Series Review: Love Me With Lies by Tarryn Fisher
The Opportunist (Love Me With Lies #1)
by: Tarryn Fisher
Publication Date: Nov. 14, 2011
Publisher: Self Published
Genre: Contemporary
Age Group: Adult
Source: Purchased
Page Count: 278 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars
Olivia Kaspen has just discovered that her ex-boyfriend, Caleb Drake, has lost his memory. With an already lousy reputation for taking advantage of situations, Olivia must decide how far she is willing to go to get Caleb back. Wrestling to keep her true identity and their sordid past under wraps, Olivia’s greatest obstacle is Caleb’s wicked, new girlfriend; Leah Smith. It is a race to the finish as these two vipers engage in a vicious tug of war to possess a man who no longer remembers them. But, soon enough Olivia must face the consequences of her lies, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption.
| Initial thoughts upon finishing this book: 1.WTF? That's how it ends? 2.Why the hell isn't Tonya answering my texts? 3.My stomach feels like it has a rock in it and I feel sick. 4.I want to start the next book in the series, but my sanity says otherwise. I knew going in this book would wreck me. I KNEW IT. And I still wasn't really prepared for it. I am super nervous to start Dirty Red next because it's Leah's book and I am so ready to hate her. LOL. I already do, but I know I'm going to even more. So, how do I even review this book? It is so messy, complicated, and FULL of angst. All things I have tried to stay away from in the past because I'm too old to feel the way I do right now: Emotionally ravaged, destroyed, and spent. Everyone has been telling me to read this series, so when Tonya rec'd it for our feature, I knew it was time. I also decided to make this series my series challenge for this month. So I have no excuses for not going on and finishing. Olivia and Caleb have always had a tumultuous relationship, which we witness firsthand in a series of flashbacks. I liked seeing how they began, even though it was bittersweet because you know how it eventually ends. After 3 years, Olivia comes face to face with Caleb again and she is torn between running far away and walking right up to him. Imagine her surprise when he doesn't even remember her! This is the perfect opportunity for Olivia to start fresh with Caleb, though her intentions aren't completely honorable. So much of her life has revolved around Caleb and while she has tried to move on, it just hasn't been possible. Olivia definitely isn't the victim in this one though. She did some pretty manipulative things and she sought dirty revenge after being betrayed instead of communicating. I liked Olivia and Caleb reconnecting, but I knew it was too good to be true, because Caleb has a girlfriend, Leah, who it seems he was quite serious about before the accident that took his memory. We didn't get a ton of Leah in this book, but we did get just enough to know the woman will stop at nothing to keep what's hers. She is manipulative and I hated how she could get so many people to bend to her will. Caleb, on the other hand, is quite a complex character. I liked him and I didn't. I didn't understand some of his reasoning behind certain actions and I sure as heck didn't like how he managed to incorporate himself into Olivia's life towards the end of the book. That was a hot mess. College Caleb was okay and I liked seeing him go after Olivia so determinedly, even after she remained so closed off. I understand Olivia has 'daddy issues' if you will, but I wish she had trusted Caleb more to talk them out with him instead of making him feel she didn't care. The ending was a hard pill to swallow, even though it actually kind of worked. Olivia essentially gets the one thing she has been looking for throughout the book and needed, in order to be able to truly go forward. It definitely made me sad, but I appreciate the woman she'd become and how she wasn't going to let the toxicity of lies consume her anymore. I'm so nervous about Dirty Red, even though so many friends have really enjoyed it. And dangit. I just realized I forgot to buy wine. |
Dirty Red (Love Me With Lies #2)
by: Tarryn Fisher
Publication Date: Dec. 21, 2012
Publisher: Self Published
Genre: Contemporary
Age Group: Adult
Source: Purchased
Page Count: 265 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars
Dear Opportunist,
You thought you could take him from me, but you lost. Now, that he's mine I'll do anything to keep him. Do you doubt me? I have everything that was supposed to be yours. In case you were wondering; he doesn't ever think about you anymore. I won't let him go....ever.
Dirty Red
Leah Smith finally has everything she has ever wanted. Except she doesn't. Her marriage feels more like a loan than a lifelong commitment, and the image she has worked so hard to build is fraying before her eyes. With a new role and a past full of secrets, Leah must decide how far she is willing to go to keep what she has stolen.
You thought you could take him from me, but you lost. Now, that he's mine I'll do anything to keep him. Do you doubt me? I have everything that was supposed to be yours. In case you were wondering; he doesn't ever think about you anymore. I won't let him go....ever.
Dirty Red
Leah Smith finally has everything she has ever wanted. Except she doesn't. Her marriage feels more like a loan than a lifelong commitment, and the image she has worked so hard to build is fraying before her eyes. With a new role and a past full of secrets, Leah must decide how far she is willing to go to keep what she has stolen.
Initial thoughts upon finishing Dirty Red:
1. Thank god it's over.
2. I fucking hate Leah.
3. Caleb, what the fuck is wrong with you?
4. I REALLY HATE LEAH.
5. Tarryn Fisher has some huge cahones.
I actually liked this one y'all. Don't let my thoughts confuse you. It was hard to get through because of my hatred for Leah and I felt like I was reading with a vise around my heart. It was NOT easy being in Leah's head. She's AWFUL. She's a shit horrible mother and a complete psychopath. Really.
And yet... damn you Tarryn Fisher. I felt sorry for her at times. I did. Damn. That's painful to admit. Leah has some serious self-esteem issues, which I get, considering how her asshole parents treated her. As a teacher, I see firsthand the damage bad parenting can do to mess up a kid's psyche so Leah's issues are legit. Does that excuse her actions? Hell no. She's still a manipulative, obsessive woman, but she admits her crazy. So I kind of admired her for that. She knows what she's doing. She doesn't feign stupid or innocent.
Things with her and Caleb are strained throughout the whole book and she is determined to keep him from walking out on her. Caleb is finally starting to have some sense though and thankfully starts to distance himself from her. I really went back and forth over whether or not Leah loved him. It feels like she loves the idea of him and she obviously wants to keep him from Olivia, but did she love him? A part of me says she didn't, but another part says she does. I don't think Leah truly knows what love is, as she's never experienced it before. I think she loves him the only way she knows how- superficially. It's definitely a twisted kind of love because Caleb leaving really does kill her. She doesn't know what to do with herself or how to cope.
There were quite a few things I didn't see coming in this one, but there were also a few that made total sense afterwards. Everything is so calculated and the deception and manipulation is never ending!
Leah doesn't hold back in dropping a few bombs before the book ends though, so I'm super glad I had Thief on hand!
Thief (Love Me With Lies #3)
by: Tarryn FisherPublication Date: July 21, 2013
Publisher: Self Published
Genre: Contemporary
Age Group: Adult
Source: Purchased
Page Count: 273 pages
Order Links: Amazon
| B&N
My Rating: 5/5 stars
Note to Self
Love is patient; love is kind.
Love doesn't boast or brag.
There's no arrogance in love;
it's never rude, crude, or indecent-it's not self absorbed.
Love isn't easily upset.
Love doesn't tally wrongs.
Love trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what.
Love will never become obsolete.
I'll fight for her.
Thief
Caleb Drake never got over his first love. Not when he got married. Not when she got married. When life suddenly comes full circle Caleb must decide how how far he is willing to go to get the aloof and alluring Olivia Kaspen back. But for every action in life there is a consequence, and soon Caleb finds out that sometimes love comes at an unbearably high price.
Love is patient; love is kind.
Love doesn't boast or brag.
There's no arrogance in love;
it's never rude, crude, or indecent-it's not self absorbed.
Love isn't easily upset.
Love doesn't tally wrongs.
Love trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what.
Love will never become obsolete.
I'll fight for her.
Thief
Caleb Drake never got over his first love. Not when he got married. Not when she got married. When life suddenly comes full circle Caleb must decide how how far he is willing to go to get the aloof and alluring Olivia Kaspen back. But for every action in life there is a consequence, and soon Caleb finds out that sometimes love comes at an unbearably high price.
Initial thoughts upon finishing:
1. This was my favorite book of the series.
2. Miscommunication is an ugly bitch.
3. Olivia drove me crazy.
4. I still hate Leah.
5. Caleb finally grew a pair.
Well. If that isn't the absolute most twisted series I've ever read in my life, then I don't know what is. I mean... holy shit. This is going to be so hard to review, because I really don't want to give anything away...
We all know from the first book that the Olivia-Caleb saga is anything less than complicated. However, Olivia is now married and has been trying to move forward and pick up the pieces after that fateful night in Paris where Caleb ultimately destroyed her heart. However, after everything that's happened, Caleb is finally ready to fight for Olivia and take back what's always been his.
I really liked going back into the past so that we could see just how Olivia and Caleb went wrong. We now see things from his point of view, so where Olivia might have talked about them in the first book, we actually see them transpire. And holy miscommunication. There's so much of it where these two are concerned and so much could have been avoided had they only talked it out. But both Olivia and Caleb are hotheaded and stubborn, so it's easier said than done. There has also been some manipulation on Olivia's best friend's part too, so no one in this series is truly innocent, save for Estella.
Olivia and her husband are having some issues in this book and spend quite a bit of time apart. Her and Caleb have reconnected somewhat and while the two don't have 'just friends' in the cards, they do somewhat function that way for a time. I understand Olivia's hesitance in this one, but man did it get on my nerves too. I think I was really at the point of "either get together or walk the fuck away and don't ever look back". I almost wonder if it makes me a twisted person to want them together, especially after everything. But I did. So help me, I wanted things to fall into place for them.
This book definitely broke my heart at times and Fisher still managed to lob some surprises at me. There was one huge thing towards the end I never saw coming though. Fisher is NOT afraid to put her characters through hell and we have seen that so many times throughout these three books.
I do not regret reading these though, as it's been awhile since I've read a book as messy and twisted as the Love Me With Lies series.
12 comments
Well, I only read the first review because I didn't want a spoiler on the rest of the series.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a great series, I love angst and feeling emotional after reading a book.
I'm glad you read it and enjoyed it.
Thank you for such a lovely post
Ruty @Reading…Dreaming
Thanks Ruty! This series definitely hit me in the feels and left me gutted afterwards! Haha! Those are the best kinds. I hope you pick these up!
DeleteI honestly don't know if I could handle these books. I know everyone loves them but there is only so much I can take. I'm really glad you enjoyed them though even though they put you through hell. Great reviews!
ReplyDeleteHaha Teresa. That was my original thinking too. But everyone kept raving about them and book pushing them on me. So I'm glad I ended up reading them after all.
DeleteI've heard good things about this series, but I am a bit nervous to read them. I'm glad you enjoyed them.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely understand your nervousness Quinn. I was terrified going in. And my heart wasn't left whole after that series. LOL.
DeleteYou already know how I feel about these reviews! ♥ ♥ ♥
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you read this series and, even more, liked it! It is my all time favorite even though it is frustrating and agonizing, the end is so worth it!!
And yes, Tarryn definitely puts her characters through hell in every damn book!!
<3 <3 <3 Thank you for being my support Eva! I am really glad I read these too! I definitely want to read more of Tarryn's books.
DeleteYES! I'm so glad you enjoyed this series. It's been a few years since I read it, but your reviews took me back to all the frustrations, angst and pain they inspired. (In the best way possible, of course.) I've not read any of Tarryn's books since, but clearly I need to do that soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I read it too Kim! It was an emotional journey, but it was definitely worth it to get everything the last book offered! I need to read more of hers too!
DeleteYay!! I am so happy that you read and enjoyed this series, Jessica! I didn't want to read Leah's book wither, but I'm glad I did. What a trip it was. Lol
ReplyDeleteThanks Anna! Leah's book was SO HARD. LOL. But I couldn't NOT read it even if I tried!
DeleteLeave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!
My blog is an award-free blog, however, as I just do not have the time to follow-up.