I cannot believe this is a debut novel! I was immediately drawn to this book! This was such a fun, fast read! Multiple POV’s, quick chapters, unreliable narrator, it comes full circle in the end!

This book gives me The Last Mrs. Parrish mixed with The Lies I tell vibes, in the very best way. I enjoyed the ride of this book and the relationships built within as well. I love that we get closure and everything connects really well. Also props to the author for bringing to light how annoying MLM’s are! 🤣

I look forward to her next book (hopefully soon!) because this was great! Definitely add this to your TBR list if you like psychological thrillers. This would be great for those who want to dip their toe into this genre as well!

Thank you Rising Action Publishing, Hannah D Sharpe, and NetGalley for allowing me early access to this one in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to ThrillerBookLovers The Pulse, Rising Action, #partner, for an advanced e- copy of Between Lies and Revenge in exchange for my honest review.

I have to say, while I was drawn to this one because of the cover, the story itself will keep you. I love a good revenge story but never could I have guessed all the twists & turns this one would end up taking! ⁣
⁣
I immediately became invested in both Elle & Olivia’s stories. And I loved that while I liked both of them, there were times I wasn’t quite sure if I could totally trust them. ⁣
⁣
Told from alternating perspectives, I loved that we really get to know both Elle & Olivia. They are such complex characters & we soon come to find out that nothing is as it seems with both of them…but their new friendship turned partnership turns into something more than either of them bargained for. ⁣
⁣
This book grabbed me from the beginning & I was caught up in all the lies & everything else going on. It had such a hold over me that I didn’t want to put it down & I ended up reading this one in one go! It was that good! ⁣

⁣I’m still in awe that this was a debut! You can be sure I’ll be keeping an eye out for what this talented author writes next!!! In the meantime, I’ll definitely be recommending this to all I know who love thrillers!

This should totally have been for me, I normally love suburban thriller type books/books about women committing crimes but I didn’t find either of the main characters enjoyable at all, especially Elle. When she literally says early on: “Usually, I'm equal parts Sherlock and Hannibal, but right now, l'm straight-up, badass Amy Schumer, in any role she's ever played” I was like ???? Are we supposed to take her seriously or not? Like she does seem like the kind of corny ass who THINKS she’s such a bad bitch but it made me cringe so hard and I couldn’t tell if the author was being self-aware about it or not. And Olivia…I’m sorry, I know infertility is a serious thing, but the whole possibly cheating husband, woman who’s desperate for a baby and going deep into debt/lying about it to him storyline is just so cliche and I don’t care. If this was gonna turn gay, I’d probably push through, but both of them seem entirely heterosexual and at 44% I’m just tired of being in these women’s POVs. Maybe I’ll finish it eventually, but for now I’m gonna put it down. 3 stars because I didn’t hate it, but didn’t like it enough to read the whole thing.

Thanks to Rising Action and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Elle is a professional con woman who lost her brother, along with the jewelry that she inherited from her family, when he was killed years ago. Then one day, she spots a stranger named Olivia wearing the necklace that she thought was lost forever. When she decides to follow Olivia in hopes of getting the necklace back and finding out what happened to her inheritance, she ends up getting much more than she bargained for and nothing is really as it seems. Both women need money and both women have secrets. Elle is a con artist and is skilled at replicating jewelry. This seems like the perfect opportunity to team up and scam rich women by doing home jewelry appraisal parties. However, told through dual points of view, it’s not long before their lies and secrets unravel and shocking truths are revealed!

It’s hard to believe that this book is a debut! An addictive page turner….Full of secrets, lies, deceit, theft, cons, revenge and many twists and turns, it’s definitely one you want to read!

can’t believe this is a debut!! This was such a twisted web 🕷 of cleverly crafted lies… As they started to unravel…
Olivia and Elle have nothing in common Or so I thought.. Elle is no stranger from living on the run and pulling cons. In fact.. she’s a pro.

This was such a delicious mystery!
I went in completely blind, and I highly recommend everyone else do the same. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. This entire storyline was so creative and well written. I really enjoyed this book!

