| Title | : | Lie to Me |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 505 |
| Publication | : | Published April 23, 2021 |
Now I have a deep-rooted mistrust of people and a wall of steel and ice surrounding my heart.
So, when Reed Ryan steps into my life, I know I need to keep him far away.
He’s everything I grew up hating. Fighting. Fleeing.
Devastatingly handsome, he looks like a drunken regret and has heartbreak written over every inch of his body—literally. He’s the quintessential bad boy . . . and he’s a cop.
But the man is my undoing.
When I push, he stands firm.
When I fight, he battles for us.
When he touches me, my traitorous body and heart respond.
Little does Reed know, every lie I feed him is laced with truth.
I have demons that refuse to let me go. Now one of them is threatening to destroy us both.
Lie to Me Reviews
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DNF @69%
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I see you.
I see you.
I see you.
What are you doing to me?
(this book contains sensitive content. you'll find a list of trigger warnings at the bottom of this review, under the spoiler tag.)
This book was recommended to my by the sweet Leonie, and I couldn't not pick it up, considering a) how much I trust her judgement and b) this novel has all the elements I usually dig in a novel.
Lie to Me is an intense book with a heavy storyline that will make you swoon as much as tear up; the main characters go through a journey that digs deep into their psyche and brings to the surface the bitter and painful aftermath of trauma. It's definitely not your typical small town romance novel.
I've gotta admit I liked the story and the relationship between the characters more than I liked the overall execution of the book. The writing felt a bit repetitive at times, and, even though I found myself obviously rooting for Emma and Reed right from the start, I was a bit put off by the insta-love thing they clearly had going on. I also found Lala overtly and constantly pushing Emma and Reed together even after they'd just met, a bit too...novelistic, if you get what I mean.
On the other hand, I really liked how Emma and Reed were able to finally confront their demons, and how they had a part in each other's path to healing.
And, oh, this was probably the first time I read a cop-romance book and I've gotta say. Cops have nothing to envy to hockey players.
To be honest, the world deserves more Reed Ryans.
Objectively speaking, I really liked this book and I read it quickly and without being bored. Sure, soem technicalities need more work, but it was a beautiful novel with a beautiful message, nonetheless.
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"Lie to me Emma. I love it when you lie to me."
Wow, this was just wow.....I actually feel speechless. This book somehow breaks your heart and fixes it at the same time. And I have to say I would really love me a Reed.
This is a two POV book told from the POV´s of Emma and Reed. With Emma we get a broken and flawed FMC who is haunted and traumatized by her past. Reed literally is the sweetest, always trying to break through her walls and trying to get to know her.
The slow-burn in this is so deliciously slow, I can´t! The pacing was perfect in my opinion, neither too quick nor to slow. I loved how the author dealed with trauma, the triggers in this book can be quite heavy and I really like her representation of them (please check trigger warnings at the end).
I really liked the side characters and how each of them had their flaws as well. The character development in this book was absolutely amazing. I especially loved how the relationship between Emma, Nora and Lala progressed. I loved Reed´s family. It was such a fun and loving moment in a book that was otherwise quite sad and heavy (but good sad and heavy if you know what I mean).
I would have loved for a part two to this book, but maybe someday we will get to read Peters story.
Overall this book was absolutely amazing and I would definitely recommend it if you feel comfortable with the triggers mentioned. I loved the relationship between Emma as Reed as well as all of the side characters. I don´t have anything major to critique about this book.
Trigger warnings: PTSD, rape (not caused by the love interest), domestic abuse, drug abuse, police corruption
Huge thank you as well to @Sara for recommending me this book. If you have anything more of where this comes from, please let me know! This wrecked me in all the good ways! -
Can someone confirm for me. That her sister Nora is actually her boyfriend daughter and that would mean him and her mom got it on. Lmao
She will be the stepmother to her sister. I think this takes the cake on the whole double dipping. -
3.75 Stars ⭐️
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Get it here:
Amazon US *
Amazon UK
I loved the emotions in this book and the characters were great but together I felt like we missed their connection. There were some really sweet moments between them but with as much as Emma pushed Reed away it just wasn't enough to truly see their connection between all the angst. And then the ending moved kind of fast which didn't help solidify their chemistry at all. Overall, a good read and one I'd recommend for angst lovers. -
"Emma Wade, I’m gonna kiss you unless you tell me not to.”
When I see that my favorite author drops a surprise release I immediately stop what I'm doing and read it. This was like going back home to the books and series that made me fall in love with her writing to begin with. It was just heartbreaking and painful and beautiful and the feels! It also makes me want to go back and reread her older books.
