Between Lies & Revenge
By: Hannah D. Sharpe

Olivia and Elle are two women who share an interesting connection which brings them together.

Told in alternate POV. Elle is on the run and is a con artist. Olivia is trying to have a baby and fertility treatments are expensive. Her husband wants to stop treatments.

Money, cons, jewelry, lies and more have these women teaming up together to each get what they want.

This story is long and you have to pay close attention to the details.

Thank you Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse for this gifted eARC.

I liked this book pretty well, a unlikely pair of women team up to run a jewelry con. I liked the development of their relationship and was rooting for them to succeed with what they were ultimately after. I had a few problems with the book, I kept feeling confused in the first third with too many characters, that I was mixing up and not sure, why one of the plots was even in there. It felt like the book was trying to do too much, the main storyline was interesting enough without it and it also made the ending more flat, trying to tie up so many loose end It was her first novel so I suspect, some of these issues will be resolved in other books.

Who doesn't love a con artist story? I'm surprised we don't see more of them, honestly! This one did a great job having dual narrators but with very distinct voices. That is less common than you'd think! It really built suspense and kept me interested to see what was going to happen next. The con was as complex as you'd hope which helped a lot.

This was a really good and promising debut novel and I look forward to more from this author.

The story is told in dual POV with some flashbacks throughout. I enjoyed how the characters developed as the story progressed, especially as I wasn't sure what to think of Elle or Olivia at the beginning. Some of the twists were a bit predictable but there were a few that shocked me. Overall a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Elle and Olivia are two women from two different walks of life who come together to plan the ultimate scheme. The women start a jewelry cleaning and appraising business together, where they service wealthy housewives' jewelry and con them out of it in the process. Both women share this big secret, but they also have their own secrets. For most of her life, Elle has been a con artist and now she is currently on the run. Olivia does not have the perfect life and puts on a facade from day to day. She is racking up debt from fertility treatments in hopes of conceiving a baby, her marriage is on rocky grounds, and she is paying her blackmailing father for his silence. The women come together to form this plot that will be mutually beneficial to both parties. Elle will get her family's jewelry back, and Olivia will make the money she so desperately needs.

Between Lies and Revenge is an interesting con artist story, where two women come together in an unexpected way. I enjoyed the dynamic between the women and although some parts did seem a little flat, the events that took place were suspenseful enough to keep me reading through to the end. Having both Olivia's and Elle's POVs made the story even more interesting, along with the flashbacks into Elle's life. This book has the themes of friendship, loyalty, lies, and revenge, which made is a great read!

Thank you NetGalley, Rising Action Publishing Co, and Hannah D Sharpe for this ARC!

Two women from completely different worlds become thrown together due to circumstances neither foresaw. Elle lost her brother who was her only true friend in the world, the only one she felt close to and had a strong bond with even when they were separated throughout their childhood. She makes her living as con artist and is currently on the run. While out one day Elle spots a woman who has the most beautiful necklace on, not only is it beautiful, it is hers and she wants it back. Olivia looks like she has it all but unbeknown to many she is extremely unhappy, all she wants is a baby but numerous attempts of fertility treatment have so far proved unsuccessful, all done without her husbands knowledge. Her credit cards are all past their limits and her husband does not believe in financial credit. Elle befriends Olivia and offers to appraise the jewelry, soon this will lead to a relationship between the two that neither of them could have foreseen.

I thoroughly enjoyed going on this journey with these women. the premise is intriguing and before I knew it I was already half way through the book. The pacing is excellent along with the portrayal of each character. The book is told in dual POV's and this really works enhancing the story. Themes of friendship and revenge are strong throughout the book and I am sure if you give this one a try you too will be as engrossed as I was. Five stars.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions expressed are my own.

I love stories about scammers, but this one was just not a fit for me. The narrative read like a list of actions the narrators took, rather than a story unfolding. It's a bummer because I was so excited to read this book. Hopefully other readers will connect with it more than me.

This is the first book in a long, long time that pulled me in immediately. The writing and planning of the plot was extremely well done, and although I kind of knew where the story was heading, there were literally small (or large) revelations up until the very end. I think Sharpe did a wonderful job fleshing out her characters- I felt sympathy for Elle, and wanted her to get what was rightfully hers- even though she was morally questionable. It says a lit about an author when you want the (sort of) bad guy to win. Also, the MLM theme was on POINT. There was a time in my early 20s that I had no true friends, only friends wanting me to buy whatever new miracle cure or candle or leggings they were selling that month. I don't want to give anything away, but I will sawnthat I found the ending deeply, deeply satisfying. Definitely will be recommending this book, and I look forward to what the author produces next!