Deceiving Lies (Forgiving Lies #2) by Molly McAdams

Deceiving Lies is the sequel to Forgiving Lies by Molly McAdams. 

Rachel and Kash thought everything was behind them. They are in the process of planning their wedding, and the future ahead of them looks bright, until Kash’s life as an undercover narcotics agent comes back to steal their happiness. Kidnapped from her home, Rachel now finds herself in the hands of a gang seeking revenge against Kash and is partner, Mace. Kash has only one focus: find Rachel and bring her home, no matter what he has to do, or what rules he has to break.

Trent Cruz’s orders were clear: take Rachel. But after spending months watching her, he can’t help the feelings that Rachel inspires in him. He feels trapped in a life that he never wanted and is determined to protect Rachel, even at the risk of angering his fellow gang members. As time goes on, Rachel begins to see Trent less and less like her captor, and more and more like a true friend and protector. Living in close quarters and facing a life and death situation, leaves Rachel somewhat confused over her feelings. She wants desperately to get back to Kash, but she can’t help caring about Trent.

Can Rachel and Kash find their way back to each other? If they do, will things ever be the same? Or did Trent steal more than just their happily ever after?

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Molly McAdams is the queen of the torturous love triangle, and while I LOVE her books, I also know that when I pick one up I am asking to be emotionally destroyed. While this series is full of angst and still emotional, it is different from other novels of hers that I have read. While Deceiving Lies does contain a love triangle, it is a largely unreciprocated love triangle, that didn't leave me me angry (as most love triangles do). Instead, the love triangle made me feel more compassion towards Trent. He turned out to be an alright guy in the end. While he did love Rachel and did physically steal her, I think he knew that her heart would always belong to Kash and was simply content to spend what time he could with her and love her. 

Rachel is an amazing heroine. I’m not sure many women could survive what she has endured and still be able to function as a normal human being. I love her relationship with Kash and her spitfire attitude. I still think she and I could be great friends. Kash is still swoon worthy. He is all alpha and everything that makes a good book boyfriend. I also enjoyed seeing his more vulnerable side and watching him walk the line between what is right and what is a step too far. While still emotional, this book was less emotionally destructive for me than other McAdams novels. However, I should note that Taking Chances was the first Molly McAdams book that I ever read and serves as my point of reference when comparing her other novels. For those of you who have read Taking Chances, you understand that this might not be a fair comparison, as that book is really in a league all its own. It’s all I got, so I’m going with it. 

Overall, I was quite pleased with how this sequel played out. Everyone ended up where they should. Like Forgiving Lies, Deceiving Lies was plenty of action, lots of angst, and plenty of drool worthy men. I know that Mace is due to have his own book, and that is set up quite nicely at the end of this one. I hope that Molly is taking it in the direction that I would like to see it go - namely that Candice and Mace end up together, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I also hope that Molly will give Trent his own book in the future too. He has already joined by book boyfriend list, and I would love to know what happens to him next and see him find his own happy ending. Fingers crossed!

Forgiving Lies (Forgiving Lies #1) by Molly McAdams

Forgiving lies are “usually lies you tell people to protect them or be polite…They’re the kind of lies that people forgive and forget about because they are so minor.”

Sent to Texas along with his partner, Mason, to work on a murder case after their cover is blown and drug dealers order a hit on their lives, Logan “Kash” Ryan can’t afford any distractions. He has a job to do – catch a serial murderer before he finds his next victim.

What he doesn’t expect is to fall hard and fast for his next-door neighbor, Rachel Masters. He is drawn in by her feisty attitude and soon discovers it is really a shield behind which she hides dark secrets. As Kash works to break down Rachel’s shields, his guilt grows. Kash has to keep his real identity and job secret from Rachel. It’s the only way to protect her, but he also knows that the longer he goes without telling her the truth, the greater the chance he has of losing her.

Rachel Masters’s goal for the summer is just to survive and move on. After being violated by someone she knew and trusted, Rachel would rather be alone than trust another guy. There is just something about Kash that she can’t resist. He sees through all her shields, makes her feel things she never felt before. 

