Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - First Lie Wins

Utterly preposterous but so entertaining I had to keep reading and reading till I finished, this counts as a guilty pleasure. It was all show and no substance but I didn’t care because I was enjoying it so much.

I loved the main character and wanted the best for her. She’d had some lousy things happen in the past and just wanted to be admired for being the very best. She really thrived on praise (which meant the absence of complaints) and was crushed when her boss reprimanded her. I loved that she was so resourceful. And I’m glad she had outside help because then it would have gone above and beyond the suspension of belief into fantasy.

The book was really clever and complex - I loved all the twists and turns. It was definitely a great book to keep my mind off anything else going on.

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aruthj's review against another edition

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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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witcheep's review against another edition

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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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torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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klandry98's review against another edition

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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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emmy_likes_2_read's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.5

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fiercereadsfiction's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

Finished reading: August 23rd 2024

“There's an old saying: The first lie wins. It's not referring to the little white kind that tumble out with no thought; it refers to the big one. The one that changes the game.”

Part of me was a bit hesitant to read First Lie Wins, as we all know how hyped books and me tend to get along... But there was something about the premise I wasn't able to resist, and I ended up giving in. I'm so glad I did now, because I ended up having SUCH a great time reading book! Things can be said about the credibility, but I personally didn't care as the entertainment level was through the roof. First Lie Wins reads like a Hollywood action movie with a similar vibe as Mr. And Mrs. Smith, and the premise had me fully hooked. The story is told through Evie Porter's POV, and switches back between different time in her past and the present. There was something about Evie that made it easy to start rooting for her despite her flaws, and the flashbacks worked perfectly to start revealing certain information and twists. The building up of tension and suspense was really well done, and it had me turning page after page as I HAD to know how it would all end. And while I guessed some of the twists, others came as a total surprise. The writing itself is extremely engaging and the heist/spy elements really made this story stand out. The ending itself was perfect for this story, and the journey itself was a blast as well. If you enjoyed fast-paced, engaging and cleverly plotted thrillers with a spy/heist vibe and don't mind suspending your disbelief, I can highly recommend First Lie Wins.

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