“It’s hard to live in a world where cameras are always watching “.

What a thrill ride! Really great original story that keeps you flipping pages until you find out what the truth is. Love this one!

I really thought this sounded like something I could love but, sadly, I just couldn’t get into it. I never connected with the main character. I didn’t particularly like the direction the plot was going. I ended up DNFing around 30%. Maybe someone who doesn’t read as many thrillers as I do would enjoy it more. I just didn’t feel like it was giving me anything new or fresh for the genre. And I really wasn’t feeling the suspense or excitement. It never made me care about anyone or anything that was happening, and I found myself just really not wanting to pick it back up again. It’s not that it was bad, but it left me completely apathetic about the story, which isn’t great either.

This is this author's debut thriller. This has twist and turns and is a mystery.

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

🔹 My take: 4/5

🔸 Ariel works as office admin in ChimeCo. which is owned by her dad and uncle. ChimeCo. is into camera surveillance and has grown leaps and bounds over last few years. Ariel is attracted to Drew who has recently joined company. The sparks flow instantly between them and they become inseparable. However, within few weeks after meeting; Drew goes absconding and days after Ariel reads his obituary in newspaper. Ariel grieves and moves on with great difficulty. Five years pass and suddenly one day, Ariel receives message from Drew to meet at their once regular meeting spot and not tell anyone about the meeting. Ariel is out of her wits and tries to contact the number again but to no avail. The entire book there after goes on a roller coaster ride containing revelations, betrayal, emotional baggage, escapades and much more. Was it really Drew who messaged Ariel or was it some twisted joke? Why did Drew go missing and what happened to him? What was he hiding?

💖 Wows - A twisted and edge of the seat thriller; this book does justice to its genre. The latter half of the book is particularly exciting since it contains lots of thrilling along with tender moments. The helplessness that Ariel felt at various junctures was very palpable. All the side characters embedded in the story were also well developed and meshed in the plot easily.

💔 Ows - What marred my overall rating was that the mystery aspect was missing and so it was clear from early on who could be the traitor. Few places where it got technical was also a minor irritant. Also, the book is huge. But full marks to thrill aspects, back story building and pacing.

💫 Sarina Bowen is known for her romance reads and this is her foray in thriller genre. It was a gripping read so job well done. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thanks to @sarina.bowen @harperperennial and @netgalley for sharing the DRC in exchange for honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wonderful book! It was a nice change from the typical romance I read fromthis author. I will definitely look forward to reading more thrillers from Bowen!

Just a little boring. It started off strong, but I was ever drawn to it. Never really intrigued enough to want to keep going.

My first read from this author. The premise of the story grabbed me right away: heroine receives a text out of the clear blue from her ex-boyfriend, who she knows is dead. How can that be? So, I had to read it to find out.

I really liked the technological aspect of this story. Firstly, to find out that there had been a strange glitch in the cell towers that caused tons of people to end up getting texts that were five years old. That would have been strange enough, but the text Ariel received happened to be from Drew, her old boyfriend who disappeared one day, and who she later found an obituary for in her obsessive Googling of his name. Secondly the whole doorbell camera aspect and the company her father and uncle ran. I’ve often wondered if these cameras are just a way for “someone” to spy on you, and as we learned in this story, yes, they are!

I didn’t really connect with Ariel at all. Her work ethic really was awful, and she only halfheartedly performed her job at Chime Co. when she felt like being there. But she did seem to be pretty sharp, and with the help of her coworker Zain, pretty quickly figured out that Drew was not in fact, dead and she somehow managed to figure out where he was.

I liked Drew, but there were so many questions left open for me because I didn’t really feel like the author gave a satisfactory reason as to why Drew stayed away for five years.

Before the book finished, I thought for sure the reader was going to be clued in to why Ariel’s father hated her so much and treated her and her mother so horribly, but alas, that never happened. So, all these theories I had concocted in my head are still hanging out there because none of that got resolved, I guess it just went by the wayside when her father died.

Then to find out that Ariel’s mother is still talking to her uncle Ray who I deduced very early on was the culprit behind all the nefarious stuff that happened, that was just a disappointment for me. I guess love overcomes a lot.