“There isn’t a whole lot about us that is simple, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it.” -
Really loved this one!
I have not read one of molly's books for a while but reading this just makes me want more from her.
Another fantastic read that did not disappoint, Now where can I get me a Reed Ryan and how fast can he get here? Because this girl is in love!
Hopeless romantics you are going to love it!
Trigger warning possibility for some victims of sexual abuse so proceed with caution. -
Okay so, this one is difficult to rate as I enjoyed the story but the story could have finished 200 pages earlier. Waste of time on emphasizing the fact that Emma has trauma. We get it, we understand it, move on and give us a story. There was nothing truly happening in the majority of the book. Bored senseless waiting for something to happen but when something happened it was good.
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YardieBookFanatic
Too much angst with Ama, it's s bit turn off when the author hints to something deeper and doesn't reveal it till the middle of the book. Also, too many pages for being repetitive. Reed was ok.i skipped to the end.
LOVETOREAD -
Forgettable. Did not work for me.
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Molly McAdams has a way of writing such emotional books with characters who have these “tortured” backstories.
𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒!!
- PTSD
- Rape (not from hero)
- Police Corruption
- Domestic Abuse (not from hero)
- Drugs
This one started off pretty good. I was really enjoying it, up to the moment where Emma wouldn’t reveal her past and these traumatizing moments for her. It started to carry on and on and on through the story until probably about 80% (I want to say) when it was finally revealed. It was just a bit too long for me in that aspect.
I really liked Reed. This big tattooed muscular man was Emma’s prince charming anyway. He was so sweet and understanding. He never pushed himself on to her. I loved how much consent there was between their relationship.
I don’t mind children in romance books. But the thing that turns me off from them is when they start talking like they’re not children. Nora, would go back-and-forth between talking like a child to talking like a teenager/adult. It really turned me off unfortunately. I will say that the female narrator did a pretty good job at voicing Nora. I find not a lot of narrator‘s can voice children very well. -
5/5⭐
why slow burn, just why?
this book was pretty interesting not going to lie.
i rarely read books by this author, and she did pretty good with surprising me.
i'm way to out of it, to write a full review...
this book took me so long, because of how busy i've been. -
1 star. that was some CRAZY bootlicking
tw: mentions of rape, child neglect, sexual assualt, cops/copaganda
reed’s family is crazy and i wish emma kept hating cops. this was written in such a coho way like just terrifyingly traumatic for these women and like sex/love was just supposed to heal that? get these people in therapy!!!!! -
3.75 🌟
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DNF @ 50%... * exaggerated sigh* I honestly don't even know what the hell this was. And I'm even more confused about how this has such a high rating. This story, the characters were absolutely a dumpster fire of a fucking mess. Just a clusterfuck of bad, bad and more bad.
Let's see, where to start. So Emma comes home to the small town her grandma lives in after a horrible experience in NY that had her hightailing it out of there. Ok. So far, no issues. But when she arrives her attitude is atrocious. Judgemental, rude, entitled & offensive. And her "lala" is actually no better in the beginning. Emma gives no explanation, just inserts herself in her grandma's life & expects everyone to just accept it, no questions, no explanations. Nothing. She also discovers she has a little 6 year old sister, Nora, that was abandoned by her shit bag of a mother at birth.
Since it's a small town & apparently, little old ladies like to feed the entire lot of service men & women of the town. So, they trample in & out of Lala's house during their shift to get a good meal. Cool. Enter Reed Ryan. The tattooed, hottie lead male. And that's where everything takes a nose dive. Emma flips her shit because he's tattooed & starts throwing her unjustified judgmental vitriol. All thanks for her trashwhore of a mother & what she put them through. But no matter how her Lala tries to explain that they're good men, she just continues her gross behavior.
Fast forward to Reed trying to get to know Emma slowly. He obviously can tell she has some issues & hang ups. So he's sweet, gentle & caters to her needs & boundaries. Except when she finds out that he's a cop, all hell break loose. Because she's had bad experiences with cops in the past, she is dead set on putting them all in the same category. But on a level where you have to wonder if she has serious psychological issues. She makes mountains out of tiny grains of sand, constantly sabotages situations & is just a fucking nut bag. Also add a dash of an annoying, spoiled little brat of a 6 year girl who throws a fit because Reed is paying more attention to Emma than her & it was time to check out for me. I just I couldn't read anymore but I kept going a bit more.