"But when people tell harmful lies, or ones that can shatter trusts, and the other person finds out about them…they always say what they did was unforgivable."

As Rachel’s past and Kash’s current case clash, Rachel’s safety is threatened and all the secrets and lies are revealed. Rachel’s trust is shattered and she finds that she doesn’t know Kash as well as she thought she did. Will she forgive him for lying? Can she learn to trust him again? Or will he lose her forever

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While I love Molly McAdams, I am always hesitant to pick up one of her books, as they usually contain a torturous love triangle and cause me to out and out ugly cry. Don’t get me wrong - I love that. I usually just have to mentally prepare myself for an emotional roller coaster ride. Not the case with Forgiving Lies. In fact, this book is quite a departure from all the previous novels that I have read by Molly. I really enjoyed this novel and Kash is quite the leading man. What can I say? I’m a complete sucker for tattoos and a lip ring. He was the perfect match for Rachel, whose feisty attitude and sarcastic comments made her the perfect counterbalance.She is a character that I could see myself hanging with. Rachel was by far Molly’s most developed female character.

The plot was somewhat predictable, but there were some surprises thrown in that I didn’t see coming. It was still emotional, but not torturous, and had just enough sexual tension and angst to make it worth reading. I liked how it switched perspectives, giving us insight into both Rachel’s and Kash’s heads.

There is an ominous cliffhanger, which has me excited for the next one. However after reading the synopsis (see below), I am a little worried that a love triangle will be introduced, which I’m pretty sure will ruin the experience of this series for me. Rachel and Kash are clearly meant to be together and I hope that she doesn’t completely unravel this couple. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until March to find out...

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Coming Soon…Deceiving Lies (Forgiving Lies #2)

Expected release: March, 2014

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.

Stealing Harper (Taking Chances #2) by Molly McAdams

Stealing Harper is the companion novel (novella really) to Taking Chances (review here...fair warning, it does contain spoilers), which is a heart wrenchingly good contempory romance novel. I found myself absolutely emotionally destroyed after reading Taking Chances, so much so that I couldn't pick up another book for a few days.

In Taking Chances we meet Harper as she arrives at San Diego State University determined to start a new life for herself. Harper quickly finds herself falling for two guys and smack in the middle of a love triangle. Brandon is tattooed, ridiculously muscled and handsome, a fighter in the Underground, and incredibly sweet and gentle with Harper. Chase is a hot, tattooed artist with a reputation for going through girls like socks. Even though she knows he's wrong for her, Chase gets under her skin like no one else can and is determined to become a better man in order to be worthy of Harper. Harper finds herself torn - she knows she loves Brandon and wants to spend the rest of her life with him, but she just can't seem to forget about Chase. One weekend of passion will have far reaching consequences for both Harper and the men she loves.

Stealing Harper allows us to reexperience the story from Chase's point of view. It doesn't really add anything new to the overall story, but if you were a fan of Chase before then you will "enjoy" this one. I say "enjoy" because as much as I would like it, Chase's fate remains the same and it is still emotionally devastating (even if I already knew what I was in for). If anything, this book made me love Chase even more. He is the perfect redeemable bad boy and one of my favorite book boyfriends. I loved being in his head as he struggled with his feelings for Harper and his desire to become a better man for her. I still find myself wishing for Chase's story to have a different ending, unfortunately you can't always get what you want...

From Ashes by Molly McAdams

Cassidy Jameson's life changed forever on her 6th birthday when her father suddenly dies from a heart attack. Not only did she lose her father, but she lost her mother as well as she drowned her sorrow in alcohol. After her mother remarries, Cassidy becomes the victim of daily physical abuse at the hands of both her drunken stepfather and mother. Through it all, Tyler Bradley has been Cassi's rock and best friend. He was the one who patched Cassi up, the one who kept her secret. He was the only one that Cassi could count on and trusted. When Tyler leaves to attend college in Texas, there is no way that he is leaving Cassi behind, and the two of them head to Texas where they will be living with Tyler's cousin, Gage Carson.

