An Honest Lie

Oh Tarryn, thank you so much for finally giving us the cult read we've been begging for. You know, now I'm just going to want more, because there are not enough cult fiction reads out there for me, especially those that capture the truth about cults. That's right, An Honest Lie follows a woman who was once in a cult, a woman who made a brave escape in her youth, but lives her life in fear of the repercussions of leaving. Of course, that's not what her new life is about, at least it wasn't until a fated trip to Las Vegas.

Rainy, an artist by trade, has recently moved to the mountains of Washington for her boyfriend, Grant, exchanging the blur of Manhattan for the quiet life. She wants to give him everything, so she goes along with making friends with the wives' of his friends, even accepting a trip to Las Vegas, a place she never wanted to go back to. The trip, though laced with jealous feelings and the one-upping nature of women, feels almost normal. There's clubs, shots, dancing, and pool time. She feels closer to Braithe, she thinks she might have a break through with Tara, and the other girls begin to show their true personality. There's drunken behavior and bonding moments. There's also a tension there underneath the surface, one that Rainy believes is connected to her past, but it isn't until she receives a text from Braithe's phone that she knows her past has come for her. What follows isn't the Las Vegas trip she planned for, but the terrifying escape from her past that she has spent avoiding.

I love a good feminist thriller and this one has all the makings of one. The girls are naturally catty, I love that Tarryn doesn't lie about the nature of women in a time where we form these opinions so young, she lets the women be, it is their strength when the time comes. There's no faking that friendships are perfect, that there isn't always an undertone of competition and fear laced in it. That the insecurity isn't there. It just so happens that Rainy's insecurity is much larger than anyone else's and it has nothing to do with her looks or her personality. Rainy is insecure about her past and when it comes for her, she cannot allow herself to be the young follower she once was, instead she must step up, for herself and for the women she has befriended and unwillingly put in this position. It's a haunted tail of love, loss, and the things we let slide by using religion as a reason.

I always love Tarryn Fisher's work, I am a true fangirl who believes she can do no wrong, but I will say this is the best release from her out of the past three novels. This one is unique, standout, and emotionally riveting. I couldn't put it down and I hope you won't be able to either.

I made myself read this book because I hate to stop in the middle. It got more and more unbelievable and ridiculous as it went on. It literally is one of the worst books I think I’ve ever read. How this got any accolades whatsoever is a joke. I will not spoil but once you get towards the end The things the main character does are so completely out of character and would never, ever happen. I can’t believe I wasted my time reading this

So far, I’m only on page 20 and the author has introduced 12 characters which I cannot keep track of. To top it off, I’m bored silly with this stupid party Rainy has been invited to. Eye roll.

Basically another predictable “lifetime movie”. Rainy was in a cult in her childhood, as an adult becomes friends with a group of women. There’s a baby shower, the ladies plan to go to Vegas, they go to a psychic. Rainy goes back to the town where the cult is and you can finish the rest. I didn’t think it was a page turner at all, I was forcing myself to finish it.

While this isn’t my favorite Tarryn Fisher book, (Mud Vein & I can be a better you for the win!) I loved this book!

Friendships either tend to be the backstory in a book or they are syrup sweet friendship stories. I’ve been longing for something more and this one hit the mark. For me, many pieces of these girls were somewhat relatable when comparing women I’ve known. I enjoyed looking for myself/friends in each of the characters. The storyline had me rooting for, or becoming angry at the ladies throughout the book. Now, put these girls in Vegas to experience sin city…I couldn’t be happier about it.

As far as the cult: this is a warning for the sensitive. There is no shortage of drugs, sexual abuse, child abuse, manipulation and plenty of childhood trauma to have your jaw dropping and stomach turning on every page. For someone like me who doesn’t know much about cults I found it fascinating, sickening and page turning.

I don’t want to give away anything, so won’t go further into the story, but will say I appreciate the character built up in the first half of the book that brought everything together into one thrilling big red bow in the end.

I flew through this book! I couldn’t set it down. Such an interesting story line and plot twist.
Tarryn is such an incredible writer!

First of all - the title is brilliant. I will be transparent and tell you that I bought the book on title alone. This was my first book by this author ,but I assure you it won't be the last. This book is a web of intrigue and kept me wanting more. Wanting to know more. Wanting to dig in more. It was one of those - go to bed thinking about it and waking up thinking about it-kind of books.
Rainy - a transplant from New York moved to Washington state to be with her man (Grant) who already had a set of friends she was determined to try to relate to. Enter in a girls' trip to Vegas with Grant's friends' significant others. But this trip had a twist and ulterior motives all over the place. The most difficult hurdle for Rainy? The source of her past pain resides in Nevada. Something she ran away from and not only doesn't want to be reminded of, but doesn't want "them" to know where she is. I can't begin to tell you how enamored I became as this story unraveled. The more revealed.. the more questions I had. Right up to the very end..I had no idea what was going to happen next. I highly recommend this book if you want intrigue to the core.

I thought this book was a little boring. I love books that I pick up and can’t put down and this was definitely not one of those.

This is a poorly written book. The author brings in way too many boring characters that add nothing to the story. It was unbelievable, and felt rushed. It was so hard to finish the book. I was disappointed from beginning to end.

This book is a page turner. It’s layered with complex characters. Loved it- read it now!