Reed has issues with his family, which isn't explained at first. But then he finally decides to drive home after 3 years on not speaking to them. Him & his Dad get into all the issues that took place as to why he left. And then, change of subject quick & start talking about all the issues with Emma. Um, what? There were some serious issues between this family and here's his chance & all that took place was airing out all the grievances but nothing was resolved. No explanations or apologies or closure. Just changed the subject. So, he hasn't spoke to his dad in 3 years, has all these serious, deep issues with him but all of a sudden he's confiding in him about this lunatic of a girl? WTF!
Reed stops into the bookstore Emma's working in to help out with some heavy stuff & he has to deal with her continued disgusting behavior. But then he turns around & tells her he loves her. Um, excuse me? HOW?! How can he love a girl, because her behavior is that of a mentally unstable teenage girl, after only spending a short time with her? And when I say short time, I mean a short time where she's not acting like a snarling beast. Because the rest of the time she's a nasty, judgmental mental patient. This was where I checked out completely.
Let's do the check list of bad:
Lead female with a ginormous, judgemental & nasty chip on her shoulders--- CHECK
Acting like an psychotic mental patient --- CHECK
Annoying child that needs to be disciplined instead of coddled--- CHECK
Bad guys from another state that coincidentally end up in her tiny town--- CHECK
A super hot good guy that wants to push past crazy lead female issues--- CHECK
And so many other shittastic NOPE inducing issues. Also, the female narrator, although most of the time does a great job, just annoyed me so much in this story. She couldn't get the tone or emotion of the scene right. OMGGGGG! This was such a mess & I don't understand how so many people enjoyed this. But, to each their own.
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SLOOOOWWW BURN!
I honestly really like this book. The way the author handled Emma‘s trauma was noteworthy. She didn’t shy away from the tough subjects and give us details as to why and how she had the trauma that she did. That being said she also didn’t allow Emma to be a weak woman. she stood her ground and did what felt right for her. Reed was an amazing counterpart for Emma and handled her perfectly. Supported her and learned how to break down her walls and how to keep her comfortable even in the shittiest of situations.
It’s a beautifully written book, while it is a slow burn the spice is still good when you get it.
Definitely recommend if you’re looking for something that’s more plot based than anything else. -
Felt contrived at times.
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Cute
“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝?”
“𝙀𝙢𝙢𝙖 . . . 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙗𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚.”
Wow. This one had a lot going on in it. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! But at the same time, it wasn’t overwhelming, for most of the book.
And Reed Ryan, that sweet boy. We all deserve one. The way he was willing to work at chasing away the demons that haunted Emma, his big heart for people who weren’t anything but some friendly neighbors to start with.
Some things did get a little muddied, and in some cases, this one was just a little wordy and it lost me a little bit.
Overall though, I enjoyed it. -
Love
This was a really good book. Had me from the start to the finish. Can’t wait to read another on of her books. -
This book y’all…I know, I know, I say this about all of Molly’s books but I just can’t help it. Her books are just that good. Reed Ryan, the poor forgotten baby. If you aren’t apart of Molly’s Monsters then you wont truly understand the joke, but to be honest when Molly first announced this surprise release last weekend, I didn’t even recognize the last name, I was just excited to have a new Molly book.
Emma Wade has been through some…bad things. Her life growing up was anything but sunshine and rainbows. But she fought through and made something of herself…for a few years at least. Need to leave town and don’t know where to go? Head to grandmas, seems like a logical solution. Start over with the help of grandma, just make sure to mind your p’s and q’s no matter how old you are.
Reed Ryan, there isn’t much I can say about his life, due to possible spoilers. But I can say I was very confused by things Lala and Reed talked about, but in due time we find out all the answers to all of our questions.
Reed and Emma, there story is something different. It’s a slow burn and y’all I love those kind of stories. There’s love, and a lot of hate, pain too, it’s the perfect weekend read. But if you have kids and, or a spouse? Be sure to hide yourself away, once you start Reed and Emmas story, you wont want to stop. -
Reed was the perfect guy and he was so patient with Emma and all of her issues. I didn’t hate Emma, I understand that anyone who has gone through what she has would be overly cautious with her heart but Reed never did ANYTHING to warrant her continuous hatred. My biggest pet peeve in a romance is lack of communication, Emma kept a lot from Reed, understandably so, but she also wouldn’t talk to him about things that directly effected him. Things she thought he had done or said. All of that could have been resolved in one open conversation but it dragged on for half the book. It was frustrating.
