The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen

1.06k reviews for:

The Five Year Lie

Sarina Bowen

3.85 AVERAGE

txdnagel's profile picture

txdnagel's review against another edition

5.0
adventurous mysterious 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
Seriously loved the suspense. The tech and the power dynamics made for an interesting read, but the plot was also unexpected at every turn. The ending was sweet, although I wish a certain coworker didn’t have to die for the plot.  I knew Jay had to be alive, and I wasn’t disappointed by the resolution of the book.

faile12's review against another edition

4.0
mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
nicolehurst's profile picture

nicolehurst's review against another edition

3.5
emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mirandag916's review against another edition

3.0
dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

tayjoh2014's review against another edition

4.0
emotional mysterious fast-paced
Loveable characters: Yes

kansas_b's review against another edition

4.0
mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

brin3543's review against another edition

4.0
dark tense medium-paced
I enjoyed this suspense novel told from multiple POV and different timelines (past & present). Sarina Bowen is also a romance author and there are notes of romance woven into this story that I felt softened it a bit. I would definitely read more by this author! 
kaitalytic's profile picture

kaitalytic's review against another edition

3.0
mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
audiobookingwithleah's profile picture

audiobookingwithleah's review against another edition

5.0
adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
NARRATORS: KATHLEEN EARLY, GARY TIEDEMANN, & JASON CLARKE 
VIBES⇩ 
  • domestic thriller
  • contemporary romance
  • mystery suspense
  • dual timelines
  • doorbell cams & deadly scams
  • multiple POVs
  • a text from the grave???

PROS⇩
 
  • Wow, I really loved this! I’m usually pretty stoked when I find my old love (romance) and my new love (thriller) coexisting and not being overly cheesy.
  • Fantastic narration
  • I loved the nod to my hometown (although it doesn’t actually have a hospital).

CONS⇩
 
  • Not a con for me…but if you don’t like romance in your thrillers then you probably won’t like this because it’s definitely romance-heavy.
  • Pacing issues…although I wasn’t affected too much by these, others were.

Ratings score ⬗ 9.51/10
 

dridavis's review against another edition

5.0
adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated