Achieve Too Good To Be True Illustrated By Carola Lovering Listed As Paper Copy

have to admit that Carola Lovering got me good with that twist! I love nothing more than having the rug pulled out beneath me while reading.
When you are so certain about something only to find out that you are entirely wrong, That is so damn satisfying,

Skye is ayear old woman that has not been lucky in love, Living in NYC as an editor she has debilitating OCD in which she must knock on wood so many times and in so many ways that most of the men she meets hightail it before date number two.
Until she meets handsome Burke Michaels, He's a fortysix year old successful business man that is also a recovering addict, He accepts Skye for who she is including her compulsions, Skye is finally genuinely happy with her life and with Burke who she has fallen madly in love with, After onlymonths the two get engaged and begin planning their whirlwind wedding,

But is Burke too good to be true

I loved her debut Tell Me Lies and her sophomore effort proves this lady has a knack for writing an exceptional psychological thriller.
This isn't a fast paced read but its a compelling one with short chapters that demand you keep turning the pages, The ending surprised me but to elaborate more would be a spoiler, Just know that I will be the first in line for her next book,stars!

Thank you to St, Martin's Press for sending me a physical ARC of this book, Too Good to be True by Carola Lovering is aSt, Martins Press publication.

Wickedly good!

This is one of those books that falls into the less you say, the less you know, the better category so to that endall Im going to say is:

This is one clever little mindtrip highly absorbing, and wildly entertaining.
If you like getting sucked so completely into a story that you lose track of time, this might be one you want to consider.


There is no agenda no messages no sermons, just a good, original, wellplotted thriller with one amazing twist that completely took me by surprise!!



I got a little more than I was expecting from this one! I will definitely read this author again! .
Stars

All I know is, if my name was Carola Lovering, I would put a hit out on the asshat that wrote the blurb for this thing.




I mean, really though, . . talk about throwing open the barn doors and letting all the horses out,
The blurb literally spoils the entire book, If not for the blurb, this would have been amazing,

As it was though, the blurb basically does all the earning for you and you enter the story knowing already what the twist is.
. . or at least having all the tools necessary to easily put together what the twists are without having to work for them.


I mean, I knew immediately what was going on the whole time, And I'm not even all that smart,

I just kept thinking, this can't be it, right The author couldn't have really have thought we all wouldn't figure out these connections so readily.
. . right

But, then again, she probably didn't bank on an idiot penning the blurb,



So there's that,

Now, all that said, I still really enjoyed this book,

I am sucker for any form of domestic drama, marriage in trouble, and/or basically any form of sociopathy, It's like catnip to me, And this book had some dynamics I really enjoyed, I also really related to Skye, We had a lot of childhood, . . similarities. Except for the mega rich part, I unfortunately missed out on that one,



But anyway, This book wasn't mindblowing or all that thrilling for a thriller, but I still really enjoyed my afternoon spent reading it, If it seems too good to be true,

Go in as blind as possible, The synopsis is more than enough,

I enjoyed the various POV chapters and letters/journal entries in this book, Half of the fun was trying to figure out when the truth would come out, But here is the thing, what is the truth This aspect of the book won me over right away, I love putting on my super sleuth hat and trying to figure things out, There is a big twist and reveal halfway through the book, A big "aha" moment which turns things on a dime, Will you see THAT coming I had some inklings as to what was going on but was still surprised with the big twist.


This was a fun one people! Seriously, pure enjoyment, Sit back and enjoy the ride, This book caught my attention right away and the author knows who to suck the reader in, keeps us invested in the story all the while taking us down and twisty and turning road.
This is a fast read which does not disappoint, The snippets from the past will give you some info, but will it be enough

Will you need to suspend some disbelief while reading this You betcha! Will this book have you thinking "Seriously, come on, this is getting ridiculous!" It just might however, it is so engrossing and fun that I really did not mind.


Beautifully crafted and cleverly plotted, Too Good to Be True, is a fast paced page turner which entertains, delights and delivers.


This was my first book by this author, and I look forward to reading more of her books,

Thank you to St, Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, All the thoughts and opinions are my own, Many thanks to NetGalley, St, Martin's Press, and Carola Lovering for an ARC of this book! Now available as of,.!

