Book Review: THE REUNION LIE by Lucy King

Book:  THE REUNION LIE

Author:  Lucy King

Publisher:  Harlequin KISS

Category:  Contemporary Adult Romance

“So what do you want Zoe?”- Dan

“Ok well, the thing is I rather think I want you.”- Zoe

“What for?”- Dan

“Some fun.”- Zoe

Description via Goodreads:

It was only meant to be a little white lie.

Inventing a fake fiance was an act of desperation for Zoe Montgomery; a knee-jerk response to her horrifying high school reunion! But now that she's convinced London's most unattainable bachelor to play the part, her little white lie is spiraling out of control. 

Because everyone wants a piece of tycoon Dan Forrester. Including Zoe! Especially once she's seen the view from his bedroom; this might be a fake engagement, but she's certainly not faking anything else. 

Now the reunion is over, and Zoe and Dan have convinced the world they're meant to be! But convincing each other? A whole different challenge.

My Summary:

Zoe is desperate.  With teenage demons and insecurities popping out at her class reunion, she could only do one thing; Invent the boyfriend of her dreams and jump the first good looking man that entered the bar.

A stranger’s unwelcome and unexpected kiss was shocking enough but more so was Dan’s instinctive reaction to Zoe’s assault.  He liked it! And the aftermath was so unlike him too.   Instead of leaping out of the bar, he played along and helped Zoe pretend to be the happy and loved-up woman she claimed to be.

Everyone believes their instant relationship…. including the whole nation, which happens to be invested in Dan as he is the country’s 2^nd most eligible bachelor.  But playing a couple is much easier than being one, especially when both know nothing about the other.

My Review:

The whole premise, though much used, had promise.  But alas, the author failed to live up to my expectations.  From the very first chapter, I wanted to drop the book and stop reading.  But a review had to be written so I plunged ahead.

Long winded.  Wordy. Exhausting to read.  Getting to any point I had to go through seemingly endless pages of self-doubts, questions and realizations on both Zoe’s and Dan’s part.  The entire thing was tiring to read.  I had to skip pages that the book could have done without.  If edited better, the book would have been cut into half.

In other words, I didn’t like it.  The chemistry between the two protagonists were forced at best.  The pace was hurried and I felt no love lost for both Dan and Zoe.  Sweet?  Romantic?  Sexually enticing? Not quite.  Repeat reading material? Definitely Not.