was similar and maybe that was the problem. I did like it quite a bit despite that. It may be that it leaned too heavily on the romance, my favourite bits took place during the childhoods of Eleda and Adele. I particularly loved the descriptions of Summermoon and Wintermoon in both books and the day to day events in the lives of the two sisters.

Light, sweet, and almost hilariously predictable.

What I find most distinctive about this novel is the unexpected contrast between style and story; but while I'm all for creative works that break traditional genre boundaries, in this case, the book is interesting but I'm not sure to whom I would recommend it.In a lot of ways The Truth-Teller's Tale is written in traditional fairy tale prose -- at once simple and direct but also a bit old fashioned and lyrical. I like that. But I'm not entirely comfortable with recommending the book to younger o...

I love Sharon Shinn, but I think she should stick to writing adult novels. This is a solid story, with amazing characters, and a great setting, but just like the first book in the series, The Safe-Keeper's Secret, the ending was incredibly predictable.This book still gets a high rating, because despite the predictability, I did enjoy it very much. I like the world Shinn has created, with people being born with a gift that makes them tell the truth at all times or keep secrets. However, these uni...

A delightful romantic comedy rife with misunderstandings!I enjoyed this book even more than the first - The Safe-Keeper's Secret (my review) - which I didn't think possible! While the first book was a lovely coming-of-age story about living with grief and finding your place in the world, this story is likewise a delightful coming-of-age story but full of gentle romance, mistaken identity and intrigue! Although I highly recommend the first book in the series as well, I think this story can stand

Original Review:I enjoyed this book even more than the 1st one. I find the premise of the world very fascinating. The idea that there could be Safe-Keepers who cannot reveal secrets, and Truth-Teller's who cannot tell a lie.Try to imagine that in our modern society! A Safe-keeper on the witness stand? OR a Truth-Teller as a politician??

I liked this series. They were very well done and beautifuly written. There is a lot of adult themes is this series but they kept it clean. I would suggest for a older young adult reader.

Another cute, sweet story by Shinn. I did wish to feel more of an impact of the challenges and intricacies of what a truth-teller and secret-keeper face. A pre-teen or even teen girl would probably really enjoy this book.

This is the second book in the Safe-Keepers series. I picked it up, since I wanted a book to read between some new books I was waiting to come out. I'm a Sharon Shinn fan. So, thought I'd give it a try. Glad I did.It's about two twins that are complete opposites. Adele and Eleda have opposite names, wear their hair parted on opposite sides, and even write with opposite hands. They are also opposite in deeds, one keeps all secrets while the other has to always tell the truth. They're called Safe

I thought this started off a bit slowly, but by part two the action had kicked in and it kept going for the rest of the book. I could really relate to Eleda because I too find secrets infuriating and often wanted to smack Adele, even though I did understand why her role as a safe-keeper was important and why Eleda still loved her (she had her moments). Nothing in this book came as a surprise: I guessed that Adele had put the herbs in Eleda's food the minute she got sick, suspected Alexander and

"The Truth-Teller's Tale" is a young adult or middle-grade fantasy novel which will appeal most to girls. It's the second novel in a series, but you don't need to read the first book to understand this one. This one may spoil events in the first novel, though.It's a charming novel, though I found it predictable. But it probably won't be predictable to a middle-grader. I was expecting a more complex story based on the "a Safe-Keeper told a secret, a Truth-Teller told a lie" beginning promise, but...

It took me a little while to get into this book. The first few chapters narrated Edela and Adele's early life, and there wasn't much in that portion that I was really invested in. But once they became teenagers, the story became much more engaging.This is the second book I've read by Sharon Shinn, and I think the author is very talented in telling slice-of-life type of stories that are set in a fantastical world. I found this book similar to "Troubled Waters" in that we follow the main protagoni...

I was a bit reluctant to start this, since I had loved The Safe-Keeper's Secret so much when I first read it that I just didn't believe there was really something that could follow that up in a satisfying way. While I didn't absolutely love this novel, it was a very enjoyable read and I had a lot of fun with the story and characters. The idea of two twins that are mirror opposites in appearance and personalities was interesting, and one thing I really enjoyed was how the longer I read the more I...

I really enjoy Shinn's writing, but I didn't like this quite as much as the previous book in this series, "The Safe-Keeper's Secret."It's a stand-alone story, although reading the first one first would help, a little bit, as far as understanding the premise behind this 'world.'In this story, the romance is front and center, and the 'fantasy' aspects take a (very) background role. Adele and Eleda are 'mirror twins' - seeingly identical, but with very different personalities. One becomes a 'safe-k...

