The Truth In Lies (Truth In Lies Saga #1) by Jeanne McDonald {Review}

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Age Group: Adult

Publication Date: October 28th 2013

Series: Truth In Lies Saga #1

Pages: 318

Format: Mobi/Kindle

Source: Provided by author for review

Life is a sequence of choices. Some are deliberate, others are forced upon you. This was a lesson that McKenzie Evans knew all too well. After the miscarriage of her son, she made the hard decision to leave her absentee boyfriend and move in with her former college roommate, Olivia Hamilton. That’s when she was introduced to Andrew Wise, a brilliant attorney, working for his family’s law firm in Sarasota, Florida. To McKenzie, Drew became her salvation. He had a way of understanding her when no one else could. The closer they became, the more McKenzie found herself falling in love with Drew. He was everything she ever dreamed of in a man, and for the first time in her life, she felt truly alive. There was only one problem. Drew was dating Olivia. With the help of fate and circumstance, Drew and McKenzie journey down a path of unrequited love and denied feelings. In the end, they must make a choice between their hearts or their consciences. In this one decision they discover that there’s always a glimmer of truth to a lie, that there’s a fine line between love and friendship, and sometimes you have to risk everything to gain everything.

My Review:

This one seems like it's self explanatory. Girl falls for her best friend's boyfriend. I thought that too at first but there was a little bit more depth to it than just falling for your BFF's main squeeze. McKenzie has experienced a big loss that has changed her life significantly. She's been with her live in workaholic boyfriend Nate for several years somewhat happily until she miscarried her baby. That loss added to the lonely nights she's had to endure while Nate is constantly away on business has caused her to reevaluate the course of her life. When she decides to move out her best friend Olivia offers her place up until she can get on her feet. Once Liv's boyfriend Drew comes over to be introduced the two connect immediately. McKenzie and Drew slowly form a friendship that builds into an emotional connection neither can deny. There's just one problem they can't seem to overcome...Olivia. 

I'm usually not one to condone cheating and nine times out of ten I will put a book down if it's too much. There are certain circumstances I can handle, mainly this situation which I wouldn't really say is cheating since Drew and McKenzie never acted on their feelings while Drew was with Olivia. Sometimes a couple just works and you can't help but go with the flow. From their first meeting while both running on the beach I already wanted them together no matter what. Drew and McKenzie had great chemistry I felt throughout their story. Kenzie was so sad at first and my heart really went out to her. She was dealing with not only losing her baby but the man she thought she was in love with abandoned her to mourn alone. Much like a Phoenix though she was able to pick herself up and rebuild her life without Nate. I was so proud of her for finally doing what was best for her. It was hard to leave what she knew was comfortable with Nate but her character growth without him was well done.

Drew got on my nerves but I loved him. He knew he was having feelings for McKenzie but continued to deny it and stay with Olivia. Once I got to know him though I wasn't as hard on him. He's had past issues losing someone he loved feeling it was his fault so he's shied away from love at all costs. On the surface Drew seemed like a no nonsense stuffed shirt lawyer but the more time he spent with McKenzie the more he seemed to open up. I enjoyed watching him be himself around her where with Olivia he couldn't be anything but the well dressed wealthy lawyer type. He almost had a doctor Jekyll mister Hyde personality between how he treated McKenzie and Olivia. He would go from snarling at Olivia to a soothing sweet tone with McKenzie. Despite my dislike of Olivia I felt like he was unnecessarily mean to her pretty much all the time. I won't even talk about Olivia much because I found her character to be vapid and self absorbed so I was honestly happy she got dumped by Drew in favor of her kind and down to earth Bestie.

The Truth In Lies was an interesting story and I usually don't enjoy triangles but the connection between Drew and McKenzie was so strong and Olivia was such a bitch I didn't mind. Honestly it wasn't a book I felt compelled to keep reading so I did put it down and pick it back up a few times but that's to be expected with a new author. It did lag a bit in some spots and it seemed to take a long time for Drew and McKenzie to get together but the writing was well written and I hardly noticed the first person narrative. The character dialogue and McKenzie's inner voice wasn't hard to follow and I liked that. I was on the fence about this book the throughout the first three quarters of it. I didn't know how it would end and while I did like the characters I had no plans to read the next book. The author changed my mind when I finally got to the end because the way it was left didn't give me any reason to NOT continue on to see how things turn out for Drew and McKenzie. The way it ended wasn't anything new under the sun but the way it was written was emotional enough to keep me on the hook. It might not have knocked my socks off but the story was intriguing and romantic. If you like a slow paced character driven story then you should give this one a try.

Quotes:

A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips, but the crinkles that I had grown to love didn't form around the corners of his eyes. he seemed upset, but I couldn't understand why. Mobi/Kindle 57%

"No star has ever shone as brightly as the one that dangles around your neck, because only in the black of night, can it's love be seen as a beacon guiding me home." Mobi/Kindle 81%

About The Author:

Jeanne McDonald began telling stories at the ripe young age of five, when her mother considered the truth to be a lie due to her extensive embellishment to the retelling of an event.  She wrote her first short story when she was twelve years old, and at the age of sixteen she tried her hand at poetry.  She reconnected with her love for writing in 2010 thanks to the encouragement of a dear friend. Her passions include a "mild" Starbucks addiction, music, reading, quotes, movies, and romance.  When she's not spending time with her family, she can be found reading, writing, chatting with her friends or diligently working toward her bachelor's degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology.  A proud Texan, Jeanne currently resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with her family.

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