CROWN OF LIES
Series: Crown of Lies Duet #1
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Pepper Winters
Release Date: January 31, 2017
“I met the boy I wanted. But then he vanished and a new man claimed me instead. My father approved, my colleagues congratulated, and behind closed doors, I was bedded by a stranger.”
Noelle Charlston lived a fairy-tale life: a doting father, a powerful job, and a future blessed with financial security.
However, two meetings with two men changed her happy existence forever. First, she met the boy who made her heart sing. Second, she met the man who made her blood quiver.
Noelle’s freedom was no longer hers. It belonged to the man her father believed was the perfect match. The man who pulled his lies over everyone he touched.
Including her.Seduced and manipulated, Noelle lives two lives. The one everyone sees on the outside and the one no one sees on the inside. The lies he spins, the truth he hides, the mystery he webs—it’s all enough to slowly erode the woman she’d been and turn her into something else.
Until her past collides with her present.
And it’s her turn to lie.
To everyone…including herself.
Thieves can become saints. Saints can become thieves. Most of us deserve a second chance.
Without fail, this woman’s writing managed to blow me away once again. Lies wrapped in truth. Truths wrapped in thinly veiled threats. A mysterious draw wrapped in animal magnetism. This book completely owned me. It hypnotized. It enraptured. It was pure literary magic, weaving a story so spellbinding, it was impossible to put down.
It could be said that Noelle Charlston lives a charmed life. Growing up in luxury and set to inherit a retail empire, she wants for almost nothing…except a taste of normalcy. The youngest CEO in the history of the company, she may be rich, but she’s not a stranger to hard work. She barely leaves her office and her work is all she knows and all she does. Yearning for just a few hours of normal, she makes a decision that irrevocably changes the course of her life.
Now three years have passed since that fateful night that she’ll never forget. She’s a little older, a lot wiser, and even more disillusioned. Given up on love and finding a man that will want her for more than her money and empire, she’s lost herself in her work…until a man demands her attention in a way that’s impossible to ignore.
This man is pure animal magnetism wrapped in alluring confidence. He’s not used to hearing no and he won’t take it for an answer. The sparks fly between them; a mix of antagonism and undeniable chemistry. A hate lust so strong, it practically burns through the pages.
He wants to own her. She’s her own woman. He’s determined to break her. She knows no man ever will. He’s determined to mark her. She refuses to let him close enough. What takes place is a back and forth that’s so delicious, it was enrage you as much as it will captivate you.
The story is flawlessly written in Pepper’s signature fluid and lyrical style. It kept me glued to the pages from beginning to end, completely incapable of putting it down. I read this in one sitting while trying to savor every word because I didn’t want it to end.
This is book one in a duet, and I’m already vibrating to get my hands on the conclusion. If you’re a fan of this author, this book is not to be missed.
The conclusion, THRONE OF TRUTH, is releasing on February 28
