I really liked this book.
Penn and Cora.
Penn, in the prologue looses his wife in a horrific way.
Cora is connected to a crime family but she lives in a run down house really looking after a group of women who are either whores for her family or are being prepared to be.
Penn is a tortured soul, Cora is a strong protective feisty heroine.
Dual POV with a chapter from an alternative character.
No cheating, both have been married before but their spouses have died.
There are no intimate scenes with anyone other than the Hero and heroine.
Bit of push and pull from the Hero but there is an instant connection.
In the story we learn about Cora's past and wonder about Penn's true motives, as he obviously has an agenda.
The background to Coras family is quite dark and I wondered how much detail there would be as her "family" are cruel and evil but there is not much detail.

Cliffhanger ending. ( )

What a fantastic book. It grabbed me from the first chapter and I was unable to put it down. Such powerful, yet anguished, characters. Cora is smart and strong, Penn is hurting and powerful, and together they are amazing. What a cliffhanger! I can't wait for the second part of the duet, and thankfully don't have to wait too long.
An ARC was received in exchange for an honest opinion. ( )

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How do you write a sufficent review for a book that has literally ripped your heart out? It's impossible to reveal everything I felt while reading this book, and still feel after finishing, without saying too much about the plot. I can simply say, it was an incredible read and I'm left with a book hangover so severe that only the second novel in the duet will suffice for my next read.

"It was the raging winds of the sweetest storm."

Aly Martinez has created a dark world with characters who walk the line between sinner and saint, their career paths illegal, but their hope for life still shining bright. From the very first page readers are thrust into the gritty and ugly, with a painful scene in which the hero loses his beloved. We immediately know he is a changed man, but are unaware of how deep his core has been rocked until the very last page of The Truth About Lies. And our heroine? She truly deserves sainthood for her desperate desire to care and love and save at all costs, even if it means another bruising blow to her face and more lies than she's ever wanted to tell. Both Penn and Cora are unlike any character I've ever read before. We are treated to their alternating perspectives, given glimpses into the secrets they keep to themselves, privy to the true emotions they lock away, and acutely aware that things are not as they seem. There's a desperation to their connection, it's a shiny thing in the midst of rubble and ruin, but its longevity is impossible to know.

"'I know you're there, Cora. Because I feel it when you leave.'"

The Truth About Lies was an unexpected winner for me. Don't get me wrong, I know Aly Martinez can write, I devour her books like no ones business, but the blurb leaves us knowing very little about what really lies on the pages. An opening as difficult as the one that starts this novel prepares us for the worst and this novel, it really does feature the worst, but there's just something about it that sucks you in. There's hope written into every page of this book, the kind of hope you can actually feel, and yet we still know something awful is to come. It's a book that is dark and yet light and filled with twists that you cannot predict. It's slow moving, making readers fall in love with Penn, placing us into Cora's shoes, and embracing the life we would never choose before tearing us apart with truths. It's a story that I devoured; my heart racing, my eyes brimming with tears, and my mind wanting to know everything as soon as it could.

"This was a promise. A vow. An undeniable truth. And, worst of all, it gave me hope."

If you're a fan of novels that take you on an emotional journey, this duet is a must read for you. Aly Martinez has absolutely done it again, giving us a story that is unforgettable. A story about the broken and the things they will do to escape and thrive and win. It's real, in the worst sort of way, and no one could have told this suspenseful romance better. Now, if only I can get the ending I want in The Truth About Us. I have my fingers crossed and I am waiting VERY impatiently to read it. Don't sleep on this duet, it is one of my MUST READS for 2018.

"'Please'
One in. One out." ( )

5 gobsmacked stars

I should have known going into this that this author was going to put me through the emotional equivalent of hell on earth. Somehow, she always does. Yet, I forgot. Not sure how.

From the first paragraph I was riveted to every single word. I needed answers. The story has it all. Suspense, love, heartbreak, turmoil, and a unique story. The characters were some of the best of the best. The story itself, un-effing-believable. I held off reading this until the second part was out because there was no way I could survive being left in limbo. In this case it would have been another level of Dante's hell. I can't wait to get my answers and to see what other emotions this author can bring out in me. ( )