Gage Carson was not what Cassi expected, knowing that his family owned a ranch in Texas. She had been expecting a Stetson-wearing cowboy, but she wasn't expecting the instant and electric connection between herself and Gage from the moment they met. Gage is instantly drawn to Cassi and desires nothing more than to make her his. The problem is that Tyler has staked a claim. From the outside it would appear that Cassi and Tyler are a couple, but Cassi has never felt that way about him. For over a year, Cassidy and Gage dance around their feeling for each other, as Tyler does everything in their power to keep them apart.

When Cassi and Gage do get together, their honeymoon phase doesn't last long. When an accident and a family tragedy sends Cassi running back to Tyler and California, it looks like it might mean the end for Cassi and Gage's relationship. Cassidy will have to face down the down the demons of her past if she ever hopes to have any type of future with Gage. The question is...will Gage be waiting for her when she returns?

I have to admit that I was hesitant to pick up this book after experiencing complete and utter emotional turmoil at the hands of Molly after reading Taking Chances. I just wasn't sure I could survive another book like that! While From Ashes was not emotionally devastating like Taking Chances, it was still an emotional roller coaster. Molly McAdams is a master at creating love triangles and she has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary romance writers. Although this triangle turned into an unnecessary (at least in my opinion) rectangle at one point, I was happy with how the story ended.

From Ashes does deal with some series issues, including domestic violence, so if you are not into that, don't pick this book up. I find it interesting that most of the contemporary romance novels I pick up lately deal with such heavy issues - rape, abuse, cutting, suicide, alcoholism. However, I find myself continually drawn to these characters that are so tragically broken and so beautifully redeemed by love. I'm not sure why these stories appeal to me so much, and it goes deeper than the guy's god-like perfection. Perhaps it's the light driving out the dark? Or maybe it's how truly loving someone and letting yourself be truly loved by someone makes you vulnerable, and through that vulnerability allows you to trust someone else with every flaw, every imperfection, everything that you keep hidden from the world, and accept the beauty of it all. I'm not sure, but as long as authors like Molly McAdams write books like From Ashes, I'll keep reading them (and probably re-reading them).     

Taking Chances by Molly McAdams

Harper has grown up with a distant (and in my opinion, emotionally neglectful) Marine father, surrounded by the jarheads of her father's unit. Having finally turned 18, Harper escapes across country to San Diego State University determined to start a new life for herself. Her new roommate, Bree, quickly takes her under her wing and introduces her the college life and her family.

Harper quickly finds herself falling for two guys and smack in the middle of a love triangle. Brandon is tattooed, ridiculously muscled and handsome, a fighter in the Underground, and incredibly sweet and gentle with Harper. Chase, Bree's brother, is a hot, tattooed artist with a reputation for going through girls like socks. Even though she knows he's wrong for her, Chase gets under her skin like no one else can and is determined to become a better man in order to be worthy of Harper. Harper finds herself torn - she knows she loves Brandon and wants to spend the rest of her life with him, but she just can't seem to forget about Chase. One weekend of wild passion will have far reaching consequences for both Harper and the men she loves.

There is a sequel to this book, Stealing Harper, scheduled for release in the Spring/Summer of 2013. It appears to be the same story told from Chase's point of view, and as I am a firm proponent of Team Chase I will definitely be picking it up when it is finally released.

I wanted to love this book so much! I desperately wanted to love this book. To finish it and sigh with utter contentment that everything worked out how I wanted it to. This did not happen and it kind of pissed me off. I did enjoy the book and my own prejudices are probably preventing me from giving it a 4 star rating as opposed to a 3 star rating, but I can't get past how the book ended. It was totally not what I had pictured happening. I'm sure there will be readers out there that will disagree with me, but to each her own!

Okay, the real ranting will begin now. Fair warning...there will be spoilers. Stop reading now if you don't want to spoil anything. Don't say I didn't warn you!!