This author...

4.5 stars because it started slow for me. However, once it got going I was hooked. This author can write in a league all her own.

So many lies, but are the really?! Or are the just secrets that truth hasn't had a chance to be shown. I'm eagerly waiting for the answers. Fantastic characters, interesting backstory, and suspense. There truly isn't anything that this author cannot write. ( )

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars

"'Wrong.' His teeth nipped my throat. 'I hunted you.' Truth lay in that tiny paragraph, but I couldn't decipher it."

Told from Elle's POV, we meet her at a low point in her life and follow in her footsteps as she ages gracefully, until she meets Penn, the man who changes how her world spins. Driven by lust, the two come to an agreement built on a mutual desire, but Elle is not prepared for the harsh memories their connection uncovers in her mind. With flashbacks into a great and terrible time in her life, twenty-five year old Elle has not let go of the boy she first had feelings for at 19 when he saved her, known only to her as Nameless. Penn brings back these feelings, in good ways and in bad ways, but she has no idea who he truly is. He's alluring and mysterious, she wants to know more, but she's unwilling to face the danger he may bring to her life as well. Nameless and Penn occupy her thoughts, they own her mind, body, and soul, but there's harsher darkness lurking much closer to home.

"The world had been a vibrant adventure before. Now, it was a cesspool of criminals"


"He was just a man. This was just a city. But every footfall felt different. Every breath and glance and heartbeat."

Mysterious and sultry, Crown of Lies is Pepper Winters' newest release and the first in a new duet titled Truth and Lies. Featuring an innocent heroine and a dark, brooding hero; readers will be swept up in the story that reveals more secrets than truths. Told from Elle's POV, she is suffocated by leading a life handed down to her by her father; she may be an heiress and a CEO, but she's never truly lived. I was astonished by how Pepper Winters made Elle so relatable, despite her life being so very different than the one I live. She's a bit quirky, terribly naive, but stubborn and determined, as well as a bit more romantic than she believes herself to be. Penn Everett, what a name. He's as handsome as the name gives away, but he's closed off, crude, and under Elle's skin. I was torn between dislike and lusting after him as I do my other book boyfriends. Their connection, though obviously driven by chemistry, is both sexy and uncomfortable to read, because it's so easy to see that the two are only barely scratching the surface.

"I couldn't think with him so close. I could on feel. and by God, I could feel. Everything."

Allowing lust to guide them, Elle so easily sets her questions to the side, the story shrouded in mystery as the two focus only on their passionate affair. I knew right away that there had to be more to Penn, even if we do not entirely know what yet. Then there's the minor characters, with her father, his business partner, and his partner's son, Greg, leading a secondary story line that's easy to forget until it rears its ugly head. As the past and the present intertwine, Elle fails to get the answers she needs to know the truth, and is swept up into lies that leave her locked in the darkness and hurt by all who surround her. I was so intrigued by the mysterious element of Crown of Lies, especially when it is revealed that the past and the present had more ties than I ever expected. I loved that Pepper Winters wrote what comes across, at first, as a contemporary romance, but is tinged with her descriptive, dark writing. I loved that I too was swept into the passion just as Elle was, only to be shaken back to reality when another snippet of truth was revealed. Like Elle, the reader is left in the dark, only seeing what she sees and feeling as she feels.

"Lust wasn't just a word; it was an ax that cut all chains of propriety. It was the gun that shot common-sense dead. Lust was a kidnapper and killer all in one."

The Truth and Lies duet promises to be a dark, mysterious, and sexy read that readers won't be able to put down. Ending on a cliff hanger, fans won't have to wait long for the truth to be revealed in Throne of Truth, coming February 28th. Beautifully written, my highlights prove that, Crown of Lies was an intriguing story that enthralled me from the very start, holding my captive for hours while I read, allowing for no interruptions.

( )

I saw this on my Goodreads recommendations, and couldn't wait to finish the book I was reading before this, to start on this one. And, with all the 5-star reviews that it had, I was so sure I would love it and eagerly look forward to lapping up the second installment.

Except...I liked it, but I didn't love it. Won't put down a synopsis here since so many other reviewers have done it much better than I could ever have.

The good: I liked Elle as a character, at least, for the first 50% of the book. I liked that she was a strong, independent woman who didn't necessarily need a man to make her complete, as in so many romance-type novels (I'd later find out that this wasn't really a romance, but anyway!). I thought the way she thought and spoke was pretty accurate for a young woman her age, and she seemed like she was a good person, or at least tried to be. Ms. Winters' writing is fantastic. The prose flowed well and although the story dragged in some spots, the way she wrote was interesting enough to keep you reading until the end. Love scenes were sexy, for the most part, if a bit repetitive. And being a pet-owner myself, I liked the addition of Elle's cat =)

The bad: I really didn't like Penn, nor did I find him sexy or alluring, despite his looks and wealth. I don't like men who are controlling, or are verbally abusive, or treat you like dirt, likely because I've seen too many of those relationships IRL turn out badly. And I dislike it when authors and books try to portray them as sexy/mysterious/attractive, just because they're good looking and rich. Borderline abusive/controlling is NOT sexy!! One major reason I never got into Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey. I also liked Elle less and less as the book carried on and she got involved with Penn. It was as if she suddenly turned from a strong, independent woman to a simpering little girl who just did whatever he want, and became more and more immature. Then, the book ended on a massive cliffhanger. It just....ended, with no or partial resolution of everything. It was like a movie that you watch which ends suddenly, and you're sitting there thinking "What? That's it??" It's not that I don't like cliffhangers. I actually don't mind them if they're done well. And a personal peeve, but too many F-bombs for my liking (And I have nothing against swearing, again, when it fits).

While I enjoyed the first half of the book, and while Ms. Winters is incredibly talented as a writer and storyteller, this book just didn't excite me enough to care about what happens next and to have all the questions answered, and to read the next installment. I have heard good things about her other books and series, though, and would definitely read some of her other works. ( )