CHEATER so not how it sounds!!!

Rachel Van Dyken did it again in this sassy, flirty and fun book. Do worry though she will take you on a roller coaster ride full of questionable morals, have you questioning who was really wrong and wanting to slap and hug the male lead in Book.

Lucas Thorn is living a life of a male whore Monday thru Saturday. He made a HUGE mistake four years earlier hurting the people he loved. Including and possibly most importantly Avery Black. Lucas's and Avery's parents neighbors, former best friends only wave in passing after Lucas betrayed Kayla, Avery's sister the night before his planned wedding. Not an excuse but Lucas who was totally drunk ending up in Kayla's sister Brook's room and as I'm sure you guessed it ended this relationship that began in eight grade. Avery the younger sister by ten years has had a crush on Lucas that formed from true friendship and respect for each other. Fast forward four years and Lucas is a success in his professional life and believes he's living the life dating a different woman Monday thru Saturday leaving Sunday for his family mainly his sister. Believing he has nothing but charm and good looks to offer anyone he lives what he believes is a care free life. If everyone knows about each other he preaches it's not CHEATING. Avery is shocked when she shows up for a paid internship she needs desperately or she'll be forced to move home back to her childhood bedroom. She discovers she'll be working for none other than Lucas Thorn the man who crushed not only her but those she loves. Always feeling small and imperfect campared to both her sisters that have always shined and been popular she doesn't realize her worth. These two have serious chemistry but can they overcome the obstacles in the way? Can Lucas stop cheating? Is what they could have worth fighting for?

This book had all the feels, however the characters are fun, strong and easy to like. Written in dual POV. This book flows well and before you know it the books ending but leaves you wanting so much more.

I solemnly swear what I'm about to write is the truth and nothing but the truth.
I loved it! I love all the characters! I love the approach the author took on the whole comedy Romance in this book. I loved the hate and Love relationship between the leads. It was fun and exciting. Is been to long since I have giving a book 5 stars.
I usually read a few reviews before posting mine because I want to read what others thought of the books. Sadly I saw a few with lower ratings but I wish those don't scare readers to read this book because it was amazing. Yes the whole being engaged with the older sister of the lead is a big no no to some, him being 10 years older and him crushing on her when she was a teen (17) is immoral. Yes he did something else that even when I read it was like hell no! But I moved those things aside because Is been years that I read a book where I had so much fun and excitement when I was reading. A few years back I read her Seaside series and loved them. I read a few of the Eagle Elite books, but the whole mob thing wasn't for me. So I stop but I am glad I had the fortune to read this amazing book. I will be waiting to read the next book of this series, I hope that is as fun and exciting as this book.

Lucas Thorn wasn’t born a cheater. All it took was a single moment—say, a certain disastrous incident on the night before his wedding—and boom. Reputation destroyed forever and always. So now he owns it. He has a lady friend for every night of the week (except Sundays—God’s day and all), and his rules are simple: No commitments. No exceptions.

But a certain smart-mouthed, strawberry blonde vixen is about to blow that all to hell.

Avery Black has never forgiven Lucas for cheating on her sister. And suddenly being forced to work with him is pretty much a nightmare on steroids. Of course, it does afford her the opportunity to make his life as difficult as possible. But no good revenge scheme comes without payback. Because he didn’t become the Lucas Thorn without learning a few things about women.

Now Avery’s lust for vengeance has turned into, well, lust. And if Lucas stops cheating, it’s definitely not because he’s falling in love…

This book got me out of my book slump...I loved this!!! Avery and Lucas were great together. At first, after the Prologue Lucas was a pig...he had a woman for every day of the week except Sunday. Sunday was his sisters day lol. When he screwed around with a woman in his office in front of Avery, it made me want to reach through the kindle and beat him to death. There were times when you just wanted to shake him...with a hot iron - upside the head :)

Avery was one of those characters that's just snarky...she has a sarcastic remark for everything Lucas says. I love that she doesn't take any junk from him. It comes out that he liked her from the beginning and that she's the reason that he didn't marry her sister. He doesn't believe in monogamy and staying with one woman and doesn't realize that one by one he's getting rid of each of the women from his "days of the week." There's some angst, some sex, some love, some sarcasm, some humor and Van Dyken does ALL of this really, really well. She is a master at storytelling and doing it in a humorous way! It's a book you won't want to miss. I know that I'm going to reread it the first chance I get that I'm not speedreading!!

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

I did not want to like this book with a title like cheater, but Rachel wrote it so I must read it and love it! Lucas is engaged to the wrong sister. He loves the youngest, Avery, but has only ever been with Kayla, the oldest. Avery's sister's are brutal. But her need for food and not being a homeless person lands her a job with Lucas as an intern. The one man she had a hopeless crush on as a teenager and who as an adult hates for cheating on his sister, and destroying her family. The humor in this story and the insights into the human condition are amazing. Love both Lucas and Avery! 5 stars

"When you love someone, you let them win—not every battle but at least the ones that matter."

It's my first time to read Rachel Van Dyken book. There are some parts that did not click to me (over exaggerating scenes) but Lucas and Avery are great together. They are both funny and adorable--together, especially the banter.

The story is about Lucas who's engaged to Kayla (Avery's sister) four years ago. Unfortunately, poor Lucas got drunk and stumbled into Kayla's sister room, Brooke (who's a bitch, I don't like her!) and thought they had something going on, the engagement was off the night before the wedding. He then stand and live to what people think about him, being a "cheater". But he believes that if all the girls (from Monday to Saturday, yes, different girls everyday) knows about it, it is not cheating.

Avery is desperate not to go back home. She doesn't want to live with her parents, with her sister living there. She's Lucas old friend, best friend. Lucas was her 'hero' and be his girl, which was impossible at that time.

I like the twists in the story. Lucas decide not to marry Kayla and give a shot to Avery (which I think is weird because Kayla and Avery are sisters). But, I think Lucas stayed in relationship with Kayla because everyone was expecting them to marry. I mean he loved Kayla but he loves Avery more.I understand why Lucas behaves like that, because he can't move on. However, he had a choice!

I thought Avery will revenge? But WTH? What happened? There is no revenge except where she said that they were in a relationship in front of Lucas's sister, which I think was not the best revenge of all time.

I had fun reading this. Lucas and Avery were really funny! I also like how the story goes on and how Ms. Rachel wrote. It's entertaining and was not expecting the outcome of the story. Good plot! We can't really judge a book by its cover. Literally.

Cheater by Rachel Van Dyken

This book was an unexpected surprise - a good one! I wasn't sure I'd actually like this book, given the title and the assumptions that go along with it, but it wasn't exactly what I expected. I expected that Lucas Thorn was a serial cheater. He wasn't. He did, however, have a different girl for every day of the week excluding Sunday which was reserved for his sister. When his new intern arrives, it turns out to be the little sister of his ex-fiancé - who he'd started to develop strong feelings for before the wedding that never was. Naturally, Avery hates Lucas on (second) sight but needs the internship more than anything.

I really enjoyed the characters. Avery has such a quick wit and sharp tongue and I just couldn't get enough of her! She might be a few years younger than Lucas but she wasn't having a bar of his b.s. and didn't hesitate to call him out on it. Lucas was quite the shithead but I still liked him! I get it, he has a different girl every day but he truly didn't think he was doing anything wrong because 'it's not cheating if they know about it'. I wanted to smack him a time or two but realized that something made him the way he is and he obviously doesn't think he deserves any better.

I love a good RomCom and Cheater had so many ridiculous one-liners that had me snorting in bed because I just could not hold the laughter in. Some of the things that happened were so farfetched that the mind truly boggled, but if you just read the book as a light-hearted, romantic, enemies to lovers, you'll enjoy it for exactly that. Don't over-analyze. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series especially knowing who it'll be about.

*arc received from publisher in exchange for honest review.

**Reviewed by Melinda for Joandisalovebooks Blog.

Avery just graduated from college and needs a job ASAP! So when the opportunity for an internship came along she took it. Turns out the VP that she would be working for was her almost ex-brother in law, Lucas.

Avery has been in love with Lucas forever! Avery feels torn going to work with a man that cheated on her one sister with her other sister. It has been four years since they have seen each other.

Lucas now has a different girl for every day of the week besides Sunday and two on Tuesday. It's not cheating if they all know about each other right?! Lucas has a big secret of his own.

Can Avery be the girl to change Lucas's cheating ways? Does she want to be?

Words can not describe how much I love Rachel's writing!!! Cheater was amazing and I can not wait for the second book in the series!! I could not put this book down!!!

***I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

One drunken mistake at his wedding and Luca Thorn is a sexy man whore. He has it all a great career, good looks, and a different girl for each night. Then Avery Black walks in his door and his world is flipped upside down. Suddenly a different girl each night isn't something he wants anymore, but can Avery get over what he did to her sister years ago? This book is sexy, hot, and delicious, it's another great book written by Rachel and I cannot wait for the next one!

