Cover Image: Too Good to Be True

Too Good to Be True

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the digital advance copy.

Told from three points of view, Too Good To Be True is the story of heartache, revenge, betrayal, and love. At first, I was unsure about where the story was going. It took awhile for the connection to be made with the three points of view. But, once the connections began, the plot took off and from one page to the next I was left questioning everything I thought from the previous page.

Even though I saw some of plot laid out for me, the author would set me up with a whiplash of a reveal that would leave me with that exciting "gotcha" feeling.

This is a fun read with flawed and interesting characters.

The ending was safe, but satisfying.

I can't wait to chat about this one with fellow thriller readers. It makes for a great conversation.

Was this review helpful?

Definitely not a "normal" thriller. This book twists and turns and carries the reader through love stories, deception, battles with OCD, depression, guilt, hate - all the feelings!

A great read and even with all the twists a happy ending for all - even the ones that didn't deserve it!!

Was this review helpful?

Why am I rating this higher than many of my Goodreads friends? 1) The exploration of OCD is one reason. Skye Starling has a full-blown case of OCD that is highly visible to anyone who spends time with her. 2) The musical references -- Earth, Wind, and Fire; Billy Joel -- one of my all-time faves; U2 -- also a perennial favorite. 3) The diary. 4) Exploration of love, revenge, and courage. The synopsis of the plot has been hashed and rehashed. The multiple POVs. The twists. It is a bit like taking 'Gone Girl,' 'The Wife Between Us,' and 'The Wife Stalker' and put them in a blender with a secret ingredient. Pour this book into your glass and enjoy.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow....
The storyline is unique and isn't something I've read a lot of before.
There were definitely some twists I didn't see coming.
The characters were well-developed and easy to like / relate to. Or in Burke's case - not like.
I'd definitely read over books by this author.

Was this review helpful?

This is a story of love, obsession, and revenge. It is told in the voices of three people: Skye, Burke, and Heather.
Heather is a teenager who is babysitting for a weakthy family. Heather wants nothing more than to live just like them when she is grown Skye Starling meets Burke at a resort in Montauk and after a whirlwind courtship, he proposes to her and they get married. However, Burke's motives in marrying Skye may not be entirely pure. As he details in journal entries to his therapist, he has engineered all of it in an effort to gain control of her trust fund.

I loved the different POV's and the journal entries were a nice touch. This is definitely a book you don't want to read spoilers for....just go into it blind. I coud not put it down. I highly recommend this engrossing read!

Was this review helpful?

Skye Starling is beautiful, young and rich, seemingly perfect in every way, except she has been stricken with terrible OCD since her mother’s death when she was 12 years old. Her diseases has caused difficulties establishing and maintaining romantic relationships. Away on a girls weekend, Skye meets Burke Michaels, handsome, older and established, but not without his own flaws. Burke is Skye’s dream come true and soon they are engaged to be married. After arriving home from their honeymoon, Skye is presented with information that destroys their new relationship. Is this simply a case of revenge being a dish best served cold? How does her mother, who has been dead for decades figure into this? Is Burke telling the truth?

Too Good To Be True has so many twists and turns, I have whiplash from reading it! Suspenseful, emotional, and dramatic, I couldn’t put it down. The characters, so rich and flawed, enhance and pull you into their stories. Definite must read in my opinion!

Was this review helpful?

I just couldn't get into this book! It had a good beginning but when I was 15% through I just felt bored. I just don't think this writing is my style. This author is great but just not for me! I'm hoping I can give this author another chance with another piece of their work!

Was this review helpful?

Too Good to Be True is a the very best kind of psychological thriller,with twists I did not see coming! Skye, a woman who seems to have it all but has her demons, is newly engaged to Burke, who is older and very wealthy--and has some demons of his own. Who are these two people and what do they want from each othet? Burke's motives seem to be revealed, but are they? What's Skye got planned? And how does Burke's first real love, Heather, fit into the story?

