Review: Deceiving Lies (#2, Forgiving Lies) by Molly McAdams - Vilma Iris | Lifestyle Blogger

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Review: Deceiving Lies (#2, Forgiving Lies) by Molly McAdams

My Thoughts

An entirely absorbing, suspenseful page turner.
Favorite Molly McAdams book to date!

5stars

Synopsis

deceiving liesThe irresistible, blazing-hot sequel to New York Times bestselling author Molly McAdams’s Forgiving Lies.

Rachel is supposed to be planning her wedding to Kash, the love of her life. After the crazy year they’ve had, she’s ready to settle down and live a completely normal life. Well, as normal as it can be. But there’s something else waiting—something threatening to tear them apart.

Kash is ready for it all with Rach. Especially if all includes having a football team of babies with his future wife. With his line of work, he knows how short life can be, and doesn’t want to waste another minute of theirs. But now his past as an undercover narcotics agent has come back to haunt him … and it’s the girl he loves who’s caught in the middle.

Trent Cruz’s orders are clear: take the girl. But there’s something about this girl that has him changing the rules and playing a dangerous game to keep her safe. When his time as Rachel’s protector runs out, he will turn his back on the only life he’s known, and risk everything, if it means getting her out alive.

My Review

“… if I’ve lost her, I’ve already lost it all.”

This book blew me away. It was incredibly engaging. I could not put it down. It had everything I needed in just the right amounts. It had wit, romance, sexiness, action and an intensified level of all-engrossing suspense as compared to Forgiving Lies. I was at the edge of my seat through the entire thing, and not just because Rachel had been kidnapped, but there are other dynamics at play that make it feel as if you are on the precipice of so many things shattering irrevocably. It all felt so real to me. I could feel it. See it. Tensions were high, danger loomed, fear consumed.

“I was about to lose it. I was so close to breaking from all this, and as the days went by, I was getting desperate.”

When Forgiving Lies ended with a jaw-dropping twist, we were all ready to pick right up and see what would happen next. Would Rachel be ok? What was Kash to do? But before we jump to the kidnapping, Molly McAdams take us back to the months leading up to this surprising event so that we understand the dynamic of Rachel and Kash finally being together and planning for their wedding. They’re happy and in love, but with plans and discussions for the wedding taking over, Rachel acutely feels the absence of her parents, who wouldn’t be there at her side. Suddenly these old wounds were opening again, beginning to fester, inciting a dull and persistent ache in her heart. And Rachel being Rachel, internalized it as she once again erected those shields that allowed her to withdraw into herself.

“Rachel was so strong willed and always exuding her fiery attitude, which I loved, that I’d stopped looking for signs of anything being wrong.”

Kash doesn’t immediately understand Rachel’s withdrawl, although he can sense something is off and in his typical fashion, he pushes for them to communicate. I just love that about him. He refuses to let a single second by when something is wrong.

And then it all unravels and we experience the dread of Rachel’s kidnapping. Let the pulse-pounding, heart-pumping anxiety begin …

“I felt like I was dying from what I had seen and heard … I didn’t know if she was even still alive. And when I got her back — because I was getting her back — I didn’t know what would be left of her fiery spirit I’d fallen in love with.”

Kash was a man consumed. A man bereft. A man broken. But also a man on fire determined to find Rachel no matter the risk. As hours turn into days which turn into weeks, he’s at the brink of losing himself. The limited information he knows is horrifying and he finds himself slipping into a dark place within, a place where he’s simply defined by the hours he spends and the actions he takes in seeking Rachel. He’s willing to lose anything and everything to find the woman he loves before it’s too late.

“Deceiving people was natural … it had been my job for so long that lying to protect myself, or those I loved was as easy as breathing. I’d promised Rachel that there would be no more lies, forgiving or not. When it came to her, there hadn’t been, and there wouldn’t be when she came back. But all bets were off until I found her. I would deceive anyone, lie about everything and do anything to get her back.”

In the meanwhile, through a dual POV approach, we also experience the horror and uncertainty of Rachel’s precarious situation. The pain and panic from what happened with Blake is still too raw. Her captor, Taylor, however, is incredibly complex and intriguing because even though he was the one to take her, he’s also the one protecting her from a greater evil that threatens. With so much time spent together and danger forever lurking in the shadows that creep behind closed doors, she clings to her captor. Her protector. Her lifeline in a time of uncertainty. Their dynamic is both complex and simple. There’s a sense of understanding … empathy between Rachel and Taylor, particularly as she learns about his life and what led him to present day. Habits dictate new behavior. Isolation begets trust. Need breeds unexpected feelings. We also get to experience Taylor’s thoughts, which I thought was a wonderful layer threaded into the story.

“I’d known she’d been changing, but something had happened … the fiesty Rachel I’d come to know over the last few weeks was gone. She was terrified like she always should have been … but instead of retreating from me like I would expect her to, she was clinging to me. I didn’t understand it, but I wasn’t about to question it. Because nothing about my feelings had changed, even though everything about her had.”

I don’t want to spoil the heart-stopping climax, but trust me when I say it evokes a maelstrom of emotion. I have just loved everything about this book … this series. I love the characters. I love that Rachel isn’t weak, but a girl with fight and fire despite her too-often debilitating circumstances. I love the plots surprises and the intriguing supporting characters. Two of the characters, Mase and Trent, will be getting their own stories and I have already begun the anxious wait for those novels. In my opinion, this is Molly McAdam’s best work and I hope that you love it as much as I have!

“It’s you and me, Rach. Always.”
“Always.”

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deceiving lies

Reading Order and Purchase Links

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forgiving lies cover deceiving lies

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