I love so many aspects of The Five Year Lie. A whirlwind romance, a sudden disappearance, family secrets, murder and a years long mystery that unravels in a steady tumultuous revelation.

Ariel Cafferty is a single mother to her four year-old son, Buzz. Five years ago she met Drew Miller while working at her Dad’s and Uncle’s business, Chime Co. They had a months long romance that ended in Drew’s disappearance.

In present day, Ariel receives a text message from Drew asking her to meet. But how can this be since she learned years ago that Drew had died in a motorcycle accident? When she goes to meet him, he doesn’t show up. Even after she finds out there was a cell tower outage that caused previously unsent text messages to be sent five years later, Ariel is unsettled. She begins a quest to uncover the real reason behind Drew’s disappearance. With her tech savvy co-worker Zain, the two take a deep dive into Chime Co.’s logs and uncover a conspiracy that propels them into imminent danger.

Wow! Such an intriguing story. This book has all the elements to make a great read. And it is a great read BUT I felt there was a little too much detail in the story and that detracted from my enjoyment.

The story flashes between five years ago and present day. This is informative and gives the reader much needed background information. Some of the writing was unnecessary to me. The details of Ariel and Drew’s relationship could have been pared down with the same impact. The bus ride with Buzz was very detailed and really didn’t bring much to the story. The unfortunate pick pocketing was unnecessary as well. I just felt the story dragged with unnecessary detail at times. Also, the mystery is solved and/or easily guessed by mid story. While there were still a lot of unanswered questions, I would have liked more of a surprise element.

I felt invested in the characters to an extent but I wouldn’t consider this a highly character driven story. For me, the mystery was more the main character than any of the characters. Zain is probably my favorite character in the story. I would have liked more dialogue with him rather than Buzz.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to Harper Perennial and Paperbacks, NetGalley and the author, Sarina Bowen, for providing me with a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest review.

BRILLIANT!!! Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review

This gripping and suspenseful thriller seamlessly blends elements of mystery and romance, leaving readers guessing until the final moments!! The intense and heart-pounding prologue immediately captivates, drawing readers deep into the immersive story from the start. The author masterfully crafts dynamic and relatable characters that readers are instantly drawn to and emotionally invested in. Through the smooth transition between present day events and those from five years ago, the mystery gradually comes to light. This captivating story not only evokes a sense of fear but also prompts deep reflection on the ethical implications of technology's pervasive presence in our lives. With its intricate blend of secrets, family drama, romance, murder, and suspense, coupled with fast-paced storytelling, concise chapters, alternating viewpoints, and clever references to the Toy Story movie, this novel delivers a thrilling and satisfying experience, culminating in a remarkable conclusion!! Another thriller to add to my favorites list for 2024!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

On an ordinary Monday morning, Ariel Cafferty's phone buzzes with a chilling text message: "Something's happened. I need to see you. Meet me under the candelabra tree ASAP." The sender's name is Drew-the only man she ever loved, who supposedly died several years ago. Seeing his name pop up is heart-stopping for Ariel, who initially doubts its authenticity but decides to go to the tree anyway. Nobody shows up, but the text shatters everything she believed about the day Drew left her. As Ariel delves deeper, she uncovers unsettling truths that challenge the narrative she's been told for the past five years. With each question she asks, the answers become more sinister, revealing a web of lies that someone is still weaving around her. Determined to protect herself and her son, Ariel knows she must unearth the truth before it consumes her. But as she races against time, she realizes that the key to discovering what happened to Drew lies in unraveling the mystery surrounding their past.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this compelling and entertaining thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last page! This is my first read by Sarina Bowen and I cannot wait to read more of her books! I do highly recommend and it deserves all the stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙇𝙞𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝘽𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙣

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5

❗️I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily❗️

Overall I really enjoyed this books. I do feel there could have been more at the end, it felt a bit rushed to me. I also was able to figure it out rather early who the bad guy was, so that took away from the story for me.

I love Ariel and her fierceness as a mother. I connect deeply with that aspect of her. I love that she did things on her own terms. Buzz is such a sweet character. As a boy mom, I absolutely loved all the parts with him in it.

