The Opportunist (Love Me with Lies, #1) in The Indie Bookshelf

Jun 16, 2012 Hazel Anne ~Javier Bernal~Kingsley Edge~Dex Foray~ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: all-consuming-series, want-to-possess-the-physical-copy, personal-favorites, couldnt-shake-it-off-my-system, cover-attraction, pimped-the-shit-out-of-it, i-worship-at-their-shrine, endings-that-haunt-me-to-this-day, read-more-than-once, not-stable-enough-to-talk-about-it

Nothing has prepared me for this kind of emotional and mental mess. Wow just WOW. Did I really just read that? It's been 12 hours but I'm still digesting those last few chapters which had me bawling for all eternity!

“You will remember every day for the rest of your life because I was the one and you threw me away." And then he left.

As if the devastation wasn't enough. How dare this writer put me in a glass case of emotions! I even fought the urge to literally smash my reading device ...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Mistress rated it it was amazing

Shelves: absolutely-love, so-good

"I think that after the first time you give your heart away, you never get it back. The rest of your life is just you pretending that you still have a heart."

There is nothing that frustrates me more than unanswered questions and nothing I hate more than wasted time. This book has an abundance of both. I wanted to shake the main characters until they started to make sense. I really feel the need to scream my frustrations into the heavens over this book! I mean REALLY THAT IS THE ENDING?????? ...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Dina rated it it was amazing

I loved this book. It felt very real to me, and I have to admit that I really related to Olivia - I remember behaving a lot like her when I was in college. Guarded, defensive, scared to be vulnerable with men/boys. There was even a relationship that I took very much for granted, like she did, and did some things I lived to later regret. Enough about me!

This is a love story. A raw, emotional, very realistic telling of how (in my opinion) most young-love tends to pan out. I'd accidentally read a f ...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Kathy rated it really liked it

*Warning: this is a long review, but I couldn't help myself!*

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this book when I first started reading. It had sat on my TBR shelf for quite a while, because I always pushed another book ahead. But, I finally pulled it from its dormancy and am I glad I did! What a treat Tarryn Fisher had for me! It’s almost like saving your favorite candy until last, so it’s the last taste in your mouth.

“I am Olivia Kaspen, and if I love something I rip it from my life. Not inten *Warning: this is a long review, but I couldn't help myself!*

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this book when I first started reading. It had sat on my TBR shelf for quite a while, because I always pushed another book ahead. But, I finally pulled it from its dormancy and am I glad I did! What a treat Tarryn Fisher had for me! It’s almost like saving your favorite candy until last, so it’s the last taste in your mouth.

“I am Olivia Kaspen, and if I love something I rip it from my life. Not intentionally…not unintentionally either. I see one of them now; a survivor of my tainted, acrid love. He’s a hundred yards from where I stand, flipping through old records.”

Oh, Olivia, our sad heroine and Caleb’s Duchess. *tsk, tsk* This OCD, cold-hearted, and deceitful woman had me continually loving her. What is with me always loving the bad ones? She is a self-proclaimed liar and wicked person who will manipulate anyone in her path to get what she wants. She is the essence of selfishness, yet I continue to root for her. Why? Because she does it all in the name of love…or what she perceives love to be. Olivia always keeps her feelings hidden from everyone, eventually leading to every downfall she experiences. Her behavior was appalling, constantly on guard to cover one lie after another as she continued to be caught in her own web of lies; this is the point when reality fuses with fantasy and the two cannot be differentiated. She has a penchant for lying, which serves her well in her career choice, leading to her professional successes. Olivia is not without chances to do things the right way when presented with familiar situations in which she screwed up in the past. But her pride and cold heart always guided her choices. She acted on raw emotion 99% of the time, without ever thinking of who might be affected by her actions. However, she does, at times, sacrifice for Caleb and do what she thinks is the right thing, yet she doesn’t realize or view herself as an unselfish person; she adorns the sins of her father and wears them like a badge on her heart. My heart ached and eventually broke for this character.

Caleb, our handsome and Americanized Brit romantic hero….well, I loved him…I mean really really loved him…until I hated him…and then loved him, again. He is one of the most charming and romantic characters I have read in a book. He puts his soul out there for Olivia to take with some of the sweetest gestures ever written in a book. His penny (s significant) was such an awww moment for me and left a wide and wanting smile on my face. His amnesia touched me to my very soul…for a while. He is far from perfect and not without fault in this story. Does Caleb play the love games? Oh yes! He enjoys playing his games in the love Olympics just as much as Olivia. There is so much I want to say about Caleb, but I won’t, because I couldn’t put it into words without giving away something. I refuse to be a “Caleb spoiler” and ruin the experience for someone, and what an experience he is! I will say he is Olivia’s perfect match, in my eyes, and his love for her is deeply rooted.

