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readbycarina's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Graphic: Murder and Death
Minor: Car accident
teaandbooksnuggery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Murder
Minor: Car accident
heresyourletter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I also find it hard to believe that someone who spent the entire book wanting to "get out" of her line of work and have a nice quiet life in a home of her own would then become a spy boss at the end.
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Death, Cancer, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Classism, and Infidelity
Despite being a thriller, the descriptions of violence are very toned down. It's more about the threat of violence than actual violence. One character is briefly incarcerated and questioned about a crime by police. One character drinks heavily over the course of several days (and drives home after). One very brief "closed door" sex scene. Very brief mention of a character's interest in BDSM.bluerskies's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, and Death of parent
machenn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Murder
karina_dreamsinwords's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This gave me Mission Impossible meets Kingsmen vibes with the secret agent aspect, which I thoroughly enjoyed!
I’m excited to see what other adult novels Elston brings in the future.
Graphic: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Car accident and Murder
lala_reads_too's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Minor: Car accident, Cancer, Death of parent, and Death
kyrstin_p1989's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Murder, Stalking, Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
shesflippinpages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Terminal illness, Stalking, Cancer, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gaslighting, and Murder
cassidy_rain's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I heard mixed things about this but I absolutely loved it, I thought it was super fun and exciting! Fans of the tv shows Imposters and The Blacklist should definitely check this out.
First Lie Wins follows “Evie” who works in the con-artist industry performing different kinds of jobs under different aliases. It’s a medium-fast paced thriller with mysterious elements that unfold. The story is told from Evie’s perspective and has timeline jumps, but I found it easy to follow. I thought the timeline jumps really added to the story and piqued my interest as each flashback unlocked another clue to the puzzle.
I was hooked from the beginning. I really enjoyed all the different characters. “Evie” is so cunning and such a badass. I love the way she worked hard (although untraditional methods) to overcome the challenges she was faced with in her life from a young age. I think the plot was well developed; it has just the right amount of foreshadowing. I didn’t catch any annoying plot holes and all of the twists were planned out in a way that made sense to me. There were a few twists that I was able to guess/predict, however it didn’t ruin any enjoyment for me and the main reveal was a bit different than I was anticipating! It was definitely a page turner to uncover the mystery and the ending left me completely satisfied.
“Mama always said to be successful in life you need to do three things: learn everything you can, try your hardest, and be the best at what you do.”
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, and Car accident