A mysterious woman he can’t resist. “I intend to get to know the real you.” When one of Charleston’s oldest families is infiltrated by a beautiful stranger, tycoon Paul Watts vows to reveal the truth. But when his grandfather’s health miraculously improves after mistaking Lia Marsh as a long-lost granddaughter, Paul has no choice but to follow along. While he must expose Lia, soon he’s the one … along. While he must expose Lia, soon he’s the one with the secret–he desires the woman who could destroy everything he holds dear…
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I loved this opposites attract book!
Seductive Secrets by Cat Schield. This is Paul and Lia’s story. I really enjoy this book. Neither one of them was looking for love but from the first moment they met the attraction was so strong that it couldn’t be denied. Lia was a special woman and what she did for his grandfather was awesome. She gave him the will to live a little longer. I love the two of them as a couple as they fall in love with each other. By the end wanted more I wasn’t ready for their story to end.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a sweet read where you always had a smidgen of doubt about Lia just because Paul was so un trusting of her but I loved how we got to know her more and saw the changes in Paul. This book left a smile on my face when I got to the end as Lia really is the sweetest girl and just the right match for Paul… but what about the Granddaughter, I need to know more!!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The great story and wonderfully created characters made this book a very enjoyable and entertaining read! This was the first book that I have read from this author and it definitely will not be the last!
This book is about Paul Watts, a cyber security business CEO, and his relationship with Lia Marsh, a therapeutic masseuse. Paul’s beloved grandfather, Grady, develops a stroke and gives up on life until he mistakes Lia as his long lost granddaughter who he had been searching for without success. Lia is convinced to play along with the ruse until Grady emotionally improves. Both Paul and Lia feel a strong attraction to each other though they are diametrically opposite in beliefs and lifestyles. Can these individuals find love? What happens when Paul’s grandfather finds out the truth? Read this enjoyable steamy romance to find out what happens!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Lia is asked by Ethan to pretend to be his grandfather long lost granddaughter, so he can recover from his illness quicker. Ethan was not prepared for his brother to be against, but seeing how Grady is reacting to Lia, he needs to think about what best for Grady.
Paul, doesn’t believe Lia’ that she just want to help and not getting anything for it. While he gets to know her more, the attraction becomes more too.
What happen when all lies are exposed?
Loved this sweet story.
Cute and sexy, “opposites attract,” contemporary romance
Paul Watts is a thirty-something former cop and current owner of a highly successful cybersecurity firm located in his hometown, Charleston, South Carolina. Though Paul’s parents and his adopted, younger brother, Ethan, as well as the rest of the extended Watts family, fully supported Paul’s decision to follow his passion to catch criminals, his grandfather, Grady Watts, took it as a personal rejection. His belief has been that Paul’s duty is to succeed Paul’s father as CEO of the family shipping business. Grady’s resentment has created an emotional wall between Paul and his beloved grandfather that, years after the fact, Paul has not been able to breach. And now it might be too late. Grady has been in critical condition from a recent stroke, and he appears to have no will to live. Paul declares to himself that he would do anything, support anything, that would inspire Grady to fight his way back to health.
Shortly after making that vow, Paul arrives at Grady’s hospital room and discovers a beautiful, twenty-something stranger hovering over his grandfather’s bed, holding Grady’s limp hand and singing to him with the voice of an angel. Paul’s instinctive, suspicious-cop response is white-hot alarm for his vulnerable grandfather. The woman is inexplicably clothed in a colorful costume better suited to a Renaissance Faire than a hospital, and he wonders if she might be an escapee from the psych ward.
As Paul angrily demands that the weird woman justify her presence, Logan intervenes to reassure Paul and introduces the woman as his friend, Lia Marsh. After she flits away to keep an appointment elsewhere in the hospital, Logan explains to Paul that Lia is dressed as a Disney princess to entertain sick children in the hospital. He states that he has asked her, as a personal favor, to spend time with Grady and cheer him up, and this is not the first time she’s come by. Paul and the whole Watts family are aware that, even before enduring the dismal, stroke aftershocks of partial paralysis and an inability to speak, Grady had already been depressed. During the past few years, he had become increasingly obsessed with the fact that no one in the family has ever been able to locate his missing granddaughter. She is the child of his long-deceased daughter, Ava, and was placed in infancy in a closed adoption. But today, suddenly, Grady’s spirits are noticeably improved, and Paul is shocked when Logan informs him that Lia is the cause. No doubt due to mental confusion brought on by his stroke, Grady is convinced that Lia is his granddaughter, which has given him a joyful reason to get well.