Leah….Leah, Leah, Leah. What can I say? She is the queen of the chess board (metaphorically speaking), the queen of deception, and the queen of the bitches. Guess what, Leah? Karma is also a bitch!

Cammie, Olivia’s best friend, is a “tell it like it is” girl, and I love that about her. She’s fearless with her immature reactions or pro-actions to Olivia’s situations in her attempts to help Olivia. But, she is so necessary in Olivia’s life. Even Cammie’s immaturity helps Olivia stay grounded…even a little.

Turner, a big twist in this showcase of love games, reminds me of a greasy and sleazy used car salesman in an expensive wardrobe with a handsome face and an impressive resume.
Noah….I love Noah. He is the voice of reason. He is a minor character with a major role to play. You will see what I mean WHEN you read this book…if you haven’t already. If you haven't, you SHOULD!

There are so many themes within this story. Irony in place of fate was beautifully written into the passages. This book boasts of twists, angst, atonement for sins, and life changes. Olivia and Caleb, no matter the circumstances, always find themselves pushed together to their own detriment, as though destiny was having a puppet party, and they were the puppets of honor. Olivia’s emotional detachment, resulting from her insecurities, leads her on a downward spiral; but, she is not without redemption or atonement, as she learns how to love and be loved. I felt intense heartbreak throughout this book. I screamed, I cried, I even had to put the book down a few times to collect myself. There were points in the story I found myself begging for Caleb to please find 'it!' Please remember! My face tingled, my stomach clinched, and I pulled on my hair with fear that Olivia would not confront Caleb in Rome about Leah’s antics and plots, or perhaps she would be too late; yet at this revelation of honesty and truth, I found still myself supporting Olivia’s conniving and scheming conspiracies, if she should choose that route, again. I had to question my own morals at this point.

So, is it too late for Olivia to take the high road? Will anyone see a change in her if she does? Or will she revert to her old ways of deception out of desperation? There are no holds barred when it comes to Olivia getting what Olivia wants. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned….and you have two scorned women in this story. I will not give away the ending of the book…well, because I just don’t like spoilers. But I will say I never saw it coming! It didn’t end the way I wanted nor expected, but it had the perfect ending for Caleb and Olivia. My favorite quote that sums up this book beautifully: Life is all about choices, I decide – good ones, bad ones, selfish ones. I recommend this book to the edge-of-your-seat and tissue-hugging book clubs at 5 stars. ...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Splage marked it as consider

Might be like Avoiding Commitment, not sure my heart or emotions can take another one of those for awhile. Definitely need to consider this one.

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Jun 03, 2012 Amy rated it liked it

Shelves: romance

I liked this book. I'm not sure if it'd be 3 stars or 4 stars. Heres why. Its well-written, but I did not like most of the characters. I felt I could relate to olivia but that she was over the top for me. And the fact that cam put up with it as long as she did, amazed me. Caleb, I liked him but was frustrated that he put up with what he did. I great like, in the end, he had just given up and dud what he did because he felt like he had no choice. To me, he made his choice because he'd rather be ...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Tracey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite

I am speechless. I am still crying. I absolutely love this book. I love when I read a book and I am so full of emotion. I was hating/loving Olivia. Sometimes I really understood her and other times I wanted to smack her. In the end I love her. Lots of "Oh S**t" moments. I can't wait for more from Tarryn Fisher! ...more

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Aug 02, 2013 Bernadette rated it liked it

Shelves: juicy-angsty-awesome, it-s-okay

It was a slow start but I kept reading waiting for the part where Caleb remembers or when its revealed what happened to end their relationship. The 80% was the best part, everything is finally out in the open. I gotta say I didn't like Caleb, I mean what is it about this guy that made these women go bat shit crazy?!? I gotta say she was better off and the small amount of space that I read about Noah, I instantly liked him. I was kind of hoping that Caleb sees them together and gets crazy jealous ...more

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Jun 25, 2013 Cindy rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2013, contemporary, steamy, sassy-heroines

Like telenovella crazytown bits of awesomeness. These people are all insane and make stupid mistakes and are just wrong. But you can't stop reading.

The prose is brilliant and the plot wacked, but seriously, these people... Wow.

Totally enthralling. ...more

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