Three things my mother acquired when she became engaged:1. A brand new Tiffany’s ring.2. A lavish home on Heartbreak Hill.3. Three privileged stepsons.The last thing I expected was to fall for one of them, least of all Thayer Ames.Beautiful, brooding, and untouchable.I knew it was a bad idea. He warned me himself.But he was a thunderstorm, and I never could resist the rain.It was perfect… could resist the rain.
It was perfect…
Until it wasn’t.
One night was all it took for our world to crumble, leaving only secrets and lies between us.
Now, I have to face him again, but the boy I used to know has become the man who loves to hate me.
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I absolutely could not wait for Tell Me Pretty Lies to come out especially since Charleigh Rose was an author I just started reading from last year. And it was an insta-love for this author. I have to admit that this was a bit tough for me to get into this because of the genre/trope, alone. High school bully romances aren’t something I naturally gravitate towards especially since last year there was one that kind of warded me off of them for a while. So the cards were already stacking up against this, but I still wanted to try no matter what.
Even though it was tough for me to get into this, the more you get through the book, more of the truth is coming out. And you start to get a better understanding of why Thayer is being the way he is. However, to me, it was almost unforgivable the way he was treating Shayne. But, I’m personally not into the I hate you, but I love you thing. It kind of drives me nuts!
Overall, I think I just needed a bit more history of their relationship before things ended between them. That’s where a lot of the mystery lies of what happened that day and even by the end, there’s still a ton we don’t know. This seems like is part of a series because the major story arc was open to be continued. And Charleigh drops hints of what may be coming next.
It was an OK read to me, but I’m still invested in this series.
**AN ARC WAS PROVIDED IN EXCHANGE FOR A REVIEW**
Their love is like lightening in a bottle!!
Shayne and Thayer were secretly together for a little while even though were almost step siblings until something tragic happened and things ended badly. Shayne and her mom moved away during her junior year of high school and then after another tragedy she ends up moving back to her grandmother’s house on Heartbreak Hill, right near Thayer’s house. Now the whispers have started and when Thayer finds out she’s back he’s an even bigger jerk than he was just before she left. Things are complicated and Shayne just wishes things could be normal for her, but Thayer and his brother Holden believe she knows something about the tragedy that occurred before she moved away and they are determined to get answers. Shayne hates the fact that she still has feelings for Thayer and Thayer can’t seem to stop being a bit and cold when it comes to Shayne. This is a great read and I highly recommend it!
I am a huge fan of Charleigh Rose, her books never fail to grab me hook line and sinker, every single one of them. She has a way of really adding depth to her characters and building that crazy angsty good chemistry between them. Charleigh is without a doubt my go to NA romance recommendation when people ask me for books in this genre; but unfortunately Tell Me Pretty Lies just didn’t quite hit the same bar for me.
I will explain why it missed the mark; but there are also many things I liked about the novel too. I am a self confessed cover whore and this one just isn’t my thing BUT the blurb had me so intrigued, it sounded a little taboo and a lot angsty. After the prologue I was sold, interested and ready to get sucked into the book. From Chapter 1 I just struggled to find a connection to Thayer or Shayne. I understood what had happened to cause their rift; but I just felt after getting a little taste of their relationship in the prologue, then switching to it being non existent 9 months later by chapter 1, the opportunity to get to know these characters in the past to understand their present was gone! I just wasn’t feeling them at all and that is so not the case for me and Charleigh’s book normally. Bad Influence her last novel I went into it not loving the hero from previous books but within a few pages my mind was totally changed! That didn’t happen here. I found myself more interested in two side characters Holden and Valen for the vast majority of the book. Tell Me Pretty Lies had elements of a bully romance but it wasn’t, it had elements of Taboo romance but it wasn’t, overall it just lacked a little clarity.
Now what I did like is Charleigh’s writing itself as ever is quality and easy to read, banter, wit and sarcasm that I love from her books were still present, as is the usual host of great secondary characters. When Charleigh writes scenes or places her descriptions never fails to paint a perfect picture in my mind, the prologue, the barn, the falls, Whittemore. Tell Me Pretty Lies has a underlying story line that plays out throughout the book and this really comes into play in the last few chapters of the book and will continue into book 2. There were certainly a few twists I didn’t see coming. For me personally the book didn’t really peak my interest until around the 60% mark. That’s when more emotive elements, more backstory come into play and I could gain a better understanding of the MC’s and my enjoyment of the novel increased.
Honestly that’s all it came down to a pure lack of connection to the characters, I just didn’t know where their loyalties, their purpose, their drive behind their behaviours were for a good proportion of the book. Once it clicked I loved it! Will it stop me reading book 2? Absolutely not, Charleigh remains one of my favourite Authors, Tell Me Pretty Lies just wan’t my favourite from her and that’s totally OK.
4.5 stars – This was a sexy, angsty and pacy read!
“No one would ever expect the two of us would fall for each other…But he knew the real me and I thought I knew the real him.”
Shayne Courtland’s life is upended when a tragedy rocks her world and those closest to her. She spends one year in another town before coming back to where it all happened. However, going back to school as a senior, and outside of the popular crowd, is going to be tough. Not least, when those that she loved the most are now her tormentors. And then, there’s Thayer Ames…
“I shouldn’t have allowed myself to be alone with her. I underestimated the effect she still has on me.”
Thayer is all kinds of messed up. When Shayne comes back to town, he’s determined to keep her at arm’s length but also find out the truth the behind the tragedy that destroyed them. He hates her for everything she stands for, but he can’t extinguish the deeper connection he’s always had with her.
So…I’ve read some negative reviews about this book and I can see where people are coming from, but I actually loved it! It wasn’t just a bully romance…it evolved into something of a mystery with a touch of suspense.
What readers need to remember is that this is fiction. It’s not real. It’s escapism. No matter how you react to it, fiction takes us out of our real world into some place else. Sometimes it’s believable and you can relate to it, and sometimes not so much. Any girl/woman in their right mind would not fall in love with someone who bullied them, but Shayne lived under the same roof as Thayer for three years before it all fell apart. What would have really rounded this story off was seeing more of their history and how they grew close. I think people found it disjointed because we only got glimpses of their past.
“I’m drawn to her for the same reason I hate her. She makes me feel.”
I thought this book was pacy, angsty, and sexy. I saw Shayne as lonely and needy. Her mother was often absent and she’d had a lot of upheaval in her life. She’d had something real but forbidden with Thayer before things fell apart, so her attraction to him couldn’t be denied because she really knew him. However, we can’t assume that her neediness meant that she was weak because she was actually pretty gutsy. I admired her strength and courage when it was needed.
Thayer was a guy dealing with guilt, suspicion, and a love and desire that he felt was wrong on a lot of levels. He was pretty messed up about a few things. However, I liked that he really didn’t care what other people thought. He was a character who felt deeply about things and I think the reader just needed a bit more visibility on his thoughts and what made him tick.
Overall, I thought this was a fab read and I spent a happy few hours in the sunshine gripped by it!
So the book starts off with a prologue, funeral scene. Someone close to Thayer and Shayne has passed away. So we get a gist of Thayer and Shaynes relationship before they go their separate ways because both their parents call off their engagement and Shayne and her mother leave Sawyer Point .
9 months later, Shaynes grandmother passes away leaving her house in Sawyer Point to Shaynes mother, so they move back and Shayne returns to her old school she attended with her ex step brothers.
Shayne doesn’t see Thayer again until a party she attends a few weeks after joining school. Shayne decides to go and speak to Thayer and Holden (Thayers brother) and get this tension or resentment they have with her over.
Thayer barely acknowledges her and basically tells her she means nothing to him.
Thayer & Holden believe the person who died (prologue scene) didn’t die by accident and they believe Shayne might know something about it. So that’s why they were being complete dickheads too her, but then decide to change their tactics to “keep your enemies closer”, because they start to believe maybe she really doesn’t know anything.
Lmao you know the funny thing here is? Thayer has being completely close off or rude to Shayne, but then there is this scene where they are alone in the barn fighting over a book which then leads to Shayne grinding over him to her begging him to touch her.
”I shouldn’t let him touch me like this after the things he’s said and done, but here I am practically pleading for it.”
Well at least she knows right? So that counts.
See my issue is I don’t understand Shayne’s attraction for Thayer, like after the barn scene I was talking about (there was only dry humping and little nipple touching) she saw Thayer at a party where a girl was asking him why he is taking so long and a few days later Shayne and Thayer are alone and this happens.
”You were with another girl the other night.” The words seem so juvenile out loud, but I’m not a homewrecker.
Thayer laughs darkly against my neck, sending a chill down my spine. “You think this makes you my girlfriend or something?” he asks, then scrapes his teeth across my neck.
“I hate you.” Even as I say the words, I’m arching into him, needing more.
“Tell me another lie.” His hand flattens against my stomach and slides beneath my shorts and underwear. My grip on his wrist is loose, hardly a protest. “Tell me more pretty little lies from these pretty little lips.” His fingers part me and I gasp, squeezing his wrist, and he groans appreciatively. “This doesn’t feel like hate.”
You see by this point I just don’t understand the connection she has with Thayer because he is just being an asshole to her. She says some sick part of her is enjoying his taunts, I normally enjoy such taunts but here, idk I wasn’t feeling what she was feeling.
Like right after the scene mentioned about, this happens
“how he left me on the hood of his car with my shorts still around my thighs. Reaching an entirely unprecedented level of asshole, he walked away, got into his car, started the engine, and held my forgotten backpack from his window, dangling it from two fingers, while he waited for me to pull myself together. I pulled my shorts back into place and peeled myself—along with my dignity—off the hood before storming into the house without a backwards glance.”
You understand why I’m just not feeling this relationship yet? Because Thayer is just being a dick and Shayne god idk is just thinking from her vagina.
So by this point I’m like the book really needs to take a good turn.
So Thayer and Shayne go back and forth, Shayne tries to up her games but always ends up underneath Thayer begging for more.
“How the hell does he always win?”
Because you think from your vaaaaginaaaa
So yeah the story just didn’t do it for me.
3.5 stars
Shayne Courtland lived in a blissful luxury for a few years when her mum got engaged to a wealthy man. A tragedy split the family apart until a year later when a situation brought them back to town. However, the town was no longer a welcoming home especially from Thayer Ames who used to be more than her family.
Even though this book is classified as NA, it had a younger vibe. Still, I did enjoy the story overall especially with the addition of some mystery/suspense elements.
I liked how Thayer was dark and broody while Shayne was a typical teenager. They had intense push and pull, but it felt trivial when their feelings were constantly contradictory to their actions with a flip of a coin. Thankfully the minimal depth of their relationship was made up by scorching sex scenes.
Tell Me Pretty Lies is a story of finding love in difficult situations. It would appeal to readers looking for a pseudo forbidden, light bully Romance.
I’ve been waiting for this book for a while and it was everything I was expecting from Charleigh. It was sexy, twisted, full of angst and with characters that I completely adore.
The main characters are Thayer and Shayne, their story is not a fairytale, their relationship it’s complicated from the start ( their parents are together making them step siblings) but their journey it’s one I completely felt in love with.
This book starts with tragedy after the unexpected death of Danny(Thayer and Holden’s bother ). Shayne’s mother ends unexpectedly her relationship with Thayer’s father and she moves away with Shayne.
After a year they come back and Shayne finds a different reality were her once upon a time protectors Thayer and Holden are now her enemies.
Even with all of this obstacles Shayne and Thayer’s history and chemistry is too hard to avoid. The pull to each other is to strong to deny and their Hate/Love relationship it’s explosive like lightning.
Will they be able to trust each other again? Or Will finding out the truth be their doom?
You have to read and find out.
Shayne’s mom and Thayer’s dad were engaged to be married. They were all living with Thayer’s brothers, Danny and Holden, and Shayne’s brother, Grey, as one big happy family. Shayne and Thayer a bit happier and closer than the other siblings. When tragedy strikes the family, Thayer pushes Shayne away and shuns her, making her an outcast at school. Shortly after her Mom leaves Thayer’s dad. Well a year later Shayne and her mom move back to town and Thayer is none to happy about that and vows to make Shayne’s life miserable. Only he doesn’t really want her to be miserable and that is what makes him the most angry.
Tell Me Pretty Lies was totally worth the wait. I love it when there is a backstory that will continue through out a series and it was clear that was going to be the case here. While I did get a fabulous ending there were still so many unanswered questions and I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. Shayne is my spirit animal. I can relate to her on so many levels, the good girl who just wants to be bad, so me. I loved how she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and confront everyone when they were doing their shady deeds. And Thayer, oh Thayer you broody misguided boy. I adored that he wanted to be so angry but couldn’t help himself when it came to Shayne because he knew that she was his other half. Charleigh does the broody bad boy so well in my opinion. He isn’t an over the top grade asshole just hurt and broken and . . . broody. I loved him so damn much. Angst and chemistry galore. I am sad that it is over. I may have read it twice already, back to back. I absolutely recommend this book to everyone. #cometomethayer
4.5 stars
Thayer and Shayne have a complicated relationship. Soon to be step siblings should mean that these two stay away from each other but that doesn’t stop them from meeting in secret. Just when everything seems to be going good, everything changes and when they are thrown back together, they’re not the same people they were before.
I loved the push and pull between Thayer and Shayne. Even when it was the last thing they wanted, the connection that was between them made it difficult for them to stay away. The chemistry between them is impossible to ignore, there’s the perfect amount of angst and I really enjoyed this fast paced read.
Charleigh Rose has been one of my favorite authors for the past several years now and her newest release just proves why that simple fact is so freaking true! Tell Me Pretty Lies is the first book in the author’s brand new standalone series, Heartbreak Hill, and I am already so excited for the next one to come out…especially if the couple happens to be who I think they are.
Thayer Ames and Shayne Courtland’s complicated romance was swoon worthy and I found myself wholeheartedly falling in love with every insane moment of it. Their story left me SPEECHLESS with each new twist and turn the author threw at us and I devoured it in one sitting because I couldn’t put the book down. Their angsty chemistry set my heart on FIRE and that intense ache was EVERYTHING. There aren’t enough words in the world to accurately express how much I adored this story. The writing was breathtakingly phenomenal and the characters were so perfectly developed and they each had their own unique voice, which was why I couldn’t get enough of them!
If you are a fan of (former) forbidden step-siblings romances (bring on the taboo because you know this girl loves it) with a layer of mystery intertwined throughout the pages, then this story is a MUST read for you!
Ok this is no lie! Tell Me Pretty Lies by Charleigh Rose is off the charts good. This was a first book of Rose’s that I have read, and I was impressed. Tell Me Pretty Lies is so well written without repetition but also without skimping on the descriptions. I just couldn’t put this book down; I was drawn in from the first page to the last. Tell Me Pretty Lies is filled with longing, lust, drama, mean girls, and a mystery. I can’t wait to read another book by Charleigh Rose, she is going on my favorite author list, even after just one book! 5-stars for Tell Me Pretty Lies by Charleigh Rose.
Shayne Courtland is coming back to her old school and her old friends, but she no longer fits in. After last year’s tragedy, Shayne and her family left, they became the outcasts and moving back just puts a target on her back. Thayer Ames’ family was at the center of the tragedy and the one person he wanted and needed the most was also the person he hated. When Shayne left, Thayer’s hatred grew, and now Shayne’s back and Thayer is going to find out what really happened. Even if Thayer must fake his friendship with Shayne and tell her pretty lies, he’s going to get the answers he wants. What if Shayne is telling pretty lies as well? Someone else wants Shayne to leave and they are going out of their way to get rid of her before Thayer can find out the truth. Thayer must get his answers before the stalker gets Shayne.
Tell Me Pretty Lies was one of my most anticipated reads in 2020 so far and it didn’t disappoint!
Charleigh Rose is relatively new to me so I didn’t have any expectations for this book. I’m glad I went into it blindly because it blew me away!! This book had all my favorite genres combined:
Strong, independent heroine hot male main characters love to hate hot stepbrother a touch of mystery a lot of family drama
“Tell Me Pretty Lies” features Shayne’s senior year in High School. After moving several times she’s finally back at her old school where her (kinda) step brothers went to school too.
They all treat her so badly in the beginning and I felt so much for Shayne in these moments! She’s been through a lot on her own and everybody disappoint her.
Despite these hateful moments Shayne and Thayer have an explosiiiive chemistry!
He was a real jerk sometimes, but he’s also been through a lot.
What I liked the most about this book was not only the strong chemistry between the two main characters, but also the friendships that are featured in this book.
I can’t wait to find out more about Holden and the gang – because Charleigh turns TMPL into a whole series !!!!
100% recommendation if you love a good hate to love book which is featured in high school!
Nothing like some good ol teenage angst. Charleigh Rose is one of the best authors at it. This book put me though it. Absolutely loved Shayne, she was strong and sassy. Thayer, even though I could have given him quite a few timeouts, he was everything a brooding teenage boy was made of. There were twists and turns, family drama, high school nemesis and bffs that I wish were mine. I didn’t see the ending coming but with the way this story ended I just know the next book is gonna fill us in with a few questions I was left with and I can’t wait.
Wow!!! Thayer and Shayne were fire. They both had to deal with so much loss. They had angst, rage, and every other feeling you can feel. Thayer and Holden were determined to figure out the mystery around Daniel. The twist shocked me. This author has so much talent. She takes us on a rollercoaster ride, and when you try to get off you’re so dizzy you fall. This book was great!
Tell Me Pretty Lies was the ultimate bully romance. Thayer and Shayne are in high school and in the beginning are together due to their parents upcoming marriage then torn apart by death. Another death brings Shayne back to town to face all the secrets and mysteries that have come up during the year apart. Lots of drama and things you won’t expect.
