The Five Year Lie has a very interesting and imaginative premise. A text message received from someone who died nearly five years ago is the beginning of an avalanche of events. The unexpected text makes Ariel question everything she thought she knew about the love of her life and she’s determined to find the truth.

The story uses two timelines with two different perspectives. There are a variety of interesting characters. I especially enjoyed the technology aspects of the story and the dark side of the devices that are meant to help people feel safe. But, the pace of the story was a little uneven and sometimes it slowed down quite a bit. Meanwhile, the ending was over-the-top and not very believable. That aspect, as well as some of the characters’ behaviors made the book a little tedious. But, overall, it was an enjoyable read and I’d give The Five Year Lie 3.5 stars bumped up to 4. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

I’ve enjoyed Sarina Bowen’s romances and was excited to see her make a jump to my other favorite genre - thrillers. Unfortunately, The Five Year Lie was a miss for me. It was predictable and most surprisingly I couldn’t believe in a romance in the story. The ending was where it really lost me. I would still try another thriller by Bowen but this one wasn’t for me. Thank you to the publisher for the free ebook to review.

Amazing read about a girl who fell in love with a guy with a secret past and she has to go find out what he was hiding and if he really was the person he said he was. So many twists and turns I couldn't put this book down, I just needed to know what happened. Thank you for this arc!

I gave this book 4 stars and I enjoyed the overall story line, which it captures your attention right from the beginning. Towards the middle of the book I found the story to drag on with the depth of the details from the past to the present. Then when I reached about the 100 page mark to the end of the storyline it picked back up and pulled me back in to see where the story came together. I thoroughly enjoyed the character development and the the mystery behind the camera technology company which was really interesting and relevant to the society we are in with the camera surveillance technology in and around us. Great writing and excited to read other books by this author!

I need to begin this review by pleading with Sarina Bowen to write more thrillers.

Ariel had a summer fling with a man she met at work. She thought things were going well until one day he vanished without a trace. A year later, after having his child, she found an obituary for him. Ariel has mourned Drew's loss until one day a strange glitch realizes five year old texts that were never sent--including a text from Drew asking Ariel to meet up with him because something has gone wrong.

This book was so smart and twisty and well-written. The characters felt like real people and all my guesses about who the bad guy was were wrong. And once I hit the halfway mark I couldn't put this book down. I can't wait to get my hands on more thrillers by Bowen!

This book tells a captivating story that kept me hooked from start to finish. The premise is unique and made this book a memorable read and a stand out thriller.

The story follows the main character Ariel when one text sends her down a rabbit hole trying to find out what happened to her love, who is also the father of her child, five years ago after he disappeared and she never heard from him again.

Overall, I highly recommend The Five Year Lie to anyone looking for a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant read. Sarina Bowen's writing style is great!

Ariel gets a text from Drew asking her to meet him and tell no one. That is suspicious enough, but worse, Drew has been dead for five years. This begins a story of suspense and deceit that continues until the end. I was captivated by the story and couldn't put this down. I needed to know how it was going to end. One of the final plot points was a bit of a letdown, so I dropped the rating. But I can not wait to read more thrillers by this author (if she writes more 🤞🏻)!

"She thought it was love. Then he vanished." - The Five Year Lie

This is it folks.

We have before us the "Thriller Book of the Year" .

The Five Year Lie, has instantly surpassed every book I thought I favored this year. Sarina Bowen, perfectly narrated a twisted tale of love, lies and deceit.

Total arm hair raiser.

Don't believe me? Check out this teaser :

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.

What if you received a text from an ex that was dead? Let’s be honest, I’d probably throw my phone and run 😅.

Ariel is at work when she receives a text from her ex Drew but he died five years ago. Drew the one that disappeared on her and doesn’t know he’s the father of their child. Not only that but the text message is urgent, letting her know he’s in danger and asking to meet her at their spot under a tree. This is the start of the realization that not everything is how it seems and someone has been lying to Ariel. How far is Ariel going to go to find out what really happened to Drew and who really has texted her.

This one had me rushing through to find out what really happened to Drew. Who was lying to Ariel? Who could she trust? This one had family drama, suspense and romance all mixed in. Reminded me a lot of Colleen Hoover books so if you’re a fan of hers, you’d enjoy this book.