Blurb: She thought it was love. Then he vanished.
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.
Seeing Drew’s name pop up is heart-stopping. Ariel’s gut says it can’t be real. But she goes to the tree anyway. She has to.
Nobody shows. But the text upends everything she thought she knew about the day he left her. The more questions she asks, the more sinister the answers get. Only two things are clear: everything she was told five years ago is wrong, and someone is still lying to her. 
The truth has to be out there somewhere. To safeguard herself—and her son—she’ll have to find it before it finds her. And with it, the answer to what became of Drew. 
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.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Paperbacks for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

This was so good! It hooks you in immediately. Great premise, great characters. A little scary if there's any truth to those ring camera videos. The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is because it slowed down a bit in the middle. The last 30% or so, though, I couldn't read fast enough. Even if you figure it out, the reveal comes with some twists. I like her writing style, have read a few of her romances, and hope she will continue in this genre. Definitely recommend.

Sarina Bowen makes a departure from romance and she certainly made a big impact with this book. Great characters and it kept you guessing throughout with a sprinkle of romance along the way.

Without giving too much away, Ariel meets and falls in love with Drew and after a whirlwind romance, he ghosts her unexpectedly. She finds out she's pregnant with their child and finds an obituary for Drew. Now, 5 years later, she receives a text on her phone from him. How could that be? Is he really dead? As she starts digging into it, with a little help from a coworker, the mysteries just keep piling up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks for this advance copy. I loved this book! I just read it in a day, so it's so good. If you are looking for a book to inmerse you as much as you forget about the outside world, this is it!

Holy! Cow! This book had me on the edge of my seat. I was reading the words, devouring the chapters, and turning pages wanting this book to never end. I was invested in Ariel’s safety, I wanted to see the truth of Drew, and I wanted those who were doing wrong to be taken care of.

Ariel receives a text from the past and it turns her entire life upside down. She questions what she thinks she knows. She realizes that what she thought she knew was not all of what she needed to know. She must find the truth and that is a dangerous path to take.

While the mystery is phenomenal, I love how protective Ariel is of Buzz, her young son. Their relationship is obviously the most important thing in the world to Ariel. She goes to great lengths to protect him. There is never a doubt that Buzz is the most important person in her world and she knows that she must follow the clues to text just to keep him safe.

Thank you Harper Books for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

i thought this was a great easy thriller read. i read it in 2 days so quick. i also think that this kept me guessing until the very end which I liked!

I am a huge Sarina Bowen fan and have loved everything of hers that I have ever read. This thriller style is new for her and let me tell you, this book is on another level! I wish there were more than 5 stars to give. It is amazing and there is nothing I would change about how everything plays out.

The story grips you from the get-go and keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. The characters and their stories are so well thought out and interesting. I felt for Ariel from the beginning. She lost her love, Drew, 5 years ago and he changed her life forever. Now, present day, she has so much to wrap her head around and deal with. Who is telling the truth? Who is lying? She enlists the help of someone from work because this is not something she can do on her own. What a ride they go on together in search of answers.

Great story! I highly recommend this one!!

This book had me guessing till the last chapter. I love a good thriller that grabs me from the start and this really did that. I thought I was going to guess the end but actually didn't! Solid thriller!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Harper for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on May 7, 2024.

As I am familiar with Bowen’s romance novels, my curiosity got the best of me when I was browsing through Netgalley and I am so glad it did!!

It is so hard to write a synopsis about this book without spoiling the plot, but it all begins when Ariel receives a text one morning from Drew that was meant to be delivered five years ago. This text changes everything she once believed about her son’s father and the only man she ever loved, and leads Ariel down a dangerous path as she searches to find answers about his presumed death.

This was truly a brilliant story with suspense, mystery, twists, family drama and just enough romance to make it impossible to put down. I adored Ariel as a protagonist. She wasn’t overly clever or unreliable, which could have easily happened with the series of events, but rather an average person who was easy to relate to and route for. As her family found a doorbell camera company, this book really made you think about ethics and how invasive technology can be without us even knowing.

Read if you like:
-Technology
-Toy Story references
-Love stories within a thriller
-Single parent
-Portland Maine setting

Thank you Harper Perennial for the ARC! Pub 5/7

Wow, I really enjoyed this read. Once again, I picked up this book blind and was very throughly surprised.
From the prologue alone, I knew I was in for a suspenseful ride. The book is about Ariel, who works at her family’s extremely successful security firm focusing on door cameras. Ariel, once in love with a coworker (Drew), has been quietly raising her 4 year old thinking her coworker and baby’s father left them for good and eventually died.

It all changes when she gets text from her drew and that’s when she begins to unravel the huge net of lies surrounding her, her family, and the company. The book alternates between the present and 5 years ago. Let me tell you, the secrets and unraveling of the mystery was fantastic. I enjoyed each chapter going back and forth with a present event and then next chapter connecting it to the past.

