~Review~ Crown of Lies by Pepper Winters

 

Crown of Lies (Truth and Lies Duet #1) by Pepper Winters

****3.75 Stars****

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“Thieves can become saints. Saints can become thieves. Most of us deserve a second chance.” 

In true Pepper Winters form, this was a twisted tale filled with con artists, stockers, innocence, as well as passion. This suspenseful thriller keeps you guessing, trying to navigate the maze of half truths and all out deception.  On the path to the truth, you think you’ve got it figured out…then you don’t….or do you???

“The man who first stole my body and then stole my heart was the ultimate magician with lies.”

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Noelle “Elle” Charlston is the heiress to Belle Elle, the leading department store in the country.  She has lived a fairy tale life, similar to many princesses, she lived her life in a gilded tower.  Since the death of her mother at a tender age, she was groomed into the CEO she will become.  Her childhood was not spent playing dress up and having sleepovers, it was spent reviewing spreadsheets and spending reports – understanding her birthright and responsibility to be prepared to step in and fulfill her destiny.  However; Elle craves freedom and normalcy…she wants nothing more than to blend into the crowd and just be.  On her 19th birthday, her gift to herself was one night of freedom….a night spent on the streets of New York, a night that changes her life forever.

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Three years later, Elle is drowning in responsibilities, loneliness, and guilt.  She is under pressure from her father to settle down, he has even found the perfect candidate in his best friends son Greg.  Not wanting to upset her ailing father she tries to make it obvious she isn’t interested, she just can’t get past the fact Greg makes her skin crawl.

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Then one night a mysterious man drops into her life, dark and oh so handsome, Penn Everett.  He stirs up all the emotions and feeling she hasn’t felt for three years, extreme reactions she tries to suppress, but just can’t seem to ignore.  Penn is full of secrets and so dangerous, but he is a temptation she just is unable to resist. Every word out of his mouth is a half truth or an out and lie….and he wants nothing more than to control Elle.

“I can make you do things, Elle. Things you want to do. Things I want to do. I particularly liked when you said you’d get on your knees and call me, what was it? Oh, master?”

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Penn is the master of manipulation, at every turn, he has Elle second guessing his intentions and herself.  What does he want from her and what can she afford to give….can she find the truth and more importantly, can she live with the  …

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This book ends in a true Pepper Winter style … cliffhanger…….leaving no choice but continue on to the next and last book…Throne of Truth (Truth and Lies Duet #2) 2/28/17.

 

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~Review~Downed(Gridiron #3) by Jen Frederick

~*~Review by ~Kristin~*~

Downed (Gridiron #3) by Jen Frederick

Dual POV ~ This can be read as a stand alone.

 ****4 Stars****

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In the third installment of Jen Frederick’s Gridiron series, we find ousted Western State quarterback Ace Anderson has found himself at a new school, Southern U, for his last year of college ball. He finds himself in a place he doesn’t really understand on a team he doesn’t relate to. He is struggling to fit in with his new teammates but he is determined to make the most of his second chance and prove he deserves to play. He is dedicated to football, he has given up his old ways and sworn off women.

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Bryant Johnson is a woman on a mission. She is committed to re-training the campus hound dogs, who use and discard girls, turns them into gentlemen who learn how to treat and appreciate ladies. She seeks out a new “project” each semester, hoping to find the root of their behavior and ultimately help them become better people. She has set her sights on Ace.

Ace has no desire to be in any kind of relationship and he has tried to let Bryant down easily, she just smiles and doesn’t seem to accept it. When Ace realizes Bryant is the beloved daughter of his coach and adored by his teammates, he fears he will be ostracized from another team and decides to just play along until he can find a way to let her down without upsetting anyone.

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As their time together progresses, they have to decide what is real. Bryant has never developed feeling for any of her projects and Ace had never wanted a relationship. While I found the middle of the book to be a little boring and kind of predictable, I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the turn here. It was a wonderful twist, Ms. Frederick took a different route that had me laughing and smiling while feeling the emotion needed to make this story different.

In the end, it worked and I enjoyed this one and would recommend it.

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