EVERY LITTLE LIE by Joan Reeves

 

Today, we welcome fellow author and friend, Joan Reeves, to the blog to talk about her new release, Every Little Lie — available on Kindle as well as other great Retailers for the enticing price of just 99¢!

About the Book

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you learn a lesson. Usually the hard way.

This time the lesson was all about closure, and Elizabeth Stoneham knew with every brain cell she possessed that the lesson was going to be another hard one.

Elizabeth returns to Houston to carry out her legal responsibilities as the executrix of her mother’s estate. She’d left home nearly ten years ago. In all those years, she’d not visited or called her mother, and her mother had reciprocated—as if they had a silent mutual understanding to leave each other in peace. Peace? She’d found none in her self-imposed exile in Dallas.

After all this time, why had her mother…lured her back? That’s what naming her as executrix was. A lure. Bait for the trap. Since Elizabeth had followed in her adored father’s footsteps and become a lawyer, her mother knew she wouldn’t ignore a legal responsibility.

Perhaps her mother had mellowed as she’d grown older? Did she seek closure from the grave? No. Closure was a myth woven from hope and longing. There would be no closure, but maybe she’d be able to solve the biggest mystery of her life—why her mother had hated her.

Despite her resolve, staying at her mother’s house brings back all the memories she’d worked so hard to smother. In a moment of weakness, she allows herself to be swept away by her mother’s captivating new neighbor. She wants the mindlessness of passion to banish the pain—at least for a little while.

The only problem with that kind of temporary solution is that a woman can become ensnared if she’s not careful.

Every Little Lie has the Passion of Romance and the Drama of Women's Fiction.

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Read an Excerpt

Her cell phone buzzed and vibrated against the hard surface of the nightstand. The electronic sound penetrated the deep sleep Elizabeth Stoneham had embraced after too many nights of lying awake, eaten up with anxiety over throwing away her career as a lawyer.

She reached for the phone but succeeded only in knocking it to the carpeted floor. The noise stopped, and she drifted back to sleep. A couple of minutes later the phone buzzed again. Finally, it stopped. Damn it. Who was calling? Not Sandy who was all but living with her boyfriend since Elizabeth had more or less moved into Sandy’s apartment. Her best friend knew she’d planned to take an over the counter sleep aid. That left Phillip. God’s gift to womankind.

Before she’d resigned from the Dallas law firm where she’d worked since she’d received her law degree, Phillip, another lawyer in the firm, had been persistent in his pursuit of her, but he hadn’t crossed the line into sexual harassment. After she’d left the firm, he’d upped his game. Even though she’d made it abundantly clear she wasn’t interested in him—ever—the jackass wouldn’t take no for an answer. The last time he’d called, drunk by the way he slurred his speech, she’d told him to leave her alone because she wasn’t interested in men.

His laughter had been derisive. “So it’s true. Stoneheart Stoneham really is a lesbian.”

No, it wasn’t true, but Elizabeth didn’t care if he thought that if it would make him leave her alone. It made no difference what he, or anyone, thought. The moment she’d decided to quit her law practice, she’d also decided to quit caring what other people might think. She was nearly thirty and had spent most of her life trying to please others. From now on, she was going to please herself. Live life on her terms. Whatever the hell that meant.

When the phone buzzed again, she snapped on the lamp and retrieved it from the floor. Her breath caught as she saw the number on the caller ID. A number that hadn’t appeared on her phone in nearly ten years. Shivering in the cold air, she sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the phone display. Frugality forced her to keep the thermostat set on sub-arctic even though January had been colder than usual, but the chill spreading through her body was due to more than the room’s temperature.

Instinctively, Elizabeth knew nothing good would come from this call.

She answered anyway.

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My Review

As with most of Joan Reeves' books, I read this one in a single sitting. I laughed, I cried (tears of angst, not sadness), and I enjoyed.

The characters weren't perfect, which was what made them all the more interesting. Their challenges were believable and worthy of their happily-ever-after.

If you want a great, fun, and fairly quick read, you need to grab a copy of Every Little Lie!

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About the Author

Joan Reeves—Keeping Romance Alive...One Sexy Book at a Time—is a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary Romance. From romantic comedy to romantic thriller, her fiction has the premise that it's never too late to live happily ever after.

Joan lives her happily-ever-after with her hero, her husband, in the Lone Star State. They divide their time between a book-cluttered home in Houston and a quiet house at the foot of the Texas Hill Country where they sit on the porch, stare at the star-studded night sky, and listen to the coyotes howl. Be the first to know about new books and giveaways by signing up for Joan's Free Newsletter When you confirm your subscription, you’ll receive a download link for a free romance novel (ebook).

Joan's Website ~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Amazon Author Page ~ BookBub

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Another day, another wonderful author and book! Come back again soon for more of the same! Until then, please stay safe, stay healthy, stay happy, and stay well read.

Nancy