This is a solid 3.75/5 stars for me.
Ok, so funny story: The whole getting a text message 5 years after it was sent situation really did happen, and my husband was working for the company responsible when they realized that it happened. Talk about going into damage control. LOL!

Anyway, this was a fun read. It was engaging and suspenseful throughout. Yes it's tech heavy, but it's rather easy to follow. I enjoyed the twists and the anticipation of seeing how everything played out. This would definitely be a fun beach read. Thank you to NetGalley, Sarina Bowen, and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The perfect blend of love story, mystery, and thriller - I was ENAMORED with this book! While the pacing is quick, the book ends up feeling kind of long-winded, and I realized I was willing myself to read faster with each chapter. I can't say the plot was entirely unpredictable but the twists and turns gripped me every time.

I understand why some other readers felt the love story overshadowed the plot; there are definitely small plot-holes if you are used to true crime-type novels. However I found myself really not caring and falling in love with the book and the characters anyway! It's been awhile since I laughed and cried this much while reading! I can't wait to see what Sarina comes up with next.

Thank you to Sarina Bowen and Harper Perennial, Paperbacks, and NetGalley for my complimentary copy! All opinions are my own.

I have read several Sarina Bowen books in the past. This one was so different from her other books I have read, and it did not disappoint. This book had me hooked from the first page. I did not want to put it down.

Ariel is a single mother working for her father's company. Her life is turned upside down when she receives a text from Drew, the father of her son, who she thinks is dead. This book follows her down through the process of trying to figure out what the text means and why she is receiving it.

The book alternates between Ariel's current point of view and Drew's point of view five years in the past. As Ariel would learn something from the past you would then get Drew's point of view. I thought this was a great way of including Drew in the story to get the "why" of what he did. You got the information you needed at the perfect time in the story.

I absolutely loved this book, I hope Sarina writes more thrillers. She had me staying up late wanting to finish and find out what happened and why. Such a great read!

Thank you Harper Perennial and Paperbacks, and NetGalley for this book in exchange for my very honest review.

I'm a big fan of Sarina Bowen's romance novels, and I also enjoy reading romantic suspense/thrillers, so I was intrigued when I heard that she was releasing The Five Year Lie.

I was NOT disappointed! I loved The Five Year Lie, it is a great romantic thriller! I was already skeptical of AI, but, WOW!

The author kept me guessing as we learned more about Ariel, her family and her past. Drew, the father of her 5 year old son, Buzz, is dead, or so everyone seems to believe. A technology glitch momentarily leads Ariel to question what really happened to Drew, and throws her life into chaos as she scrambles to discover the truth about Drew and her own family.

Sarina Bowen has developed a fascinating cast of characters. Ariel and Drew have interesting, complex backstories, and the supporting characters are diverse and delightfully complex. As in real life it was often difficult to determine who really had Ariel's best interests at heart.

The audiobook version of The Five Year Lie really brings the suspense to life with superb narration by
Kathleen Early, Gary Tiedemann, and Jason Clarke.

I highly recommend both the written and audiobook versions of The Five Year Lie, and I'm looking forward to more romantic thrillers from Sarina Bowen.

Ariel receives a text message from Drew asking to meet, but he died a few years ago.
Ariel goes to meet up but he doesn’t show. She then starts to investigate what really happened.
I really enjoyed this book and the storyline.

Ariel’s son Buzz’s father disappeared 5 years ago, right before she found out she was pregnant with him. She decided to move on from him and raise their son alone. Eventually, she discovers his obituary and begins to process his death. A glitch in technology sends out old text messages that begin to unveil what really happened all those years ago. She goes on her own hunt to find answers and struggles with who to trust along the way. An absolutely trilling novel that keeps you on your toes. I loved the main character and her witty conversations with herself so much!

There are a lot of names and pieces to remember in this techy novel that it can get confusing if you’re not paying close attention!

