Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

13 reviews

katiedid95's review against another edition

mysterious 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

4.5

Was similar to a book I had just finished, The Passenger, in premise, but I had heard lots of great reviews, so I kept going. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and characters and the twists throughout. I typically can't stand the back and forth with a timeline, but the way the author laid it out and told the story, the back and forth didn't take away from the plot and it was relatively easy to keep all the information straight. I loved the huge twist at the end and how thr author still wrapped things up after what could have been the ending. I would love an epilogue to see how Evie is doing today.
Only complaint is I would have liked some more information on Mr. Smith and the organization in general, and maybe thr relationship between Ryan and Mr. Smith.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, and Murder

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

kimreadz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I liked this book, but it did get off to a slow start. I might have DNF'd it had it not been for a book club. I liked the characters, even though they weren't really good people. There were twists that I didn't anticipate, and things that I guess wrong about.

SpoilerI didn't see the Mr. Smith is George thing coming. I thought Ryan was Mr. Smith.

. I also wonder about the future.

SpoilerSince Evie and Ryan are both 'shady' and they know it, how much do they really trust each other? Does Ryan know about Evie's Miss Smith operation?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug use, Grief, and Death of parent

witcheep's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

🤯🤩

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking and Gaslighting

Moderate: Grief and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Torture, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

klandry98's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use

bringmybooks's review against another edition

mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.25

Bring | Borrow | ✨Bypass✨

Review: Most important thing to say here is please READ OTHER REVIEWS and don't rely on just mine because I seem to be so far in the minority on this one ... but this felt very meh :(

I liked the idea of all the flashbacks leading us to present day Evie, but eventually I kinda forgot where we were and why we were there (and why I cared). The slog during the middle was real, y'all. 

The writing wasn't bad and I definitely would pick up another thriller by this author, but with all the thrillers you can pick up in bookstores these days, this one would not be my recommendation.

Overall Rating: ★★★★ / 3.25
 
Rating each element of the book out of 5★ 
Characters ★★★
Atmosphere ★★★ 
Writing ★★★ 
Plot ★★★
Intrigue ★★★★ 
Logic ★★★ 
Enjoyment ★★ 
Pacing ★★ 
Dialogue ★★★ 

★ did not like / ★★ it was okay / ★★★ liked it / ★★★★ really liked it / ★★★★★ loved it

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

himpersonal's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Very fun book. Needed that after the heaviness of ur last one I’d read. Clever, but I have to say I had most of it figured out early on - that was a first for me, and yet, it was still an engaging read. Could be a fun TV show someday.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

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

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

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