Whaaat? This was a debut? No way!
NO WAY!
This was a fast-paced twistopia of a story. Lies, lies, so many lies. And yes, it has it all in the title already – it’s a story of lies and revenge. And it’s a wicked one. A wicked good one also.
Dual POVs of two women – I think that might be my favorite part of the way the story was told – in fact, I have a thing for women authors and for well-told, well-written female characters.
Throw in all the wild twists of a story and you got yourself the recipe for a perfect book!

p.s.
the book is almost 400 pages – so, be warned, you might miss some sleep just because you feel like you have to keep reading.

I cannot believe this is a debut! This novel just flows. I love all the twists and turns. I want to listen to this one on audiobook so I can recommend it to my vision impaired friends.

💎 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘 💎

"𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕, 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓-𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆-𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇*𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒅."

Special thanks to @thrillerbookloversthepulse @hannahdsharpe @risingactionpublishingco for the #gifted eARC.

➡️ swipe for synopsis 👉🏼

𝙈𝙔 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️ [4.25]

This book has it all.....

💎Secrets
💎Lies
💎Stolen heirlooms
💎Faked jewelry
💎Bribery
💎Blackmail
💎Infertility
💎Relationship drama
💎Family drama
💎Short chapters
💎Dual POV
💎Multiple Timelines

PLUS a new "found" friendaship....more like arrangement by an unlikely duo of Olivia and Elle....working towards a similar goal=make that money 💰🤑💸

Freaking LOVED this book. Couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Started out slow for the first 25% and I almost DNFd it, but I'm glad I kept going. It picked up and RAN 🏃‍♀️. The likelihood of Olivia and Elle making enough money to pay off both their secrets is hard to imagine.......
Do you think they'll do it before someone gets hurt?!

** And the tennis bracelet....it took me a second when Olivia was explaining where it didn't come from, during her realization.....but wow. #somemenaredogs ..... but when it comes full circle - WATCH YOUR BACK, CHARLIE 🥴 **

𝙋𝙐𝘽 𝘿𝘼𝙔:
Sep 3, 2024


QOTD ❓️⁉️❓️ Do you have any family heirlooms?

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#mysteryandthrills #thrillersandsuspense #upcomingsuspense #bookbuzz #thrillerbooklovers #thepulse #pulsepoint #thrillergirlie #betweenliesandrevenge #hannahdsharpe
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Elle has left her past life as a con artist behind and is now on the run. Until she spots a stranger wearing a piece of jewelry that she is going to use a con to get all the jewels out of. To her circle of wealthy friends, Olivia is living the perfect life. In reality, Olivia is drowning. It's not until Olivia meets Elle that she finds someone she truly clicks with. Together, Elle and Olivia start jewelry appraisal parties where they switch out the real gems for fake ones. Along the way, they both start to down in their own lies. They must reveal their truths, trust each other, and seek revenge if they are going to make it out of the end unscathed.

Between Lies and Revenge is a book about two very different women who live two very different lives in two very different worlds. Elle is a con artist who is on the run from her past, and Olivia lives a very well-off life on the outside, but on the inside, she's suffering with her own problems. When these two women meet, they learn that as a team, they can pull off their own con that can benefit them both. This book is so addictive. It has so many twists, and you will not want to put it down until you get to the very last page. What an absolutely brilliant debut by Hannah D Sharpe.

All us thriller lovers are obsessed with this book at @thrillerbookloversthepulse !
I mean, what an amazing debut! I would have never guessed this was the authors first book.

💎Multiple POVs
💎Revenge
💎Con Artist
💎Secrets
💎Twists

It all started with a necklace. When Elle saw a stranger, Olivia, wearing a family heirloom that was stolen from her she is on a mission to figure out why she has it.
Elle is a con artist on the run and Olivia seems to have it together but really has her own dark struggles.
These two team up to start their own ultimate scheme. And they soon learn they have more in common than they think.
An addictive story that will have you flipping pages way past your bedtime.

What a great first novel! I got confused a couple times at the beginning but did not put it down and I’m glad I didn’t. Olivia and Elle are two completely different women with completely different personalities and they seem like they should be oil and water but they mesh together so well. This is a great story of girlfriends, mysteries, secrets, lies and revenge. This was a fun book that touched on some difficult subjects (infertility, endometriosis, IVF) in a great way. Would definitely recommend!