This book turned out not to be what I was expecting, it turned out better than I thought. At first I did not like Lucas at all, but as you get further into the story you get a better understanding of who he is and why he is the way he is. I just couldn't put this one down, there were some emotional moments and some very laugh out loud moments. I truly enjoyed this one.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

**SPOILERS**

LOVED IT!!! When the H/h get together again after years of separation, it becomes a hilarious disaster!

Avery, the heroine, is so damn sassy and full of hatred for the man who cheated on her sister the night before they were supposed to get married. She is strong and such a smart***, you just can't help but to lover her.

Lucas, the hero, has no clue what is happening when it comes to Avery. He hates what he did to her sister, and in his head, it was a case of mistaken identity. He is supposed to be an intelligent jerk, but he's just naive and doesn't have a clue.

Then, add in their mothers, and watch all hell break loose!

I would recommend this book to everyone I know. There is absolutely no reason that anybody should say no to this book. It's hilarious, sweet, sexy and downright sinful at times. Buy this book. Trust me.

Although I don’t condone cheating in real life, I don’t usually mind reading books with that plot point in them. And I did enjoy this book for the most part. I did think Avery was a little too quick to accept the fact that Lucas routinely cycles through 7 girls (this system and the rules he has remind me a little bit of the movie Maid of Honor). Now even though I will admit to him being a cheater, I don’t see these relationships as cheating but more as open relationships since everyone involved is informed and goes into it willing. On the other hand, he did emotionally and literally cheat on Kayla with her sisters so yes he is a cheater, no matter what he will try and convince people. What I can’t really wrap my head around isn’t the fact that he falls for Avery who is Kayla’s younger sister, but the fact that she is her younger sister by 11 years. That doesn’t seem like much in the scheme of things when they are at their current age but when you take into consideration that he grew up helping take care of her and was basically an older brother to her, it kind of throws me off. I mean when Lucas and Kayla were seniors in high school she would’ve been in like 2nd grade and I know he didn’t like her then but he did start to like her when she was 17 and he was 28 so it’s still a little weird to me. And his mom? When she was going on and on about she always knew he was with the wrong sister I was just like uh, when did you know this? When she was like 17 or younger? I think I would have enjoyed this book more if their age range was a little closer. Like I said if this book had been him being the age he was and meeting her at the age she was I wouldn’t have been weirded out. It’s more of the fact that he grew up with her that’s throwing me off. The more I think about it the more it weirds me out. Also both families were so quickly willing to forgive him and just accept that he was now with the final sister since he already had history with the other two? Really?

This was a humorous, sexy read, pitted here and there with angst.

What happens when you’re engaged but fall for someone else who’s somewhat forbidden?

“She should have zero effect on me. And yet. She did. More than any of the women I was currently seeing.”

Lucas Thorn was the all-round good guy. Gorgeous as sin, in a committed relationship since high school, the star QB on the school team, well-loved. Everyone thought it was just too good to be true. So when he fell spectacularly from grace, no one was really surprised, but one drunken mistake turned him into a cheater, with a revolving door of women for nearly every day of the week.

“He had me. He’d always owned me. I just didn’t know it until now.”

Avery Black once hero-worshipped Lucas. Ten years older, he’d been in her life since she was a little kid. As she grew older, he became her best friend, her rock, and her secret crush. His one mistake not only broke her sister’s heart, it broke hers, too.

Four years later, Avery has grown from a gawky teen into a stunning young woman. Unfortunately, she’s been made redundant from a well-paid post-grad job and, to avoid going back home to live, she’s applied for a low-paid internship. She’s determined to prove her worth and get back onto the employment ladder any way she can. However, when she comes face to face with her boss, everything goes to hell.

“My heart would never be the same. Because when we both pulled away from one another, I could have sworn I saw her grab the still beating vessel from my chest and hold it in the palm of her hands.”

This was such a fun story that also tugged at the heartstrings. I loved the banter between the sassy, irreverent Avery, and the gorgeous, flirty, unfiltered Lucas. The chemistry between them was intense and irresistible! Even when they rubbed each other up the wrong way, the sparks still flew between them. I adored how they couldn’t keep their hands of one another.

I loved how the full story of their shared past emerges, as each layer is revealed through flashbacks, until it becomes painfully clear how Lucas came to live his present lifestyle. A fab read!

I have given Cheater 5 stars.

So I'm a newbie to Rachel Van Dyken but I honestly don't know how I have never picked up any of her books. Her clever style of writing draws the reader in and hooks them from the very first word.

The title of the book suggested something much deeper than we actually get. Cheater is light and funny despite the serious nature of this book. It was humorous, witty, clever and I found it so entertaining that I couldn't put it down. The banter between Lucas and Avery was off the scales funny and often had me laughing out loud at their witty comebacks.

