A review by carleneinspired
Deceit by Ava Harrison

4.0

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Deceit's plot line is exactly as the title suggest, a story about a relationship based on lies, the deceit of one character to another, all signs pointing at disaster. Only in this novel you want the deceit to be forgiven, Ava Harrison sees to that with compelling characters and the royal bloodline us readers are flocking to right now. It's the sort of novel that even deceives the reader, leaving you wondering if this romance has the ability to last or if it'll burn in flames. There's twists and turns and scenes that almost made me riot, and yet Ava Harrison had me hanging on to this fascinating story with everything in me.

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

Addison, Addy, doesn't want to hold the fake smile on her face while she watches her ex say I do to the new woman of his dreams, even if it was her doing. Instead she chooses to use work as an excuse, setting off for the English countryside to view a plot of land with a confusing bit of history. Small countryside towns don't have a lot to offer though, with just a single bar and one handsome man willing to go scotch for scotch. Oliver, Olly, is back at his estate to help his mother, but he can't deny himself the fun of spending time with the gorgeous Addy. He only wants to help her live a little, no mess, no relationship, and so he keeps his true identity to himself. Like all no-strings attached relationships, what starts as a bit of fun and a lot of lust turns into something more. As they take off an adventures and explore their emotions Olly and Addy find that maybe living is the key to happiness, at least until the lies are uncovered and the deceit is revealed.

"The door slams. It closes on the lie. It closes on the deception. It closes on the deceit. It closes on us."

Deceit is angsty and romantic, an instant win for me. Plus I loved Oliver just as much as Addy does, even if he is the biggest womanizer in the royal family and has no idea how to apologize and win a woman back properly. I loved the journey I was taken on in Deceit. I'm not typically big on relationships built on lies and I admit I struggled a bit with Olly's natural inclination towards sex over words, but I found myself swayed to love the journey by the character growth, the lessons in the words, and the off-the-charts chemistry shared by the hero and heroine. Both Olly and Addy make some poor choices through out the novel, but it made Deceit feel more realistic and it made their relationship develop in a way that many romance novels gloss over. Ava Harrison is still a fairly new to me author, but she's slowly becoming a solid must-read for me, especially with this new release.

ARC provided.