On an ordinary Monday morning, Ariel Cafferty's phone buzzes with a disturbing text message. Something’s happened. I need to see you. Meet me under the candelabra tree ASAP. The words would be jarring from anyone, but the sender is the only man she ever loved. And it's been several years since she learned he died.

This was a very well-written and well-plotted mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Rated 4/5
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

WOW! I really enjoyed this one. Definitely did not want to put it down. There was so much suspense and mystery that it kept me on the edge of my seat. This story really had me thinking of how technology is interwoven into our daily lives and how invasive it can be.

Imagine you're in a work meeting, and receive an alarming text from your child's father, except he's suppose to be dead. 🫣 This text changes everything Ariel once believed about her son's father, the man she loved. This text leads Ariel down a dangerous path, searching to find answers.

The Five Year Lie is a brilliant story jam packed with suspense. So many twists, family drama, and the perfect touch of romance to keep you turning the page. I really enjoyed the FMC, Ariel, as she was just an average person and easy to relate to. Also, Chime Co. 👀 I'm about to cancel my ring subscription ASAP. ✋🏻

The Five Year Lie is definitely a thriller to be on the look out for, releasing May 7, 2024. If you're into Toy Story references, love stories within a thriller, single parents, and tech: this is a book for you!

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Thank you NetGalley, Sarina Bowen, and Harper Perennial for this advanced ebook copy of The Five Year Lie in exchange for my honest review.

The Five Year Lie
by Sarina Bowen
Pub Date: May 7, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
For fans of Laura Dave and Julie Clark, but with a heart-stopping romance that only Sarina Bowen can execute, The Five Year Lie is a page-turning, spine-tingling thriller that will have you guessing until the very end.
As anticipated, the romantic elements of the story overshadow the mystery, which could use more development. Some of the explanations toward the end feel somewhat unreliable and far-fetched. Regrettably, I found it challenging to connect with the characters, who seemed a bit one-dimensional and in need of more depth.

At certain points, I found my interest in the mystery waning as well. Despite its shortcomings, the central concept compelled me to push through to the end, culminating in a semi-satisfying conclusion. While I couldn't fully embrace the explanations presented by the author in this thriller, I still had quite a bit of fun reaching the end.
4 stars

The Five Year Lie is Sarina Bowen’s first thriller, but it doesn’t seem like it. Or at least it makes me wish it wasn’t so I could go and read every single one. Like yesterday! But hopefully she will not stop at two. There’s at least another one coming next year and I cannot wait!

But first things first. I loved The Five Year Lie, and I think it’s almost perfect. The setup is genius: getting an alarming text from your dead ex boyfriend. And make it a secret ex boyfriend to make it even better. Everything that happens starts there. And the way the story unfolds is perfectly paced and beautifully crafted. It’s told in two timelines: the present and five years ago. I think that style can sometimes be annoying, but the story flows perfectly intertwining both timelines, so it worked for me.

I don’t know if people actually skip prologues, but don’t skip this one. It’s the perfect cliffhanger that will make the book impossible to put down until you reach the end. I just didn’t want to stop reading. The mystery slowly starts to evolve, getting progressively more complicated and enthralling until you find all the answers in a very satisfying ending. And the way the characters are written will make you emotionally invested in them. You cannot help but wanting them to stay safe. It’s nerve wracking.

I think the tech and cybersecurity aspects in this story make it even more fascinating, relevant, and thought provoking. It makes you think about the importance of privacy; how willing people are to give it up without a second thought, and how easily cutting-edge technology can be manipulated in a potentially dangerous way. It’s scary.

The Five Year Lie blends—in an outstanding way—a very succesful domestic thriller with a great love story. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and completely invested in the fate of these characters. I had a great time reading it, and it will definitely be one of my favorite books this year. I highly recommend it.

*5 Stars*

ARC kindly received for an honest review.

What can I say? This book was amazing! I always love Sarina Bowen books, but this new foray into thriller/suspense novels was a huge win for her. I was absolutely hooked by this story. I think I smashed it out in like two days (around work etc). The start of the book grabs you, there's little bits and pieces that you go, huh, that's weird, what's happening here?

And then, as the story goes on, more and more pieces come together and before you know it, you're fully invested! I don't want to spoil anything, but there are a couple of mysteries that are happening in this - and when it all comes together, wow! There were many surprises, lots of bits to love and I really hope we get more of these kinds of books from Sarina.

I can't recommend this enough! 5 huge stars from me!

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I'm a huge fan of Bowen, and this book is definitely a departure from her usual romance books.

The Five Year Lie has to do with Ariel Cafferty, a young woman in Portland, Maine. Ariel meets Drew Miller at her family business as he's a new programmer there. They have a secret romance. Drew is there for reasons of his own at Chime Co, a doorbell security company similar to Ring. The question of privacy and ethics with these doorbell cameras is a huge plot point. As it was used for something really nefarious, even though its purpose is to protect the people behind the door.

5 years later, Ariel has a 4 year old son Buzz and remains the office manager at Chime, with help from her mom. Her dad has died, and now her mom is engaged to her uncle, her dad's brother (kind of ick). Ariel's true passion is blowing glass, but her dad didn't support her art. Now that he's dead and she has a son to raise alone, because Drew left her and she later found his obituary. Until Ariel gets a text from him, sent 5 years too late thanks to a glitch in the phone company. She starts investigating, and with help from programmer Zain, she starts to get some answers that were supposed to be hidden. There are 2 suspicious people going by Brainz and the Boss, and my guesses to their identity were not quite correct. We go back and forth between the 5 years, until some truths are uncovered and Ariel's life is threatened. She takes her son on the run, and something tragic happens, but she lucks out and finds who she is looking for.