Great writing,great pacing, and twists and turns that left me reeling make Too Good to Be True an absolute must read! Very highly recommended.

Was this review helpful?

A fantastic domestic thriller that offers absolutely no respite for the weary. The narrative is told from from three perspectives and all three narrators are just shy of reliable. While the characterization is wickedly fun and well developed, each character is kept just outside the reader's comfort zone with all their ugly sides showing. Loved this. #mustread

Thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC of #TooGoodToBeTrue which was read and reviewed voluntarily by Wayward Readers Book Blog.

#readreviewrepeat #gimmemorebooks #bookstagram #bookblog #booktwitter #domesticthriller #tbrstack #kindlegoals

Was this review helpful?

Too Good to Be True is a fun thriller with plenty of twists and turns. The story is told from three points of view: Heather (the wife), Burke (the husband), and Skye (the mistress, etc.). Lovering does a great job with keeping these narratives separate. As someone who generally struggles with this type of narration as well as shifts in time periods, I found the story easy to follow. She does a great job of clearly marking points of view. There is a twist related to that, but no spoilers! The book is also told in two parts. The first part sets the background and moves fairly quickly. The second moves a bit slower. I found myself frustrated at times with the pacing of the second half, but there was definitely enough content to keep me entertained.

The characters drove me crazy. I really despised the main characters. It's rare when an author can pull such a visceral reaction from me. I think that they all brought characteristics to the story which I struggled to get behind.
Again, I can't really go into it because...spoilers. In the end I found the only character I had sympathy for was Skye's father and in the end he didn't really have much to do with the book. Overall, while I disliked the characters and even their choices, I really enjoyed Lovering's writing style and her ability to actually make me feel something towards the characters, good or bad.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy and the opportunity to read and review Too Good to Be True.

Was this review helpful?

What I love about Carola Lovering’s books is that she really hits the mark on how awful men can be, in that specific way that is not easily categorized as a crime but it still awful and emotionally terrorizing as well. In Too Good to Be True, we get three POVs going back and forth in time. To tell you the plot without telling you too much, the tagline will do-there are two marriages, three versions of the truth, and a love story-really sums up the story. After dating a few months, Skye Starling is engaged to her dream man Burke Michaels, and begins to plan their life together. This being my kind of fiction, Burke has secret ambitions that don’t match with Skye’s. The book crosses between the perspectives of Burke, Skye, and another woman, Heather. I loved reading all the POVs and while I pre-solved the twists, I still enjoyed watching the crazy outcomes. This is one of those books that book clubs will love because there are so many things to talk about. I am not a person that minds spoilers, but I respect that others do, so I am dodging giving away any details other than calling this book a scheming good time. Put this book on your reading list if you like your dramas dark and full of flawed but interesting people. Thanks to St. Martins’ Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Was this review helpful?

Trust no one. That was my mantra when I began reading this novel, and it served me well throughout the book’s entirety.

The novel is told from multiple perspectives in alternating chapters. This method worked perfectly for this book. It enabled me to become completely engrossed in the characters’ lives, discovering information about them and their complex personalities. It propelled the story forward and kept me wanting to just read another chapter…and maybe another.

While reading this novel, I was constantly on edge, never fully allowing myself to get too attached to any of the characters, even though from time to time I found myself feeling bad for them and actually caring about their situations. I knew that I had to snap myself out of feeling for any of them because I was certain that the rug was going to be pulled out from under me at some point. When an author can write some pretty despicable characters and have her readers actually feel a bit sorry for them, you know that’s some crazy good writing and storytelling.

Too Good to Be True is a true domestic/psychological thriller. The lengths that the characters went to get what they wanted just astounded me. I didn’t know what to believe, who to believe, or if I could even believe any of them. Lovering took dysfunction and amped it up. It messed with me, kept me on my toes, and kept me glued to the pages, and that’s what I want from a book in this genre.

*4 Stars

Was this review helpful?

I am so thankful to the publisher and Netgalley for approving an advanced copy of this book!!!

