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lifeinthebooklane 's review for:
Treachery
by Lily White
Boy was this something else, not perfect, but still an amazing read.
I had already read and reviewed the first quarter of the book, which was initially released as a prequel. This time I skimmed over that part but my thoughts on it can be found here Treachery Prequel.
I'm also going to point you towards this review here Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️'s Review as it perfectly captures how I felt about this book. When I was struggling to connect to Tanner when his arrogance was almost too much and I was considering DNF'ing Treachery (yep, I went from that to enjoying it.) I read this review, which not only resonated with me but gave me the impetus to complete the book. Thank you Ꮗ€♫◗☿, not only did it enable me to finish the story but I LOVED it by the end.
So how does a book go from being an almost DNF to almost 5 stars? Well in the case of this, it has the brilliant writing of Lily White. It has characters that, love them or hate them, have personality. It has a twisty plot filled with scorching passion and devious manipulations. The last third of this was, without doubt at least a 5-star read but in all honesty and fairness I couldn't give it that rating given my initial feelings.
Firstly it took me a long, long time to like Tanner. A very long time. Too long. He was just too much of an arrogant ass, too self-centred, too uncaring. The 'excuse' that he has been raised to be manipulative, that he hadn't had loving parents, didn't wash with me. Plenty of people use that experience to become a better person, to not repeat the sins of their fathers. Tanner hated everything about his Dad but I couldn't see how he was any different, in the long run. He was selfish to an extreme with, at one point, no redeemable qualities. I wasn't sure how the author would ever turn my dislike of him around, but my god she did, and then some. That alone indicates just how amazing her writing is.
The story starts with our protagonists at Yale, where they are all completing graduate courses. First of all, I suffered from having to suspend my disbelief at how powerful these nine men supposedly were. At how everybody other than Luca succumbed to that power, became ensnared within the web these guys had spun. Nope, not buying that, not for one minute. There was an overemphasis on how different Luca was in her behaviour, and I get that maybe it was to make her stand out, but it was another thing that was hard for me to believe.
Then there was the number of times Tanner mentally threatened that their fathers' days were numbered. At Yale, they were toeing the line because daddy was paying their way. Yet three years later, and financially independent, they still hadn't cut those ties. How they built this multi-million (billion?) dollar business so quickly wasn't explained, nor how it continued to thrive when none of them seemed to spend much time there. Tanner even bragged about letting others do all the work, if only running a business was that easy!
Finally, whilst a lot of their manipulation, and lies, felt possible, there were instances when far too many stars needed to align in the right order, at the right time, for their plans to work. The thing is these plans relied on people choosing one particular action where that outcome was not guaranteed. Where independent thoughts and actions could have thrown all those careful plans awry. The repeated need to suspend disbelief is where my biggest issues occurred, which made me want to close the book and leave it behind. BUT I didn't do that and thank goodness because boy did this turn out to be one heck of a ride. I couldn't read the last third, or so, quickly enough. There were red herrings and twists galore and I don't think I managed to call even one of them.
Luca kept me in this for quite a while, her strength, her fight, her determination not to be manipulated, and her ability to throw a spanner in the works and to ruffle Tanner's feathers. She learns from her mistakes and whilst she plays a dangerous game, she doesn't have many options. If Tanner wanted her help, her support and ultimately her love then he needed to earn it. Not by manipulating her, not by backing her into a corner and demanding it, forcing it, but by opening up, showing her the truth and letting her choose.
It takes a long time, and Gabriel's intervention, for Tanner to realise his lies, his tricks and his manoeuvrings would not work on Luca. To give her the FULL respect she deserved and allow her the freedom to decide her fate and future. And my oh my, when Tanner decides to do something he puts everything into it. He 100% earned her trust and loyalty. He worked for and deserved her forgiveness. He laboured for her love and there was nothing else to do but forgive him and accept him. Best of all was that in many ways he didn't change, he was still the same arrogant, full of himself, manipulative bastard, but not with Luca. I'm fairly certain he would kill for her, literally.
