So I have been reading Whitney Gaskell off and on for years. I noticed she hasn't put out something new in years though. I decided to do a re-read of some of the books I owned and I can't understand why I loved this book when I read it before. Maybe because I was younger and thought the whole plot was so romantic. Now I am older and call BS more I guess.

 

"True Love and Other Lies" follows Claire. Claire is a travel writer who has pretty much given up on love after being shat upon by her ex called Sawyer (that name you guys). But she has an absolute awesome meet cute (yeah...it was alright) with a lawyer named Jack on her way to London. Claire feels herself getting excited about Jack, but second guesses everything he says and does after he expresses interest in seeing her while she is in London. A huge surprise is in store for Claire though when she finds out who Jack was dating before he started seeing her. 

 

Claire was driving me up the wall through most of the book. She hates her job, has a dubious relationship with her sister (who she diagnoses as anorexic or bulimic) and acts like an asshole towards her parents when they make other holiday plans without her (this is after she goes into how she doesn't want to go out of town to see them) and also acts like a jerk towards her best friend Maddie when she makes other plans to go out and once again Claire doesn't want to see her since she has plans. Did you follow all that? Pretty much Claire wants everyone to be thinking about how her all the time while ignoring how she is not putting any effort into her personal relationships at all. She's also a jerk at work and I didn't find myself rooting for her at all. I think some of the characters she was tormenting would be writing into "Ask A Manager" cause of the crap she pulls. 

I think I just got tired of Claire and her woe is me thing she had going through the whole book. Her own mother tells her she has self esteem issues. But honestly, I don't think that's it. She just acts contradictory about every little thing and it drives you up the wall.

 

The secondary characters don't work that well. There is Claire's best friend Maddie, that I wish we had gotten more details about since most of the book is about their relationship. And Claire's next door neighbor Max who I found to be off-putting the entire time I read about him. 

I did love the writing about London and New York. I wish that we got more details about Claire's travel assignments, but we just get tidbits here and there. 

 

Without giving away the plot, I no ma'amed through most of this book. I just could not with Claire and also side eyed the hell out Jack as well. When you get to the end things fall apart (the center cannot hold) with an explanation about things that did not make any sense at all.

 

The book fast forwards about a year or so though and we get a happily ever after. 

This is the 2nd book in the True Lies series.  This book can be read as a standalone novel.  For reader enjoyment and understanding, I recommend reading the series in the order intended.

 

Simon and Cassie are a lot like the Bond movies.  He is the alpha hero trying to protect everyone from a murdering psycho, and she is a new field agent who is mostly a um er nerd.  They go together like oil and water.

 

Cassie just wants to be more than the brain she is known for.  Her eccentricities are what make for an interesting book.  Simon and Cassie have to find common ground and catch a bad guy while this fast paced book keeps you on your toes!

 

I thought the quick paced story was like watching a movie in my head.  These characters are good together.  Fans of this series are going to love this story.  I give this book a 3/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

 

 

***This ARC copy was given by Netgalley and its publisher for an honest review.

Absolutely True Lies by Rachel Stuhler gives you the feel of actually seeing things behind the curtain. If you ever wondered what the lives of celebrities are like, this book definitely does that. Fact or fiction, I’m sure that the antics that happened in Absolutely True Lies does (or did) happen, at one time or another. In fact, reading some of the antics that happened in this book sounded vaguely familiar! I’ll also tell you this, I could easily picture this book as a movie, with a “Devil Wears Prada” vibe.

Absolutely True Lies by Rachel Stuhler follows main character, Holly Gracin, a struggling writer who is waiting for her opportunity to shine. Fortunately for her, it just happens to fall into her lap. She gets hired to write the autobiography of child/teen star, Daisy Mae Dixon. Knowing that this could be the one that could make or break her career, Holly doesn’t hesitate to accept the job. Little did she know what the “job” actually entails!

At Holly’s first meeting with the Dixon’s, Daisy and her mother bring on the Southern charm, and Holly is unable to resist. With promises of a big payout, and a chance to rub shoulders with the “in-crowd” of Hollywood, Holly is aware that things are about to change for her.

And change they did! Holly gets a little taste of just how “fun” being part of the entourage of a celebrity can be. Passing out on the dance floor at a new club because of her constricting shapeware and lack of sustenance ends up coming out in the tabloids as Holly being Daisy’s pregnant cousin. And the drama that leads up to Holly actually finding out that she got dubbed that title was pretty hilarious. Again, I can totally imagine the scene in the restaurant playing out on the big screen.

As Holly delves deeper and deeper into the real life of Daisy Mae Dixon, the fog is lifted from Holly’s eyes and she is actually knee deep in lies, deceit, manipulation, and a pretty much a heartless game of chess. And don’t think that the drama only revolves around the teen star? Oh no, dear readers…Holly gets herself into quite of a pickle herself! Two men, romantic Rome setting, crazed teen star, shmarmy manager…you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Told in the point of view of Holly, it really helped me feel like I, too, was part of the story. Living the crazy life that Holly has had to endure for months. The highs and lows. Although I did really enjoy Absolutely True Lies by Rachel Stuhler, there were points in the book where I just couldn’t stand the main character, Holly. She seemed way to, way to, way to innocent at times, but then at other points, she can be wise beyond her years. In a word, I found her rather simple most of the time.

I liked the twist that author, Rachel Stuhler, put in the end. It did leave me with some “ahhhh’s”, and made that book that more enjoyable. It almost gave me a “The Usual Suspect” moment, where I had to comb back through my memory, as Holly did, and find those “ah-ha” scenes. I rather enjoyed that the author included bits and pieces of the autobiography that Holly is writing, in the beginning of each chapter.

If you enjoy reading tabloids or surf through the celebrity sites on the internet, I would definitely recommend Absolutely True Lies by Rachel Stuhler. Maybe your jonsing for a career in writing autobiographies for stars? Check this out. It’ll open your eyes to life of a celebrity (even if this is a work of fiction).

Cute little novella, gives more insight into Sutton's life. From a point of view that is not Sean in the rest of the books.

Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2013/12/fakebook.html

Dave Cicirelli was on Facebook, as our million of other people. He got tired of seeing two things - how wonderful other people's lives sounded or how much minutia people chose to share. On almost a whim, he decided to start an experiment - creating a fictitious life for himself - and see what happened. What happened and where it led went beyond what he could ever have imagined.

The basis of his fictitious life begins as he announces that he is quitting his job and walking cross country. He is tech savvy and able to create pictures and tell stories about where he is walking. Soon, it gets more complicated than he imagined.

Soon, he has two lives - the fictitious one and the real one. Soon after, his "real" life becomes about giving validity to the fictitious one. Who knows it's a hoax? Who can, therefore, provide comments to add validity? Where can't he go and who can't he see to avoid discovery? How much of his real life is spending keeping up this fiction?

In addition, his fictitious life begins to have a very real effect on people. He gets messages of admiration for having the courage to take off in that manner. He gets messages of criticisms from those who wonder how he can be so irresponsible to just walk away.

He keeps this up for six month. On April's Fools Day, he announces that it was all experiment. Again, he gets messages of both admiration and criticism, and he finds himself a changed person.

This book is a fascinating look at the far-reaching impact of social media. How much of what you read is real? How much do you believe? Do any of us truly understand how far our own impact reaches when we put something on a social media site? Do any of us know how we sound or come across and how different that is from our original intent? All questions all of us would do well to think about.

I do know that for me, my blog would not exist without the existence of cyberspace and social media. I write for me, but I love when I know that what I write reaches people. Just so you know, my reviews are my honest opinion, and not a hoax.