Logan Crowne needs one year from Ella.Twelve months living in his house, holding his hand, wearing his ring on her finger, and in exchange, she’ll get her father’s company in the divorce settlement.They have one year to convince his skeptical parents that they’re happily in love, and he’s settled enough to run Crowne Industries.Ella wants the company badly enough to live with a man who will never … who will never love her. She’ll sleep in his room and kiss him for show.
Her heart may melt whenever he’s around, and his touch may ignite a fire inside her, but surrender will break her heart.
She’s sure she can last a year without giving him her body.
She’s wrong.
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I love a good marriage of convenience plot, don’t you? This one isn’t all that original, but Reiss sold me on it. The main characters are multi-dimensional and the sex is steamy between them. If hot sex scenes offend you, steer clear of C. D. Reiss books. Although some of this was a bit overdone for my taste — Reiss tends to love her prose a little too much sometimes — for the most part, it’s beautifully written and smart.
5 Satellite Crowns
It’s been a minute since I’ve read anything by CD Reiss and now I’m sitting here wondering, Why? This book was completely unexpected in the best way. CD has created a wonderful new world that will hold you utterly captivated from start to finish. Logan and Ella are Perfection as complete opposites with an immediate connection that they can’t explain.
“Naughty was the wrong word for Logan. He was a completely and wonderfully debauched demon.”
I couldn’t really grasp the kind of man Logan was for a little bit, but when I did damn was he pure fire! This man is Alpha/possessive, with a dirty dirty mouth and kinky ways. I loved that Ella conceded to his control in the bedroom, it was the sexiest thing watching him take over and dictate her arousal. Hot damn that was some good stuff. Seriously watch your Kindles because they might just burst into flames!!!
“My body disengaged from my mind, tapping muscle memory to use our velocity to push her against the wall and crash my mouth onto hers. I held her by the back of the neck so I could leave my mark on every crevice and plane my tongue could reach.”
But, Logan also kept a huge part of himself hidden for a long time, just going through the motions of things he thought he wanted. His expectations were skewed to an extreme level because he never took the time to actually dissect what it was he desired. Watching as he slowly figured out what it was that made him tick and not only that, but figuring out what truly made him happy, was one of the things I loved most about this story. The growth that both he and Ella had during this book was exceptional. Both of these characters were lost in their own very different ways, but the self-reflection on both parts was admirable. Most people never take the time to truly figure out what it is that they want. They just pick a path and lead it, but what happens when that path doesn’t fulfill you at all? What decisions to you make to rectify it or do you just continue on unhappy?
“–Don’t tempt me, because once you’re over my knee, I’m going to pull your skirt up and spank your ass so hard you turn red under your panties.”
I loved Ella I think her growth was even more intense than Logan’s. Ella had a lot of other things happening that she needed to come to terms with, while also trying to keep things between her and Logan on a certain level. The struggle that she had through this story to figure out her feelings not just for Logan but for the other people in her life are enough to break your heart. This girl has put up a huge wall around all her feelings so she doesn’t get hurt again. And it’s tough to watch both of them struggle with their defenses. But you find as the story progresses that it’s necessary for them and healing.
“His voice was liquid and solid at the same time. Forceful, impenetrable, and mutable enough to fit into the shape of my desire.”
This book was so much more than I anticipated, from start to finish I could not put it down, waiting to see what was going to happen between these two lost souls just trying to figure out their own happiness. And as truths come to light and secrets are revealed, you are witness to the true power of family and the ultimate healing power of forgiveness. CD Reiss has completely Slayed this marriage of convenience romance giving you all the things you didn’t even know you’d want.
I can’t even tell you how much I loved this book. Logan needed a wife and Ella needed something from him. Could these two make a go of a fake marriage?? As these two forge through with this crazy relationship, you see different sides to both of them. Logan is just so dreamy and Ella is so refreshing. The chemistry is unreal and the way this author writes, I could feel every emotion they did. These two are polar opposites yet they fit so well together. I loved their banter and all their interactions so much. I couldn’t put this book down, it captivated me from the very first sentence. I highly recommend this book!
Crowne of Lies . . . what can I say but holy hotness!
When an ultimatum forces Logan into a marriage of convenience in order to keep control of his father’s company, the need to regain control of her father’s legacy forces Ella to accept. One year. No feelings. No problem.
Both characters are so very lost in who they are and what they really want . . . and they are not on the same page at the same time at all leading up to all kinds of couple drama. What they have in spades is heat and an attraction they can’t deny.