This book, wow this book… all the feels, it wrecked me, it made my heart jump, it did everything I love in a book, one great rollercoaster of emotions. Shayne and Thayer’s story will have you reading from beginning to end in no time, it’s just so good, the story between them, how their past and present are colliding, guilt, mystery and friendship will have them struggling. You will find yourself immersed in a world where all characters are amazing, the plotline is phenomenal and the feels is everything you want. A top recommendation.
Tell Me Pretty Lies was a captivating mix of angst, suspense, and drama that kept me hanging on every word of this amazing second chance, slowburn romance.
Thayer was my own personal brand of kryptonite. Broody, rough around the edges, and so sinfully delicious I couldn’t resist falling for him even on the moments where he was a jerk. Shayne was strong and resilient as she attempted to deal with all the life changes thrown her way. I loved how Shayne drew out Thayer’s emotions while he drew out her need to fight for just what she wanted. These two together were like an intense storm that held me enraptured until the very last flash of lightning.
Tell Me Pretty Lies was a sexy, angst filled slowburn that kept me rooting until the end for this beautiful, passionate and complex love to find a way.
Thayer Ames, is a bad boy through and through, the boy every girl in town wants, and now he is about to become her step-brother. For the last couple of years he has become the object of her desire, she wants him and has made her interest known, but he on the other hand runs hot and cold. One minute he acts like he has to have her, the next he pushes her away, leaving her to think it has something to do with their parents impending nuptials. But that isn’t the case at all…
Tell Me Pretty Lies is a story of healing, forgiveness, survival, and passion. This isn’t your typical blissful romance story, no, this one takes time to build, and it’s fueled by hate and desire. Shayne and Thayer were most definitely meant for one another, but there were a lot of obstacles in their way, and a lot of family drama reeking havoc on their lives. These two had me fully invested from the first page, their constant battles and bickering, the push and pull, it kept me on edge and dying of anticipation, I could not wait to see what was going to happen between them!! I loved this first time read, it had the angst I crave, the emotion that puts an impossible squeeze on the heart, and characters you can’t help but fall for and connect with… it was the perfect escape! Highly recommend!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
“Why do you hate me so much?”
“Because I have to.”
“Then why do you keep coming back?”
“Because I have to.”
She did it again. I fell under her spell, again. I was completely at her mercy, again.
Every single time I am beyond charmed by her words, the characters she creates, and the stories she tells.
I loved Thayer and Shayne. He’s like an angry god, broody and mean to the bones. But I’m a sucker for those. Shayne is my girl. She has a spine and she thinks with her own mind, she’s tough, she’s lovable and she’s irresistible.
Their love is complicated – being former siblings, and there’s that suspence that keeps lashing out in between the two of them. Makes it so much more appealing!
I devoured it. The side characters add to Thayer and Shayne’s complicated relationship – I have to add that I loved her best friend – and I look forward to reading their book(s).
… that sceene with the lightning …
I was highly anticipating this book and very excited for its release, which was delayed, and that only added to my excitement.
I love Charleigh’s writing and her characters. I enjoyed Tell Me Pretty Lies. I liked Thayer, broody a-hole that he is, and Shayne.
I love the somewhat tomboyish heroines, and I definitely got that vibe a little bit from Shayne. There was so much angst and push and pull between these two. The sexual tension was on point. Definitely can’t say these two were not explosive together.
Something about it though, just really kept me from connecting fully. I liked the characters, but the plot and story really didn’t seem that great to me. I feel like TMPL is more character based than story. And I really hate to say it because I hate comparing books and authors work, but I got a really strong Brayshaw Boys feel from this book. Character wise and also in the story a little bit. Holden reminds me so much of Royce in his humor and his friendship with Shayne. In this aspect I feel like if you enjoyed that series, then you will like TMPL.
I definitely found myself enjoying the second half of the book more than the first half, for whatever reason. It was really the second part of the book that saved it for me. It was a pretty quick read for me, I believe it’s only about 289 pages.
And by no means did I dislike TMPL, it just wasn’t the gripping book that I was expecting. It just fell a little short of that for me. It’s a quick, angsty, steamy, romance. I enjoyed it, it just wasn’t everything that I was hoping for.
Tell Me Pretty Lies was a quick and enjoyable read, it just never gripped me like her other books have in the past. Like I said, if you loved the Brayshaw series, I think you will definitely enjoy Tell Me Pretty Lies.
*ARC received in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*