Lia Marsh has spent her whole life as a nomad, traveling constantly with her single mother during her childhood, and then from age 18 onward, continuing on her own in the familiar gypsy existence. Her home is a quaint, retro trailer pulled by a truck, and she earns a living as a therapeutic masseuse, hiring out her temporary services at alternative-healing clinics around the country. She lives a low-stress lifestyle, free of emotional entanglements, and she also personally employs the healthful, relaxation techniques of meditation, yoga and aromatherapy, which she frequently teaches to her massage clients as well. Lia normally never stays anywhere more than a few weeks, but she has been delayed in Charleston because a recent traffic accident totaled her truck. It is taking a while to earn enough money to buy a replacement used truck that is in her limited price range.
Not wanting to halt or reverse the astounding progress in healing that Grady is making since connecting with Lia, Logan ardently insists that it is vital to Grady’s survival that the three of them, Lia, Paul and Logan, must play along with Grady’s delusion that Lia is his missing granddaughter for at least two weeks. Hopefully that will be long enough to give Grady a fighting chance to recover from his stroke and his depression. Lia loves helping people whenever she can, and she’s already grown very fond of Grady, but she hates the idea of deceiving Grady. Paul adamantly agrees with her resistance to lying. However, Logan makes such a persuasive case that the two of them grudgingly agree with his plea to carry on with the benevolent pretence. It isn’t going to be simple to pull off, though, because no one else in the family must find out what they are up to, since the rest of the Wells family loves to gossip, and one or more of them would be bound to spill the beans to Grady. Worse, to the dismay of both Paul and Lia, it soon becomes clear that, in spite of neither trusting the other, they are mutually experiencing feelings that are anything but cousinly. And any kind of romantic entanglement between them has disaster written all over it.
I really enjoyed this lighthearted, “opposites attract” romance. Paul checks all the boxes for reader expectations of an “alpha” romance hero. He is gorgeous, sexy, dynamic, and prosperous. And his appeal is amplified even further because of his fierce sense of family affection and loyalty, in particular his strong connection to his brother, and his gentle, protective care for his grandfather.
I very much enjoyed the adorable quirkiness of Lia as a kind of modern-day hippie. The author obviously did her research and portrays the “New Age” lifestyle with great accuracy, and she wisely refrains from condescendingly presenting Lia as a one-dimensional, clichéd, kooky flake. Instead, Lia is revealed as a multi-layered, unique individual, with a fascinating backstory and a compassionate, caring attitude toward others.
In typical, adult-romance style, this story is told from the dual point of view (POV) of both Lia and Paul, with occasional brief forays into Logan’s POV. This is my favorite way to experience a romance novel. It allows the reader to deeply get to know both protagonists.
The transformational growth arc that Paul and Lia inspire in each other, as they make the classic romance journey from distrust to trust, is lovely to witness. I also appreciated, as familiar and desirable features of Harlequin Desire romances, that there is no crude language, no heavy drinking or wild parties, and the sex scenes are tenderly sensual, rather than coarsely lustful.
I enjoyed the setting of this book very much. I have in-laws who live in the beautiful, historical port city, Charleston, and it is a picturesque and romantic locale for a love story.
There is a clear setup within this novel for the next entry in this series, which I assume will be with Logan as the hero and the actual Watts granddaughter as the heroine. I look forward to reading that book. I really liked Logan in this story, and I can’t wait to find out who the missing woman turns out to be.
