Daring Deception by Barbara Freethy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Standing in the shadows of love, you can't help but feel the heartache to come. Daring Deception paints a thrilling picture of a dangerous love story. Quinn and Caitlyn pull emotions into a maze that is powerful, intriguing and neverending. With Freethy there is always a twist to tie emotions up in knots and leave readers feeling breathless.



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If you love a good love story, with a dark past and plenty of hardships to overcome and a thoroughly satisfying ending then this one is a must.

What happens when you live through a horrific trauma? It changes you. There is no other way. You either succumb and die or you get stronger and you live, but you are a different you. And that is what our strong heroine is, she is a changed person who changed for the better, for the stronger and for the smarter. And she kicks as$ (quite literally).

Zhao Lifei has never had a good emotional upbringing but she was raised in wealth and that is what made her conceited and arrogant. When she survived something terrible and managed to work through her trauma and her mistakes, she was built up as a new, improved version of herself. With this still struggling version of herself she meets her destiny in the form of an amazingly hunky and dangerous CEO Yang Feng, oh and by the way, he also rules the shady part of town. When they meet they grow as people - into people whom they are then proud to present to the world. All of that happens with a world of suffering, torture, deaths, humiliation, struggle, kidnappings, resolving their pasts etc. It is a struggle worth going through because it is written in a very compelling and smart way with a dark undertone.

The characters are flawed, as well as they should be. I hate characters that are cookie cutter characters lacking any realism. These characters are flawed, yes.

Zhao Lifei is too stubborn, bottles up her feelings, builds walls around herself and projects things from her past into current situations.

Yang Feng is a bit obsessive and possessive and stubborn as all hell when it comes to things and people he loves.

They both have a dark past and are dealing with their demons. What matters is that they grow, they mature, they lessen their bad characteristics as they spend more time with each other. They help each other. I see plenty of reviews saying the male lead character is too possessive, he is like this and like that but what they fail to mention is that his first thought is like that yes, but then he is actually much more considerate in his actions albeit still a bit too possessive and then he gets burned by our kickas$ female lead and he learns, and he adapts and he realises he can do better and he does. Isn't that the point? Going through hardships and misunderstandings to actually accomplish something, realise something, grow and mature? I certainly think it is.

The storyline is great, the plot keeps getting more and more complicated and the mystery is compelling and you just want to keep reading and discovering and enjoying the process of getting to that sweet wonderful ending.

The characters are wonderful, flawed and full of battle scars and you care for them every step of the way.

The pacing is also done well, there weren't any long scenes that you'd feel like you wanted to skip or that you'd look later at and say that was completely unnecessary. It all has a meaning, gives clues and ties the loose ends in the end.

One thing that I found quite amusing was the ending itself and no, I won't spoil it. I'll just say that it has more endings than The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King XD I kept thinking my goodness, that is amazing, ah this was so good, so that is how it ends and then you turn another chapter and then there is more, and then another and another and another and in the end I might as well say that no stone was left unturned, everyone's story had a proper ending and kudos to the writer for managing it. Well done.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and a journey I'd sign myself up for at any time.

I enjoyed most of this historical romance. This is part of a collection of books I won. Both the hero and the heroine say that they do not want to get married. This is not for the under 18 readers. I did give this a 4.5* rating, partly because it had some interesting twists. The main concept was funny but not funny at the same time. On to the next in this collection of historical stories.

This is book #3, in the Daring Divorcees series.  This book can be read as a standalone novel.  For reader enjoyment, I recommend reading the entire series.

Evelyn seems like she has a pretty great life.  Being a TV producer has its ups and downs, but overall she likes it.  Her best friend is a hunky firefighter and that is a big plus too.  

Owen has wanted to be more in Evelyn's life.  Being her best friend is a perk, but he is always wishing for that "extra" chance.  Will he take it when it arrives?

This story was what I classify as a slow burn.  The characters are actually pretty deep, and very interesting.  I like their friendship and the loyalty is obvious.  I was pretty pleased when they started to try and see how they could be together.  Great addition to the series and a pretty hot read.  I give this a 3/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

***This ARC copy was given by Netgalley and its publishers, in exchange for an honest review of my opinion.

Love, life and loss are as realistic as it gets. My Best Friend's Ex has to muck through the hard stuff to get to the happy ending. Callie and Trevor are working their way through a tragic loss. When Trevor's ex wife dies unexpectedly, old demons and past regrets begin to haunt his broken heart. Callie, his ex's best friend is determined to keep him grounded for the sake of his grieving children and her own broken heart. They find love in a hopeless place, but will this unexpected love, last? Schroeder tackles a delicate subject with a compassionate voice and an empathetic heart.