Logan loves his family fiercely, but is married to his job. He’s completely unavailable emotionally. And all Ella can think about is regaining her father’s legacy. She’s completely lost herself and doesn’t really know who she is or what she wants out of life anymore.
Crowne of Lies was intense and full of heat and passion in more than just the bedroom. I couldn’t get enough of these characters. I adored Doreen Crowne . . . what a story she has! And, I even ended up falling in love with Bianca as the not so evil stepmother.
Logan and Ella are such dynamic characters in a story that moved fluidly as their relationship constantly shifted, changed and grew in unexpected ways. Losing themselves. Finding each other. Compromising and meeting in the middle. Marriage isn’t easy. Even when it’s fake. And, once feelings get involved, all bets are off the table. 5 stars!
I loved it! I didn’t understand some parts because this author writes on a much higher level than my intellect can understand but I love the nuances, the underlying theme, the complexity of her characters.
I loved that this is a plot about identities. Logan Crowne feels he is Crowne Industries, he feels he’s defined by his work and his life is the company. When his father takes the control of the company away from him and forces him to get a life, he went and got a fake wife to fool his parents and siblings and get on top of the game. Little did he know how far and hard we was going to fall.
The woman Logan found to fake-marry him is Estella Papillion, the daughter of Basile Papillion, high couture extraordinaire designer. When he died, she promised to keep his legacy alive, but her step-mother kept her on the borders of the couture house, doing menial jobs. On the side, she dealt with a hidden hobby, leading a guerrilla type of group, where they turn trash into treasure, making a big splash or art in the middle of something that will be destroyed. Ella is in a flux, and in my opinion, she didn’t have a clear idea of who she was, who she wanted to be, and where she wanted to go. She did want control of her father’s business so she entered into the fake marriage deal with Logan so she could out-buy her stepmother.
In the beginning, you could tell that they were totally wrong for each other. And yet, they were perfect. I loved their perfect imperfection and how they added to each other. Ella was all scattered, she was lost in the sea of her self-image and her goals and her legacy. Logan had a stick up his butt and was dedicated to his work to the exclusion of everything else. His goal for a wife was a bedmate who would cater to his needs without making demands. Ella helped him lose up and Logan gave her the structure she needed to find her way.
As always, the rest of the Crowne clan is present and center to the story, especially Ted and Doreen, the parents. They now live in the monstrosity that Byron built and we now have Byron happily married to Olivia with baby boy Garrett. Colton is the comic relief in this family and I can’t wait to read his story. He’s the duh type, lives in his own world and has no boundaries. Everyone should learn something from him! As is the tradition, Logan asked for his OBT and this time it was totally different to what Byron asked. You need to read this intriguing story to find out what it is!
And now waiting for Dante’s story!
As always CD reiss does a stellar job of giving her readers complex, multilayered characters that are thought provoking, flawed and fascinating. Both Logan and Ella have operated under false impressions and misconceptions for mych of their lives. Being their authentic selves may take some major soul searching and facing some harsh truths before they can move on to true happiness.
A relationship built on lies. It’s fake all the way until it isn’t. He needs a wife, she needs money. But signing your name on the dotted line doesn’t change who you are underneath. Logan Crowne is pushed to rake drastic measures to keep the job he lives, breathes and eats. Ella Papillon wants her father’s company back but how much of herself does shw have to give up to get it?
•℘•*´`*• 5 STAR REVIEW •*´`*•℘•
Lies are told to create a false or misleading impression. Even a small lie can spiral out of control, especially when told with the intention to deceive, which is exactly what the main characters in Crowne of Lies decide to do, their entire relationship is based on lies. This smart and witty, fast paced Romance features a mismatched couple that joins forces by entering a marriage of convenience, with an end date, in order to both get something they each need. I loved this story, featuring the Crowne siblings, and can’t wait for more to come!
“This is what you want?” “No, but it’s what we both need.”
Estrella ‘Ella’ Papillion hated working for her stepmother, Bianca, after her late father, the renowned dress designer Basile Papillion, left his widow the business. It should have been Ella’s legacy; her mother had helped Basile build the fashion empire working by his side, until her death. Now that Bianca was in charge and had hired an outsider to design the couture business. Ella had been demoted to fittings, but she stayed because of a promise to Basile on his deathbed.“Use your gifts. My name is your responsibility now.”
Logan Crowne had been in charge of the family business, Crowne Industries, running things for the last five years. Much to his surprise his father called Logan and his brother, Byron, to announce he was retiring, due to their mother’s illness. And he was shocked when Ted said he was naming Byron the CEO. Unless Logan met and married someone, the job would be Bryon’s permanently.
“I’d been wrong about marriage. It wasn’t a role. Marriage was knowing that no matter what happened, she existed in the world. Our world.”
When a friend of Logan’s suggests he could make an arrangement with Ella, for a specified time and for a specified amount of money, they meet and agree to a fake marriage. But they’ll have to convince his parents and siblings. No one can know it’s not a real marriage. They both have a lot riding on this proposition.
“No man is strong enough to break you. I know they tried. But look at me. Compared to you, I’m empty. Hollow. The slightest tap from you and I’ll crack in a hundred pieces. If anyone’s walking out of this broken, it’s going to be me. I want to risk it, and if I bleed when you leave me, it’ll still all be worth it.”
These two need to live together and attend family functions, to be seen a loving couple. Despite their differences, they soon realize they’re more alike and have more in common than not.
“He wasn’t allowed to say stuff like that. He didn’t circle me. I wasn’t the center of his universe. We were lost planets from separate systems, looking for different suns.”
Logan had always wanted the kind of marriage his parents had, he just had never had the time to look for ‘the one’. So it came as a surprise that the person he least expected was exactly what he needed.
Logan Crowne needs to get married. He wants to keep running his family’s company, the company he works all hours of the day for. And his father has made his decree, so off to find a temporary, fake wife. But whom to choose? She has to have no bad history. She needs to have a solid family name. The lucky woman is Ella Papillion. But neither of these lucky fake spouses want love or a real relationship, so what will they get out of a marriage of convenience? Well…perhaps the one thing neither was looking for, nor wanted unless it was the real deal.
I loved these two opposites together, so much more so than Logan’s brother Byron and his wife in Iron Crowne. They’re remarkably different – he’s a work obsessed sort of Type A alpha, and she’s a free-spirited, defiant artist who just wants to revive her father’s fashion house. They seem like a mismatch on paper, but in reality, they work so well as couple because they’ve got that spark. The chemistry was obvious from the beginning, and they way they obliviously fell in love was the type of love story I like most – a little bit of angst, a whole lotta sexy, and of course, full of love, even if neither wanted to, or realized it, til almost too late. I know brother Dante’s story is next, and if it’s anything like Logan and Ella’s, I’ll be downloading it immediately upon release!
I didn’t think I could adore an alpha, stubborn Crowne more than Byron, but Logan takes the cake!
This guy is imperfectly yummy. Sure, he’s a workaholic, a little bit selfish, and maybe a little too cocky for his own good. But he’s got a heart underneath that swagger and so much love to give. Deep down, he wants that everlasting love he sees in his family and he isn’t afraid to deny it. He just wants it on his own time-frame, and that’s not going to work anymore. Fate and a little motivation have other ideas in mind.
Ella couldn’t be any more different from Logan if she tried. She’s the free-spirit to Logan’s high-strung demeanor. She’s more commitment-phobe than he is, but not for the right reasons. She’s bold, daring, and never dull. But for her amazing multitude of good qualities, her belief in herself (and Logan) is severely lacking.
These two are complicated from the very beginning. Their relationship is often messy but their passion is always burning hot. Opposites really do attract in this case and chemistry is apparent from the start. Logan has definitely stolen my heart in this one. I highly recommend this book and this series so far. I can’t wait to read about the next brother!
A marriage of convenience! A hardcore Alpha male. A free spirit woman.
At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this story. It seemed to be a little all over the place for me and was hard to follow. I was all set to give it a 3.5. And I started thinking perhaps it was just me because CD has always held me captive with her words (I had some trauma in my family and I think my focus was off).
Talking about opposites attracting. This was the ultimate. Logan is a stuffed shirt, all businessman. His life is his work and there is nothing more important to him than running the family corporation. Elle, on the other hand, is a free spirit. She lives outside the box and has no desire to dwell in corporate America.
And then . . . he needs her, she needs him and so off to the chapel they go. And of course, there will be NO FEELINGS!
Once again, Christine has drawn me in and locked me down. She’s made me love a man that would otherwise be hard to deal with. She’s made me cheer for a woman to get her HEA. She’s made me root for a couple that seems so unlikely. She’s made me happy once again!
This was my very first CD Reiss book and I was not disappointed! Crowne of Lies is a Marriage of Convenience Romance. Logan and Estella, two individuals who are basically both at a crossroads and this opportunity for them will get what they both want in the end….or is it?
It’s amazing what you think you want, doesn’t end up being really what you want. Can these two survive a fake marriage for one year with no feelings involved, well you will have to read the book.
CD certainly knows how to write a delicious dirty talkin alpha!
Who knew that Logan had it in him! It’s always the quiet ones lol. He and Estella are two completely separate characters, she a total free spirit and artsy and he determined to run the Crowned empire. Can lust be the only thing that keeps this marriage of convenience together? Again you have to read the book lol
I loved the scenes with Ella and her step mother Bianca and also with Logan’s mum, very sweet indeed and I loved all the descriptions of LA, one of my most favourite cities.
So to conclude Crowne of Lies is a very enjoyable read, bravo to CD. Can’t wait for the next book.
“Marriage was a deep and abiding partnership where two people took on separate roles to build a more complete life together”
Finally! Logan’s story! It’s one I have been anxiously waiting for since Iron Crowne. I am a sucker for this kind of romance. Fake fiance/ marriage of convenience and this beauty ticked all the right boxes but I expected nothing less from this author. I have been a fan of hers for a long time now and each book she writes always seems to consume every little bit of me and Crowne of Lies was no different.
Logan is all business, all the damn time. Wanting to run his family business to perfection as his father takes a step back for him to do so. He’s driven, he works hard, and his work consumes him but it seems as though that’s how he likes it. It’s when Ella comes into his life is when it all starts to change. He doesn’t have time for a relationship and everything that comes with them so a contract to marry Ella is perfect for him and but everything he thought he wanted shifts and she’s everything that he never knew he needed or wanted.
These two were fun, the banter and the chemistry were off the charts. The passion these two have for one another was on another level. The way Ella brings out different sides to Logan, ones I hadn’t seen in Iron Crowne. A softer side. She was his weakness in all the right ways and was the woman who bought this strong, stubborn, driven and powerful man to his knees. She was a missing piece he never knew he was missing.
I loved this. It was full of passion, emotion, love, and heat and captivated me from the start. It was addictive and all-consuming and I managed to devour this bad boy in less than 24 hours!
I can’t recommend this enough!
5 Stars!
This is an awesome read.
This is the story of Logan & Ella. The plot of this story is familiar, but nothing else about them is. Logan, a businessman, gets an ultimatum from his father to marry before he takes over the business. His father then calls in his brother Byron to take over until this happens. Ella works in her father’s fashion business, with complications from her stepmother. Logan and Ella form an agreement and get married. Logan and Ella are very puzzling characters, with very puzzling minds. Neither one of them can make a real decision. This story is told in a very different way than you expect. Superior writing in it’s true form. I can’t wait to read the next book.
Perfect lies! Uhm…what is up with those dominate alpha Crowne men? Must be their mother’s milk because the first two are sexy AF! And there’s three more to go. Or, is it four? Only time will tell. I love this author’s sensual storytelling in all its trademark raw, dirty, panty-melting glory and the spectacular characters that interact with strength and coarseness and fragility. There’s something in this series that makes me squirm (and not always in the good way) with these powerful, domineering men and their equally fierce counterparts versus the seemingly wonderful and supportive Crowne family unit. Logan was a mystery to me for most of the book. The tightly wound businessman always in competition with his older brother and striving to be just like his father and run Crowne Industries. You don’t have to read the first book in the series to enjoy this one but it gives you a better sense of Logan and I’m glad I had that insight. He’s definitely in the same league as his brother in the hotness category. But who knew he would have a filthy mouth and such sexual prowess and use it to his every advantage. Yum! And what a perfect foil he finds in Ella Papillon, the messy guerrilla artist/fashion princess trying to keep her father’s legacy alive and find out who she is without any family to speak of and a longing to be a part of something bigger. I loved her from the beginning all the way to the end. She’s a fabulous heroine! Logan and Ella seem to be such a misfit couple but their steamy chemistry is delicious. I loved the way Logan used his OBT (one big thing) for Ella. My heart melted and it gave Ella just what she needed. The OMG moment was Mom Doreen’s bombshell that blew me away. WTF on so many levels! It sort of overshadowed the lies Logan and Ella told. The black sheep Colton returns to be a thorn in Logan’s side. What a character! I can’t wait for his story. I have a feeling he’s not the screw up everyone thinks he is. After all he might be young but he is a Crowne. There’s a good setup for the next story with disappearing Dante and Ella and Logan’s friend Mandy. I wonder what those secret clubs of Dante’s are all about? Something to look forward to! I voluntarily reviewed an ARC. 4.5 stars
This story was so great! The whole idea that a fake marriage can turn into a real love makes you really think of a fairy tale ending. I love that Ella is so strong and independent right from the start. Not letting Logan have his way. She keeps him on his toes, which is exactly what he needed to get his life prioritized to be more family friendly. I love the way these 2 work together and play off each other. They are one of the greatest fake couples I have read in a very long time and I feel very honored to have witnessed their journey! Totally recommended …. not too heavy and just the right amount of laughs.
This was a fab, slow burn story.
“Let’s hurt each other. Let’s hurt each other so bad we walk out of this thing on broken legs, screaming in pain.”
Logan Crowne needs a wife, so he can take over as head of the family company. Ella Papillion wants to claim back her father’s legacy. Two opposite people with similar causes. It was supposed to be a marriage in name only but chemistry and familiarity start blurring the lines of their agreement.
“I was in a tunnel, and he was the oncoming train. He’d crush me or he’d put on the brakes. I was too deep in the shaft to run.”
This story was sweet, sassy and sexy. I enjoyed the humour and the banter. I enjoyed the romance of Logan and Ella’s fall into love. There were some truly gorgeous moments between them. I loved their passion and spark. So swoony! I also loved the glimpses of the Crowne clan and looking forward to reading more about Logan’s siblings.
Work is his life. Crowne industries is his passion.
His dream is in sight, but then the goalposts shift and the future is left uncertain.
Can he fulfill the requirements to become everything he wants to be….
This is the second book centred around the Crowne family.
The first book was Byron’s, and now it’s the second in line, Logan’s turn.
He’s a businessman from the minute he wakes up to the minute he falls asleep and I actually felt sorry for him, even though he was choosing that life for himself.
The woman that he hopes will help him is desperate to keep the memory of her father and his business alive. It’s her weakness, but at the same time she has such strength about her. She’s such a free spirit and her rebellious moments are born from passion.
They are extreme opposites from temperament, to personality and pretty much everything in between which screams on paper disaster, but amazingly they are good together.
I wouldn’t say I was smitten with them, but I did enjoy my time spent watching the butterflies reveal themselves.
The story doesn’t explode like fireworks, it simmers gently, like an unboiled kettle. A different pace from what I’ve read in a while, but that’s not a bad thing.
There’s so much more to come from this family and I’m quite excited to be introduced to the next brother, as he’s a complete mystery.
I LOVE marriage of convenience books. I usually will always jump to read one, they never disappoint. This book gave me all the feels. The chemistry between Logan and Ella was fuego Both had different reasons for wanting to be in the marriage, Logan because of pressure from his father and Ella, to save her father’s company. Ella’s whole situation with her step-mother was giving me Cinderella vibes. I like how Ella wasn’t the typical heroine, she has tattoos and piercings and loves art; shes has goals that she wants to achieved. Logan is such a hot dirty-talking alpha and initially his main goal in life is to take on the family business. I think the best part of this book was watching the two of them fall in love it was so sweet how Logan cared and wanted to make Ella feel better when he thought she was miserable.
She is desperate to hold onto her legacy. He is desperate to hold onto his. A pact is made, a contract is signed and for one year they will fake it with the best of them.
But when lines get blurred and feeling start arising, then what?
Logan and Ella are faking it or are they?
This was a fun ride with these two liars. I enjoyed the passion they tried to deny and the emotions they tried to write off. But the only way two can keep a secret is if one of them is dead.
The upheaval was heartbreaking. How they fixed things with each other was wonderful. And the truths that came after the fall out was surprising.
I enjoyed reading this book I didn’t want it to end. I gave Iron Crowne five stars; I like Crowne of Lies so much more, I’d give it ten stars if I could! It’s angsty, steamy, and intense.
This is an opposites-attract romance, and while Ella and Logan are opposites (and they truly were attracted to one another!) I found them equally relatable. Logan was so set in his ways, he had a hard time adjusting change even when he wanted to; and Ella was a free spirit who was stubbornly determined to prove herself.
This book is not only about lies, it’s about secrets, too—secrets about the Crowne family that I can’t wait to hear more about in the next books in this series!
Crowne of Lies is a contemporary opposites-attract, marriage of convenience billionaire romance written in dual first-person POV. It’s an angsty standalone that ends with a HEA. No cliffhanger, no cheating.
I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.