I was anxious, in a good way, this whole read waiting for them to unravel the connections and mysteries. I couldn’t get enough.

It was a page turner throughout and I truly enjoyed how it ended. If you enjoy tech mysteries that are fast paced and realistic, you need to read this! I’m disappointed it’s over!

Y'all, this one was a ride. The thrills from this one were different than what I expected - Not a critique, rather just a note on my experience as a reader. The twists start when Ariel receives a text from Drew. The thing is Drew died five years ago. However, the cryptic nature of this old text causes Ariel to look into Drew more. And then, as you might infer, the secrets and lies start coming. I dug the dual timelines in this one as it was real-time investigation, as well as a look at what happened before. It was just a good, solid pageturner all-around. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this May 2024 release!

What would you do if you received a text from your dead lover? Dead men don’t send texts…
This was my first book by this author! Single mother Ariel receives a text message five years after the disappearance of her son’s father. He never shows up, the story progresses as Ariel digs into his past. Is he the bad guy? Who can she trust? There are many twists along the way, I enjoyed the storyline of her and Drew (or is that really his name)?! I loved that this was a thriller yet it gave romance vibes as well.

This book was really good and had me reading pages whenever I could - before running in the grocery store, while waiting for water to boil for dinner, after switching laundry loads. The story of Ariel and Drew was intriguing. I liked the alternating present time/past time chapters, each adding clarity and pulling the story along. I don’t want to say much because it’s a great suspenseful mystery. I will admit that I figured out the “bad” guy early on in the story but it didn’t make the unfolding of the story any less fun.

Sarina Bowen is a favorite romance author of mine so I knew I loved her writing, but I had no idea how her talents would fit into a thriller. The answer: perfectly.  I loved The Five Year Lie! It had my attention from the first page and kept me intrigued the entire length of the book. Bowen set this mystery up to play out in an entertaining and suspenseful way. Each new thing that Ariel learned or that I was given by other characters kept me wanting more. I loved how the timeline went back and forth between the present and 5 years prior to give us other pieces of the story as well. It feels weird to call a thriller fun, but I found The Five Year Lie to be exactly that. 

What else can I say about this book? Not much. You wouldn't want me to because I would be giving away way too much. What I will say is that if you enjoy mysteries and thrillers, this is a fun one to read. You will love the characters and want to know what happened just as much as they do.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free, electronic ARC of this novel I received in exchange for an honest review.

Expected publication date: May 7, 2024

I really loved the premise of this book. A very concise version of the synopsis is that Ariel Cafferty gets a text from the love of her life and father of her child, but he's been dead for about five years. Unfortunately, as great as that sounded, I didn't love the execution. I didn't realize until I was about halfway through the book that all of the author's previous work (as far as I can tell) has been romance, but that made absolute sense because this book was about 50% thriller and 50% romance. I did not realize that when I started reading the book, and maybe if I had known that going in, I would have liked it more since I would have known what to expect. But even if I had known, I don't know if this book would have been for me because I tend to like my romcom books to be cheesy, and my mysteries/ thrillers to... not be. Personally, I wasn't a fan of mixing the two. However, when the book focused more on the mystery portion of the book, I really enjoyed it.

I think there will be a lot of people that like this one, especially if you're a fan of both romance and mysteries, and you don't mind them mixing. If this sounds like it might be up your alley, then give it a go!

This was my first book from Sarina Bowen and definitely will not be my last. While its early in 2024, I know this thriller will be one of my favorites for the year! Based on a premise of a text message being delivered five years after it was sent, this was such a creative and unique idea - I really enjoyed how it played out.

4.5 stars

Thank you to Harper for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Sarina Bowen is one of my all time favorite romance authors so I was so excited to see she had a thriller coming out! I don’t read a ton of thrillers these days but I do enjoy them so this seemed right up my alley … and it was!

I really enjoyed it. It’s a domestic thriller about single mother Ariel, who receives a text message five years after the disappearance of the father of her child. They once had a torrid affair, until one day he sends her an email saying he’s leaving and it’s over between them, oh and then he died. She sets off to find out who could have sent her this text and what was really behind his disappearance five years ago, as the contents of the text change her perspective on the whole situation.

It’s a quick reading book that flashes between past and present as we discover what brought Drew into Ariel’s life all those years ago and what led to his disappearance. The mystery was intriguing and I didn’t want to put it down so I could find out if my theories were correct. I enjoyed all the characters and yes, there is a romance. It’s in the background but it’s definitely there which was great.

Overall I thought it was an intriguing read and one I recommend for those who like thrillers with a bit of romance!