Scan barcode
akshade's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Pedophilia
okiecozyreader's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
In the now:
Rainy (formerly Sunny) recently moved to Tiger Mountain (Washington) to be with her boyfriend. When he has a business trip to Japan, he encourages her to go with “friends” of his to Vegas on a girl’s trip. She has a past in that area and doesn’t want to go, but she reluctantly agrees for him.
There is a dual timeline of then, when she (now Sunny) and her mom Lorraine are hard on their luck and go to live with a group of people in “Friendship” led by a guy Lorraine went to school with. After they get there and are separated Lorraine realizes he has changed.
This is one of those books that you don’t know who you can trust. Are any of her friends honest or do they want to be her friend? Of course, everything in Friendship is unnerving. I think it kind of feels like a debut (I know she has written a couple other books but I haven’t read them yet). If you like cult stories, you might like this one.
“No one knows where I am, she thought as she drifted off to sleep… an honest lie.” P 189
“Her dad, her drug-loving con man of a father, used to say, ‘Tell an honest lie when you need to.’” P117
“What I like to examine in my books are the ways our complex personalities overlap in society. In my last two books, I wrote about how they overlap in a negative way, so this time I went in a different direction. I wanted to showcase a female bond that surpassed circumadtance and situation. There is a choice being made in this book to do what is right regardless of how dangerous it is.” Author Q&A
Rainy (formerly Sunny) recently moved to Tiger Mountain (Washington) to be with her boyfriend. When he has a business trip to Japan, he encourages her to go with “friends” of his to Vegas on a girl’s trip. She has a past in that area and doesn’t want to go, but she reluctantly agrees for him.
There is a dual timeline of then, when she (now Sunny) and her mom Lorraine are hard on their luck and go to live with a group of people in “Friendship” led by a guy Lorraine went to school with. After they get there and are separated Lorraine realizes he has changed.
This is one of those books that you don’t know who you can trust. Are any of her friends honest or do they want to be her friend? Of course, everything in Friendship is unnerving. I think it kind of feels like a debut (I know she has written a couple other books but I haven’t read them yet). If you like cult stories, you might like this one.
“No one knows where I am, she thought as she drifted off to sleep… an honest lie.” P 189
“Her dad, her drug-loving con man of a father, used to say, ‘Tell an honest lie when you need to.’” P117
“What I like to examine in my books are the ways our complex personalities overlap in society. In my last two books, I wrote about how they overlap in a negative way, so this time I went in a different direction. I wanted to showcase a female bond that surpassed circumadtance and situation. There is a choice being made in this book to do what is right regardless of how dangerous it is.” Author Q&A
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Torture, and Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
arthur_ant18's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I’m sorry to say that not much stood out for the first two-quarters of An Honest Lie. Once the third act kicked off, however, that’s when my investment in this generic cult thriller amped up significantly. I’ve only read one other Tarryn Fisher thriller, The Wrong Family; I recall it being fairly enjoyable, yet I can’t recall my specific opinions on it or most of its plot beats. Take from that what you will. The Wives is still on my TBR pile, but considering my experience with the author’s work, I’m not holding high expectations for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Self harm, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
tayahmarie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I know that this book has received pretty low and/or mixed reviews, but clearly I’m in the minority because I ate this UP! 😭
I’ve said this before, but I love a good dual timeline, and I was so fascinated by/eager to get back to Rainy’s past and learn more about her childhood, the compound, and how her experiences shaped her into the character that we follow in the present timeline. Honestly, my heart broke for her; she went through so much loss, abuse, and turmoil starting from a young age. I’ve never been a fan of cult stories, documentaries, etc. (besides the notorious ones like The Manson Family and Jonestown) because they hit TOO close to home and humankind/reality is always a lot scarier than anything else IMO. All in all, I loved Rainy and was invested in her from the very start. I couldn’t wait for her to enact her revenge on the one person who severely wronged her - as problematic as that may sound 🤷🏾♀️
I also wanted to note that I enjoyed The Real Housewives-esque nature of Rainy’s friend group because those women were all a mess and had the stupidest drama, but I lived for it, lmao!
The main things that I didn’t care for was that the writing got a bit weird at certain points and I felt like some of what was going on in the present day timeline dragged on. I was more-so interested in the past, but I do appreciate how everything came together in the end.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I loved the story! The MC was compelling, the plot was thrilling, and all the cult sh*t was wild. Also, the last sentence of the story 🫶🏾!!! I legit teared up because it was the icing on the cake/satisfying end to a great revenge tale.
I’ve said this before, but I love a good dual timeline, and I was so fascinated by/eager to get back to Rainy’s past and learn more about her childhood, the compound, and how her experiences shaped her into the character that we follow in the present timeline. Honestly, my heart broke for her; she went through so much loss, abuse, and turmoil starting from a young age. I’ve never been a fan of cult stories, documentaries, etc. (besides the notorious ones like The Manson Family and Jonestown) because they hit TOO close to home and humankind/reality is always a lot scarier than anything else IMO. All in all, I loved Rainy and was invested in her from the very start. I couldn’t wait for her to enact her revenge on the one person who severely wronged her - as problematic as that may sound 🤷🏾♀️
I also wanted to note that I enjoyed The Real Housewives-esque nature of Rainy’s friend group because those women were all a mess and had the stupidest drama, but I lived for it, lmao!
The main things that I didn’t care for was that the writing got a bit weird at certain points and I felt like some of what was going on in the present day timeline dragged on. I was more-so interested in the past, but I do appreciate how everything came together in the end.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I loved the story! The MC was compelling, the plot was thrilling, and all the cult sh*t was wild. Also, the last sentence of the story 🫶🏾!!! I legit teared up because it was the icing on the cake/satisfying end to a great revenge tale.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship