Whose Lie is it Anyway?

by Abby Gaines

This can't be happening to by-the-book accountant Holly Stephens! First she's wrongly accused of fraud and barred from her home and office. Now she's forced to take a job with a bad-boy tycoon known for skirting the law.

Jared Harding doesn't care what Holly thinks of him—she's the perfect cover for his revenge. But what starts out as a combustible partnership turns into undeniable chemistry as they work together to clear her name and put his deal through. Jared is inspired to change his ways…except he can't tell Holly the truth about this one thing. And he's put more than his company on the line to make sure she never finds out.

Genres: Romance, Harlequin, Fiction

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 9, 2007

About the author

I write funny, tender romance novels for Harlequin Superromance and Love Inspired Historical.

My next book to be released is That New York Minute, out in April 2012.

I like to set aside some of my writing time for experimental projects - I'm currently trying my hand at a humorous women's fiction novel, and I also finished a Young Adult manuscript.

To find read excerpts of my books or to find out more about me and my journey to publication (hint:5-6 years and lots of rejections!), visit my website

Reviews

[Saly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book, the heroine was a control freak while the hero was fixated on revenge and the past. I loved reading about the heroine's unusual background and her mother and the special agent. The heroine's naivette annoyed me sometimes besides that I liked the book especially the hero's freak-out to heroine's love and virgin confession.

[SweetSweeede · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the premise, and I've enjoyed other books by this author, but this one just fell flat to me.

The story was told from four different POV's, and they mixed. This made it difficult to connect with the main characters.

--- spoilers ---

I was surprised this was a superromance, yet lacked a love scene. It wouldn't have bothered me if the hero hadn't done such a turnaround just at the end which I didn't feel to be in character. Whatever happened to dating before proposing marriage?

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was just ok. I didn't care for the whole idea of revenge and the lies that were told in it.

[Vonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

ugh, shockingly, even though sometimes I love the lengths of SR imprints in HQ, there are times when the story is unfolding that whatever got started on in the premise, I'm ready for this to be over. I believe I do like Gaines's other writings, but this one was just outright unappealing from the get-go. I had a bunch of trouble getting started, a genuinely uninteresting beginning that kept going down a push-and-pull sexual attraction that went NOWHERE, like the slowest of slow burns that went down, down, down with no gratification. I was actually glad that no sex was had because this couple together was not to my liking or enjoyment. While they had great hate-to-love vibes, I just never believed either of them could do "forever" with one another. The female MC, Holly, is a CPA who has been charged with FRAUD, but really her co-partner in her accountant business stole all their clients' money and she is being pinned with the crime. The male MC, Jared, I think he is a moneylender/business investor who sort of has an edgy criminal-mind in the sense that he buys up floundering businesses and merges them with small companies and kind of destroys one to save the other or to, more than anything, make MORE MONEY for him.

So, really this book begins with Holly turning to Jared because he is really the only client who can hire her so she can make the same kind of money or more to send to her family, as she has been sending them checks for years to take care of Mom and two twin siblings in college. Of course, once she is charged with fraud it comes out of the woodwork that her family has never needed her to send them checks, so, yeah...I hate when the story takes a selfish, ungrateful dive like this, especially when it's a serious crime of Holly being arrested or fully charged to be sent to prison. There is an FBI agent on her case and oddly, there is a sub-set romance between the lead FBI Agent and Holly's Mom. This took away from any extra enjoyment readers could've had from Holly & Jared. And, typically, when there is a secondary couple to enjoy, it should feel like it needs to come forefront but I felt that BOTH romances were bad and I never felt the chemistry of either, so it was wasted on me. There is also a selfish reason for Jared hiring Holly, and he plans to use her expertise to hoodwink a business investor to seek revenge from the past. So, it negates any chemistry or passion he shows towards Holly because, in truth, he is simply using her CPA license which is already on the line for fraud in a shady business deal where he plans to trap an unsuspecting man from his past. This was one of my reasons for not warming up quickly to Jared; Holly was sometimes a bit TSTL in many ways, but especially when she attempted to play seduction games with Jared.

Plus, here's my thing, so much of Holly's fraud charges were serious...and it was being used as Rom-Com fodder. And there was always this threat of ARREST of Holly if she didn't comply with certain things with the FBI...and the lead Agent was in lust with her mother??? Uhm, it's time to recuse yourself, and either arrest Holly and put her on lockdown...or leave her the hell alone. We kept seeing him yo-yo back and forth with her as if he was seconds away from strapping the cuffs on her wrists, but instead, it was used as wasted fodder to force Holly & Jared into their own useless proximity moments...where THEY felt like they had to solve Holly's case better than the fuckin' FBI was. And, of course, they did. Jesus Christ!

[Mim-Is-Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found myself more interested in the Maggie-Crook relationship than in Jared and Holly's.

[Divya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has become my most favorite novel by Abby Gaines. The protagonists, Jared & Holly are both so funny. While Holly is a control freak, Jared is a sweet, lovable guy who has prepared for revenge. There was good comedy, and gorgeous romance -- all without the green-eyed monster.

[tosca · Rating 2 out of 5]

NZ author - trying to read a bunch of kiwi romance novels for an upcoming theme for the romance newsletter. Who knew there were so many! Funny story. As in funny ha-ha the dialogue made me laugh.

[Kesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book but it was kinda slow moving. Had some laugh out loud moments. If I see a book by Abby Gaines I do pick it up.