I love a book with complicated women and this book delivered. Two points of view, each playing the other, and we the reader watch the secrets and twists play out masterfully. The jewelry making/switching was so interesting, I learned a lot but it never felt like exposition. The MLM storyline is too accurate, I think every woman can relate to aspects of it. And the relationships between the women and the other people in their lives are so well-developed. I'll be recommending this to all my reader friends!

" There's only one thing that can be found between lies and revenge." Wow!!! 🤯 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This is a debut novel ?! I would never guess this author hadn't written many prior. This was simply a fantastic book!!
This book follows a dual POV of two women who seemingly have nothing in common. Elle. a professional con woman, whom lost her family and her inheritance years ago. When Elle meets a woman, Olivia, who was now wearing pieces of her inheritance jewelry, she finds a way to befriend her to try to get back what she's owed. Olivia's life, however perfect it may seem, is far from perfect and after meeting Elle, things in this book take a drastic turn.
This book is filled with twists and turns, lies and revenge, shocking secrets, crazy female relationships, and will keep you flipping the pages to know what happens next.
I would highly recommend this book and will be looking forward to whatever is next from Hannah D. Sharpe. Thank you to Netgalley. Rising Action Publishing, and Hannah D. Sharpe for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Another great debut novel! Two women with secrets and they realize they need each other but what is the price of this friendship? Elle is a con artist and has a past that slowly unwinds through out the story. So when she comes across Olivia wearing a necklace that was used to be hers, Elle knows her next target. Olivia puts on this front, but is swimming in debt and struggling with her husbands decision for them to stop doing IVF treatments. She will do anything to give her husband a child and her secrets are not as secret as she thought. Being blackmailed and only continuing to go more into debt, Olivia comes up with this brilliant idea to partner with Elle and use her talents and have their own jewelry parties. This novel almost feels like a cat and mouse game and you are trying to figure out who to trust, who is out to gain the most what mystery Elle has in past. Another great summer read that Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse is talking about. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the complementary ebook. This review is of my own opinion and accord.

*** Thank you NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Co. for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own ***

I requested this book through NetGalley based on the premise, which I found appealing: two women – Elle and Olivia – separated by their background, wealth and life circumstances form an unexpected friendship to get themselves out of their predicaments, against the backdrop of MLM parties in wealthy neighborhoods.

The story is told through their more or less alternating perspectives, which makes characterization particularly important. This was the first issue for me, as I really, really despised Elle. I understand that she is the “bad cop” of their two-woman operation. She starts off rough, impenetrable, bitter, cynical, judgmental, sometimes even cruel and mean. She is also convinced that she is better than everyone, in spite of objectively being a terrible person to be around (and sometimes kind of acknowledging it).

This would not be an issue if, as the story progressed, so did she. Although her demeanor is explained by traumatic events that happened in her past, her lack of development (for at least a good ¾ of the story) made the experience of reading her chapters unpleasant and frustrating. She constantly oscillates between “loving me is dangerous,” “oooh I’m so tough, such a badass” and “people don’t care and are awful.” This ends up making her come across as wanting to be edgy for the sake of it rather than out of actual trauma,. This, to me, made it hard to empathize with her.

Another major issue with her character is her lack of communication. She routinely complains that people don’t know certain things about her or don’t understand her, when she is the one refusing to share anything with them. This makes the character widely unlikeable, but also problematic for the story itself: Elle’s attitude is constantly in the way of the plot.

It does not help that her backstory is not built up gradually but that we are served the same information over and over and over again. Elle tries to make it sound like she is in danger and putting people she loves in danger, but her backstory is so vague and repetitive for the most part of the story that I struggled to grasp what exactly was at stake. It made her whole “I’m dangerous to love” act feel exactly like that, an act.

When I was expecting both women to rub off on each other and slowly open up thanks to their relationship, Elle remained pretty much the same throughout. Olivia was slightly better, more humane, Though their differences make their duo promising, there are too few moments when it actually works and feels like they are actually bonding.

Staying vague to avoid spoiler territory, I also found that MANY important decisions made by Elle and Olivia made very little sense. As a result, the plot was taken in directions that I found increasingly more frustrating and less enjoyable.