I did like the story and I liked the characters but I was just annoyed with the redundancy of some parts of the book. It didn’t have to be as long as it was, it could have been a satisfying story without all the repeated dramatic angst. -
"The way he waited for me to come to him, then held me close as if he wouldn’t let me go. The comfort and safety I felt in his arms, the love wrapping around us, I wanted it forever."
Small town enemies to lovers sucked me in and didn't let me go! Emma's tragic past rife with trauma brought her to her grandmother's door after many years gone and what she finds is nothing short of healing, life changing magic in the form of family and the most unlikely suitor. I laughed, I cried, I swooned, and I fanned myself. Their journey was a slow burn, but oh so worth the wait. It gave your heart a workout and it left me with a smile!!
"This was a claiming of souls. It was protection and selflessness. It was support and devotion. And I never wanted it to end." -
Oh my word you guys, this book completely stole my heart!! And I officially have a new favourite by my favourite author!
This storyline had me hooked right from the very start, I have been looking to read the story of the missing Ryan child for so many years and this book did not disappoint!! It was everything I could have hoped and dreamed!
This book is absolutely a standalone but I feel like I was able to appreciate the storyline more since I’ve read stories of some of these characters in the past with previous series!
I will always recommend any new release by Molly McAdams, with her one of a kind storylines you will not be disappointed!! -
What started out as an intriguing story of a young woman escaping a traumatizing event soon turned into a long drawn out saga of a whining hot mess. So many chapters were devoted to Emma's mistrust of Reed and her incessant whimpering about how he is wrong for her that I just had to skim over those chapters of else I'd give up. Could a woman appear weaker? The reader can figure out where they are headed so all of Reed's continual "talking her off the ledge" is such a waste of time and does little to build up the sexual tension. It became annoying. If anything, another character should've advised HIM to run the other way.
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DNF at 75%
I tried, but the book could not keep my attention. I still own the audiobook and might revisit it later, but the book's beginning half was infinitely more captivating than the latter half. -
This was a good read. It is long, and I was hesitant because there are a lot of books out there that are much longer than they need to be, but this one was good. First one in a while where I didn't skim over anything.
Emma had a rough (understatement) childhood. When she was 18, her mother left her to get married and never returned. Eventually Emma made her way to NYC and made a life for herself, until one night it all came crashing down. She made her way back to her grandmother, Lala, and learned to open herself up and learn to truly live.
Emma's childhood was devastating. It takes a while for the author to really clue us in as to just how bad it was, but there were hints along the way. Arriving at Lala's, she finds out she has a 6 year old sister and their relationship starting out was rough - Emma is resentful because Nora got what Emma always wanted which was to be able to live away from her mother; Nora was jealous because she believed Emma was lucky to know their mother. I will say that at times I found Nora to be a little annoying, but in the end they had a cute relationship.
Emma is also building a relationship with her grandmother (which if I'm honest, I didn't understand why Lala was so hesitant and sometimes hurtful towards Emma. ) Eventually, they work it out, though. I didn't like how at the end after Emma and Lala had grown close again, Lala's ending was just kind of rushed and left me wanting more.
I really liked Reed and his patience. Emma really put him through it in the beginning, understandably. But he was persistent and went above and beyond to help her deal with her demons so she would let him in. I really liked their moments together.
Anyways, I'm rambling. This was a great book. There were moments that made my teary and moments that made me smile. It held my interest, despite being such a long read, and has me still thinking about it hours after I finished the book (I usually finish and am on to the next, never really giving it another thought). -
Reed, I’m gonna swoon. Ex-Seal turned cop, 🤩 and boy is he hot.
I don’t know but I really love the romance here. It wasn’t slow burn but it also wasn’t instant lovey dovey. It was the take it slow kind which I now know I really dig. The abuse and horror along with her slowly coming out of her shell is very smooth and easy to read. It makes it known that a trauma couldn’t be solved in just one instant, but it takes several years or even never. The fact that it shows that Reed becomes her anchor is just a good portrayal here.
It might have a little bit weakened at the epilogue but that’s probably just me. I believe this is a really solid book. The only thing is, why do people Reed was the father? If he was, how was Emma so calm about the situation. Also he and she both said he wasn’t related to her sister.
I also liked the romance between Peter the roommate and Leah the abused wife of Emma’s attempted raper
Summary: moved to grand place, met H, hard to come out of shell because he was the stereotype bad boy that her mom keeps shagging. There’s lots of dirty cop who was into little girls but H became really fragile with her and helped her. h found about Hannah the girl he banged when she first met him but it was a miscommunication that prompt her to open herself fully. Found her attempted raper was husband to H’s best friend sister. About to rape her again when she recorded everything. HEA