I fully believe that the tagline for The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen should be once you start you can't stop, literally. I did not put the audiobook of this down for a SECOND and if I had to pause it for any amount of time it made me angry. And that's the story of how much I loved it. 🤣 It makes total sense to me why there was a dash of romance in the book now that I know what Bowen's normal genre is, and I have to say I loved how she weaved it in with the suspenseful and mysterious storyline. Her writing sucked me in immediately, and I hope she will write more thrillers, but I feel like it would be a crime not to read her romance now.

The audiobook is narrated by Kathleen Early, Gary Tiedemann & Jason Clarke who all did spectacular jobs, and this was a great book to have a full cast for. Even though there are only 3 viewpoints, the different narrators brought a lot to the story IMO, and I loved every minute of it. The pace moved along nicely without any dull moments, and I completely fell in love with Ariel and her son. She was one smart cookie, and I thought all of the characters were very relatable in at least one way or another, well, maybe not the evil ones. 😜 The Five Year Lie is worth all of the hype it has been getting and gave me The Last Thing He Told Me vibes while being completely different. Clear your calendars people, and make sure you don't put this one off if it's on your TBR!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

In the realm of domestic thrillers, Sarina Bowen’s “The Five Year Lie” is a compelling story that intricately weaves suspense with the raw emotionality of human relationships.

This novel marks a confident debut by Bowen (traditionally known for writing romance novels) into the thriller genre, and it does not disappoint.

The story centers around Ariel Cafferty, a single mother whose life is upended by a cryptic text from her presumed-deceased ex-lover, Drew. The message propels her into a harrowing quest for truth that questions the fabric of her past and thrusts her into a vortex of deceit and danger. As Ariel delves deeper into the mystery, she confronts unsettling revelations about Drew’s disappearance, her family’s tech company, and possibly even her father’s untimely death.

Bowen’s narrative prowess shines through the novel’s brisk pacing and dialogue-driven storytelling, ensuring readers remain glued to each page.

The plot is a labyrinth of twists and turns, with each chapter revealing layers of lies and half-truths, keeping you guessing throughout the story.

The author’s pointed commentary on the abuse of technology adds a contemporary edge to the tale, making this story resonate with our digitally-entwined lives.

What sets “The Five Year Lie” apart is the author's ability to balance the tension of a thriller with the emotional depth of a romance.

Bowen’s expertise in character development is evident as she crafts a protagonist who is vulnerable yet tenacious, a woman whose love for her son anchors her amidst the chaos.

“The Five Year Lie” is a fine testament to Bowen’s versatility as an author. It promises and delivers a roller-coaster of emotions, a sophisticated plot, and a satisfying resolution.

"The Five Year Lie" is a must-read, a thrilling and well- written novel for those who relish a story that gives you chills while warning your heart.

When Ariel gets a text from the man she loved and thinks is dead, her whole world and what she knows about it is thrown into disarray and she must unravel all the lies she's been told for years.

This is the debut thriller from one of my favorite romance authors. I was really eager to see how this would work for me as I have been reading quite a few domestic thrillers in the last year. I am happy to say that I will be putting The Five Year Lie in my "favorites of 2024" category. There's plenty of questions, lots of drama and so many lies and red herring that kept me reading. There is plenty of romantic elements here as well, which I really look for in a domestic thriller as it helps to make the stakes higher when there are feelings involved.

The story is told in multiple POVs, which keeps things moving along. There's plenty of tech in this one too, which is always a mixed bag for me as it tends to make me want to fact check things, but that was okay because accuracy with technology is important to this reader.

I'm glad to see this author branching out into other area as the writing is always top-notch and the characters are engaging. Can't wait for more!

Imagine what it would be like to fall head over heels in love with someone, only to have them completely disappear right before you find out you’re pregnant with their baby. Then five years later, after seeing an obituary about their death, you receive a text from them. This mystery unfolded through dual POV between Drew and Ariel five years ago and Ariel today. I never knew who to trust and author @sarina.bowen did an amazing job keeping me guessing about who the bad guys really were in this debut thriller!

I happily requested an ARC of The Five Year Lie after reading the description -- I was extremely intrigued by the plot. Overall, I was so impressed. I loved the setting, loved the characters, loved the drama, and loved the plot. I truly could not put The Five Year Lie down and am waiting anxiously for Sarina's next book!