A Beautiful Lie by T.E. Sivec Review

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A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire 1) by T.E. Sivec-Adult Romantic Suspense

Kindle format given by author for review/blog tour

He saw her first, but his friend made the move.
She settled for the safer choice, but her heart knew the truth. 
They love, they crave, they lie. 
Garrett McCarthy, Annabelle Parker, and Milo Roberts were as close as friends could get. They shared in each other's joy during graduations, promotions, and engagements. They consoled one another through heartache and loss. 
When one of the friend's life is tragically cut short, it's up to the two left behind to pick up the pieces and find out the truth - no matter the cost. As they slowly start to uncover the nature of his deception, and the very powerful people behind it, they begin to question everyone and everything, even themselves. 
Everyone has secrets - some do it for love while others do it for power. Those secrets can change perceptions, alter reality and sometimes destroy lives. 
What do you do when you find out your whole life has been a lie?

My Take:

You know, it's not always easy for authors to cross genres. Especially when they've developed a huge fan base in another. In this case, I think it worked. 

I'm going to go ahead and jump in with my thoughts on Annabelle. Did I like her? Eeh...I felt a bit indifferent towards her at the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I felt bad that she was grieving over Milo, but she didn't reel me in until further into the story. Now, I did end up liking her. She's pretty rad, but I think she had the potential to be bad ass. I would have liked more butt kicking scenes with her. I admire a chick who can throw a dude down. 

Ok now Garrett, he kinda of stole the show for me. I had a serious crush on him. Not only is he smart, but he's a NAVY SEAL people! You can only imagine how stacked he must be. Am I right ladies? Anyway...besides his sex appeal, he's a very sweet guy. He's loyal and protective. Oh, and he definitely has skills in the bedroom. My biggest peeve about Garrett and Annabelle was that I got so frustrated that they wouldn't just share their feelings. I mean, can you imagine the torture of being in love with someone for 8 years and not telling them? I know they were dealing with the loss of Milo, but still. Once they got going though, I was thrilled. 

Although I had the plot pretty much figured out early on (because I think I'm Sydney Bristow), I still enjoyed seeing the story unfold. Also, this book had such a different feel to it, even down to the writing style. I don't mind reading books in third person, even though it's not my favorite. I did feel like I really had to pay attention to who's voice I was hearing. It bothered me a bit. Not enough to stop reading though. 

Overall, I'd say I enjoyed it. This is such a different style for Sivec and I believe that as the series progresses it will get better and better. I look forward to following along with this series. If you like a bit of suspense mixed in with your "love stories", check this one out. 

Favorite Quote:

"If you were mine, I would never be able to walk away from you. If you were mine, I'd worship every inch of your body with my hands, lips, tongue. If you were mine, I wouldn't be able to stand in the same room as you without running my hands over your skin and tasting your lips. If you were mine..."-Loc 1558 ARC

T.E. Sivec is the pen name for Tara Sivec. Under T.E. Sivec, she delves into a more serious genre that is her absolute favorite to read - romantic suspense. She loves reading a book and feeling her heart speed up with anticipation and wanted to be able to give that feeling to her fans.

T.E. lives in Ohio with her husband and two children, living the dream of being a full-time writer.

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