Betty Dawsey knows that breaking things off with Thom Lange is for the best. He’s nice, but boring, and their relationship has lost its spark. But steady and predictable Thom, suddenly doesn’t seem so steady and predictable when their condo explodes and she’s kidnapped by a couple of crazies claiming that Thom isn’t who he says he is.
Thom is having a hellish week. Not only is he hunting a double agent, but his fiancé dumped him, and thanks to his undercover life, she’s been kidnapped.
Turns out Thom is Operative Thom and he’s got more than a few secrets to share with Betty if he’s going to keep her alive. With both their lives on the line, their lackluster connection is suddenly replaced by an intense one. But in his line of work, feelings aren’t wanted or desired. Because feelings can be a lethal distraction.
Title: Lies
Author: Kylie Scott
Series: /
Pages: 242
Genre(s): Contemporary, US, Romantic Suspense
Hot Buttons: death of minor characters <-- highlight to reveal (may contain spoilers)
Release Date: 21st July, 2019
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I rarely delve into the world of romantic suspense and it’s this kind of book that makes me wonder why I don’t read them more often. We get a bit of everything - action, romance and a touch of humour. All the good stuff. The whole storyline of them being together and then kind-of not, also gave this a second-chance vibe that I totally got behind.
This particular book features Betty and her dull, soon to be ex, fiancé, Thom. It’s written in first person present tense and it’s 100% in Betty’s POV. By writing it this way, we’re just as in the dark about Thom’s true character and motives as Betty. It’s infuriating and very, very clever. We’re all in with Betty in this book and that’s no bad thing as she’s a great character. A curvy florist thrown into a very bizarre and dangerous set of circumstances while dealing with the equally bizarre ‘transformation’ of her formerly dull, maybe ex, fiancé. She’s real and likeable - and at times, hella funny. We also get very few ‘Bettys’ in romance so it was refreshing - and really fit with her character who had a very 50s style vibe.
Then we have Thom. And why oh why does having that extra ‘h’ in his name make him all the hotter? He’s a bit of an enigma but I immediately liked the way he was dedicated to Betty and really wanted to convince her to give their romance a try. He was obviously smitten even if Betty herself couldn’t see it. Of course, the kick-ass, super spy thing was just icing on the cake!
I was a wee bit confused why Thom felt he needed to temper his feelings for Betty while they were in their relationship before the events in the book. There was some excuse of ‘I have to maintain my cover’ by having sub-standard sex with you which baffled me no end. I was kind of under the impression that people who are not super-spies are also capable of hot sex but maybe I’ve been wrong all this time! Betty also had problems about her feelings for Thom as the book went on. Understandable - but she told him she loved him for the first time during the events of the book. She agreed to marry a man she didn't love? Weird. But hey - the book was fast paced, interesting and I was really enjoying the excitement so these were just tiny things that confused me.
Up until about 80% this was a solid 5-star read for me. And then something happened in the conclusion of the book that knocked it down a star for me, unfortunately. I’m not going to spoil anything for anyone… but the whole way that Betty resolved her issues with Them towards the end of the novel was just too ridiculous and far-fetched for me. And that’s after all the kidnappings, gunfights, deaths etc etc etc. I also simply didn’t like what she did. But please don’t worry - this book still concludes satisfactorily and it’s a happy ending. Phew!
This is the first book by Kylie Scott that I’ve read and I enjoyed it a lot. It was interesting, compelling and with a storyline that was easy-to-follow yet very engrossing. I’m not sure if this is the start of a new series but I’d love to read Bear, Crow and even Fox’s stories and will look out for other books by Ms Scott in the future. A very high 4 star read.
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AUTHOR BIO!
Kylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013, 2014 & 2018, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films.
Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet.
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