Overall, I thought this was a solid read, albeit a bit long. I did enjoy it, but there were several things left dangling for me, so I’m giving this 3 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced review copy of this title in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was one heck of a book! The story was propulsive and intriguing. The characters were very well done . This story was mystery after mystery and the conclusion was great.

I felt this was interesting premise for a book and kept you interested and engaged . It speaks to the predominance on social media and internet eavesdropping but overall it was good
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy

Found this book to have an intriguing plot. Techies unite! The dark side to surveillance cameras if it falls to the wrong hands (just as all things, right?) I love the storyline and I felt pity for the lead female, Ariel for being left alone as a single mother for 5 years. The plot, as I have said is intriguing, but there's something amiss that I cant quite put my finger on with the disappearance story of the male lead character and how it connects to everything.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read an ARC.

This was a really good book and I really enjoyed the book! It was a perfect mix of mystery, thriller and domestic thriller in it and that kept me interested. I think the storyline and the plot was something that could have maybe been improved some but for the most part it was a good book all around. I liked that there was something for every time of thriller reader!

Loved this book! Great story and great writing!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Easy, quick read. I enjoyed the mystery of it, although I wouldn’t call it a domestic thriller. Still, it held my attention and I breezed through this good read.

➕Cool career for female lead - glass blower.
➖The number of times female lead is called “baby” and “honey” was gag worthy.
➕Cool use of tech privacy issues for main plot + lots of tension building.
➕ first half of book was 4⭐️
➖second half of book was 2⭐️
➖a popcorn thriller should not be over 400 pages, at least not for me
➖And please, the appearance of yet another oops pregnancy trope; I’m so over them.

This book!!!! Let me just say, I cannot remember the last time that a book had me giving myself a talking to once it hit 4AM because for the life of me I couldn’t stop reading it. Not only was this one mystery after the other but the suspense! This was just what I needed after my romcom slump and the perfect start to my thriller summer.

The only complaint I have is that I wish we could have had a bit more of an epilogue! (I do love my epilogues). I would have loved to see where the characters would be after that explosive ending and just how they’d adapt to their situation after one crazy event after the other.

I really enjoyed this book. Could you imagine receiving a text 5 years after your ex died?

The story draws you in from the beginning and do not want to stop. I loved the writing style of this book and getting to know Arial the author did a fantastic job developing the plot and the story from the past and present kept me wanting more.

Sarina Bowen's latest novel, "The Five Year Lie," offers an intriguing concept that grabs your attention right from the start. The story kicks off with a text message from the main character's boyfriend, who supposedly died five years ago. This captivating premise sets the stage for a journey filled with corporate espionage and sleuthing.

While the plot occasionally stretched the limits of believability, I still found myself enjoying the ride. The puzzles and twists kept me engaged, even if I had to suspend disbelief at times. The novel made me ponder the ways in which our behaviors are tracked in today's world, often without our awareness. This theme added a thought-provoking layer to the story.

However, the narrative did go off the rails for me when the main character decided to go rogue, leading to a conveniently happy ending. As a fan of police procedurals, the resolution felt a bit too neat and easy. Despite this, the book remained an enjoyable read. One minor gripe was the use of Disney character names like Buzz and Ariel, which grated on me. It felt a bit out of place in the context of the story.

Overall, "The Five Year Lie" is an entertaining read that I'd recommend for those looking for a light, intriguing thriller. I’d definitely pick up another novel by Sarina Bowen in the future. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC.

A fast paced thriller full of corporate espionage, fractured families, and forbidden love, The Five Year Lie kept me up late turning pages. I simply couldn't put it down until I found out who did what and how all the pieces fit together.

When I started The Five Year Lie, I had no idea that it was set in my beloved home state of Maine, which only made me love it more, but the truth is that I would have loved The Five Year Lie no matter where it was set. Not only did I become deeply attached to the characters, but I frantically flipped pages because I just had to know. For me, that's the sign of a great mystery, that I'm hooked. I frantically flipped pages,and, when I reached the jaw-dropping conclusion, it was everything I wanted it to be.

I enjoyed it, but it definitely could have been shorter. It did have plenty of intriguing developments in the story to keep my attention the whole time.