At the structural level, there is an issue of rhythm that I could not get past, which involves repetitive information, stagnant plot, and redundant scenes.
A couple of examples:
- a chapter ends on a barely averted conflict between two characters only for it to happen at the beginning of the next one on a different day.
- the characters go to a place, the place is closed, nothing happens, they go back the next day in the next chapter.
- some chapters bring nothing to the plot or characters that we do not already know and feel redundant.

There were also a couple of passages that made absolutely no sense in how blown out of proportion they were. For instance:
- Elle being “outed” (her word!) as vegan and being super defensive about it when literally nobody cares, nobody asked, nobody wants to change her mind.
- Elle lying to her husband of 10+ years about liking wine when she prefers Bourbon and routinely breaking wine glasses from the kitchen (for shits and giggles? For attention? Because she is oh-so edgy???).

I must say that I liked the twists but the characters’ reaction in the face of them, once again, made very little sense based on what we had been told so far.
Overall this started as a pleasant enough read, but I quickly found it unsatisfying for all the reasons mentioned above.

First congratulations to the author on a great debut novel!! She creates characters that are relatable but devious at the same time. Elle and Olivia are brought together under unique circumstances and they have problems together and then their own problems. I enjoyed this book but was confused at times by all the different stories happening at the same time. Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

A fantastic debut novel that is perfect for fans of Megan Miranda and Sally Hepworth. What started out as a slow burn quickly developed into a deep world of deception, intricately designed characters, and a ton of suspense. It was about halfway through the book where the stakes started to rise and I was fully invested. I found myself rooting for both main characters. I highly recommend this novel to anyone that loves reading about Deception, Family Drama, and most importantly….Revenge!

This book is all the rage right now with my thriller loving friends with @thrillerbookloversthepulse I am so appreciative to @hannahdsharpe @risingactionpublishingco for the gifted copy!

Liars, cheaters, stealers, blackmailers and con artists galore! This one was such a fun ride because when you mix all that together what you get is some intense and shocking moments! 😂 This was told in multiple points of views and I loved how each character seemed to be opposites….or were they?! 👀 This book was filled with twists, turns, toxic relationships, and extreme tension and when it was all said and done we were left with such sweet revenge. WOW!

Elle is a skilled con artist on the run. She is conniving and sneaky and good at what she does. Olivia is the opposite and much more sophisticated however struggles financially, with fertility, isn’t truly happy and she too has some important street skills….eh hmmm blackmailer. 😅 When Elle see Olivia wearing her stolen necklace she has a lot of questions. She will stop at nothing to get it back especially because it was taken at a very impactful event in her life…when her brother was killed! 😳 In the end, they are left with a relationship that will surprise everyone!

⭐⭐⭐✨/5

LOVE IS NOT PATIENT, AND IT IS NOT KIND. BUT THE PEOPLE WHO FALL VICTIM TO IT ARE FUCKING BLIND.

I refuse to believe Between Lies & Revenge is a debut novel. With expert narration & sharp character edges, this author writes with a sure hand.
BL&R is a story about a lot of things to be summarised as such, but it can be described as a domestic suspense. When Elle & Olivia collide, it becomes a read to behold!
Written in a 2 POV format, the book oscillates between the last and the present, delivering important facts along the way leading to necessary character development. The twists & turns are enough to keep you hooked throughout, & the cover justifies the setting of the book.
My favourite aspect of the book remains Elle's narration for the first half of the book. She really seems to be in her 'done with all this BS era' which was AWESOME TO READ. Parallel to this runs Olivia, who jumps off the page as a meek, gullible wife. These voices captured my attention.
EG. Elle's ringtone😂😂😂😂
The second half of the book becomes increasingly fast paced & more story driven. Though it was fun to read, I definitely preferred the first half. I enjoyed where the author took the story, but to me this direction also diluted a badass piece of Elle. Regardless, the revenge plot was engaging though a bit rushed.

The author's commitment to representing IVF, infertility, MLMs duping, the cultish behaviour of upper class housewives in gates communities, stalking, crime & a douchebag husband were appreciated. She delivers the point without being preachy.

OVERALL, this book is a revenge plot done well, even though it's about a lot more than just that. This becomes the ultimate pro as well as the con for this book. The easy, flowing writing is a huge plus point though.

I'd recommend this book for sure! It's fun & it's an amazing debut. I hope this author keeps writing!

Meanwhile I'll go add a Zane to my shopping cart!