Summary:
After years of living in the darkness of his past,
Andrew Wise, a young attorney working for his family’s law firm in Sarasota,
Florida, has finally broken free of the demons that haunt him. Wealth, success, happiness, and true love;
everything a man could ever dream of, was right at his fingertips. Or so he thought. But in the blink of an eye, all of that
changed. Upon discovering that his
ex-girlfriend, Olivia Hamilton, was pregnant, Drew fell back into some old
habits, which led to him losing the one person that mattered the most in his
life - McKenzie Evans.
When McKenzie left him and returned to Texas, Drew
was beside himself. The night before she
left, he made an agreement with her best friend Jared Christopher, that he
would give her time and space to come to grips with the fact that he’d fathered
her best friend’s child. Now, two months
later, he feels as though he held up his end of the bargain, Drew can’t take
their separation any longer. With his
brother’s wedding mere weeks away, Drew devises a plan to win McKenzie back.
Under the guise of a bachelor getaway for Gavin,
Drew, along with his brother and Jared, jets off on an adventure to the
panhandle of Texas. There, he will learn
what made McKenzie who she is and will find strength within himself that he
never realized existed.
In this charming sequel to The Truth in Lies, Drew
and McKenzie discover that not everything is as it seems, forgiveness is a
matter of acceptance, and true love really can conquer all.
Review:
In The Truth in Lies, my only complaint was that I wanted to hear Drew's POV throughout the story. Dive into his thoughts about all that was going on and really find out what lies deep in both he and McKenzie's head while they work through her own emotions. Well, I found what I wanted in The Certainty of Deception and the male driven book taking place all in Drew's incredibly sexy mind. After reading this edition of their journey, I totally got why the author chose to go in this direction. It was time for us as a reader to really understand Drew and all the demons he is living with, while moving the story along to a conclusion that better come fast!
Drew was everything I would have expected coming out of the first one and so much more. I knew he had some dark stuff in past, but my god boy, this was rough. The fact that you could see the internal struggle he faced with his feelings and his vices made this book special to me. He faced them head on for a woman who at times we weren't sure was going to let her love him....and really aren't sure if it's going to happen even after the ending! However, the progression from beginning to end between these two characters was quite remarkable but at the same time felt real. That is quite the accomplishment for a romance and I hope it continues into the finale.
The other accomplishment for me in book 2 was the side characters. I loved the fact that Jared found a plausible spot in the lives of these characters, without being hurt by McKenzie's rejection killing him daily. Integrating Drew's brother and family rounded him out nicely and of course McKenzie's family making another appearance was fantastic! The only Debbie Downer was of course Olivia.....but I think we are finally making some progress there.....maybe! This is a great contemporary romance for people that love the real events mixed with passionate romantic elements. I can not WAIT to read the last in the trilogy!- My Opinion- ***** 5 Stars!
Excerpt:
“Evans’ Bodyworks, McKenzie speaking,” her sweet voice serenaded me like a siren’s song.
The wind pushed from my chest in the most orgasmic of ways.
I closed my eyes and allowed the intense rush of relief blow from my chest. For the last two months, I’d called her office just to hear her voice. She’d changed her cell phone number to an Amarillo number after leaving, but Evans’ Bodyworks was a listed number. As per my agreement with Jared, I never said a word. I simply listened to her until she hung up.
“Hello?” I shivered with delight at the sweet timbre of her tone.
Since her departure, I’d taken up sending her flowers every Monday, simply to brighten her week. The phone call was to brighten mine.
“Hello? Anybody there?”
Oh, God, that Southern drawl. She’d commented several times about how much she hated her accent. “I sound like a backwoods hick,” she’d complained. She didn’t sound like a hick to me. On the contrary, I could’ve listened to her talk all day long if given the chance.
Drops of rain splattered to the ground. I looked up at the sky. It appeared the sun was going to lose the battle of the clouds after all. Not that I minded, I loved the rain. The rain held a sentimental value to me. It was a rainy night where I first made love to McKenzie. Rain was a good thing. It brought life and in my case, it brought love.
I closed my eyes to recall the smell of her skin mixed with the rain. Shadows of her danced in the recesses of my mind. I swallowed hard, thinking of how it felt to have her smooth skin pressed against mine. Every minor detail displayed with vivid accuracy in my consciousness. Her shimmering blue eyes sparkled, her playful smile, and the way her golden hair fell in front of her face when it was wet.
“Andy? Is that you?” she whispered.
Tha-thump.
My heart skipped a beat at the sound of that nickname on such beautiful lips. Only Mickie was allowed to call me that. Just because my name was Andrew, didn’t mean people should call me Andy. Andrew or Drew was fine with me, but never Andy. That was my twin sister’s nickname, after all.
I sprang to my feet in a single bound, and looked around the beach. It was still fairly empty. Just a few runners making their way to their cars before the rain picked up.
“I guess not,” she faltered.
The sadness in her voice chipped away another piece of my mangled heart. She missed me. The evidence was there in the sound of her voice. Fine, the evidence was hearsay, but this wasn’t a court of law, so it was admissible. She called me by name, hoping it was me on the other end of the line.
This was what I’d been waiting for. I needed to know that she missed me too, that I wasn’t alone in my heartache. I wanted to reveal myself, but I feared it would ruin my upcoming plans. Only one person knew what I was about to do and that was because he was intricate to my plans. All I needed was for Jared or Gavin to get wind of my trip to Amarillo. There was no doubt in my mind that they’d try to stop me. So, instead of acting on instinct, I sat there like a fool, listening to her breathe.
Click.
The phone went silent.
For several seconds I stood, unmoving. She had spoken to me. To hear her call me by name was an answer to my prayers. It only solidified my decision to get off of my ass and fly to Texas. I’d waited like Jared and Gavin demanded. Two long, miserable months, I’d waited. Not a single drop of liquor had touched my lips since that night, no matter how bad I wanted a drink. I’d been patient, keeping my distance, well, in a way. Sure, the flowers didn’t equate to distance, but she hadn’t told Jared about them as far as I knew. I was sure if she had, I’d never hear the end of it. So, to me, that was a signal that she wasn’t over me any more than I was her. They were lucky I’d lasted this long. Patience was not one of my virtues. The time had come, and I was getting my girl back.
My mind released me from its temporary prison, allowing my heart to say what it needed to say. “I miss you,” I whispered, breathless.
Jeanne McDonald began telling stories at the ripe young age of five, when her mother considered the truth to be a lie due to her extensive embellishment to the retelling of an event. She wrote her first short story when she was twelve years old, and at the age of sixteen she tried her hand at poetry. She reconnected with her love for writing in 2010 thanks to the encouragement of a dear friend.
Her passions include a "mild" Starbucks addiction, music, reading, quotes, movies, and romance. When she's not spending time with her family, she can be found reading, writing, chatting with her friends or diligently working toward her bachelor's degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology. A proud Texan, Jeanne currently resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with her family.
