The beginning of the book seemed promising, but I just couldn’t get into it. I ended up skimming book. The ending was shocking, but I also didn’t really like it.

The story is about a woman named JD. JD is an attorney who finds out her fiancé is arrested for murder and she learns about his secret life. At first, I felt sorry for JD (and actually I still do), but the twist made me feel kind of bad for Derrick.

A quick read and I didn’t figure out who did the murder…I suspected everyone else in this murder case. I found the chapters a bit choppy, and was t sure about the time lapse …

I’m flabbergasted. My mind is completely blown! Just an hour ago, I was complaining about the missing details from the story and how it didn’t make any sense. I just finished the book, and my shock has reached a new level.

One little lie is a story about love, betrayal, murder, trials, and death row. JD woke up one day to her phone ringing. She answered, expecting her fiancé’s sweet talk, but found him panicked and screaming that he was about to get arrested. JD is an attorney and engaged to Derick the multi-millionaire. She works at a law firm owned by Jonathan and Benjamin, who are also Derick’s best friends. After Derick was found in bed at his cabin with a woman tied to the bed and brutally murdered, the story goes on to talk about the investigation, secrets about the double life he led as a sadist master, and betrayal seeps deep into JD.

At first, I didn’t like the book. It was too fast, POVs were changing a lot. It was in the third person and sometimes we got a glimpse of JD’s internal monologue, Jonathan’s, and occasionally the detective’s. A lot was happening in a short while. Throughout the story, we were rushed, switching from the present to 2 years later and more. Occasionally, I had to reread a scene just so I could understand another one, and sometimes I didn’t even understand it.

All of my negative thoughts changed when I reached the end. 19 years after Derick’s trial, she faces him and talks about what happened that night. The sheer thought of what happened has not yet been processed in my head. I am shocked. I was disappointed up until that last chapter. I still think that the story has a lot of potentials and can be written in a better way with more scenes to entice us. However, the last scene made me want more. Well, I can definitely say that I learned my lesson in not judging a story until I read the end.

First off, thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own. I liked how it was short and it had an interesting plot. It kept me engaged and entertained. However; I don't think I will recommend it to friends, but I am not disappointed I read it. I am interested to read others from this author!

Let’s start with what I liked about this book:

I really loved all the characters. I thought they were all very distinct & easy to keep apart, which can be tough when you have 4 characters being discussed.

It was intriguing enough to keep me reading! It was a fairly short & easy read!

Also the use of “Peanuts” as her safe word had me dying & I don’t know why 😂

Now let’s get into my drawbacks:

For some reason this writing style didn’t do much for me. I wasn’t intrigued by the plot so much as it was such an easy read that I didn’t mind finishing it!

As far as the plot, there really isn’t much intriguing stuff happening? It might have been more intriguing with more explanations. I felt like we hopped from conclusion to conclusion without really getting an explanation of why that decision was made.

Also, the ending had me baffled. Her monologue kinda thing at the end doesn’t tie back to any of the story at all. When twists are revealed I like them to interconnect with things that happened in the book, not stuff that happened that we were never told about.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me a free e-book of this in exchange for my honest opinion!

Good book I like the story and overall the amount of spicyness. The sex was there and the references to kinks but it wasn’t so obsessive to be erotica. I liked JD as a character the book felt a bit rushed with some time gaps in it that weren’t well explained but overall a good book

The book started out slow, there was a few Spicy scenes in the middle that kept me along but the ultimate twist I saw coming from the beginning. Some character dynamics I just didn’t get as well as some plot lines. I didn’t quite understand the relationships between the main female character and the 3 men other than the fiancé. I also felt like the BDSM scene almost should have had a larger play in the book.
Would I recommend reading, sure. It was good. 3.5 stars

This book pulled me in right from the first page, but after a while i wasn't really feeling it. But I would say it was fairly an ok read.

Thank you NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press for this ARC

This book had me hooked from the first chapter and had me gasping by the last.

This is an easy to read, fast-paced murder mystery and only 200 pages! At times, it was hard to keep up with timings as it would jump months and sometimes years into the future without explicitly telling you.

If you go into this book looking for a romance, you'll probably be disappointed - don't let the mention of BDSM and the fact it's genre is filed under "erotica" fool you because other than the main crime and the mention of BDSM society I struggled to care about that aspect of the book.

What really brought this book to life was the murder mystery. It's final reveal of the murder had my jaw on the floor.

Overall it was a fun book to read and had me looking for clues whilst also keeping me on my toes. The main two side characters are fleshed out well and even though this is a short book I found that I understood each character's personality. They were there to help drive the plot rather than adding side characters to fill in unnecessary pages/scenes in the book.

This is a good, quick book for mystery fiction lovers!

The premise of the book is incredible - it starts with a murder, and quickly reveals secrets about the MC's husband that she was completely oblivious to (and who doesn't love drama). His involvement in the BDSM community was something she'd never dreamed of, let alone exploring this world on her own. While he's awaiting trial, she gets a taste and can't seem to shake it, and return to her vanilla life.
I did find the classification of erotica to be a bit of a stretch - there is a lot of build up but really only one relatively steamy chapter throughout the book. I would have loved to have a more in depth look at the trial but the ending definitely provided redemption! A nice twist to finish things off.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

WOWZA! Thank you NetGalley and Blacklit PR for this arc.

After a semi reading slump, I am so happy to have had the opportunity to read this book. It was short, and I normally don’t enjoy short stories as they feel rushed and character development lacks. HOWEVER. This book had me hooked from the first page and I finished it in one sitting.

My heart broke for JD as the light was shed on Derrick’s crimes. What an awful thing for her to go through.. But, her relationship with Jonathan, Mitch and Benjamin was beautiful. And the surprise ending was phenomenal. All in all, I absolutely loved this story and can not wait to read more from this author.

Jennifer Dianne Ellis more commonly known as JD is a woman that at the age of sixteen ran away from home and her dysfunctional parents who had some very unsavory plans for her. She has come a long way from the days of living in a shelter. Now she is a very successful defense attorney who many behind her back call a stone cold because she is so good. She is also about to marry the man of her dreams who has introduced her to the life of money. JD's world turns upside down when she receives a phone call from her boyfriend Derrick that he thinks he is about to be arrested for murder. The story takes a hard turn a little less than halfway through and this adds some spice to this story. As I was getting closer to the end of this book, I am thinking I wish the author would spend more time developing the story around Derrick and his potential crime but then the author throws in a surprise ending that cleans it all up. This is a good read that is a little on the short side, but a good read gives it a look.

This was such a good read! Thank you NetGalley for this arc! I was captivated by this story from the very beginning. I was pretty shocked by the ending as well. The spice was fun to read. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

One Little Lie
by EJ Towler
Description
What if you discovered the man you trusted above all others has a secret life? Attorney JD Ellis’ world begins an inward spiral when her fiance Derrick is arrested for murder and his secret life as a BDSM Master is revealed. Building his defense seems insurmountable with every lie and secret she uncovers.

When offered an invitation to the annual BDSM masquerade gala, JD's curiosity gets the best of her. The encounter leaves her with an unforgettable night, a sore backside, a business card with an email address, and more confusion. With Derrick’s life exposed and hers in shambles, can she stay the course to see justice is done?


Well now, this was a wicked smutty book. But, the description did warn us. It was as if I was looking over my shoulder as I read. lol. Good book, And never mind the kind, the story in the third person was good as the storyline.

I needed a smutty read for my bingo board, and this one seemed like a thrilling read. Smut and a thriller – yes please!

What would you do if the man you loved was harboring a secret? JD is an attorney, and her world begins to spiral when her fiancé is arrested for murder and his secret life is exposed. When JD is offered an invitation to a BDSM masquerade gala, her curiosity gets the best of her and she learns something she will never forget…

I really enjoyed this book, but it didn’t fully deliver for me. This book really needed some more words to be fully flushed out – it was too choppy and had 198 pages there was room for more. I also expected more smut in this book, it was a BDSM novel sold as erotica, but even that lacked. I think there was one sex scene, and the rest was inuendo. The bones of this story was really interesting and fascinating though. I especially loved the big twist at the end, even if it was predictable. Sometimes twists are fun even if you see them coming and that was the case here.

Check this book out today! Thank you to The Wild Rose Press, Inc, Backlit PR, and @netgalley for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy for review.

JD and her Fiancée Derrek have it all, money, a house, vacation properties, when it all comes unravelled after Derrek is arrested for a murder with BDSM undertones, revealing a side of his life JD had been completely unaware of and a question of whether he committed the crime or was being framed….

Dun dun dun….

Truly though, and I am really sorry to say it this book just fell flat. I guessed the story within the first few pages and the characters, especially JD were quite flat. I never really cared what happened because I didn’t care about her. There were some good ideas in this book I just felt there weren’t executed as well as they could have been and the characters were never really fleshed out. 2 stars

Rating: 3.75/5 ⭐️(rounded up to 4)

Publication Date: January 9th 2023

Author: EJ Towler

Review: What a world of a book! From the start I was hooked then I felt it got a little slow for me in the middle I wanted more 🌶️ between JD and Johnathan I felt it lacked a little in that department. I also wish it has just a little more about the trial I kind of felt in the dark about it … coming to the end I had a pretty good idea what the outcome was going to be … the book pretty much set you up to figure it out.. but I did enjoy that the three best friends didn’t have much to do with it they were just as in the dark as Derrick was. All around really enjoyable and a fast read short chapters keeps your attention.
This was my first book by EJ Towler so I’m excited to dive into more books by them.

First I just need to say… Goddamn! This book really starts out with a bang! After reading the prologue I was intrigued but chapter one had me hooked! Derrick is a real piece of work for hiding such a big secret from his fiancé. This plot had me so upset for JD and wanting to knock Derrick straight on his ass until I got to chapter 7… oh my that chapter was SPICY!
The final chapter…OH MY LORD! What a fricken twist! I gasped so loudly my mother now wants to read this.

I usually prefer when books are written in first person rather than in third person, but it was done so well that I actually enjoyed it.
It was a super quick read and I wish it was a bit longer, but I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you Wild Rose Press Inc and NetGalley for sharing another great book before being published!