Some of the plot was a little hard to buy especially the tech stuff and what happened towards the end of the book. Here's a character who is sympathetic but doesn't safeguard her stuff well or have to work hard for a living. Especially given the ending. I'm also been sick so it's hard to focus long in my thoughts so sorry for the rambling. 4/5☆ out 5/7/24

Ariel has spent four years thinking Drew is dead, until a strange text comes through...the text opens a huge can of worms, full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it easy to get into. I found the characters to be interesting. I found Ariel likeable but was somewhat annoyed that her mom would still choose to have a relationship with Ray after everything. I thought there could have been more character development with the Zarkey's because I feel like I barely knew who they were.

Ariel Cafferty gets a text from her ex who died 5 years ago and left her pregnant and devastated.
She sets out to find what happened all them years ago and has help from computer expert Zain.
This book is full of twists and turns and I couldn’t hardly put it down. Thanks NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for this eARC that will be released May 7, 2024!

The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen was a wild and suspenseful ride that had me guessing every chapter. This book blended mystery and romance seamlessly. With each new twist and turn, I was curious about how Ariel's story would conclude! This book will keep you captivated to the very end. The flashback chapters helped develop the story and will have you turning page after page.

This is my first Sarina Bowen book and I enjoyed it. Five years after his death, Ariel Cafferty receives a text message from her ex-boyfriend Drew: "Something's happened. I need to see you. Meet me under the candelabra tree ASAP." When she shows up at the tree, he's not there. The text starts her thinking about the day Drew left her and she decides to finally try to find out why. In her search for answers, she uncovers unimaginable dangers for her and her son. Even though I didn't feel like there were any big unexpected twists, it's a good story that kept my interest. Thanks to #netgalley #harpercollinspublishers and #sarinabowen for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was enjoyable and the pacing was good but the ending was way too fantastical to get behind. I’d check out this author again, but I think there was a way for this story to not go straight over the deep end and still be intriguing and fresh. Hopefully the next novel achieves that.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Single mom Ariel receives a text from the father of her child, who disappeared from her life five years ago and died shortly after. The text tells her to meet under a tree in the park, setting off a chain of events and blowing apart the life she fought hard to build for her and her son.

This was a bingeworthy, emotional read quickly pulling the reader in within the first couple of pages. While there is a lot of technical prowess, it is told in layman's terms for the reader to easily comprehend what is going on at all times. Well written and thought-provoking, the plot is eerily realistic in terms of how invasive technology has become. For anyone who likes a good story with mystery, heartfelt emotion, and a little bit of action, this one is for you. Four stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for this ARC.

Twisty turning goodness!

I’m a big Sarina Bowen reader, I’ve read everything, and generally don’t even read the blurb of her books before I devour them. I trust her to write a story I’m going to love. This one was no different. This book is definitely a thriller, but does have a satisfying romantic element to it.

With a very unique premise, the author takes us on a dive into how just how scary invasions of privacy are, and they are ones we are easily inviting into our homes.

I could not put this book down, it was fast paced and the way the story was built the reader can begin putting together all the pieces.

I truly enjoyed this one, and as always I look forward to Sarina’s next book!

This is a departure from Sarina Bowen’s usual books. This one is higher in the suspense and intrigue, and lower on the romance, tho we get flashbacks of Ariel and Drew falling in love five years ago, and still feel her longing and grief now.

After getting a mysterious text from Drew, who suddenly left 5 years ago, she has to decide who to trust as she dig for the truth. This book made me want to stay up too late (my eyelids did ultimately win), and i spent a day doing nothing but reading to finish and get to the end.

There is an HEA, and the baddies get their due. But have a tissue handy, just in case.

I never thought I’d read a romance with names from Toy Story characters, but here we are. (You’ll just have to read to find out context for that one 😅)

When a cell tower randomly decides to send out texts from five years ago, Ariel is bound and determined to figure out why her son’s father, Drew, disappeared without a trace before finding out she was pregnant.

Told in dual timelines of Ariel in the present and Drew in the past, the store is a little slow going in the beginning but has a good pace throughout the majority of the book. There is a LOT happening in this book. It doesn’t make it confusing, but there are just a lot of moving parts to the story and they all get wrapped up pretty nicely in the end. I do feel like the ending was rushed a little more than I would have liked, but I truly enjoyed this story and didn’t want it to end.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Sarina Bowen, and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for allowing me to read and review. This was a fun read and I can’t wait for everyone to check it out in May!

I’ve read almost every book that Sarina Bowen has written. She is an auto-read author for me and has written some of my absolute favorite books. That being said, everything she’s written has been in the romance genre so I was very curious to see what this thriller would be like! It has everything I love about Sarina Bowen books - great dialogue + well-rounded and developed characters but with the addition of mystery and suspense. I will admit the beginning felt a little slow but it quickly picked up as the book progressed and I couldn’t stop reading until I got to the end!

Good thriller that will keep the reader on their toes the whole way through the book. I liked the way the story unfolded for the reader.

I have read books by this author before and have always found them to be well written and good reads, so I had pretty high expectations for this book. I’m happy to say that The Five Year Lie actually surpassed those expectations. It was so good, twisty and engaging. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it and was wholly satisfied with the way the story finished itself out.