Told between Burke, his wife Heather and his girlfriend/fiancé/ wife Skye. Burke and Heather are high school sweethearts married with 3 kids and desperate financial problems. Burke has an affair with beautiful young Skye but it’s not what you think. I will leave it there or else spoil the twists and turns.

Wow! I absolutely loved this book! It had me within the first few pages and I couldn’t put it down! When you want to hate Burke but love Burke and love Heather but hate Heather and you should hate Skye but is she innocent?

When you come across a book that you don’t want to end and leaves you wanting more..... this is it!! Bravo!!!!!!

Was this review helpful?

Too Good To Be True by Carola Lovering starts off as an interesting story and is an enjoyable read. But, there comes a time when that changes and Too Good To Be True becomes impossible to put down. Ms Lovering gives us the story with some back and forth in time and from different points of views. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy to review.

Was this review helpful?

OMG, this book is an addictive read! It's a head game you can't get out of your head, a train-wreck that you see coming but can't look away from.

I don't want to say ANYTHING that can take away from your enjoyment of this book, other than it has three main characters giving narratives that you don't know are real or not. They contradict even as they complement each other, and you don't know who or what to believe. There's some major human malfunctions at play here: to charactarize them as flaws would be the equivalent of reducing the story of someone getting hit by a bus by saying a fly landed on their arm.

Not the highest form of literature, surely, but you're in for a wild, twisty, and entertaining read!! Well done, Carola Lovering! Well done!

My thanks to NetGalley and to St. Martin's Press for generously allowing me to read an advance copy of the book which is scheduled for publication on 3/2/2021. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

Was this review helpful?

I LOVED this book! It was my first read by Lovering, and it was exactly what I needed to get myself out of a slump! The characters were lovable and hateable, the dual timeline was perfect, and I loved the multiple POVs. Perfectly executed!

Was this review helpful?

This book is best to go in blind -- I guessed a major plot point early on and think it could have partially been avoided if I skipped the synopsis.

The story alternates between three narrators as you navigate marital troubles and deception. The characters are largely unlikeable with questionable morals, and you know up front that the story is a bit of a car crash waiting to happen so you're immediately hooked trying to figure out when the truth will be revealed.

The second half presents a turning point in the story but it lost a bit of momentum from there. I was hoping for a more satisfying conclusion and think it all tied up too neatly. The story was set between Connecticut and New York so I loved knowing the areas the characters were referencing.

If you like domestic suspense stories, this may be up your alley but skip the synopsis!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy in exchange for a review.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks Netgalley for a copy of TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE by Carol a Lovening.
Great read , Great twist . New author for me, I really enjoyed the story.

Was this review helpful?

Too Good to Be True was a quick, twisty, enjoyable read. I love that the story is told from multiple perspectives and in a few different timelines. I enjoyed the way the author slowly clued the reader in to more details as the story continued. In an unexpected twist, the biggest puzzle piece was revealed midway through the book, and while the second half definitely felt like it could've been shorter, overall the book kept my interest until the very end.

I really like that with the different viewpoints, each person knew some things about the other two narrators. As a reader, you're left guessing which narrators are reliable and which are not. I also appreciated that the author brought awareness to OCD. It's a disorder that most people are familiar with, but it's eye-opening to read about a character that suffers with OCD and how it impacts their life.

While I did enjoy the book, I'm not certain that I'm happy with the ending. I found myself experiencing different feelings and ideas of how I wanted it to end, and those thoughts changed as I worked my way through the book. I'm not disappointed with the ending, I'm just not sure it's what I would have chosen or that it fit the tone of the book.

I've chosen not to include a summary of the book in my review, as I feel it's best to go in blind, with as little info as possible.

Was this review helpful?

Talk about a book that had me asking, "What's gonna happen next?" A young woman meets a guy, they hit it off, they begin to date...but it's not that simple. Told from 3 different perspectives from the past till now, this was a pretty crazy ride! And there was a twist about halfway through that made me say, "Wait, what?" Super-fast read that I really enjoyed.

Was this review helpful?