And the chemistry! Oh boy, the chemistry! Several times throughout the book I had to stop and cool myself down. I thought I might self combust from the heat emanating from the pages.

Despite Lucas's "asshat" tendencies, I actually really liked him. Hiding behind his "reputation" of a cheater lies a man with a broken heart and Avery was just so funny, you can't help but fall in love with her character. She's a real fire cracker and her sense of humor is just wicked.

When I opened the book, I didn't anticipate how much I would enjoy this book, but I did! Every single word.
It's a little bit of the top but absolutely fabulous nonetheless.

Arc received for an honest review - thank you!

Rating 3.5 stars

Okay, so I’ve seen a few reviews of people bashing the book (without reading it) due to there being cheating in it – heads up people, the book is called ‘Cheater’ and the blurb is quite clear in telling you that Lucas is a cheater… so bashing the book for doing exactly what it says on the tin is a bit silly – just saying.

Anyway, on to my review:

I was intrigued by the blurb and thought this one would be a bit difficult to read due to the nature of the plot – I expected it to be a bit angsty and difficult to like the H but I couldn’t have been more wrong. This book was a really easy read. It was funny it was sexy and it was really sweet in places.
I picked it up quite late in the evening with the intention of just getting a start on it before bed but found myself reading the whole book in one sitting.

Yes, there are parts that had me rolling my eyes at their silliness but I did it with a smile on my face.

And shocker… I really liked Lucas. He was funny and although I thought he was a pig with his ‘Schedule’ I can kinda see why he thought it was okay.

Avery was absolutely hilarious… some of the things she said and did had me really laughing out loud and Lucas’ parents were just crazy.

Overall an enjoyable RomCom and I can’t wait to read Austin and Thatch’s book.

I have been binge reading books now for well over two years--the need to start a new one immediately after I finish the last page of a book is so out of hand that I now enter contests and joined netgalley to win ARCs--to then review on my new blog, ha! Thank you netgalley (& Skyscape and Two Lions) for allowing me to read this book before the release date, as promised my honest review is below.....

I just have to say right off the bat, Rachel is a repeat author for me--I enjoy the way she writes her characters, the dialogue and there's usually just the right amount of humor added to the story that you end up laughing out loud at **least** 4 times before you are done. This book is no different. (Sidenote- you should know that I am not a fan of giving away too much in terms of specifics, I rather let others enjoy the story without knowing too much, so basically my reviews will be kind of vague in that sense.)

Ok back to CHEATER--Lucas Thorn, he's a HOT thorn in my side, that's what he is, really for most of the book your mouth will be open and your eyes will be bugging out of your head as a result of his antics🙀. Then there's Avery Black, based on the description on Goodreads you know early on who she is. The way these two are forced back into each others lives again is pretty funny to me--I wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry or kill if I were in their situation.

The story is told in dual POV, which I actually really love in general because it allows you to understand the feelings of both characters. In this case there are a TON of feelings to share and most of the time I found myself agreeing with what they were feeling. And the banter back and forth is fun to experience when it's written in with a dual POV--you get to see what really sets them off their rocker this way, which happens a lot.

SEXUAL TENSION....When written well, the build up is gradual and you are itching to see what the next move will be. I would say not all of the books I have read in the past have the sexual tension thing down, some unfortunately fall flat. Rachel though has a way of making that work well in her books, Cheater is no exception.

By the end of the book, I think you too, will become a victim of the Lucas Thorn effect....

Fave Quote "His low-slung jeans and chiseled stomach were inches from my face. It wasn't fair; I cursed fatness on him, his family, his dog, his cow-"

Dated the oldest sister basically forever (8th grade to age 27)then got engaged to her
Got caught in bed with the middle sister night before the wedding
Is now with the h (youngest sister)

That their parents were ecstatic about this new relationship was just weird to me. Obviously these people need therapy. If my sister started dating my ex especially one I was with for that long I'd straight up slap a bitch. And the age difference when he first fell for the h weekend me out, she was 17 to his 27.

4 years later that age gap no longer bothers me the sister thing is still weird though.

The best part of this book is the banter between the H and h that was spot on.

3 stars -- I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

Oh dear. I've had a hot and cold relationship with books written by this author. I've read books that I really loved, but I've more often read books that just rubbed me the wrong way. Strangely, this one wasn't a full on hate, but it's just not a Lenore book. It's not that I can't see why people would enjoy it, it just wasn't a good fit for me. I have a few other books by this author that I'll give a shot, but I think I'll steer away from her normal contemporaries, or romantic comedies, b/c I just don't think I have that sense of humour.

