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misha_ali 's review for:
The Love Lie
by Monica McCallan
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I generally enjoy Monica McCallan's romances but this one was not quite up there for me and the main reason is that I didn't really feel much chemistry or see any particular conflict for these characters. It's very low angst, which is great, but I need some conflict for a story worth telling, small as it may be.
In this case, we have two main characters who are successful and independent, but going through some rough patches with their personal and professional lives, which is completely unrelated to them fake dating and falling for each other. My main issue was that fauxmances are only interesting if the people are learning about each other and getting to fall for each other during the fake dating and there is some reason they can't actually just date each other. In this case, the shock value is their respective families knowing they're together, since one of the MCs was formerly in a long-term relationship with the other's brother, who cheated on her. There is not one single reason why, if they find each other attractive to begin with, they can't just have a regular date and relationship, which takes the wind out of my sails a bit when enjoying a romance.
I also didn't find anything surprising about the plot here. I'm reasonably sure there may be a sequel withHallie and Brynn getting together, I knew one MC's mom would likely end up dating the other's old tennis coach , and that Grant would do the dumbass tomfoolery he does at the end like an idiot .
Combine the two and this book just didn't grab my attention as much as others by this author have, but hopefully, others will enjoy it more. Bonus points for a Caroline Parker reference, though, love to see wives' literary universes colliding.
In this case, we have two main characters who are successful and independent, but going through some rough patches with their personal and professional lives, which is completely unrelated to them fake dating and falling for each other. My main issue was that fauxmances are only interesting if the people are learning about each other and getting to fall for each other during the fake dating and there is some reason they can't actually just date each other. In this case, the shock value is their respective families knowing they're together, since one of the MCs was formerly in a long-term relationship with the other's brother, who cheated on her. There is not one single reason why, if they find each other attractive to begin with, they can't just have a regular date and relationship, which takes the wind out of my sails a bit when enjoying a romance.
I also didn't find anything surprising about the plot here. I'm reasonably sure there may be a sequel with
Combine the two and this book just didn't grab my attention as much as others by this author have, but hopefully, others will enjoy it more. Bonus points for a Caroline Parker reference, though, love to see wives' literary universes colliding.