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A review by geekxgirl
Cheater by Rachel Van Dyken
3.0
I've enjoyed quite a few of Rachel's books before getting my hands on Cheater. So I'll admit that compared to her Wingmen Inc series (which I just adored) it fell a bit south of the same quality of writing.
The book and plot itself were interesting and I was a little concerned because of the cheating trope that I'd be put off but wanted to give it a try. Surprisingly it wasn't as bad as I was expecting in regards to that side of the story. Yes, the hero Lucas Thorn was a little difficult to digest at times throughout most of the book. But what saved him aside from the prologue warning us we would hate him before we even dipped our toes in was the fact as the story progressed we peel back layers to Lucas and begin to understand the motivation and reasons behind what he believed were logical choices in pursuing his polygamy style relationship with a week's worth of women. And it was hard to really accept his choice in lifestyle even after we were given enough backstory to truly understand the path that took him to where he was now and why he chose to live the way he did. It was hard to be okay with it especially as his relationship with the heroine Avery progresses.
Now, Avery, I'll admit I found her hard to like at times. Yes, her and Lucas's interactions were almost always fraught with sexual tension and a volley of sarcastic banter. The problem though with their relationship before it even became a real romantic relationship was all the antagonizing. They had one of the most antagonistic relationships I've ever encountered. I've been down the love/hater types but this one was something else. Sometimes I never really understood why either put up with one another, especially Lucas.
There was also the fact there was a ten year age gap between twenty-two-year-old Avery and thirty-two-year-old Lucas. Add on top of that the complete backstory they both shared with his ex-fiance being her oldest sister and having grown up with him always around since their parents had been the best of friends and lived on the same street. Yeah, it was loaded with drama from all angles. But at the end of the day when the story continued to unravel and you begin to understand Lucas and his guilt and feelings behind what drove him to the man-whore lifestyle you begin to sympathize with him. Which I think Rachel did very well writing. It wasn't an easy road that Lucas took and it hurt a lot of people, including Avery which as we begin to wonder and are later told was the one he really wanted.
I know what you're thinking, that's just wrong, right? A twenty-seven-year-old man wanting the seventeen-year-old sister of his fiance? Yeah, it does seem so at first but the way that part of the story is revealed and told as we learn the complete story of the big event four years prior it all began to make sense. He and Avery had so much in common and grew close as she grew up and she had always had a crush on him. But it was sad. He came to care deeply for Avery and knew his feelings weren't right. Not just because he was engaged to her older sister and did care for her despite their troubles leading up to their marriage which neither decided to broach but because of how young she was. He knew it even then and it scared him for a handful of reasons. Because she was so young, he was engaged to her sister, he felt such a connection to Avery and of course because he felt if he had the option to have Avery he would act on it and therefore making him a cheater. All of it weighed heavy on him in the months leading to his wedding. And on the night of the rehearsal dinner as we learn in the prologue and in later chapters was when he was the most miserable and made mistakes and hurt not only Avery and his fiance Kayla but their parents. Not even counting in Avery's other sister Brooke's involvement. That woman was a piece of work and pissed me off so much.
In short, the book was good. It was entertaining as hell and had me laughing quite a bit at the antics between the two. At the end of the day though I didn't really like the constant antagonism between the two and it became tiresome as it went on. On top of that, there were quite a few times Avery's age showed. Which wouldn't usually be a bad thing considering she's meant to act her age but most of the book the two of them not only antagonize one another but they both acted so juvenile and immature and that if anything was the biggest flaw in the book for me and really brought down my rating to a three star. All the juvenile behavior made for a ridiculously entertaining read but it really brought down my respect for both characters since Lucas often brought himself down to Avery's level. On top of that were his parents. I will NEVER believe his parents were THAT bad and outrageous in their behavior. It was wayyyyy too over the top and felt ridiculous despite how hilarious it was when they popped up.
Overall not a bad read but could definitely stand for some adjustments if ever re-published. But still worth a read and who knows you might enjoy it or most of it as much as I did. I'll definitely try and check out the next in the series [b:Cheater's Regret|32617817|Cheater's Regret (Curious Liaisons, #2)|Rachel Van Dyken|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1482032414s/32617817.jpg|53205052] when it comes out.
The book and plot itself were interesting and I was a little concerned because of the cheating trope that I'd be put off but wanted to give it a try. Surprisingly it wasn't as bad as I was expecting in regards to that side of the story. Yes, the hero Lucas Thorn was a little difficult to digest at times throughout most of the book. But what saved him aside from the prologue warning us we would hate him before we even dipped our toes in was the fact as the story progressed we peel back layers to Lucas and begin to understand the motivation and reasons behind what he believed were logical choices in pursuing his polygamy style relationship with a week's worth of women. And it was hard to really accept his choice in lifestyle even after we were given enough backstory to truly understand the path that took him to where he was now and why he chose to live the way he did. It was hard to be okay with it especially as his relationship with the heroine Avery progresses.
Now, Avery, I'll admit I found her hard to like at times. Yes, her and Lucas's interactions were almost always fraught with sexual tension and a volley of sarcastic banter. The problem though with their relationship before it even became a real romantic relationship was all the antagonizing. They had one of the most antagonistic relationships I've ever encountered. I've been down the love/hater types but this one was something else. Sometimes I never really understood why either put up with one another, especially Lucas.
There was also the fact there was a ten year age gap between twenty-two-year-old Avery and thirty-two-year-old Lucas. Add on top of that the complete backstory they both shared with his ex-fiance being her oldest sister and having grown up with him always around since their parents had been the best of friends and lived on the same street. Yeah, it was loaded with drama from all angles. But at the end of the day when the story continued to unravel and you begin to understand Lucas and his guilt and feelings behind what drove him to the man-whore lifestyle you begin to sympathize with him. Which I think Rachel did very well writing. It wasn't an easy road that Lucas took and it hurt a lot of people, including Avery which as we begin to wonder and are later told was the one he really wanted.
I know what you're thinking, that's just wrong, right? A twenty-seven-year-old man wanting the seventeen-year-old sister of his fiance? Yeah, it does seem so at first but the way that part of the story is revealed and told as we learn the complete story of the big event four years prior it all began to make sense. He and Avery had so much in common and grew close as she grew up and she had always had a crush on him. But it was sad. He came to care deeply for Avery and knew his feelings weren't right. Not just because he was engaged to her older sister and did care for her despite their troubles leading up to their marriage which neither decided to broach but because of how young she was. He knew it even then and it scared him for a handful of reasons. Because she was so young, he was engaged to her sister, he felt such a connection to Avery and of course because he felt if he had the option to have Avery he would act on it and therefore making him a cheater. All of it weighed heavy on him in the months leading to his wedding. And on the night of the rehearsal dinner as we learn in the prologue and in later chapters was when he was the most miserable and made mistakes and hurt not only Avery and his fiance Kayla but their parents. Not even counting in Avery's other sister Brooke's involvement. That woman was a piece of work and pissed me off so much.
In short, the book was good. It was entertaining as hell and had me laughing quite a bit at the antics between the two. At the end of the day though I didn't really like the constant antagonism between the two and it became tiresome as it went on. On top of that, there were quite a few times Avery's age showed. Which wouldn't usually be a bad thing considering she's meant to act her age but most of the book the two of them not only antagonize one another but they both acted so juvenile and immature and that if anything was the biggest flaw in the book for me and really brought down my rating to a three star. All the juvenile behavior made for a ridiculously entertaining read but it really brought down my respect for both characters since Lucas often brought himself down to Avery's level. On top of that were his parents. I will NEVER believe his parents were THAT bad and outrageous in their behavior. It was wayyyyy too over the top and felt ridiculous despite how hilarious it was when they popped up.
Overall not a bad read but could definitely stand for some adjustments if ever re-published. But still worth a read and who knows you might enjoy it or most of it as much as I did. I'll definitely try and check out the next in the series [b:Cheater's Regret|32617817|Cheater's Regret (Curious Liaisons, #2)|Rachel Van Dyken|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1482032414s/32617817.jpg|53205052] when it comes out.