Reviews

Love Lies by Cynthia St. Aubin

pipercurrywilladsen's review against another edition

funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

booklovinmamas's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Love Lies is the third installment in Cynthia St. Aubin’s Tails from the Alpha Art Gallery. This series has become a favorite of mine, and I can’t get enough of it. It features a fantastic cast of characters, including a heroine who adores her cats and loves eating cheese, an overly protective art gallery owner who is also a werewolf, a nosy cop who is obsessed with the heroine and is determined to take down the art gallery owner, and many other unforgettable characters. 

In the third book, Hanna Harvey is dealing with the unsettling situation of someone leaving heads in various places near her. These places include the trunk of her car, the closets at the art gallery where she works, and even her suitcase, where she’s traveling for dinner with her boss, Mark Abernathy. No one knows who is responsible, but they are starting to suspect someone may be attempting to instigate a conflict between the vampires and werewolves. In the meantime, Hanna has to decide if she’ll become the werewolf heir that everyone says she is, all while dealing with two men who are in love with her, although only one admits it right away.  

Love Lies was another entertaining and humorous book that was hard to put down. Cynthia’s writing style balances being sharp, witty and fun with some intense moments between the characters, especially when it comes to figuring out who is behind the mysterious appearances of heads around Hanna. I absolutely adore the main character, Hanna Harvey, for her handling life’s challenges. My favorite scene in this book is when she returns home from her trip and finds her apartment in a mess due to someone throwing a party in it. I love how she handled the situation, especially when Morrison, the cop obsessed with her, shows up to question her about what happened at her apartment. 

The entire time I was reading this book, I was hoping that Hanna and Mark would finally admit their feelings for one another, especially Mark. They’ve had tension since the first book, and it’s about time these two realize they have chemistry, and not only because Hanna is the werewolf heir. Yes, there is technically a love triangle that is happening in the books, but Hanna only has feelings for one of the guys. 

Once again, Cynthia surprised me with the unexpected twists in this book’s ending. I was not prepared for what happened to a certain character, but I’m intrigued by Cynthia’s plans for this character in the next book. I was also surprised by the revelation of the person responsible for everything (or at least helped), even though I had suspected them since their unexpected appearance at the beginning of this book. 

As someone who enjoys art, humanities, and world history, reading this series brings me a lot of joy, and I really appreciate how Cynthia incorporates numerous historical and famous figures into the fictional world she developed in this series. Some of them play the villains well. 

I’m thrilled to have found this series by Cynthia St. Aubin because it has quickly become a favorite of mine. This book definitely deserves five stars, just like the previous books. After reading the end of Love Lies, I’m more eager than ever to dive into the fourth book in the series. 

Single/Dual POV: Single POV (Heroine’s POV) 

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s the third book in the Tails from the Alpha Art Gallery series and needs to be read in order. 

Would I recommend this book/series? Yes. If you enjoy Paranormal Romantic Comedies that will make you laugh out loud and keep you on the edge of your seat with the mysterious storyline, then you should check out this book/series. 

danibev2349's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

ahkarp's review

1.0

This book was nearly unreadable. It desperately needs the review of an editor. There is an error on nearly every page of the book with missing words, extra words, wrong tenses, etc. While I enjoyed the first two books of the series (even though they too had some minor plot point and editing issues) this one was not good. I could forgive the typos in the other books but this time it was too distracting on top of the weird flow of the story.

Spoiler

The trip to Scotland really seemed unnecessary, especially when on the plane back Hanna thinks to herself "Oh, the wedding. I forgot about that", and then switches gears to go back to that plot back home.

Also weird factual errors change. The color of her car changes and how long she's lived in the town change. At the beginning of the series she supposedly moves to the town after the end of her marriage, it becomes her haven, but then there are references to her being there for six years, weird.

There is very little mention of Hanna's mother which is odd, considering that is where she gets the werewolf genes. This was the first book that I remember the mom being mentioned and it's just Hanna avoiding avoiding a phone call. Her mom knew the heir gene, and they're supposedly told when they come of age, so why doesn't Hanna know? Also, she's 28 years old why is she just now attracting alphas while she's menstruating?

kipepeo's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Yeahhhhhh this slapped. I love that all these random historical characters are just… people in these stories but then fantasy characters 😂 it cracks me up. I loved the dynamic shifts in here and this book was so fucking funny. 

robynrambles's review

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

crazyylizard's review against another edition

4.0

Best one so far.

edensgrief's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

pat17's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

zerosiero's review

3.0

Ehhhhhhhhh. I feel like this lady would be very traumatized from the amount of times she is

literally violated. Someone pretending to be Mark and touching her?? A demigod that makes her spontaneously cum in public without her consent?? What??

other than that story is OK. Weird

vampire diary doppelganger stuff

that also makes the relationship wierd. I don't really like any of the male leads. They are both unnecessarily violent and controlling.