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 4 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Romance Plot: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Overall: 4 stars
Note: I received an ARC of this book through Booksprout.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Booksprout and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
This was an intriguing story of how two totally opposite people can find their HEA. Lia is a free-spirit she doesn’t stay long in any one area. Unfortunately her stay in Charleston is her longest stay as she totaled her truck. She lives out of a 19’ travel trailer. While working at a spa she meets Ethan Watts. He is second in command to take over the family’s shipping empire. The two become friends and Ethan asks her to come and visit his grandfather, Grady who is in the hospital. Grady had a stroke and he isn’t recovering. In fact, they don’t expect him to live. Paul, Ethan’s brother, comes to visit Grady after returning home to see a Disney princess singing to him. Paul is a cyber security expert so he immediately assumes that the Lia is up to no good.
Ethan tricks Lia into letting Grady believe she is his long lost granddaughter. Lia hates the idea but Grady is getting better all the time with her around. How Paul and Lia come together to overcome his suspicions and will Grady lose the ground in recovery once it is revealed that Lia isn’t the missing woman?
The story was written in a multiple POV format. Getting that glimpse into the characters’ thoughts, really help me to fully understand them much better.
This is a sexy read so I would recommend this story to anyone over the age of 18.
Paul is a former cop and owner of a cyber security firm. Paul grandfather wants him to succeed his father as CEO of the family shipping business but Paul wants nothing to do with it. Paul’s grandfather Grady recently had a stroke and doesn’t seem to be doing very well. Paul makes a vow to do anything that will aid in the recovery of his grandfather.
Paul arrives at the hospital to visit his grandfather and finds a woman at his grandfather’s beside and becomes suspicious because the woman is very colorfully dressed and can sing like a angel.
Great HEA book, looking forward to reading more about Paul’s brother Ethan.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Now this book will show a different kind of help. Paul is upset when Lia is brought in to help Grady and he thinks she is family. With each visit he got better. Not wanting to stop the progress in healing that Grady is making since connecting with Lia, Logan ardently insists that it is vital to Grady’s survival that the three of them, Lia, Paul and Logan, must play along with Grady’s delusion that Lia is his missing granddaughter for at least two weeks.
This is my first time reading a book by this author. The characters were well developed and you can feel the emotions of each character as the storyline unfolds. There were moments of happiness, sadness, trust issues, anger and unconditional love.
Sometimes when we see certain situations we are quick to judge before finding out the truth of what is happening. I love how the family has a love and closeness with each other except for a couple of characters.
If you enjoy reading a enemy to love story then you will enjoy this book. I highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading more books by this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A book in the Sweet Tea and Scandal series it is well written with a very good storyline. This is Ophelia /Lia March and Paul Watts’ story about a mistake that leads to love. I want to read the next book. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Lia and Paul are polar opposites. She’s a New Age free spirit, while he values logic and clear thinking unhindered by emotion. They’re forced to get to know one another while Lia pretends to be his long-lost cousin to bring a dying old man back from the brink. Their chemistry is a complication no one anticipated. It doesn’t really matter to me what the set up is, I love just about any story that has the characters pretending to be something they’re not. You know the whole thing is going to blow up before the end, but there’s something so compelling about waiting for it to happen, waiting to see how it’s all going to fall out. I really enjoyed reading this story and watching Paul and Lia fall for each other. She had to learn how to balance a relationship with her wanderlust and he needed to figure out how to let people in. I’m now kind of hooked on the Watts family and I can’t wait to read more about them.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Booksprout.
I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book.
This is the fourth book in the Sweet Tea and Scandal series, it can be read as a standalone story. This is a sweet and steamy romance between Paul and Lia, Paul’s brother get Lia to pretend to be their cousin to help their sick grandfather heal faster. There are plenty of secrets in this story, can Paul and Lia overcome all the lies and deception to have a HEA?
SEDUCTIVE SECRETS is book four in Cat Schield’s Sweet Tea and Scandal series and centers around a cyber security tycoon who reigns from old Charleston money and a free-spirited nomadic massage therapist in this unique take on an opposites attract/enemies to lovers story.
Paul comes across as a gruff, no nonsense type of guy as he jumps in to question who this stranger is visiting his vitally ill grandfather in the hospital. He is quick to doubt the answers he receives and vows to figure out who this woman really is and what her motives are for cozying up to his family.
