A review by starburst3625
Falling for the Liar: The Complete Series by Willa Drew

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I enjoyed this romance told over five books set on holidays throughout the year. Since all the books focus on one relationship, having them all together in this set to read in succession is perfect. Over the course of the five books there is quite a journey through the highs and lows of Sarah and Nick’s relationship. It was very engaging and had great, interesting characters. The content varies a little from book to book, but overall this is an undetailed open door romance with innuendo and strong harsh language.

Book 1: 

This book involves the meeting of Nick and Sarah in the LA resort bar that she works at. It’s a cute story and left me definitely wanting to see how they connect next. They didn’t have much time together, but their chemistry was obvious. 

Book 2:

Another novella length book, this moves the story forward and keeps the tension going. With all the parts of this story put together, this is definitely not the fun part, but it is needed for the narrative.

Book 3:

I enjoyed the activity in this book as we finally get to really experience Sarah and Nick together, although there is still emotional separation built up from the activities of the previous instalment, as well as Nick’s deception in the first book. In spite of this, they got to know each other better as they were forced to spend a significant amount of time together working on their film for the competition. This instalment of the story offered several interesting secondary characters that I enjoyed. I was already attached to Sarah and Nick, but it was great to get to know them even better. I like that Sarah is older than Nick (but not too much). It’s a fun twist. Lots of great moments, and the film competition is a great backdrop. 

Book 4:

I really enjoyed this installment in Sarah and Nick’s love story. It was fun to see them be a couple after everything. They had a lot to navigate with finally being a couple, and living together so quickly. Not to mention the results of the film competition, and their individual career goals, opportunities, and frustrations. The first three books were focused on moving them forward to the ultimate payout of becoming a couple, but in this book reality set in and they discovered that the struggles and work didn’t actually end just because they were finally together. Being together, even living together, wasn’t the same thing as being partners. Real life relationship problems. I liked the explanation of “‘a commensalism instead of a mutualism’”. Relationship growing pains was the theme in this book, for sure. And not just in Nick and Sarah’s relationship. There are a few secondary relationships that experienced it too, most notably Nick and his father. This book really changed my perspective on Nick’s dad. Previously I was only peripherally invested in him and his relationship with Nick, but I really appreciated getting to see him as more of a whole person, and understanding more about his experiences.

Book 5:

It was fun, and a bit sad, to get to the final installment of Nick and Sarah’s story. I enjoyed seeing them get some resolution. Their relationship has been through a lot. Just as Sarah and Nick have really settled in to life as a committed and cohabitating couple, a trip to visit her family coincides with a family crisis and leaves Sarah back in Canada. While Nick tries to juggle his own heavy load of commitments in LA, Sarah is trying to save the family bakery, her Grandmother’s legacy. The separation is rough for them. “It’s like she’s disappearing from my life molecule by molecule.” The distance and worries for the future weigh heavily on both of them and add strain to their relationship. “‘Life rarely lets you have it all. You will have to make choices. One of you might need to walk away.’” Sarah and Nick have such a deep connection that it’s impossible not to root for them. There were some truly lovely and sweet gestures in this story and beautiful chemistry and romantic intensity. “I love him so much it scares me. I understand the poets and bards who wax on about overpowering love making them weak, making them lose control, lose themselves in the other person.” There is more development with Nick’s family and it was fun to see Sarah’s family more and get to know them better. Grayson, in particular, was very engaging.