Elizabeth Dunk

It's a contemporary retelling of My Fair Lady set in Australia! And it's super diverse! Features an inter-racial romance! I swoon.

I really loved this book. Elizabeta was so down-to-earth and likeable. And I loved her family, even her ornery mother. Elizabeta is Peruvian, has a daughter with Downs who is an aspiring fashion designer, and the cast of background characters is also refreshingly diverse.

The My Fair Lady/Pygmalion plotline was also executed in a way that didn't feel derivative or stale. Dunk also took the basic bones of the familiar plot and built a super fun story with enough new elements that I forgot this was a retelling at times. It was really well done and delightful.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)

3.5 stars

This is a quick read, but it’s got romance, some steamy scenes, and definitely emotion. The pace of the story is fairly fast, but works well with the length and the plot.

Sia is a woman paying for the misdeeds of her father. She took the blame herself to save him. Unfortunately it also ruined her relationship with him and Todd, the boy she was crushing on. It has taken her a while, but she has recouped her reputation in the town, along with Todd’s mom and brother. At first I thought she may have been TSTL putting up with all the abuse from her father and continuing to protect him. It didn’t take me long to see Sia’s inner strength, love and loyalty to family. She fought for her father, not for him, but for her siblings. Some of the things she had to go through brought tears to my eyes.

Todd has hated Sia since his father’s death. Back when it happened he did what he could to hurt and ruin her, now that he’s in town that’s his plan again. That is until he learns the truth behind the first lie. Todd is a man fighting his own demon and unknowingly taking it out on the easiest target, Sia. At first I wasn’t real keen on Todd, but once he realized he was wrong the turnaround was amazing and his tender side came out.

This title is very accurate, it’s full of lies. Todd and Sia work together to uncover the layers of lies one at a time. Other than the first one I didn’t see them coming. I loved the way Sia grew throughout the story from living for everyone else to standing up for herself and understanding she couldn’t take care of her siblings unless she stood up for and took care of herself. I won’t say more for fear of spoiling it, but if you’re looking for a quick and enjoyable read I do recommend The Lies We Tell.

(Received from publisher in exchange for honest review.)

Darker Passions… (más)