NOTE: My first caution with this book, as many others have mentioned, is to go in absolutely blind, spoilerfree, and whatever you do, do NOT read the synopsis before cracking this one open! The setup will become very clear to you immediately while reading, and no real background is necessary to enjoy the story.
. . but as for a quick version of the premise

Burke The perfect, swoonworthy dreamboat, complete with the requisite chiseled jaw and killer smile.
Skye Your basic beautiful blond princess, who seemingly has everything except a complete grip on her mental health, as she battles a severe case of OCD brought on during her mother's tragic death.
When these two bump into each other in Montauk, Skye Starling not only sees, but hears violins, bells, and everything becomes hazy.
As the two connect, a budding romance quickly blooms and Skye starts to believe she has found the only man who really SEES her.
But what she fails to see about him could not only change her mind, but could actually put not just her perfect marriage in danger.
. . and could even destroy her

This book had me hooked so quickly, and bouncing POVs kept the narrative interesting: I was essentially enthralled from page one.
As the story progressed however, the 'big twist' was revealed about halfway through the book, . . and everything pretty much came grinding to a halt after that, I was honestly shocked to find out basically everything I even had minor questions about at this point and I was left wondering what else there was to say.
Unfortunately, after the villain is revealed, Too Good To Be True goes into almost painstaking detail of showing the reader EXACTLY how the 'mastermind' executed their scheme, which is normally the device I expect to find in perhaps the last chapter of a book, rather than over the course of many, many chapters.
While this was interesting for a while, it quickly got repetitive, and as the reader since I didn't have too many questions remaining to begin with, I didn't really find it necessary.
I had one lingering hope that a certain character had secret and devious intentions that would be revealed at the last possible moment to add an extra layer of intrigue.
. . but unfortunately, this too didn't come to pass,

This novel takes such a turn at the midpoint that after finally finishing it I almost felt like I read two different books, and the fact that it has sort of a strange ending especially for the genre in my opinion just really left me feeling especially disappointed.
There was a world of potential and plenty of room for at least another twist or two, but I think Lovering chose to go with a more straightforward approach perhaps to help along a reader who is less acclimated to this type of book and personally I would've liked more left to the imagination, especially since I enjoyed the version of events I cooked up mentally more than what actually transpired.
I thoroughly enjoyed the setup and the characters, however, and would certainly give another one of Lovering's books a shot!,
Is this astar thriller or is it TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE Unfortunately its the latter,

I was riveted from the beginning, and loved the voices of thedifferent narrators, The characters were very welldeveloped:
Skye, wealthy and privileged but left with crippling anxiety and OCD after her mothers death, she has trouble meeting men who can tolerate her unusual tendencies.
Until Burke.
Burke. Hes perfect. Mr. Right. Skyes one and only. Or is he His chapters are told as journal entries and are so compelling, I couldnt wait to get back to them,
Heather. I wont say who she is, but through her we get a lot of backstory,

It seems that all may not be as idyllic as it seems and a diabolical plot is in play, The short chapters and shifting perspectives make this a propulsive read,

THENpoof. the propulsive mystery/thriller turned into a sappy ridiculous Lifetime movie romance, and not a very good one at that, I cant say anything more without spoilers but luckily I had my reading buddy Marialyce to rant with over this one,

An author doesnt owe me a story arc that I like but it has to make SOME kind of rational sense for me to enjoy it.
If I had been reading a physical book I would have tossed it across the room,

The firstwas a solidorstarsthen POOF it was truly too good to be true, as I was suddenly reading an entirely different genre.


for

the first half, One star for the second,because I finished it,

I want to end on a positive note so I will say that although this was a BOTM club book I downloaded the audio on Hoopla to supplement my reading, and found I much preferred listening.
The narrators were SUPERB! Especially Burkes character,
I cant handle the truth, . .

Shortest Summary Ever: Skye just found the right guy older, handsome Burke, except whoops hes already married to Heather, Flashback to Heather and Burkes story as young people ready to take on the world, . . now back to Skye and her battle with OCD and Burkes scheme and a psycho ex, well now youre in the middle of the crazy ride,

Thoughts: before my opinion let me say many of you WILL like this book, It IS twisty. It IS different, and the alternating POVs are enthralling for about half of the book, But I just aint the kind of woman going for this,

I am the kind of woman who uses her head above all else, Im a rare female INTJ if you know your MyersBriggs, we are crazy rare “like a dude” types who make for good CEOs, it suffices to say Im not prone to falling with emotion.
I fall in love between my ears, and because thecharacters in this book are evocative of the dysfunctional “dumbery” of Jerry Springer well thats EVERY episode, thus.
. . Im out yo.

I cant tolerate what I view as stupidity, Dont get me wrong I love love. I FEEL, but well the actions of all three characters kind of had me cheering for the villain, So mostly I felt smug, I admit it. You may not feel the same, and I fully acknowledge this is MY personality, For me, My main comment was, “Really Really” Like Seth Myers, Over and over. So much seemed unrealistic because I couldnt relate, I couldnt empathize because theres certain deal breakers shattered here that made me reel, And felt unreal. Not. For. Me.

I have the O part of OCD so I appreciated that a mental health disorder was incorporated in a novel so well.


But I cant spoil it for you because Im not that twisted or unfeeling, Really. I promise.

All my reviews available at scrappymags, com around time of publication,

Genre: Domestic Fiction/Womens Lit

Recommend to: Those who just love the love and feel GUSH that love conquers ALL.


Not recommended to: If youre like me and cant tolerate weak female leads, Or believe that there are deal breakers to love,

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and St, Martins Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my alwayshonest review,
.