Lia has never been one to settle down in life. She enjoys moving from town to town when the mood strikes her and picking up new adventures along the way. When approached to visit a sick family member of a friend, she is happy to do it … but Paul makes it clear she’s not all that welcome.
I recommend this book to anyone enjoying a very family centric plot that pops up a few secrets that have to be dealt with along the way towards that happily ever after.
Seductive Secrets is the first book I’ve read in Cat Schield’s Sweet Tea and Scandal series. I found the story to be a true standalone read. I was drawn to the story because I wanted to understand how Lia Marsh embedded herself into the Watts family and why. Once I picked up the book, I was captivated by the yin and yang between Lia and eldest grandson, Paul. These two are completely opposites. Paul Watts is a former cop turned cybersecurity specialist. He’s suspicious and skeptical of people by nature. Lia is kind and open. She is into spiritual healing and seems to think with her heart. She’s not used to staying in one place for long, whereas Paul and his family have lived in Charleston for generations.
The patriarch of the Watts family, Grady, isn’t doing so well. The family is worried that the 85-year-old doesn’t have much time left. It seems Grady has lost his will to fight. Fearing for his grandfather, Ethan, Paul’s younger brother, asks Lia his massage therapist to visit Grady in the hospital. Ethan just never expects Grady to think Lia is his long-lost granddaughter. With each visit Lia makes, Grady’s health improves. Ethan comes up with the idea for Lia to pretend to be his Aunt Ava’s daughter. Wanting to help out Grady and the family, Lia reluctantly agrees. As a way to make sure everyone believes Lia is Ava’s daughter, Ethan tells them Paul is the one who found Lia. To say Paul is not happy is the understatement of the year. However, he can’t deny Lia’s presence isn’t benefiting his grandfather.
Not trusting Lia, Paul vows to keep an eye on her. To his shock and displeasure, he’s attracted to Lia. He finds himself wanting to spend time with her. “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever known before and frankly, you scare the hell out of me.” Lia is equally attracted to Paul, but knows there can never be anything between them. She knows he doesn’t trust her and she doesn’t plan on staying in Charleston much longer. The universe has a plan for these two, and it doesn’t matter if they agree or not.
From start to finish, I LOVED Seductive Secrets. Cat has done an incredible job of creating a well-rounded, likeable family, with an interesting history. Every single character brought something to the story. Paul and Lia are perfect for each other. I’m in love with Ethan and I desperately want him to have a story. There’s also Paul and Ethan’s cousins, the twins. I would love for them to have their own story as well. This is my second time reading Cat Schield and I’m looking forward to reading more of her books.
~ Favorite Quotes ~
“Sometimes if you open your heart, the answers will shine like the midday sun.”
“There’s no truth I’m afraid to face.”
“I like the way you believe you’ll have a choice.”
“I’m a simple girl with simple needs.”
“You’re not like anyone I’ve ever known before and frankly, you scare the hell out of me.”
“You’ve brought magic into my life.”
“I believe in you.”
“Love requires a leap of faith.”
“You shouldn’t underestimate yourself.”
**Received a copy of the book from the author and voluntarily reviewed. Also purchased a paperback copy myself.**
Lia (what a great name) is a free-spirit and Paul is as opposite of that as can be.
Lia has been raised as a nomad relying on very few people. Never staying in one place for very long. She also has picked up different skills along the way.
Paul has a solid, responsible family backing him. Even though his grandfather hadn’t agreed with his decision to not sign on to the family business. Oh, there wasn’t anything wrong with the family business. It just wasn’t his passion. Cyber security and exposing cheats and crooks was. He HAS this need to know everything and he’s kind of rigid because of other experiences.
Lia is pretty open with people when it comes to trying to help others. Still, she does have a secret or two. I liked how she used different methods to try to help Paul’s grandfather . Like, singing when he couldn’t speak clearly. And rhythm and even the aromatherapy was good. I wasn’t so on board with the Tarot Card readings that she did with the other family members. That part I didn’t like at all. In fact, if I had known it was in the story I might not have picked up this book.
The rest of the story is okay with challenges overcome and a H.E.A.
“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”