Oh, and yeah, this was kind of a weird one to request for me b/c cheating is one of my button issues (I just don't have a good tolerance for cheating in books, and it will likely make me dislike a book), but I thought perhaps in exploring the topic it wouldn't be too bad. And actually, the cheating wasn't the part that really didn't work for me. The author didn't delve as deep into the reasoning as I had hoped, but it still addressed some interesting questions.

So what didn't work for me? The humour in this book was cringe-worthy. I'd been telling my husband about it, and quite honestly the two MCs were just too over the top for me. So much yelling. There's quirky characters, and then there's these two...particularly Avery. I cringed through parts of this book. It was like watching Meet the Parents. I could understand why people would find it funny, but I just couldn't. And quite frankly, I ended the book and I couldn't help but think that if these people existed in real life, the people surrounding them must be so exhausted.

And the crazy humour kind of got in the way of their chemistry with each other. There just weren't enough moments that got to my heart and made me feel for them. And for *this* particular reader, that was a shame. I like my humour mixed with more depth I guess. I would see glimmers, and then one of them would say something outrageous.

Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't laugh at all in this book, or that I didn't enjoy parts. But I just got tired after awhile. I guess I just do better with moderation. *shrugs*

Oh, and on a strange side note, the author would use dramatic periods in weird ways. You know, where someone is trying to emphasize their point and so they break. The. Sentence. Up. But she would use them in places that didn't make sense, at least to this reader. Was I the only one that noticed that? And mostly in the beginning of the book too.

So yeah. I can see this book being popular, it just wasn't the right fit for me.

I really liked the characters and the general story, although I did find it a little yucky that 27-year-old Lucas was attracted to 17-year-old Avery. Even if she had been a few years older when all that happened, it would have been less squicky. The story also would have been served better if it had taken place over a longer period of time than just a week. Regardless, I enjoyed it and would read more by this author. I'd be interested in reading Thatch and Austin's story next.

Here's a link to my review on Goodreads. I'll happily add the review to Amazon when it goes live.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1909358902?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I've read a lot of Van Dyken's books. They have all been 3.5 star ratings or higher for me. I have found them to always be quick reads, fun, and entertaining. So when this title came up on Netgalley to review it was a no brainer to pick it up.

The Prologue starts off with Lucas saying "This is my story. You will hate it. You will hate me." Boy, is that the truth! Within in the first 10% of the book I'm cringing because of the flippant way Lucas treats women....a different woman for every night (or day) of the week. But then again, he's open and honest about it with each of them and they know what they're getting in to. The question then begs, why on earth would these women settle for a womanizer like Lucas Thorn?! Is a cheater any more admirable just because he admits to it and lives up to the title? Gag! But hey, I'm all about redeeming characters in books.

Set in Seattle, Lucas is a 32 year old successful man who loves his work (oddly enough working with on apps for kids) and he loves his revolving door of women. No commitments, no attachments, no strings attached. Friends with benefits perhaps? He's seriously jaded though and has the reputation for ruining his parents relationship with their best friends - the middle school sweetheart he had beginning in the 8th grade and engaged to early in college. The problem is that he mistook one of her sisters for the wrong girl the night before their wedding and that effectively severed a lot of relationships that had grown to be very important to him.

Avery, the youngest of the three Black sisters, is now living in Seattle as well. At 22 years old she refuses to go back home to live with her parents so she accepts an internship only to discover she'll be interning for Lucas Thorn. She's well aware of his reputation and even has to help with his "other calendar". The problem is that she used to be very close to Lucas and if she's being honest, her feelings for him never really went away. Thankfully she values herself more than to be another of his days of the week.

One of the biggest eye rolling irritations for me with this story was the mother of Lucas. She was too emotionally over the top and as such it was too unrealistic for me to accept her behavior.

If you're looking for a fast and fun romance, this book will give you a few laughs and you'll enjoy the crazy ride with Lucas Thorn.

Book two should be fun too as it tells the story of Avery's childhood best girl friend, Austin, and a fellow womanizer (ie cheater) friend of Lucas', named Thatch. Both of these are side characters briefly introduced in book one.

Favorite Quotes:
"Because that's what friends do when they don't screw you over and destroy your life by betraying your trust. They stay loyal, friends for life and all that."

Hating him was difficult. Being attracted to him was inevitable.

"One day you were my friend, and then you became something completely different. Because I wanted you. Because I've always wanted you. Because even when it was wrong - and you were only seventeen years old - I wanted you."

The way a man is supposed to love a woman, with such blind madness that nothing made sense when she wasn't in my world.

Language Rating: 2 (medium)
Mature Content Rating: 2 (medium)
Final Rating: 3.5 stars