Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

First Lie Wins: A Novel by Ashley Elston

20 reviews

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

While I think this book was a little overhyped on TikTok, I still found the premise and the story arc interesting. It was a little different than most thriller/murder mysteries I’ve read in the past. The narrator is unreliable yet likeable. There were a lot of twists and turns, some expected and others unexpected. The ending is a little bit of a cliffhanger which is fun and leaves the reader wanting more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

shesflippinpages's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

oxfordcommas91's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book had me absolutely gripped! I’d been seeing this book all over instagram and booktok so I was suspicious about whether it would live up to the hype, and boy did it! I love a page-turner thriller that isn’t super dark or scary, so this really fit the bill. The twists and turns throughout were absolutely delicious - I was truly on the edge of my seat the whole time and found it difficult to put this book down to go to work or function in real life! Fabulously written and highly compelling, I recommend this to anyone who wants a book that will get them out of a slump, because it certainly did that for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Drug use, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

jazful's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'd wanted to read an excellent thriller, and this is the one.  This book had an interesting protagonist, excellent pacing, helpful flashbacks, and a terrific ending.  I thoroughly enjoyed this, even if it kept me up late.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

This was an intriguing con artist, small town thriller that pleasantly surprised me! Thank you for PRH Audio for the advanced listening copy <3 I am providing my review on my own accord after listening.

I thought the narrator Saskia Maarleveld did a fantastic job; I always marvel a bit at narrators' abilities to use totally different inflections and tones of voice when switching characters, and Saskia did an excellent job of this!

The rotating chapters between the past and present piqued my interest; I was wondering what the tie-ins would be, and when it finally came together, it did not disappoint! I find that thrillers can delve into the exploitation and harmful fetishization of "mental health" struggles way too predictably and frustratingly, but this book steered clear of that and I appreciate it. It proves that a mystery or heist/con artist thriller can stand on its own, with morally grey characters, rather than villainizing those who are neurodivergent or have schizophrenia etc.

Despite the fact that you know that our main character is deceiving folks from the start, you're still rooting for her. It's so easy to, because she's so clever and takes no shit. Her whirlwind romance with Ryan has all of his close friends guessing, and I found it so delectable that she had them wound up so tightly.

The mystery of the elusive Mr. Smith was a very captivating game of cat and mouse, and while it frustrated me for Evie, I just wanted to know his real identity already and what his endgame was! Let it be known I will never be cut out for heist/con artist/secret identity work hahaha.

Anyway, as thrillers do, a lot of the big action and reveals happen in the last 10% of the book, but it overall felt like a satisfying conclusion and I think others will have lots of fun with this one.

see content warnings below! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cancer and Terminal illness

thrillofthepage's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Stalking, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

   When the mysterious Mr. Smith asks Evie to do a job, she has to do it. But what is he up to on this particular job? And who is Mr. Smith?
   I enjoyed this book quite a bit and didn't guess who Mr. Smith was. I thought it was one person, but thankfully the author went in another direction.
   I do wish we had more of her friends and colleagues. I liked them more than Evie, to be honest. I liked the dual timeline as it kept me engaged with the book and interested in the storyline.
  I did figure out what was going on with the death before it was revealed, though not why she did it, so that part was a bit predictable, along with predicting the final "twist".

Narrator Rating: 4.5 stars
  The narrator did an excellent job with the book. With the tonal shifts for emotions and characters especially.

Extra ratings:  Fluff - NA   Heartfelt -2/5   Helpful-3/5   Horror -NA    Inspiration -NA    Love aka Romance- 2/5   Mystery -3/5   Predictability -2.5/5    Spice -0.5/5    Suspense -2/5  Tear- 1/5   Thrill -4/5    Humor-0.5/5 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Violence, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Terminal illness, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

amandafitz's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

I was hooked on this book from the first chapter. All the twists and turns had me flying through the pages.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder