Title: Hidden In Lies (Lies and Truth #1)
Series: Lies and Truth
Author: Rachael Duncan
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 5, 2015
Who needs love when you have money?
It used to be enough, but now it’s not.
Not since he walked into my life and made me question everything.
Now I want more, but I know that’s impossible.
Things aren’t always as they seem.
My true self is hidden, and that works for me.
Or it did.
I hide in a bed of deception to disguise myself, and I’m good at it.
Or I was.
I’m Elizabeth Fitzgerald.
I’m a Senator’s wife.
And I hate my life.
After a few minutes, he says, “I know there’s more to you, Elizabeth. I can tell there’s someone hidden inside you dying to come out. I can see it in the fake smile you show everyone, including Cal, the way you frown when you’re alone in your thoughts, and the sadness that’s lurking in your eyes. Why are you hiding?”
God help me, but there’s something in the way he speaks to me that makes me want to lay all my secrets and sins bare. He’s soft and gentle, but most importantly, I believe he wants to know more about me. He’s not asking to gain leverage or use it to his advantage, he’s genuinely concerned. And it makes me want to tell him everything. But the rational side of my brain tells me not to, so I reel in this strange impulse to divulge my secrets to a man I hardly know.
MY REVIEW: 5 Stars
What can I say about this book??? OMG, I loved it. It hooked me from the start and I mean from the prologue, not the first few chapters. Elizabeth is the "perfect" wife of a senator. She wears the right clothes, is friends with the right people and says the right thing all the time, too bad it is all façade. Since she learned early in life that love isn't really all you need, she basically made herself into the type of woman a man with money would want. She lands herself a senator, who not only comes from "old money" but each additional generation after that has added to the wealth not depleted it, so they are rolling in it. She doesn't have to work, has a driver, you know all the perks of being uber rich. But with all the perks of being rich, there are also some downfalls, like her "loving" husband who is really a pretentious a-hole and he really doesn't help himself when he decides to run for president without discussing it with her. Oh, and you can't forget that pesky person who broke into their home. So with the upcoming campaign and the break in, Cal (the a-hole) hires protection for his wife. Enter Alex, former military man now doing personal security. The problem with him, Elizabeth is instantly attracted to him (whereas she can hardly fake it with her husband) and he sees right through her façade. He can see how unhappy she is with her life and he wonders why she continues to live this way and if he can help her in anyway.
I'm not going to say much more plot wise because it would just give away too much about the book but I loved how this was written. The characters are real, they are complete people not one dimensional. It's written in such a way that you feel Elizabeth's attraction to Alex, you loathe Cal right along with her, you feel stuck between a rock and a hard place just like she is, you feel free right along with Elizabeth when she gets to just be herself when she is hanging out with Alex. It was a great book by a talented author that left me wanting more (and not in the bad sense where you feel like a ton of things were left out). Just an FYI since some people want to know this type of thing, there is a cliffhanger (and let me just say OMG I didn't see all that coming) that makes you hope that the next book is coming out next week. The book has a little bit of everything (a lot of a few things too), a little bit of humor, some sexiness, some drama, some suspense, and some romance. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary romance novels and anyone who likes a bit of suspense in there stories. Actually I would recommend it to everyone because I feel it is a book that you shouldn't miss.
Rachael Duncan is an Army wife living in North Carolina with her husband and two kids. She grew up in Nashville, Tennessee and went on to graduate from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a bachelor’s degree in political science. After working on Capitol Hill for a short time, she realized that a career in politics just wasn’t for her. A couple years later, she rediscovered her love for reading and writing. She’s the author of Tackled by Love as well.
HOSTED BY:
Rachael Duncan is an Army wife to her amazing husband, Steven, and mother to their beautiful daughters, Natalie and Zoe. She grew up in Nashville, Tennessee and went off to graduate from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor's degree in political science. With initial plans to work in politics, she moved to Washington, D.C. and worked on Capitol Hill for a House Representative. She's currently a stay-at-home mom to her two kids and writes whenever she has some quiet time. She's the author of Tackled by Love and Hidden in Lies.
