Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

10 reviews

csyip'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Car accident, and Death of parent

kelisabeth's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

aruthj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Quite literally obsessed with this book. I loved it from start to finish. The ending makes me want to read it again and try to pick out little details that may have hinted at the twist. I cannot recommend this book enough

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug abuse

audreylj's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

tayreads10's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

I flew through this book! I was so sucked into the plot of her shady employment dilemmas and how that played out. Thoroughly enjoyed and hoping there is a sequel to continue where it leaves off!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

amateur_bookworm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

My summary:

Evie Porter is newly dating Ryan Sumner, a business owner in a small town of Louisiana who is quite an eligible bachelor in his hometown. Much to the chagrin of the girls that are his friends, Evie appears to be a fixture in Ryan’s life now. But Evie is not who everyone thinks she is, and Ryan is hiding his own secrets. 

My thoughts: 

I really enjoyed this thriller! Every first impression I had of the main characters in play were completely wrong. And I really did not see any of the twists coming. Both of those add up to a satisfying suspense read for me. 

Ashley Elston made the jump from YA novels to adult fiction with this book. I think this a great debut for her in this genre and I hope she writes more thrillers in the future. 

I really enjoyed the twistiness of this one. I haven’t read many thrillers lately so I feel like I’m extra gullible and it actually makes for a really enjoyable reading experience. Although I wasn’t super satisfied by the ending, I think it’s an overall good read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Drug abuse, Car accident, and Alcohol

3readingcircus's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Drug abuse, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Violence

penguins_save_lives's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, and Fire/Fire injury

daydaybookbay's review against another edition

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

3.5

I rated this book a 7 out of 10. I was pulled into this thriller, and I love the idea of undercover work. Evie shows her cleverness over the years and pulls ahead in work. Some sections felt repetitive, but I liked how everything was revealed for a reason. I wish there had been some character development; the characters themselves were a bit flat.

This story is a quick read, but slow paced (if that makes any sense) game of cat-and-mouse. We watch the back and forth of Evie's work and personal life while she tries to keep it from crumbling.

The major plot of the story is introduced in chapters 1 and 2. We follow Evie in her undercover scheme for the first half of the book. In the second half, we have an altered plot and follow Evie in her con artist scheme. It is a bit basic at times, but the plot keeps pushing forward.

The flashbacks to Evie's previous jobs threw me through a loop a few times. It wasn't always clear why any of those moments were important. Eventually, it all comes full circle, and we understand, but I think they were more randomly distributed rather than strategically placed.

I'1l say it again here: there is next to zero character development. Here's a character at face value, and there is nothing added. I wish there would have been more there (maybe in the flashbacks) where we could understand more about the characters.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

disguisedposer's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury