Title: Liars Like Us
Author: J.T. Geissinger
Series: Morally Gray #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: May 25, 2023
Format: eBook
Pages: 354
Spice Rating: 3.5/5
Tropes: Marriage of Convenience, Obsessive Possessive Morally Grey Hero, Alphamale Billionaire, Stalker Romance, He falls first and hard
Liars Like Us Book Review
I read the blurb, and I had to download Liars Like Us by J.T. Geissinger. It was as if it were made for me. All the tropes, the spice, the main characters and their hilarious banter and relationship – everything was a nice package, I have devoured it twice now!
If an OTT dark hero is your thing, who is always ‘behind the scenes’, and a heroine who doesn’t take his crap, a marriage of convenience that may or may not have been devised as a plan to get her, this is your book. It was a guilty pleasure read for me, really. Liars Like Us has landed on my favorite list that I’m going to be re-reading a lot.
“Hello, little lamb. Welcome to the lion’s den.”
Emery owns a bookstore cafe that has been in her family for years. After her dad dies, it falls on her to keep the business running. However, a new and popular bookstore chain opens up right across from hers, and it’s about to tank her business.
Knowing she can’t compete with that, along with the monetary hurdles that come her way, she decides to shut down her business and lay off her staff—a friendly and eccentric group of people. After a goodbye lunch with them, right on the next day, a mysterious billionaire walks into her store, suggesting they get married.
When I remain silent, he prompts, “Why aren’t you saying anything?” “I’m too busy patting myself on the back for how well I’m adjusting to being married to a psychopath. I’m not even crying or anything.”
Initially, I thought Emery would be a naive character – you know, like the typical soft girl catching the villain’s eyes. She turned out to be quite different! She’s the kind of heroine you can root for. Despite all the challenges life threw her way, she remained resilient. She’s smart, sassy, and witty, and oh boy, she makes Callum obsess over her so badly.
Emery has this razor-sharp sarcasm that bounces so well against Callum’s intensity. She doesn’t cower or let him bulldoze her (well, not without putting up one heck of a fight first), and that fire in her makes her such a fun character to spend a whole book with.
There are a million shades of gray between good and evil, love. Am I on the darker end of the spectrum? Yes. Am I a bad man who does good things or a good man who does bad things? Both. But you made this monster your slave. All of what I am, good and bad, light and dark, belongs to you.
Callum is exactly what I love in an over-the-top morally gray hero – unapologetic, wants what he wants, and will do everything in his power to get it. From the moment he walks into Emery’s bookstore, he’s this looming presence – like a storm in a tailored suit – and you just know he’s going to upend her world.
He’s dominant, secretive, demanding, and fights all the way to get Emery to marry him. And once he has her, his crazy possessiveness turns up the highest notch. He’s also tender with her – despite all his dark moods and behind-the-scenes maneuvering, he only wants the best for her and for her to be with him forever.
He’s very much “the villain gets the girl,” and I ate that up.
Not all happily-ever-afters are for white knights, darling. Sometimes the villain gets the girl. And isn’t that a much more interesting ending to the story? With all my black heart, Your monster
Their chemistry is electric. Emery refuses to give in easily, and Callum refuses to back down, which makes their push-and-pull so addictive. Their conversations are hilarious, with all the hidden meaning in Callum’s dialogues and Emery’s sass.
Underneath the banter and the heat, there’s this slow-burning love, and it’s messy, but very glorious.
If you truly want me to leave you alone, I’ll do it. But be prepared to have a ghost for the rest of your life, because I’ll never stop haunting you. Which is only fair, considering you’ll always haunt me.
Liars Like Us is in Emery’s POV, and as the chapters move on, you experience it completely from her side, which makes the romance and suspense really thrilling.
A sandstorm of a billionaire hellbent on getting his way and a headstrong heroine – the hilarious banter, the steam, the mystery revelation, all of it, sucked me in, and I just couldn’t put the book down.
I would highly recommend this if morally gray men are your thing, and you love their pursuit of the women they want and keep forever.
You wear my ring. You sleep in my bed. You made a promise in front of witnesses to have and to hold me for the rest of your life. You chose me, Emery. And because you chose me, you own me, now and forever, come what may.
Book recommendations similar to Liars Like Us by J.T. Geissinger:
On Dublin Street by Samantha Young (Billionaire, Possessive Alphamale)
Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark (Hero’s name is Callum too, Mafia, Marriage of Convenience)
Bared to You by Sylvia Day (Billionaire, Dark and Broody alpha hero)
Blurb:
A young woman on the verge of bankruptcy.
A mysterious billionaire with an offer that will change her life.
An obsession so powerful, it could destroy them both.
Sex
Lies
Secrets
Passion
What Callum McCord wants, he takes.
No matter what he has to do to get it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Author’s note: Liars Like Us is a standalone marriage of convenience romance with an obsessive & possessive morally gray hero and spicy bedroom scenes intended for mature readers only.
Purchase Links
About J.T. Geissinger:
J.T. Geissinger is a New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of thirty-five novels and novellas. Ranging from funny, feisty romcoms to intense erotic thrillers, her books have sold over twenty million copies and been translated into more than two dozen languages.
She is a three-time nominee in both contemporary and paranormal romance for the RITA® Award, the highest distinction in romance fiction from the Romance Writers of America®. She is also a recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book, the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, and the HOLT Medallion for Best Erotic Romance.
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