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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
fast-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I fully believe that the tagline for The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen should be once you start you can't stop, literally. I did not put the audiobook of this down for a SECOND and if I had to pause it for any amount of time it made me angry. And that's the story of how much I loved it. 🤣 It makes total sense to me why there was a dash of romance in the book now that I know what Bowen's normal genre is, and I have to say I loved how she weaved it in with the suspenseful and mysterious storyline. Her writing sucked me in immediately, and I hope she will write more thrillers, but I feel like it would be a crime not to read her romance now.
The audiobook is narrated by Kathleen Early, Gary Tiedemann & Jason Clarke who all did spectacular jobs, and this was a great book to have a full cast for. Even though there are only 3 viewpoints, the different narrators brought a lot to the story IMO, and I loved every minute of it. The pace moved along nicely without any dull moments, and I completely fell in love with Ariel and her son. She was one smart cookie, and I thought all of the characters were very relatable in at least one way or another, well, maybe not the evil ones. 😜 The Five Year Lie is worth all of the hype it has been getting and gave me The Last Thing He Told Me vibes while being completely different. Clear your calendars people, and make sure you don't put this one off if it's on your TBR!
I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The audiobook is narrated by Kathleen Early, Gary Tiedemann & Jason Clarke who all did spectacular jobs, and this was a great book to have a full cast for. Even though there are only 3 viewpoints, the different narrators brought a lot to the story IMO, and I loved every minute of it. The pace moved along nicely without any dull moments, and I completely fell in love with Ariel and her son. She was one smart cookie, and I thought all of the characters were very relatable in at least one way or another, well, maybe not the evil ones. 😜 The Five Year Lie is worth all of the hype it has been getting and gave me The Last Thing He Told Me vibes while being completely different. Clear your calendars people, and make sure you don't put this one off if it's on your TBR!
I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was hooked on this book right from the start! I thought the pacing was really good and there were different twists and turns along the way. I will say I did get a little lost with some of the computer jargon but it wasn't enough to deter me from the story. The book is over 400 pages so perhaps reading it there may be lulls in the middle but listening to it I was consumed in the story.
The three main relationships in the book: Ariel with her son Buzz, Ariel with her son's father Drew and Ariel with her coworker Zain - all 3 of these were just so wonderful!! I loved seeing Ariel and her son's interaction and just how being a mom is so important to her. We get the backstory of how she meets Drew and their relationship up until his death. And then we have quiet & reserved Zain who Ariel worked with on helping with the mystery of the text that appeared. They just trusted each other so much and had such a respect for one another.
From what I have heard Sarina is a queen at writing romance so it felt natural that she included a little bit of her craft into this. And it definitely made me swoony and also made me want to go and read her hockey romances (I may or may not have some on my shelf).
There were three narrators in this: Kathleen Early, Gary Tiedemann, Jason Clarke. I thought all three of them did a fantastic job with their respective point of views especially Kathleen who did a bulk of the narration as Ariel.
I am excited to see more of Sarina in this space. I thought this was such a strong debut in her doing a genre outside her norm.
If you are fan of thrillers with a little romance and a messy family - consider checking this one out!
The three main relationships in the book: Ariel with her son Buzz, Ariel with her son's father Drew and Ariel with her coworker Zain - all 3 of these were just so wonderful!! I loved seeing Ariel and her son's interaction and just how being a mom is so important to her. We get the backstory of how she meets Drew and their relationship up until his death. And then we have quiet & reserved Zain who Ariel worked with on helping with the mystery of the text that appeared. They just trusted each other so much and had such a respect for one another.
From what I have heard Sarina is a queen at writing romance so it felt natural that she included a little bit of her craft into this. And it definitely made me swoony and also made me want to go and read her hockey romances (I may or may not have some on my shelf).
There were three narrators in this: Kathleen Early, Gary Tiedemann, Jason Clarke. I thought all three of them did a fantastic job with their respective point of views especially Kathleen who did a bulk of the narration as Ariel.
I am excited to see more of Sarina in this space. I thought this was such a strong debut in her doing a genre outside her norm.
If you are fan of thrillers with a little romance and a messy family - consider checking this one out!
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A good old fashion whodunit! This was SO GOOD! I was clueless the entire time (just how I like it). I listened to this on audio and the narrators were fantastic. The plot was interesting and engaging. The mystery revolves around a tech company, which was so interesting and I LOVED the characters. There was also a romantic sub plot (closed door) that was so great. For the readers that love thrillers/mysteries and romance: 10/10 recommend!
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No