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I couldn't believe I didn't see the ending coming, and yet I didn't! I think perhaps that's because the plot sort of creeps up on you, most of the book I kept asking myself, "What is this book even about?" because it seemed like nothing was happening, but then before you know it it's all exploding all over the place and there's crisis and drama and oh my! I did guess most of it before it happened, but only like a page or two prior, so that was fun. And ag...

It had nice parts. Still like her prose and her ability to tell a simple story with such fine small details while still feeling as if things are happening. It creates such a rich texture and atmosphere. I was not very emotionally connected to this cast of characters though and while I liked Adele and Eleda, I found it hard to care about their romantic interests and their friend and her never-ending stream of paramours made me want to scream. Ultimately, nothing happened to make me love these cha...

I know some have been disappointed that the "twists" were fairly obvious. I, however, didn't feel this to be a story about twists, but rather one where the reader has all the pieces and gets to slowly, joyfully come together into a pretty pattern. We never needed to fear there wouldn't be happy endings - the question was how it would all come about.As per usual, I love the worlds that Shinn creates. They're well thought out and interesting and, for this particular novel, I really loved the inter...

Don't know why I read this when I didn't even like the first one. But the blurb sounded so mysterious and interesting. It wasn't. Nothing remotely interesting happens in this book and the mysteries are way too predictable and easy to guess. I actually had the impression that the main character was kinda dumb, she just refused to see everything that was happening around her until the truth slaped her in the face. The romance was too fast, and any problens they had was solved way too easily. To wr...

It was good for what it is. This is not great literature, but a fun, low-key read for young adults. It meandered just a bit, but not enough to make me put it down. And even though I had things figured out well before the Big Reveal the writing was enjoyable enough to keep me going to see if i was right. There was one moment at the end where things got a little violent (trying to explain without spoilers) and was out of character for the person involved. But all in all it was a solid four.

I read this awhile back and for the longest time could never remember the name or find it online. Although I read this years and years ago the story stuck with me. The characters were well written, the plot extremely interesting and the romance heartbreaking. Now that I found the book again I will be rereading as soon as I get my hands on a copy of the book.

3.5. I was pleasantly surprised with this book, and was definitely surprised by the ending. The only thing that it was a bit slow at times, and that made me feel like the story was going nowhere.

So many of Sharon Shinn's books just make me feel warm inside.

Not the best, really, especially because the characters seemed a lot less real to me than during the first book. Still, it's good light romance and castle intrigue.

Beautiful and heartwarming I remember getting this book years ago, but lost it without finishing it. It was the Spanish version, which had an absolutely beautiful cover... But the translation was not that great. Not bad, just not great... I think it was the flow of the reading rather than the accuracy that put me off a little bit. I was recently reminded of the book, though, and I remember liking the story and characters well enough to give it another chance but in its original language.I'm SO G...

It's not possible to fairly review these three books separately. Theoretically they can stand-alone, and in the past I've read them separately, but this week I read all three in order and it's a much richer experience.And so this review is for all three. Readers very sensitive to spoilers may not want to click through, but any spoilers are mild and therefore most of you go right ahead and view.(view spoiler)[Though they stand alone, they do not wrap things up at the end. There are mentions in th...

This is a charming, slice-of-life, unique fairytale. I mean, the concept is literally right up my alley. Starring: two twin sisters with unique magical abilitiesAlso featuring: the royal family, a charming small town, a family-run inn, a loyal but impulsive best friend, a traveling theater troupe, and made up holidays and festivals So pretty good. It’s really low-key for what it is. There are some darker parts and themes, but it mostly features the home lives and relationships of the two sisters...

A lovely gem of young adult fiction. Romantic in the sense of fairy tales, but not the overdose of angst of standard young adult romance.Mirror twins Edela and Adele are opposites: one is a Truth-Teller, the other a Safe-Keeper. Compelled by their natures or magic, Edela must always tell the truth (useful in settling disputes as she can hear a lie in someone's words), and Adele must keep secrets told to her.Set in a low to no technology, medieval equivalent society, this was enchanting to read.

Completely worth your timeIn a world where safe-keepers never tell a secret, and truth-tellers never lie, and dream-makers make random dreams come true, this is a heartwarming tale of identical-but-mirrored twins and the value of seeking constant wishes. I haven’t read the first book in the series, and barring that I know Fiona ends up in the palace, I don’t think that I’ve been spoilered for the previous book. Sharon Shinn weaves a good story with a solid plot and strong characters, and I would...