First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston is a twisty action thriller with a gripping premise that had me intrigued from the first page but lost my interest the more I read.

Evie Porter is living a perfect life with her gorgeous boyfriend, Ryan, who she has just moved in with. But none of it is real as Evie Porter doesn’t exist – it’s a job for her & Ryan is her mark. When they attend a party and are introduced to a friend’s new girlfriend everything changes for Evie. This woman is using her real identity, the one she always hoping she could return to one day, and it’s clear she’s on a mission to ruin Evie. To stay one step ahead, she needs to return to her past and discover who she’s been working for all this time.

For me, it would be easier to split this book into 2 to review it adequately. The first half of the book I really enjoyed – full of questions and suspense & getting to know our main character, Evie. The second half of the book I found confusing, convoluted and at times, just plain silly with all the back forth between timelines and identities. By the time the final reveals at the ending occurred, I found myself not caring what happened and just want to move on.

In my opinion, this would work much better as a tv series or a movie which is why it doesn’t surprise me that it’s a pick for Reese’s Book Club. All in all, I would have been happier with this one if I had of stopped reading at the halfway point and just imagined the conclusion for myself.