So in summary TL;DR after suspending some of your disbelief and ignoring what an annoying arse Tanner is, this is a cracking read with a fantastic heroine and a hero who does eventually earn her forgiveness.
I had already read and reviewed the first quarter of the book, which was initially released as a prequel. This time I skimmed over that part but my thoughts on it can be found here Treachery Prequel.
I'm also going to point you towards this review here Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️'s Review as it perfectly captures how I felt about this book. When I was struggling to connect to Tanner when his arrogance was almost too much and I was considering DNF'ing Treachery (yep, I went from that to enjoying it.) I read this review, which not only resonated with me but gave me the impetus to complete the book. Thank you Ꮗ€♫◗☿, not only did it enable me to finish the story but I LOVED it by the end.
So how does a book go from being an almost DNF to almost 5 stars? Well in the case of this, it has the brilliant writing of Lily White. It has characters that, love them or hate them, have personality. It has a twisty plot filled with scorching passion and devious manipulations. The last third of this was, without doubt at least a 5-star read but in all honesty and fairness I couldn't give it that rating given my initial feelings.
Firstly it took me a long, long time to like Tanner. A very long time. Too long. He was just too much of an arrogant ass, too self-centred, too uncaring. The 'excuse' that he has been raised to be manipulative, that he hadn't had loving parents, didn't wash with me. Plenty of people use that experience to become a better person, to not repeat the sins of their fathers. Tanner hated everything about his Dad but I couldn't see how he was any different, in the long run. He was selfish to an extreme with, at one point, no redeemable qualities. I wasn't sure how the author would ever turn my dislike of him around, but my god she did, and then some. That alone indicates just how amazing her writing is.
The story starts with our protagonists at Yale, where they are all completing graduate courses. First of all, I suffered from having to suspend my disbelief at how powerful these nine men supposedly were. At how everybody other than Luca succumbed to that power, became ensnared within the web these guys had spun. Nope, not buying that, not for one minute. There was an overemphasis on how different Luca was in her behaviour, and I get that maybe it was to make her stand out, but it was another thing that was hard for me to believe.
Then there was the number of times Tanner mentally threatened that their fathers' days were numbered. At Yale, they were toeing the line because daddy was paying their way. Yet three years later, and financially independent, they still hadn't cut those ties. How they built this multi-million (billion?) dollar business so quickly wasn't explained, nor how it continued to thrive when none of them seemed to spend much time there. Tanner even bragged about letting others do all the work, if only running a business was that easy!
Finally, whilst a lot of their manipulation, and lies, felt possible, there were instances when far too many stars needed to align in the right order, at the right time, for their plans to work. The thing is these plans relied on people choosing one particular action
Spoiler
like getting marriedLuca kept me in this for quite a while, her strength, her fight, her determination not to be manipulated, and her ability to throw a spanner in the works and to ruffle Tanner's feathers. She learns from her mistakes and whilst she plays a dangerous game, she doesn't have many options. If Tanner wanted her help, her support and ultimately her love then he needed to earn it. Not by manipulating her, not by backing her into a corner and demanding it, forcing it, but by opening up, showing her the truth and letting her choose.
It takes a long time, and Gabriel's intervention, for Tanner to realise his lies, his tricks and his manoeuvrings would not work on Luca. To give her the FULL respect she deserved and allow her the freedom to decide her fate and future. And my oh my, when Tanner decides to do something he puts everything into it. He 100% earned her trust and loyalty. He worked for and deserved her forgiveness. He laboured for her love and there was nothing else to do but forgive him and accept him. Best of all was that in many ways he didn't change, he was still the same arrogant, full of himself, manipulative bastard, but not with Luca. I'm fairly certain he would kill for her, literally.
So in summary TL;DR after suspending some of your disbelief and ignoring what an annoying arse Tanner is, this is a cracking read with a fantastic heroine and a hero who does eventually earn her forgiveness.